#im a big fan of giving people the benefit of the doubt when it comes to things

[iggy-hands]

I only watch the ofmd fandom from afar but some people give the impression of not conciliating well how the show is light hearted and comforting but also deals with heavy subjects in a general violent contex. the fact I've seen people say there's no homophobia when it's the central driving force of the plot is the most exaggerated example. but it's also in this attempt to flatten characters into "uwu baby" and "who's right vs who's wrong" (or at worse who's an abuser) when the show clearly does its best to create a likable flawed cast. Stede is extremely insecure and a horrible father/husband even before he abandons his family. Ed is an abuse survivor and he struggles with anger. Izzy is an asshole and it's funny- I mean he's a brit working class caricature. those things interact and its what makes the show human and interesting. why try to smash it into a simplistic dichotomy. it won't work 😭😭

and obviously you know all of this. so I guess it's: thanks for having braincells 😘😘

I don't actually know how old this ask is, but, it's been in my inbox for a while lol, sorry!

I think observing from a distance might be the most enjoyable way, it's been years since I was this close to the centre of a fandom and it's wild.

But yes, you're absolutely correct, it's a show about flawed characters and their ability to realise they're in the wrong, and change themselves - if that's what they want! Obviously not every character is given this opportunity, nor should they be, but I think my main issue with people coming down on the characters either way is that currently, they're unfinished!

...maybe Izzy will get worse next season, maybe his racism/general abusiveness and manipulation will become his main character traits, maybe his arc is that he rejects offers of kindness and belonging because of his own prejudices/self-importance and in the end this destroys him. I'd love to see that play out, but I'd love to see whatever they do with him play out too.

Taking a break for a while really made me realise that actually, this is a comedy show about pirates? What Are We Doing??

I love the meta and the drawn out explanation - I am an English Literature and Media Studies graduate, like literally I dedicated years of my life to this stuff! But one of the main reasons for these analyses is that it's supposed to be a discussion, there are supposed to be disagreements and alternative theories, and you should look at whether the evidence is actually in support of what is being said.

It isn't about deciding what is moral/immoral content to consume. Especially in a comedy show, where the character people are angry about is so cringe-fail within the show itself, and who's worst traits seem only to be evident through close-reading.

One of the first things you learn if you take Lit/Media in higher education is that you can be wrong about a text. You can't just say whatever you want without actual textual evidence (and, pet-peeve, but I personally do not count interviews etc). And sometimes, completely contrasting information can be true - because of the ambiguity! Whether these meanings are intentional or not - this is unknowable. And of course you can have your own personal opinions or readings of a text, but it's weird to decide that because you are right, everything else must be wrong.

I also see posts that essentially read - "this character is deep and multifaceted and we should look closely at them. But this character sucks and if you engage with content that looks closely at them then you suck too!" And I can't help but feel that that's worse than if we weren't to engage with textual analysis at all. Ignoring the actions of "evil" characters, who shape the narrative, feels very dismissive to me - disrespectful both to the text itself but also to the real world issues that it draws from.

I suppose in conclusion, everyone continue to think critically, consume media critically, but also, touch grass sometimes. and maybe read a book too.

[lionbearfox]

you should state your opinions about fontaine if you're awake! (i am looking intently)

OH MY GOD I WAS GONNA AFTER THE TRAILER BUT I FORGOT. OPINIONS INCOMING

(below the cut bc to nobody's surprise it got long as fuck)

first and foremost! focalors!! furina! she looks SO FUN. huuuuuge contrast to nahida of the previous arc but i'm into it! i love her irreverent attitude, not *really* taking justice seriously, probably mostly oblivious to the problems of the people... if sumeru writing quality holds that arc is gonna be DELICIOUS. so excited for this contrast! (that was set up LAST YEAR when neuvilette was nahida's drip quote talking about how serious she was comparion to a "certain someone" being prone to hysterics....)! and speaking of neuvilette! i'm pretty sure he's nonhuman, maybe an oceanid, and i REALLY want him to be an ally of the previous hydro archon who's trying to keep furina in check! i think that could be SUPER interesting.

other characters: did not give a single fuck about wriothesley until they gave him a fun potential dynamic with adorable sigewinne and now I Love Him (my weakness is dadguys lol), Did Not expect a third sibling for lyney+lynette but i love all three of them! lynette in particular seems like she'll hit all my buttons character-wise, so i'm super interested to see what she's like and how they're gonna play the fatui/(probably) house of hearth connection. im expecting gendou ringo 2: more exciting and i'm Very delighted about it, i loved that quest!! navia and chlorinde look super interesting as well - i'm REALLY hoping they add gun as a new weapon type that would be SO FUN and the schneznayan cast would super benefit from that in the future..

so far the plot looks super cool too! from what i can tell, there are some super interesting parallels being set up regarding illusion/truth (the magic show/the lie behind it, the spectacle of trial/the lack of justice resulting from it, the pure waters/the pollution corrupting it, the glamorous society/the suffering that lies beneath) and i LOVE Themes and Motifs so IM HYPED FOR THAT! hoping they knock it out of the park with the writing again!! designs all look super solid so far tho im kind of disappointed about some freminet concepts that did not last...

if i had to choose one thing im most excited for tho... there's rumors of a hexenzirkel character in fontaine and i'm a longtime hexenzirkel fan so i REALLY REALLY want that to be true i Love the hexenzirkel and they've been getting more story relevance recently so i think fontaine would be a great place for them to enter the main plot!!

gameplay-wise: obvi we'll have to wait for more info to come out, but looks super promising! super hyped about underwater exploration, the setting design leaks i've seen knock it out of the park as always, i'm sure they'll have some super fun world quests and puzzles for us to scratch our heads over - i've got 0 doubts it'll be fantastic in that design lol. will it top sumeru's rainforest in sheer fun? we'll see but i'm feeling optimistic! my only criticism is that it's right above the newest desert expansion and there's a giant hole in the map which Bothers Me but... historically we can expect 4 map expansions total in 4.x so i'm sure that will be temporary.... (i hope so at least!)

i definitely have more thoughts but this is all the big stuff i could think of... maybe i'll post a full analysis/crumbs i noticed of the teaser, but overall- SUPER excited, i think the story is heading in a good direction, and i'm ready for it to be 4.0 already!!!!

[genaleah]

im not totally sure about mr pinch tbh, to me he looks more like mr burns or scrooge cause of the top hat

I saw that mentioned as potential design inspiration on the fan-pedia page.

When it comes to cartoon designs, I am usually willing to give an artist the benefit of the doubt and assume that it wasn't intentional. A lot of times people don't know about the bigoted origins of a design trend that had been perpetuated over time. And cartoons generally exaggerate things, anyway.

But as I said in my post, there are just too many 'little' things in this game, and big things that have been said outside of it, that have added up in a bad way. I can't assume that he didn't do it on purpose and think it was funny. Or heck, maybe it was subconscious, but that could still mean that these harmful concepts are not being considered or treated seriously.

[chirpsythismorning]

While i do agree with u i have some weird feelings about us analyzing real ppl lol idk idk

Is this about Noah being the Tom Holland of ST??

I think if this was about Noah’s identity or something substantial related to him personally, and not just a basic thing that happens in promoting content as an actor, that would be one thing. But this is literally just speculation about a cast-member in relation to what they are/aren’t revealing about the show publicly.

If fans were coming across private footage of Noah, with like friends without his consent, or if fans were like hacking his shit without his consent trying to come up with evidence based on that, yes that would feel invasive. But I don’t see how just talking about how his behavior in terms of publicly promoting the show, out in the open, in relation to other actors doing similar things to promote their projects, is weird?

But to be entirely fair, I know some fans completely separate their experience in the fandom from the actors, where some don’t even follow the cast or pay any sort of attention to their actions in relation to promotion, bc they just feel uncomfy about having any sort of association with them outside of the show? Which is valid to a major extent, especially just knowing how private a lot of actors are and would prefer that their everyday life not be intermixed with their work in a way they aren’t at all wanting fans to do.

I would say that when it comes to Noah specifically and what he posts in regards to the show, that’s just literal public knowledge he is offering up on his own, to the point where he is literally talking to fans directly by acknowledging them, and doing it repeatedly.

I personally would stick to instances of him clearly out in the public eye interacting with fans, knowing he’s doing so and comfortable with it, before I would feel the need to make a point about what it could/couldn’t mean, based on him being an actor with a job which usually requires some instances of keeping your mouth shut, or saying something with the guise that oops I’m not supposed to because it makes people feel like they’re in on a big joke, even though it’s actually quite the opposite.

I’m not gonna sit on here and go into all of Noah’s micro expressions he has or every detail of what he’s doing and what he means at any given point, especially if it literally has nothing to do with the show.

But if dude is on TikTok live spoiling stuff, only to end it with im gonna get in trouble, followed by just repeating over and over again, I’m just gonna respectfully assume that he is a professional and knows what he’s doing, and he wouldn’t put the show and it’s success in jeopardy. If anything I’m giving Noah the benefit of the doubt here to be doing something that is fairly common, bc the alternative would be that he’s careless and doesn’t think the rules apply to him which… I just don’t think is the case here.

If you’re someone who feels uncomfortable making any sort of post about the cast in relation to how they promote the show bc it feels weird to analyze a real persons actions, fair enough!

My main point in bringing it up was to remind ppl that Noah, just like all of the cast, are actors. I think people take EVERYTHING they say about the show as gospel, which is exactly what they want, so I fully respect wanting to just go with that so we don’t make their job harder for them? After all going along with the joke that he spoils things, just like fans did with Tom, is only actually funny to those who willfully believe everything he does is by accident when he goes online and talks about the show. It wouldn’t exactly be good for everyone to know he’s faking bc then it sort of defeats the purpose.

So yes we should try to keep this our little secret and not put him on blast over it.

In the future, we’ll just have to wait and see what he or the others are willing to reveal publicly about what they did/didn’t know while promoting the show over the years, if they’re even willing to share that knowledge. If and until then, all we can do is wait and see.

[lindszeppelin]

Clearly you’re getting to a few folks so congrats there — not that it’s your goal because, as you repeatedly point out, this is your blog and you can say whatever tf you want and nobody has to read it.

Re the K&A eras tour spectacle… I’m gonna throw in my 2cents.

At this point I feel like about 80-90% of what I see screams PR setup with those two. But I’ll be completely blunt and say I don’t really know wtf I’m looking at. Isn’t that kind of the point? We are on the outside looking in so we don’t know what actually goes on between these two. We don’t know and we may never know — unless one of them spills the tea and that’s no doubt forbidden in such arrangements.

I have a feeling that when all this started it seemed like a fine idea for both of them. Austin probably very much needed to have someone around who could handle herself on a red carpet and wasn’t expecting a lifetime commitment (in that case, youth a definite plus). I believe they are both avid readers, they have fame and celebrity in common, they understand themselves as commodities of the entertainment industry, they both travel for work, etc. My point is they would have enough shared interests and work experiences to get along nicely, and even genuinely date.

Now, I ask you, how is a 20-year-old NOT going to fall in love with him in these circumstances? We’re all gaga over him and we’ve never even gotten to hold his hand, talk to him, sit next to him, or *gasp* kiss him. Austin isn’t an asshole (by EVERYONE’s account at this point except V), so I think he’s not going to be disrespectful or cold or rude or even withhold affection from her, cameras or not.

Even if this was always a “real” relationship, it could only ever be a rebound (from both V and Elvis). Because he had just painfully ended a NINE YEAR relationship and was coming down off the most intense acting gig of his life and rushing headlong into film promotion.

But the fact that he may have benefitted from the lack of challenge and longevity of an arranged situation at that time is exactly what may be so bothersome now. How can someone as young and privileged as K provide the kind of supportive partnership that a man of substance would require? He’s been through so much more than she has. I don’t mean to suggest that famous young people don’t have pain and hardship, too. But the difference in what he has endured and what she has endured is stark.

