#fabulous dark queen

[roselyn-writing]

Sketchober Day 1: Gothic (Aliyaa Aepel) ★

Hi Guys! Yes its my first time doing this inktober or sketchober or whatver your wanna call it. Its still prompts. I wanted to participate because first it looks fun then to draw again. 🙃

@huepazu @subzero-simp @loryeenb @lorabeyc @magicalgirlsona @theelderhazelnut @loverofthewindgod @loreoflemons @darialovesstuff @melissalix @lisadelise @kyd35 @alexapenz @monapome @mollyb9 @noelle9

[x-pretty-little-fool-x]

So now that Umbrella Academy is almost over; surely Gerard Way starts pitching production ideas for True Lives of The Fabulous Killjoys to be adapted into a TV show

Featuring music from Danger Days pls

[thebibliomancer]

Black Cat’s ABCs

Always Be Conning

[riosnecktattoo]

I saw Kenneth Brannagh's King Lear in the West End tonight and it was sooo good I loved it and Cory Mylchreest was in it as Edmund and he was looking Good™

[gallusrostromegalus]

The Van Has Officially Declared It Spooky Season

---

I've got my parent's van for the week and it seems determined to establish my status as The Local Cryptid by terrorizing an innocent 7-11 clerk.

...I might need to back up a bit.

My mother is an eminently sensible woman who knows herself well, and when The Plauge hit, she knew she'd need some sort of mentally and physically engaging craft project to keep herself from going insane and massacring the local zoning and water management boards (even if they have it coming). So she and Dad acquired a utility van and converted it into a camper van because while they love camping, they're past the age where their joints and immune systems will tolerate sleeping on the cold ground in a nylon tent.

They did a terrific job of it and my mom taught herself woodworking and carpentry and now the van has it's own cabinets, fold-away dining table, and removable queen-sized bed with memory foam mattress. My Dad was already a computer engineer, but he learned the dark magics of automotive software and electronics to install after-market backup cameras, a media player that would take a terabyte hard drive and a solar-powered battery and outlet so they could wake up and just turn on the kettle and griddle for breakfast without having to exit the van into a cold morning on an empty stomach.

Truly, the height of Camping Luxury.

My parents are both in their mid-seventies and my primary life goal is to be at least half as cool and hale as they are when I get old.

Anyway, they take it out at least a dozen times a year and it works fabulously, but, being as I am on good terms with my parents and also finishing the process of moving house, I've been borrowing it to move large and cumbersome objects that will not fit in the back of my equally lovely but minuscule Honda hatchback.

It's a Great Van. Very easy and comfortable to drive. Stunningly good MPG for it's size. The best cruise control I've ever had in a car.

It's just also. Quirky. Mischievous, even.

---

If this van has a fault its that it bears the unfortunate affliction that all lightly used white utility vans have in that the combination of an utter lack of branding features and the large dent/scrape I accidentally put on it while trying to escape a Denny's last Thanksgiving means that this vehicle is one addition of a Badly Spray-Painted "FREE CANDY" on the side away from being the sort of vehicle you see in an edgy horror movie.

It's got the same issue that Doberman Dogs have where they look like the sort of creature that likes to snack on toddler's faces whilst actually having personalities made of marshmallow fluff. This vehicle is unnecessarily menacing and I think nothing short of an airbrushed Epic Van Wizard will correct this. People see this van pull up and lean over and squint suspiciously at me when the driver's side door opens, and then look moderately confused when, instead of Charles Manson, a small, potato-shaped creature with neon purple hair and a statistically unlikely assortment of dogs emerges.

My own two dogs, Herschel the Hanukkah Goblin/Corgi and Charleston Chew The Taco Dumpster Dog, Do Not Like The Van. Even with the bed in it, they have a tendency to slide and roll around in the back, and both WILL chew through dog saftey belts or other attempts to secure them in there.

On the other hand, my house mate's dog, an exceptionally tall standard poodle whom we lovingly call "The Creature", loves the Van because SHE wears her doggy seat-belt with only mild complaining and gets to sit up in the passenger seat like A People.

Also like A People, The Creature likes to stand and walk around on her hind legs. It doesn't hurt her and it's entirely voluntary, but every so often I will feel a hand on my arm and instead of my husband or friend, it's a canine that's taller than I am on her hind legs who wants to stare at my face with soulful, concerned eyes. The Creature's favorite thing is that she is exactly the right height for me to hold her arm in Genteel Fashion and walk around the pet food or hardware store with her like I'm a count escorting a debutante around a royal ball.

---

As it stands, I am set to inherit this vehicle whenever my Honda gives up the ghost, and I fully intend to paint an Epic Van Wizard on it when that time comes.

The other peculiarity of The Van is that while Dad did manage to successfully install all his after-market electronics, not all the electronics get along. Sometimes, they fight for Dominance. The Terabyte Music Player and the Backup Camera have a particularly contentious relationship, and turning on the music has about a 25% chance of turning on the backup camera as well, and turning on the Backup Camera is equally likely to turn on the music.

Firthermore, The Van has a favorite song.

I am not kidding that Dad filled an entire terabyte hard drive with music and the software to sort it via the radio controls, but of all the Early Boomer Dad Rock (Kingston Trio over The Eagles) and Irish Folk and Symphonies and the entire discography of Weird Al Yankovic, The Van's favorite song- The one it picks to play as victory music every time it beats the Backup Camera at their weird electronic game of rock-paper-scissors -is The Liberty Bell March by John Phillip Sousa.

You all know this song already.

...but in case you've forgotten the tune:

Yeah.

The Van's favorite song is the goddamn Monty Python's Flying Circus Theme Music.

It does not play this song at a normal volume.

Every time I turn on the Backup Camera and it manages to turn the music player on as well, The Van insists on absolutely blasting this nonsense on at the maximum volume it's physically capable of producing, which I know is loud enough to be heard from the Denver International Airport's Pickup zone when they Van decided to start playing it from the economy lot about half a mile away.

Perhaps it's The Van's way of honoring the aesthetic sensibilities and sonic enthusiasm of Mr. Sousa.

...I can't help but wonder if the purpose of an Epic Van Wizard is to control this sort of faerie-like malarkey, and channel these chaotic energies into things like Spell of Don't Break Down In Nevada or Enchantment Of Always Have Good Parking.

---

So last Friday the 13th, I get a call from my friend and housemate, at said airport.

It's roughly 11PM at night, and I have already retired for the evening. I am in the exact minimum of clothing required to be a decent housemate and not scandalize the neighbors should I happen to walk by a window. My feet are up. There is a cat in my lap and fictional British people murdering each other in highly inventive fashion on the tv. -But my friend has returned from her friend's wedding,and either American or United Airlines has managed to lose her luggage, including, among other valuable possessions, the keys to her car. ...So she cannot just drive home as originally planned.

There are, as luck would have it, her spare set of keys not eight feet from me.

Being a good and decent person, I agree to bring the spare keys to her so she may get home before daybreak and not spend a semester's worth of tuition on an uber across the greater Denver traffic jam.

Being also that she Loves Activities, and it's her mom we're going to pick up, I elect to take along The Creature.

I am primarily focused on remembering how to get to the airport and not leaving my friend's spare keys on the counter, so I throw on a pair of flip-flops, step outside, remember that it's AUTUMN and my minimal evening attire is not sufficient thermal protection, step back in, grab the first coat in the closet I lay hands on, pull it on, check that I have her keys again and leave.

The trip to the airport is largely unremarkable, save that it becomes necessary for me to put on sunglasses to drive, despite it being nearly the witching hour and almost entirely darker than the inside of a cow.

