justalittlemango

[forbidden-interlude]

When certain ppl approach me , it feels like a threat off rip

[thatndginger]

Heya I’m sending your question right back at you. You have a college AU you say? I love AUs. Tell me more 😊

Hiya! Sorry this one is a little late, the weekend really tuckered me out lol

Ok so if the Shapeshifter gang were in a College AU, this is what I think it'd look like:

Kerr McKay is a automotive engineering grad student, having left his home country of Ireland to study in the States. He wants to design motorcycles once he finishes up his degree, and spends an inordinate amount of time tinkering with his own motorcycle as a hobby.

Jay is also an automotive engineering student with an eye on motorcycle manufacture, but she wants to start her own company once she's finished, so she's also pursuing a business management degree - even though she absolutely hates it.

Warrick is an arts student pursuing a BFA, and the bane of his professors' existences. He's got enough credits for three minors in digital media, photography, and marketing because he just keeps signing on for more classes instead of graduating.

---

Jay and Kerr met first. The school's dorms were co-ed, and students were usually grouped by their fields of study, so they were on the same floor. Combined with having a lot of the same classes, the two grew close pretty quickly. Warrick was paired with them in one of their gen ed classes for a project - a happy accident of fate - and the three just kinda clicked. When Jay began to talk about starting her own motorcycle manufacturing company, Kerr and Warrick were very quick to throw their lot in with her. Kerr designated himself as Jay's lead engineer and 'creative genius' while Warrick took up the mantle of PR guru and artistic director.

Currently, Jay and Kerr are trying to finish out their degrees under the guidance of Professor Carlisle Morrish and his assistant professor Portia Beckham, while Warrick drags out his degree until Jay and Kerr are set to graduate. The three of them rent an apartment close-ish to campus, though they're hardly ever there. Warrick works part-time at a local radio station as one of their social media interns, and sometimes does advertisements when needed. Kerr and Jay do TA work for Professors Morrish and Beckham, and all three of them tend to hang around campus more often than not to meet up with friends (and rivals).

Jay is in a bit of a low-stakes war with the TA of one of her business classes. She swears Adrien Montrose is out to get her personally (he isn't), and is determined to make him give her a perfect grade before either of them graduates. Warrick and Kerr are embroiled in a long-standing prank war with some of the other engineering students and have recently wrangled some of the new undergrads into it - one Aleksei Rybkin is particularly enthusiastic. They're also trying to prove once and for all that the rumors surrounding Dr. Pearce - one of the biology professors - are true and she is hiding bodies and experimenting on them in her lab when no one's around.

I could keep going but I'm gonna leave off here before I work myself up into actually writing this au lol. Must finish the original story first!

[realhousewives-fan]

The Memorable Moments of Season 12

With a season that has been so long, so eventful, so shocking and so toxic, it’s difficult to only pick 10 moments from the season. 

Even if a lot of fans has been complaining about the season for being too long and draining, it was a very good season – and the rating reflects this – it became too much as the toxicity got out of hand.

Lisa Rinna is a big part of the blame as she went ballistic on social media and was hellbent on getting the story about Kathy Hilton out to talk about it.

But I’ve tried to make a list of what was the most memorable moments of the season for me.

The terrifying break-in in Beverly Hills

As there were a lot of hateful nay-sayers who doubted the validity of the break-in, there’s no doubt that it was a horrifying moment for Dorit Kemsley.

She handled the whole ordeal with such calmness and grace that I think made the fans doubting if the break-in was real or orchestrated by the Kemsley in order to stay relevant and on the show.

It was heartbreaking to see PK breaking down in tears too. I found myself being grateful that Dorit and her children were unharmed by the break-in and only wish to send them lots of love.

Sutton Stracke really put her foot in her mouth by downplaying the break-in, which lead her to the top of the Fox Force Four’s shit list.

And poor Sutton was already in trouble for her Elton John analogy at Watch What Happens Live. 

Erika wasn’t a pretty mess!

I came very close to choose the face-off between Sutton and Rinna about the Elton John charity tickets as I found that storyline so incredibly funny.

And besides, I just love to throw Sir Elton John’s name into the whole mess.

But no, it didn’t have as much impact this season as Erika Girardi’s drinking had. She was mixing her anti-depressant medicine with alcohol and acted a damn fool on multiple occasions.

The worst she did was proposition Garcelle Beauvais’ oldest son and cursing at her youngest, but also suggesting that Crystal Kung Minkoff, who suffers from eating disorder, should take laxative.

Garcelle felt uncomfortable with her drinking and tried to address it, to the other women’s outrage.

Erika and Rinna later produced a scene where they supposedly addressed her drinking and it felt so tame and staged.

At least Garcelle’s attempt to talk felt genuine and natural.

The chaos at Garcelle’s birthday party

It wasn’t possible to highlight one of the moments from Garcelle’s iconic birthday party, so I named the whole freaking party. It was an eventful night!

At one corner of the party, you had Sutton and Diana Jenkins having a bizarre and uncomfortable conversation, and Kyle Richards getting physical and cruel with Sutton.

In another corner was Erika and her drunken embarrassment as she disrespected Garcelle’s sons.

Diana delivered her one and only memorable line that wasn’t obscured by her rampant tongue and it was: “You need another villain? Here I am.”

The joke was on Diana though, because she got the villain treatment, and she didn’t appreciate that at all. 

She played the delusional victim and sued fans left and right for spreading defamatory rumours about her.

Sutton told her that night: “I’ve got your number, and it’s 8675309.”

Neither Kyle nor Diana reacted to that read, but Sutton was referring to the number of a call girl!

Oof, you’re so angry, Rinna…

Sutton was forced to apologise multiple times for her Elton John analogy, but Rinna was apparently unwilling to let it go.

There was a campaign to gang up on Sutton this season and it was clear to see from episode one.

But Rinna treated Sutton for instance one way in private and was screaming at her once she had an audience.

It was a bizarre moment when Rinna screamed that she was going to hunt Sutton down if she came for her husband, Harry Hamlin.

It was the first sign of Rinna being a woman unravelling as she struggled with the death of her mother, Lois.

The embarrassment at the charity event

This was really a continuation of Rinna rage towards Sutton from the previous episode. Kyle had been absent because she was away filming, and she was stirring the pot. Always the producer’s pet.

But they had a lot of witnesses, people who really cared about the charity with the unfortunate name: Homeless, Not Toothless.

And once again, Rinna was screaming at Sutton about the same old stuff that Sutton has already apologised for multiple times before.

You could see it in Rinna’s face that she knew she had taken it too far and was embarrassed by her actions. And then she decided to tell the entire party about her behaviour, her struggles and her sorrow.

I felt bad for Rinna and I’m sorry for the loss of her mother, but that party was neither the time or place, so it became more embarrassing to me than genuine and heartfelt.

The nastiness at the disco party

Erika has learned that Garcelle was concerned about her drinking and was making asshole comments about Sutton, like “And I’m the one with the supposedly drinking problem” as Diana was sitting next to her, snickering.

It became a back and forth between Erika and Garcelle where Garcelle gave her such simple and subtle reads that Erika walked right into.

“Erika, I don’t have to make you look bad, you do that fine on your own.”

It’s one of my favourite moments this season. But this party is also important for what happens later in the season. You could see a shift in the way the women treated Kathy in this episode.

As Kathy butchered the name of the charity and made jokes about it, the women acted so offended by it, as if they hadn’t made fun of the name themselves.

It’s interesting that they all of a sudden had an issue with Kathy.

The case of the infamous earrings

I didn’t want to highlight the wickedness of Diana and how terrible she treated Sutton in Aspen.

It was one of the most frustrating and triggering episodes I’ve seen in a long time, and I don’t know who I despise the most; Diana, Erika or Kyle.

However, Erika’s unapologetic and hostile attitude as Crystal and Garcelle asked her about the diamond earrings tops everything.

I think this was the meltdown the women should’ve addressed as concerning and disgusting, instead of Kathy’s meltdown that was neither captured on mic or film.

How convenient that Kathy had her meltdown when she had, as Rinna succeeded in deflecting the attention away from her bestie.

The sitdown with Kathy, Kyle and Rinna

As there was no audio or film of Kathy’s meltdown in Aspen, we’re forced to rely on Rinna’s version of events. I partly believe that Kathy said all those alleged things, but I don’t necessarily understand why they made such a big deal about.

I believe Garcelle’s verdict about the situation: Everybody is now talking about Kathy and not Erika.

The fact that Rinna and Erika are the ones pushing this story makes it obvious: They were deflecting the attention away from Erika’s meltdown in Aspen.

And why Rinna was there for a conversation between Kyle and Kathy didn’t make much sense either. 

Rinna made a bad situation worse, and she did it just for a moment on TV.

Kyle accused Erika of leaking stories!

This was one of the greatest moments from the season, at least one of my favourite moments.

The Fox Force Four has been insufferable and I’ve been begging for a breaking of the miserable pact and I thought this was a significant moment:

Kyle accused Erika of leaking stories about Kathy to the press! Holy shit!

Dorit poorly whispered in Kyle’s ear “You never should’ve said anything” which was incredibly interesting to me.

Sadly, Andy Cohen never asked about this moment at the reunion for some reason… Another failed opportunity to keep all the women accountable for their actions as some seems to be more protected than others. 

Kathy came for Rinna at the reunion!

Someone had been prepping Kathy for this reunion because she brought her A-game. She read Rinna almost like a script coming from the haters on social media, so what she said resignated with a lot of people’s opinion on Rinna.

I personally loved the fact that Kathy asked if Rinna had forgotten that she was agreeing with everything she allegedly said in Aspen! Which makes her whole uncomfortable act at Crystal’s birthday party just that: an act.

As the arrival of Kathy was teased in part 1 and part 2 of the reunion, she was there for a short period during part 3. And once Kyle started crying and feeling sorry for herself, Kathy was done with the whole situation.

For such a short moment at the reunion, Kathy was definitely memorable and, if I’m going to be quite honest, it was kind of iconic. 

If Kathy leaves the show, she quit on top!

[disgusdead]

Birthday

Bumblebee x Reader

Summary: It's your birthday and Bumblebee takes you out on a nighttime drive.

*reupload

First thing when you emerge from your room, you find yourself tossed right out to the front door, catching you completely off guard. Your gang of family and friends is up and about prepping your super party before you even got into your glam attire of the day.

Normally you’d just whip out the best piece of clothing you have in your closet and go with that, but this year is something different. You have a new friend. A special companion from another planet. Another galaxy. The circumstances in which you met had been… chaotic, interesting, but the two of you clicked in a snap; like two peas in a pod. Your best friend and car mech coach, Charlie, knows him too. She’s the one who’d found him in hiding when she was young, fixed him up, and helped him get back on his feet.

And did I mention she also fought off Decepticons with Bee?

How freaking rad is that?

Presents are piled high in your arms, you have to tilt back to keep the boxes from tumbling and spilling over the floor.

Every now and then, in the midst of metallic streamers, disco lights, sloshing drinks in swaying cups, and very tight hugs, your mind wanders to your Autobot buddy, attention diverting to the window occasionally, hoping the next flash of headlights outside would be him.

Bee is away on a mission with Prime, and he promised he’d be back to celebrate your birthday with you. Even then you were still nervous. Every time he’s gone with the Autobots for duty, you start to dread. You understand if it gets the mission done he would give his life for it. You admire that about him; he is brave, courageous, loyal and devoted. So the best you can do is pray with every fiber you’re made of, to whoever listens, that he’s doing just fine. He’s Bee after all. Small he may be among his comrades, but there’s no doubt about the immense power behind his sting.

By the time the frenzy begins to bubble to a warm, buzzing end, you are rosy in the cheeks, chuckling and hugging your friends goodbye as tipsy excitement slowly mellows into frothy calm. You aren’t tired just yet, taking your time to unwind, update your social media, before climbing into bed.

~

A little past midnight, as you’re finally dozing off after spending the last hour twisting and turning in the sheets, having a fistfight with consciousness, your earphones on playing your favorite playlist, something taps against your window pane, almost startling you from under your blankets. And peering into your room is a familiar face.

“Bee!” Bouncing out of bed, bolting across the room, you throw the window open. “I thought something happened. I was worried.”

The Autobot places his big metallic hand over yours on the sill, clipping together his regrets from his radio.

“Sorry. Sunshine. I am. Late.”

You rub his head. “Glad you’re back, big guy.”

He buzzes, content, and would like to invite you on a drive with him. Who are you to refuse?

You get changed, grab your jacket, and let him lower you down to the ground before climbing into his fancy Camaro ride. Bee then takes you to a vantage point that overlooks the city night scene. Highrises compete in height, streets breathe with artificial lights, cool breeze brings about metropolis air that’s somewhat smoky and crisp, invoking something nostalgic that you can’t quite place. From behind, a series of clanking and churning and hissing lets you know Bee is a seventeen-foot giant once again, and when he approaches, you notice something sitting in the middle of his palm.

“For me?” you ask, opening the proffered cardboard box to discover a miniature cake laying within, a small “Happy Birthday” sign is lodged right in the middle.

A huge grin adorns your face. “Bee, it’s so pretty. Thank you!”

“Happy Birthday. B. F. F. L.”

You don’t know how he obtained it, but you don’t question it. Bee plops down beside you as you fork into the cake, which melts in your mouth in a burst of sweetness and tartness.

“We could share this, but your kind doesn’t eat. Not our food at least.”

“It’s a good thing and a bad thing,” he says.

You chuckle and look to the sky.

Stars, no matter how brightly they burn up there, are no match for the fire of human’s excellence and vanity. Man-made brilliance calls louder than nature’s. That is somewhat true. You can barely distinguish the occasional twinkles from under all the light pollution. It makes you wonder—what it will be like to see it up close and personal in space. Maybe someday Bee would take you on a stroll to space when his duty on Earth is done.

Done…

When Earth no longer needs the Autobots, will Bee and the others be returning home to their mother-planet? Galaxies away. Will you be seeing them again? Will this war stretch on farther than what you’re able to see?

Bee notices your sudden quietness, nudges you with his elbow, nearly knocking you off balance with his strength. “I don’t think you want me to. Tickle. You.”

Giggling, you sit upright. “Don’t do that.”

This fighter of a robot enjoys head pets a lot more than you think; when you stroke the dome of his yellow head, his little antennas respond adorably, his eyes flutter closed, and he purrs, as if a kitten.

“Great job on your mission. Way to go, champ.” It became a norm; you will praise him when he returns from duty, and he will always do a little dance to celebrate, it makes you smile to no end.

Popping two thumbs up enthusiastically, he replies the usual. 

“Thank you. Sunshine.”

[writingquestionsanswered]

Tattoo Shop AU - a quick, practical guide for writers

Guest Post by lebanon-hangover

lebanon-hangover said: this is based on my personal experience with the industry only, so depending on the era and country you are portraying, it may not be 100% accurate for your setting.

Hygiene

It may not be obvious at first glance, but most tattooists are clean freaks. We work with human blood every day, and we get clients from all ages, ethnic and social economic backgrounds, with all sorts of medical conditions.

We usually mop frequently, bleach the sinks, wipe down everything, and use cling film or bags to wrap everything. I mean fucking everything. We also scrub in, and sanitise the area on the person we work on.

Needles are collected in a sharps bin, and handled very carefully. Medical waste goes in yellow bags, and both are collected by a professional service.

Used ink caps may look full, but the ink gets diluted by blood. Like you dip the inky needle into the person, but you also dip the person’s blood into your ink. These are medical waste too.

Cleaning up must be done promptly after the session. Bin everything disposable, put things through the ultrasonic and the autoclave, and sanitise the area. We may take machines apart, but more for maintenance than cleaning, sometimes we swap parts in them too.

We have two sinks, one for hand washing, one for cleaning.

All inks and needles have use by dates.

The internal dynamics of a studio

Depending on the country, some tattoo shops tend to have ties to biker gangs, and some of those internal dynamics and unwritten rules are often present.

There’s a pecking order and it’s dead serious. Basically the longer you’ve been in a shop, the higher ‘rank’ you are, you get the better positioned stations, first pick of walk-ins, etc (Unless the client is asking for someone by name). Regardless of your actual experience in the industry, like if you move into your old apprentice’s shop, they are still senior to you. If the owner or their partner is an artist, obviously they are on top of the chain by default.

We are self employed, but we have a boss. You are only making money if you are working, but you still have set work hours.

We get paid by the clients, and we pay the studio a cut. In return, there are some items provided by them, and some we buy for ourselves. Usually the chairs, tattoo beds, gloves, cleaning products, clip cord covers, masks, aprons, ink caps, vaseline, green soap, and some basic ink is provided by the shop. We buy our own machines, arm rests, stations, pedals, power supplies, clipcords, tips and grips, needles, special colours, stencil fluid…these are a personal preference, and often depend on the artists’ style.

We totally ask to try out each other’s equipment sometimes, or ask for a certain type of needle if we ran out.

The receptionist is usually just one of us, maybe a piercer, but it also can be a hired person in top studios.