He’s a kind human, and he can no doubt truly enjoy witnessing a bunch of people have an absolute blast at the TS concert. Despite the few moments of PDA, he looked a lot more like a big brother escorting lil sis to the concert than he looked like a man swooning over his love. And anyone who has seen a few extremely vivid photos of him and V knows that K&A simply do not click on even remotely the same level. So however it started, whatever it is, it really seems to have a limited shelf life.

Bottom line: I have no idea because I’m not either one of them and it isn’t my life, or my business. In my case the only reason I’m even thinking about them this much is because there are things in my own life I am currently desperate to avoid. That’s okay, that’s kind of a great advantage of being a fan, but I feel like a lot of people do not know how to make that distinction. That’s okay too but when you come into anon asks and insult people, you’re fucked up.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

honestly MJ my darling, im just trying to blog normal stuff in between all these asks and it seems like its never ending lol idk how this ended up spiraling the way it did but well, here we are. since you took the time to send me a well thought out ask, im going to give you a well thought out response and let that be it for tonight haha

i don't know if i would necessarily say that the point is for it to be grey area. i think personally when it comes to a relationship you're either with somebody or you're not. you're either in love with somebody or you're not. there are nuances to each of those sides on the spectrum, but generally you will know without hesitation or doubt what you're looking at. and because they keep it teetering on grey area of "are they or are they not PR?" then that is deceptive. in my opinion. the idea in PR is to keep them in the media's eye whenever often.

i absolutely agree that in the beginning austin probably was onboard with the set of facts that he was given. i mean, how can you truly know somebody that you're with and know if you're going to like them long term when he was presented with the choice? he probably thought it wasn't a horrible deal - she gets press from being seen with the new it guy and breaks into the acting world like she wants, and he gets a girl on his arm for the red carpet stuff. she probably seemed unassuming, and i highly doubt he did not know anything about the crawford/gerbers. like i said, over the period of time you start to see for real who these people are and who you're dealing with. he might have been cool in the beginning to be in the PR thing, but then as time went on and he's spending time with her and her family then the gears start forming. and the "oh shit, im in a bind here" starts to crop up.

and yes you're right, what young person wouldn't want to be in that deal? she dates the hot new guy on the block and gets press from it, then moves on to the next. cookie cutter process. austin was only in genuine relationships, how the hell would he know that this would turn out to be a disaster (or ZIZZASTER as grandma lois would say). austin is a very nice guy, and to your point exactly, he would not be outright rude to her. does he walk away from her, wear a mask and disguise around her, and other such things he does as his own form of acting out? yes, i think it's safe to say that austin doing what he can to distance himself from her in a respectful way is his way of saying "i do not agree with this, nor do i want to be here".

you are also correct with this point - how can a young girl like her know how to provide and support a grown ass man of his caliber? she doesn't, simply. she has never dated anybody like austin before, and she is simply not experienced enough in life to know how to do that yet.

and big bro escorting little sis is right. i also saw it as he looked like her bodyguard hanging around while she does her thing lol. or babysitting gig. he is so sweet and lovely, i just want the best for him and it's clear you and so many others do as well. im so glad you took the time to message me MJ! I always value your incredible and thoughtful insights!

[hcuyk]

hii hii im way to new at interacting with blogs i follow to take off anon but anyways…

i really want to branch out and start writing again, it was something i used to do frequently but like got made fun of yk how it goes.

do you have any tips for writing ? i really enjoyed reading the kidult story which made me want to ask you for advice on writing anything helps ! 😵‍💫

hi anon! this is such an old ask that i've responded to in my drafts??? but never posted because it was too long, so now i decided i'll rewrite my response and post it this time!

i hate to hear that you've been made fun of wtf 😭 i will FOREVER throw fists at those people

although i doubt you may see this after Years, i think others may benefit from this!

ADVICE ON WRITING:

something i always recommend is rewrite, not revise! your final draft should look nothing like your first draft (in my opinion). when i write out my first draft, it's a mess—from writing only dialogue that comes to mind to reusing the same verbs over and over again—and that's perfect! then when you rewrite, that mess becomes more clear:

you notice more plot holes

the more you rewrite, the more the scene expands and you have a better idea of what's happening, from reactions to what's happening in the background

as much as its time consuming, i did it with every scene in kidult! in fact, for those who don't know me or my blog as well may not know this, but hyunjae's/myungho's mom was never meant to be the villain until i rewrote and thought more about every scene!

or for my headline fans, if you read the first chapter, it's kind of implied that haknyeon was supposed to be the second-love interest, but that changed drastically the more i wrote (cause how tf did i end up with qhak 😭)

for me and my writing, the story truly writes itself :]

another big tip is do NOT be afraid of scraping scenes! as much as it hurts, it can really put you in writer's block. maybe the scene you wanted to happen is not meant to be in your fic ^^ set the scene aside as an alternative and come up with another idea

my examples of this is with kidult's happy ending. my last scene that i have written made me stop, and i've dropped it ever since because i've been so busy and it became less of a priority. half a year later i realized i need to drop it and write something else, and that revived my motivation!

those are the big two that help me out a lot. my writing has definitely improved but not as much as it could have within the past two years because i've been focused on nearly everything else, so if you can, try and write daily! even if it's only 100 words. sometimes those ideas will resurface and you'll be thankful you already had an idea accumulating ^^

thank you for stopping by and asking this question! it means the world to know that there are people who admire(?) my writing, even if i myself can't see anything special :( if there's any other tips people want to give me, i would also greatly appreciate it! just like everyone else, i am always looking forward to improving as well

i think i also always had a fixation on numbers back then, from instagram views and followers to likes on tweets and then likes on tumblr posts, but right now i'm breaking that down because i know i will always have people supporting me, even if it's a close friend or family member, so never be shy with posting your works! if anyone also wants to recommend stories, whether it be someone else's or your own, absolutely send them my way!

i'm sorry this is so long, but i hope this helps anyone who needs it :] <3

[gentil-minou]

i really should be working but for real the fascination i have with Felix as a character is so great because i genuinely think creating characters with that level of complexity is really hard and I think people thought Chloe would be more like that but the writers had more of a chance to flesh Felix out in a way that makes him fun to support and root for.

cause the thing is at his core he, like Adrien, just wants to be free. Adrien from the very start has been trying to break free from his bonds but is held back by his love for his dad and a sense of naivety (that isn't bad persay but he gives people the benefit of the doubt a lot, which is great in cases for like Mari but not so great when it comes to his dad)

But Felix, even though we haven't seen much of his background we can kinda infer it's the same ultimate goal. That sense of peace and contentedness that can only be achieved through freedom. I'm a fan of both takes where Felix's dad was controlling and when he passed that's when he got his freedom and also the one I had for a while where he has always been free and in control of his amok (though I think the former is the truth given Winny's tweets)

The point is that he is so very human in his desires but so flawed that it cause him to fall to the evil side. Like Anakin I guess (disclaimer: i have watched the prequels once when drunk in college so do not quote me on what I am about to say) where he sees injustice and instead of working with others to fix it he does what he can to save who matters most to him.

(side note: I am starting to wonder if the two rings are for Emilie and Adrien, because that would explain the strangeness of someone falling for that Insult-to-Garbage of a man and also why Felix stared up so fondly at that painting of her. He thinks senti's are separate from humans, and that is why he feels more affection for his kin than for the rest of humanity)

anyway im not sure what i originally set out to do here but i really hope that Felix continues to evolve into this complex character with a big role in the story. Ideally, I want him and Adrien to really fight it out but eventually come to an understanding where they learn it's possible to love both themselves and the world, and that Felix shows Adrien how to love himself as a senti and Adrien shows Felix the humans aren't as bad as they thought.

and the thing is even if this doesn't happen i'm so impressed by how they handled felix's character and made his motivations so clear that whatever happens next i trust the writers to continue making him just as interesting and fun to watch

[barzzal]

between halls and thin walls → part four

summary: friends who fool around almost never works. almost.

↳ pairing: mathew barzal x you

↳ warnings: idiots, that’s all <3

↳ genre: fluff, angst, smut, roommates au, best friend’s best friend, friends with benefits, 18+

↳ length: series; part one, part two, part three, part four (6.7k), part five, part six

↳ masterlist: the barn

↳ track: my favorite part by mac miller, addicted by jorja smith, someone to spend time with by los retros

note: finally got myself to update this fic oml zzz quick psa tho, this will now be a six-part series! hope that’s okay and yenno as always, would love to hear what you think about this (validate me in the tags pls im lonely) happy reading babes! <3

“Yo, grandma. Haven’t you had too much tea to drink?” his voice echoes in the room as soon as he walks into it. You carefully set the cup down on the dining table and looked at him exasperatedly. 

“Haven’t you had too much care to give?” you snark back, earning yourself a disappointed look from him. 

“Really, y/n? That’s the best you’ve got?” he shakes his head at your appalling retort.  What a shame.

You were good at pissing him off to be fair. You just weren’t in the mood to throw teases back and forth especially now that you’re feeling particularly vulnerable.

The week has been far too dreadful for you and you know that you’re willing to grovel your way into the weekend to finally have the time to slack off, not worry about taking a bath, and just go crazy with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s.

However, just like always, Mathew seems to never run out of ways to get on your nerves. 

He carelessly puts his stuff on the table, causing a fairly loud thud on the surface. 

You let out a deep breath, massaging your temple. 

“Somebody’s cranky.” he grins. Not necessarily the kind you’d want to see from him. 

You try to ignore him for a few minutes but you can’t help noticing how his build easily took over much of the space you’ve already been occupying. You irkingly look up at him, closing the book you were reading. You meet Mat’s eyes who just innocently looked back into yours. Waiting. Possibly plotting on yet another sophisticated way to toy with you.

“You’re a child.” you roll your eyes and return to your reading. He says nothing and instead rests his chin atop his enclasped hands, continuing to bother you with his ridiculously beguiling eyes. He presses his lips together before sighing dramatically. 

“What?” you snap, finally shutting your book down as you look at him. 

“I wanna go out.” he looks up at you in an effort to make his huge physique smaller than it really was. 

“Then go out. You’re a big boy.” you breathe. 

“You just said that I’m a child.” he coos, mimicking a five-year-old’s voice. 

“Stop that.” you glare at him. Mat props himself back and laughs, “Come on. I’m bored.” 

You open your book again just as you reply in a tone that Mat’s getting used to hearing. “Boredom doesn’t give you the right to pester me, Barzal.” 

And as an exchange, he speaks in the same tone rather mockingly, “And so is that attitude, Y/L/N.” 

“Come on, y/n. Let’s go out.” he now pleads, looking up at you with what seems to be his worst impression of a ‘puppy eye’.

“Fine.” you finally concede and you see Mat’s beaming smile instantly. 

“Where’d you want to go?” you ask as you take your reading glasses off.

“Dunno.” He shrugs, obviously teasing. 

On the edge of being irritated, you say, “Are you kidding me?”

“Grandma.” he mumbles before saying, “Do you have anything you want to do? And please don’t say book hunt.”

You suppress a smile and maintain your composure. “I’m craving for pancakes right now but I also wanna drink. Go to a bar or something.”

He nods in agreement. Already stitching his game plan.

“We can do both.”  he bobs his all too fine brows.

He didn’t have a hard time getting you on board with his spontaneity. You actually haven’t gone out in a while and the thought of a possible night out doesn’t seem to be so bad of an idea.

You’ve been with Mat to parties and while the two of you don’t mingle as much as the other guys did, he does know his way around the club. The dance floor, however, he tries. He really does.

For about an hour Mathew waited patiently in the living room as he scrolled endlessly on instagram liking a few photos and laughing at posts the fans tag him occasionally. His eyes were peeled away from the screen when he heard the door to your room click. His irises trail onto your body even if he didn’t plan to originally. 