It's necessary because this blissful darkness of night is violently punctured by a startling number of cars that seem to have installed miniaturized but no less powerful lighthouse bulbs in where their headlights ought to go so the oncoming traffic and sports cars that insist on tailgating me in the slow lane alike illuminate the road and my mirrors with the kind of radiance I'd normally associate with the arrival of a Seraphim.

I arrive at the distant highly discounted airport car lot where my housemate is waiting, deeply apologetic. It's nothing. I say. Once I see that your car starts up, I'm gonna go to that 7-11 across the way that I parked in front of, get a slurpee or something and I'll see you at home.

While she is retrieving her vehicle (an equally eccentric but much more stately Subaru that is old enough to be elected to congress) I rifle through the loose change in the glove box and discover that I have exactly $6.66 in small bills and coins. The Subaru, continuing it's long voyage into vehicular immortality, immediately starts up.

Upon her return, we all remember that my friend had all her camping gear in the backseat of the car and there is no room for The Creature to ride home with her parent, so I again assure her it's nothing, and will just take The Creature into the 7-11 with me. She is trained as a service animal and needs the practice after the plague.

I wave my friend off and turn to enter the 7-11.

I promptly trip over the jutting back bumper of The Van and fall, cartoonishly, face-first onto the sidewalk.

Fortunately, I have a lot of practice falling on my face, and have learned not to throw my hands out but instead cover my face, so my unexpected self-inflicted attempted curb-stomping lightly scrapes my hairline and nothing else -my sunglasses even stay in place- and I get up and resume my quest for a slurpee.

It's well known that the airport is a lawless place, and the 7-11 across from the discounted airport parking at the stroke of midnight is no exception.

I know it's the stroke of Midnight because there's one of those Audubon society bird-call clocks that makes bird noises, and my arrival is heralded by the twittering call of a Summer Tanager. I am almost charmed enough by the unusual choice of chronological device to excuse the exorbitant Airport-adjacent mark-up of Slurpee prices. I stand at the machine for some time, trying to decide on a size for the price and guess what the fuck "Blue Lighting Blast" is supposed to taste like.

The Creature is being Very Polite but is somewhat agitated, I assume because she *just* saw her mother for the first time in three days and then she LEFT with no explanation, so The Creature is on her hind legs, staring woefully into my eyes, asking to be escorted around the 7-11. Even though that's not what she's not supposed to be doing, there's nobody else in here, so I let her hang off my arm and discuss various Slurpee Flavor options with her.

We eventually decide on an experiment in which I try a Small Blue Lightning Blast, and discover it tastes a bit like licking a nintendo cartridge but in a pleasantly satisfying way.

I go up to pay and realize something is amiss.

The Cashier is a young man staring at me with wide eyes, one had over the register and the other wrapped up in his rosary.

I look down at myself.

In my haste to reunite my friend with her spare keys and service animal, I had left the house in the following accoutrements:

Flip Flops. Not matching. It's below freezing outside. That last part is not particularly odd footwear for the weather in for Colorado, but it's an important detail for the rest of the ensemble.

Assorted scrapes, bruises, cuts and welts on my arms and legs that come with doing outdoor work and living in a house with three dogs and a fully-clawed cat that all want to be in my lap all the time. It's cold out, so vasoconstriction has pulled the blood away from my skin, a trait that served my ancestors well during the last Ice Age, but leaves me with pale skin to contrast the various wounds and I look like a corpse that fell out of the back of a pickup truck.

The black Bootyshorts with "CRYPTID" painted in bright red gothic font across my ass, that @theshitpostcalligrapher gave me for my wedding present.

A peculiar but extremely comfortable garment that straddles the line between "Lacy Camisole" and "Industrial-Strength Sports Bra" like the Ever Given straddling the Suez Canal. It is also Bright Red. with black accents.

The Jacket I had grabbed out of the closet, which is in fact, a black Velour Dinner Jacket.

The Tokyo-Ghoul inspired reusable anti-covid mask a friend made me with the set of Coyote Teeth.

My sunglasses, which are shaped like a Halloween Bat. The lenses are the wings and the body is the nose bridge. It is ALSO bright red.

A Very Large and remarkably Humanoid Poodle that I have been audibly affectionately calling "Dear Creature" who is hanging off my arm like she's my Prom Date.

The Very Large and remarkably Humanoid Poodle is ALSO dressed up in a black Dog Sweater that has white bones printed on it to look like its an X-ray jacket showing off her skeleton.

I look like I am taking my Very Fancy Werewolf Girlfriend to a particularly casual Dinner Party for Vampires, but the thing that's really selling it and probably alarming the kid the most is the fun accessory I acquired in the parking lot not five minutes earlier:

The "Small Scrape At my Hairline" is actually a painless but PROFUSELY bleeding head wound that I had somehow entirely failed to notice covering my face, neck, decolletage and magnificent cleavage with blood like a Tarantino Film Extra.

This does explain why The Creature has been delicately trying to use her bodyweight to push me down onto the floor for the last ten minutes. So I don't injure myself while we wait for the paramedics she hoped this kid called to arrive, you see.

The Creature has such a High and Naive Opinion of humanity.

I decide this social situation is already fucked, and the only way out is through, and with haste, before I start dripping on the floor.

"Hi there!" I say cheerfully, to indicate this is a visually alarming but not terribly serious situation. "Just a Small Slurpee!"

The Cashier has entered the relevant code into the register before I finish the sentence. His gaze flicks off me just long enough to look at the total, and he grips his Rosary harder.

$6.66

"Oh cool! I have exact change!" I say, taking the money out of my as-yet-unsanguined pocket without looking and slap it down on the counter. "You have a good night and be safe out there!" I wave, leaving.

I get in The Van, mortified, buckle The Creature up, and as I make to leave, I have to put it in reverse, which automatically turns on the backup Camera.

It also turns on the music player.

I make eye contact with the cashier as the dulcet tones of John Phillip Sousa boom from the van hard enough to make the windshield and the windows of the 7-11 rattle for the nine-and-a-half seconds I have to wait to be able to turn the volume back down. Not knowing what else to to, I give him a thumbs up, and leave.

Anyway, now I know what my Future Van Wizard has got to be dressed like, and what their familiar is.

---

If you enjoyed this story, please consider donating to my Ko-Fi or Pre-ordering my Family Lore Funny Stories book on Patreon

[man-down-in-hatchet-town]

THERE'S A CASTLE ON THE HILL, AS THE STORY GOES...

As promised, some initial thoughts on the things I loved about seeing this show. Spoiler free, since most of us haven't gotten to see it yet, and under the cut since I do wax a bit poetic...

Cinderella’s Castle is, in a strange way, an exercise in irony. The show is a retelling of an ancient story that is beloved and recited throughout so many cultures, and yet somehow feels completely fresh. The modern take on glam-punk lighting, a score infused with styles from 80s synth to anime, a high fantasy set with the costumes to match, the spirit of Jim Henson lingering through both the puppets and some larger and intangible vibe, a script combining that Starkid humor and Hatchetfield darkness with a whole different style of speaking… all of these beautifully executed elements melted together into something that I’ve never before seen. To take a tale as old as time and make it unique is no easy feat, but Starkid did so with magic and charm to spare.

Like any good Starkid show, Cinderella’s Castle is relentlessly dynamic: fun and tragic and exciting and just-plain-silly, with many twists and turns and character moments will make you gasp or cheer just as often as you laugh. It simply rollicks. The story clicks right along, especially in act 2, but the characters are so distinct and fun that I found myself almost wishing the Langs had sacrificed their plotting and pace just to spend more time hanging with every single member of this ensemble of personalities.

