#but some things about his promo still seem very off

[lhrry]

x

[wttcsms]

we play our fantasies out in real life ways ; shouto todoroki.

pairing shouto todoroki x f!reader  word count 2.7k  synopsis knocking up his sugar baby seems (and feels) like a dream come true for the future ceo and youngest son of japan’s richest conglomerate family. content contains sugar daddy!shouto, yandere themes, car sex, creampie, breeding kink, quirkless au, ceo!shouto, tiny daddy kink author’s notes this is a repost of an old fic but pls tell me we are still horny 4 shouto. also ignore the Tesla promo, i was feeling silly when i wrote this </3

He can have anything he wants, you know.

And of course you know this. Of course you do. It’s hard to ignore this fact whenever he’s the exact reason your closet is overflowing with more dresses than you know what to do with; why your dresser can barely stay shut due to the amount of lacy lingerie you’ve had to shove in them; why you’re a third year college student driving to campus with a brand new Mercedes that technically isn’t even supposed to be out on the market ‘til next month. 

He can have anything he wants, and because you’re his, by extension, you have the power to make all your material wishes come true, too. All you have to do is ask him.

All you have to do is look up at him and give him those puppy dog eyes of yours and say, “please, daddy, can I cum?” and he’ll let you. You know he will, because stoic Shouto Todoroki, the future CEO and prized son of the Todoroki clan that happens to be one of the most famous conglomerate families in all of Japan, just can’t seem to say no to you. He signs off multi-billion yen deals as easily as one blinks and running multiple companies is just something he’s been born to do. It’s no easy feat to give commands to such a powerful man. 

And yet, one look and a tiny whimper is all it takes to turn him into putty in your hands. 

It’s always an out of body experience when you’re with Shouto. Being with him is like constantly being the main character of a movie. He rents out entire restaurants so the two of you can dine away from prying eyes. He sends you good morning and good night texts every single day. (One time you joked about him forcing his assistant to do it because there’s no way a busy man like him would ever have time to do something so insignificant; he didn’t like that you couldn’t seem to wrap your head around the concept of you being someone very important to him.) Shouto is incredibly good to you, incredibly good for you.

He’s incredibly good with a lot of things. Taking care of you, for one. Taking care of all his businesses, for another. And right now, he’s taking real good care of your cunt when he’s got three of his fingers knuckles deep in you. 

The windows to his sleek, outrageously priced car are tinted so dark, even you struggle to see through the windshield. You always tell him it’s dangerous, but he reminds you that there are always reasons for the things he does. You wonder if getting tinted windows so he could fuck his college student sugar baby with some semblance of privacy is the reason. 

And then all thinking on your end comes to a stop when he nips at the skin of your neck, biting down softly and getting you to let out a tiny whimper. It doesn’t hurt. You don’t think Shouto is even capable of hurting you; not because you’re some unbreakable being, but because you don’t think the calloused hands that have caressed every centimeter of your body is capable of harming you. 

The two of you are currently parked in the lot right outside the building where his main office is located. In about ten minutes, the parking lot will be flooded with employees who have just clocked out and are getting ready to speed home. In about ten minutes, anyone could accidentally (or purposely) become a little voyeur to the activities going down in the future CEO’s luxury car. 

Your back is pressed against his chest. More often than not, you find yourself naked while he’s practically still dressed, and it’s the same thing that’s happening right now. The buttons on his shirt are digging into your back, but you can’t find it in you to complain. Instead, you focus on gripping the wrist of the hand that’s in between your thighs. The sleeves of his button down shirt are rolled up, and if you take your tiny fingers just a bit higher, you can feel the veins running down his arm. 

“Tell me what you want, baby.” The baritone of his voice is smooth, calm, collected — in control. Because you can make any request in the world, and Shouto will fulfill it for you, but that does not mean that you are the one who makes the final decisions. At the end of the day, everything you have, everything that is given to you, is because of him, because of the decisions he makes for you.

His eagerness to gift you the world thinly veils the true depth of your submission to him. A subconscious part of you is well aware of the power imbalance in this relationship, but if all has been well these past two years, then surely it’ll only be smooth sailing from here?

You lean back, leaning into his warmth, breathing deeply to inhale the scent of his spicy cologne that costs more than your textbooks (that he bought for you). 

“D-daddy.” You moan out, trying to coax him deeper in your tight little cunt, as if his fingers aren’t already as deep as they can go, spreading out your hole to prep you for what he knows you truly crave. 

“You’ve got to speak up, love. I can’t give you anything if you don’t tell me what to give you.” His breath is warm against your ear, and it’s so hot in the car. So, so hot. You wonder if it’s just you feeling the heat, though. Shouto seems as collected as ever, not the least bit uncomfortable at all. 

“Mmm — w-want you.” You wriggle a bit in his lap, but his free hand grips your side and squeezes you with a firm, nonverbal command to stop moving. You do, immediately. Because that’s what you always do: follow his command. 

“I know you do.” He coos, finally moving his fingers. It’s agonizingly slow, too slow. The car is silent save for your little pants and the obscene wet sounds that come as a result of his fingers thrusting in your wet cunt. 

“Faster, daddy.” You whine out, looking up at him. The sun is setting, and despite the tint of the windows, the orange glow from the sun still shines against his smooth skin, casting his face into something that’s half sunset/half shadow. It’s a good look; a sharp contrast that matches his hair. Seeing your blatant admiration of him only spurs him to give in and go faster. He had planned on drawing this out for as long as he possibly could. He had originally wanted to coax you into as many orgasms ‘til you were nothing but a fucked out little mess, too worn out to pay attention or even care when he finishes your little session with you plugged up with his cum. 

The lives of children born into the Todoroki family are more cursed than it is blessed, and Shouto had, a very long time ago, made a vow that he would never continue the bloodline. He would have no children, which would be easy because he planned on never having a lover.

And then he met you, started providing for you, realized how much he enjoyed providing, and realized even more that the only way to strengthen this transactional relationship is by forcing your hand. He likes to think that you would stay with him willingly, but there are some chances that he’s just not willing to take; there are some extremes that he’s all too entirely happy to go far to, though. 

Your sweet moans mix in well with the lewd sounds of your pussy getting thoroughly fingerfucked. His fingers are so much longer than yours, can reach spots inside of you that you can’t quite reach yourself. He’s efficient with anything and everything he does, and you’re not surprised when he doesn’t slow his pace. The consistent strokes of his fingers, your lowered inhibitions when around Shouto, and the look on his face (equal parts concentration and adoration) all help in making you cum all over his hand. 

“Good girl.” Shouto whispers, removing his fingers and holding his hand up. The sunlight beaming through makes his digits glisten even more, and you’re enraptured as you watch him bring his fingers to his lips to suck your essence off of them. Piercing heterochromatic eyes never leave yours as he sucks on them, and you have to turn away from embarrassment. How can he keep such a straight face when literally licking your cum off his fingers? 

“Don’t turn away from me.” His hand — still wet — grips your chin and forces you to look at him again. “I don’t like it when you shy away from me.” 

You nod meekly, and Shouto sighs. 

“You shouldn’t be shy around me. I don’t like making you feel uncomfortable, you know that, don’t you?” 

You nod again, a subtle, barely there move. He’s not impressed. 

“Answer me properly.” There’s a hard edge to his tone, and you sit up a little straighter. Shouto would never lay a hand on you with the intent to physically harm you, but he’s not above roughing you up during sex. You’ve heard him get this way before, and the imprint of his fingertips and the purple hickeys littering your poor body took three days to fade properly. 

“I’m sorry, daddy.” You say with a pout, trying to conjure up any sort of leniency he can spare. Judging by his facial expression and the wavering look in his eyes, he’s already softening up. You just have to make it up to him now to have his complete forgiveness.

Maneuvering in the limited space the driver’s seat gives is no easy task, but you manage to shift positions to where you’re straddling his lap, finally facing him properly. He’s leaned back, watching you with a hungry glint in his eyes that makes you feel like the most wanted girl in all of Japan. A surge of heat flows through your body, from the tips of your ears to your cheeks and all the way down to between your thighs. If you were in a different position, you could clench them together, try to rub your thighs in an attempt to ease the need for friction. 

Your fingers make quick work of his belt and his zipper, pulling down on both the waistband of his slacks and his briefs to finally free his cock. He’s already hard, and you admire the way your hand can’t even wrap fully around him. The tip is flushed red, pearly beads of precum already present. 

This is the part where you look up at him, almost as if you’re unsure about what to do. You don’t know what it does to him, to see you sitting on his lap with his cock looking outrageously large in your tiny hands. He can see your pretty pussy practically dripping all over his slacks. Now’s not the time for you to be playing the role of an innocent, unsure little girl, but then it hits him: you’re asking him for permission. He almost lets out a bark of laughter. 

“You’ve already taken it upon yourself to tear into my pants and make a grab for my cock. Surely you don’t expect me to beg to fuck your little hole now, do you?” He has a cold smile on his face as he brings you closer to him. “I thought this was my apology. Don’t tell me you’re going to make me do all the work?”

“O-of course not!” You look startled at the suggestion, eyes going big and round. He looks at you expectantly, as if telling you to do something. 

It always burns when you first take him. It doesn’t matter how many times he makes you cums, doesn’t matter how long he spends stretching you out on his fingers. By now, your pussy should have memorized the feel of his dick, should have been moulded to fit him and only him. And while there’s a tiny flash of pain and discomfort for you (which Shouto hates), it’s hard not to be in love with the feel of just how tight you are. 

The stinging pain is brief, though, and is easily replaced by one of satisfaction from being stuffed by the prettiest, fattest cock you’ve ever taken in your life. 

You moan, rocking your hips back and forth. Maybe this was originally supposed to be an apology to him, but it feels more like you’re using him as your own personal toy, and Shouto really couldn’t care less. After all, if it brings you pleasure, it brings him pleasure. 

“Are you enjoying yourself, baby? What would happen if I never met you, hmm? Are you willing to spread those pretty legs of yours for any man?” He says the last sentence with a tone sharper than usual. You shake your head as you continue to rut against him, chasing after your own high because you might not be a simpleminded slut for anyone, but you are nothing more than a cockslut when it comes to Shouto. 

“Ah — fuck, fuck, fuck!” You moan out, falling against his chest, burying your face into the space between his shoulder and neck. “D-daddy, fuck!”

He holds you close to him as you cum, not even minding the mess you’ve made of his work pants. “Daddy’s got you.” He coos, his hand finding the back of your neck and squeezing you there, gently. “You must be tired now…”

You’re still too fucked out to really comprehend what’s exactly going on ‘til it’s happening, but even with your slow reaction times, you still manage to let out a slutty moan as you feel Shouto thrusting up into you. It must be uncomfortable, you think. This position doesn’t make it exactly easy for him to chase after his own pleasure, but then you remember that Shouto Todoroki doesn’t back down or break down when it comes to challenges.

He perseveres. 

