#no confidence in thinking i know anything about the RU stuff but i went on a little journey to find out what this is Probably a ref to. lol

[heksen-sabbat]

obsessed with this stupid voiceline with what i can only describe as "imitating a vehicle" noise

[booklindworm]

A rant against Karen Traviss' understanding of history and her FAQ answers

Did you base the Mandalorians on the Spartans?

<cite> No. I didn't. </cite> Fair enough.

<cite> I really wish history was taught properly - okay, taught at all - in schools these days, because history is the big storehouse that I plunder for fiction. It breaks my heart to hear from young readers who have no concept even of recent history - the last fifty years - and so can't see the parallels in my books. You don't have to be a historian to read my novels, but you'll get a lot more out of them if you explore history just a little more. Watch a history channel. Read a few books. Visit some museums. Because history is not "then" - it's "now." Everything we experience today is the product of what's happened before. </cite> Yeah, I do to. Please, Ms Traviss, go on, read some books. Might do you some good. And don't just trust the history channels. Their ideas about fact-checking differ wildly.

<cite> But back to Mandos. Not every military society is based on Sparta, strange as that may seem. In fact, the Mandos don't have much in common with the real Spartans at all. </cite> You mean apart from the absolute obsession with the military ["Agoge" by Stephen Hodkinson], fearsome reputation ["A Historical Commentary on Thucydides" by David Cartwright], their general-king ["Sparta" by Marcus Niebuhr Tod], the fact that they practically acted as mercenaries (like Clearch/Κλέαρχος), or the hyper-confidence ("the city is well-fortified that has a wall of men instead of brick" [Plutarch, Life of Lycurgus])...

<cite> A slightly anarchic, non-centralized, fightin' people? Sounded pretty Celtic to me. Since I went down that path, I've learned more about the Celts (especially the Picts), and the more I learn, the more I realise what a dead ringer for Mandos they are. But more of how that happened later... </cite>

The Celtic people are more than one people, more than one culture. Celtic is a language-family! In the last millennium BC nearly every European ethnic group was in some ways Celtic, and they were not one. Later, after the Germanic tribes (also not one people, or a singular group) moved westwards, the Celtic cultures were still counted in the hundreds. Not only Scotland was Celtic! Nearly all of Western Europe was (apart from the Greek and Phoenician settlers on the Mediterranean coasts). The word “Celts” was written down for the first time by Greek authors who later also used the word “Galatians”. The Romans called these people “Gauls”, and this word was used to describe a specific area, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, the Cévennes and the Rhine: “Gaul”. So the Celts, the Galatians and the Gauls were all part of the same Celtic civilisation. "Celts, a name applied by ancient writers to a population group occupying lands mainly north of the Mediterranean region from Galicia in the west to Galatia in the east [] Their unity is recognizable by common speech and common artistic traditions" [Waldman & Mason 2006] Mirobrigenses qui Celtici cognominantur. Pliny the Elder, The Natural History; example: C(AIUS) PORCIUS SEVERUS MIROBRIGEN(SIS) CELT(ICUS) -> not just one culture "Their tribes and groups eventually ranged from the British Isles and northern Spain to as far east as Transylvania, the Black Sea coasts, and Galatia in Anatolia and were in part absorbed into the Roman Empire as Britons, Gauls, Boii, Galatians, and Celtiberians. Linguistically they survive in the modern Celtic speakers of Ireland, Highland Scotland, the Isle of Man, Wales, and Brittany." [Celtic Culture: a historical encyclopedia. by John Koch] "[] the individual CELTIC COUNTRIES and their languages, []" James, Simon (1999). The Atlantic Celts – Ancient People Or Modern Invention. University of Wisconsin Press. "All Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae live, another in which the Aquitani live, and the third are those who in their own tongue are called Celtae, in our language Galli." [Julius Caesar, De Bello Gallico] <= I had to translate that in school. It's tedious political propaganda. Read also the Comentarii and maybe the paper "Caesar's perception of Gallic social structures" that can be found in "Celtic Chiefdom, Celtic State," Cambridge University Press. The Celtic tribes and nations were diverse. They were pretty organized, with an academic system, roads, trade, and laws. They were not anarchic in any way. They were not warriors - they were mostly farmers. The Celts were first and foremost farmers and livestock breeders

The basic economy of the Celts was mixed farming, and, except in times of unrest, single farmsteads were usual. Owing to the wide variations in terrain and climate, cattle raising was more important than cereal cultivation in some regions.