And that’s also a tribute to the actors themselves. Jeff is David Bowie reborn as the impish and fabulous narrator. Jon and Joey bring Hop A Lot and Crumb to life with so much charm and presence that they practically had the audience eating out of their hands from the very first second. Like, seriously, you will not believe how invested you will immediately become in these talking animals. Kim’s Fairy Queen is as radiant and terrible as promised; her portrayal of immortal inhuman power compels and commands and stands fully distinct from the Lords in Black. Lauren and Mariah are delightfully disgusting as the vile but deeply lovable troll step-sisters; you can feel the fun they’re having practically radiating off of them. Curt’s Tadius is dryly funny and put-upon, but also provides a vitally grounding and centering presence in the larger-than-life world of the Lands That Are. His big scene with Bryce is probably my favorite part of the whole show. James Tolbert is nothing short of an absolute STAR as the Prince, stealing scene after scene after scene with ease and charm and more jokes about genitalia than I think any of us expected. Angela once again displays a completely different facet of her never-ending range, exuding such elegance and control even in trollish filth that I do fear that the kids on the internet are going to start calling her “mother” with greatly increasing frequency. "Facade" was an absolute highlight of the night. And of course Bryce anchors, propels, and heightens every scene she’s in with such apparent ease you forget she’s been rehearsing for weeks and isn’t simply Ella herself. Ella is this world’s bruised, brave, and angry heart, and you will absolutely root for her every step of the way as she wrestles with who she is and learns what it means to claim her own power.

This was Starkid’s biggest budgeted show to date, and you could tell. This group of Michigan Wolverines and friends have accomplished incredible things since the Very Potter days of a single door and some cardboard columns, and I’m so proud of how far they’ve come. And yet Cinderella’s Castle, the fifteenth musical in the fifteenth year, still retains some of that core Starkid magic that I’ve always believed boils down to love. You can so often see that love emanating from the performers on a Starkid stage: love for the show, for their friends, for their craft, for the audience’s energy pushing them through. And the sense of love and support and community radiating from the audience is just as palpable. The man sitting behind me last night was at his first ever Starkid show, and afterwards he remarked in awe how that was the best audience he’d ever been in. And all that love isn’t unearned—it is built and it is nourished by a proud history of creativity, of song and of dance and of laughter and tears. And Cinderella’s Castle, I think, is going to prove an installment worthy of both Starkid’s past and future.

Starkid family, Bogs Hollow grants thee Starlight.

[breadbrobin]

blanket hog

tim drake x reader — dc / batfam

[gn!reader]

summary: you’d never been close with tim, but now you were sharing a bed—too close. far too close—and you didn’t know what to think

warnings: light swearing, sharing a bed (ONE BED TROPE MY BELOVED), idiots in love, kissing, is my writing good? idk anymore

word count: 1.7k

(this was meant to be in two parts but it’s way shorter than i thought it was when i was writing it lmao. anyway happy birthday tim drake!)

—————————————

if tim drake was a magnet you were his polar opposite. that much you knew for sure. rather than draw you in, he repelled you backwards, unfazed by his ceo smile and somehow perfect hair. it was his unnerving ice-blue eyes that seemed to look through you and his fumbling words that pushed you back. there was something in his stare, and it made your cheeks burn and your heart race, and you didn’t like it. if you could’ve stayed away, you would have.

but fate was a fickle thing.

and when blankets were hogged, you’d fight tooth and nail not to freeze to death.

it had been an easy decision to share the queen-sized bed. the hotel room was small—a bed, a dresser and a bathroom alone—and none of his siblings had wanted to share with him. steph and cass took the only other double room in the small-town in, leaving you with no choice. there wasn’t even any floor space.

“we can take shifts?” tim had suggested, his cheeks uncharacteristically pink.

you’d told him not to be ridiculous, and then you’d had to practically tackle him into the bed to get him to sleep at all.

finally, the room was filled with only soft breathing as you drifted off, warm and cosy in the surprisingly soft sheets.

and then you were cold.

what?

your sleepy eyes blinked open and you frowned. did someone open the window? your sleep addled brain hadn’t put the pieces together just yet. your fingers tightened around the blankets you had pulled against your—ah. that was the issue.

you frowned and rolled onto your back, reaching around to find them. where did they go?

there! you connected. how did they get there? no matter.

you pulled the blankets loosely, but they barely budged. you frowned again. what the hell?

you blinked in the darkness, peering at the shape in the bed next to you. it came rushing back. tim drake. typical. you had to be bunking with the blanket hog.

you pulled the blankets harder, to no avail. you gritted your teeth and dug your heels in (metaphorically), pulling with all your might and hoping they wouldn’t rip. sure, bruce could pay for the replacement, but you’d feel bad.

finally, the blankets came wrapping around you. you rolled back onto your side as you pulled them tight to your chin. then an arm was around your waist. then there was a warm breath on the back of your neck.

oh.

tim’s chest was pressed loosely against your back. he was still gripping the blankets too, obviously dragged by your pulling. you shifted for a moment, but his grip on you only tightened. fabulous.

your heart raced—why did your heart race?—and your palms sweated slightly. it wasn’t hot, but you felt all warm and fuzzy, like you’d just had a big cup of tea. it was tim. even if he wasn’t like a furnace, you realised he’d warm you like this. finally, you let yourself relax into his embrace.

you’d deal with that in the morning, and just hope no one came in before you woke up.

the morning was warm and cosy. you didn’t think too hard about why. there was sunlight streaming onto your body through a gap in the curtains and the blankets were warm and—what was that?

it felt like a breath of air against your skin. you opened your eyes and immediately slammed them closed again.

oh. right.

tim.

throughout the night, you’d clearly managed to roll in his grip until you were face to face. his arm was loose around your waist, hand tangled slightly in your sleep shirt. your legs were tangled with his. your stomach lurched with something unknown, something you couldn’t quite put your finger on.

you opened your eyes slowly, tentatively, and—

oh.

you were thinking that a lot lately.

it was rare to see tim without a tense frown on his face. it aged him, made him look more stressed and intense. but now… his face was soft with sleep, lips parted just so. oh god, your stomach fluttered.

maybe that was why you’d never been able to be comfortable around him. were you…? no. surely not, right?

as if your thoughts were probing into his dreams, tim stirred slightly. the arm around your body tightened for a second, and his eyebrows twitched. your breath caught in your throat and you snapped your eyes closed again. you really didn’t want to look at him when he woke up, but a soft sigh came from his lips, then a gasp, and he retracted his arm like he’d been burned. you felt instantly colder as he jerked backwards.

you looked up him as he sat up abruptly.

he had a shell-shocked look on his face. scandalised, even. his eyes—startlingly blue—met yours. “i’m so sorry.” his voice was soft and rough with sleep.

you had to swallow tightly before you could reply. “it’s okay.”

“i don’t—“ he shook his head and rubbed his face. “i shouldn’t have—“

“you kinda grabbed me when i pulled the blankets back last night.” you admitted quietly, sitting up too.

“oh.” he said dumbly.

“yeah. blanket hog.” you shot him a small smile.

that seemed to break the tension. he smiled back. “shut up.”

“does koala fit better?”

he groaned and flopped back down onto the bed, covering his face. “i said i was sorry.”

“and i said it was okay.” you shot back immediately, watching him with a small smile. you didn’t quite know what it meant, but you did know that there was something different between you now. it was like you’d broken through the previous tension to discover something more. worse? better? you didn’t know yet.

he opened his eyes and peered at you between his fingers. “you’re not upset?”

“why would i be? it was cold. you’re like a furnace.” you shrugged, deciding to play it cool.

he sat up again and pushed his hands through his hair. it fell back in front of his face. your fingers twitched like you wanted to push it back again. “right. yeah.”

you found yourself studying his face. when he wasn’t looking stressed or exhausted, he was actually really pretty, you realised. obviously, you objectively knew that—the tabloids did a great job of describing how pretty he was (not that you read them, no way)—but you’d never taken the time to see it yourself.

he shifted under your gaze. “what?”