You’re like a rag doll, like a personal little fucktoy, made for him to use (and maybe even break) as he pleases. Every thrust is sharp and intense, and his teeth are clenched as he continues to use you, enjoying the warmth of your tight walls and admiring the ring of white that coats and clings to his dick every time he pulls out. 

It doesn’t take him much longer to finally finish; he grabs you by your hips, raising you slightly before abruptly pushing you down on his cock, making sure that he’s nestled as deeply in you as he can be when he finally cums. He’s breathing a bit harder as he comes down, and then he’s grabbing you by your hair, making you stare at him. 

His cheeks are flushed, there’s some slight sweat building up on his forehead, his shirt is wrinkled. He’s never looked better. You’ve never felt better. 

Or, more accurately, never felt fuller. 

“Shouto, did you c…” You can’t even finish the sentence. Did you cum inside? Not like you have to; you know the answer. Some of it is dripping out of you. 

All he does is give you that small smile, the one that he rarely lets anyone see, and starts up the car. 

If he doesn’t want to talk now, there’s no way you can get him to answer properly. You try to remove yourself from his lap and make your ungraceful, disgusting journey to the passenger seat, but Shouto places a firm hand on your waist, forcing you back down.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Shouto, you can’t possibly drive while I’m sitting here on your lap.”

“I bought a Tesla for a reason.” 

Right. Because everything Shouto does has a reason for it.

You think about this on the drive back to his penthouse, a little bit of fear building up in your lower belly. Shouto does everything for a reason, and what’s the reason for any man cumming inside?

[catcze]

Reblogs are greatly appreciated !!

[ ###… ] modern AU, rockstar Wriothesley, gn reader, est. relationship, a lil bit of hurt/comfort, fluff, long-distance pining, lovesick & homesick wrio, kinda cheesy which is kind of on brand for me lol

By the time Wriothesley manages to get back to his hotel room and check his phone, he's pretty sure you're asleep. He hopes you are, knowing how late it must be on your end.

It's no surprise that there are several messages waiting for him— each day you've been apart, you give him something sweet to read in the evenings after a busy day of promos or after a hectic show. Something to make the distance between you seem a little less vast, to let him know that you're still thinking about him.

Even on days where he's dead tired, he'll always read them. Always let you know that he thinks of you, too.

What does surprise him is the newest text, sent at just over twenty minutes ago. Wriothesley frowns as he wonders why you're still up, and his heart only drops more when he scrolls through the messages and reads the latest thing you sent.

I miss you. I really, really miss you.

Before he can even hope that he's not bothering you, his finger near slams on the call button. You answer on the second ring, voice lacking the raspiness of a roused sleep. It makes him sigh with relief.

"Wrio?" you ask, surprised. "Are you okay? What's up?"

"I should be asking you that." Wriothesley sits heavily on the plush bed, flopping back against the pillows with all the grace of a man who just gave a two-hour performance.

As luxurious as the king-sized bed is, with its soft sheets and myriad of immaculately fluffed pillows, he can't help but yearn for the warm familiarity of your own bed and your well-loved blankets.

"Why're you still up, honey? Don't you have breakfast with your friends tomorrow?"

"...can't sleep," you murmur after a beat, voice so quiet. He hears sheets rustling, then silence again. You hesitate. "I... it might sound selfish but I miss you being here with me. It sucks that the bed feels so empty without you."

And oh, if he could, Wriothesley would crawl through the phone right this very second and wrap you in his arms— would crush you to his chest and hold you tight as he listens to your breath taper off into sleep. Would keep you against him, wrapped up in his love and adoration, until you practically have to beat him off of you with a stick.

But he can't and it's killing him.

"It's not selfish. I miss you too," he says, voice longing. "I want to go home to you so bad, sweetheart, you have no idea. Wish I could've packed you up in my bag and smuggled you here with me." He has to fight sleepy giggles at the thought.

"Speaking of— you better be prepared for a crapload of gifts when I get back. I've got a whole suitcase of stuff I thought you'd like."

You gasp, and even sounding a little crackly from the speakers, his heart does a flip. "A whole suitcase?! I wouldn't even know where to put all that!"

"We'll find space. 'm pretty sure there's some stuff we can jigsaw around." Wriothesley tries to keep the tiredness from his voice, tries to fight back the yawn. It's been so long since you've called, what with timezones and schedules getting in the way, and he wants to talk to you longer— ask how your day's been, what your plans are for the rest of the week, if there were any places you want to visit when he gets home. This call is much too short for all the things he wants to say, for all the hours he wants to spend listening to you talk.

But try as he might, you can tell he's close to knocking out without even having to lay an eye on him.

"You should sleep," you tell him, voice soothing him like a balm. "You're probably tired after your show. I saw a few videos, you know— you were so cool. I'm proud of you, Wrio."

He hums, basking in your praise. His eyelids are already growing heavy, the soft siren's song of sleep growing harder to resist. If he closes his eyes, maybe he can imagine that you're just down the hall, busy with something. You'll come in any second now, crawl into bed and slip into his arms, and everything would be right with the world.

"Thank you for... for calling. For checking up on me just because of a text." You giggle at that last bit, and (as it always seems to do) his heart flips. "I love you lots."

"Mm, no need to thank me. Just gimme lots of kisses when I get home." His tongue is growing heavier, sleep more inviting. But he manages to get one last thing out— "I love you lots, too."

Right before Wriothesley lets himself drop, you press a loud, exaggerated kiss to the receiver of your phone. He smiles.

That's how you both fall asleep: with both phones still on the line, even breaths and quiet snores comforting the other into a restful slumber.

[fatale-distraction]

BG3 Companions Social Media Headcanons Part 1

I was bored at work and couldn’t stop. 🤣 I’ll make another post with Halsin, Minthara, Jaheira, Minsc, and some NPCs!

~~~

Astarion - Pre-Tav, Astarion's social media is mostly thirst-traps for some kind of nefarious, Cazador-related money-making plot. They barely scoot past the TOS on lewd content. Very little real personal content, anything that isn't a thirst trap is heavily doctored lifestyle content to make it seem like he's living a much more luxurious life than he actually is.

After meeting Tav and getting rid of Cazador, he deletes all of his old accounts and opens up new ones. They're not exactly private, but he's much more careful about who he follows and who can follow him back. The posts become much more genuine. Still a lot of selfies, but they're sexy in the way of a guy just finally living his truth and being comfortable in his own skin. There's more shots of his daily life; waking up with his partner's obnoxious pets strewn across the bed, morning coffee and his current favorite book, new outfits that make him feel more himself. Tav features heavily in most of his posts, and there are probably as many pictures of them as there are of himself.

Karlach - chaos. No rhyme or reason. Lots of parkour and Jack-ass parodies. Constant flood of pictures of her stuffed animal collection. Stupid filters abound. There's several videos of her just flexing. Lumberjack videos. Seven hundred pictures of Tav, tons of selfies together. Videos of her literally sobbing over some cute stuffy she found or a dog she got to pet. "How many times can I say the fuck word before I get suspended." Memes. Memes everywhere.

Lae'zel - She follows three accounts and never posts anything, but somehow she's constantly scrolling through. What does she even do? Her profile picture is still the default. She doesn't have any profile information filled out. It just says "No." Her screen name is just Lae_zel. Every single item in her favorites is a cat video. She has One photo and its a gym selfie. All of her comments seem really mean at first, but they're all weirdly supportive things along the lines of "your teeth are sharp and your visage terrifying".

Shadowheart - total E-girl influencer vibe. Everything is #nofilter. She doesn't need filters. She's god's most perfect princess. You can't even be mad because it's not vanity its just how she Is. Ends everything with Prayer-hands-emoji hashtag Shar'sblessings or Selune'sblessings depending on where she is in that journey. Hairstyle and makeup tutorials and she makes it look so damn easy. "Dye my hair and cut my bangs with me." "Get ready with me" videos nearly every day. Every picture has a comment from Astarion that just says "oh fuck off" because even he can never hope to be as perfect as she is. Or at least that's what her forty-five thousand followers think.

Wyll - The official Blade of the Frontier social media account(s). Fencing videos and promos. "How to polish your horns for newbies" video that's been taken down twenty-seven times for lewd content even though it's literally for polishing actual horns. Accidental thirst traps because damn. Lots of disability advocacy, especially for visual impairments. Weekly Demon/Devil PSAs. Constantly featured in Karlach's vids and vice-versa. Buddy selfies. Once in a while a pic of him with his dad. Pics with Tav are rare, but when he does post them they're the sweetest pictures and he gushes about them for paragraphs. It's a little gross how gushy they are. Astarion comments with vomit emojis and Wyll just replies with an angry face emoji. The purest content. He's so wholesome. Not a swear to be seen. Lots of gentle hype videos. "You've got this. You can do this. I believe in you."

Gale - oh my god he has the most pretentious social media accounts. He's worse than Astarion. "Well, actually" videos with multiple parts because they're too long. Tea and bookshelves. Tara. So many pics of Tara. Tara napping on a book. Tara swatting a fly. Tara in the window. Tara on the kitchen counter. Tara laying in the sun. Tara doing nothing. He has one of those fancy cat terrarium backpacks. Magic tutorials. Mystra simp. Surprisingly few selfies but the ones he has are IMMACULATE. Pretentious book reviews. His only saving grace is that he is HILARIOUS. He's the only one with a reasonable about of pics with Tav as opposed to almost none or way too many, but the captions are always really sweet.

~~~

Part 2 here!

Part 3 here!

Part 4

[thecrowsart]

people: omg we finally get to see hyper! me: omg we finally get to see more angles of kusuriuri's clothes! observations and (A LOT OF) ranting under the cut:

1.)

The inside sleeve design has been revealed! It's pretty similar to the outside design but instead of that four-petal design, it's a gold circle. Also, it looks like the large eye is shared by both sides, but based on how the sleeve looks in other images, it must be really really big..... I guess they can get away with it lol. Like, if you laid out the sleeve fabric, I think it would look like this:

2.)

THE BACK OF HIS OBI. What the hell kinda knot is this actually... like, does anyone here know about obimusubi because I'm not very good at knots but if it comes down to it I will learn how this works. I already thought this based on the promo art but it seems like his obi fabric is double-sided, with purple on one side and the check pattern on the other, with a red trim. That lighter salmon color in the knot seems to be a different fabric, maybe an obiage? It's not tucked into the front so I'm not sure if that's the right term, but in any case it's some kind of extra fabric. If the purple and check are really one piece of fabric, then the knot is like... a hitch? It's some kind of one-loop bow, and it's quite bulky so he might have an obimakura in there. Whatever it is, it's considerably more elaborate than OG Kusuriuri's obi, which was that red brocade just tied into a large crooked bow. Who is helping movie Kusuriuri get dressed in the morning? (I'm sure he can do it himself and I commend him for the dedication to the aesthetic lol).

3.)

His mirror is now kept looped around this thick cord that kind of comes out of nowhere and disappears into his obi. First of all, how is the mirror staying up like that since the string is only looped once. Second, the thick white cord looks the same as the one that comes out of the left side of his obi and loops around his back, but I'm not sure how they would connect. Logically, they probably are the same cord and it goes through his obimusubi somehow. 4.)