Mathew, albeit dressed simply in his black turtleneck sweater and a beige overcoat exudes just about the right ‘swag’ (as per how he puts it) to stop you in your stupor. Although what you didn’t know was how you weren’t any different in his eyes. You were dressed quite nicely in a black lace bodysuit with a pair of blackpants accentuated by the black boots you usually wear on a night out. Your coat was slung on your forearm whilst you held your clutch purse in your hand so you could close the door with the other. 

“What?” you blink just as you look down to eye yourself. Feeling a tad self-conscious under his gaze.

Mat immediately breaks it off. He clears his throat, pretending to wipe off the non-existent dust on the accent table. 

“What?” he mirrors with an arched brow.

You shrug off his demeanor, snatching your keys from the accent table before putting it in your purse. 

“Have you called a lyft already?” he nods, absentmindedly scratching his temple. 

“You ready? You look— decent.” He says, trying to act casual and distant when he gives you the compliment.

Not noticing the unfamiliar look his eyes had, you return the compliment and say,  “And so do you. Good job for not looking like you came straight out of an H&M catalogue.” you wink at him with a grin. A thing which was then reciprocated by a deadpan look on his end. 

Before he could even come up with yet another clever way to come at you, you start walking towards the door, looking at him once as you motion the way by curling your finger.

“Haul ass, buddy.”

𖥸

10:15 PM 

Mat decided to bring you to the usual place he goes to when he wants to be alone and just enjoy a couple of beers while he chats with River, the bartender he eventually befriends after years spent drinking in solitude. 

The bar had a rustic feel filled with wine barrels in the corner of the room. The seats were leather (mind you, it wasn’t the kind that gets easily worn out through time) and everything looked new to you regardless of all the vintage stuff displayed articulately on the brick wall. A turntable was set on the table stacked with vinyl records, most of which were from the 70s to 80s underneath.

It was obvious that it wasn’t the kind people would know about. Aside from it being located at such a secluded street leading to the suburbs, it wasn’t the type of bar kids would want to hang out in. It only had a few customers and most of them wore suits and came with company. No one really gave a hoot when you walked in with Mathew, aka, the face of the New York Islanders. Which is basically the reason why Mat kept coming back to the place. He felt comfortable and at peace. Almost in retrospect to being at home hanging with his father. 

“I can’t believe this place exists.” you say, mouthing your thanks to River as he hands you both of your drinks. The man that’s definitely aged like fine wine smiles, nodding his head over to Mat who was doing the same before he headed back to mix another set of drinks. 

“Me neither.” he grins, reminiscing about the time he’s found the small pub by accident. 

“This place looks expensive though.” you whisper, making Mathew laugh. 

“Well, it kinda is.” he sheepishly chuckles. “River’s filthy rich.”

“Is he really?” your mouth falls and you look back over the build of the old man. The way his salt and pepper hair was neatly slicked back makes quite a compelling case for what Mat had just said. 

Mat eventually explains who he was. Apparently, he was just another bored fancy man who happened to love making people drop dead and drunk with his over the top mixes. His dark deep set brown eyes are quite of a crowd favourite too. Case in point, the group of ladies seated from across you and Mathew.

“Hey.” you absentmindedly call on Mat who had just sipped on his drink. “I know what we should do.”

“All right.” he puts the glass down, “Lay it on me.”

“Let’s fix you up with one of the girls over there.” you suggest, leaning towards his body so you could get a better view upfront. Mat does not move and instead follows your finger subtly pointing at the other end of the room.

“What’s with the sudden fixation of getting me bagged tonight, huh?” he smirks, shaking his head at the idea of having to go home with some random girl. You give him a side eye as you move away from him. 

“Fixation is an overstatement. We’ll be here long enough for us to get sick of each other.” you explicitly told him. 

Mat eyes you intently. Searching if there was even the slightest doubt in your eyes. 

Long enough to get sick of each other. 

He clears his throat instead and looks across the room. “Which one?”

A gleeful cheer erupts from you just before you look over the girls in question. “What’s your type?” you ask him, not sparing a glance.

Mat looks down on you underneath the bar lights accentuating your features. Your eyes had a certain glint in them that Mat still can’t get a grasp on. Something that was just enough to spark something inside him. He didn’t want to overthink it nonetheless. It must have been just the lights. 

Once Mat sensed that you were about to look at him he immediately turned his gaze forward, squinting his eyes a little pretending to check out the women you’ve been eyeing for the last minute. 

“I don’t really have a type.” he shrugs, casually taking the fragile glass to his mouth. 

You dismiss what he said at once, “Do I look like a child to you? Just answer it.”

Mat shakes his head, “I told you. I don’t have one. If we vibe then we vibe. Simple as that.” 

You did not believe him but you decide to drop it off. Instead, you look back and return to your new found mission. Across the bar, seated were three girls busy talking to each other. 

“Got it.” you tell Mat, nodding your head towards the clueless girl sitting right across from where Mathew was. “The one in the center.” you add. “The one wearing a white bodycon.”

“She���s pretty.” he nods, validating your taste as his potential wingman. “Nice smile.”

Your hand met a firm slap on the table as you went on cheering for him. “Well? Go then!” you give him a nudge, taking it back quickly when you feel a slight hesitation on his part, “Don’t tell me you need me to introduce you?”

He takes the remainder of his glass and shaked off the kick it had in his throat. “You just sit and watch, babe.”

You do as you’re told and lean towards the bar, your elbow carrying all your weight whilst you sip on your half-full martini. 

Mathew’s stance and the way he carries himself immediately caused the girls to notice him coming. Of course, you weren’t really surprised. You watch him approach her,– reading along the words leaving his mouth. There was an exchange of proper ‘hello’s’ as Mat introduced himself to the girls. He reaches out his hand and the curly noirette in the center gives him a firm shake. 

Mat’s eyes momentarily locked with yours just as you see their hands linger in the air— tangled long enough for him to make a quick segway. He winks your way as he sees you grin from your seat, shaking your head just after you felt the need to take a deep breath. A thing you assumed to be because of the drink. So, while Mat leads the girl to one of the empty booths and sits across from her, you call on River and ask for another drink. 

Mathew must have lost track of time by the second drink he shared with Zoe. He learns that she’s from upstate and was just on the island to visit her friends. She’s still working on her major at NYU; coincidentally in the same field as Lianna so that was one of the things they’ve talked about first hand. She wasn’t really into sports so Mat steered clear of his job because he didn’t want to bore her. 

“So…” Zoe smiles and tucks her hair behind her ear. “What’s the deal with you and the girl you’re with?” 

By the time she asked about you, only then did Mat remember who he was originally with. 

“Oh! She’s—” he looks over to where you’re seated only to find you laughing— no giggling with a man that was obviously a few years older than you. He’s wearing a neat black suit and a button down shirt with a couple of its first buttons opened. Zoe sees him frown, evidently losing his train of thought. 

She calls him with her sweet voice, “Mat?” 

“Yeah?” he absentmindedly answers, not wanting to take his eyes off of your hand that was now gently pushing the man’s arm whilst the two of you continue to burst into laughter. 

“Are you okay?” she asks.

What’s so funny? 

Finally, Mat hears Zoe’s distant voice that eventually took him back to his seat.

“Oh. Y-Yeah.” he apologetically smiles. “Sorry. What were you saying again?” 

She hesitates to ask about you after taking a quick glance your way upon seeing the way Mathew looked at you. Nevertheless, she decides to go for it.

“Aren’t you two together? I don’t want to come off strong here or anything. It’s just that I don’t want to get in between something if there ever is.” 

Mat looks at you one more time and as if you’ve felt his eyes all along you turn your way and meet his gaze. You shoot him a quiet smile, eyeing the guy sitting beside you, mouthing what he assumes to be an exaggerated “So hot!” on your end. He reciprocates your smile and gives you an approving nod.

Once you looked away, that’s the only time Mat finally answered the woman waiting patiently for his attention. 

“What?” Mat shakes his head wildly, blowing out air off his lips defensively. “No no no. We’re just friends. She’s my roommate actually.” he shrugs you off his mind and instead tries to put his entire focus on her. 

The remaining hours were spent with you and Mat getting along with your respective potential hook-ups. Not that it wasn’t the endgame either of you were hoping for at the back of your minds. 

He’s got to admit that Zoe was the kind of girl he’d be interested in. Another fact he’s kept a mental tab not to mention to you because he knows you’ll just get cocky. 

She was sweet and obviously eloquent. He knows she’s way smarter than he’ll ever be. But out of all those qualities, she was just as passionate at her craft as someone he likes to think he knows well enough. And that alone made a small smile creep on his lips. 

Nonetheless, despite all the aforementioned, Mathew found himself a bit more reserved than he usually is whenever he gets to meet and talk to his potential ‘lady friends’ as how you’ve put it countless times. He just wasn’t his exact self.  And he was beginning to question it. 

There were no fancy hockey plays thrown subtly into the conversation. Neither mentions of golfing nor over the top league events.  No butchered french pet names swiftly tucked in his sentences. And no endless questions that would eventually lead to something along the lines of ‘Do you want to get out of here?’

Well, not until Zoe’s friends got up their seats and she told him herself. 

“Hey. The girls and I are meeting up with some friends in Brooklyn. D’ya wanna come?” 

Mat’s eyes trail down to her hand now gently caressing his. He raises both his brows thinking of a possible ‘out’ because he wasn’t sure if it was a smart thing to leave you alone with a stranger. 

He hums, “Sure.” 

Zoe shows him a delighted smile before eventually sliding out of the booth to walk towards the bar she and her friends were formally seated. 

“I gotta use the restroom first. Please excuse me.” she gives him a nod before going back to chatting with her friends. 

You, on the other hand, see Mat leave the table aiming for an archway you presume to be where the loo was. 

“Hey,” you call the man whose name you’ve already forgotten. Your pause was long enough for him to acknowledge the chances that you actually did forget who he was. Obviously.

“Chris.” The man in his early 30s answers with a submitting grin. 

You shyly laugh, squeezing his forearm as you try to apologize for forgetting. 

“Would you mind if I use the restroom?” you politely ask. 

“No, not at all.” he replies and immediately stands to help you get on your feet. Gentleman. 

Once you are in front of the men’s room, you anxiously wait for your wingman. You hug your purse close to your chest. Not a whole minute after, the door finally opens and you meet Mat’s irises with quite a gleeful look. 

A look he wasn’t a fan of for he knew what’s about to come next. 

“Are you taking off?” you eagerly ask, almost hopping on your feet. 

Mat eyes you from head to toe, looking for signs that would stink from a drunk y/n. When he sees none, that’s when he decides to say that he was. 

“Mkay good. I’ll be on my way too. Chris is taking me to New Jersey.” you tell him, briefly looking through the archway to see if there were people listening.

Once you know you’re clear, you lean towards Mat, your lips dangerously close to the sensitive skin of his ear. Mat feels your heated breath sending a familiar tingle up his spine. “I’ll get to ride a yacht tonight.” you bite your lower lip and giddily smile as if you were a cheeky 16 year-old usually depicted in a coming of age movie. 

“Who’s Chris?” Mat, in spite of taking rounds observing you all night, finds the need to ask. “And why are you coming with him to NJ?” he further questions. 

“Uh– okay, dad.” you step back for a second. You let out a scoff, checking if he was being serious about it. “I thought we’re supposed to go get laid tonight? Weren’t you about to take off with that girl yourself?” 

Mat averts your gaze and starts to scratch the corner of his brow. “Well yeah. It’s just that— he looks sketchy.” he pauses, “plus… isn’t he a little too old for you?” 

You roll your eyes as you’ve already expected to hear the words from him. 

“He’s 31. He’s not that old.” you say rather defensively so you turn the ball back on his court. “And what if he was?  Didn’t you ask one of the moms out??”