The apprentice in the traditional system is often mistreated, and they have to pay for their education, have to be there multiple days a week and don’t make any money. It’s kind of like a tear them down, build them back up again thing to see if they are really serious about the job. Times are slowly changing, but 99% of them will always need a second job. Most of them are working as bar staff.

When you open a new studio, you must visit all the existing local ones and introduce yourself, otherwise you may get a brick through the window. Otherwise there’s not much beef among individual artists, they are often friends, go to conventions together and party after, etc.

The Artists

Tattooing is a fairly physical job, stretching skin is very important. We have to also keep our clients safely still, so we often use positions to pin them down a bit. Sometimes you hit a reflex point on the foot or under a knee, and you don’t want to get kicked. Sometimes you have to pull away super fast, cos they are sneezing, yawning or giggling.

Most tattooists drink a lot of coffee, tea or energy drinks.

Some people are all rounders, some have specific styles, but we recognise each other’s art styles. Sometimes we delegate work to each other, if we think our coworkers style fits the concept better. For example if there’s a person who does script well, we give them those projects.

We don’t like when people come in with designs from other artists. Art theft is frowned upon, and we work best with our own drawings.

Most apprentices practice on their own legs, and sometimes we tattoo each other when it’s quiet. Most people have cover ups, or bad pieces from their early days. The artists’ own tattoos sometimes are in a different style than what they do, but we like to collect ink from friends or colleagues we admire.

In the first 1-2 years one is an apprentice, then junior artist. At 5-8 years of tattooing, you have earned your stripes and are considered an experienced artist.

Conventions are really fun, but can be stressful. You can make good money working at one, and sometimes get awarded for it too. We can also spend a lot at a convention.

Sometimes we poke our fingers by accident, and it’s a scary thing. Good case scenario is just some random dots on your fingers. Let’s not go into the bad case scenario.

We do guest spots sometimes, just to meet new clients, and change it up a bit.

We spend a lot of time drawing up things, and designs are meant to fall on specific muscles, stretch with the skin a certain way, so they are tailored to the body proportions of the client. A good tattoo is also an optical illusion, complimenting the body shape.

Social media presence is like a second job, you need good photos, and you need to market yourself.

Tattoo ink does not wash out, so some stains are inevitable when pouring it out. Those ink bottles get stuck so easily, and we wrestle them a lot. We try to avoid it, but wearing all dark colours is a thing for a reason.

The Clients

Tattooists need to have a good ‘bedside manners’ too. We get nervous or self conscious people, and we are told personal things during long sessions. For example scar coverups and memorial pieces can be very emotional.

We have pretty good poker faces and first aid trainings. People can faint, get shaky, throw up, some have seizures, have b.o., get sweaty, etc the same way as at a blood donation event? It’s no big deal really. We sit them down, give them some water and some sugar, and re-book them if necessary. Most artists keep some wet wipes, mouth wash, deodorant, sweets, maybe even some clean clothes at work, just in case.

If someone comes in with a wild idea for a jobstopper, we would sit down and have a long talk. If they haven’t got many tattoos, we usually try to stir them towards more safe choices, offering them creative ideas. It’s like those jedi mind tricks sometimes.

If someone is undecided, we show them our own hand drawn flash sheets. Once its gone, its gone tho, we don’t use the designs twice.

Pinterest is full of photoshopped fake tattoos, some that won’t even work as real ink. Many people also touch up their work digitally on photos, so some clients have really unrealistic expectations.

We can totally tell if someone is intoxicated or hangover. It thins the blood, and they bleed out the ink, and it’s super annoying. if it’s bad, they will be sent home and rebooked.

Some folks are self conscious about body hair, their size, stretch marks and scars. Chances are, we have seen similar, and we aren’t bothered by it, because it’s work. Surgery scars, scars from accidents, self harm scars, burns, we see it all the time. We shave some really hairy dudes all the time girl, your legs are fine. Seriously. If something makes tattooing you dangerous we will tell you.

Fit, muscular people are harder to tattoo because they are really firm. Its a workout for us.

Everyone gets midnight messages about the aftercare from nervous clients, and drunken booty calls about getting inked right at this second. We have copy paste replies…

We get creeps sometimes. Stalking, weird conversations, tmi info dumps etc.

Other things to include (for fun, or for plot reasons)

We sometimes have those “oh fuck” moments. We all do, but mistakes can be fixed, and we play it cool.

Tattooing takes time. Usually 30 minutes to multiple sessions though years and years.

Healing tattoos takes about 2-4ish weeks, and your characters shouldn’t go roll around in dirt, sunbathe, swim, pick at the scabs. Nasty infections, and messed up tattoos would be the results.

If you have a strong immune system, and you get a lot of work done in one sitting, you may get a brief bit of a temperature. It’s normal, and will go away.

Its a lot easier to get seriously drunk after getting a tattoo. Be careful.

We sometimes draw on each other for practice with our marker pens.

Tattoos are inside the skin, not on top of it. Imagine a low opacity, skin toned layer over the ink, adding to the healed tattoos’ colour. Please stop making your characters skin fully transparent.

Heavy blackwork and palms are done in multiple sessions.

You can’t cover up moles, because if they develop skin cancer, the dermatologist can’t see the signs.

There’s a stereotype about piercers having blacked out sleeves.

Stencil fluid looks just like cum.

You get that annoying itch on your face when you scrubbed in, put on gloves and finally ready to go.

Some artists have a strong preference for coil or rotary machines, and they bicker about it a lot. Coils are louder, more punchy, and more traditional, perfect for lineart. They can be customised, and they last forever. They are also called glorified doorbells by people who prefer rotaries. Rotary machines are smoother, lighter, and often use needles that are pulled back into the cartridges for safety. They are better for shading and delicate line work. Older tattooists often say they are dildo or butt plug shaped, overly delicate and are for “soft millennials” only.

Every artist owns like 5 to 20 machines, and they have specific machine builders they are loyal to.

The “which cable is broken and cutting out” guessing game. Clip cords and pedal cables get worn out easily, and that results in your machine running really jerky.

Walk-in always show up 10 minutes before closing.

We often look quite silly at work. Sleeves rolled up, folks use all sorts of plastic ppe, headlamps, and we tie up our hair. Add couple of purple smears from carbon paper, and we aren’t scary at all.

[shinebrightlikeanarwhal]

How would the gang react to Travis being body shamed because I feel he would probably be under weight because of his father and the abuse he was put through

Travis being underweight or overweight depending on the breakthroughs in his therapy and the trust he’s built with the gang. Underweight when they’re close but still prying into his heart and mind. One of the more sensible and accepting times. Overweight/underweight when he’s fluctuating in EDs due to stress and coping. He’s much more emotional and the outburst is 50/50 death by Travis/death by gang.

They would literally have to hold back Philip tbh.

Like Larry would pissed. FUMING EVEN but holy shit, Philip would straight up almost murder whoever said anything about it.

It would probably be some snide remark in passing while Travis is happily looking at food to order with the gang. Someone noticing he’s either a little chonkier now or still underweight and giggling about it with their friends. The gang almost ignores it until they see Travis deflate and look at the healthier menu items and Philip grabs the fucking butter knife from the table and almost leaps over at the bastards that opened their mouth.

Larry, with the speed of a god and Philips anger management buddy, grabs the belt loop of the back of his pants in the nick of time to stop him from committing murder. Travis panics and hurries over to try and get Philip back to the table while the assholes that spoke are pissing themselves. Not too far behind Larry is Sal with a spoon and a gleaming red light in his electric blue eyes.

Philip 100% got in fights about it at school. Probably one of the main reasons he and Larry fought. Larry wouldn’t know and would just think Travis is following some fad diet to be the goody two shoes for his daddy and Philip would throw a table at him. The brute strength Philip has when enraged is jaw dropping. Travis is used to it honestly. He gets it from home and he isn’t surprised when the people he antagonizes try to antagonize him the same way.

I like the idea that Travis is actually very docile and mild mannered but puts on this act so his dad doesn’t hurt him for people who speak to him. Like if he could be in a better environment he wouldn’t even talk to anyone other than Philip. Hide in sweaters and not be perceived at all. (Highly doubted because my Travis is a cute baby and deserves to be coddled and therapy)

Sal doesn’t talk about Travis’ physical attributes. He just stares which unnerves Philip but when you have a pretty bestie with an attitude you come to accept the stares of the sheep that flock him! When they finally bond though, Sal explains he was staring to make sure Travis wasn’t showing signs of an eating disorder and picked up on the most common two.

Chug would be another like outwardly aggressive person in the gang when someone talks about Travis’ weight. After they talked out the past and Travis profusely apologized he took quite the liking to Travis. He is also one of the reasons Travis gained some weight, lmao. So seeing he’s friend get the same treatment he had, knowing the initial upset and hurt, angers him. Let’s be honest. With his size Chug is pretty intimidating. If he exercises and does weight training he would be a sleeping giant of the gang.

Ash doesn’t give a single fuck. You body shame she body shames back. God knows she holds in her anger around Travis since he shuts down easily. the moment someone pisses her off by shooting for his insecurities after they worked tirelessly to get him to open up? Pray she throws a punch. If she even sniffs out your weakness she will bully you.

Let alone if a kid tries to be funny. Only three people in the gang are nice to random children. Sal, maple and Neil. Chug tolérâtes the lil bastards but they aren’t his so he don’t care. Larry would punt a kid and laugh. Ash would bully them. Point blank just drag them, pray they don’t have social media up and she sees something they shouldn’t be on. The menacing ass grin on her face.

To be fair though. That’s if Travis doesn’t laugh in their face and ask what a bitchless loser is doing in his business. He’s still mean and bitter. Don’t test him post therapy. Get him on a day of breakthrough and he might cry. Get him on a day if acknowledgement and him bullying you is the least of your problems. Him and Philip have an instant murder button.

[ladydarklord]

The Mighty Boosh on the business of being silly

The Times, November 15 2008

What began as a cult cocktail of daft poems, surreal characters and fantastical storylines has turned into the comedy juggernaut that is the Mighty Boosh. Janice Turner hangs out with creators Noel Fielding, Julian Barratt and the extended Boosh family to discuss the serious business of being silly

In the thin drizzle of a Monday night in Sheffield, a crowd of young women are waiting for the Mighty Boosh or, more precisely, one half of it. Big-boned Yorkshire lasses, jacketless and unshivering despite the autumn nip, they look ready to devour the object of their desire, the fey, androgynous Noel Fielding, if he puts a lamé boot outside the stage door. “Ooh, I do love a man in eyeliner,” sighs Natalie from Rotherham. She’ll be throwing sickies at work to see the Boosh show 13 times on their tour, plus attend the Boosh after-show parties and Boosh book signings. “My life is dead dull without them,” she says.

Nearby, mobiles primed, a pair of sixth-formers trade favourite Boosh lines. “What is your name?” asks Jessica. “I go by many names, sir,” Victoria replies portentously. A prison warden called Davena survives long days with high-security villains intoning, “It’s an outrage!” in the gravelly voice of Boosh character Tony Harrison, a being whose head is a testicle.

Apart from Fielding, what they all love most about the Boosh is that half their mates don’t get it. They see a bloke in a gorilla suit, a shaman called Naboo, silly rhymes about soup, stories involving shipwrecked men seducing coconuts “and they’re like, ‘This is bloody rubbish,’” says Jessica. “So you feel special because you do get it. You’re part of a club.”

Except the Mighty Boosh club is now more like a movement. What began as an Edinburgh fringe show starring Fielding and his partner Julian Barratt and later became an obscure BBC3 series has grown into a box-set flogging, mega-merchandising, 80-date touring Boosh inc. There was a Boosh festival last summer, now talk of a Boosh movie and Boosh in America. An impasse seems to have been reached: either the Boosh will expand globally or, like other mass comedy cults before it – Vic and Bob, Newman and Baddiel – slowly begin to deflate.

But for the moment, the fans still wait in the rain for heroes who’ve already left the building. I find the Boosh gang gathered in their hotel bar, high on post-gig adrenalin. Barratt, blokishly handsome with his ring-master moustache, if a tad paunchy these days, blends in with the crew. But Fielding is never truly “off”. All day he has been channelling A Clockwork Orange in thick black eyeliner (now smudged into panda rings) and a bowler hat, which he wears with polka-dot leggings, gold boots and a long, neon-green fur-collared PVC trenchcoat. He has, as those women outside put it, “something about him”: a carefully-wrought rock-god danger mixed with an amiable sweetness. Sexy yet approachable. Which is why, perched on a barstool, is a great slab of security called Danny.

“He stops people getting in our faces,” says Fielding. “He does massive stars like P. Diddy and Madonna and he says that considering how we’re viewed in the media as a cult phenomenon, we get much more attention in the street than, say, Girls Aloud. Danny says we’re on the same level as Russell Brand, who can’t walk from the door to the car without ten people speaking to him.”

This barometer of fame appears to fascinate and thrill Fielding. Although he complains he can’t eat dinner with his girlfriend (Dee Plume from the band Robots in Disguise) unmolested, he parties hard and publicly with paparazzi-magnets like Courtney Love and Amy Winehouse. He claims he’s tried wearing a baseball cap but fans still recognise him. Hearing this, Julian Barratt smiles wryly: “Noel is never going to dress down.”

It is clear on meeting them that their Boosh characters Vince Noir (Fielding), the narcissistic extrovert, and Howard Moon (Barratt), the serious, socially awkward jazz obsessive, are comic exaggerations of their own personalities. At the afternoon photo shoot, Fielding breaks free of the hair and make-up lady, sprays most of a can of Elnett on to his Bolan feather-cut and teases it to his satisfaction. Very Vince. “It is an art-life crossover,” says Barratt.

At 40, five years older than Fielding, Barratt exhibits the profound weariness of a man trying to balance a five-month national tour with new-fatherhood. After every Saturday night show he returns home to his 18-month-old twins, Arthur and Walter, and his partner Julia Davis (the creator-star of Nighty Night) and today he was up at 5am pushing a pram on Hampstead Heath before taking the train north to rejoin the Boosh. “I go back so the boys remember who I am. But it’s harder to leave them every time,” he says. “It is totally schizophrenic, totally opposite mental states: all this self-obsession and then them.”

About two nights a week on tour, Fielding doesn’t go to bed, parties through the night and performs the next evening having not slept at all. Barratt often retreats to his room to plough through box sets of The Wire. “It’s a bit gritty, but that is in itself an escape, because what we do is so fantastical.”

But mostly it is hard to resist the instant party provided by a large cast, crew and band. Indeed, drinking with them, it appears Fielding and Barratt are but the most famous members of a close collective of artists, musicians and old mates. Fielding’s brother Michael, who previously worked in a bowling alley, plays Naboo the shaman. “He is late every single day,” complains Noel. “He’s mad and useless, but I’m quite protective of him, quite parental.” Michael is always arguing with Bollo the gorilla, aka Fielding’s best mate, Dave Brown, a graphic artist relieved to remove his costume – “It’s so hot in there I fear I may never father children” – to design the Boosh book. One of the lighting crew worked as male nanny to Barratt’s twins and was in Michael’s class at school: “The first time I met you,” he says to Noel, “you gave me a dead arm.” “You were 9,” Fielding replies. “And you were messing with my stuff.”

This gang aren’t hangers-on but the wellspring of the Boosh’s originality and its strange, homespun, degree-show aesthetic: a character called Mr Susan is made out of chamois leathers, the Hitcher has a giant Polo Mint for an eye. When they need a tour poster they ignore the promoter’s suggestions and call in their old mate, Nige.

Fielding and Barratt met ten years ago at a comedy night in a North London pub. The former had just left Croydon Art College, the latter had dropped out of an American Studies degree at Reading to try stand-up, although he was so terrified at his first gig that he ran off stage and had to be dragged back by the compere.

While superficially different, their childhoods have a common theme: both had artistic, bohemian parents who exercised benign neglect. Fielding’s folks were only 17 when he was born: “They were just kids really. Hippies. Though more into Black Sabbath and Led Zep. There were lots of parties and crazy times. They loved dressing up. And there was a big gap between me and my brother – about nine years – so I was an only child for a long time, hanging out with them, lots of weird stuff going on.

“The great thing about my mum and dad is they let me do anything I wanted as a kid as long as I wasn’t misbehaving. I could eat and go to bed when I liked. I used to spend a lot of time drawing and painting and reading. In my own world, I guess.”

Growing up in Mitcham, South London, his father was a postmaster, while his mother now works for the Home Office. Work was merely the means to fund a good time. “When your dad is into David Bowie, how do you rebel against that? You can’t really. They come to all the gigs. They’ve been in America for the past three weeks. I’m ringing my mum really excited because we’re hanging out with Jim Sheridan, who directed In the Name of the Father, and the Edge from U2, and she said, ‘We’re hanging with Jack White,’ whom they met through a friend of mine. Trumped again!”