This one was actually noticeable in the very first trailer as you can tell, since the second screenshot is from that trailer, but I somehow never noticed it until now. Kusuriuri has neck markings now! In a different frame I caught a glimpse of the part that goes into his collar, it looks like a circle, though it's not visible in either of these screenshots. But from the first screenshot and some other frames I saw, it looks somewhat off-center. I wasn't sure if it was just a weird frame at first, but it looks consistent the few other times (time?) that part of his neck is visible. It looks like the strip of red that leads down to the circle curves off to the left rather than going straight down the center. I didn't realize this before but his neck is actually concealed in most of the promo images.

5.)

A better look at the back of his socks, plus two things that were visible this whole time but I didn't notice: first, his black leggings have this folded layer you can probably see on top. I'm not sure how to describe it and I don't know exactly how it works. It seems weird to me that he would have three sock layers (outer black, inner black, white), so I think the two black layers are probably still part of the same sock. I'm just not sure exactly what's up with it. Secondly, his geta have metal corners on the teeth! I don't think I've seen that on real geta, so maybe it's just a random detail, but if it's a thing on some real geta, I wonder if it's to keep the wood from wearing away there. Also another think I'm just noticing, there's a reinforcing wedge of wood under the front part of his geta that overhand the front tooth. You can see it a little in the second image.

Overall, that's all the new design stuff I noticed. Since I just drew him twice and spent like all day thinking about this, I've realized his design is way more elaborate than the original one. He has a bunch of little doodads, like the ties around his ankle or that decorative tie that comes out of his ohashori:

which still bothers me because I've never seen the back of it. Where are those strings going. And how is it secured in the first place? is it tied or pinned underneath his ohashori, like on the tie under the obi (not sure if there's a name for it)? What is it? Why does he have this here?

These details as well as things like the corners and wedge on his geta, the red trim on the obi and the check pattern, and his elaborate eye make up are all design elements that could never really have worked for a tv show. It's impressive to me even that OG Kusuriuri had that hand drawn brocade texture and the designs on his kimono that he did. It's the type of thing animators usually avoid, lol.

I like the movie design visually, but my god is it a pain in the ass to draw. Due to the aforementioned details of course and the wider variety of colors. Oh yeah, my last (for real) observation is that this Kusuriuri looks a lot less human than our OG friend. His skin is entirely whitish-grey, and he has that white/purple and red hair, and now he has markings on his neck instead of just on his face. (Unrelated but I feel like they made his lip tattoo less prominent and it makes me sad because it's one of my favorite things about Kusuriuri's design). But Hyper, from that very small glimpse we caught of him, looks more mundane than the original. I think it's the combination of his black hair and his markings being red instead of gold. I wonder what the rest of him will look like.... It was interesting to me that his face is drawn differently from Kusuriuri. In the TV anime, they have the same face shape and features, but their hair and coloring is different. And OG Hyper had a slightly different version of Kusuriuri's clothes. We can't see this new Hyper's clothes, but his face is more square looking. He looks like a different person... interesting lore implications.

Okay, I really must stop there.

[justmenoworries]

some unorganized thoughts about Vox and Valentino Hazbin Hotel

Spoilers For Hazbin Hotel episode 2

TW: Discussions and depictions of abusive relationships, sexual assault, extortion and financial abuse

So going by the promo material shown to us, a lot of fans seem to think that Vivzie has changed course on VoxVal and that it's going to be a much more healthy relationship than previously implied.

Not gonna lie, that disappoints me.

Because depicting an abusive romantic relationship with an imperfect and unexpected victim would have been extremely interesting. We already know Valentino is a piece of shit who doesn't care about anything but himself and profit.

The "Addict" music video and the prequel comic "Dirty Healings" make that very clear.

Valentino regularly assaults Angel, keeps Angel's earnings for himself and tries to keep Angel in the studio as long as possible, even getting angry when Angel goes out by himself. Even if it's to get money for Val.

And for all of his faults, it's very easy for the viewer to feel sympathy for Angel. Angel is a likable character who's been shown to have a much kinder side to him via his friendship with Cherry and him trying to comfort Charlie in the pilot after her pitch for the Happy Hotel flops.

Vox though?

Vox is slated to be a main antagonist. He's a fellow Overlord of Hell. Someone for whom it'd be much harder to believe that he'd let anyone treat him like Valentino treats Angel.

And yet...

To be fair, this artwork is from the in-character Instagram accounts, which were already confirmed as non-canonical. (The accounts themselves are sadly archived now due to some really messed up stuff that happened with the Octavia and Stolas accounts.)

Still, depicting Vox as one of Valentino's victims would have been pretty intriguing. It shows that this kind of thing can happen to anyone, no matter the gender or financial or social situation. It would also acknowledge that just because someone is a victim of abuse doesn't mean they're pure, innocent or weak. And that no matter the circumstances, no one deserves to be treated like Valentino treats Vox and Angel.

I'm honestly hoping that this aspect of the VoxVal relationship isn't entirely gone and I kinda think it isn't.

In episode 2 we see right off the bat that Vox doesn't really like Valentino. And it's easy to see why.

Valentino is a spoiled angry manchild with no self control. He needs Velvette and Vox to reign him in, otherwise he's going to do stupid shit like waltz up to the princess of Hell's doorstep with a gun in hand. Because he can't handle the idea that one of his employees is living somewhere he didn't approve.

If Vox hadn't stopped him and talked him out of it, Val would have gotten the VVVs into some serious shit. His violent streaks can also not be talked down completely, they need to be satisfied somehow. Vox needs to offer Val the lowest earners to shoot at and work out his aggression on or Val's going to continue to go on a rampage and most likely tear apart more of Velvette's models.

Speaking frankly, Valentino seems way more trouble than he's worth. Vox and Velvette appear to be doing all the work in their shared empire while Val just throws tantrums and forces them to go out of their way to calm him down.

So if that's the case, why do the other Vs puts up with Val?

In Alastor's and Vox' duet in episode 2, Alastor has this very interesting thing to say about Vox and his relationship to Valentino and Velvette:

"Is Vox as strong as he purports? Or is it based on his support? He'd be powerless without the other Vs."

What's also interesting is Val's and Velvette's reaction to it.

They're smiling. Like they agree.

Alastor also reveals that Vox was trying to get Alastor to join the Vs. Alastor declined.

Vox of course tries to deny all of that, but in the process gets so worked up he short-circuits himself and causes a city-wide blackout.

If Alastor is telling the truth here (and we don't really have a reason to believe he isn't), that puts everything in a whole new light.

Vox is he brains of the operation but is he also the only thing that's keeping it together? Val and Velvette don't really get along (Velvette insults Val behind his back, Val rips apart her models when he's angry) and both don't seem to respect Vox that much. Velvette lets him deal with Val's bad moods, Val doesn't hesitate to throw stuff at Vox when he's pissed (the fact that Vox nonchalantly dodges the glass Valentino throws at him implies this is not the first time). They both have a look of disdain on their faces when Vox hugs them during "Status Quo".

So why does Vox go to all this trouble to keep these two assholes in line if he doesn't really care for them and they in turn have no love for him?

Maybe for business reasons, but Vox already has a giant multi-media empire, right? So again, what does he need the other Vs for?

I think it has to do with Vox's need to be admired and liked and at the top.

See, another thing this episode tells us about Vox is that he's deeply, deeply, insecure.

He has a dozen different programs where he changes his outfits, approach and demeanor to cater to every single sinner possible, he throws out new business ideas on the fly so he'll always be the newest trend everyone follows. If something (or someone) comes up that cracks his cool confident businessman facade even a little he can't handle it and literally breaks down.

Really, Alastor puts it best:

"Is Vox insecure? Pursuing allure? Between this fad and that, is nothing working? Every day he's got a new format."

So Vox doesn't just want to be powerful and popular, he wants to be the most powerful and the most popular and his shows alone aren't going to cut it for that.

That's why he needs Velvette and Valentino. They provide the content that draws the viewers Vox so desperately craves. Without them he'd be all on his own, might lose large chunks of his viewership. And that's something I think Vox is deeply afraid of.

So no matter how little he might actually like them, regardless how shitty Valentino treats him, Vox needs these two. In his view at least, he can't afford to lose them.

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy Monday Wonderful fandom. Are you still breathing after that little kiss teaser? Cause I was gonna pass straight out when I saw it haha We are a little over 3 weeks away from S6 premiere. Can you believe it? I need it to be Wednesday already for that trailer. Feels like we've been in this hiatus for years LOL But let's get back to the rewatch eh? Ahhhh the Valentines episode. So much goodness inside this one. From start to finish this ep is glorious. I knew from the promo alone was gonna be fantastic. The ep name is pretty apt. Off we go.

5x16 Exposure

We hit the ground running in this one. Just a glorious shot of them sleeping in Lucy’s bed. The many ways I love this. Clearly he’s living there part time at this point. Staying over more often than not. If the man has a key i’m sure he has a drawer at her place as well. No way he doesn't at this point. My guess is Kojo having lots of sleepovers at Auntie Genny's with the kids too.

I love how peaceful they look in this shot. His body pointed towards her's in slumber. His head is damn near on her pillow. So close to one another. That gravitational pull just innate. Even when Tim is sleeping he is drawn to her. Just the little things that make me squee so very much. The domesticity of this moment has me reeling. As does this entire season for them really.

Unfortunately their peaceful co-habitation is interrupted by Lucy’s phone going off. Tim groans sleepily. Asking who it is? Lucy says she doesn’t know as she goes to answer it. It sounds like a drunk dial. Lucy hops out of bed immediately. Tim reaching out to her side of the bed is so cute all sleepy. I vote for more sleepy Tim. Asking half awake if it was wrong number?

He watches Lucy moving in a panic and the sleep drops from him. Asking her what’s happening? Lucy informs him It was a distress call from a UC she trained with. We see Tim go from sleepy to fierce protector mode quickly. Hopping out of bed ready to back her play. He doesn’t even know what’s going on but he’s there for her. My damn heart. No hesitation whatsoever to back his girl up.

It’s written all over Lucy’s face how much she love this. Her appreciation and love for this man so apparent as he scrambles to join her. She didn’t ask him to and that’s what she’s loving here. He was coming whether she asked for it or not. He’ll always have her back. No matter the scenario. Also never be over the jammies and sharing a bed. I wanna squee into my pillow haha

Something about Lucy driving Tim’s truck that is doing things to me. Like another version of wearing his clothes. I love it sfm. Tim waiting in the backseat with his gun at the ready. Phew lord started off this ep strong af. Lucy jumps right into character. God she’s good at this. She gets Noah out of trouble fairly quickly cause she’s a Queen. Lucy gives Tim the all clear to get out of the truck. Noah walks up and introduces himself to Tim.