Suetonius addressing his legionaries said "They are not soldiers—they're not even properly equipped. We've beaten them before." [not entirely sure, but I think that was in Tacitus' Annals]

Regarding the Picts, in particular, which part of their history is "anarchic"? Dál Riata? the Kingdom of Alba? Or are you referring to the warriors that inspired the Hadrian's Wall? Because no one really knows in our days who the fuck they were. The Picts’ name first appears in 297 AD. That is later. <cite> Celts are a good fit with the kind of indomitable, you-can't-kill-'em-off vibe of the Mandos. Reviled by Rome as ignorant savages with no culture or science, and only fit for slaughter or conquest, the Celts were in fact much more civilized than Rome even by modern standards. </cite> That's how the Romans looked at pretty much every culture that wasn't Greek, Roman, Phoenician, Egyptian, or from Mesopotamia (read, if you want, anything Roman or Greek about the Skyths, the Huns, Vandals, Garamantes...).

<cite> They also kicked Roman arse on the battlefield, and were very hard to keep in line, so Rome did what all lying, greedy superpowers do when challenged: they demonized and dehumanized the enemy. (They still used them in their army, of course, but that's only to be expected.) </cite> They were hard to keep in line, but they most definitely did not kick Roman arse on the battlefield. Roman arse was kicked along the borders of the Roman Empire, such as the Rhine, the Danube, the Atlas mountains, etc. And mostly by actually badly organized, slightly anarchic groups, such as the Goths or the Huns (BTW the Huns were not a Germanic people, even though early 20th century British propaganda likes to say so). Though they were also decisively stopped by the Parthians. Who were very organized. Ah well. <cite> While Rome was still leaving its unwanted babies to die on rubbish dumps - a perfectly acceptable form of family planning to this "civilisation" - and keeping women as chattels devoid of rights, the barbarian Celts had a long-standing legal system that not only gave women what we would think of as equal rights, but also protected the rights of the elderly, children, and the disabled. They had a road network across Europe and worldwide trade long before the Romans ever got their act together. And their science - well, their astronomical calculations were so sophisticated that it takes computers to do the same stuff today. </cite> See? You even say yourself that they weren't actually anarchic. Also you're not completely right: 1. women (of most Celtic cultures, with one notable exception being the Irish) were not allowed to become druids, e.g. scientists, physicians, priests, or any other kind of academics, so they did not have equal rights. Also, as in other Indo-European systems, the family was patriarchal. 2. the roads they had were more like paths, and did not span the entirety of Europe; the old roads that are still in use are nearly all of them Roman. Had the Celtic inhabitants of Gallia or Britannia built comparable roads, why would the Romans have invested in building a new system on top? 3. world-wide? Yeah, right. They traded with those who traded with others and so were able to trade with most of southern Eurasia and northern Africa, as well as few northern parts (Balticum, Rus), but that's (surprise) not the whole world. 4. most people use computers for those calculations you mention because its easier. It's not necessary. I can do those calculations - give me some time to study astronomy (I'm a math major, not physics) and some pencils and paper. 5. and - I nearly forgot - the kids didn't die. That was a polite fiction. The harsh truth is that most Roman slaves were Romans... <cite> So - not barbarians. Just a threat to the empire, a culture that wouldn't let the Pax Romana roll over it without a fight. (Except the French tribes, who did roll over, and were regarded by the Germanic Celts [...]) </cite> WTF Germanic Celts? What are you smoking, woman? Isn't it enough that you put every culture speaking a language from the Celtic family in one pot and act as if they were one people, now you have to mix in a different language-family as well? Shall we continue that trend? What about the Mongolian Celts, are they, too, proof that the Celts were badass warriors? I think at this point I just lost all leftover trust in your so-called knowledge. <cite> [...] as being as bad as the Romans. Suck on that, Asterix... </cite> Asterix was definitely a Celt, and unlike the British Celts, he was not a citizen of the Roman Empire.

<cite> Broad brush-stroke time; Celts were not a centralized society but more a network of townships and tribes, a loose alliance of clans who had their own internal spats, but when faced with some uppity outsider would come together to drive off the common threat. </cite> They might have tried, but they didn't. The first and only time a Celtic people really managed to drive off some uppity outsider would be 1922 following the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921*. The fact that France, Spain, Portugal speak Romance languages and the British (or Irish) Isles nearly uniformly speak English should be proof enough.