Barratt’s father was a Leeds art teacher, his mother an artist later turned businesswoman. “Dad was a bit more strict and academic. Mum would let me do anything I wanted, didn’t mind whether I went to school.” Through his father he became obsessed with Monty Python, went to jazz and Spike Milligan gigs, learnt about sex from his dad’s leatherbound volumes of Penthouse.

Barratt joined bands and assumed he would become a musician (he does all the Boosh’s musical arrangements); Fielding hoped to become an artist (he designed the Boosh book cover and throughout our interview sketches obsessively). Instead they threw their talents into comedy. Barratt: “It is a great means of getting your ideas over instantly.” Fielding: “Yes, it is quite punk in that way.”

Their 1998 Edinburgh Fringe show called The Mighty Boosh was named, obscurely, after a friend’s description of Michael Fielding’s huge childhood Afro: “A mighty bush.” While their double-act banter has an old-fashioned dynamic, redolent of Morecambe and Wise, the show threw in weird characters and a fantasy storyline in which they played a pair of zookeepers. They are very serious about their influences. “Magritte, Rousseau...” says Fielding. “I like Rousseau’s made-up worlds: his jungle has all the things you’d want in a jungle, even though he’d never been in one so it was an imaginary place.”

Eclectic, weird and, crucially, unprepared to compromise their aesthetic sensibilities, it was 2004 before, championed by Steve Coogan’s Baby Cow production company, their first series aired on BBC3. Through repeats and DVD sales the second series, in which the pair have left the zoo and are living above Naboo’s shop, found a bigger audience. Last year the first episode of series three had one million viewers. But perhaps the Boosh’s true breakthrough into mainstream came in June when George Bush visited Belfast and a child presented him with a plant labelled “The Mighty Bush”. Assuming it was a tribute to his greatness, the president proudly displayed it for the cameras, while the rest of Britain tittered.

A Boosh audience these days is quite a mix. In Sheffield the front row is rammed with teenage indie girls, heavy on the eyeliner, who fancy Fielding. But there are children, too: my own sons can recite whole “crimps” (the Boosh’s silly, very English version of rap) word for word. And there are older, respectable types who, when I interview them, all apologise for having such boring jobs. They’re accountants, IT workers, human resources officers and civil servants. But probe deeper and you find ten years ago they excelled at art A level or played in a band, and now puzzle how their lives turned out so square. For them, the Boosh embody their former dreams. And their DIY comedy, shambolic air, the slightly crap costumes, the melding of fantasy with the everyday, feels like something they could still knock up at home.

Indeed, many fans come to gigs in costume. At the Mighty Boosh Festival 15,000 people came dressed up to watch bands and absurdity in a Kent field. And in Sheffield I meet a father-and-son combo dressed as Howard Moon and Bob Fossil – general manager of the zoo – plus a gang of thirty-something parents elaborately attired as Crack Fox, Spirit of Jazz, a granny called Nanageddon, and Amy Housemouse. “I love the Boosh because it’s total escapism,” says Laura Hargreaves, an employment manager dressed as an Electro Fairy. “It’s not all perfect and people these days worry too much that things aren’t perfect. It’s just pure fun.”

But how to retain that appealingly amateur art-school quality now that the Boosh is a mega comedy brand? Noel Fielding is adamant that they haven’t grown cynical, that The Mighty Book of Boosh was a long-term project, not a money-spinner chucked out for Christmas: “There is a lot of heart in what we do,” he says. Barratt adds: “It’s been hard this year to do everything we’ve wanted, to a standard we’re proud of... Which is why we’re worn to shreds.”

Comedy is most powerful in intimate spaces, but the Boosh show, with its huge set, requires major venues. “We’ve lost money every day on the tour,” says Fielding. “The crew and the props and what it costs to take them on the road – it’s ridiculous. Small gigs would lose millions of pounds.”

The live show is a kind of Mighty Boosh panto, with old favourites – Bob Fossil, Bollo, Tony Harrison, etc – coming on to cheers of recognition. But it lacks the escapism to the perfectly conceived world of the TV show. They have told the BBC they don’t want a fourth series: they want a movie. They would also, as with Little Britain USA, like a crack at the States, where they run on BBC America. Clearly the Boosh needs to keep evolving or it will die.

Already other artists are telling Fielding and Barratt to make their money now: “They say this is our time, which is quite frightening.” I recall Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, who dominated the Nineties with Big Night Out and Shooting Stars. “Yes, they were massive,” says Fielding. “A number one record...” And now Reeves presents Brainiac. “If you have longer-term goals, it’s not scary,” says Barratt. “To me, I’m heading somewhere else – to direct, make films, write stuff – and at the moment it’s all gone mental. I’m sort of enjoying this as an outsider. It was Noel who had this desire to reach more people.”

Indeed, the old cliché that comedy is the new rock’n’roll is closest to being realised in Noel Fielding. Watching him perform the thrash metal numbers in the Boosh live show, he is half ironic comic performer, half frustrated rock god. His heroes weren’t comics but androgynous musicians: Jagger, Bowie, Syd Barrett. (Although he liked Peter Cook’s style and looks.)

“I like clothes and make-up, I like the transformation,” he says. Does it puzzle him that women find this so sexually attractive? “I was reading a book the other day about the New York Dolls and David Johansen was saying that none of them were gay or even bisexual, and that when they started dressing in stilettos and leather pants, women got it straight away with no explanation. But a lot of men had problems. It’s one of those strange things. A man will go, ‘You f***ing queer.’ And you just think, ‘Well, your girlfriend fancies me.’”

The Boosh stopped signing autographs outside stage doors when it started taking two hours a night. At recent book signings up to 1,500 people have shown up, some sleeping overnight in the queue. And on this tour, the Boosh took control of the after-show parties, once run as money-spinners by the promoters, and now show up in person to do DJ slots. I ask if they like to meet their fans, and they laugh nervously.

Fielding: “We have to be behind a fence.”

Barratt: “They try to rip your clothes off your body.”

Fielding: “The other day my girlfriend gave me this ring. And, doing the rock numbers at the end, I held out my hands and the crowd just ripped it off.”

Barratt: “I see it as a thing which is going to go away. A moment when people are really excited about you. And it can’t last.”

He recalls a man in York grabbing him for a photo, saying, “I’d love to be you, it must be so amazing.” And Barratt says he thought, “Yes, it is. But all the while I was trying to duck into this doorway to avoid the next person.” He’s trying to enjoy the Boosh’s moment, knows it will pass, but all the same?

In the hotel bar, a young woman fan has dodged past Danny and comes brazenly over to Fielding. Head cocked attentively like a glossy bird, he chats, signs various items, submits to photos, speaks to her mate on her phone. The rest of the Boosh crew eye her steelily. They know how it will end. “You have five minutes then you go,” hisses one. “I feel really stupid now,” says the girl. It is hard not to squirm at the awful obeisance of fandom. But still she milks the encounter, demands Fielding come outside to meet her friend. When he demurs she is outraged, and Danny intercedes. Fielding returns to his seat slightly unsettled. “What more does she want?” he mutters, reaching for his wine glass. “A skin sample?”

[alexzalben]

What do you think of all the backlash the last Riverdale episode received? I’ve never seen the writers speak out like this before on all the hate.

This is a pretty complicated topic that I probably can’t do justice with one Tumblr ask, but I’ll try to address some of the broad strokes ideas here. And hang tight, because this is gonna go long.

First of all, a caveat: I have by no means read through every comment the writers were responding to, nor do I know what they discussed or how they’re feeling about things, nor do I speak for them in any way.

However, I do think one of the joys and downfalls of making TV in the social media era is the accessibility of the creative team to fans. Joys because it opens up new ways of understanding how a show is made, demystifying the process, which is always a good thing. Downfalls because to some fans - not all fans, by any means - it makes them feel like they have a say in what happens in the show.

On the latter, it’s not to say that the writers aren’t listening, on many series they’re well aware of what fans think about their show, the plots, the ships, etc. Sometimes they’ll even shift where they’re going based on fan feedback. Nikki and Paolo on Lost are the example I always go to, where they were introduced to show the outside perspective of what other survivors were doing while Jack and his gang were going on adventures... And everybody HATED THEM. So much so that plans changed and they were literally buried alive on the show by the end of the season, in a very unsubtle metaphor.

That said, there’s a difference between what I perceive to be the tone around Nikki and Paolo, which mind you was pre-Twitter days, and what some shows have to deal with now: one is constructive criticism presented as “hey we don’t like this”; the latter sometimes veers into “you suck and you should kill yourself.”

I want to emphasize again: this is not everyone. Usually there is a small section of any group of people that delves into hyper-negativity, and they always get an outsized focus to the number of people who actually do that. Again, example here, but for a while I was part of a pretty popular online sketch comedy group. We got tons of views, tons of comments, I’d estimate 95-99% of those comments were great. Did I internalize those? Of course not. I internalized the one comment out of 100 that told me what a shitty writer I was. That’s the one that rolled around in my head all night, because it seeped into the fear that most writers have that they do suck and will never be successful, at any level. It’s Imposter Syndrome, plain and simple, and it affects everyone no matter how famous (or not) they are.

Reason I mention that is it’s entirely possible that 99% of the comments to the writers of Riverdale this episode were mostly fine, but if 1% of them were of the “fucking kill yourself” variety, that hurts, a lot. It’s not on everyone, by any means, but that pulls the focus, and it’s horrifying every time no matter how often it happens (and believe me, it happens far too often).

Specifically with Riverdale, there are another few factors that are exacerbating this. One is, and I don’t want to diminish this: the pandemic. We’re a year in and people are crumbling mentally. Nothing has been “normal” for a year, that impacts every single aspect of your life, and some things are easier to lash out at than others, like a TV show. If a deadly virus is causing inconsistency? Not much you can do about that. If your fave TV show is shaking up the broadcast schedule and changing your favorite couples? Complain to the writers, the directors, the actors, etc.

The other is the arc of this season so far, which I do think is driving people fucking nuts. This again gets back to the pandemic, but ending with episode 19, waiting months, and then coming back for a premiere that is actually the third to the last episode of the season? That’s unsettling. It throws you off kilter, because it’s not the right rhythm. I know this sounds a little silly, but it’s actually very important: stories have a rhythm to them, and a lot of TV shows in particular have had that rhythm broken. Riverdale had three episodes that were all essentially climax, then upended the show with a time jump, and has continued to mix things around almost every episode. And then it’ll be going into another three month break.

This is definitely the point where someone says “mix things around? they’re doing the same couples they always did.” Sure, theoretical person. But having sifted through fan comments and tweets over the past couple of weeks, every single week one section of the fanbase has been 100% sure it is their ship’s time to shine, and the next they’re being told it’s done forever, and then the next they’re back on, then the next they’re done... It’s an emotional rollercoaster ride, and that’s how the writers designed it, and it’s frankly not over yet. But add in that pandemic uncertainty above, and you have a recipe for people panicking.

Also, and again, this is a small section of any fanbase, but it’s very clear that because of this hyped up panic, some people are being absolutely terrible assholes to other fans. I know I don’t usually curse this much, but the amount of gloating I’ve seen from people on all sides, back and forth, is super gross. Personally, if someone is sobbing for whatever reason, my reaction has never been to quote tweet them with “you lost, get over it” and a peace sign emoji. It sucks when people are sad, and we have a moral obligation to make sure other people feel okay. Don’t know if you’ve ever heard this one, but “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Sort of an important life rule.

Overall, I think a fanbase is stronger is they support each other rather than engaging in ship wars, and I do think there’s a lot of people who do do that. Or just express their displeasure, without attacking people. But there are some people who do, and that’s overall making the whole tone of the discussion that much worse.

So what’s the solution here? I always emphasize to my writers that it’s okay to have a negative take as long as you provide something constructive about a way out of the situation, and I’ll apply that both to the Riverdale fanbase, as well as this extremely long Tumblr ask.

There are three things I’d suggest, and both of them are on you. By “you” I mean the general you, and the reason I suggest them, versus what the writers and creators of Riverdale can do is that “you” are the thing you can control and change.

The first is changing the tone of the discussion. Realize that there are people deeply, emotionally impacted in different ways by this TV show. Allow that they may be having different emotional reactions than you, and give them the space and the support to work through it. If you’re a Varchie fan, it actually makes you a better fan to check on a Barchie fan and see if they’re okay. If you’re a Barchie fan, it’s okay to be happy for a Varchie fan and sad at the same time. Mainly because none of you had anything to do with it. This isn’t even a case where you wore your lucky socks and your fave team won the game. The writers are writing what they wrote, and you are a passive observer, not involved other than the involvement you bring to it. So if everyone supports each other regardless of the circumstances, that will improve things overall.

The second? Disengage. Take a break. Stop watching the show. You have no obligation to tweet, or go on any other social media outlet for this series, nor do you have to keep watching the show if it hurts you. In fact, taking a show break if you feel too involved is a very good thing. Check out, clear your head and come back much later and look at it with fresh eyes.

Third? Think before you comment. It took me a long time to get here with this one, and I’m still working on it, but before you comment: pause, read it over again, and think “is this something I really want to send?” You do get that rush of taking whatever anger you’re feeling and getting it out of your body and mind, but ultimately it’s usually more damaging than either waiting, posting something a little more thoughtful, or not posting at all. It’s really thinking about what you’re adding to the conversation, and what you’re hoping to get back.

So there you go. Lots of thoughts there, and I’m sure there’s lots more to say. This is only my outside perspective on this, and I hope it’s helpful at least in some small way. And if not, that is cool, too!

[twinkleallnight]

Marshmallow

(Part -15) Denouement

Book: The Royal Romance AU

Word count: 1974

Disclaimer: All characters belong to pixelberry.

Rating: Teen/ PG

Warning: None.

A/N: An AU with Drake’s POV, showcasing his life as a commoner at the royal palace. Catch up here

I meet Hana couple of times after the drunk incident but ignore all signs. We never speak of what happened that night. May be, because I don’t want to acknowledge the obvious feelings blooming between us and she is too embarrassed about her state that night.

*******

Finally, the day arises when the country is full of cheerful sounds and bright colours. The palace is being decorated with expensive flowers and exquisite tapestries. Tapestries that depict the valour and courage of the Rhys dynasty.

I stand with Liam in front of a blank wall in anticipation. A life-size portrait is raised up by the palace staff and I see Liam’s chest swell up with pride as his head is held high looking into the eyes of his ancestor King Fabian in the image.

“Your favourite person.” I look at him knowingly.

“My idol. When I wear the crown today, I want to be just and true to my people like him.”

I clasp his shoulder. “You will be the most compassionate king Cordonia has seen.”

“I hope.” Liam beams. “Would you like to come with me to the study? I plan to brush up my speech and then head for the lunch.”

“You go ahead. I think I will see you at the ball. Call me if you need me around.”

“May I know where are you headed to?”

“I have to be at the boutique for a trial.” I say sheepishly.

Liam’s eyes widen, “You are going to dress up?”

I grin, “It’s my best friend’s coronation ball.”

He cocks his head searching in my eyes. “Or is it Hana?”

“I won’t deny.” I reply bashfully.

Liam nods his head with a smile. “I like the new Drake.”

“It’s the same old me.”

“Well, that we will see in the evening.” Liam chortles. “See you at the ball.” He waves and walks away.

I make a beeline to the boutique and coyly enter in. Hana had assured me that no one will be there around at this hour of the day.

“Hana...”, I call out in a tense voice.

She sways down smiling at me from the back of the room and holds my hand. “I am so glad you agreed. You are going to love this.” She pushes me to the trial rooms in excitement. “Go on. Try it.”

When I walk out dressed in a grey suit, she lets out a gasp and scurries to me. Her arms wrap around my neck making me chuckle. She gives me a quick hug and steps back admiring. “Wait here. I want to show you something.”

She brings out another garment bag. She flips the bag to reveal a silver grey gown. “ I found something matching with your suit to wear.” She giggles. I shake my head smiling in disbelief.

“What? You find it funny?” she pouts, a bit disheartened.

“Absolutely not!” I raise her chin with my curled finger. “Look at me. I was the commoner who never showed interest in any of these pompous affairs. But with you around I feel like a different person. I want to try it all. It’s not funny. It’s just that I am beaming at the new me.”

Her eyes brighten up again. “I am so excited for tonight.”

“ I can see that. Me too.”

“Okay, now you need to leave. I have some more last minute things to finish.”

“You sure don’t need my help anywhere.”

“No. Thank you.”

She pushes me out of the boutique giggling in enthusiasm.

I have a quiet lunch and retire to my quarters till evening.

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

Later in the evening:

The palace shines in all its glory with strings of lights twinkling around its edges. The nobles arrive in their luxury vehicles one after another draped in choicest of designer wears, waving out to the cameras flashing at the entrance. The media is covering the country’s most important event in decades, alerting their representatives to capture who’s who of the royal court.

I calmly observe the rush, as usual, from my favourite spot, the bar. Liam joins me soon.

“Hana has a great taste.”

“What?” I look at him quizzically.

He raises his eyebrows in praise and waves his hand at me. “The suit looks good on you. She chose well.”