Mentioning it was impressive she got backup this fast. Lucy proudly announcing it helped he was sleeping in her bed. Heh. Yeah he was. Noah then puts it together saying he’s THAT Bradford. So many questions stem from this statement I have to say. Clearly Lucy spoke about Tim ad nauseam at UC school. Not only that but the way she spoke about Tim Noah doesn’t seem shocked they’re together now. She clearly wasn’t with Tim during UC school so this is so damn fascinating to me.

I wanna know what she told Noah LOL As does Tim. Saying he’s curious to know what that means… Getting a small taste of some jealous Tim here I don’t hate it. I adore Lucy’s full bodied ‘No!’ in reply to Tim wanting to know more. Gotta love how expressive Melissa is. From her face to her body mannerisms. Why she’s always been the perfect Lucy. Just embodying her so well. Also am I crazy to think that’s Tim’s flannel? Cause looks a little big on Lucy. A girl can dream right? It’s possible...probably isn't but I want it to be LOL

Lucy asks him what they just recused him from? He says ‘The Army of Freedom.’ It’s a militia group born in Victorville. Said his OP started about a month ago. Unfortunately hasn’t been able to breach their inner circle yet. Tim asks if he pushed little too hard tonight? Noah replies maybe…but he had to roll the dice. They’re about to move something big. He’s going to need a local assist.

Tim says he can set up at their station. We then get to see a little more jealous Tim come into play. I don’t hate it everyone. He’s also a little grumpy from the lack of sleep. Ha Not loving the 'hot pants' nickname clearly. Tim then makes the most obvious and dramatic eye roll at end. Clearly not amused by this inside joke of their’s in the least ha It’s ok love, you’re the only hot pants she wants. LOL

Jealously thy name is Tim Bradford in this scene though. He runs the gambit for emotions at the end here. He goes from confused in the cutest way about the nick name, then a little intrigued, but we end with his jealous dramatic eye roll haha I love this man so much. He is tired and over this rescue now. Goodness what a great cold open for them. Whenever we get the cold open usually gonna be a damn good ep.

I’ll never be over how excited they both get when they find each other in the station in this season. Way she speed walks up to him. It’s so cute. Lucy hears the end of Tim’s conversation. All she hears is ‘You’re kidding.’ Lucy asking kidding about what? Tim’s clipped answer throws her off for a moment. But she doesn’t let it deter her too much. Touching his arm sweetly. Saying he left so early. That she had a whole Valentine breakfast planned for them. Gah I love that so much I can’t even stand it.

Of course she did. Damnit Tim why did you leave so early? Tim telling her she was up late he wanted to let her sleep in. Which is very sweet actually. Lucy apologizes but says it was nice to catch up with Noah. Lucy asking ‘We didn’t keep you up did we?’ Tim continues his grumpy short replies. Lucy is picking up on all of your being grumpy vibes. Did you think she wasn’t going notice you beautiful fool?

Love of your damn life knows you better than you know yourself. We get a SECOND sweet arm touch. *squee* Clearly something off with him. So Lucy approaches it with another soft touch to start. Knowing it’ll get his attention. Then sweetly asks if he’s ok? He lies and says he’s fine. Her face saying it all. Knowing he’s lying to her she’s just not sure why… Believe or not this is growth for Tim. His terrible lying showing how much she’s opened him up. He was as closed off as possible when they met. Now he's out here expressing feelings even if he's trying hard not to.

Grey has Tim ride with Lucy and Noah today. Normally they’d be excited to ride together but you can feel the tension above. Mostly from Tim. He is an open book about how he feels about this today. Lucy is more concerned than she is tense in this scene. Wade wants Metro on scene ASAP for this situation. If he’s riding with Lucy and Noah that’ll happen. They’re looking for a random van that has explosive chemicals in it. It was meant for a meth lab Noah’s team took down. Now it’s floating around the city and needs to be found before it does damage.

Another great shot of their day starting in the shop. Reminding me of 5x08 opening sequence. Lucy can see Tim is acting off still. Being Lucy she can’t let that stand. Having no idea it’s her that’s put him in this foul mood. Being the sunshine human she is tries to get him to engage with some UC school stories. I LOVE her putting her hand on the back of his chair. Crossing that invisible line of theirs that existed for years in the shop.

Getting as close to him as possible without actually touching. When Lucy sees the story isn’t working she makes a joke. Then touches his shoulder. Gah it’s so cute. She wants to get him through whatever this is by just loving on him. Trying to get him to smile. Sadly Tim doesn’t respond like she wants. Thought she was going to get the normal sassy reply back from him and nada. Lucy withdraws her hand confused but determined to figure him out.

Lucy brings up Noah’s GF asking if he’s contacted her yet? He says no they broke up. Well that she broke up with him. Noah bringing up the elephant in the room that plagues them the rest of this season. Being a UC and being in a functioning relationship. I do adore Lucy being confident af in front of Noah about it. About them. Saying it depends on the couple.

Basically saying I’m sorry yours didn’t work out but mine will. She is all in and it shows in so many of her comments and decisions. I truly love it so very much. Noah makes a comment that has Tim shifting in his seat. Even turning the grumpy off for a moment. Looking over at Lucy when Noah tells her be a shame if she didn’t take the plunge.

So much being said in the looks above. The ever present issue they struggle to talk about is here. Rears its ugly head for first time since they got together. Gotta love Eric and Melissa’s chemistry especially in moments like this. Communicating so much without saying a damn word. Gah we’re lucky to have them.

This next part is glorious for so many reasons. Angela, Harper, Nolan, Celina and Aaron are all gossiping on an open channel. Tim interrupts because well it’s Tim. He’s already grumpy today so this is last thing he wants to listen to. Angela calling him out for being so damn surly. Because she wouldn’t be his best friend if she didn’t. Saying he should be basking in the glow of new love.

Look at Lucy when Angela says this. Heart eyes for days for that man sitting next to her. As transparent as glass. Celina giving into the continuous gossip asking what they’re doing tonight? I love Lucy snatching the radio out of his hand. Even mad as hell at her he allows it because it’s wifey. Nothing he wouldn’t do for that woman angry or not. Lucy projecting what Tim is thinking. Saying they’re not talking about this on an open channel.

Look at how he has rubbed off on her I love it sfm. Also something about her jumping in and defending his side. *sigh* Gah getting me all in the feels. Also look at the way Lucy is looking at him when she does chastise the group. So in love with that man. Heart eyes nation in this shop. We can also see Tim fighting a proud smile wanting to stay mad. When he’s so impressed with her for doing that. Let’s not discount Noah being chill af in the back. None of this affecting him whatsoever LMAO

Lucy can’t take it any longer and confronts Tim about it. We can see her studying his body language. Noticing how tense he is. He is broadcasting his feelings like a radio station. She knows something is amiss. Deep in her soul she knows something is off with her person. Love the way she is studying him then reaches out with a soft touch. Knowing it’ll get his attention and be an ice breaker into her asking. Her whole demeanor screaming 'Timothy my love what is going on?'

Lucy being as direct but soft as she can in her delivery. Telling him ‘Out with it.’ Tim ridiculous answer of ‘What?’ Like she hasn’t noticed him stewing all damn morning. You’re full of a lot of shit Timothy haha The disbelief on her face is so telling. Asking him what’s wrong with him today? He continues to be short with her. Lucy calling him the hell out on it. In a way only she can.

Noting he hasn’t even called her hot pants once. If Tim wasn’t being such a grumpus he would’ve been all over that. She is so right and knows him so damn well. Then she asks if it’s Noah? Is he jealous? Tim immediately saying ‘No.’ I mean it was a little last night…but it’s definitely not that now. It’s not helping but not the main problem here either.

Tim FINALLY fesses up it’s her he’s mad with. Lucy is taken back but it becomes clear when he brings up Metro. Lucy tries to deny it and Tim gives that disapproving stare he’s so good at. Lucy giving in and saying he was SO miserable riding the desk. That she had to do something for him. Tim then shoots back the optics of it aren’t great for him. Lucy shutting this down asking if it’s fragile male ego thing? I mean it is a little bit. It's not the whole reason IMO (I'll touch on that more later) but it is part of it. Tim has grown leaps and bounds. Truly he has.

But he also still has to deep stubborn steak in him. One built on pride and earning everything he’s ever gotten. This is making him question if he deserves the position he now has. Negative grooves in his brain he still defaults back to. Now I know some may have hated his reaction to this. I won’t lie it wasn’t great. His reaction reminds me of myself pre-therapy. I would shut down and be one worded. Lash out if someone tried to get me to talk. My whole body would emulate frustration and annoyance. Just like he has been. I so relate to him reacting this way.

Once again not the best but the man is still human. Tim has earned everything in his career with hard work and his strong skill set. This was a blow to his ego 100 percent. He’s not admitting to this but it was. Lucy smells BS and is letting him know as much. I love how she holds steady and strong despite his boiling anger. Even making a joke Tim is just mad she solved it better than him LOL I mean she did…Lucy saying ‘We’ just wanted to help. Tim getting more ramped up hearing this. Lucy cracks me up stumbling on her words saying we? I meant Me. Ha smooth…

This scene in his office is *chef’s kiss* I remember being excited this was their first fight as a couple. Because it’s so healthy to be fighting from time to time. Something neither of them had in their previous relationships. This was an important fight for them to have. They come out the other side of it stronger because of it. This is good angst. Productive fighting. I’ll take that any day damn if it moves them forward as a couple. This most definitely did.

Lucy comes into his office ready to confront this problem head on. Their talk in the shop leaving too much left unsaid. Lucy is a lot like me and can't let sleeping dogs lie. She has to clear the air and confront things. I do love her patting herself on the back as she launches into why she did what she did for him. I mean she did spearhead a miracle for him. She just needs him to see WHY she did it.

His anger has clouded that all day and it's part of why she is here now. Tim barely looks up from his paperwork as she starts her explanation. Still so angry about this whole thing. Lucy starts out with saying she gets why he’s angry. He looks up at her finally. Lucy going on a mini rant about why she did what she did. That she did it masterfully (I mean she most definitely did) Kudos to her amazing brain.

Lucy finishes off saying despite all that she shouldn’t have done it behind his back. Tim being a sassy sass pot asks if that was an apology? My goodness Timothy. The salty sass. You can see there is still a lot of seething going on under the surface. Lucy immediately says yes. Tim not seeming less mad just replies ‘All right.’ Her apology feeling like it's made zero difference in his anger about what's happened. Also Lucy's 'Yes' doesn't seem whole hearted either because she's holding back and decides to let it rip instead.

We see this is not sitting right with her. So she backtracks and says ‘No!’ I love her for this. Could've taken his half hearted acceptance but she didn't. Knew it didn't feel right to her. She wouldn't be Lucy if she just let that happen either. Knowing things felt unresolved still and not being able to stand that. The whole purpose of her coming to him was the clear the air. Tim looks exasperated af with her reply. That famous he can't believe she just said that look. He's about to be taken to school and probably knows it.