“nothing.” you said sharply, turning your head away. you leaned back against the rickety headboard. he followed suit.

there was silence for a long while. you fiddled with your fingers, not looking at him. you could feel his gaze on your profile, probing and studying and examining you like you were a piece of evidence at a crime scene.

finally, you let your eyes dart back to him.

he wasn’t looking at your eyes.

there was a rush that went through you as his piercing eyes flashed between your lips and eyes. your breath caught and you looked away again, before you could do anything stupid.

“why don’t you like me?” he asked softly. “i mean… you act like you hate me. why?”

“i don’t hate you.” you said softly.

he scoffed. “yeah, i know that. why do you act like you hate me?”

you were silent for a moment. you could feel tim’s gaze on your face again. “i don’t know. i think it’s because…” you swallowed your pride. “you always look like you want to say something to me, but you never do. i think i felt like you didn’t like me.”

“i do.” he said in a rush, the words spilling out of him. “i do like you. i don’t know why i can’t seem to talk to you like a normal person, but i just…”

you looked over at him with a small smile. “you’re doing a pretty good job right now, for a boa constrictor.”

he groaned and laughed a little, shaking his head. “you’re terrible.”

“seriously i think you cut off my circulation.”

“very funny.”

“i’ll sue you for my medical bills when i have to amputate from the lack of blood flow.”

“i’ll pay them anyway.” his voice was soft. it sounded like a confession.

your heart fluttered. “so you admit guilt?”

he nodded slightly. his eyes weren’t so piercing in the warm dimness of the hotel room. they were warmer, softer, more gentle. or maybe that was just the way he was looking at you. “and i’d do it again.”

yesterday, you would have laughed at him and kept joking. today… you bit down a smile. “i think i’d allow that.”

he didn’t hide his smile. “yeah?”

you let yours show a little too. “yeah, i guess.”

“and if i were to maybe kiss you? would you allow that?” he asked softly, barely above a whisper. his eyes dropped to your lips again.

your heart climbed into your throat and did a little dance. you nodded. “yeah, i suppose i could allow that.”

for a moment, you wondered if this was a good idea. if this would backfire on you. if this would result in pain and loss and not to mention hours of teasing from steph about getting her ‘sloppy seconds’. if this would end terribly and ruin your entire dynamic with the bats, who you’d only just started working with.

and then tim’s lips were on yours and your mind went blissfully blank.

you sighed into the kiss, your hand coming up to his chest.

the kiss was brief, but as his lips pulled away from yours, your hand tightened on the collar of his shirt and pulled him back to you.

after all that time not understanding what these feelings were, you finally got why your cheeks burned and your heart raced and why he could never talk properly around you.

god, it all made sense, and his fingers in your hair and cupping your jaw were exactly where they were meant to be. the knock on the door only drew you back to reality for a moment before his lips were on yours again, and again, and again, and you realised you could stay there for a lifetime. you’d be happy to.

[anonymouscheeseball]

I bring for your consideration, The Case of the Fabulous Phantom.

Franck, your run-of-the-mill, tweed-wearing, middle-aged Englishman, bank clerk, as common as they come, suddenly dies with no recollection of how it happens. The twist? Franck was also a drag queen.

Cue the investigation taking Edwin to a small drag club while Charles looks around his office at the bank, because of course Franck tells them that he had "a hobby" but doesn't specify it involved gravity-defying heels and tucking.

And now just imagine a couple of queens who have Seen Shit clocking him the second he arrives for a cursory look around and falling in love instantly because that's just the effect Edwin has.

"There's vintage that smells like dust, and then there's vintage that smells like lust, and honey you are potent," and Edwin somehow feels the opposite of threatened so he just says "Thank you. I really like your... glitter."

And that's it, they're besties now. Full life stories and everything.

"This is a safe space, love, I mean look around you, you are literally sitting on my feathers."

"My apologies, ma'am."

"He just said 'my apologies', can we keep him, Mabel?"

"I'm afraid I couldn't stay, I have a partner who's waiting for me."

The first time Edwin's sassy bitch comes out has the queens howling.

And when Charles eventually comes in with a frown on his face because he saw the sign outside that says Lola's Girls and wasn't entirely sure Franck's hobby wasn't strippers in the end and Jesus what did he leave Edwin with, he finds Edwin sitting on a fluffy yellow chair, a china teapot decorated with Greek etchings of naked men on the table in front of him, his own cup full while a queen paints his nails ("Honey, you said you're already going to hell, you might as well be the most fabulous bitch serving down there").

The queens are like "umm, this looks a bit too much like a guy who'd take a crowbar to my face if I met him in a dark alley at night," but Edwin exclaims "Charles!" while hiding his hands under the table, so one of the queens is like, "This your boo?"

And Edwin, clueless, precious Edwin, fully believes that "boo" is slang for ghost (because ghosts go boo, right?) and they must be referring to his partner, so he looks at Charles's surprised face and says, in his eminently dignified, Edwin voice, "Yes, this is Charles, my boo."

Charles, who's perfectly aware what the word presents him as, has a second of 'wait, what' but then just smiles at Edwin's adorableness and rolls with the punches because, actually, he can think of a lot of worse things to be than Edwin's boo.

And when Charles comes over (with the queens' complete approval), he reaches for one of Edwin's hands and tugs it back onto the table, and Edwin somehow feels the need to justify the red nail varnish, like "I was following a lead," so Charles looks at him with so much fondness in his eyes and tells him he looks incredible. And Edwin lights up like never before.

The queens totally see the moment Charles's brain goes "oh."

And, you know, if Charles keeps Edwin's hand in his and the queen who was doing Edwin's nails never even asks if she can put on the top coat now, it's absolutely not an accident.

(Charles had solved the case. Turns out, for once it wasn't a hate crime. Franck had refused to cook the books because not only could he do a mean Barbra impression, he was also just an honest guy. Franck goes to Heaven and promises he'll write.)

(Please do imagine Edwin and Charles coming back to Lola's Girls and all the beautiful things that could happen to them for being exposed to a community as amazing as that of drag queens.)

[icepoptroll]

@rtcpickyourpoison day 4: Ricky - Karaoke/Drag Night

I've seen a lot of art of Ricky and Noel being the perfect drag queen duo and I'm in total agreement. Their fabulous costume changes and wildly imaginative songs in canon are proof enough for me that these two would absolutely kill it in a drag performance, ignoring the haters and putting on a great show!! Starrypoet is such an awesome but oft-forgotten ship.

I felt like doing something with Ricky's love for who he is, his creative endeavors, and his bright spirit. Noel was also fun to explore here in that he's both very loving and very firey. I imagine that, after reaching adulthood, Ricky would become a comic book writer/illustrator and Noel would work in a drag bar, and they'd both take great interest in each other's work. It's bring your boyfriend to work night at the club!! hehe

Image description under the cut.

Page 1:

Panel 1: Shown is Ricky and Noel's reflections in a lighted mirror. The adjacent wall is made of bricks and there is a garment rack with various dresses hanging on it in the background of their reflection. There is a long, wavy, pink and purple wig hanging on the mirror. Ricky is smiling a bit shyly, wearing a voluminous, long purple wig with bangs. He has on pink cat ears, a sparkly silver necklace, a black leather strap wrapped around his arm and a pink bodysuit with black tiger stripes. His makeup is hot pink and bright purple with purple false lashes, glitter along his cheekbones and black tiger stripes painted on the sides of his face. Noel is wearing a dark bob wig, a sparkly dark purple gown, and four strings of pearls around his neck. He is wearing sparkly purple eyeshadow, glitter on his face and body, and dark red lipstick. He is leaning over and kissing Ricky on the head, saying, "Ugh, Ricky darling, you look absolutely sickening!!" Ricky's narration explains, "I knew that, in the context of a drag culture colloquialism, Noel meant "sickening" as a compliment.