Mat’s eyes widens and you try to bite back a laugh. He whispers with a biting tone, trying to save himself. “She didn’t look like one! I’m gonna kill Beau I swear to god.”

“Come on Barz. Don’t be such a killjoy. Text me if you need anything, okay? Wrap things up while you’re at it.” you say at once. Mat doesn’t get the chance to talk you out of such a stupid idea because before he even could, you’ve already planted a kiss on his cheek and started walking away. 

Mat waited for the sound of the heavy doors of the bar, signaling that you and your friend have gone, before stepping back to where Zoe was. She waves him near the coat closet. 

“Hi.” Mat greets her friends before eventually turning his attention on the unsuspecting lass. She meets her with a smile (just like what she’s been doing all night). The same smile, however, drops the second Mat opens his mouth. “Can I talk to you for a sec?” 

Zoe nods and willfully abides, letting Mat take her gently by the arm. 

“What’s up?” she innocently asks. 

“Something came up.” he says a little too fast than what he’d originally intended. He was going to let her down either way might as well get it over with and rip up the asshole band-aid. 

“Oh.” she says in a tone Mat knew that she completely understood. 

“No worries.” she looks at him with a knowing look in her eyes. “I’ll see you around then.” 

He gives her a kind smile and nods. “Take care.” 

Mathew walks towards the bar, catching River’s teasing grin whilst he cleans up after the bottles left on the center of the counter. 

“What?” Mat reacts defensively, taking a seat in front of the lone bartender. River faintly shakes his head to leave just enough curiosity in Mathew’s mind. 

“You’re such a tool, old man.” the kid says aiming for the cold beer River has put away for himself. River did not mind because he’s grown fond of the star player for the past years he’s spent going on late night drinks at his bar. Years that even justifies a proper amount of time for him to know the in’s and out’s of one Mathew Barzal. 

“I haven’t said a thing.” he shrugs amidst the already wide grin on his face. 

There’s wisdom in his eyes that Mathew has always admired. He wasn’t the guy who’d want to talk about what’s going on inside his head but with how River’s pub seems to be just the right place, he eventually concedes and takes a shot to pick on the old man’s brain.

“Come on, spill it out. I know you’re going to anyway.” Mat gives in, running his thumb on the moist label of the bottle. 

River wipes his hands before resting it atop the counter. “Well, it’s just that– I ain’t used to seeing you turn down ladies like that too often. And you’re definitely not one to stick around watching me clean up.”

Mat stays silent for a moment, as if to gather the exact reason as to why he chose to stay. He still has a long way to go before figuring that one out. He wasn’t exactly as sharp as he was on the ice.

“I don’t know, man.” he chuckles tirelessly, “I guess I wasn’t in the mood. That’s all.”

“You?” River shots a brow and dismisses him, shaking his head. When Mat doesn’t answer, he carefully picks on his choice of words and lays it down carefully for him. After all, Mathew should have known that River was old enough to not know what’s going on.

“Though I gotta be honest with you, hijo. Never imagined you’d bring someone here.” he starts. 

What must have been a shot in the dark for the old man was just enough to tear Mathew’s eyes away from staring at the water beads on the bottle.

“What?”

“The girl, Barz.” he says, banging on the head of the bottle to knock the cap off. “She a friend?” 

“What? Y/N?” Mat quirks his brows trailing off where River was exactly headed, “What about her?— Oh, her? Yeah, no. She’s just a friend.”

“She pretty.” he speaks in a sound accent, not wanting to let Mat know he’s growing to like catching the young lad off guard. Mathew nods casually despite the continuous blabbering. “She’s y/n. But yeah— I guess, she is pretty.” 

“Then what are you doing being just friends with a pretty girl?” River inquires, taking a sip of his beer. When he sees him trying to register what he’d just said he then adds, “Why not be with her? Date her?”

“Psh. What? Date y/n? That’s crazy.” Mat shakes his head furiously, “You’re crazy.” 

“What’s so crazy about that?” River takes offense, laughing at the child’s naivete. 

“I can’t date her. I mean— I won’t date her.” he takes the bottle to his mouth, taking a large gulp before continuing, “We’re in this weird relationship thing. A setup, actually, and it’s— it’s crazier than dating her. I swear, you of all people won’t get it.” 

“What makes you think I can’t?” he smirks, “I’ve had my fair share of crazy.” River points out despite the hesitation in Mat’s eyes. “I got all night, kid.” he adds, letting him have the floor to himself. 

“You really want in on this?” he second guesses, not wanting to bore the man with his personal life.

River leans against the brass counter just below the lit rack of vintage scotch displayed on the bar. He then gestures him to give a piece of his mind and Mat finally submits to his offer.

“We’ve been in a few… prior engagements,” he starts trying to find the appropriate word. “Well, sort of.”

River hums, not necessarily getting on the same page as him so he decides to be upfront about it.

“We’ve… slept together.” he confesses.

“So you used to date her?” the old man asks. 

“No.” he answers, “I told you we’re just friends.” 

With furrowed brows, River takes a minute. And once Mat hears an all too familiar “Oh.” he sees him break a chuckle, shaking his head at the thought of what Mat had just told him. “You kids have way too much fun these days.”

Mathew shrugs, “Hey, I warned you. Told you you wouldn’t get it.”

“Okay, make me understand something here. You two sleep together, fool around, do all that shit.” he says, “and you swear you’re not in a relationship?”

“Nope.” Mat answers with pride, popping out the word with a hard ‘p’.

“Huh.” River clicks his tongue, “How long have you two been… engaged?” 

He rolls his eyes when River uses his word, “About two months.” he answers shortly.

“Is she seeing anyone since you two started this thing? You know, casual dates, the ones I presume she’s been getting before you got her into this mess?” he asks him in a tone that only fathers would ever dare to use.

Mat thinks for a moment, trying to recall the last time he’s seen a guy pick you up for dinner besides the old man you’ve successfully bagged for the night. He firmly shakes his head no and simply says, “At least not in my recollection.”

River willfully nods, walking Mat right into the trap. “Well have you been seeing anyone lately?” he asks again, this time slipping a hint of assertion. He hears a crystal clear ‘no’ from the forward and that’s when he broke a goading grin. 

“And you’re telling me you two aren’t together?” he asks yet again, getting on Mat's nerves as he continues to flood him with biting queries, building up the final point he was about to break on Mathew.

“Rivs, for the hundredth time, no. We are not.” he clarifies. 

Mat watches River pour himself a glass of scotch, still wearing a smug grin. “Imma give you a piece of advice, yeah?” he smiles rather teasingly and doesn’t wait for Mat to rebut, “I’m a happily married man so I don’t know a single squat about dating nowadays, but if you’re telling me that you kids aren’t sleeping with anyone else but yourselves? Looks like a damn relationship to me.”

With his brows all quirked in confusion (and denial in the very least), Mathew gathers all his might just so he could refute whatever madness River was trying to inflict on him and screw him up in the head. But before he could even open his mouth, the sound of the heavy doors was all it took to tear up both River’s and Mat’s attention.

“Hi.” you say the moment you were welcomed by unsuspecting men talking by the bar. River acknowledges you by raising his drink, his gaze landing on Mat the moment yours did. 

“Hi.” Mathew mirrors you in an attempt to drown his already racing heart. A smile impending to break loose at any moment but he manages to suppress it. Instead of dealing with his adrenaline, he gestures for you to take a seat beside him. 

“Where’s the sugar daddy?” he laughs the moment you drag yourself from across the room, mocking every word he said. 

“His wife called when I got into his car.” you cringe.

“Oof. Lovely.” Mat makes the distinct expression on his face just before the two of you share a laugh.

“He’s not very smooth with adultery. He needs more practice.” you casually state sarcastically, clicking your tongue. 

As you find the narrative funny, you take a sip on Mathew’s beer. “How are you not drunk? You’ve been drinking way too much the entire night.”

“Well. I’ve got some things to think about—” he cuts himself off upon seeing your mouth ajar, “And no, you’re not allowed to ask because none of it concerns you.” 

“I wasn’t going to.” you dismiss him, excusing yourself to River which he gladly took as his cue to leave.

When he disappeared into the kitchen, you turned your gaze on your friend wearing another one of your mischievous grins, “Hey, wanna get pancakes?” 

“Y/N, it’s almost 3 AM.” Mat sighs, the tiring night starting to creep up to him. 

“So?” you question, swatting his hand away when you catch him checking on his watch. 

“Come on. Stop drinking that.” you insist and take the bottle from his hand before putting it over to the side. 

The two of you said your goodbyes to the lone bartender who was just starting to clean up again. River gives the two of you a nod of acknowledgement before landing a knowing look on Mathew. One that he’s thankful enough not to be discerned by you. 

As you walk alongside Mathew, he unconsciously places a hand on the small of your back— feeling it graze on the fabric of your coat as if to guide you towards the door in an almost romantic type of way. Perhaps, a way someone would behave if they were actually in a relationship. 

Mat notices your body tense but he doesn’t move an inch. Instead, his hand travels to the curve of your waist just as he leads you through the brass doors.

Once you’re out on the streets, he lets go.

𖥸

After almost half an hour of fighting over which diner is better to eat and get sober at, you and Mat decide to just try the new diner three blocks from your apartment. Being that it was an ungodly hour, the diner was good as closed when you got in. There were a few people inside and besides the student studying alone in the corner booth, the people lounging in the vacant seats were mostly just staff. Too bad they had to work the grave shift.

Mathew, who was rather preoccupied digging in his breakfast platter, gets interrupted when you call his attention. 

“So tell me,” you ask as you take a forkful of syrupy pancake into your mouth. Finally satisfying your cravings. You put the food modestly in the insides of your cheeks when you ask him a question, “What are you like on dates?” 

Mat disgustingly looks at you. You easily get what such a look meant and you immediately roll your eyes. You let your hand fall in mid-air amidst still holding a fork in it to prove a point. “I’m not trying to ask you out, dumbass. Don’t be so delusional.”

He puts his silverware down and wipes his mouth with a napkin. “Why the sudden interest?” 

“Just curious.” you simply say.

He hums, thinking about how he pulls off a first date. He then clears his throat as he takes you down that road. “First, I’m not bringing her to a 24/7 Diner.” you nearly gag. “She deserves a formal one just in case there won’t be a second date.” he explains. 

You sit there, nodding your head every now and then as he further goes on the details of how he’s like on a date. “Of course, I’d put my best foot forward all the time. Talk about her stuff more than mine and make sure she has a good time.” 

“Have you ever had a bad first date?” you curiously ask. To which he only answers with a stubborn look on his face, the one only Mat Barzal could pull off. “What? me? I don’t do bad first dates.”

“Oh, fuck off.” you flick his forehead as you laugh. The sound of his laughter echoing in your ears, drowning all the existing noise inside the lone diner.

But as the laughter dies down, Mat catches your eyes as soon as it falls on his. And just like that, there it was again, the exact same glint it had back in the bar. This time, illuminated by the pink shaded light lining up the wall accents of the diner. 

When he realizes that he’s been staring for too long, he settles on turning the tables on you. 

“How about you?” he props in his seat, “What are you like on dates?”

“You know, apart from the fact that you’re obviously into old men.” he snickers and you throw a curly fry on his forehead.

“Excuse me, I don’t.” you say sticking up for yourself.

Mat takes the curly fry that has fallen on his plate and proceeds to eat it. “Sure you do.” 

You roll your eyes, finding it hard to suppress the fact that you might actually do. “There’s a reason why women like old men, chico.”

He leans back and answers with a level headed and quite teasing reply, “And why’s that?”

“Because they’re men.” you look at him with a jerky grin as you continue, “And men, especially of River’s kind, definitely knows how to eat his french fry.”

Mat’s mouth falls wide in disbelief, appalled that you’ve actually found a way to pick up a stone and throw it straight to his face just to rub more salt on the fact that you had to teach a 23-year-old grown man how to eat cunt.