Lucy launching into exactly why she is sorry but not sorry. I love this fireball of a woman. (So does Tim) That he never would’ve let her work her magic if he knew. She’s not wrong… Same goes for her. If Lucy had known he was taking that desk job she wouldn’t have allowed it. What makes these two dopes so perfect for one another. That she would’ve ended up transferring just to save him from himself. Which was what they were trying to avoid in the first place.

Lucy stands her ground and lets him know this worked out SO much better. I mean it really did. That if he can’t see that she’s sorry not sorry. This is where we see Tim turn the corner. What I love the most about this part is how she stood up so confidently. Strongly stood by her decision on what she did. Her sorry not sorry is perfect. Basically saying ‘I love you, you idiot and I don’t regret doing this for you.’

It’s not the apology that soothes Tim’s anger. No it’s her conviction in why she did this for him. Seeing that fire she has and he is feeling so lucky he gets to have her in his corner. Lucy is 100 percent unapologetically herself in this moment. Her standing up to him is one of the many reasons Tim fell for her in the first place. So naturally her ‘non’ apology is what gets it done. Not her I don’t really mean this but you’re mad at me one.

He loves that woman standing in front of him so much. It shows when she’s done. It’s why he’s smiling at the end of her ‘non’ apology. She is his rock, his compass and his sunshine lighting his path when he needs it. But mostly she is a guiding force in his life. Kicking him back onto the right path whether he realizes he needs it or not. Beautiful thing is she has his back. He’s so not used to this type of love and support. It's a throw back to 2x01 in a way with his reaction to it. How visceral and angry he was then and now. Once again doesn't see her protecting him and helping him as a positive thing. And just like in 2x01 he didn’t see it this way until she stood up. Smacked some sense into him. Let him know why she'd done it.

Doing it this time around because she loves him so much. Only wants the best for him. Let's not forget this man has been put second in all of his other relationships. His needs being put on the back burner to take care of those he loves. Had to suppress his emotions for years. When you let yourself start to feel after years of not it's a tidal wave that drowns you. It's overwhelming really. Luckily Tim has Lucy to drag him to dry land. So when he's taken care of he doesn’t know how to handle it. It's not something you just get used to in an instant. Just like in the beginning with Lucy when she would push him to open up. We got surly angry Tim but he eventually came around. This is no different. He isn’t used to be put first. His gut reaction was hurt and being defensive.

Not oh Lucy did this because she loves me. Because he probably in the back of his mind still doesn't feel worthy of that love still. And although he has grown. So very much. He still isn't used to having someone fiercely love and defend him the way Lucy does. That's why this scene was so important for her to back her decision. To make him see exactly why she did this. It’s why he’s smiling at the end of it. This beautiful, driven fireball is his and she’s in his corner. What’s hitting him is that realization. She put him first and put in a massive effort to do so. Not only for him but for them as a couple. He is so very lucky to have someone as wonderfully understanding as Lucy to love him through these types of moments.

I love how once the dust is settled they just morph back into them. How it should be. Fighting is meant to be cleansing. To confront the issue and then be done with it. Confrontation gets a bad rap. It’s meant to clear the air so both parties feel better after. Her cute. ‘So are we going to dinner or what?’ Haha They already missed her breakfast. She wants to do something with her man.

Tim couldn’t be cuter saying they are. But her outfit is missing a little something. Lucy being very confused by this. Saying 'What?' Then seeing the jewelry box in his hand and melting like butter. Tim could not be cuter handing it to her. Love struck as he gives her his gift. Telling her ‘Happy Valentines Day.’ The biggest grin on his handsome face. Lucy beaming right back at him. Her eyes screaming how much she loves this man.

She is so impressed with him. So impressed she’s shocked he picked this out LOL He knows his girl. Tim is offended asking her if it’s that shocking? Lucy soothing his ego saying ‘No.’ Letting him know he clearly has good taste. I mean he does. He is in love with her after all. He really did a good job. That is the perfect Lucy necklace so he nailed it. The man has noticed a trend is what she wears. Well done Timothy. Your girl is mighty impressed with your gift giving skills. How far you've come since your days with Rachel ha

It’s so intimate and sweet the way he puts it on her. Lucy is radiating joy as he does this. The way she looks at him while he puts it on and slides his hand down to adjust it. *heart clutch* She is revved up and wants to skip dinner now. More than ready to ‘Thank’ him for her gift. I love her being the one to suggest just skipping dinner and having her way with him instead. Tim saying 'No I'm hungry.' Lucy is feeling a little rejected like ‘Oh. Ok..’

Tim doesn’t let that feeling linger for long. Touching her back intimately mentioning she’s gonna need fuel for later. OMG. He just said that and I’m reeling. I rewound it I remember being so damn giddy. Basically saying she needs fuel to keep up so he can have his way with her. Tim Bradford talking about sex in his office. Not only that but they’re gonna have so many rounds he wants her fueled up. *fans self*

Lucy’s face is everything afterwards. She is blushing but also so ready for their night together. Man has some pent up tension to burn off but needs food first LOL Lucy is very ready to go to dinner now. Especially knowing what awaits her when they’re done hehe I can only imagine how antsy she was to get back to either his or her place following that dinner. I love how the writers constantly insinuate their sex life is spicy and active af. I adore it so much. I mean did we really expect anything less? Doesn’t make me love it any less though.