“Chose well? You mean the suit or me?”

He laughs out. “She has improved your sense of humour too. You are no longer the grumpy one.”

“I was never grumpy except in Riley’s dictionary.”

Just then, Max sprints towards Liam, “Hey Li, have you seen the grumpy guy around?”

I turn to him, “Very funny, Beaumont.”

“Oh, is it really you Drakey!” He gropes over and cups my face, his voice, a note higher and melodramatic. “You gave away your denims for a suit? That must be so painful. Are you alright?” He places the back of his hand on my forehead, trying to test my temperature.

“Cut it out Max.” I shrug away his hands as I notice Liam stifling a laugh.

Hana and Riley join the gang and they get busy with the chit chat. I notice Hana stealing glances at me but her eyes have a worried look. Something seems to be amiss that I cannot place my finger upon. After sometime she excuses herself and I find her exiting the main doors. I follow her towards the lawn.

There under the silver of moon, Hana shimmers in her silver gown, standing alone, deep in her thoughts. I step closer to her and wrap my arm around her shoulder.

She turns around to face me and suddenly hugs me tightly. “What’s wrong?” I ask her softly.

She doesn’t utter a word but pulls out an envelope from her clutch and hands it over to me. I don’t understand the foreign language written in it but definitely know that whatever it is, it has upset her. Her voice is almost a whisper when she says, “It’s over. I have to leave.” Still looking down into the letter.

I hold her at her elbows and tug, “Leave? Why?”

She raises her head and I see her eyes are welled up with tears. “It’s a letter from my parents. They say if I am not Liam’s choice tonight, which they know well, I should be moving back to Shangai tomorrow.”

I feel like someone has sucked out the breath from me, as I stand speechless in front of her.

‘Is this how it ends? No. Is this how I want it to end?’ It’s a split-second decision I make in a trice. I embrace her tightly. I hear her gasp with my unexpected move. Her hands lightly resting on my arms, letter still held in one.

I cup her face and look into my favourite honey almond eyes. “Hana…” I gather some more courage to say things I intend to. “I don’t know what happens tomorrow. But I want you to know that you are the most amazing person I have ever met. You are epitome of perfection yet you ignore the imperfections people around you have. Hell, you turn those short comings into a silver lining. You do things for the people you care. It’s impossible to stay away from you once someone gets to know you. I don’t know if I even deserve to be with you. But I want tell you this, that I… I love you. And I won’t let this end here. It’s not over. Not yet.”

She tries to open her mouth to say something but before that I lower my mouth on hers and capture the warmth of her lips. My fingers, cupping her face, feel the wetness of her tears rolling down her cheeks. I roll my thumb to wipe them away without breaking the kiss.

********

“How do you think it goes from here?” Riley questions in general.

“I don’t have any idea.” I rub my hands over my eyes.

I had requested Liam for an urgent word regarding Hana’s plans, in turn he called Riley and now we are all seated with him in his study.

“Can’t you stay?” Riley asks Hana.

“No.” Hana speaks softly, looking into a hollow.

“Why?”

“This is how it was supposed to be. My parents wanted me to be in Cordonia so that I find a suitable match in some noble house. With the social season coming to an end tonight, they don’t want me to stay any longer without purpose.”

“Damn it!” I curse in frustration.

“So, we really can’t do anything?” Riley looks at Liam for an answer.

“Not immediately. We will have to wait.” Liam says brooding.

“How long?” Riley seems to be more restless.

“Until I take over the office as the king of Cordonia.” He pauses, “And I can’t directly pass the first orders for Lee family at Shanghai when there must be many pressing issues Cordonia is dealing with. So we will have no option but to be patient.”

There is a knock at the door. Bastein peeps in to remind, “I am sorry to interrupt but we are running against time, sir. The king has asked for your presence in the main hall.”

Liam gets up looking at the watch. “I am afraid, we will have to curtail this meeting. Drake, I will see what I can do. I will update you.” He pats my back and then addresses Hana.

“Hana, trust me, we will find out a solution. I am sorry that you have to go through this.”

She gives a forced smile. “Thank you.”

Riley hugs her in reassurance and they both walk out of the study. I keep looking blankly at her retrieving figure. Bastein clears his throat to pull me back from my thoughts. “I… I…”

Bastein walks to me. He places his hand on my back. “Son, you are dealing with the nobles here. Don’t jump into action too soon. Take one step at a time. Things will fall in place if all goes well. Tomorrow, the king will be the one who is your best friend. As much as I know the boy, he will always have your back.” I nod in agreement.

“Have faith and some hope. This too shall pass.”

“Thank you, Bas.” I compose myself and stride down the hall with him.

The coronation ceremony is conducted smoothly. Watching Liam bearing a crown is a moment of pride. Minutes later, the announcement for the queen is made and against all odds he declares his love, lady Riley, as his future queen. They exchange rings and pose to the paparazzi as an officially engaged couple.

My eyes are stuck at the grand clock, each passing second ticking in my ear. My heart is racing against time. I scan through the crowd once again. Hana stands on the other end of the hall with other suitors. Our eyes pierce into each other hers throwing away sadness and mine hoping against hope.

“You know if Liam can get true love, against all odds, you too deserve to be with the one you love.” I snap at the voice that spoke behind me.

“Leo? What the hell are you doing here?”

“Couldn’t have missed my baby brother’s coronation ceremony.” He shrugs. We meet each other with a hug.

“So, you and Hana, huh?” he asks inquisitively.

“Didn’t you just come back to Cordonia? How do you know?”

He looks across my shoulder at someone. “She knows, so I know.” He raises his glass wine in someone’s direction.

I turn around to see whom he is pointing to. My jaw drops when I check the lady walking towards us. She stops besides Leo and he places a soft kiss on her cheek. Their arms wind around each other’s waist.

“You…and…Livy?” I falter, astonished at the sudden turn of events.

Tags: @ao719 @annekebbphotography @anjanettexcordonia @bebepac @charlotteg234 @choicesficwriterscreations @cordonia-gothqueen @drakewalker04 @eadanga @gkittylove99 @glaimtruelovealways @krsnlove @hopefulmoonobject @hopelessromanticmonie @iam-the-kind-and-thoughtful @jessiembruno @jovialyouthmusic @jaxsmutsuo @kat-tia801 @kingliam2019 @khoicesbyk @shewillreadyou @lisha1valecha @lovablegranny @mrswalkers-blog @mom2000aggie @no-one-u-knoww @ntoraplayschoices @princessleac1 @ritachacha @secretaryunpaid @sirbeepsalot @speedyoperarascalparty @shanzay44 @texaskitten30 @txemrn @queenrileyrose @sanchita012 @sfb123 @theroyalheirshadowhunter @aestheticartsx @yourmajesty09

@hopefulmoonobject @hopelessromanticmonie @iam-the-kind-and-thoughtful @jessiembruno @jovialyouthmusic @jaxsmutsuo @kat-tia801 @kingliam2019 @khoicesbyk @shewillreadyou @lisha1valecha @lovablegr @hopefulmoonobject @hopelessromanticmonie @iam-the-kind-and-thoughtful @jessiembruno @jovialyouthmusic @jaxsmutsuo @kat-tia801 @kingliam2019 @khoicesbyk @shewillreadyou @lisha1valecha @lovablegranny @mrswalkers-blog @mom2000aggie @no-one-u-knoww @ntoraplayschoices @princessleac1 @ritachacha @secretaryunpaid @sirbeepsalot @speedyoperarascalparty @shanzay44 @texaskitten30 @txemrn @queenrileyrose @sanchita012 @sfb123 @theroyalheirshadowhunter @aestheticartsx @yourmajesty09 nny @mrswalkers-blog @mom2000aggie @no-one-u-knoww @ntoraplayschoices @princessleac1 @ritachacha @secretaryunpaid @sirbeepsalot @speedyoperarascalparty @shanzay44 @texaskitten30 @txemrn @queenrileyrose @sanchita012 @sfb123 @theroyalheirshadowhunter @aestheticartsx @yourmajesty09

[calypsoff]

Fifty Seven. Part 2

Looking over at Chris, he keeps falling asleep in the SUV. Meanwhile I slept and he didn’t, I wonder if he got any type of sleep actually come to think of it but him sleeping in the SUV he must be exhausted. Opening my bag and grabbing my phone, I’m sorry but he looks too cute asleep with his phone in hand, he is hanging bad. Aiming my phone camera and taking a picture, he is going to have one nasty neck pain when he wakes up. Tapping on IG and tapping on IG story, adding the picture and captioning ‘He still makes every appointment for me and FYI! He calls me a mouth breather lol. Love you @fuckyopictures’ pressing send on the post, I want to wake him and tell him about his neck, but I will leave it, let me call Jay Brown while I’m here and tell him I will do the Grammys, I don’t feel like shit anymore and I am ready to do that. I am ready to perform before I give birth, placing my phone against my ear as it rang out. Watch his ass not pick up, he always busy doing something “Rihanna” he answered “oh, very formal. In a meeting I am guessing?” He must be, I know that voice “you know me, but I had to answer. Everything ok? You’re important to me” he is so caring “I accept, me and Chris discussed, and he says make the Grammys about you, keep this a secret and then walk the carpet” I want him to know that Chris was involved “I like your husband, he is a clever man. I will tell them; this is going to be great. I will contact you soon I have to go. Bye” he disconnected the call, well he’s happy anyways. But I am excited about this, I think Chris is right. But I hope my face doesn’t look fat, oh my god I hope my face doesn’t come out because I will cancel that shit with quickness. I need to tell Tina actually, get the team together for the performance.

My driver opened my car door for me “thank you, I am going around to wake him” I added before he rushes over and opens the door for Chris, he is still asleep and I had to sit in silence because of him. Dragging open the car door “Chris, hey” tilting my head to see his face, god he is knocked out asleep “Christopher” patting his thigh, his head shot up and eyes wide open “hey” I laughed “we’re home, come out” walking off, he will eventually come out of the car. Making my way to the house, I am generally getting used to living here. At first I was a little not really liking it but I am getting there, it’s nice and smaller then what I would have gotten but I do like the stairs going up. I will need to childproof the whole house soon though, unlocking the door and pushing it open. Looking behind me and Chris hasn’t made his way out so I will leave it open for him, looking behind me once again “is he coming?” It’s making me doubt myself, the driver was going to go back around but I heard the door shut. Let me wait for my sleepy head to come, my smile grew seeing him dragging his feet. I am very much in love with him, the same way I saw him the first time, I do think to myself did I like him first day and if I am being honest with myself I was more scared he would be mean to me but I did fall for him “I love you Chris, I really do” Chris lazily put his arm around me “I know you do” he said huskily “you have really opened my heart in ways that I didn’t think could happen, I just want to thank you for loving me in every way” Chris chuckled “you’re being very loving now huh, what you want?” He questioned “dick” and I’m being deadass “that can be arranged, what you doing now” I’m sure Barry is here somewhere “office” nodding my head “can I come? I just want to be there for you, I want to know your business, if you don’t mind?” I want to be involved “but what if I’m not doing it right, you’re going to judge me” he is right “but then you learn, it’s ok” he needs to learn.

Chris keeps on looking over at me and then laughing, not sure why but he’s feeling like I am judging him but I’m not at all “how do you like, let me ask this. How do you take care of your family without giving them a job to help you? Like you and your family are good, no jealousy or upset but they live good, if you understand what I mean” why is Chris looking at me like he shy “what is it?” He’s stupid “no just looking but tell me” I chuckled “I don’t hire family, I treat them. When I go to Barbados I buy them gifts, I never have my family struggle at all. If they were I would want to know how to help, I learned giving money is a no. It doesn’t help, they do live good, and I do bring them on holiday and things but hiring family gets messy, even friends. I rather hire a person I don’t know then family. Worst mistake same goes for friends. I do spoil them, if they have a venture then I will help them with it and they know it. This is why I asked and said if they have a venture help them but hand on heart, after I heard they fucked your supplier up I wouldn’t give them shit, so why did you leave them in Vegas? For what? To have fun” Chris’ eyes widened “erm no” the erm speaks volumes “erm yes, don’t stick up for people like that Chris; they are playing with your money, so when something fucked up happens it will be Chris Brown’ friends messed up, never them. Your name and then mine, you need to be lethal, they will learn. The hardest part for you is maybe letting go and it is for me with my dad so I understand but now I am a wife and mother to be, I know where my loyalty lies and if my child or husband comes in harm’s way by my dad then I will cut him off, he can hurt me but not my family and trust me Chris I am waiting for that moment, I had to become this way or I would be taken advantage of and broke I guess” I didn’t want Chris to think I’m a hypocrite by saying that “I understand, so how would I do it. Telling them?” Good question “take them out for a meal, but Chris I have a feeling in my heart you’re covering up for them. They were in Vegas for nothing, and you left them there. I saw their posts, if I know they are using us as a pass into things, I won’t be happy. Nobody does that” Chris’ face went so small like I struck a nerve and I just know this game; I have lived through it and I don’t play at all.

Chris has been quiet ever since “so who is Deja?” I asked, he is answering her emails “she is working with my social media, since she started the page it has been super lit, there is three of them and they are answering service stuff, Neima and Cena are making a website which will be live soon” nodding my head “ok, that is fine. What to do with that, do a good launch. Freebies and stuff, entice people. I will promote it too; it’s your big day Chris so tell me when. I can you know be at your event, I mean not really but if you do a little IG live I can be on it, Chris it’s a big step. Be excited for it, so erm” I paused thinking “have you announced that website coming soon?” He nodded his head “ok, now post it on your personal page how excited you are. Just announce there is a surprise to come, I will figure something out for you. Let me just help you ok?” He was about to speak “but I am not with you to use your name” putting my hand up “stop, just let me help you and say there is a surprise, but I will think about what to do ok? Now discuss this with your team, your new team. I am going to find Mel, show her our baby, show her how active it is” getting up from the chair “you’re going to do good Chris; I just know it. I will help you” touching the top of his head before I walked off, he worries too much what people will thing when he shouldn’t “actually Chris, I have one. I will design a piece of clothing, limited edition” I winked at him, that just came to mind so quick there. That will help him a lot, they will eat that up, well my fans will anyways but then people will start buying and like his stuff because I do, he makes good stuff.

In no way shape or form am I being selfish with Robyn or declining what she wants to do for me but I wanted to kind of do it in my own but the more I realise, the more things are explained to me, the more hard this is to do on your own without the right backing which I have, with Robyn. I have Drake to fall on too also, I will contact him actually to help but I just need to get over this Barry and TJ shit “you’re here” Barry made his way into my office, looking up from my lap “you seem really down for a nigga that just saw his baby throwing up gang signs” I snorted laughing “gang signs, nigga” dapping him “I just saw the scan photos, cute bro. Baby is really claiming westside already” watching him sit down “thank you, I am excited for when the baby is here, just tired. If I am a little quiet” Barry looked around the office “you spending time with Mel then?” I mean what else if he here for “yeah, lay the pipe and leave” he laughed “that was your saying, don’t give me that look. She likes a chunky nigga with a big dick, what can I say” shaking my head “if you’re speaking like that then close the office door, what did you do in Vegas when I went?” I asked but I know what happened of course, I am not stupid “we were at your plot and we just were vibing, girls were just passing their numbers. We just living, you know what happened” Barry pointed at me “how many?” Barry cackled “yo, the girls were good” I sighed out “bro, leave Mel alone please. Just leave her, I don’t think you should be doing this to her. She is a good woman” Barry pulled a face at me “right I see you have your life in order, you’re married and everything. Just stay out of single folk business bro, come on” kissing my teeth “it is my business Barry, Mel is practically a sister to Robyn and if she finds out Robyn will know that I know! She fucking will, I am asking you as my friend to leave her alone” Barry knows I mean it now “just like that huh? We had sex and she’s a bad bitch you know these caribbean women love sex, you don’t know her sexually Chris, she sucked me off on the first time you know chicks like that stick, she is ok with it” he is a liar “bro I am telling you now, it ends here. You nicely say to her that I am not ready to settle, that is Robyn’ sister and I know this will upset her, and I thought you wouldn’t just be a dickhead about it, you got to stop and stop talking like that you dickhead! You know my wife’ background so shut the fuck up” Barry looks annoyed with me.

I need to speak up about it, I won’t say it to them, but he needs to stop this thing “right, so you’re upset about something that has nothing to do with you, why can’t you just keep your nose out of it right. I am having fun, she is too” he is funny “so she knows you’re having sex with other women? So I can just go up to her and tell and she will know?” he knows damn well that Mel doesn’t know shit “Chris, look. You are my brother, just let me have fun” punching the desk “Barry! You fucking listen to me, you drop it. She is a decent girl and doesn’t deserve this ego you have got right now; in her delusional mind she thinks you’re a good man! Not knowing you’re telling me she is a easy fuck! Fucking leave her or we going to have problems!” I shouted at him because I lost my temper, is he being fucking real right now with everything he is saying, playing girls like that “is everything ok here?” Mel and Robyn walked in “yeah, just having boys talk, right Barry?” he is angry, I know my friend “yes” sitting back in my seat “what are you both doing here?” I questioned “just Mel is going out with Barry now and I just come here to see your face” rolling my eyes playfully “miss me that much, my mom loved the photos. She is emotional about it, good looking out telling me to send them” my mother is so overjoyed, thanks to Robyn telling me to send them to her.