 “You’re an ass.” he says, rolling his eyes. You let out a laugh and shake your head. You were proud of yourself, sure; but showing just that is far too much for a boy’s already hurting ego. Who would have known humbling this man was such a task. 

“I’m playing! You know how to now.” you tell him, “Thanks to me, of course.”

He scoffs and takes a bite off his pancakes, “Cocky.”

“But you still haven’t answered my question.” he reminds you whilst he wipes off his lips with a napkin. 

“There’s not much to tell. You know I’m not high maintenance.” you tell him, ignoring the fact that you haven’t been on an actual date for so long you’re almost sure you’ve forgotten how to be in one. 

“I know it’s cheesy and corny but I do think it’s still in the littlest things, you know?” you sigh. Trying to remember the last relationship (date even) you had wherein those little things, the ones that are merely the bare minimum, were actually given to you. 

“You know, it’s not much, really. Maybe just a good talk without having to watch him watch me talk all night when he’s really thinking about how I’d look naked, you know what I mean?” you laugh it off, “I know, it’s stupid.”

The arrogant man sitting before you was silent for once, profusely wanting to wash the pool of melancholy he sees in your eyes. There must have been a shit ton of guys who overlooked how great of a woman you actually are just because they couldn’t stop thinking with the head in between their legs even just for a second. 

Mathew knows. And he hates that he’s been ‘that’ guy at some point. Probably until now considering him thinking with his balls on was the very thing that got the two of you here in the first place.

You take a deep breath, smiling. “Anyway, that’s better than almost getting with a married man. Right?”

“Right.” Mat laughs, his gray eyes bright under all the lights as he plays with his silverware,— devoid of how much he looked like as if he was utterly and undeniably in awe of not just the energy of the woman sitting in front of him alone nor the fact that she was by far the most unbelievable woman he’s known, but most importantly, he’s yet to realize how much in deep he’s beginning to be for the woman she actually were. 

Just as she is. 

𖥸

You left the diner a good hour before the sunrise and what must have been a quick five minute drive if you had only taken a cab, became a twenty minute foot race between you and Mathew.

You knew that walking was a bad idea but somehow, Mat’s charm and persuasive antics had a better hold than you thought you had on your very capable cognition. 

As you drag your feet into the confines of the elevator in your complex, you hear Mathew chuckling behind you with a firm hand securely placed on your waist supporting your balance. 

“You know— and not just ‘cause I’m an athlete, can I just say that you’re in a very bad shape?” he says almost a whisper in your ear, his voice low and deep.

You roll your eyes, leaning on the steel cold mirror once he pulls away, “You do it in heels then tell me who’s in a bad shape.” 

“Fair point.” he chuckles yet again, shying away. He presses the number for your floor before resting across from you. As Mat watches you catch your breath, he jokes in the hopes of breaking the ice between the two of you. 

“So…” he clicks his tongue, playful eyes looking at you, “Wanna tap?”

Disgusted to your very core, you let out a scoff just as you shake your head. “You’re fucking sick.” you laugh upon meeting his dumb grinning face. Seconds into laughter, Mat’s silence kills off the humor. The two of you exchange glances, the smiles on your faces receding into quietude. 

Mathew didn’t want to end the night letting you in the apartment not knowing what he’s been feeling the moment you’ve let him drag you out for an impromptu night out. And stupid as it was, the only thing he could think of was to slide his foot across the enclosed space embracing the two of you, nudging on your boot. You on the one hand were rather puzzled as to what caused such language. You send him a mental query by arching a brow. He lets his head fall back on the cold metal surrounding the elevator finally deciding to speak his truth.

 “I’m glad we get to hang out now. You know, just like friends do.” he genuinely says. 

“Me too.” you say, smiling. “I really had fun tonight. Thank you.”

As you meet his eyes, you see a glimmer of softness in his gaze. 

“Good thing I got bored, eh?” he says with a smirk. 

“Good thing I came back for you.” you reply.

A quiet smile parts from his lips.

“Yeah. I’m glad you did.”

It was a few seconds when you and Barzy parted from your respective walls to meet the sliding doors as it opened on your designated floor. You were pulling him closer by the tie of his coat whilst his hand was instinctively placed on your hips letting him press his body on you. Your faces were inches from each other’s, evident of not wanting to prolong the totally unplanned foreplay that’s about to go down in a communal lift. 

But just like every film you’ve watched your whole life, the inevitable cliché befalls the two of you when the next words that filled the enclosed walls you’re currently caged in came from the man who has yet to miss a morning jog. 

“What the hell is going on here?”

[antiloreolympus]

10 Anti LO Asks

1. I don't think LO fans get this but the having to resort to tearing everything else down to prop it up is actually a worse indictment on its quality than not. If LO is truly this great of a piece of work, it should be able to stand on its own, not having harassment/smear campaigns against even remotely similar (or not) pieces of work to make it look "better" in comparison. What happened to H/P Ficlets is probably the most nasty example of LO fans being cruel in the name of making LO look "better"

2. I want to know what Kool-Aid LO fans are on because I've seen so many of them say the art is actually BETTER than it was in the beginning. Like girl what, go check your eyes 💀

3. I saw Overly Sarcastic Production's explanation of the Persephone myth. It started out really good, covering the 'possible' ancient background on the myth, and reiterating how the Homeric Hymn to Demeter is the best version we have in terms of detail. They also don't try and demonize Demeter or try to make the myth seem like some kind of romance epic.

Then the end of the video comes along and ruins the entire thing - they basically encourage people to read Lore Olympus and continue the false narrative that Persephone and Hades are the 'most functional relationship' in mythology.

It's just so frustrating to see even a popular myth youtube channel is falling for the Tumblr false interpretation of the myth that ruined Lore Olympus while completely missing the point of the story. It was always meant to be about the relationship between mother and daughter - not a damn romance. 

4. ive seen so many lo fans condemn zeus (in comic) for being more flamboyant/not being hyper masculine as hades and im like 1) ok so hades is boring while zeus is fun, got it but also 2) considering zeus' myth canon bisexuality and lo's obsession with being very heterosexual that just seems ... wrong. like i dont think they mean to be biphobia/harmful while saying stuff like this but the fact they do zero relfection on it is a big issue.

5. tbh i was willing to give the benefit of a doubt about hades and minthe but then we find out HADES is the one who blurred the lines and chased after HER and started the relationship and made her to have an apartment and stuff all under HIS control so its like?? he went after her, he's the one who wasnt being professional and went after his employe, he controls all her finances and the literal roof over her head, but we're supposed to be on HIS side and see her as ungrateful/evil??? girl what!!

6. im sorry i just cant take the "sexy" panels hades seriously because 1) its always very clearly traced, 2) it just doesnt look right given how bad the anatomy is, but also 3) its just weirdly ooc?? like rachel cant decide if hes this serious brooding king who you dont mess with or an empty headed, horny teenager. im not saying he cant have duality to him but its hard to be like "isnt he cute?" when he owns slaves, neglects children, & takes advantage of vulnerable young women into relationships

7. im begging rachel to pick up an anatomy book or something on her break WHY is hades' head so tiny now??? how did she go from semi ok anatomy to whatever this is?? and you cant go "thats her style!" because it legit doesnt even look good or cohesive or even like what we know she once could do, it just looks like a mess. i dont get how you draw non-stop for years and actually get WORSE at it.

8. i just get sad because i follow a lot of webtoon creators who feel dejected and neglected by WT meanwhile they just throw up more and more promotion for LO and shove it everyones' faces (when it very much does NOT need the help) while these other creators feel so left behind many that many of them don't even want to make another comic again. i cant imagine that feels good that they have to work twice as hard if not more to even get noticed meanwhile rachel just gets everything handed to her.

9.i do not get why rachel went with the "gods dont care/hate mortals" take in LO. even just a skim of any myth will show you the gods, for all their faults, did care about mortals and wanted the best for them. like if they hated them so much, why even let them exist? why care persephone killed so many of them? why provide them with food, water, etc? also most of the male gods have children with mortal women, why would they do that if they hate them? it's such a bad take to go with.

-----FP Spoilers/Mention-----

10. Eris' head looking like an apple is not a smart design it's a mistake. I still can get over how they massacred my baby ;__;

[carpisuns]

New anon, but I saw the last one and I have some thoughts. Specifically, I have been obsessing over ml for the last month or so, and I’ve only seen three episodes, and they were the three released before crocoduel. And you know what? I wasn’t that into it, it wasn’t bad it just wasn’t half as engaging as fanon and fanworks have been for me.

I’ve also done this with the Magicians, Supernatural, and a couple others. I think the reason that this works, for some people, is because it is a more familiar and in many ways, easier way to discover and become attached to new material and new characters. Fan writers and artists are coming from a place of love for their source material (no matter what issues they may have with it) and that bleeds out into their work. Time is spent developing the characters and their feelings, their relationships, in ways that canon so often can’t or isn’t allowed to, and reading that, it’s very easy to fall in love with new characters very quickly. There’s also common AUs and dynamics that make it much easier to start something new.

And also: comfort characters. So many fans find common ground with characters and further project onto them, particularly in fanfic. And because of that it’s often easier to identify with a fan’s interpretation of a character than it is to identify with the canon’s, since you have these more deeply explored feelings and relationships based on a combination of canon and the personal experiences of the fan writer. Also, with these kinds of fics it’s extremely emotionally affirming since for someone who doesn’t have much of any connection with the source material, it feels like the original, even if you’re reading a large body of work by a lot of different people. And I’m so used to fanfic as a substitute for the emotional work and character development that shows/movies/books don’t have room for or aren’t willing to get into, that approaching a fandom as it’s own original piece of media in a way, feels very comforting.

That’s my perspective on it anyways, and why I do this. I do think it is a good thing to engage with the canon to an extent, even if it’s just watching a few clips (how I found ml) but I also don’t think you need any real connection or knowledge of it to be deeply invested in the fandom. Sorry, this got very long.

you know, i totally get being on, like, the fringe of fandoms and interacting with fanon to an extent without a proper investment in canon (I have a couple fandoms like that), but i honestly just can't imagine becoming super invested in a fandom when I am not invested in the source material...maybe that's just a difference between you and me, idk.

but also, i gotta admit that i'm struggling a bit to understand the reason. you yourself pointed out that fan work is enjoyable because the creator's love for canon bleeds into it. and isn't that the reason that you would want to give canon a real chance? obviously there is fan content made out of spite lol (and sadly a fair amount in this fandom), but to me most fan content is like a love letter to canon. like, "i adore this thing so much that it inspired me to create and share with other people who adore it." and what better recommendation is there than that?? i would think people would wanna familiarize themselves with canon in order to better enjoy fanon(?)

i completely understand your point about fan content delving further into characterization and relationships where canon hasn't/can't, and that is such a big appeal of fanfic/fanart. but i don't feel like that's a reason to not engage with canon? on the contrary, i feel like you are missing something important in your understanding and appreciation of that wonderful exploration if you haven't experienced firsthand the foundation that canon set. and maybe that missing thing is just your personal interpretation of a character/dynamic.

for example, i could say, "adrien agreste is this, this, and this and he would do this but not this." and of course i will think im right because my characterization is always perfect 😌sakjdfaldjks but someone else might have a slightly different interpretation, and someone else will have another interpretation, and when you mush all those individual takes on a character together, you will get a good sense of who they are, but you still don't have the Original™️ to draw your own interpretation from. idk, to me it sounds like basing your opinion of chocolate ice cream on what other people are saying about it without ever trying it yourself? ajsldakljf maybe that's an oversimplification but i do think that without experiencing it for yourself, your understanding will always be kind of incomplete.

idk, i big agree with everything you said about why fan content is special, but everything that is a point in fanon's favor is not a knock on canon. to me fan content feels pretty inseparable from canon, so it just doesn't compute to me to take canon out of the equation? then we would have nothing.