Anyone else just in shock we got all these goodies still? I keep saying feels like a fever dream because it does. In the best way possible. After last episode this was start to finish incredible.

~~~~

Side notes-non Chenford

Wesley accidentally hiring a beautiful woman to guard him is hilarious. A non pregnant Angela wouldn’t be amused. A very pregnant one is ready to wring his neck.

Celina’s murder case gets brought back up. This SL is so good. It was my turning point for her as a character I needed that to care and give her more depth.

I did love how all the couples started off rocky and ended up fine by the end was growing a little from it. I do love Nyla and James so much.

Thank you forever and always to those who like, comment( love dem comments) and reblog these. S5 been so fun to analyze thank you all for still being invested in these all these months later. See you all in 5x17 :)

[livfastdieyoung69]

It is currently 4:08 am and I can't get cody rhodes out of my mind😔✊️

Truly a struggle

Anyway reader x cody because love him

Maybe something with Brock again because he's always causing issues for some reason... maybe something with Brock saying some really messy shit abt reader during a promo and Cody going feral as he should and reader having to physically pull him back with a quick little it's fine😨😨 don't get injured again kinda thing something more fluffy after because cody can never catch a break😭

GUITLY CONSCIOUS

(Cody Rhodes x gn!reader)

“In the packed MVP Arena, here in Albany, New York and now on the road to Money in the Bank, we welcome you to Monday, Night, Raw!”

After the quick introduction, the fallout of Night of Champions begins, Seth Rollins beginning the night as well as a surprise visit from AJ Styles, and the Judgement Day. Ricochet wins his spot in the Money in the Bank match, Trish and Zoey have a quick segment, followed up by Indus Sheer and Jinder Mahal beating two locals. Imperium and Alpha Academy have a match, followed shortly by a Women’s Championship Match, Ronda and Shayna unfortunately winning and by disqualification Dolph Ziggler wins a match against JD McDonagh.

And finally, well into the night, Cody’s music hits. The crowd cheers just as loud as they always do for the man, even at the sight of no wrestling gear and a sling around his broken arm. Their cheers die down for a moment, before becoming even louder the second he starts talking, his promo skills shining bright and loud as he yells brave and rage-filled words against Brock.

“….if I am standing in a ring, I am standing there ready to fight you, Brock Lesnar!” The pitched screeching of Brock Lesnar’s theme song cut him off, followed by the surprise of the fans and even Cody himself. The Beast stepped out and into the arena, his own attire casual as well. This was nothing new. Sometimes, Brock would come out in tight-ass jeans and a cowboy hat for no good reason. But this time, he had a mic.

“Now..now, Cody, I don’t think that’s true. I don’t think any of that’s true. In fact, I think if we were to have another match, your little bitch would run right back out here and I’d have to break their arm too.” He spoke slowly, walking to the ring and making circles around it as he did so.

The crowd booed at the harsh words, especially the ones against Y/N. The boo’s didn’t last very long, as they once again rallied into cheers as Cody seemed to forget he had a mic and instead moved to yell at Brock over the ropes, giving the announcement table a front row seat to his anger.

Brock only laughed in his face at the threats, moving closer to the ring and continuing his harassment of words against Cody’s partner, forcing Cody to start clambering through the ropes, ready to attack. He never made it to Brock though, as Y/N came rushing out into the arena.

They quickly dived into the ring, rushing over to Cody, giving him a soft tug causing him to stumble back into the ring and right against Y/N’s chest. Cody attempted to pull away, still yelling over at Brock, but his lover held him tightly around his waist.

“Don’t you ever talk about Y/N! I’ll rip your tongue straight out, you son of a bitch, don’t you ever let their name leave your mouth!” Brock continued laughing back into the face of the man as his partner dragged him over to the other side of the ring, moving away from the announcers table and starting to walk up the ramp, making Cody try and force his way away from Y/N once again, but was once again unsuccessful. The pair stayed inside on the ring for a while before they were given the okay that Brock wasn’t near the gorilla or their locker room.

They walked quickly in silence, Cody radiating with an unseen anger from beside Y/N, his hand coming up to rub his face almost as if it would wipe the irritation away. With the chance of Cody possibly running to attempt an attack of Brock or take his anger out on an unexpected victim, even if the latter wasn’t likely, Y/N kept a hand on his back, bunched up into his suit jacket until they reached the small locker room. An awkward silence quickly filled the room as Cody moved to sit down, his love standing above him.

“You know I wouldn’t have done that if your arm wasn’t hurt, right?” They were given no response, Cody doing nothing but keeping his eyes on the ground, elbows placed on his spread knees and hands clasped together. Y/N moved to sit next to them after the silence continued, a sigh moving past their lips in disappointment but also understanding why Cody was so mad.

“Do you see this? Hm?” Y/N touched Cody’s casted arm gently as they asked, and though he still remained in silence their grasp was comforting. He looked over to them, blue eyes shining and wet with shame. “This means that you’re hurt. It’s my job to make sure you don’t get hurt, and you already are, so I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure you don’t get hurt more, even if it means you’re angry at me.”

Unable to find the words, Cody stayed silent, and instead let out a soft breath, eyebrows moving to furrow together over soft eyes. Noticing his increasing guilt, Y/N moved in closer.

“C’mere, baby.” They barely had to speak before Cody was moving into their hold with such force they fell back onto the small couch, the large man toppling over on them and blond, short hair tickling their chin as his face shoved into the space between their neck and the back of the couch.

“M’sorry.” Finally able to find some words, he muttered it into their neck, for some reason ashamed of his actions.

“I’m not mad, Codes. Could never be mad at you, never ever, I just need you to be safe. You did nothing wrong at all.” Y/N’s hand moved up to his hair while they spoke comfortingly, their tone holding nothing but love and endearance. Cody let out another sigh, his working arm moving behind Y/N to grasp around their waist while the other layer over top of them.

“Codes. Baby, look at me, please.” Their voice, still sugar-sweet, induced Cody to look up at them through adoringly long black eyelashes much to the contrast of his striking hair, diamond eyes shining from Y/N’s praise.

“I’m not mad. Okay?” The sweet, sweet boy responded with a nod and the mouthing of an okay, eyes clamping closed again. The pair returned to a silence, this time comforting and loving, Y/N’s hand running through Cody’s hair almost sending him to sleep.

“Wanna go home, sweetheart?” Cody responded with another nod. “Yeah? Okay.” Though they both agreed, neither moved from the grimy couch, Cody refusing to give up his spot on top of them and Y/N not wanting to make him get up. Instead, they continued their cuddle session, enjoying the softness they each pulled out of each other.

I kinda popped off on this one seeing Cody at summerslam ignited something in me

Sometimes i just wanna love on someone and it definitely shined through in this one oopsies

[nerd4music]

I think overall there’s one of two „big“ problems happening for people who have a problem with TOWL (racists and the likes aside… 🙄).

1- The misunderstanding that this was truly much more a Rick and Michonne story than a TWD one. This was not TWD S12. It was about telling the story of these 2 characters and being able to put a dot at the end (or a dot dot dot). And you’ve laid all of that out perfectly. Like yes, in TWD, Beale (& the CRM) would have been draaaaagged out. But this was much more of a Terminus approach than a Saviors one if we will…

2- TWD was never the most ..subtle show. They tended to hit the audience over the head with stuff. And I’m not sure I would go as far as calling TOWL subtle outright either (idk, didn’t think about this until right this moment lol -obviously elements of it are, sure -just as elements on TWD could be on the subtler side) but compared to TWD, it certainly is lol. And there has been a very big „media literacy“ and „basic comprehension skills“ problem happening for a minute now. And I really don’t say this to be mean or make fun of people or anything but these are just facts. Some people really struggle with getting the information when they are not being hit over the head with it, over and over and over again. After the finale I saw several posts on my tl of people wondering why this, that or the other was not addressed or how/why this, that or the other did happen… and I was utterly confused because those things they claimed were missing were very much shown? I was like, there was literally a scene dealing with all of this? And it didn’t require any reading between the lines to be honest, no subtext, it was very much the text of the scene?! So it seems like some people just didn’t get a lot of things that were happening 🫤

(BTW I don’t mean that even if someone didn’t have these specific problems with the show, they MUST love it then. Likes and dislikes etc etc. As much as I really loved the show as a whole, if I decided to put down the Richonne-colored glasses I wanted to and did watch to the show with.. I’d definitely have a few complaints lol, though still very much enjoyed the show even then)

That's definitely what happened. And to some extent, I get why, considering Rick and Michonne are 2/3 of the main show's Big Three. But when the press and promos started, and people were still talking about some Marvel-style meet-up, I was like...oh they're definitely not listening to what's being said, because it's six damn episodes, and also The Richonne story, not the Team Family jamboree. And then acting as if it's somehow 'insulting' to the rest of the characters if Rick and Michonne didn't talk about them. The man had PTSD so bad, he couldn't remember his own son's face. Why would you think it would be good time for him to pause in the middle of his wife telling him about a traumatic moment during her pregnancy to ask about anyone else? Please be fr.

I feel you on the comprehension thing, which is nothing new for this fandom. The fact that so many people legit thought Rick didn't know how to drive stick and questioned the 'realism' of it but never stopped to think that it was because he only has one damn hand. Y'all were fine with every silly ass moment that happened in the main show, that was either sheer dumb luck or handwaved away, but now we need a complete breakdown from experts on how Rick managed to fight off walkers one-handed. Now y'all want the realism, when you've been so giddy for weeks because you need one of them to die for the show to be 'interesting'.

I'm really not listening to people who need the narrative to hold their hand through everything, or need to see every piece of the plot onscreen for it to be considered 'legitimate'. (I'm officially banning the phrase 'plot armor' for the foreseeable future).

People didn't get things, because they don't take a minute to sit with the damn material anymore. From live reactions videos to live tweeting/blogging, people are just watching TV to make content and have an online moment, not for what's actually being shown. And yeah, TOWL isn't perfect, but the minor criticisms I have for it doesn't take away from the fact that it is very enjoyable and easily the best material from the TWD landscape in a long time.

(sidenote: I will say one of my favorite things from these past six weeks is everyone struggling to figure out the overall TWD timeline, lmao.)

[tameodesza]

Stripped

˖⁺‧₊˚✦ Summary: Shawn does a promo nearly naked and it leaves Kevin hot and bothered.

˖⁺‧₊˚✦ a/n: Smut for smut’s sake. Thought of this after making this gif set. AO3 link

Razor Ramon had been crowned the WWF Intercontinental Champion during Shawn’s suspension, but Shawn was willing to do anything to prove that he was the real champion.

It had been his idea to do his promo scantily clad, of course, thinking it was a clever way to emphasize that he’d never been stripped of his title. That and he knew Kevin would be watching.

Kevin was full of indecent thoughts as soon as he saw the blond come out in nothing but a white towel. And hiding his lust had been no easy feat with Shawn gallivanting around the locker room in his loosely tied towel, exposing those tanned thick thighs with no effort.

He’d almost lost his will when Shawn sat spread eagle on the edge of the couch during his interview, his towel not leaving much to be seen. Kevin tried not to fall into the trap, knowing that Shawn was just putting on a show probably hoping to get a rise out of the older man. But it was working, that much being evident by the very hard problem growing between his legs.

As the promo ended, Kevin couldn’t throw the camera crew out of their locker room quick enough.

Shawn was still admiring his beauty in the vanity mirror when he was suddenly turned around and hoisted up into Kevin’s arms. His yelp was cut off by Kevin’s lips abruptly smashing against his own. Shawn returned the kiss with a triumphant smirk, wrapping his arms around Kevin’s neck and his legs around his waist.

Kevin’s tongue ravenously battled Shawn’s as he set the blond down onto the edge of the vanity table, clumsily knocking over Shawn’s expensive collection of shades and earrings. But Shawn didn’t care about the items as he brought Kevin closer with his legs, dry humping the man as they made a mess of themselves – heavy breathing, lip biting, hair pulling, and light moans filling the air.

Shawn’s arrogance slipped away as Kevin dominated him. It was almost funny how in front of the cameras, everyone seemed to think Shawn called the shots. But they both knew who truly ran the relationship behind closed doors.

Kevin pulled away from the kiss with a tug of Shawn’s bottom lip, panting, “You’re such a tease.”

Shawn’s eyes were half-lidded as he innocently answered, “I don’t know what you mean.”

“The only thing you’re stripped of is your clothing, huh?”

Shawn leaned back on his hands, grinning, “Was only stating the obvious.”

“Oh, were you now? But you still have this on.”

He eyed Shawn’s towel which looked like it was hanging on for dear life in Shawn’s disheveled state. Kevin placed his hands on Shawn’s knees, slowly spreading his legs wider to reveal more of his thighs. Shawn’s flexibility allowed him to widen his legs almost to a split, only being stopped by the table pressing against his legs. With the towel now pooled at Shawn’s hips, Kevin was pleased to see the tent poking under it.  