Panel 2: Ricky's narration continues, "But I don't think I was meant to take what this other performer said as a compliment." Noel is in the background walking past, now with long, dark, violet gloves on, as a drag queen in a curled blonde wig, pearl jewelry, a black and white polka dot dress with red frills and red high heels walks by Ricky, who is sitting in his wheelchair, smiling and waving, wearing silvery fingerless gloves of uneven lengths. The drag queen says, "Okay, I'll bite. Who invited the make-a-wish kid?" Ricky goes on to explain, sarcastically, "Oh yeah, she got me. That was so funny that last time I heard it I laughed so hard I almost fell off my dinosaur."

Page 2:

Panel 1: Ricky continues, "She went for the low-hanging fruit. Noel went to bat for me." Noel comes up, pointing to himself. He says, "Uh. That would be ME. Got a fucking problem?"

Panel 2: The other drag queen gestures to Ricky, who looks on, bemused and annoyed. She says, "Monique. Honey. Baby girl. Look at him, I mean, seriously? Do I even have to say it?" The dressing room mirrors are in the background.

Panel 3: Closeup of Noel's face. He looks angry as he says, "Ha! After your shit performance tonight I wouldn't bother saying ANYTHING more about him. Save yourself any further embarrassment." Ricky explains, "I didn't mind the comments all that much."

Panel 4: Noel is getting up in the other queen's face, pointing an accusatory finger up at her as she crosses her arms defensively. He says ". . . Aaaand another thing!!" Ricky continues, "Noel did warn me some of his colleagues could be kind of mean sometimes. And, as he would say, I looked "fierce," and I knew it."

Page 3:

Panel 1: Ricky's narration continues, "And, I guess you could say Noel actually sort of WAS granting me a wish." HE propels away to go do his own thing, looking back with a sense of concern and weird curiosity as the other two argue. Noel says, "I can't even, you're just mad that Ricky is a cute young thing, and underneath your makeup YOU look like the damn crypt keeper!" She replies, "Crypt keeper??? Oh, you little. . . "

Panel 2: Ricky continues to explain, "Noel works as a performer at a drag bar and he told me about lip-syncing being a big part of drag shows. While I am unable to sing, I've always loved lip-syncing to my favorite songs." Noel continues to yell, "This is some shady shit. Even for YOU."

Panel 3: Ricky is surrounded by drag queens against a sparkly hot pink background. His narration continues, "So I told him I would love to try it, and he brought me to work with him, did my makeup, and gave me some tips. We even developed a persona for me: Savannah, with the Fiercest Smize. To 'smize,' I'm told, means to smile with only your eyes. I was so excited, though, I wound up smiling with my whole face." A queen with light skin in a sparkly green dress, big wavy brown wig, and floral accents stands in front of Ricky, a hand laid over her chest. She says, "I LOVE silent acts. So mysterious!" A queen with tan skin and dark hair in a high bun dressed in a sharp gold dress and matching jewelry says "Her hair is EVERYTHING!" as she examines Ricky's wig and looks up at her friend, a tall chubby queen with dark skin and a purple afro, with purple jewelry and a sparkly purple body suit. She smiles and nods approvingly. Ricky goes on, "No one else seemed to mind my being there. In fact, people liked Savannah."

Page 4:

Panel 1: Noel and Ricky hug. Noel says, "No one will EVER dull your shine, love. You're beautiful and you know it. Let's get to work, okay?" Ricky says, "I knew."

Panel 2: Ricky and Noel are performing. Noel is dancing at Ricky's side. Ricky is lip syncing, holding a microphone and leaning back, his other arm spread out. The song he is lip syncing to is True Colors by the Studio Killers:

Show me your true colors

In their blinding brightness

Show me your true colors

Like they glow in the night when you are dreaming

Forget about the others

The unbearable lightness of our being

Even spy satellites won't see this coming

Our love that's hiding in the dark

Reach out and I promise you soon we'll be lovers

'Cause it's our true color

[roselyn-writing]

I finished all my classes today. My mood today is posting Aliyaa‘s aesthetic then continue the sketchober.

[cocogum]

✨Quirky✨ labels that describes them in a nutshell 🤭🥰

Yugo: blue alien boy

Adamaï: puberty’s bitch

Az: stress relief mascot ball

Amalia: horny grass princess

Eva: hot elf with daddy issues

Dally: dumbass ginger “woops! I did it again! 🤭🤪”

Ruel: Mr. Krabs holding adoption papers

Elely: Ginger 2.0 charged with arson

Flopin: invisible Link

Pin: Jack-Jack

Rubilax: demonic bromance

Madagaskan: retired blind sniper

Cleophee: hot elf who can kick

Goultard: ginger who can think

Oakheart: best salad king

Armand: delulu cabbage head

Canar: drag queen number 1

Renar: drag queen number 2

Aurora: blue trophy wife cow

Osamodas King: blue cow king

Efrim: tiny cute monster feet

Nora: pink lesbian

Mina: your scarred unpaid therapist

Phaeris: arm chewer

Qilby: the original momma’s boy

Shinonome: the shit picker

Glip: dad noises

Balthazar: grandpa noises

Eliatrope Goddess: helicopter parent definition

Alibert: gets thrown babies at him

Chibi: loud ass inventor

Grougaloragran: third person user

Prince Adale: fabulous tea sipper

General Mofette: bondage and whips

Grany Smisse: Meowth’s cousin

Remington: Zorro compensating with swords

Grufon: arachnid map

Anathar: copycat daddy voice

Kerosho: Adamaï’s forgettable achievement

Rushu: god wannabe

Black Ink: sentient food

Elaine: had a shitty childhood

Galanthe: rip thick hips

Noximilien: loves taking his time

Igôle: does not want to die

Cabotine: baby mama

Justice Knight: sweaty himbo

Pandiego: smelly drunk panda

Kabrok: retired wanderlust

Miranda: corn’s victim…

Vampyro: spirit halloween reject

Xav the Baker: croissant addict

Kriss Krass: tongue’s always out

Maude: goth chick

Ogrest: professional whiner

Otomaï: stressed out alchemist

Joris: experienced father and uncle babysitter

Kerubim: white furry with life issues

Simone: cleaner for hire

Julie: the embodiment of gay furry

Atcham: bald

Lilotte: furry orphan by choice

Khan Karkass: oily misogynistic ginger

Bakara: teacher’s pet snitcher

Julith: mommy milker terrorist

Jahash: died for getting laid

Jiva: just wanted to get laid

Poo: Kung Fu Panda

Echo: half lizard

Sipho: ugly ass lizard

Toxine: evil deadpool with an ass

Harebourg: narcissistic obsessed stalker

Oropo: clam sucker

Coqueline: raccoon girl

Dathura: leaf hottie

Dark Vlad: rock metal enthusiast

Black Bump: panty sniffer

Kali: professional sadist

Ush: furry sore loser

Arpagone: not an actual enutrof

Barik: elvis gone wrong

Cendre Mystigrine: forgettable furry

Ramona: best enutrof grandma

Harcelo Estep: disowned cuz wtf-

Messer: talking skull

Lacrima: did not deserve this

Winmo Nodorh: Flopin did it better

Lupa: sadist sympathizer

Atone: laser beam vision

Bouillon: fighting boner

Ripulse: name stands for “disgusted”

Sidaire: little sonic twerp

[ikykwklk-ash]

"You hate shopping, but..."

Pairing: Bang Chan x fem reader

W/c: 2225

Synopsis: Your best friends (Hyunjin and Felix) force you to go shopping, but you don't know that it's all planned for you to meet their friend.