i feel like it's almost kinda trendy nowadays to be like, "oh this show actually sucks lmao but the fanon and AUs are good." like it's shameful to actually...enjoy source material? 😭 i mean i completely understand that miraculous ladybug is not gonna be everyone's cup of tea and that's fine! but if you truly enjoy the fan content that much i encourage you to give canon a real shot. it's not that surprising to me that you watched 3 recent episodes and didn't vibe that much, since you haven't seen the 3 seasons of buildup that lead to them. miraculous has a neat way of tying a bunch of things together so if you aren't familiar with all of it, you're probably missing out.

personally my love for miraculous was kind of a slowburn at first. i only started watching the show because my sister and i made a deal that forced me to watch the first few eps lol. and i didn't really vibe either. but there must have been enough of a spark there for me to keep watching bc for some reason i did and the more i watched the more i fell in love with it until it became the thing that occupies my brain more than anything else. i started with canon and then got into fanon, but it could easily go the other way too. and if you're already invested in the story and characters, i have to imagine it would be much easier to push past the initial cringe of "this is a show about a couple of teen furries rated TV-Y7 on netflix" lol and give anything you don't vibe with the benefit of the doubt.

again, to be clear, i'm not trying to judge or gatekeep here! i'm just saying this because i genuinely LOVE miraculous. it's my favorite show. that's why i make things for it. that's why i have this blog. i want people to watch it. so maybe, pwetty pwease, try watching the show you like so much? ��👉👈

(source bc i was too lazy to make my own so i stole this from twitter)

[calangkoh]

so while typing out different scenes for the roleswap au snippet collection i got going on, i’m starting to have a clear grasp on what ed and al’s arcs would be. i dont set it in a specific universe, really (i prefer to stay vague in which universe its in), but by default i use 03 characters and themes as my framing point (though i take some characterizations from fmab that i like as well)—ed and al both basically learn the same things (al to be less passive, ed to be more so) but the way it comes about is what ive been figuring out

with al leading the way, his fatal flaw is his patience and trusting nature (he always gives people the benefit of the doubt), and imma let my pjo fan leak through even more by saying id say he’s got that “temptation to deliberate” flaw (tries to weigh all his options which leaves him indecisive). it’s his biggest strength and weakness. even though al is very smart he often cant make the conclusions about people that ed does. he doesnt figure tucker out, or father cornell, etc, because he just assumes the best in people and doesnt even consider evil intentions.

i also have this running thing that al REALLY wants a parental figure. like that’s just a naturally occurring theme when im writing him. and that also contributes to his trusting nature. to ed, adults are out to get them and they have to isolate themselves, while to al adults are there for help and guidance, which he’s always craving and is hard to get from ed as much in this au where ed is emotionally younger. and adult figures al trusts consistently betray them or die and that’s pretty sucky. (I know i said no 03/fmab specifics but this is a quick exception cause its interesting—this is where trisha sloth plays even more of a role in als arc because theres his actual parental figure right THERE)

Eds arc revolves around having to be more gentle, more patient. with a big metal body and HIS temper? Oof, he becomes a source of problems for al, like i still assume ed would be the one to beat tucker, with al emotionally dissociating in the background until he snaps to realization and has to step in between ed and tucker to stop, and it adds to alphonse’s stress to have to handle his brothers’ emotions before his own which he processes more quietly and slowly.

the peak of eds arc i believe would be where he accidentally hurts al in both a deeply emotional level and a pretty serious physical level due to his own recklessness.

the peak of als arc would be where his empathy and patience leads to the biggest betrayal and to others getting hurt. the parental aspect of al’s arc so far is one that kinda stays unresolved at least so far. its more a running theme with him that plays INTO his arc than a arc separate, anyway.

[diamondcitydarlin]

what do you think about the arguments that lokius is being queerbaited? I want to enjoy and ship it so bad but it seems like im setting myself up for disappointment

And I can't assure you with full confidence that you wouldn't be. I can't be certain I won't be, though I've personally chosen to enjoy what is there and extrapolate from what we are given, even as I know that historically, statistically, it's best to assume a mainstream depiction of a m/m relationship in a Disney-Marvel production is pretty slim. But then...not nonexistent and, in many ways, the likelihood of it actually going there is higher than it's ever been. So there is that.

I've been independently studying LGBTQA+/queer representation in mainstream media for over a decade now. The term 'queerbaiting' is relatively new in fandom spaces (if we're looking big picture, back into the earliest films and TV shows, some of the earliest shipping fandoms like Star Trek), as I only started seeing it maybe around 2012-2014. It's a term I appreciate, because it represented a switch in cultural thinking from holding no expectations of creatives in Hollywood to large swaths of LGBTQA+ fans gaining the confidence to say 'no, this isn't good enough'.

It also represents the switch in Capitalist approaches to LGBTQA+ citizens, from catering solely to the religious, satanic panic morality by pretending gay people simply don't exist, to deciding that gay fans are in fact lucrative and need to be included just enough to feel inclined to monetarily contribute to a brand. They'll write scenes between characters with intentionally confusing, ambiguous energy, give them moments that are meant to be read into deeply, but rarely, rarely, with any kind of payoff that would alienate homophobic investors. The insidiousness of this tactic is in the fact that when payoff does not happen, viewers can be easily gaslit into thinking that was never the intention in the first place, they were the ones who were wrong in their takes. As I've worked professionally in entertainment as actress, director and producer with rather big capitalist brands I won't mention names of, I can assure you this -is- very much a thing, please stop giving corporations the benefit of the doubt.

There is no clean definition or qualification for queerbaiting, despite how often people want to gatekeep how gay viewers use this term. To be clear though, it is an accountability term before anything else. Not an insult, not an accusation that someone isn't good at what they do, it's a reminder that we're owed more than what we're usually given. If we don't speak out, if we don't label things queerbaiting (when they very much usually are), if we don't demand better we will never, ever, ever get it. I promise you that.

Okay, so now that we've established what queerbaiting is at least in my mind...

Do I think Lokius is being queerbaited? Yes, possibly. I'm waiting to see how the rest of the narrative plays out before I come to a definitive conclusion on my own (yes I'm actually optimistic I say as I put on clown make up), but I'm also not going to deny LGBTQA+ fans the right to feel like that's what's happening and voice their opinions. Anyone tasked with writing/creating content for mainstream audiences has a huge responsibility, in that this content will reach millions of people and has the potential to help shape our culture, perceptions- it even has the potential to help normalize and give broad optics of what it means to be queer and have queer relationships, romantic and otherwise. None of this is as trifling as, 'it's just a TV show', because it's never that simple.

As far as Lokius itself is concerned, the show spent a great deal of time first developing their bond and dynamic before (seemingly) switching gears towards elevating romantically the first feminine-presenting character Loki ran into even though there are some clear, uhm...conflicts with the idea of this actually being a thing. If it becomes a thing. It also seemed to first build a solid, unique platonic bond between the 'fem' and 'masc' character that a lot of gay fans would have appreciated seeing playing out before having them mashed together haphazardly as a romantic pairing, as has been done in media for 50+ years now. That's to say nothing of the fact that the most visible feminine character being forced into role of 'love interest' for a broken main character is one we've had to see play out over and over and over and over again too, poorly. People have a right to feel frustrated about that and voice their frustrations accordingly. We expected more of this show than that. (And yes, I am bisexual, I know that it would still technically be a queer relationship, but please consider the broader history/picture here of queer rep in media and the optics of that against that mosaic, please consider the heteronormative lens that so often claims any and every possibility for itself, please consider the long history of how feminine characters are often used as coping tools and objects of lust before they are treated as individuals deserving of their own development)

Now, again, I want to say that I am not convinced of anything really right now. I'm not taking any of the writers at face value because they are all bound by contracts and NDAs and aren't going to come out and say what the outcome of the show will be, so nothing they're putting out on twitter or in interviews is something I will be taking as absolute truth beyond assuming they're trolling, maybe even have been instructed to keep the pot boiling in the fandom through social media antics. Don't rule it out.

Things really could go either way, but my point is I do not deny the possibility of what this is and I'm certainly not going to gatekeep how other gay viewers feel they're being queerbaited, and I really don't see any reason why anyone else should either.

[blookmallow]

rating spirit halloween’s new animatronics for 2021

or at least what’s showing as New Arrivals on the site for me. looks like we got 15 new arrivals listed here and im HYPE about them so here we go

the caretaker

pretty standard reaper character with a Gravedigger theme to it. hes... fine? nothing about this particularly stands out to me, but i dont dislike it at all. i like his gravestone. would be good for a graveyard set. i guess ill give him... 6.5/10

mr. dark

at first glance he also just looks like a standard reaper character (or voldemort. he definitely looks like voldemort now that i think about it) but it turns out he SPRINGS UP RIDICULOUSLY TALL LIKE A CURSED WACKY INFLATABLE TUBE MAN and the spring motion in the video is actually really fucking fast so, while this isn’t a lot different from other jumpscare animatronics, i gotta give him credit bc i guarantee this would have scared the fuck outta me in person. according to the site he’s almost 9 feet tall at his full height 

i expected him to jump out and scream but i did not expect. That. i feel like if you put him up on a stage or something to make him loom over people even more he’d be very menacing indeed. would also be really good if you put him behind something so you don’t see him until he's suddenly There

i like him, 8/10 springy spook man 

click for more 

grave grabber

pretty much just a zombie but he’s cute i like him. i like the green eyes. i dont know what it is about him in motion but the video makes him kind of endearing to me for some reason and i dont know why. 6/10

ophelia

at first for some reason i thought the monster’s name was ophelia but i think that’s supposed to be the name of the victim? i think the idea here is “girl haunted by a Nightmare” but the fact that the monster itself is so small and doesn’t actually have a body for the most part makes this unintentionally hilarious to me 

like. it. it’s so small. it’s just a little shoulder demon. it’s so cute 

psst. hey do we have any more cheetos

anyway i like how the girl’s eyes move back and forth but the sounds she makes are uncomfortable and she just looks so. stiff and solid and there doesn’t seem to be any movement at all other than her eyes and the monster peeking out so it’s just kind of weird to look at. it’s an interesting concept but the execution is just strange and unintentionally hilarious. 7/10 bc i still think its really funny 

someone should buy this and mod it into chrona and ragnarok 

harriet hustle

WE DID IT KIDS WE FINALLY GOT A FEMALE CLOWN ANIMATRONIC im so happy i could cry i wish my store had her set up i want to meet her  

i love how they have her hanging upside down like this, it makes it so much more visually interesting than the figures that just kinda stand there looking spooky, even though she doesn’t really Do much (she just swings and her head moves around a little, just laughs, doesn’t have spoken lines) 

i love her outfit i love her hair shes SO cute i love this little murder gremlin i love her i love her 

im still waiting on spirit to give us a female clown figure that isn’t “creepy little girl” (ive commented before on how their only female figures tend to be either the Old Hag or the Creepy Little Girl and not a lot else) but i absolutely love this all the same 20/10

this one is fun too because we also have: 

henry hustle

according to the description he’s actually harriet’s dad!! we have an evil clown father and daughter duo here and im LIVING for it

i dont think ive ever seen spirit do characters that are related to each other like this that’s so cute,

apparently his wife/harriet’s mother left them and ran off with the ringmaster. he’s a single father clown trying to raise his evil daughter clown and i support him wholeheartedly

there doesn’t seem to be any more animatronics on this storyline, we don’t have the mother here and the only ringmaster animatronic they have is the rotten ringmaster who was released previously, but i doubt he’s the homewrecker ringmaster in question. he Could Be. imagine if your wife left you for That. we dont even know if henry’s wife was also a clown or not. spirit halloween clown lore going on here

anyway i absolutely LOVE this clown, he does something INCREDIBLY STARTLING AND UNEXPECTED which i dont want to spoil for you. go watch his video and see what he does its great 