Shawn watched with eager eyes, biting his lip before saying, “I do, don’t I? Maybe we should fix that.”

Kevin rubbed his hands up Shawn’s thighs, stopping at the edge of the towel. He lifted it to reveal Shawn’s hardening cock, saying in awe “You really went commando.”

He knew he shouldn’t have been surprised, but he thought the blond would’ve at least had the decency not to risk flashing his dick on live TV.

“Turns you on, doesn’t it?”

It did, and Shawn knew it.

Instead of answering, Kevin kneeled before the blond, his head disappearing under the towel as he brought his lips to the head of Shawn’s cock. Shawn fully hardened at the sensation, his breath hitching as Kevin’s tongue flicked across the tip. Kevin placed a hand at the base of Shawn’s cock, stroking it halfway up as his mouth traveled halfway down.

“Mm, Kev. Oh, yeah,” Shawn moaned. It wasn’t everyday that Kevin graced him with a blowjob, and it was a shame because that tongue did wonders.

Kevin kept a steady pace for some time, working Shawn up until the blond was desperately grinding his hips up into his mouth. He gave a long hard suck as he pulled off of Shawn’s cock, using the mixture of his saliva and Shawn’s precum as lube as he stroked the entirety of the blond’s cock.

He sat back, coming face-to-face with Shawn’s puckered hole. “Look at you. All nice and clean for me. Confident I’d eat your ass today?”

“I was hoping,” Shawn struggled to say clearly through strained breaths.

But all clarity was gone as he felt Kevin’s wet tongue lap at his entrance before entering the tight ring. He pushed his tongue in and out, fucking Shawn skillfully as he continued to jack him off.

“Mmmh, yeah. Like that, big daddy. Please. Keep doing that, please,” he begged. And boy did Kevin like when he begged.

Kevin’s tongue continued to explore Shawn’s hole as he quickened the pace of his hand on Shawn’s cock. Meanwhile, he brought up his other hand to pinch at one of Shawn’s perked nipples. Shawn’s legs trembled in overstimulation, a low whine being heard in the mess of slick sounds in the room.

Shawn lifted up the towel and ripped it off, revealing Kevin’s dark head of hair between his legs. But when he went to take off the belt, Kevin stopped him. “Leave it.”

And Shawn swore his dick twitched just at the thought of getting fucked wearing the Intercontinental belt.

After Shawn’s obedient nod, Kevin brought his tongue back to Shawn’s clenching ass, causing Shawn to groan in satisfaction. He brought a hand to the back of Kevin’s head, shoving his tongue deeper inside. He thought it couldn’t get any better than that until Kevin suddenly inserted a finger along with his tongue.

Shawn gasped as he threw his head back, accidentally banging it against the vanity mirror. “Ah! Daddy-” Shawn’s words were failing him and he knew he wouldn’t last long like this.

But he wanted more. He needed more.

He tried to put more force behind Kevin’s head to keep him inside, but it was the taller man who reminded him who was in control when he removed his hand from Shawn’s cock to grab onto Shawn’s wrist, holding it down to the table.

Kevin removed his mouth from Shawn’s ass, continuing to finger the blond as he wrapped his mouth around Shawn’s dick, deep throating him to the best of his ability.

“Oh, fuck!”

Kevin nearly choked when Shawn brought his free hand to the back of his head, lowering him further onto his cock. Kevin removed his hand from Shawn’s ass, gripping the blond’s wrist and holding it down. Shawn whined, now defenseless as Kevin pinned both of his hands down to the table.

Kevin slid his mouth off of Shawn before standing, placing his forehead against Shawn’s as he whispered, “That’s not very nice, Shawn. You’re being greedy.”

Shawn seemed to be barely there, his eyes glazed over in a daze. “I’m sorry, big daddy. You just feel so good. Please, let me have you. I need you. Please, daddy.”

Kevin smiled gently at Shawn being right where he wanted him – a mess of himself, begging, forehead shining from sweat, eyes glistening half-lidded. He was puddy in his hands. To top it all off, there sat the WWF belt reflecting off of Shawn like diamonds. He was gorgeous, and Kevin had half the heart to not deny the blond any longer.

He gave Shawn a light peck before letting go of Shawn’s wrists. He brought Shawn’s legs up, bending them at the knee and bringing them towards Shawn’s chest until the blond’s feet rested on the table.

Kevin let out an unsteady breath at the sight. “Shit, you look so sexy. Spread your legs wider. Stay just like that for me,” he instructed, leaving Shawn fully exposed in nothing but his championship belt.

He went to his bag to retrieve the lube he always kept on hand. But with as desperate as Shawn seemed, he guessed there wouldn’t be much prep needed.

Kevin unzipped the front of his pants, not even bothering to take them off as adjusted himself to pull his dick from his briefs through the opening of his jeans. He slathered himself up, darkening his jeans as a bit of the lube got onto them in his haste.

He stroked himself with one hand as he prepped the blond with the other, his lubed fingers stretching Shawn as much as needed.

“Mmph, daddy please. Please hurry before I come,” Shawn warned, his cock oozing precum. He was right on the edge but was trying his best to hold back.

“Patience,” Kevin whispered, continuing to properly stretch the younger man.

After finding Shawn’s sweet spot, the younger man crying out as he threw his arms around Kevin’s shoulders, Kevin removed his finger and replaced them with his cock. He caught Shawn’s lips as the blond gasped at the intrusion, drinking up the moans Shawn let out in his mouth.

There was no holding back for either of them after that. Kevin jutted wildly into Shawn, the vanity mirror knocking against the wall in tune with every thrust. Shawn moaned loudly, uncaring of who could hear through the thin walls of the locker room. If anything, he hoped someone could hear how well his bodyguard was fucking him, wishing they could be as lucky as Shawn.

Shawn watched as Kevin’s dick disappeared and reappeared from his hole, how his stomach muscles contracted with every thrust. And as Shawn saw Kevin’s sweat dripped down onto the gaudy belt around his waist, he thought this was singlehandedly the hottest thing they’d done together – and that’s saying a lot.

Shawn brought them closer with his legs, clinging onto Kevin like a koala to a tree, feeling his dick press between Kevin’s stomach and the WWF belt. Shawn’s eyes rolled back as Kevin’s strokes grew shorter, the man rapidly rolling his hips into the blond.

Shawn wrapped his legs tighter around Kevin, grinding up to meet his thrusts, which sent him over the edge. “Fuck, Kevin! Fuck me! I’m about to-”

He gave a loud yell as he came in spurts, his come landing on the belt and smearing between him and Kevin as the older man continued to pound into him. Kevin soon followed behind, going still as he came hard into the blond.

Kevin dipped his head into Shawn’s neck, both men struggling to catch their breaths. As they both came down, he rubbed a gentle hand along Shawn’s back, signaling that they were done. It was a nonverbal cue he’d learned to do long ago back when Shawn felt like he needed to prove himself to whoever it was that he was screwing. They’d come a long way to get Shawn to understand that sex was a two-way street.

Kevin lifted his head, pressing it onto Shawn’s as he caressed the blond’s cheek. Shawn’s eyes fluttered open, still a bit hazy as Kevin asked, “You good?”

Shawn gave a lazy smile as he nodded. His smile widened when he looked down to see the streak of white contrasting against the gold on his belt. “We made a mess.”

“You made a mess,” Kevin chuckled. “But as always, I’ll be there to clean it up.” He swiped a finger across the belt, gathering a layer of come before licking it off with a smirk. “Now it’s clean.”

Shawn stood corrected – Kevin licking his come off the WWF belt was single handedly one the hottest things he’d seen.

Kevin grabbed Shawn’s towel to clean up the remaining come from the belt before moving to clean Shawn’s entrance. He helped Shawn sit into a more comfortable position as the blond said, “The office is going to kill us if they ever found out about this.”

Kevin wiped himself, coyly answering, “Won’t stop us from doing it again, will it?”

“Nope,” Shawn snickered. “Hey, I was thinking. After this whole run as Intercontinental Champion, we should try for the tag belts.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Wouldn’t it be hot if we both fucked in our belts?”

Kevin snorted at the idea, but he knew Shawn was being serious, especially with the daydreamy look he was giving. And the blond was always one to one-up himself.

Kevin folded the towel to a dry spot, using it to dab at the sweat along Shawn’s hairline. He pulled Shawn into a soft kiss, whispering, “Let’s just focus on you being IC champ first.”

[skibasyndrome]

soooo since promo season is ending and since I'm getting a bit emo about that I wanted to make a little masterpost of my fics inspired by s3 promo to put them all in one place. I'm eternally grateful for that first little snippet for inspiring me enough to write my first ever fanfic in 6 years. I've had so much fun (and more often than not a bunch of other emotions) with these and I think rediscovering my love for writing has been one of my favorite things of these past few months 💜

I wish everyone a very happy and hopefully not too anxious YR S3 eve 💜💜💜

It seems a place for us to dream (T, 1.8 k, fluff)

“No,” Wilhelm exhales, “this isn’t how I dreamed for it to be.”

It's so cheesy, fuck, it's ridiculous, he thinks, and for a split second fears his worries confirmed when Simon's lip curls upward and he's getting ready to be laughed at when- oh. There's a glint in Simon's eyes that Wilhelm can place immediately and it makes his already shallow breathing hitch, an entirely new emotion creeping in and setting the pit of Wilhelm's stomach on fire.

Or: Wille's thoughts as he sees Simon standing in the palace

It's in the water, baby (E, 4.9 k, fluffy smut)

One of Simon’s hands starts playing with the hair in the nape of Wilhelm’s neck and Wilhelm’s hand finds Simon’s hip. The soft t-shirt he’s wearing is not doing anything to block the warmth radiating off his irresistible skin. Wilhelm slips his fingers underneath to feel more of it. When their kiss ends, they just stay close, foreheads touching. “You know I wasn’t actually gonna drop you, right?” Wilhelm asks.

“I know,” Simon answers and gently nudges Wilhelm’s nose with his own, and it feels like home.

Or: a story about some wilmon lake shenanigans sponsored by the infamous Lake Still (TM) s3 promo pic

Never Letting You Go (E, 5.7k, emotional smut with some angsty undertones, but optimistic ending)

There's no answer to the what-if, he's got no idea. He's scrambling mentally, trying to come up with something, anything, but nothing yields. All he comes up with is the fact that he needs to leave a lasting impression while he still can.

So he just kisses Simon harder, fighting back against the constricting feeling that's trying to close up his throat. And Simon kisses back gladly, melts against Wilhelm, moves like he’s trying to blend into Wilhelm.

And they're close, so close, but not nearly close enough, and all Wilhelm wants is to feel Simon, make Simon feel things.

Or: The infamous Hallway Smut (TM) Scene as briefly seen in the S3 trailer and (re)imagined by me

[veronicamarsconfessions]

The Unfortunate Pattern Of TV Shows Lying To Fans

Showrunner Dick Wolf is in hot water this week with fans of Law & Order: SVU on Twitter. Digging into the complaints, the current outcry isn’t really a surprise. Take a ship that’s been working on a slow burn for almost a quarter of a century, add in some bait-and-switch advertising, and you have a perfect storm.

While it’s true that showrunners have the right to run their shows how they see fit – and while fandom teasing is pretty much a staple of the medium – no fan appreciates being lied to. And there is very much a difference between teasing fans and lying to them.

Shippers of Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) have been hanging in through thick and thin for almost 25 years. Their dedication seemed like it was about to pay off, as promos for the most recent episode teased that this couple might finally – finally – kiss. Ultimately, not only did a kiss not happen but the shot featured in the promo – with Benson caressing Stabler’s face – was cut from the episode entirely.

Things happen in editing shows, and sometimes things get cut. So is this a case of “teasing fans” or lying to them? After almost a quarter of a century, it’s hard not to feel like this isn’t the latter.

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist showrunner Austin Winsberg earned the fandom’s ire in the show’s second season when he promised the end of the dreaded love triangle. Only to very much keep the love triangle alive. Now, in this case, this was a case of the showrunner genuinely misunderstanding what “love triangles” mean in fandom spaces. He seems to have interpreted “fans hate love triangles” as “fans hate arcs in which a character can’t or won’t decide between two romantic prospects.”

Failing to realize that “making one choice and then later making another choice, and then later going back to the first choice” is, indeed, being unable to decide. Still, the promise of “no more love triangle” was followed pretty quickly by the return of the love triangle leaving fans feeling intentionally misled.

The case of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist is a good argument for shows to have fandom consultants for showrunners who have probably not engaged in fandom spaces the way fans do and thus may mistake how things will be perceived. Winsberg professed the entire problem to have been a massive misunderstanding on his end. Perhaps that’s why fans of the series were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and successfully fought to save the show from premature cancellation.

Veronica Mars showrunner Rob Thomas got into similar trouble for handling the show’s last season. The Logan/Veronica ship (LoVe) had been a major focus of the series and subsequent movie. It was no wonder, then, that they were outraged when the fourth season ended with Logan’s death. Adding insult to injury, Rob Thomas explained the decision by basically saying that Veronica is “boring” when she’s happy in love and not traumatized and that he wanted to completely change the concept of the show moving forward.