HI! It's my first ff that I write completely in English, I hope you like it and if there are errors please let me know!! :"

★★★★★★★

You hate shopping... You've always hated it. But your best friends dragged you into this "tragedy" because you lost a stupid bet.

So here you are, waiting for Hyunjin and Felix to come out of the dressing room.

You've spent 30 minutes waiting for them to get ready, and when they come out of the two separate small rooms you tell them they look fabulous, not paying attention to how they're dressed because you're getting bored.

The two of them stare at you for a few seconds and then they look at each other, and you, oblivious to what they are mentally saying to each other with that look, give them a bored look. Your friends, after giving you another look, look at each other again and nod without speaking to each other.

Hyunjin and Felix grab your arms and lift you up by the weight, at first you are confused by their actions, then you see that they are heading toward a dark clothing store, and you understand everything. You try to break free from their firm grip, threatening them to put you down. But they do not listen to you and continue their walk toward the store laughing.

When you enter the store a boy a little taller than you, with dark hair and chocolate brown almond eyes, turns to you and greets you: <<Hello and welcome to S Class, how can I help you?>> and smiles. Between you and you think he has a beautiful smile; he is cute after all. When the boy's gaze falls on you, your eyes meet for a split second before you lower it in embarrassment. You feel his gaze on you even as Felix speaks: <<We could use some dark clothes for our friend, Channie hyung!>>

You turn your head sharply toward the blond man. <<Do you...know him?>>

Hyunjin replies in place of the other <<Of course! He works with us for JYP>>

Oh. You didn't know your friends worked with such a handsome guy.

The raven smiles again (how beautiful his smile was....) and nods <<What do you like to wear?>> he says as he looks at you again.

<<Oh uhm...oversize things mainly, but not always yes here...preferably dark>> you reply feeling yourself on fire. You mentally insult your friends for taking you to a store with such a cute clerk. The boy nods and after a moment tells you to follow him.

Before you follow him Hyunjin whispers in your ear <<you know you're as red as a tomato y/n?>> you simply shut up and punch him lightly on the shoulder, and he, like a good drama queen makes a dramatic face and tells you that you hurt him, and you simply laugh.

You follow the raven, go through various sections of colourful clothing, genre that is not for you, eventually you come to a small section where there are garments that have all the dark shades you like.

The clerk teams you from head to toe, and you don't take your eyes off his dark chocolate eyes, you want to stay and look at him more, but you know you can't, because he turns and picks up a pair of ripped, baggy black jeans, smiles, and then tells you you should try them on. You look down, pick them up and head for the fitting room, your friends and the boy arrive a few minutes later with more short-sleeved T-shirts and oversized sweatshirts in dark shades, pick out the ones you like and enter the fitting room.

You come out of the dressing room, wearing the jeans he gave you, paired with a white shirt and over it a black T-shirt with AC/DC written in red and large in the centre. You see Hyunjin and Felix still talking to the boy.

<<So, we forgot to introduce you. y/n he is Chan hyung and Chan hyung well she is y/n>>

<<Ehm... nice to meet you Chan-ssi>> you bow feeling a little uncomfortable.

<<My pleasure y/n>> he replies to you.

<<O my god y/n! How good you look dressed like that!>> exclaims Felix, realizing that you felt uncomfortable.

<<Oh, thanks Lixie, I'd like it better with this oversized sweatshirt, though>> you reply, mentally thanking her. You show the sweatshirt you had decided on earlier, it was beige with a black rose at heart level, as soon as you had seen it you liked it immediately.

<<Oh, that's right you look very good dressed like that y/n>> Chan says blushing slightly.

You simply blush at the compliment and say nothing.

You try on other garments and finally choose the first outfit you had tried on that afternoon. You spent the last few hours chatting with Chan, because Hyunjin and Felix had decided to try on outfit after outfit, unfortunately for you, from the colourful sections. You knew they had done it on purpose, in fact they were your friends and knew you better than anyone else.

At first you do not know what to talk about, you are very embarrassed, and you realize that he is too since every time you look at each other you blush. So, you stay silent, and you listen to the songs playing on the radio in the store and without realizing it you start humming Growl by EXO and he looks at you <<Do you like EXO?>> and you start talking about their songs and your bias.

And from EXO you move on to talk about other groups, other singers, and music in general.

At the end of the day, he asks for your number, and you show him your cell phone so he could save your number. He sends you a funny sticker and you, as soon as you hear the notification that a message has arrived, open the chat, and laugh and shake your head. You pay for the clothes you bought and say goodbye.

Before you, Hyunjin and Felix leave the store, Chan calls you back and asks you to meet the next day at 10 a.m. at the mall.

You come home and throw yourself on the bed smiling, don't even bother to change, take off your favourite blue sneakers and fall asleep, there with a smile on your face and your clothes still on.

Months pass and you and Chan, who you found out is named Christopher Chan Bang, spend your days texting and hanging out together, sometimes with the addition of Hyunjin and Felix, sometimes with his friends who you found out were also friends with Hyunjin and Felix, and sometimes alone. One day he asks you to go out for breakfast together and spend the day walking, and you gladly accept. You write to your friends that the next day you would go out for breakfast and spend the day together. You don't sleep at night because of excitement and spend it on video call with Felix.

The next day at 8 a.m. you get out of bed, with a smile coming to your ears and feeling anxious about "the date," if you can call it that, you take a shower, get dressed in flared jeans, an oversized black sweatshirt with a print and the usual sneakers, put on your makeup quickly to cover your dark circles and make yourself presentable, and go to the bar you decided on. You arrive ten minutes early, so you check your cell phone while you wait for him and continue listening to music, sitting on a bench nearby.

Shortly after you feel someone touch your shoulder from behind, you jump in the air and turn around, to your great good fortune it's Chan <<sorry if I startled you>> he says in embarrassment and with that smile of his that gives you butterflies in your stomach.

You laugh and shake your head and tell him it's okay, his smile stays as he looks at you and asks if you want to go into the bar and you nod smiling back.

You enter the cafe and sit down at a table; a waiter reaches your table and asks what you want.

<<For me a coffee and a pistachio croissant>> he says, you instead order your usual cappuccino and chocolate croissant.

<<Coming right up guys>> said the waiter smiling.

<<Hey y/n tell me a little about yourself, passions, hobbies>> asked the boy to interrupt the moment of silence that had arisen from embarrassment.

<<Oh, uhm... I don't have many hobbies, but I love to read and, as you know, listen to music, do you?>> asks.

<<I write stories and take pictures>> he replies blushing.

<<Can I read something written by you?>> you ask with your eyes probably shining with curiosity and he replies that he'll see, laughing right back at your false pout.

Shortly afterwards your order comes to you, and you continue talking for a while. When you finish eating, pay for everything, and leave the café, you ask if he would like to go to the park for a while and he nods, smiling at you, so you set off lost the playground near the town square. When you arrived, he takes a camera out of his backpack and starts taking pictures of your surroundings and you look at him smiling <<you look like a child who has just been given the game he wanted>> you say laughing slightly.

At some point, however, you too end up in the lens and blushing you complain <<Channie please I can't stand someone taking pictures of me!>>.

He doesn't listen to you and takes the picture, and you cover your face with your hands out of embarrassment, until Chris tells you to take them off and you glare at him, claiming that you are neither beautiful nor photogenic.

<<Y/n you are beautiful, you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen come into my store>>

You blush and reply that he is more beautiful than you, at that sentence he begins to stare at you softly, you smile and look at him your turn, he comes up to you and arranges a lock of hair behind your ear.