I was going to go for a nap, but Robyn sent me a text message saying come upstairs, that her back hurting so I guess I better make my way upstairs and help my baby to sleep. Walking up the steps while looking out of the window, my back yard is so damn beautiful. I really love it here, it’s so peaceful. Clearing my throat as I made my way to the bedroom, I think we need to start fixing the bedroom next door to ours for our baby. A smile grew on my face, just pure excitement hit me because I am about to be a whole daddy, I already love the baby “I am here” opening the bedroom door “you good?” closing the door behind me “oh you stood up now? You just text me that your back hurt and here I am, we can nap together” squinting my eyes “wait, you didn’t have makeup on before?” I pointed “I like how you notice poppa, I got dressed up for you. But” she dragged out undoing her robe, raising an eyebrow as Robyn took off her robe exposing her naked bottom, my breathing hitched “damn” I breathed out, she looks so beautiful naked “you look so good Robyn” it went straight to my dick, I felt it flinch already. Walking over to Robyn “your body is amazing Robyn, every part of it. You are really carrying our child, which makes you amazing” rubbing her bump with the back of my hand staring into her eyes, leaning down to Robyn and pressing a kiss to her lips and then moved away from her lips to cheek and down to her neck.

Our eyes met and held when I stepped forward and grabbed Robyn, pulling her body back to the edge of the bed. Licking my lips, I can’t help but touch her bump “you good with me touching your bump?” lightly touching “yes” Robyn placed her hand over mine “just makes me so happy to know how much you care” biting my bottom lip, moving my hand back and leaning down. The head of my erection pressed against the entrance of her sex and I am ready to be buried deep inside of her, it has been so long. I plan on slowly pushing myself all the way to the hilt and fill her completely. Spreading her legs wide and pushing them back into the air “you good?” I asked, I have too “yes, it’s ok Chris” I held on to her ankles and slid inside of her “damn!” Robyn spat, my groan was deep and long when she gripped my member and tighten around me. My hips barely moved forward; my rhythm is so slow. My eyes are locked on my dick sliding in and out of her. I enjoy watching myself disappear deep inside of her, it amazes me how stimulating such a thing as watching yourself stroke in and out of my wife could be. My eyes gazed up when I heard Robyn moan, her voice was caught in her throat, and all she could do was look up at me with begging eyes “faster” she wants me to go faster, to stroke a little deeper, to push a little harder. This agonizingly slow speed I was serving her was beginning to drive her mad clearly “I have to be nice” is Robyn crazy, we have to be good and not crazy about this.

I stared down at her face, loving each priceless expression she made. The ruffle between her eyebrows, the wrinkle of her nose, how tight her eyes were clenched shut, and what really turned me on, the way her tongue brushed across her bottom lip before pulling it back inside her mouth and biting down. It drove me wild, awaking the beast inside of me, but I had to contain myself. I fought the urge to flip her over and drive into her, something I really wanted to do, but I couldn't. I have my baby to think of now, I have to be good. Pulling out of her and thrust back inside of her and picked up my speed. Finding a natural rhythm, each stroke was filled with passion. Letting go of her ankles, I gripped her hips and piston into her. The bed rocked back and forth as Robyn gripped me and released, gripped me and release. My speed picked up more and my head fell back in ecstasy. It has been so long since sex “oh fuck!” I shouted; I know I will come early because it’s been too damn long since.

She came, I came. We both came hard. With a raspy grunt, we remained connected, our climax still slowly riding through us. I fell forward and placed my hands on either side of her, sucking down on her neck. My open mouth kisses moved across her ear "I love you" I started moving my hips again “my man always hard huh” I grinned “for you” nuzzling her nose, I am hard as hell for Robyn and always will, look how beautiful she looks under me “if I wasn’t already pregnant I would be” I didn’t even leave Robyn, I just can’t believe how hard I am still “you feel weird?” Robyn asked, placing her hand on my chest “a little, I would have flipped you over and fucked you so bad” kissing Robyn’ lips as I thrusted into her.

[popculturebuffet]

OK KO Reviews: Back In Red Action

As you can probably tell by the fact Red Action week started 4 days ago my schedule slipped a bit, with a bunch of unexpected stuff, an expected job for a friend, and a day of laziness with the isle of armor meant I never got around to writing it. As such i’ve decided to play catchup.. all 3 reviews, HOPEFULLY all in one day. And yes 3 as I decided to cut Plaza Prom for a number of reasons: It’s not all that necessary, I was doing it more for myself, and if I find time before or after pride ends, I can easily cover it in isolation, so being done in a timely manner isn’t an issue like it is for the red action ones, or the other three pride month reviews I have planned after red action week. So witht hat dust settled let’s talk about Enid.  While I went on about Enid a LOT last time, for good reason, a LOT has happened since episode 3 as you’d probably guess, episodes I will cover in the future because enid is awesoeme. And the two episodes that built her up a bit had plaza prom as the creamy filling for that airing sandwitch, and were unsuprisingly good. But since we’re not covering them just yet Enid confronted her ex best friend and dealt with her and rad’s bumpy past, and that coupled with our previous episodes and some others have melted down her walls a bit. She’s still a bit distant, and still terrible at her job as ever, but she’s grown as a person and grown past her past. Now it’s her turn to do what K.O. has done for her, he was inttrumental in getting her to stop ignoring Elodie and confront her, for someone else. Let’s recap this.  back in red action under the cut...

We open with a normal day at the Plaza and Enid’s alone, with K.O. offscreen and Rad not in this episode so he’s not around and Gar clearly gone or else he’d be yelling at enid probably.  Enid’s checking around on her phone and after checking to see if anyone’s there, once again decides to look at Red’s social because that’s not creepy. But Enid browses it wondering why Red came here in the first place, figuring there’s probably better food, better this , better that and trips up on a picture of Red with her old girlfriend, Yellow Technique.. and yeah i’m not beating around the bush, while they never come right out and SAY IT, the episode contextualizes things as such. I Mean granted given my shipping habits on this blog, you can see i’m willing to ship plenty of kids together, and even then only in a “Awww” holding hands, maybe an awkard kiss way, and am a shipping monster who has plenty, but here i have no horse in this race, it’s just really obvious subtext. 

Anyways enough Cul De Sacs, Enid sees a new picture... Red taking a selfie with an unaware Enid.. and who probably just heard Enid’s last few sentences and at the very least dosen’t care. After a flirty “Hey Ya” and enid awkardly hiding her phone, Red buys some gum for cover then invites Enid to hang out for the afternoon then leaves.  Then KO pops up out of nowhere hilariously, and for his only scene this episode to gush about Enid’s sorta date, though Enid is paranoid it’s just a setup for some sorta joke or prank.. which given that red was willing to set a child on fire while her friend spanked him because that’s not weird at all, yeah kinda a good point, even if she’s ignoring the obvious signals that, for once, Red seems to be genuine. She WAS a bit awkward at times during asking her out, pausing or stammering, she just quickly recovered. But it also shows the downside, if breifly to red’s kind of life: If your an ass to everybody, even people who genuinely like you may worry your just messing with them. 

But when Enid goes to return the gum, she finds Red not only waiting but ninja snatching the gum.. and doing that to a NINJA takes skill. Top notch. Enid realizing this isn’t a prank holy fuck her crush really did ask her out out of nowhere, suggests a few things before Red shoots them down gently and revealz their going crusing. She also has enid turn her back and cover her ears while she summons her submarine.. using a sentai/power rangers set of poses and summon chant, as you do.  With their ride here and enid buckeled into Red’s Submarine, and Red dodging any questions Enid has about her past , you know, the oppsitie of normal first date behavior. Everyone knows your supposed to talk a lot, get them coffee, look deep in her eyes and tell her about your family, hold hands then shoot cocaine into your eyes and rock a buglarly. 

But no instead of any of that Red has something just as romantic and dangerous planned their going high into the...

Which, befiting this wonderful show, is an actual place that’s full of explosions, maurading gangs and dinosaurs.. I mean every place is full of dinosaurs but this place has extra dinosaurs. It’s like the savage land if it didn’t annoy me as a setting. So the two cruise on exotica style, though in a great bit Red keeps enid from unbuckling, and when asked about her past again Red dodges and instead takes them down thunder road, where the lightining strikes.... I.. I can’t stop waxing lyircal this review. Help.  On thunder road the two share a moment when both go up top and see how damn pretty the place is, what with all the glowing orbs, Red gets electrocuted and both look at each other lovingly at diffrent points with that faded light effect, you know the one. I”d name it jeremy but it definitely has a name. The two really bond and it’s telling that it’s those moments where things go well: Enid’s not nervously trying to ask first date questions, if not wrongfully and Red isn’t running from them. Their just two teenagers attracted to one another getting to know you getting to know all about you.. getting to know if you like me.  Anyways, enough of my nonsense that’s now clearly a medical condition, Red’s old friends show up to spoil the mood, with Red brushing them off as performance artists, and a chase insues.. and it’s really well done. I’ll get into this more in a minute. The two max max race, Enid gets into the cockpit and makes good use of it as it’s just like shooting womp rats back home. With help from red, they manage to get two of the hue troop cars to collide and the two hide behind a sign despite it telling them not to back to the future style. It’s here we get into the heart of the episode and what makes it really work for me: For most of the season, before and though not as often after this, Enid’s been standofish even to people she cares about, blunt and hard to get to open up. But the two incidents I mentoined last time that caused her to harden her heart and swallow her tears... got some closure in thos enidcentric eps. IN short Elodie returned and Enid tried to act like it didn’t bother her and Elodie throwing their relationship away like hot garbage for her own admitssion into point and then came back smug as ever, but KO once again got through to her and convinced her that she needed to face her and in a stunning action sequence, i’ll gush about it more when I review the episode eventually she whalloped her and got closure, even if Elodie was ssitll super popular. She then patched things up with rad after Cupid showed up to force her and rad on a date to deal with their sexual tension since Rad went on one with her in middle school that went terribly because rad listend to his friends and his friends are obnoxious piles of toxic masculinty who sucked and were not unsuprisngly phased out of most of season 2 aside from the one episode they were needed and only showed up in season 3 for rad to tell them off. It went poorly, Enid nearly died and Rad saved her and apologized for being a dick, taking the two from would be exes who are understandibly bitter to best friends at long last. 

So Enid’s healed some of her wounds.. sure she’s still standoffish.. but she’s finally opening up and letting the right ones in. And now it’s Red’s turn. Red has the same problem: She dosen’t hide but she does run or scream at issues, and as someone who tends to be quick to anger I totally understand that, a tendency to lash out due to some other thing bothering you even when the person did nothing wrong. But her crush, and now possible relationship with, Enid gets Red to finally stop dodging Enid’s questions and open up and we get Red, and her friends Backstory Red and Friends are The Hue Troop, a group of warriors founded by a woman who long ago found a powerful prisim that linked to the mysterious Zordon-like alien Ren-Bow, a precog who could sense oncoming disasters and thus empowered the woman and her 4 friends with attitude to  stop them. Like Minority Report meets Power Rangers but the Minioirty Report part actually works. And like civil war 2 if the leaders of both factions weren’t douchebags especially you Carol. But given the fight is eternal they pased their powers on generation after generation , and it was Red and co’s turn. But Red chafed at being part of a team, wearing uniforms, following orders from a rock, doing sily poses, which came to a boil when she accidently, truly accidently broke the Prisim and rather than face up to what she’d done, ran for it and thus ended up here, hiding from her past in the past.  It’s also revealed Enid’s one way crush on her is not one way. Red had also been stalking HER social media, like Enid too intimidated to make a move before now, though we DO have an explination for what changed things coming. She liked how unlike Red enid had her own style, moves and a disregard for authority. it also frankly explains a lot about Red.  spent her whole life probably, given we see what could be a kid version of red or red’s mom in the finale, preparing to be a hue trooper, given the whole generational thing i’m theorizing the Hue Troop we see are the kids of either the first gen hue troop or the second, the flashback also supporting this. Her whole life being what other people told her to be, following orders doing poses.. not being her own woman. So when being forced to turn fugitive meant she had to hide, it also meant she was free to do what she want, and went about it in the worst way: being rude to people and lashing out at them because she could, only spearing the girl she found cute and her two friends, who went along with the beahavior likely due to both liking red and being deeply insecure themselves as we saw last time, from her obnoxiousness. Even if it wasn’t a generational thing, I still supset the pressure of having to be part of a regimented group drained her and rather than talk about it she likely just avoided it like she tends to do.. and like ENID tends to do.. So it’s says something for Enid’s own development when she encourages Red, who also asked her out since Red figured shed idn’t have much time left, to STOP RUNNING and face her problems.. and punch them in the face.

Yellow shows up right as Red agrees, and a fight breaks out.. and a damn good one. I put a pin in this earlier, but the shows battle scenes, vechicalr and man to mand, are utterly gorgeous, well coregraphed and part of why I belive the animation style is so simplified. Besides allowing for the necessarily unique background cast, it also means that when it’s time for an action scene they can go balls out and give it everything without the episodes taking as long as say steven universe or a disney show.And it shows as even this brief fight is tense, well done and full of emotion as Red’s ex and her former friends fight Red and her new girlfriend with both sides having every reason to go at it. It’s crimnally cut short when a metor hits.. the same metor delivers the crystal. While the rest of the Hue Troop instantly realize this and run, Red dosen’t because it was in the distant past.. and in a great move Enid has to tell her dumbass girlfriend that they ARE in HER past. They run, Red is hit and we get the cover image for the shippers and to make it CRYSTAL CLEAR that yes this was a date. They didn’t steal a few picassos while on a sexy date heist but still. 

Also  Red stole the crystal, and her friends assume it was her plan all along. Red almost takes credit for it.. but a glare from Enid shoots that plan down and Red, once again genuinely opens up, apologizing for running from them and her problems,and implicitly hurting Yellow, as while they clearly aren’t together anymore, either due to this or other shenanigans, it still had to hurt what red did. She also thanks Enid for being the one to show her the error of her ways. that being said with a fresh prisim, it’s just as likely that the Hue Troop can now clone it and get a copy back to the past for Red to be her own grandma, as I theroize given the finale again and all and red still being around.. more on that nexttime, the troop have a working prisim till then. They part as friends with the rest of the troop encoourging enid to visit sometime and Yellow giving her approval and getting her own closure as the troop leaves.  And so we end as Red and Enid decide to resume their everything but saying it’s a date date and go Lava Surfing as they drive out into the sunset. THE END.

Final Thoughts: Just as good on rewatch as the first time around and a great ep, not just for the LBGTQ rep, as while I belivie we’ve seen a bi flag sticker on enid’s bike helmet at this point, and would in all future appearances of it and she’d later stick one on her flying motorcycle she gets in the last season, and there was subetext with elody and red and text with rad, this showed she was a bisexual beyond any shadow of a doubt and did everything short of having them kiss, that comes later, to confirm it. But besides being one of the series delightfully gayest episodes, it has good story, good charcter progression for enid as we see how far she’s come from those early episodes, and Red gets a good character arc that both explains her past actions and has her grows as a person. And we’ll see more of this next time as we hit 88 miles per hour and Red Action to the Future. Until then, follow for more reviews of animated shows, check my blog for more as I have pages for each show, and hit me up iwth an ask if you have a show you’d like me to review or force me to review it for 2 bucks by asking for a commission! 