Veronica Mars was a particularly special case of showrunners lying to the fan base because of the unusual nature of his salvation. Fans – a large number of them LoVe shippers – had directly been responsible for funding the Kickstarter that got the film sequel to the prematurely canceled series green-lit. Which led to the show’s subsequent pickup on Hulu. And Thomas knew how invested these fans – fans he directly called upon to resurrect his series – were heavily invested in LoVe. There was even an entire series of promos featuring Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring reading LoVe fanfiction leading up to the fourth season.

Teasing fans is a natural thing for shows to do. It keeps fans engaged. It creates buzz. But, as evidenced by Veronica Mars, when fans feel like teasing has become lying, they may not stick around to give the show another chance.

[disastercit]

(even more camp camp season 5 teaser spoilers but this time is the last time probably, I'll just watch the whole thing and put my thoughts here)

-so cj is like some kind of dudebro influencer streamer type, I wasn't too far off. cj seems like the type of guy to carry a tiny microphone around a mall and interview people 😭 and I definitely get to have my little dynamic I predicted before because ross WOULD hate him for that

-on the topic of cj I don't know how I missed his mullet oopsies

-mahogany 😏

-i have a lot to say about this image actually. I screenshotted it so I could talk about how max is willingly hugging another person, I wanna say it's only the second time in the series he's done this? but then while looking at it I noticed neils earring?? he went to claires?? and he either only has one or gets them pierced at some point during the season

-also I just think it's funny that max is still freaked out by harrison like 2? 3? seasons after Mind Freakers. poor boy

-space kid??? hello???

-I see they finally got tired of animating prestons weird little shoulder things and did away with them entirely. im guessing the reason for his new outfit is that hes getting more into modern musicals and leaving behind the shakespearean stuff? I haven't seen newsies but it's very newsies to me. hey, this gives me an excuse to use the new ross design anyways I guess

-the long awaited sequel to the extremely detailed bread basket: extremely detailed popsicles

(come to think of it, here's neil without an earring again. maybe a one episode thing? also, idk why this screenshot is so dark)

final verdict: we are so back!!! I heavily enjoyed this promo and now I am so excited about this season. I wasn't sure I was gonna like this season, either due to it actually sucking or because the last time a new season of camp camp came out I was fourteen years old. but clearly I must like it if I just wrote a whole analysis of like every other scene in the teaser. really my only regret is that the season, or at least what's coming out at this time, is so short

[louisisalarrie]

wow there is an insane amount of Larry articles now holy moly and even if some of their info is incorrect, well, it still brings attention to them.

to be fair, Louis could appease a lot of people by saying “yes, Harry and I dated very briefly during the early 1d days, but we didn’t go public with it and then broke up because of the pressure and I met me gf Eleanor” to literally:

1. not out all the stunts

2. somewhat out him and Harry as potentially still being queer

3. seeding a future coming out by “rekindling the romance” so it’s gently introduced prior to the GP as opposed to a denial

4. let antis and solos believe Larry isn’t real anymore so they don’t feel lied to

5. confirm larries’ beliefs

6. Receive public sympathy if the statement says “we were young and scared and it didn’t work out” or something along those lines

This strategy would make his life easier, his promo bigger, help with the fact people think Harry is queerbaiting if he’s actually seen as queer, make Louis not seem like a homophobe but a vulnerable real person, and would cover all bases.

Now, why would louis not want to do that? Well… there’s a couple of reasons, but I think the main ones are:

1. If they come out about it, he doesn’t want to lie. He doesn’t want to say he and Harry weren’t closeted and that they didn’t fight for their love, and not expose Simon and the industry executives for their awful behaviour

2. Harry and him are still together, they want to come out together, and they’re waiting for the right time (post stunts ending)

Now some of you may say “but… Louis doesn’t want Larry to take away from his career that he’s building, he wants to do it separate from that” and okay, fair point, but not after this denial. This proves 150% that his team, as a last resort, will bring up Larry to boost his promo. If he really was bothered by it, he wouldn’t bring it up. It wouldn’t connect them back together. And you wanna know something?

His denial would have had to be approved by Harry and his team.

Yep, this isn’t just Louis spouting a denial for promo off his own back. This is in collaboration with Harry’s team. With Harry’s fame and this linking them together in a way that will affect his fandom and bring him a large amount of publicity that he may not want, it needs to be approved by his team.

This isn’t just a random person claiming to have slept with Harry, it’s not a random person spouting some bullshit about Harry… his team don’t care about a lot of rumours. They let them slide because some of them just aren’t big enough or scandalous enough to care about, and it keeps him in the headlines. But the Larry thing goes waaaaay back. It makes people become larries and dig into it when this shit is online. It jeopardises Harry’s current stunt. It threatens to out him and a long line of massively important music industry professionals. It’s been an ongoing thing for like 13 years now.

Harry doesn’t comment on it, because he doesn’t need to. He doesn’t need more promo. He doesn’t want to jeopardise his image that hints that he’s queer. It doesn’t affect Louis’ image to that degree due to previous stunts and denials.

So… yeah.

Harry’s team approved the denial. Louis approved to be asked about it and released it as edited and pre recorded for promo as soon as he left LATAM. It’s rehearsed. Let’s push on and keep this all in mind.

[canonicallyobserving911]

Hi how's your day going? Just wanted to vent and say I'm pissed at what sounds like Ryan being sidelined and casually belittled in the latest cast interview/promo 😑 i.e. apparently zero mention of Eddie's storyline for s7, Tim once again making the tired joke about eddie being "too pretty to kill off" (kind of insulting considering how much Eddie and Chris have brought to the show since s2), seems like the only thing Ryan got to say was something incredibly sweet and complimentary about working with Gavin 🥺😍 and fandom just thinks it's funny "well he IS pretty". If that's all Eddie is to buddie fandom...that just confirms everything I've been complaining about the last couple of years 🙃

Thank you @blutterlie for the ask. I'm doing well and I hope you're doing well too.

I read through the snippets that were posted on 911blr from the panel interview that was done a couple of nights ago with the main cast and the showrunner and... I really don't have words. But to say I was disappointed is an understatement.

I was really hoping things would be different for Eddie and Chris, the characters and RG and GM, the actors this season since it seems like KR got the boot and is no longer sitting in the showrunner's chair. Hopefully she is gone and if so, maybe someone other than Buck (Eddie, Chris, Chimney and Bobby because they were all sidelined in the last two years while the other half of their ships got good storylines) can get a storyline or two but I can't say I'm surprised with the outcome.

Apparently TM cares about the big emergencies which is great and all but it would be better IMO if they stopped trying to recreate scenes from movies (Speed, Poseidon and whatever other movies they've copied) and focus on growth of the main characters. I've mentioned this before in my Constructive Criticisms posts but none of the first responders have been promoted. How long are they going to remain in their same roles? For me, the show has lost something and I'm not sure a cruise disaster that puts Bobby and Athena in danger again for the umpteenth time is going to make people watch... but I digress.

I'm saddened because RG and GM the actors and the characters they play, Eddie and Chris have been sidelined and given minimal screentime for a while but the little amount they do get is always solid gold because both RG and GM are superb actors. They work very well together and I had hope for season 7 that they would finally be given the screentime they deserve especially since they barely got any in seasons 5 and 6 but it looks like another wash, rinse and repeat season with Buck still looking for answers (which I figured would be the case after I completed a post about his attire in the still of him and Chris). I was really hoping it wasn't going to be another season 4 with Eddie and Chris suffering with another recurring character (all they did was replace AF with M) while they wait for Buck to finally "get it" but apparently some people think it's fun and cute for Buck to be in the words of OS, "stuck on a hamster wheel" but I don't and honestly, unless he's headed for a massive breakdown SO he can finally DEAL AND COPE with all his issues, they can keep it.

The comment TM made about RG being pretty was just... 🙄. IMO, it was disrespectful, disgusting, disingenuous and completely discrediting. If it's true and he was initially hired for his looks for whatever reason, shouldn't they be past that by now? It's been six years and RG has proven time and time again that he's a fantastic actor. For those who forgot, EDDIE carried the ENTIRETY OF SEASON 5 on his back while KR was stumbling around as showrunner with most of the "top billed" cast (that's two-thirds of those who are paid the most) out of pocket. AB was working on A LOT of other projects and that's no hate to her but it's true, JLH was on maternity leave, RD and MR left the show and instead of giving more screentime to Eddie, Bobby and Chimney, they forced TK into the spotlight just to show how bad she was for Buck. They could have done that in episode 1 without giving her a back story so they could have dedicated more time to Eddie’s PTSD and therapy. Buck got two whole seasons and he still hasn't figured anything out but they rushed Eddie’s story and wouldn't even let him say he was going back to the 118🤔.

How many times will the audience have to watch these repetitive storylines? Also, how many times will RG, AH, GM, KC, CM and PK be sidelined for the other mains? It's supposed to be an ensemble cast but someone keeps forgetting that and pushing certain characters out front while they push the others to the side. In season 5, Chimney was sent on a road trip to drive across America with a 6-month-old instead of him staying in L.A. so Buck and Albert could help him with Jee-Yun. In season 6, Bobby was given a sponsor (Wendell) no one had ever heard of before and he appeared out of thin air. Hen's medical school storyline went absolutely nowhere and May disappeared after 6x11. And Eddie and Chris were once again sidelined and then pushed into another "Eddie has to date" because "Chris needs a mother" storyline with another bland and ridiculous recurring character because they keep dragging out whatever the "F" they're doing.

Now with the comment about RG being "too pretty to die", it made me wonder if Eddie and Chris being left out of the promos was a mistake after all🤷‍♀️.

I hope RG and GM can find a show that will appreciate their contributions and give them the screentime they deserve and it be based on how great they are as actors because they deserve so much better.

Anyway, this got longer than I expected and I didn't mean for it to but I'm disappointed in how they're treated and I'm tired of watching the same ole same old.

[accio-victuuri]

yuguyao cpns part v. 💕

i swear, this promo period seems more active than ool when it comes to cpn potential and i’m not complaining at all it’s just interesting to see the clues. this will contain some double standard stuff which may not be to some people’s liking so keep that in mind.

We saw the hoverboard again in one of the YGY bts, i would imagine it’s the same one he had during Ace Troops which was allegedly given by WYB. Since XZ isn’t that confident on a skateboard and something like this will be so much better when he needs to do long walks during shoots or if he just wants to have fun. I have so much love for this CPN, because it shows their connection. How they try and be interested in what other likes, even if ZZ did try skateboards before, this is a “compromise”. It’s meeting Bobo’s hobby in the middle.

ZZ rapping in the bts! AHHHHH! Of course this is an obvious CPN to us. We all know who the rapper is. I’m just here thinking about ZZ who might not be partial to rap but started listening to some because of wang yibo, his husband.

SHIYING x XIEYUN technique is same/similar. I guess this is a usual martial arts fantasy move but it’s a happy coincidence cause people have been making edits of them lately and this happens. We don’t even have to make things up at this point. 😂

They match so well!!!!

Moving onto the double standard. I wanna start with a disclaimer that I don’t have anything against his co-star or any of their co-stars in film and tv. Especially if they star as their heroine or partner. I have no problem with a project’s cp promotion because that’s really how it goes. Especially on this show where the plot revolves around SY & ZY connection to each other. It’s okay for them to have “chemistry” with their co-stars because it helps the show. I have no issue with them being friendly with female co-stars because i am happy when they are comfortable in their workplace. lord knows how grueling their shooting schedule so it helps that they can get along with their “office mates” lol.

so now that we have that out of the way, let’s look at this example people are talking about…..

• In this scene where they accidentally fall on the bed, the BTS shows ZZ not holding on to the actress. making sure his hands don’t touch her waist. There are other examples of this and then you have him and WYB, secretly holding hands. lol. I am aware that this is more out of respect, not wanting to seem to handsy with a co-star when the script does not call for it. but well, this is how cpn goes. with wyb, he is comfortable in a different way. there are no boundaries.

• Another one where the actress is obviously flustered by ZZ, and rightfully so. GG is reacting on his own way but still very professional. But when it’s with WYB, there is a sense of 😏😏😏 energy. I guess i’m not the only one on here who did a double take seeing all the BTS between XZ & WYB even before being a cpf. We all tried to brush it off as cp-marketing or editors trying to make stuff out of anything but things just don’t add up.

I don’t know if anyone has ever come up with a heterosexual explanation for all of that especially p3 but till then, it’s bjyxszd 😂😂😂

and oh, their matching wonderful smiles ☺️☺️☺️

-END.