my absolute favorite type of halloween animatronic is the “does something completely unexpected” category and this one is ALSO a clown and a GOOD clown at that

and he’s got this great vintage clown style i really like, i love scary clowns like this that actually look like they could believably be a real guy and not just some kind of mutant Clown Monster 

and hes got cards!! card suit motif!!! i love it i love him this is a great clown 20/10 for him too

w. raith 

we have this one at my local store and listen to me. im completely obsessed with this ghost

it’s pretty much just a ghost but it’s SUCH A GOOD ghost. especially in this photo here with proper spooky lighting and everything. i would absolutely LOVE to see this in a haunt attraction, it looks SO good even in bright store lighting. i feel like this under the right lights and in the right environment could look SO fuckign cool  

the shredded rag look!!! the ethereal glow!! the weird jellyfishy movement!!! the classic wooOoO oO o o ooo noises!! this may perhaps be the ideal ghost. it is without flaw. a perfect specimen. i fuckign LOVE this ghost i want it so badly but i do not have the space or the money for this thing 15/10 w. raith my beloved. my true love. maybe one day 

buzzsaw

at first i was slightly disappointed to see that this guy didn’t have an actual name, but then in the description apparently his name is Bill “Buzzsaw” Jackson and his backstory is he tried to be a wrestler but it didnt go very well so he grafted weapons in place of his hands. i guess. you know, to be better at wrestling. i dont really understand it and i definitely would not have gone with “disgraced former wrestler” as the concept for this guy  

but anyway we have mr jackson at my store right now, he’s Big, i like him. he doesn’t really move very fast and doesn’t jump at you, he just kinda swings his saw around. for some reason he just seems friendly to me and i dont know why. makes me think of like an uncle dressed up for halloween rather than an actual murderer guy. i dont know i cant explain it but i like him hes my friend 8/10

wacky mole

this guy’s also at my store this year, i didn’t know his name was wacky mole fsdgjsdg

he’s listed as a new arrival, but i thought i remembered seeing him before, and the description says he’s a returning fan favorite, so. i guess this is a re-release 

anyway pretty standard Scary Monster Clown. his teeth look like candy corn. i like it but i think they should just Be candy corn. i like his colorscheme and his silly giant buttons. light up eyes are always a nice touch. he doesnt really stand out but hes overall a pretty good clown. 7/10

grim

good ol’ classic skeleton. he’s pretty nicely modeled though and i highly recommend watching the video for this guy because he moves REALLY well for a spirit animatronic, he’s got a way wider range of movement than most of them do and his head moves really nicely. one of the benefits of a skeleton animatronic is you don’t have to deal with lip movement, so his jaw movements match with his lines a lot more realistically. i like the animated glowing eyes too, it really gives him a lot of personality. he’s really interesting to watch. like, it’s just a skeleton, but it’s a really really good skeleton, so, 8/10 

BEETLEJUICE!!

i love love love franchise character animatronics and spirit has so much great beetlejuice stuff this seems well suited to them but looking at it............. hm. hm

he just looks so. stiff and his face comes across like, deer caught in the headlights to me. it Does Not look very natural but it looks slightly better in motion (he just swivels from side to side and says a few phrases but it somehow looks less. shellshocked when he’s moving) 

maybe not the greatest execution but maybe he looks better in person and im still hype to see him so 8/10 regardless 

night stalker

we have this guy at my store too, im still not really sure what’s going on with his arms (did he just rip loose from them and leave them behind? did someone do this to him? i dont know) but i love a good spooky scarecrow. love his Wiggles. hes a pretty good boy. 6.5/10

here we have another pennywise, it pretty much just pops out at you, but it’s still pretty good. i like the full size one they had before better, but this one’s slightly cheaper and would be easier to integrate into a haunted house attraction since he comes with a built in set piece. it looks good but doesn’t do much. 7.5/10 i guess 

GHOSTFACE!!!!

FUCK YES I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS

please. please spirit halloween set him up in my store so i can see him

anyway hes got kind of the same issue beetlejuice has where the figure just. looks kind of stiff, and he looks more like a spooky ghost decoration than like, A Person. he doesnt seem to have any lines or anything either, he just kinda pops out. but then again i guess whenever we see ghostface in person in the movies he doesn’t usually talk anyway. i dont really know how id make this better but it seems a little underwhelming somehow. still hype to see it though. 7/10 i guess 

now if we could just get a jack torrance and a bela lugosi dracula id be content 

i would LOVE to see Red from Us but i doubt they’d do one. my other horror beloved is norman bates but i know if they made one of him it’d just be him in a dress waving a knife around (not that i wouldn’t still be hype to see him, but, y’know) (anyway. tangent. moving on) 

mr. howle 

it’s. a werewolf. he howls. that’s....... about it 

it’s a very nice looking werewolf, it’s a well designed figure and definitely looks very imposing, but it’s... just a werewolf. there’s not really anything particularly interesting or creative here. its a perfectly good werewolf. i dont have anything to say about this. 6.5/10 

i also just am not a werewolf person so maybe someone out there who has a greater appreciation for werewolves might like him more 

[vibeless15]

Dont listen to yugo anymore. Its clear that @yugogeer012 only loves to make fun of other artist projects of Undertale like hes doing with yamatas hard work. And people are only giving him a pass because hes jakeis friend. Abusing the popularity i see yugo. Seriously even yugos fans on Twitter are starting to get annoyed of his behaviour. And about the tracing claim about you. I have not seen any evidence at all. They prove zero evidence at all. And if its only like a 3 year old thing. It shows that you only did It but clearly you decided to stop. But here we go with assumptions again. Im honestly sick of the Big leagues of the Undertale fandom comunity now. At first i was neutral. But this shit has to stop already. Especially with yugo's behaviour

Thats they're problem isn't it? They always like to make themselves seem like they're good folks, but in all honesty they just care for themselves and no one else, unless they benefit from someone else like Yugo and Jael.

I couldn't care less on how much shit he talks, but when he gives his opinion on stuff he hasn't even taken time to get into or try to read then he's just blindly judging things and that part about him getting a pass because he's Jael's friend is clear as day and what makes it worse is that iv tried multiple times to talk with him and come to some understanding, but no doubt he feels talking to me would corrupt him or something. Iv sent him multiple ask saying we should talk and get to know one another that way we wouldn't be getting into stuff like this, but I guess him and his buddy Jael love drama and love themselves too much. With Epic in Xtale atleast we don't have to watch Those two jerk each other off for multiple replies and reblogs at a time.

Anyway yea I'm done being nice to this piece of honest dog shit if he really wanted to talk shit he'd read the Aus he's talking about and then say something, I domt even shit on EpicTale cause iv never read it, hell people smaller and yet with bigger brains then this guy know to hold judgement on shit before talking about it.

Also

Hey @yugogeer012 I already told your ass to stay out of drama and that it'd only cause trouble. The fact you can't seem to keep your head out your ass is really getting you in trouble cause iv said multiple times before that I didn't want no beef and yet you keep on putting your opinion on shir you probably only get info on from your Xtale buddy, I told you already that you should just talk to me, but for some reason that seems impossible for you to do so ill make it easy for you again

Stop talking about AlphaTale.

You clearly haven't fucking read anything on it and don't want to and no doubt all the info you get on it is either from your angry fans or Jael both who already hate. Stop talking about and just cut the fucking drama.

Anyway that's the last I got to say on this stupid shit.

[hellolimitless]

It’s been confirmed through a rep that Joshua Bassett do not identify as queer (EDIT : THE ARTICLE GOT DELETED AND IT IS REPORTED THE REP DON’T SEEM TO BE LEGIT). Now yes we can take it with a grain of salt as his team might not want that Disney new heartthrob is an out queer person because it does not live up to their image and we know Disney views on LGBTQ ( Love Victor moving from Disney + to Hulu because it was not family friendly for them). When I saw the video of his “coming out” I knew he wasn’t coming out as queer but is it necessarily queerbaiting which is something I despise, I think we might give him the benefit of the doubt as i took his coming out comments as him revealing he is an Harry Styles fan. Now yes his use of words is tacky but I don’t believe he realised at the moment. I never saw somebody coming out by saying someone from the same gender is hot. (SECOND EDIT : HE CAME OUT ON TWITTER)

But him going viral and trending on Twitter is the problem of today generation when it comes to queer issues. I absolutely know how important it is that celebrities are out and proud especially if they are really big stars because it helps the image of queer people in the media who is not the best and very stereotyped as everyone knows and help others to accept their sexuality. But people has been jumping on the train of wanting desperately that a certain straight celebrity is part of the community. The main exemple and I know im going into a dicey territory is Harry styles who is cisgender and straight in my eyes (I know that I don’t know him personally but it’s my opinion) but everyone wants to claim the contrary. His type of image is certainly not new and not affirmative of his possible queerness. Cishet Celebrities pushing the queer/lgbtq friendly image in their music/film has been done for a long time. In music, you got Prince who had a very androgynous image and he was 100% cishet. In film you got James Franco who had multiple queer roles and took every occasion to kiss men as a sketch and still James Franco never identified as queer, he said it himself multiple times. Do I believe that Harry Styles is queerbaiting, not necessarily, he might not even realise the implications of what he is doing as he identify as an ally for the community and want to help.

[harry-writer16]

No Feelings Allow

Type: imagine

Warning: smut, oral sex, and just rough fucking  

A/N I really hope you guys enjoy this, Please like and reblog. Thank you so much for those of you who support me and my writing. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING 

Y/N POV 

I snuggle into Harry as much as I possibly can, since I know  pretty soon things are gonna have to go back to normal. You see Harry and I have been in this fuck buddies/ friends with benefits relationship for a while now. The worst part is that I’m starting to catch feelings for him, and I know in things like this the number one rule is NO FALLING IN LOVE, yet here I am like a total loser falling in love. 

This is how it all begun, well for me at least....

It all started when I first join harry’s band and as a form of celebration we when out for drink.

Bad Idea

I’m just gonna skip to the good part, since I don’t remember anything before that, I was honestly too drunk to even be aware of the world around me.

Flashback beings 

“Fuck Harry! go f-faster” I tell him 

“you like that huh? Like being fuck against a bathroom wall, like having my big cock deep in your tight cunt” he whisper sensually in my ear

“Yes! Fuck yes! I-I do” I tell him,  I don’t even try to keep my voice down because well I can’t all this feels do good. his face is burry in my boobs sucking on them harshly, he is playing and rubbing my clit with his free hand. He is thrusting into me roughly, and fast that I squeeze him every time he is going in and out me. I’m a moaning mess, his moans are getting muffle by my boobs. 

All this is feeling too good, I just can’t help myself but to cum. “H-harry, I-Im *moan* C- *moan* cum!” tell him, 

he comes up from my boobs and says “ you gonna cum, I’m cumming *moan* too *moan* but I want you to kiss me *moan* wanna have a proper snug with you Y/N” 

We kiss, a passionate and intense kiss . My tongue against his, saliva mixing, I can feel a bit of saliva coming out from the corner of mine and his mouth. Not too long into the kiss and I feel myself cum as well as harry. After we are both done cumming, we pull away from the kiss to catch our fucking breath. A string of salvia follows. 

End of Flashback 

After that I have no idea what happened, I think I might have pass out but I don’t remember. Needless to say, that the wasn’t going to be last time we were gonna do it. The second time happened while we were in a meeting about tour, he send me a text that said and quote “your tits are sticking out, and I wanna suck on them. Please🥺” My eyeballs almost roll of my sockets when I saw the text, that didn’t stop him from bending me over the bathroom sink and fucking me. 

From there we pretty much just kept doing that. Fucking. We became friends with benefits. Nothing more, nothing less. and it’s not like I wanted to be more than that, but after a certain amount of meaning less fucks, I couldn’t help but to feel shit for him.