[hcrsegirl]

╰☆╮MUSE 46 — wait, is that cerise “reese” du pont? is it just me or does the twenty-one year-old look exactly like abigail cowen? last i heard, they still weren’t over being exposed by the sentinel. according to the app, they can be credulous & turbulent, but i’ve also heard they're intrepid & audacious. can’t be too sure, people have a way of surprising you. all i know is that they remind me of vape scented smoke appearing in the middle of lecture , filming viral tik tok’s in public , the brushing down of a horse , forgetting a pencil but remembering to bring the juul to class & drinking homemade moonshine for barbie movie drinking games. honestly, the broadcast communications major should try to keep their head down. after the events of last semester, i wouldn’t want to be in their shoes. ╰☆╮

wow hey hi hello!! i’m kaya and this is my lil crackhead, reese!! this got really long because i never know when to shut up but if you want to plot pls hit me up here on tumblr or on discord at medieval 4loko gang#5402

P A R A L L E L S

gigi ( booksmart ) , keanu reeves ( always be my maybe ) , serena van der woodsen ( gossip girl ) , kirby anders ( dynasty )

T R O P E S

hard-drinking party girl , cloudcuckoolander , the trickster , upper-class equestrian , fleeting passionate hobbies , naive animal lover , fearless fool , playing with fire , parental neglect , fantasy-forbidding father

S U M M A R Y

born and raised in wilmington, delaware on the du pont family ranch, reese learned how to ride and compete on her family’s thoroughbreds. she’s a seasoned equestrian who typically competed in eventing and throughout the years had accumulated a series of ribbons and trophies between dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. definitely was a horse girl growing up and tbh still is???? definitely not the type to eat grass anymore BUT if given the chance she will not shut up about them.

a veterinarian before marrying into the du pont family, reese’s mother had their ranch doubling as both a home and veterinary clinic where the kids would help with the animals and keep them company. this caused reese to develop a soft spot for them, one that contributed to her going vegetarian at the age of 12 and eventually vegan at 15. it was also this love of animals that led her to wanting to help the environment they lived in and so her parents put her in girl scouts and eventually her love for the outdoors would cause her to join steinhardt’s outing club.

while her mother, eleanor, also helps out with the du pont family business of breeding thoroughbreds as well as run her clinic, her father, pierre, is a chairman of dupont, a conglomerate who got its start in the black powder market before expanding into chemicals for agriculture, materials science, and specialty products.

he was the type to have HIGH expectations for his family, expectations that reese never met. not that she cared to. definitely not a daddy’s girl, she’ll be the first one to call her father out for being a pompous douche straight to his face. probably quoted this to her father during a thanksgiving toast of “what are we thankful for this year”.

the black sheep of her family, even at a young age she could be found stirring up some trouble and almost always dragging one of her siblings or cousins along with her. a rebellious child who didn’t like being put into a box, she lived in a fantasy world of whimsy, often playing make-believe much to her father’s chagrin. she believed in all things fantastical from fairies to mermaids and while pierre tried to stifle those thoughts, they stubbornly remained.

even through her teenage years she’s held onto the firm belief that barbie lore is real. no one knows if she actually believes that or if it’s all of the drugs and her love for the movies getting to her head, but when confronted about it she will always be adamant that it’s a legitimate form of history.

speaking of history, her concept of it is slightly skewed?? def has weird beliefs of what communists are?? like you’re an android user??? suddenly she thinks you’re a communist????

tbh you could probably tell her something about anything and she’ll believe you without a hint of doubt. research?? she dunno her!! you could say the moon is a government con-job and she’d think it’s a fact??? super gullible and it’s a mess

i guess now would be a good time to preface that she’s dumb. stupid. an idiot. the list goes on but when i say she’s lacking brain cells… i mean it. the definition of head empty, she probably has a bunch of rocks where her brain should be sdfgh. but really, she can be innovative when she wants to be but academically she just doesn’t care to do well. in high school she ditched classes more often than not and was probably the kid smoking under the bleachers.

but where she lacks in intelligence she makes up for in brawn??? def the brawn over brains type who was a jock in high school. competed for her school’s equestrian team but also was on the fencing and archery teams. she once begged to be put into archery lessons after seeing the princess diaries 2 and fencing just came along not too soon after. she also used to run track and play soccer but those two sports ended after her senior year of high school although she probably still plays for the steinhardt’s intermurral league as well as any athletic competitions her sorority, tri-zeta ( zeta zeta zeta ) enters.

definitely the jack of all trades type except she’s passable at a whole bunch of things but good at none of them. probably can change a tire but it’ll need to be changed again soon. can bake a cake but it’ll be a little dry. the list goes on. she’s just very curious and picks up a lot of things but gets bored of them easily so she changes to the next thing.

okay i know i said she could bake a cake but she really…can’t. like with supervision she probably could but she’s impulsive and following directions for that many ingredients??? impossible. she just gets tempted to toss everything into a bowl and wing it and she does that every time. she can however make rice krispy treats. especially if they’re suppose to be edibles dfghj. but ya, don’t ask her to cook bc she can. not.

a stoner and overall drug connoisseur, she’s probably most known for being that kid who forgets to bring their backpack to class but don’t worry!! she remembered her juul!! has a collection of juuls on her person at all times. definitely that party girl who shows up hungover to class whenever she did bother to show up.

calls herself an entrepreneur because she used to sell edibles and other drug-related things and definitely was that tweet where she would give discounts if you signed an environmental petition or went to a protest.

has never said no to a dare EVER. you name it and she’ll do it. and if you dare her to drink cow titty milk or eat a piece of meat she’ll do it but it just makes you a dick dfghj

gets bored easily and tends to lash out and do something chaotic because of it?? the type to spontaneously light a couch on fire because she felt like it. a mild pyromaniac who once learned how to make a molotov cocktail. she can’t do it well. at all. but the one time she did try was also the same day she realized what a dumpster fire looked like.

i’m also not saying she’s out here to ruin your life for her own whims but like home girl has ZERO boundaries for anything. if you want to say she was a homewrecker in a past relationship??? honestly full send because it probably was her. morally she’s chaotic neutral and doesn’t care to be good or evil, she just wants to live her life of chaos and whatever happens happens. it should also be noted that she’s selfish. she puts herself first and others second always.

god someone pls try to start a fight with her. she’d either pat you on the head and ignore you OR go feral and just…foam at the mouth and bite you. probably claims to have gingervitis which is where she like…sprays vegan whip cream into her mouth and just… attacks you. for fun.

WOW ALMOST FORGOT but she’s a big larper!!! loves to go to the ones that are historical-esque where she can be an elf ( because she has a collection of elf ear tips dfghjk ) and acts as a knight/ranger by using her ACTUAL fencing, archery, and equestrian skills. she learned sindarin ( elvish ) for this but also she’s a big lord of the rings fan in general so it just worked out. her character’s storyline is her acting as her cousin, taay’s, protector but she has been known to enroll in a few competitions regarding any of her three skills.

currently selling moonshine alongside her roommates of trap zeta ( also known as the residents of the moonshine & roses subplot ) and so if you saw her running around with stolen pressure cookers, that is why !! making your own alcohol is illegal, but selling it??? even worse so they only sell it to trusted customers and anyone vetted by their usual customers. they probably have secret passwords and shit just like the prohibition period.

speaking of trap zeta, with the exception of fraternities on greek row, they throw the biggest parties. their jungle juice??? fire AND strong but also, they keep it in like....these dispensing chugs with a key so the only ones with access to fill them up or trap zeta themselves. they also have a stripper pole ( or two ) around their living room so like...ya get lit, get twisted, go off ig.

let it be known that their sorority, tri-zeta, is actually known for their stellar amount of community service but after the residents of trap zeta moved in together their sophomore year, the rep for partying started to increase and that’s why the home of muse 46-50 is nicknamed trap zeta. reese has probably been sent to standards way too many times and only got in and is still in bc her mother is a very generous alumni of steinhardt’s chapter of tri-zeta. 

a broadcast communications major, she’s a social media intern for steinhardt’s barstool page but most importantly has a whole tik tok account alongside her roommates dedicated to their college antics. think the hype house except it’s not pg-13 dancing and rly just their crackhead, drunk antics. might eventually make a playlist of tik tok’s that are probably posted on their account, we’ll see.

okay so you know the whole exposing of secrets from last semester??? reese doesn’t usually get mad but rn she Big Mad. like not only are they be scrutinized by the dean but their sorority is too and suddenly tensions are high between tri-zeta bc if trap zeta gets caught they all suffer and their chapter will be shut down and it’ll be a whole ass mess. atm she suspects their customers and even their somewhat rivals, the drug dealers of the ludes plot, but does she suspect anyone from the house??? no not rly

you can find her  stats page here and a wc page here

you can also find her pinterest board here

i also have a reese playlist here and a trap zeta playlist here

[theviolentabyss]

Hot-headed Bugsy makes his mind up. Don't mess with Bugsy or you'll wind up. Wishing you'd left well enough alone.

:: Debut Solo ::

Part One

It maybe a new city, a new country and even a new set of targets, but the job, the goal and the aim was still the same. Regardless of where we were, the objective was to make sure that we were known and we took no crap from anyone. We believed we were above the law. Everyone has a price. Even the police, judges and jurors. They all had a price and they could all be bought to make sure that everything went our way.

Fat Sam’s grandfather had built his empire up in Chicago in the nineteen-forties, just after the second world war. Fat Sam’s father moved the empire to New York in the nineteen-eighties and now, Fat Sam himself has bought the empire to the United Kingdom. A new start. Of sorts.

After the show down with Dandy Dan six years ago, where a truce was called between both Fat Sam’s gang and Dandy Dan’s gang. Things went sour real big in New York after I left. Blousy and I headed off to Hollywood. She was destined for the great stage. Blonde, talented and beautiful. A modern day Marilyn Monroe. Hollywood wasn’t for me though, the straight and narrow life was not for me.

I wanted nothing but the best for Blousy. We just weren’t compatible. We were too different. So after two years, we went from fighting for each other, to fighting with each other. One day soon after I got the call from Fat Sam about moving to England and I didn’t hesitate to take him up on it. I begged Blousy to come but she had made it big in Hollywood, everyone knew her name now. That was the end.

That was four years ago. Four years. I thought of Blousy often. We never called, we never wrote and we never had any communication. I kept up with her ins and outs through social media but other than that, there was nothing between us. There was far too much here for me to concentrate on anyway and I spent more time in trouble than I did anything else these days.

So now, as I sat at the bar in Fat Sam’s Speakeasy club, I was rolling a ten pence piece over and under my fingers skilfully with one hand, while I swirled the brownish-orange liquid in the glass in the other. I needed to see Fat Sam before I headed to the Boxing Gym I owned in Kentish Town. A shipment of AK-47’s were coming into the Dover Docks tomorrow and I have had a tip off that the cops are all over it. So I wanted to re-route the shipment to Southampton, meaning we needed to get our men down there in time to receive the shipment before the cops got wind of it.

It was Sod’s law really that Fat Sam wasn’t here yet and the longer I waited, the more pissed I was getting. I stopped rolling the coin when I heard the door of the club open and I looked up to see Leroy Smith coming through the door. He joined Fat Sam’s gang the year of the truce and has stood by us ever since. Flicking the coin up in to the air and catching it, I shoved it into my leather jacket pocket and raised a finger to the bartender to signal a drink for Leroy as he sat down beside me.

“Hey Boss”

I glanced to him briefly, watching as he leaned up on the bar with a cheery disposition about him.

“What has you in a good mood?”

A knowingly cheeky grin spread across his lips, like he had some big secret to tell but wasn’t going to tell me unless I worked for it.

“Bugs; my man, why do I need a reason?”

I shifted uneasy on the stool. Once Leroy had his drink. I pushed my line of questioning once more, without very much tact.

“Cut the shit, Leroy”

He raised the glass to his lips and took large gulp. His deep throaty chuckle echoed around the nearly empty club. Only members, and visitors of members were allowed in here and it wasn’t even lunch time yet. So the usual suspects wouldn’t be rolling in until darkness fell.

“You’re no fun anymore, Bugsy”

He adjusted his cap on his head, before removing it and running his fingers through his messy hair. Dropping the hat to the counter top, I watched his every movement like a silent assassin ready to strike if need be.

“We got a sponsor for the fight between Trigger and Fingers Saturday night, he wants to meet with you tomorrow”

His grin widened as he spoke to me. Once a month. Every gang called a truce, and beat the shit out of each in the boxing ring. This week one of our own Trigger was fighting Frankie Randall’s guy, Fingers. He was dumb as fuck, but he knew how to fight, so it was going to be an interesting fight. I had been training Trigger myself and he was a force to be reckoned with. He was built like a brick shit house. Was also a few planks short of a decking but he was muscle and I had no doubts he would wipe the floor with Fingers this weekend. Picking up my whiskey glass and taking a sip. I cocked my head in Leroy’s direction.

“Who’s the sponsor?”

I eyed him inquisitively. It wasn’t unusual for a rival or local gang to sponsor the events. It gives them the access to be the only ones who could run bets at the match and monopolise the fight. Though I was strict as fuck and if I believed for one moment anyone was throwing the match I would shut that shit down and the person in charge would be blacklisted, if not dead.

We were all crooks, thieves and gangsters of the worse kind. We were deadly, we carried guns and we didn’t give much of a damn about anything that wasn’t business. But in my boxing club, on my property, you played by the rules and left your dodgy shit at the door because I had no issues putting a bullet in someone’s ass for trying to do over what was mine.

“Rusty Evans”

Leroy finally confessed after mulling everything over on how to tell me and my blood instantly boiled. My hand gripping around the whiskey glass. Rusty had been trying to muscle in on Fat Sam’s territory since we got here. Due to our New York connections, we were known before we even arrived. Reputation was everything and Rusty had made us his main target. The whites of my knuckles were straining around the glass, the tendons twitching with frustration. My lips curled up in a snarl and I kept my gaze forward. Focusing on the rows upon rows of bottled spirits on the back of the bar.

“Three quarters of a mill or he can take his rat ass business else where”

Barking my demand, as I raised the glass and knocked back the final contents of the glass. Slamming it back down on the bar. I saw Leroy jump in the corner of my eye in shock. He remained silent for a long time. Mulling over my terms. My club, my property, my price. People took it or left it. If we didn’t get a sponsor then I became the main bookie, so it wasn’t any loss for me. The stake was third quarters up front, or he could shove his sponsorship up his weak ass. It took all my will power to not stick a bullet in his chest and rip out his heart with my bare hands.

“Sure thing boss. Take it easy.”

He gave me a nod and slipped from his stool, my head cocked in his direction as I watched him replace his cap, tipping the front before leaving the Speakeasy club. Fuck this shit. I wasn’t in a good mood when I came in here, now my mood had gone to complete shit. Rusty was the lowest of the low. He got his men to play dirty and then ran like a coward. I wouldn’t put it past him to have tipped the Feds off on the incoming shipment. Looking across the bar to Louis.

“Another Louis. Thanks”

He gave me a nod and bought the bottle over. Nudging the tumbler closer so he could pour out another shot. Giving him a thankful nod. I picked up the glass and knocked it all back in one. I didn’t have to wait too much longer for Fat Sam to arrive. The door of the club came slamming open, smashing into the wall with such force. As usual he was ranting and raving about something but not making much sense. He was followed by his lackey Knuckles and his on and off girlfriend, and main lounge singer here at the Speakeasy, Tallulah.

“Ah, Bugsy; you here to see me? Course you are, sure, give me five, five and I’m all yours. Yo Louis, make sure my man has got a drink. Five minutes... five”

He was always all over the place. You could never get a word in edge ways and I wasn’t about to attempt to talk to him either until I was sure was going to listen. He disappeared into his office and I turned my head back around. My hand wrapping around the newly filled glass. I could smell the strong scent of Tallulah’s perfume before I saw her or heard her. I think she swam in it on a daily basis and it got right into the sinus’ and left a nasty taste in your mouth. As she now propped herself up against the bar. Her body turned directly at me. I didn’t bother to look at her.

Tallulah was a girl that you didn’t want to get involved with. Face piled with heavy make up, tight cocktail dresses that clung to every curve of her slender figure and purposely enlarged her ample breasts and cleavage to make sure that she got every man in eye line a chance to stare with their tongues hanging out. I was a conquest of Tallulah’s. But I’ve been there. Long before her and Fat Sam started dating and long before she was this high maintenance lush who would sleep with any man with money. That’s why her and Sam were on and off. She was too high maintenance for anyone to keep up with and I refused to be another notch of rich men on her bed post.

I could get my own women, whenever I wanted. I didn’t need to scrap the bottle of the barrel with girls like Tallulah who only saw pound and danger signs, to keep her interested. Her hand finally rose, to trail a red polished finger nail down over my arm slowly, causing me to finally turn my head in her direction.

“Not gonna buy a girl a drink there, handsome, it’s impolite to leave a lady hanging”

I snorted a laugh knocking back the entirety of my glass.

“I see no lady here though Tallulah, just you”

That fake smile she had plastered on her face faded quickly and she scowled at me. I kept my gaze on hers. Unwavering from her intense glare as I locked in her into this show down.

“Hey, Louis, give this girl her usual and put it on Fat Sam’s tab, will you?”

“Sure Bugsy”

Reaching into my pocket and pulling out my wallet, I grabbed out a few notes and dropped them down onto the bar to pay my tab. Leaving a hefty tip as usual. Replacing my wallet into my leather jacket. I slipped from the bar stool, closing the small gap between Tallulah and I. Looking down at her, I raised a hand, to hook my finger under her chin, and tilting her head to look at me.

“Never, Tallulah, never, and you can bet your Gucci heels on that shit too”

Giving her a wink and dropping my hand from her chin, I looked over towards Louis.

“Thanks man, see you later”

He gave me a salute and said no more as he made Tallulah’s drink and I headed towards Fat Sam’s office. It took a long time for Tallulah to shout back. Still stunned she had been shot down before she could even get started.

“You’ll be sorry Bugsy Malone, you will come crawling back to me one day, mark my words”

I chuckled under my breath but didn’t respond. I could hear her heels stomping against the wooden flooring before her screeching scream rang out through the empty club.