<<You know that you have a beautiful smile? Every time I see you smile, I see the streets of Tokyo with its cherry blossom trees>> he says before his lips rest on yours in a gentle kiss that triggers a whole zoo in your stomach and makes you blush, it was a tender kiss. His lips tasted like coffee and pistachio and for a moment you think you might become addicted to it. When you part you, both look at each other and blush, but you notice that he has a slightly startled look on his face at what he had done, and you, to let him know you liked it, kiss him again, putting your arms behind his neck, and he puts his on your hips.

It's a beautiful, unforgettable moment, once you separate from the kiss, he tells you <<Y/n...I know it's early to say this, but I love you so much...>> you look at him and smile, you smile like an idiot and you know that because you feel you are smiling so much your face hurts.

<<I love you too Christopher>> you whisper so softly that Chan is not sure he heard you right and asks you to repeat and you laugh. You laugh and you are happy to have a kind and caring boy like Chan. You're glad you met him, you're glad because if it weren't for your friends, you would never have met him.

You spend the rest of the day holding hands, staying hugged sitting under a tree, and kissing each other from time to time in between. And toward evening he walks your home, holds your hand to the door and smiles at you, kisses you before letting you go, and you want to tell him he can stay, but you know it's too it's too soon to do that. That time will also come though, maybe tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that.

You walk into the house with that silly smile that has never left your face during the day, take off your shoes and put them in place, go into the bathroom and put on your pyjamas. You smile. You get on the bed and text Chan asking him if he has arrived home safely; soon after that you text in the group chat with Hyunjin and Felix and tell them everything. As soon as you send the message Felix starts a video call and you accept it.

<<I can't believe it Y/n!>> your friends say at the same time.

<<Me neither! I'm not sure if it's a dream or reality!>> you smile radiantly. You tell them straight about the day and then ask how and what they did during the day. You talk some more with your friends and then decide to call it quits and go about your business. You close the call and see that Chan has answered that he has returned home safely, and you answer him.

You are so happy that if you could go back to the past, you wouldn't change a comma. "I love you" you text him and then you turn off the phone and get under the covers and close your eyes falling into a deep sleep.

★★★★★★★

Taglist: @foivestarrsketchez

[kitty-av]

Hello! I got a new sketchbook and I decided to try it by drawing a Danny with my markers. I might try doing something with gouache too, because I honestly really enjoy the process and the look of painting with it.

I also have some things to ramble about under the line, which isn't strictly dp related, more so me comparing how I work with different mediums and being a little analytical about it, you know, as a treat to my brain because it needs it. •^•

So, to start with the Danny above, it's nothing overly ambitious, I was just vibing, but I think it looks nice. Here's the thing though, it looks weird to me, and the reason, probably, is that the process I use with the previously mentioned gouache doesn't translate well to markers.

Here's the process in question btw, a smol sketch to illustrate the way I work with paint but with markers:

See, that's a process that's clearly a bit more suited to painting imo. So it looks good but a little off with markers. And it's not just to markers. Here's what I mean:

This is digital. With the same process.

It's even weirder than the markers imo, but you can still tell that there's a process going on that's shared.

And the gouache version of this process looks like this: this is my most recent painting ( literally yesterday )

This was done in flat brush, and I think you can clearly see that the process I used across all these paintings started with my gouache work. Which also might be why Danny looks a bit different than them because I had to adjust my process. Rather than starting with colouring my canvas and starting the face with a contrasting colour, both Danny, and as far as I can remember the digital dude, started blank and I had to do the glow effect thing a lot less naturally - especially with the lack of brush strokes. The scratchiness of them is aesthetic. Like, brush stroke and direction is important guys, it adds a lot.

I think if I try to draw this Danny in gouache and explain my process better this would all make sense, but I haven't had the time to get back into art because of uni, and I rather like to. I especially want to try doing digital art again, but I've been doing it so rarely that I haven't really got a process anymore, so I'm a bit intimidated to do anything but portraits.

In any case, if anybody has good Sai brushes that could help me get that painterly vibe there, I'd be very grateful •^•

I want to start drawing and creating things for the Phandom again, but all I have currently are sketches, which I know aren't traditionally the easiest things to interact with visually, especially without colour. Still, I'm just going to share things I make and vibe, I suppose.

I have some interesting designs I'd like to try to make digitally, like that mermaid lady ghost from a while back, and her sister who I decided was Pariah Dark's fabulous ex. Still not sure on Queen's design, but I just want to draw a regal lady.

Yes, I am dumping previous designs here so I can share them again, partly to remind myself of them without scrolling back my Tumblr for a thousand years.

Also my Bois, the clones, who I still want to write into a story and don't know how, but like - I love them and want to show them to more people.

Well, that's all for now. Hope you all have a good day. •^•>💚💜💚

[angrylittletrashpanda]

On "alysmond" and "helaemond"

For some reason, there’s a petty war going on between fierce “helaemond” and “alysmond” stans. Fr, I totally don’t understand why should those ships be mutually exclusive? If “helaemond” actually becomes the show canon, I can totally see Helaena breaking up with her brother-boyfriend after B’n’C. IMO Aemond’s recklessness and long-harbored, ill-concealed hatred for Luke , contributing to Jaehaerys’ tragic death is a reason enough for Hel to stay away from him, never mind how dear the siblings (with benefits) used to be to each other. In this scenario, Aeamond could pursue a relationship with Alys, never mind his previous (more or less romantic) engagement with Helaena…

In addition, if “helaemond” is confirmed, this subplot doesn’t necessary have to be some fabulous love story. I mean the siblings *may* have been getting along with each other pretty well , and I really enjoy the idea of young Aemond having a crush on his big sister. I find it really cute, that’s all. In my opinion teenage Aemond, doubtlessly familiar with the idea of “courtly love” (I’m guessing this concept could exist in the quasi-medieval Westeros), might have enjoyed performing the role of righteous knight, worshipping his “future queen” from afar , as if there was a “secret RPG session”, going on but in his head. Frankly speaking, the young !Knight Aemond and his !Lady Helaena don’t even have to get sexually involved and their “forbidden love” could remain just cute, childish crush, as the time goes by turning into mature friendship, mutual care and understanding. Perhaps older Aemond, driven with his sense of responsibility, would want to become a proprer father figure/ role model for his little nephews and niece? I like to think well-educated, smart  Aemond, familiar with the story of Daenys the Dreamer, and keeping his sister company more often than her joke of a husband, found out Hel was a Dragon Dreamer.

On the other hand, we cannot rule out Helaena and Aemond becoming lovers, but IMO such a scenario would be pretty dark. It seems to me it could happened only if the show version of Helaena remained childless after two or three years of marriage (yet again, I am speaking about the show counterpart of the FnB Helaena, who canonically bore the twins about a year after she had wed Aegon) and Aemond started to fear someone like Larys Strong would simply get rid of Hel, so that the WIDOWED crown prince could take another bride. So, Aemond shared his fears with his sister, and the siblings agreed they ought to cuckold Aegon in order to secure Helaena’s position as the future queen, and thusly save her life… It’s possible the righteous prince Aemond , loathing the mere idea of fathering bastards, could have secretly married his sister (it could have been a traditional Valyrian ceremony, which still wouldn’t make the whole situation any romantic).  However, even as a “secretly married” couple, who could grow to quite enjoy performing their “conjugal duty”,  Aemond and Helaena could remain but “siblings with benefits” (which sounds awful, but given they’re Targaryens, it kinda makes sense) and never develop romantic feelings for each other. In this scenario, they could be still sleeping together after Aegon’s heir had been born, just out of sheer need for comfort, closeness or affection, or simply willing to reduce stress, feel better or have fun.  Messed up as Helaena and Aemond seem, they could have perceived sex as yet another form of bonding…  Whatever could have been going on between the siblings, their breakup after Jaehaerys’ death appears inevitable.