God how much I wish I didn’t

I decide to put a stop to my thoughts, and get up. Once I’m off the bed, I rap the blanket around me and go search for my clothes. Once I get a hold of my underwear, I put it on and start to look for my t-shirt and jeans. I manage to find my jeans in record time, usually takes me longer for some reason. As I’m putting them on, I hear harry talk.  “morning” he says, turning over to his back, putting his hand behind his head. 

“morning” its all I say “have you seen my shirt?” I ask him, he only points to upwards, I slowly turn my head to look at the ceiling. My shirt its stuck on the ceiling fan! how did it end up there?! 

Harry just stands from the bed, nude, walks over  to his suitcase, picks one out a random shirt and throws it at me. he raps a towel around his waist. 

“we went wild last night, how are you still walking?” 

I just roll my eyes and laugh, he does too

“are you coming over tonight?” he ask me

“I don’t know maybe” I answer   

He just nods his head

“ok I’m gonna go, see you later” I’m about to go but he stops me 

“aren’t  you forgetting something?” he says and I just stop and think for moment

“my kiss, gimme a kiss” he says, what? why? 

Rather than question him, I just walk over to him and kiss him. I pull away and leave the room

That was new

~~~~~~~~~

Before the Concert

Y/N POV 

Harry and I are just chilling around in his dressing room before the concert, which starts i like 10-15 mins. I’m sitting on the mini couch playing a game on my phone,  while he is doing his voice exercise. I guess I’m so into this game I don’t release that he stop “Y/N are you listening to me?” he ask

“yes?” comes out more as a question rather than a statement

“I said what do you think of my suit?” he ask 

I look at him, my eyes going up and down but they stop at his neck, that’s when I spot it. A hickey. I drop my phone on my lab

“what? You don’t like it or something?”

“your neck Harry! you have a hickey” I told him standing up looking at his neck. 

He puts his hands around my waist, pecks my lips

“god what if your fan see it OMG! what if people find out that you -” He cuts me off

“Y/N chill, Its normal, I doubt fans will notice” he assures me, i just nod.

During the concert

We just got done with Adore You, now harry is interacting with the fans, everything is going well until someone shouts 

“HARRY WHERE DID YOU GET THE HICKEY?!”

Then another

“HARRY WHO GAVE YOU THE HICKEY?! WAS IT Y/N?!”

Then another

“Y/N DID YOU GIVE HARRY THAT HICKEY?!’

It continues, until harry spoke

“guys! Calm down! But it seems like you all interesting  in Y/N I’m gonna let her answer the question” he said while turning around and winking at me 

“That’s a proof of how much of a mob you can be” I said 

Everyone laugh including harry, he gave me a thumb up and continue

“ok this next one is call To Be So Lonely, sing if you know that lyrics”

We start playing “Nice save” Mitch told me 

 I when Pale.....

After the concern 

I start to walk towards Mitch dressing room, I open the door to fine him putting stuff into a bag, he was about to speak but I don’t let him

“how you know?” I ask him

“ It wasn’t that hard, C’m why else would you come out of his room every morning with his shirt on? or perhaps all the times you guys sneak off to fuck in the bathroom? doesn’t take rocket science to figure out what you two are up to”  he tells me

“I-how long have you known?” 

“for sure today, assuming two weeks after your welcome party” 

“why didn’t you tell me”

“didn’t wanna be one to ruin the fun for the two of you, that and it really isn’t any of my business plus I can tell you like him”

“what? I-maybe...” I say my voice fading at the end

“they all fall for the spell” he said and I gave him a confused look

“seat and I’ll explain” we both took a seat on the couch

“it happens all the time he shags a girl, they fall for him but with you he might have fallen too” he said and I mouth a how

“He kept you for more than a month, sneaks you into his bedroom every night, gives you one of his shirts to ware. the list goes on, I can see your not a simple shag your something else plus if you where he would’ve probably fire you and ended things with you a long time ago” 

“I guess you might be right” I told him

“I have to go he-” 

“is waiting for you” he finish my sentence  and I just nodded 

~~~~~~~~~~~

I was right, Harry was waiting for me. As soon as he saw, we when straight to the car and his driver drove us to the hotel. I’m currently in his room sitting on the bed, he is in the bathroom doing god knows what. I honestly thought we were gonna have sex. 

“What are you doing in their princess?” I ask him 

“I’m getting the bath ready, come in here to pick the bath bomb” he said and I’m confused why a bath? and just why? he seems to be putting a lot more effort this days. I get up walk towards the bathroom. Once I’m I see harry standing in nothing but his boxers and holding two bath bombs one on each hand. I stand in front of him. 

“where did you get this? and the pink one with flower” I told him

“fan gave them to me, thought it was time to put them to good use”

I just nod my head, he drops the bath bomb in the tub

“Come on get undressed the water is getting” he told me to and took off his boxer, got into the tub. I got undress and in the tub my back to his chest. he starts to cares my arms with the tip of fingers. He leans in and whisper in my ear.  “you’re so beautiful”

I feel one his hands go in between my thighs “you’re wet aren’t you? this is what you’ve been waiting for all night, been waiting for me to care of you, take care of your pussy” he says and I only moan

next thing you know, I feel one his fingers go up and down between my lips. I moan a little bit louder this time. “lift your your legs and place them on top of the sides of the tub” 

Once I do, he doesn’t bother waiting and inserts two fingers into my cunt, he starts to finger me harshly, its a mixture of pain and pleasure. I keep moaning 

“H-harry F-faster *moan*” he adds another finger

“you want it fast you dirty slut, fuck yourself on my fingers, I know you want to” 

I moan at his words, he keeps talking to me and saying things like

“you’re so tight”

“bloody hell, you getting even wet”

“Fuck yes, keep fucking yourself on my fingers, move those hips you dirty slut” 

I move my hips faster, his finger going in and out my cunt my a slapping noise, with his other hand he is rubbing my clit, fast really fast.

“c-cum C-CUM *moan* Fuck! Please” feels too good, I can’t even make a proper sentence

“cum Y/N be my little cum slut and cum for me” he said and I did, I came hard, I was trying to catch my breath

“need to fuck you, turn around and ride me” he demanded

“can’t cunt its too sore” I told him

“wasn’t asking, now fuck me” 

he turn me around, so I was straddling him. without a warning he put his cock inside of me.

“Fuck!” I scream 

I start to bounce up and down on his cock, we are both moaning extremely loud.

“Fuck Yes! Bounce faster baby!” He said and I try but my cunt is too sore, he however decided to take matter into his own hands and helps me bounce faster, there is water splashing everywhere. He then somehow took one of my tits into his mouth and started sucking on it. 

“AH! G-GOOD *Moan* H-HARRY- CUM *moan* PLEASE!”

“I’m Fuck- Cumming too baby”He said 

“cum, cum for me” I did I came so fucking hard and so did he

we just sat there for a second, catching our breath, Harry was rubbing my back up and down with one his hands.

“I think we need a shower” he said, I just look up at him and nodded 

“I’m sore, carry me?” I ask and he nodded with a smile 

After the shower, Harry and I decided to just chill and watch some TV, not too long after that we felt asleep.

~~~~~~ 

The next morning Harry had an interview at the Howard show. They were in the middle of something when Howard suddenly ask if there were any secret affairs going on in the band. Wow things got award very fast.

“so not affairs with the lady’s?  Y/N?” he ask , harry and I just look at each other and awkwardly laugh

“You two have been link a lot together, specially after the whole hickey thing that happen in your last concert.” he said, 

“No, we are pretty good friends... it would be awkward to think of a friend like that, it’s not right” Harry said rambling a bit 

“Y/N” Howard said, Mitch looked at me and raised his eyebrows

“Umm.. Mitch and Sarah but I don’t think that accounts as an affair, I mean everybody knows about them.” 

“so no harry?” he ask again, I just laugh shaking my head

“no, I don’t think he can handle a woman like me” I said some oh’s and laughs were heard 

“thanks that really helped my ego” He said 

“that’s what I’m here for” I said

The interview continued, he move on to other topics to be honest I kinda zone out.

~~~~~~

After the interview, Harry said to go to his room for some netflix and chill, I already new what he wanted. I knock on his door

“hey”

“hey” I said 

“remind me to give you a key” he said, I nodded and when to his bed

“whatcha you watching?” I ask him

“I don’t know”

He pulls me into his lap

“kiss me, you haven’t given me a kiss” 

I kiss him,

“I wanna snug you, fucking kiss me right” he told me

We started to make out, saliva mixing, mouth exploring, tongues dancing. We were so into this, it was hard to hear someone knocking. 

“go open the door and rid of whoever it is” I told him once we pull away 

he nodded, I got off his lap and he got up to open the door. I heard the door open and a voice as well 

“hey I’m here to work on the lyrics” Mitch fucking Mitch its here

“So I was thinking- Y/N what are you doing here? was I- Did I interrupt something” he ask and I just look at harry

“actually she was leaving” I look at him, seriously I’m the one who gets kick out why?, I don’t understand he call me not Mitch, I was mad, I’m done getting treated like I’m not important or only a fuck toy. I explode it

“I’M DONE HARRY, I’M SO FUCKING DONE, WITH THIS AND- AND EVERYTHING, DON’T EVER GO LOOKING FOR ME AGAIN, FUCK YOU ASSHOLE!” they were both shock at my sudden outburst, I got up from the bed and storm out the room to mines. 

~~~~~

After a good 15 min I heard a knock on my door

“if its Harry go away” I said loud enough

“Actually its Mitch Can we talk” I got up and open the door

“talk”

“he is confused, devasted, thinks it’s his fault, and he knows I know.” he said

“you told him?” I ask him

“not really, he just figure, anyways I think he wants more than what you guys have now”

“what if I get hurt?”

“God Y/N its Harry and love so of course you’ll get hurt but I also know he will take care of you, I’m almost certainly sure that he loves you, he wants more than this, take a risk for the both you because I know how much you two need it” He told me

“ok yeah, I’m gonna go talk to him” I got up and headed towards the door but Mitch stops me 

“here I think you are gonna this” he hands me a key

his room key

I smile and nodded 

~~~~~

Once in his room, I go to where he is standing. 

“hey” I say he jumps a little, and I just giggle

“Hello, how did you get in?” he ask

“Mitch gave me a key” I said lifting up the key

he nodded we stay in silence for a moment

that is before I had enough and just go up to him and kiss him.

We kiss for a little before I pull “I want more than this too” I whisper against his lips 

“be mine?” he ask 

“I was always yours” I tell him

We keep kissing, we move onto the bed, he lays me on my back, he starts to kiss my neck.

“Harry” I moan

“yes darling” he says

“can we-I wanted- 69″ I said 

“you wanna try 69?” he ask and I nodded

“I’m down top or bottom?” he ask me again

“top” I said

We undressed until we are completely nude the we get in position. With my cunt towards his face and his cock in mine. He starts me off by teasing my clit and slit my wetness around my pussy while he is doing that I start to give him Kitty licks on his tip. I decided that’s enough for me, and I start to suck, he on the other hand keeps teasing my clit and starts fucking my cunt with his tongue. he is moaning into my cunt and I’m moaning into his dick. he starts to rub me fast and hard, while I suck on him faster. little bits of cum dripping on the side of my mouth. He keeps eating me out so good. 

“OH MY FUCKING SHIT MY EYES BURN!” I hear a voice scream, I fall off the bed, I scream when I see who it was

“the fuck how did you get in?!”I grab the blanket and cover myself and so does harry

“seriously man, fucking knock next time!” harry said 

“My eyes still burn, You both are nasty, I’m out of here” Mitch said his hands covering his eyes, he bumps and trips a few times before making it out of the room. 

Harry and I just look at each other and laugh

but its not too long before we are back to 69

~~~~ Harry + 69 = 💀 

Thank you for reading.....