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Three Hundred Thirteen: Bright Lights ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina, vulgarity ] [ Verse: Oil and Blood ] [ AO3 Link ]

Another night...another bout of insomnia.

Giving up on keeping her eyes closed, Hinata instead lets them open to stare up at the ceiling. The last time this happened, she found a man half-dead in an alleyway, and subsequently almost got herself killed the other day when his rival gang snatched her up.

...it’s a long story.

She’s now on her third day off work. Her doctor contact managed to get her a full week with a cover story of being under treatment for something highly contagious. Her boss, not wanting anyone else to get sick and vanish, handed over the (unpaid) set of days off without question once the doc signed a note.

Which is good, because Hinata really hasn’t felt like going into work.

She’s had Uchiha casually stalking her apartment building, discouraged from leaving it unless absolutely necessary. And beyond Sasuke taking her to get groceries two days ago (the man she saved and who accidentally started this whole fiasco), she hasn’t left the building, much less her apartment.

As dragging as work can be, she never realized until now how boring it is to be stuck at home. She’s bounced between bingeing shows and movies to playing games to browsing social media...to even just people watching from her window. Something she normally detests, given her own distaste of being observed. Well...by people, anyway. It’s unavoidable otherwise, what with security being as high as it is in Japan anymore.

But now here she is, three nights in and she’s finally reached a point where even sleep can’t do anything for her. So, now what to do. She doesn’t feel like watching or playing anything…

...she almost feels like going for a walk.

Of course, there’s no avoiding how odd that seems, given that it was this exact scenario over two weeks ago that got her into this mess in the first place: being unable to sleep, going for a walk under the bright lights of the nightlife city, and stumbling across a mod-stripped Sasuke in the gutter.

Does she dare do so again? Or will she risk running into some other mess that will get her life all the more interrupted?

...but then again...how much worse can it get, really?

Sighing, she chews her tongue in thought. If she does want to go for a walk...she’ll have to do so with an escort to make sure no snooping Senju snatches her off the sidewalk like last time she was out and about.

But her next question is who exactly is on duty...Sasuke’s the only one she’s talked to. The rest she’s had no real reason to see given her reclusion in her apartment. Anyone else...she’s not sure if she should ask to leave. They might just get annoyed, and she’s not really eager to push her luck anymore than she has. Sasuke made it pretty clear she’s not likely to have the gang’s support for too long. She might have saved Sasuke’s life...but one favor was likely already paid off when they in turn got her out of Tobirama’s clutches.

At least, in most minds.

Sasuke’s convinced he still owes her, given that it was his involvement in the first place that got her taken. His father seeing it the same way, however...hasn’t been going well.

And she’s still not sure what she’d rather have. While certainly not eager to be tug-of-warred between Uchiha and Senju, Hinata would rather just...not have to deal with either. She did her good deed, she got Sasuke out of trouble.

So why is she suddenly the one in distress?

Deciding to try her luck, she accesses Sasuke’s contact information in her communicator mod. It awaits input for a long moment befores she simply asks, Are you on duty this evening?

There’s a minute of silence.

Yeah. Why?

She can’t help a small sigh of relief. ...I can’t sleep. Sorta want to go for a walk.

You mean even considering what happened last time?

Her lips purse in a pout. Well I won’t be going alone this time, will I?

...she can almost hear his vexed sigh. ...guess you’ve got a point. All right, fine. You get fifteen minutes. Then back to bed, missy.

Hinata deadpans. Missy? What is she, sixteen? Ugh… Getting out of bed, she throws on random clothes and makes her way down to the main floor, feeling almost odd after a few days not seeing it.

And as expected, Sasuke waits near the entrance, leaned and relaxed.

At least he’s not smoking this time...eugh.

“Anything in particular keeping you awake?”

She gives him a glance. “You mean b-besides being caught in a turf war I have n-no real part in on account of doing something nice? Wondering if I’m going to lose my job or my apartment or whatever else? Nothing much, I guess.”

He just snorts. “Never would have taken you for the sassy type.”

“Even I have limits to my patience.”

“Clock’s ticking. Let’s see if we can tucker you out enough to sleep.”

Falling into step with him, Hinata asks, “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Aren’t you...tired?”

“What, you think I’m not used to pulling all nighters?” Sasuke glances up, taking in the sights of the city’s neon lights. “I don’t really have much of a set sleep schedule. I just take it when I can.”

“That bad, huh?”

“My line of work isn’t exactly a nine to five. It’s whenever, wherever, however. All according to when my old man needs me to do something.”

Hinata gives a hum at that. And then a thought strikes her. “What...were you doing the night I found you? If...you don’t m-mind my asking.”

Shoulders shrug, indicating indifference. “Actually had the night off. Had been to a bar, was stumbling around...and they got the jump on me. Three Senju, all under direct orders of Tobirama. He’s wanted me dead for a looong time. Well...he wants us all dead, ideally. But as my dad’s more active son, I’m a pretty big target.”

Her brows furrow. “...active…?”

“My brother’s got some health issues. Mostly taken care of by mods, but...he’s still gotta be careful. So he’s more of an organizer, behind-the-scenes sorta guy rather than a runner-gunner like me. There’s only one reason he showed up to help bust you and the doc out. And a hint: it wasn’t you.”

“...oh…”

“Do I get to ask a counter question?”

“I guess there’s n-nothing else to do while we walk.”

“Why’d your dad cut you off?”

To her own surprise, the question doesn’t sour her mood. Maybe she’s too tired. “...my father is one of the biggest mod manufacturers in the east. Mostly medical ones rather than cosmetic. They help a lot of people, save a lot of lives...but are unethically expensive. When I got old enough to realize just what he was doing, I f-found my courage and confronted him about it. He ridiculed me, told me I didn’t understand, and...disinherited me. My sister is who will get everything when my father dies...partially split with my cousin, who is one of the main engineers behind the tech. But he’s not a child of my father, s-so...he’ll get less despite doing far more.”

Sasuke seems to mull that over for a moment. “...full offense, but...your dad’s a right prick.”

Hinata can’t help a snort. “...yeah. Yeah, he is.”

“And now you work in an insurance company who does pretty much the same thing, just from a different angle: extorts people for the mods they need.”

“...yeah.”

“Does that feel a bit...hypocritical to you, given what you tried to stand up for with your dad?”

“...in a way. But you also know I don’t do everything by the book. Whenever I can - when the case is bad enough - I refer them to Suigin-san and her ‘charitable’ work. I’ve never been caught.”

“How’d you meet her, anyway?”

“As a patient, believe it or not.” There’s a moment of hesitation, and then Hinata lifts a hand to her chest. “...I have an implant in my heart. I’ve had it since I was twelve. My cousin Neji, he…” She sighs. “...he and I had a very...s-strained relationship when young. His father, my father’s twin, was equal parts of the company, and...died when we were small. For the longest time, e-everyone suspected my father had him killed, to gain complete control. Obviously...that earned hatred from my cousin. And as my father’s heir...I was the target he could go after. He’s always been a genius, and...developed a subcutaneous mod that acts as a taser. He never told anyone, and experimented with it on himself. When he perfected it...he attacked me with it w-when we were preteens. I’d always been a little frail, and...the voltage stopped my heart.”

Sasuke’s eyes go wide. “Oh, shit…”

A somber nod. “...when I came to, I was in a clinic nearby the private school we were attending, where he attacked me. And it was Suigin-san who saved me. She implanted the device that keeps my heart stable, and...we’ve been connected ever since. So, once I got my job, I was talking to her about my f-frustrations, and...she admitted to her under-the-table work. And that’s...how that all got s-started.”

“...well I’ll be damned. How, uh...how do you guys get along now? You and your cousin?”

“After the...falling out, he approached me. Told me my father had blackmailed him to work for the company...saying he’d not press charges for attacking me if he agreed to use his genius for the tech. Of course, he had no choice...but once he realized what I stood for, and that I let it all go for my m-morals...he finally apologized. I couldn’t blame him for hating me...what I stood for. But we’re decent friends, now. We don’t talk much for fear of my father getting angry and s-sabotaging Neji somehow, though.”

“...and I thought my family had problems.”

Hinata can’t help a soft laugh. “Well...it could be worse. Anymore I’m just...getting by. Not really sure what else to d-do with myself. I help who I can with Suigin-san’s assistance, but...it’s drops in the bucket, y’know?”

“Yeah...well…” Sasuke gives her a glance. “...the offer still stands to go after him as my debt. Maybe I could do something about all that, huh?”

“...maybe. Right now, though...I’m too tired to think about it.”

“Tired enough to sleep?”

“Mm...I hope so.”

The pair then start angling back toward the proper building. Once there, Sasuke seems to...hesitate under the lights.

“...sorry if I, uh...pressed too hard.”

“No, not at all. I didn’t say a-anything I didn’t want to. Besides, it...sort of felt nice to get that off my chest. Maybe I really will sleep now.”

“...I hope so. I’ll be off in the morning to rest, but...I’ll keep you updated. Something tells me my dad’ll have made up his mind about things. We’ll see.”

“All right. Goodnight, Sasuke-san.”

“Night.”

Dredging back up to her room, Hinata collapses into bed. And by some grace, it takes her only moments to fall asleep.

                                                      .oOo.

     (This is a sequel to days 250, 254, 269, 300, 303, and 309!)       Aaand more cyberpunk AU. And a bit more detailed background on our two MCs...well, more so Hinata than Sasuke, but we'll get there. You think she'd be more wary of walking around at night, but...well, I guess she feels a bit safer given who she's with ;3      Also for anyone curious (which I doubt but whatever lol), this actually subtly mirrors the "canon" plot of how Hinata and Ryū meet, Ryū being one of the medics that helps save Hinata after her fight against Neji in the chūnin exams! Just a wee lil tidbit I threw in, lol      Buuut anyway, I am...EXHAUSTED so I'm gonna go crash! Thanks so much for reading~

[dtsugabby]

BTS Fic Rec

Bear with me, I’m trying to organize all of my recs from various sources. In the meantime, check out below and also my ao3 bookmarks here if what’s below isn’t enough!

A U T H O R S

Basically, I’d rec anything by these authors. They are incredibly talented and I always enjoy their works.

 dirtysope (ao3, also on twitter)

wispyoongi (ao3, also on twitter)

pauline (twitter)

bri (twitter)

kaythebest (ao3)

metastacia (ao3)

babiesko_o (twitter)

moonlitaehyung (twitter)

bloom (twitter)

F I C S

Twitter

<History> sope au in which murder mystery writer Yoongi joins a new dating app that connects people based on their internet search history. He’s matched up with Hoseok, who, unbeknownst to him, is a notorious serial killer all over the news.

jikook au where idol jimin is having a competition, whoever has the highest scores on his superstar app gets to go on a date with him. only one problem, 90% of the songs have an unbeatable high score all from the same user, "jjklovespjm". that user happens to be the idol jungkook

jikook au where jimin and jungkook are new roommates and jimin finds jungkooks hidden stash of yaoi and boylove manga under his bed but it's funny bc jungkook is straight.

jikook au where jimin and jungkook are both gay af but they think the other is straight. so, they act extremely heterosexual around each other, causing them to believe the other is straight even more. this only leads to awkward conversations and situations.

「 euphoria 」   ✧ jikook au ✧ -in which they were childhood friends. later on they both become part of different rival musical groups, and one day jm finds a love letter from jk which he wrote years ago.

jikook au where well known ceo, jeon jungkook, is seen as a huge playboy by media and the public. nobody knows that hes been married to his childhood best friend for 6 years and has a son.

Jikook AU} Whiskey   In which Jungkook comes back traumatized from war and Jimin is the bartender who lives next door. One day, as he’s coming back from work, he sees Jungkook sitting in his front porch, a bottle of whiskey in his hand.

NamJin AU In which for some reason Seokjin is just really really convinced that Namjoon is a witch. Joon found it interesting and keep taking Jin on a date, disguising it as a "prove research"

taekook au Jeongguk tries breaking up with his boyfriend through an AirDrop note but accidentally sends it to Taehyung instead, which of course, leads to a series of unfortunate events.

[jikook au] where youtuber jimin reacts to jungkook's video and jimin is introduced to the mess that is jeon jungkook

「 vminkook 」♡ hidden where taehyung finds this very popular vminkook stan account that he shows to jimin and jungkook and they spend the whole night laughing at the edits, aus and posts. what they don't know is that jungkook is the person running the account.

「 jikook au 」♤ little do you know when popular kid jeon jungkook's crush is revealed to be a certain park jimin everyone assumes it's cheerleader and social butterfly girl jimin and not nerdy bookworm boy jimin

「 jikook au 」◇ encounter park jimin's idol group makes an appearance on the hottest variety show in korea. he has a big fat secret crush on one of the hosts, jeon jungkook who is very clearly flirting with his fellow member, min yoongi - so jimin becomes petty on national tv.

[NAMJIN AU] “SKY HIGH” Seokjin is a flight attendant who keeps clashing with HR. He gets a final warning letter with one last chance. Desperate, he offers to give a passenger a blowjob in exchange for not writing a complaint, not knowing the other’s true identity...

Jimin is a single father and his little son is the biggest fan of the worldwide known singer Jeon Jeongguk~

[ jikook au ] - show me:  where jimin sent jungkook nudes over twitter but those pictures wouldn’t load on jungkook’s phone so he just replies with an ‘lmao’

[jikook au] solo artist, jeon jungkook, is getting married.

jikook social media au in which jungkook is a very famous kpop idol in the middle of his world tour and jimin is a small nsfw twt acc their worlds collide when korea’s favorite idol accidentally likes a tweet on the latter’s account

yoonseok!au in which hoseok accidentally drunk texts yoongi instead of his ex

yoonseok au where yoongi accidentally sends the wrong picture to his coworker hoseok

Yoonseok/SOPE AU In which amateur police detective Min Yoongi has to solve a series of public murder cases with no witnesses while being assisted by murderer and conman Jung Hoseok who agreed to help as it can shorten his prison sentence

<YOONSEOK/SOPE AU> in which Hoseok confesses to his long-time crush, Yoongi, by sending him a Spotify playlist. Oblivious to what’s going on, Yoongi goes ahead and drags his music choices. [mostly crack and fluff tbh]

[ jikook au ] - time where jimin can see a person’s lifespan and knows that his own time is limited but discovers that whenever he shares physical contact with jungkook he gains time but the thing is they hate each other

[jikook au] — the list nsfw in which jungkook just wants to go grocery shopping and jimin sends him an unexpected list

jikook au where jimin is a popular beauty youtuber, known for his lipstick looks. jungkook is a gaming/vlog youtuber who finally gets the confidence to post his own makeup tutorials that hes been filming for months (secretly) after discovering jimin.

jikook au where jungkook has tattoos, lots of piercings, and always wears black. jimin thinks hes dangerous and bad, until he sees jungkook with a pokemon lunchbox surrounded by dogs at the park one day.

AO3

Dynasty (series, completed, sope, taenamjin, jikook) Royal AU, slight fantasy?, I cried several times 

“Hundreds of years ago, the Gods intertwine the lives of seven boys. They suffer through war, heartache, & separation, but with the help of the Fates & their inner wolves, they all try to find their happy endings.

abo au universe on twitter;; https://twitter.com/dirtysope/status/1054116662620778496″

Peaches (series, incomplete, sope, namjin, vminkook) BDSM 101, somehow the most adorable thing ever, all commissioned

“A very nsfw modern setting AU which is centered around the boys exploring their sexualities predominantly through BDSM. The main ships are Sope, Namjin, and Vminkook, but various pairings will be explored in poly situations in shared BDSM scenes.”

Infinity (series, incomplete, sope, vmin) Vampire AU, all commissioned (I’m part of the commission group!!), sope are soulmates wbk

“This is an OT7 vampire universe that involves all seven of the boys. Main pairings will be Sope, Vminkook, and Namjin. This is your warning for darker themes⚠️ There will be compulsion, mind control, gaslighting, possessive behavior, violence, death, murder, & angst. ~no toxicity occurs within the ships~ Blood drinking will be very relevant and featured heavily!”

Charmed (series, complete?, sope-centric) HP AU! So cute, my first dirtywisp fic and tied for my favorite HP au in the fandom

“Bangtan in the Harry Potter universe.”

Infectious (chaptered, complete, sope, yoonmin, namjin, taekook, jikook, vmin, vminkook) THE zombie apocalypse AU, very angst filled, major character death, semi-happy ending (if you discount the MCD)

“During the first leg of their US tour, BTS, depleted, weary, tempers flaring, step on the stage for the second night of concerts. Little do they know, this is not going to be like any other show of their lives--instead before the end of the first song they are going to be on the run against what they can only call a zombie attack. Determined to stay alive until BigHit can rescue them, BTS is forced to be smart, resourceful, and get over themselves to survive.”