 As far as Aemond’s relationship with Alys is concerned, I wouldn’t call it an overly romantic love story, either. Let’s say it out loud – in spite of her sharp wits, charms and whatnot, Alys was a prisoner of war and even if Aemond had fallen madly in love with her, I would risk saying she wasn’t in the position to truly reciprocate his feelings. Thanks to Alys’ good looks, the prince “generously” spared her life, there’s no two ways about it, BUT however “besotted” Aemond was with Alys, becoming his “war bride” literally meant she was chosen to be a freakin’ sex slave. In my honest opinion, the woman deserved better and I don’t believe she reciprocated his love. Alys certainly was not in the position to fully consent to be the prince’s paramour, although I can totally see Aemond developing genuine romantic feelings for her – however twisted it may sound. It seems to me in the very beginning, it was just about lust, but later on, the prince could have taken to the “witch” because of her personality and even become fascinated with her supernatural powers. Frankly speaking, I am not the fan of the “Alys casting a love spell on Aemond” theory. She might have been using her totally prosy, feminine charms in order to endear the prince to her, and thusly make sure she would be treated as well as she could possibly be under so dire circumstances. And no, I don’t mean Alys was just offering Aemond sexual favors. Intelligent person she no doubt was, the “witch queen” could do her best in order to forge an emotional bond with Aemond, too. For instance listening to what the prince had to say and showing him affection. Paradoxically, learning Aemond’s story could make Alys take to the prince at least a little, since in this scenario, she could realize in spite of coming from different social backgrounds, they shared a bunch of experiences. For instance, earlier in her life, unwed and pregnant Alys, born out of wedlock herself, had been no doubt an outcast – just like Aemond the Kinslayer, having blood of his close relative on his hands. Could it be a reason enough for Alys to start sympathizing with Aemond? Yes, indeed. In addition, the “witch” had lost both her child and their father – even if  we are not familiar with the details and the moment she met Aemond Alys was probably over it. If the “helaemond” theory is confirmed, Aemond gets involved with Alys when his first “girlfriend” is also like dead to the world, not to mention the fact his son and/or nephew died gruesome death.

Here, I would like to admit I am not a fan of fetishizing Alys’ age and deeming her a “milf”. The woman was certainly more than just her looks and age. If Aemond had actually loved her – which I find highly probable  - there must have been something more than just physical attraction! In addition, in the quasi-medieval world of Ice and Fire, girls in their early teens are considered eligible maidens, so in this universe, it isn’t out of usual for women in their late, if not mid-twenties to become grandmothers! Taking the fact FnB is supposed to be a historical source by a bunch of unreliable narrators, we don’t actually know how old Alys was. If we rule out the ageless witch/ red priestess theory, we could safely assume she was, for instance, in her 40s or 30s, but knowing the Westerosi customs, well, it is still possible she was just a few years older than then-twentyish Aemond. There is also an option Alys didn’t even exist and all the war bride/captor romance was made up by pro-Black maesters and scribes, willing to paint the prince in a negative light. After all making some lowly born wet nurse his wife, Aemond would insult House Baratheon, impudently breaking the pact which had to be sealed with his marriage to Lord Borros’ daughter. You just keep in mind both the Witch Queen and Aemond’s bastard son disappear  from the “historical chronicles” shortly after the Dance ends. In addition, stressing Alys’ alleged “old age”  could have made him look ridiculous in the eyes of Westerosi readers.

Personally, I prefer to imagine Alys existed, had prophetic skills and played a significant role in Aemond’s life. Perhaps at some point, she even developed some sympathy and twisted fondness for the prince (still her captor and, yes, her rapist) but never had second thoughts about having kept it to herself that Aemond would meet his end in God’s Eye and no one could blame her for it.

To sum up, I think shipping Aemond with Helaena does not automatically make the shipper anti-“alysmond”. In my view, adding one more (for want of a better word) romantic relationship to Aemond’s arc makes sense. It could be an interesting way to show how the character’s attitude towards his love interests and his interactions with them evolve as various experiences are shaping his personality. I would never pit Helaena against Alys. They’re two different women and the fact at some points of their lives, they happened to get involved with the same guy does not make them natural born enemies. In my honest opinion, if the show version of Helaena had a chance to meet Alys (here, I mean my own idea of this character, since we don’t learn much about her from FnB and her show counterpart is still a mystery), they would become… good friends.

[autumnmobile12]

Predictions for Nocturne

(some serious speculation, some silly)

Imagining that one scene from Symphony of the Night where Alucard ends up fighting the fake Trevor, Sypha and Grant (Greta.) Cause him being in a situation where he has to kill an enemy that looks, acts, and fights exactly like the people he loved three centuries ago seems suitably heart-wrenching.

Wondering if Nocturne's going to partially follow the plot of Symphony where Richter is captured and controlled by Shaft the dark priest, so Maria and Alucard are searching for him. I'm basing this solely off the female voice in the teaser (possibly Maria?) saying, "We're looking for someone called Belmont."

So Richter's character arc would be him attempting to regain his honor after all the harm he caused under Shaft's influence?

Part of me legitimately wonders if St. Germain is gonna be back. Yes, this is a nod to his Curse of Darkness design, but his clothes here are not medieval. (More Victorian than anything?)

Nocturne is supposed to take place during the French Revolution, the first of three beginning in 1789. The top hat is believed to have been invented in 1793. French gentleman wearing the latest fashion?

The series never specifically says St. Germain is from the same time period he wound up in after his first encounter with the Infinite Corridor. Is this why he knows about stuff like toilet paper and is constantly looking down his nose at all the filthy medieval people? Is he just being a whiny bitch about being sent back in time?

He tells Trevor that he knew his family. Is this because he met the descendants? (I suppose this could be his twisted reconciliation about betraying them since he's seen the 'future' and he knows the line endures and Alucard is still alive.)

This is wild speculation that probably won't be the case, but I kinda really want this to happen since Alucard's reaction to a human he thought was dead for three centuries just casually showing up out of nowhere would be priceless.

The French Revolution was the era of powdered wigs and shockingly fabulous courtly decadence and the Queen having a frickin' boat in her hair.

If we don't get at least one vampire (or Belmont) in a stupidly ostentatious wig, then what are we even doing?

Two schools of thought in my head:

Hoping Nocturne also does not include the Succubus as an overtly sexualized character in the interest of not objectifying women.

On the other hand, a discomfited Alucard looking the demon lady right in the eye and saying, "Madam, kindly remove yourself from my personal space," is a very humorous image.

On a more serious note, there is also the Nightmare scene in Symphony of the Night to consider where the Succubus shows Alucard a vision of his mother right before her execution in an attempt to trick him, so there's potential for a, "How dare you make me relive that!" moment.

Can these two come back? They did not get enough screen time in the first round.

Striga's last line to their soldiers is an order to ride west. France is west.

Also, is it really an accident that Morana's hairstyle in Season 4 is a French twist? Foreshadowing....

[disguisedchaos]

✨️ Made a sim for @savagemagician3 's Make It Weird challenge! ✨️

🖤 This is Enva Zelrud. A Dark Elf. And newly crowned queen of the Black Blood Forest in the world of Lirean. Her coronation was controversial. Some folk believe she used magic from a forbidden book called 'The Worthy Sacrifice of Sanity - Spells & Potions'. 🖤

I really enjoyed this challenge and hope you guys like the result!

Theme: Dark Arts

Skin Tone: Purple

Hair Color: Black & White

Extras: Hat (well, it's a crown), Jewels, Tattoo (between her eyebrows), patterns & fangs (you don't see them in the screenshots)

I have to thank the three awesome cc creators @strangegrapefruit (arm cuffs) @oydis (hair) @natalia-auditore (crown) @ellone-andreea (dress). Their cc made Enva look fabulous! Thank you for your amazing work!