Hand In Hand (chaptered, incomplete, namgi) adoption au, disabilities au, i cried literal tears several times

“Namjoon, a sign language professor, and Yoongi, a songwriter, got certified to foster. But, they never expected that would open the door to love, heartache, pain, and most importantly, family. But, as they figure out this "dad-thing" hand-in-hand, they realize that family isn't made up of blood, it's the love that they have for each other.~or~ Namjoon's a deaf college professor Yoongi is his husband and a songwriter Seokjin is their case manager Hoseok, Jungkook, Tae and Jimin are kiddos with their own set of challenges and triumphs“

Heart of War (chaptered, incomplete, namjin, taegi, jihope) royal au

“For the protection of his people, Prince Seokjin has to marry his fiancé’s killer: the alpha king of the most ruthless and feared kingdom in all the lands with a reputation of being a cold blooded monster on the battlefield. Worst of all, the omega prince doesn't even speak their language.“

Until Dawn (series, incomplete, jikook, sope, namjin) fantasy creatures au, 100/10, tae is in it too, they all come together to save the world from various disasters major and minor, read this series

“The Documented Adventures of Your Favorite Local Supernatural Gang”

Raspberry Vodka (chaptered, complete, jikook) college au, misunderstandings

““You don’t have to make excuses.” Jimin crosses the room and Jungkook follows him to the doorway, all the words he wants to say jumbling together in his head but never making it to his lips. He wants to tell Jimin he’s just inexperienced and way too drunk and all he needs is a second to calm down and reassess his thoughts before he throws up from stress, but Jimin is already opening the door and stepping out into the hallway and oh god, he needs to say something.“I’m a virgin!” Jungkook shouts.“

Like A Hard Carry (chaptered, complete, namjin, yoonminseok, taekook) overwatch au, social media au

“In which: Jungkook, a popular Twitch streamer with both the self-esteem of a wilted piece of lettuce and the impulse control of suicidal squirrel, convinces his best friend Jimin to do a livestream for him; RM, captain of a pro Overwatch team, is suddenly missing a sniper; Jin, in an attempt to make things better, just makes them worse; Hoseok screams in various different volumes and moods; V, a pro-gamer, finds an incredible sniper, a cute boy, and a crush, making the mistake to think that they’re all the same person; Yoongi isn’t sure which one of his friends is going to make him die from second-hand stupidity first; and Jimin is caught in the middle of a love triangle that he’s not ACTUALLY a part of, one that he actually is a part of, and that fact that no matter how much Jungkook tries, Jimin will always be absolutely terrible at Overwatch.“

Vocal Princess (chaptered, complete, yoonmin) crossdressing on a dare au, yoongi is very gay and very confused, Jimin is embarrassed and trying his best

“Fed up with his inability to understand women, Jimin's sister dresses him like a girl. Jimin finds himself working with a producer, Yoongi, and donning his disguise for much longer than he intended. Jimin wonders if he’s losing his mind or if he’s really falling for a guy. Meanwhile, Yoongi is VERY GAY AND VERY CONFUSED WHY HE���S SO ATTRACTED TO THIS WOMAN IN HIS STUDIO. aka Jimin dresses as a girl and Yoongi has a heterosexual crisis.“

City of Stars (chaptered, complete, namgi) hanahaki au, so so good, but fr, FUCK THE ENDING

“hanahaki disease: an illness where the victim regurgitates and coughs up flower petals when they suffer from unrequited love. this can only be cured through surgical removal, however the victim's romantic feelings for their love disappear along side with the infection. yoongi starts coughing petals for namjoon, a witch with a constellation of stars glowing on his cheeks – except, flowers aren't the only things ripping his insides apart.“

jung hoseok writes instruction manuals (while stupidly in love) (series, complete?, sope) so so fluffy and cute, list au

listen to my heart (can you hear it sing) (chaptered, complete, namjin-centric) abo au, namjoon is a big dummy but we love him

“Seokjin wasn't his, but he was still as every bit of 'his' as the rest of the wolves in the pack, and Namjoon was going to have to learn to live with that.In which Namjoon constantly, to everyone's disappointment, fucks up.“

delta (chaptered, complete, namgiseok) very very good poly rapline, canon divergence?, angst but happy resolution

“He was the last person Namjoon expected to hear from - thought he was dreaming when he saw the email in his work inbox. It was short and simple, typical Hoseok. Just: We saw what happened. We’re so sorry. If you need get away for awhile, you’re always welcome to come stay with us - JH. He wonders now if Hoseok was surprised when he said yes. If Hoseok only extended the invitation because he didn’t think Namjoon would actually come.(Or: Namjoon chose a solo career and left Yoongi and Hoseok behind. Seven years later, after being outed by a Korean tabloid, he ends up on their couch in Queens, trying to face an uncertain future. And confront feelings that have persisted for nearly a decade.)“

Good Friends (series, complete?, yoonmin, namjin, taekook, vhope) hilarious, misunderstandings, college au

“Yoongi likes to brag to his friends about his boyfriend. Jimin likes to brag to his friends about his boyfriend. Little do they know there's actually crossover in their friend groups.”

Just Another Game (chaptered, incomplete, yoongi x everyone, many side pairings) a n g s t, I am a beta on this fic, great writing, author is interactive

“Set during 2019, after their world tour and after Answer's release. Min Yoongi's career has put him in bisexual hell: living with six hot bandmates who think it's really funny to flirt and get handsy with him and with each other all the time. Between constant struggles like not knowing whether he and Jimin nearly made out while drunk, to bed sharing with Jungkook every other night, to not being sure how to stop imagining what it'd be like to kiss Namjoon, it's only a matter of time before he loses his mind as he realizes he's in love with six perfect but very straight boys. After Yoongi drunkenly comes out as bi, he can’t remember the confession the next day. Taken by surprise, the boys lightheartedly start a competition to see who Yoongi finds the most attractive in the group. The objective is set to getting a kiss from Yoongi before he finds out about the competition. Though they mean well, things go downhill fast for all of them. As they each realize they are attracted to Yoongi, they start taking things too far beyond what they’d signed up for.”

eternal sunshine (oneshot, complete, sope) canon au, i commissioned this fic!!, I love it so much, slight angst then fluffy sexy times

“Yoongi is having a rough day at practice. He's not focused on the choreo, and no matter how hard he tries he just can't seem to get anything right. But luckily for him he has Hoseok, and he always knows how to put Yoongi's broken pieces back together. “

offer me your deathless death (yoongi is a serial killer!AU) (series, incomplete, yoonmin, namjin, vhope) a bit of an odd read but I loved it, dark, not what you think, pulls at heartstrings

“a peak into the lives of the rich and the powerful (non-linear; no specific order of stories)Notes:mainly yoonmin, but there's namjin and vhope too! :D (also known as the jimin is a ceo!AU and the namjoon is a hospital-owner-person!AU)”

to the moon and back (chaptered, complete, vmin, vminkook) vmin are supernatural hunters, poor kookie, something’s not quite right in this town 

“"The other kids think that Jimin is strange. And he is, to be fair. Sometimes Jimin talks to people that aren’t there. Sometimes he starts crying, randomly, and then a moment later the wailing siren of an ambulance or police car can be heard outside. Sometimes he just shuts down and won’t talk to anyone." Jimin and Taehyung are basically professionals. When they're called in to deal with a werewolf terrorizing a small town, they know the deal. Things are rarely as they seem.”

Spine Breaker (chaptered, complete, sope, namjin, taekook) hunger games/ready player one au, video game brought to real life, plot twists, angst but a happy ending

“The clock is ticking, Jeon Jeongguk only has two bottles of water, one lunchbox, and ten bombs with which he has to kill six people if he wants to live. He's just eighteen and the only experience he has throwing bombs includes sitting in front of his screen, smashing buttons on his controller and swearing at his longstanding in-game rival, VforVictory. Someone has recreated the hit warfare videogame, Spine Breaker, and although Kim Seokjin is the mascot of the game, he knows nothing about how to play it but now finds himself launched in the middle of a stranded island, his bombs missing, his glasses smashed, and a pursuer who wants something more sinister than just his death. Min Yoongi knows why he's here. He knows why everyone is here, but his battles had begun long ago. The clock is ticking and Yoongi is running out of time, but he knows that zero is not the end. It's kill or be killed.”

The Shaman and the Exorcist (chaptered, complete, namjin-centric) SO GOOD, ghost hunter au, seokjin is a fake bitch and namjoon is pissed, angst angst angst, ok ending though

“Seokjin doesn't believe in ghosts. Which would cause a huge uproar if everyone knew since he's kind of a big deal at his university; he's a shaman who protects people from evil spirits. He doesn't remember where he got the idea to do this from, all he knows is that superstitious people pay good money. Namjoon does believe in ghosts. Better yet, he can see them and he can expel them. But there's a certain phoney shaman at his university who's stealing all his clients in his exorcism business, and he's not happy about it because haunted people pay good money. So, what do they do? Figure out whose closet is holding all the skeletons, of course.“

charmed (oneshot, complete, namjin) very cute, existential, seokjin got tricked boo hoo

“"So you’re not going to eat me?" Seokjin asks, just to confirm."Why would I eat you?" "Because you’re a dragon," Seokjin says slowly, because it should be obvious, despite Namjoon not looking very dragon-y at all. Namjoon looks unimpressed. "I may be a dragon, but I’m not an animal."”

Monster Private Eye (series, incomplete, namjin, vhope, jikook) funniest thing ever, namjoon is a detective and kook is his assistant, tae is a mess, jimin is an idol, solve crimes be gay 

“Kim Namjoon (klutz, genius, poet, private investigator) solves cases for the unusual and secretive clientele of Monster Private Investigator. His assistant, Jeon Jungkook (big muscles, bigger heart) helps out. Each story revolves around Namjoon taking on the request of a different member (noted in the title), for a total of 7 cases in this collection, all from Namjoon’s POV. Members also appear in chapters that are not focused on them. All works can stand alone, but I suggest that you read them in order to fully enjoy the characters and relationships as they grow. Enjoy!“

bts hogwarts au (series, incomplete, vmin, namjin, sope) my other favorite HP au, set in the same time as the books but focused on the boys instead with their own storyline, angst, fluff, dealing with coming out and accepting yourself and others

“a series of non-linear snapshots of bangtan’s life at hogwarts. [all ships are main ships] green: yoongi, jimin, jeongguk. red: seokjin, namjoon. yellow: hoseok, taehyung.”

creating a home (series, incomplete, namjin) foster parents namjin kids all the other members, heart wrenching, fluff, would read again and again, follows them as they grow up

“A BTS Foster Care AU”

the professor’s family (series, incomplete?, namjin, taekook) professor! namjin, jungkook is his student, poor kookie, he has the hots for tae

“Professor Kim Namjoon is married. He doesn't have a wife. They have a sort-of son. And Jeon Jungkook just crossed paths with them.”

More to be added!!

[skammovistarplus]

Marlène Mourreau shows off her son, an actor

[Notes for people who aren’t conversant with Spanish celebs. Marlène Mourreau is a French TV host, vedette and burlesque artist who’s made her career in Spain. Professionally, she puts on a dumb blonde persona. Gabriel’s father is Cuban dancer and choreographer Michel Guevara, who currently lives in Brussels. They are divorced. Gabriel is an only child and has featured on many magazine spreads about his mother throughout the years. In Spain, mass media can’t publish pictures of underage people, such as pap pics. Exceptions are the Royal Family, children who have gone missing, or children who are famous in their own right (because they are actors, models, etc). As a result of this law, this is the first time Gabriel has been on a magazine spread without his face being blurred, lol.]

She looks at him while they pose for our camera at their Madrid home. Shortly after, they burst laughing. “Mom, you’re making me uncomfortable!” says Gabriel, sounding very much like a teenager. “Shush, I’ve been doing this for thirty years,” Marlène replies. The famous Frenchwoman brings out her vedette side, but the truth is that for this interview she’s just a mother and her ‘baby’ just turned 18, a beautiful moment they share with SEMANA magazine.

Gabriel is a Baccalaureate first year and is in the Social Sciences track. He’s also taking his first steps as an actor on the show Skam España (Movistar+). He says that being of age is only a little imposing: “It’s good, you get a bit more freedom.”

In your case, being an actor might be a genetic thing, right?

I think so. I’ve loved show business since I was little, more on my father’s side, because my mother’s side was all feathers and sequins. But I came along to my father’s rehearsals, I looked at him and I’d be fascinated. Then I liked acting even more and I said, “Mom, I want to be an actor.” She replied, “Get back to studying.” So that’s what I did.

What was your debut on the show like?

At first I was really nervous, but then when you get to know the cast and the directors, you become more confident and everything flows.

Is your character Cristian anything like you?

He’s a playboy, but he’s not the same as me. He doesn’t care what people think, he goes all in, he’s very self-confident. He likes partying a lot. I do my own thing, I’m more chill.

Do fans ‘assault’ you now that you’ve started to become famous?

There’s been a small change, because nobody used to recognize me or I was “Marlène’s son.” Now I’m Cristian from Skam. Although all told, I’ve only [signed two autographs]! (laughs) My mom was huge in her time and she handled it really well. I don’t think I’ll ever reach that sort of success, because she’s really high up there for me.

What is she like as a mom?

She’s very mom-like, very protective. She’ll make me put on five coats before I can leave the house, if I’m out partying she asks me to text her my location so she can pick me up… But she’s also very flexible. She’s a friend, but with a lot of boundaries. We’re a really good team. I tell my mom everything, I trust her a lot and we have a lot of fun together.

Does she give you advice?

Organization. But that didn’t work so well for me. She’s also told me not to trust people, to pay attention. She’s always been really smart in that aspect and has been really careful.

Do you mind that she’s a sexy mom?

My mother has her own style and she doesn’t care what people think of her and that’s very positive, but sometimes, dang! Once she picked me up from school with an ankle-length, rabbit fur coat… I had just finished football training and my teammates told me, “Look, a panda!” My mother has always been above all the other mothers, so to speak. As a kid it would affect me, but then it didn’t. Yeah, my mom is hot, so what? Now my friends don’t dare tell me anything. Have some respect.

What do you value about her?

She’s very clear-headed. She’s very organized, she has everything under control. My mother plays a dumb blonde role, but she’s actually really, really smart. She trips me up.

Who do you look like more, your father or your mother?

Physically I look a little like both. The upper half is my dad’s and my smile is my mom’s. Attitude-wise, I’m a joker; my Cuban side jumps out. But for things that really interest me I prepare thoroughly, like my mother.

What is your relationship with your father, who lives in Brussels, like?

Although he lives abroad, he’s very present and attentive of everything. He’s very strict, as a kid I was afraid of him, but he’s always supported me and given me good advice. He calls and texts me… The biggest birthday present would be that he could come to my birthday party. I want to throw a huge party with friends and family, at a club, all of us looking elegant. When my parents meet up it’s the best. They tease each other, but affectionately, and it makes me laugh.

Are you worried that you might be seen as “the son of”?

No, people don’t care about that. I prefer to focus on my projects, to be famous for something I did. To do that you have to be talented and to put in an effort, but I’m strong because I like it and I feel I can do it.

[Translation note: the spread now focuses on Marlène. I translated the bits of the interview that pertained to Gabriel. Feel free to skip this part.]

Marlène listens to him and can’t conceal her pride, but it’s obvious she’s guided him with a firm hand. She says she’s been a “single mom” (she separated from his father, Michel Guevara, when the boy was only three) and now, “I’m trying to process that he’s going to be a man. I like that he has a clear goal.”

What did you think when he said he wanted to be an actor?

At first I didn’t like the idea, but I knew that his personality wasn’t staid. He’s very social, a goofball, he likes clowning around, he’s witty… On [Skam España] I have been surprised by his voice, his acting and how much of a natural he is. I see him more as a film actor rather than TV and I see a future for him abroad.

As a mom, you are…

I’m very protective, a nag, I’m always hovering over him. I’m afraid of him going out, not because of him but because of the others, because I know he’s a good boy. I tell him that he’s got to be different, stand out, have his own personality, live for himself. I hope he listens to me.

Are you ready for your son to leave the nest?

In fact, I would’ve liked it if he were more independent, like I was. I moved out when I was 17. But he prefers being with mom. The problem is that he’s comfortable. Since he’s an only child and I’m single, we are a power couple. He doesn’t have his dad here and I don’t have a man in my life besides him. But I’d like it if he did like I did. Out in the ‘jungle’ you learn more than in an apartment with everything at your disposal. Show business is a real jungle and there are a lot of snakes…

[Captions: Marlène and her son, Gabriel, host us in their home in Madrid. They moved there this past September and they’re renovating it. It is here that they showed their great rapport.

Gabriel describes himself as a “nice [person], a joker, I like being the class clown…”

The youth, at his study and entertainment nook in his room. As well as an actor, he also would like to be a TV host

He is Cristian on the teen show Skam España. The Norwegian show Skam is a worldwide phenomenon, so much so that it has its own Spanish remake. Focusing on the lives of a teen gang, the cast includes Gabriel, who plays Cristian. It’s his first job on camera, but he’s more at ease every day. The show airs on Movistar+ and has been renewed for a second season.

Gabriel is starting to do modeling work as well, although he hasn’t put aside the books. Marlène is very firm about that.]