*Unless you count Asterix. <cite> You couldn't defeat them by cutting off the head. There was no head to cut off. </cite> You mean unlike Boudica and Vercingetorix. Oh wait. Tacitus, in his Annals, said that Boudica's last fight cost 80,000 Britons and 400 Romans their lives. He was probably exaggerating. But it definitely stopped much of the British resistance in its tracks. <cite> To the centralized, formal, rather bureaucratic Romans, for whom the city of Rome was the focus of the whole empire, this was a big does-not-compute. The Celts were everything they didn't understand. And we fear what we don't understand, and we kill what we fear. </cite> While that is totally true, it's also completely off the mark. The Romans demonized the druids, not every Celt, and they were afraid of what was basically an academic network. That had nothing to do with war. <cite> Anyway, Mandos....once I took a single concept - in this case, the idea of clans that operated on a loose alliance system, like the Celts - the rest grew organically. I didn't plan it out in detail from the start. </cite> That's really obvious. Maybe looking at some numbers and remembering that you weren't planning a small, local, rural, medieval community would have helped, too. I mean lets have a look at, say, Scotland (since you specifically mentioned the Picts): they still have less than 6 mio. people all together, and that's today. Mandalore is a sector. A sector of Outer Space with at least 2000 inhabited planets. How do you think that translates? It doesn't. <cite> I just asked myself what a culture of nomadic warriors would value, how they would need to operate to survive, and it all grew inexorably by logical steps. The fact that Mandos ended up as very much like the Celts is proof that the technique of evolving a character or species - find the niche, then work out what fits it - works every time. It creates something very realistic, because that's how real people and real societies develop. </cite> Celtic people were usually not nomadic! And, once again, non of them were predominantly warriors! It's really hard to be a nomadic farmer. I believe the biggest mistake you made, Ms Traviss, is mixing up the Iron Age (and earlier) tribes that did indeed sack Rome and parts of Greece, and that one day would become the people the Romans conquered. And apart from the Picts they really were conquered. <cite> So all I can say about Mandos and Spartans is that the average Mando would probably tell a Spartan to go and put some clothes on, and stop looking like such a big jessie. </cite>

I'd really like to see a Mando – or anyone – wearing full plate without modern or Star Wars technology in Greece. Happy heatstroke. There is a reason they didn't wear a lot (look up the Battle of Hattîn, where crusaders who didn't wear full helmets and wore chainmail* still suffered badly from heat exhaustion). [Nicolle, David (1993), Hattin 1187: Saladin's Greatest Victory] *chainmail apparently can work like a heatsink CONCLUSION You're wrong. And I felt offended by your FAQ answers. QUESTION You're English. You're from England. A group - a nation - that was historically so warlike and so successful that by now we all speak English. A nation that definitely kicked arse against any Celtic nation trying to go against them (until 1921, and they really tried anyway). A nation that had arguably the largest Empire in history. A nation that still is barbaric and warlike enough that a lost football game has people honestly fearing for their lives.

Also, a Germanic group, since you seem to have trouble keeping language-families and cultures apart. If we were to talk about the family, we could add on the current most aggressively attacking nation (USA) plus the former most aggressively attacking nations (the second and third German Reich), also the people who killed off the Roman Empire for good (the Goths and Visigoth), the original berserkers (the Vikings) and claim at the very least the start of BOTH WORLD WARS. Why did you look further?

Some other sources:

Histoire de la vie privée by Georges Duby and Philippe Ariès, the first book  (about the antiquity) I read it translated, my French is ... bad to non-existent

The Day of the Barbarians: The Battle That Led to the Fall of the Roman Empire  (about the Huns) by Alessandro Barbero

If you speak Dutch or German, you might try

Helmut Birkhan: Kelten. Versuch einer Gesamtdarstellung ihrer Kultur, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien

Janssens, Ugo, De Oude Belgen. Geschiedenis, leefgewoontes, mythe en werkelijkheid van de Keltische stammen. Uitgeverij The House of Books

DISCLAIMER

I’m angry and I wrote this down in one session and thus probably made some mistakes. I’m sorry. Or maybe I’m not sorry. I’m still angry. She can’t know who reads her FAQ and at least two of her answers (on her professional website) were offensive to the reader.

[pindl3]

I just spent the better half of an hour transcripting Tubbo and Ranboo's entire conversation from the burger van.

The entire thing.

As I was going through it I noticed that it allowed me a much better look what they're actually saying. To hone in on the words.

Also there's one bit of the conversation that I am 100% going to turn into ranboo angst. Anyway, here's the full transcript! Feel free to use ^-^ I know looking through 8 minutes of conversation is annoying. It's all as accurate as I could get it, including the stammering and extra bits.

Video to listen along to

Tubbo: hello!

Ranboo: oh- uh, hel- hello

Tubbo: hi!

Ranboo: how are- how are you doing.

Tubbo: I'm doing alright, uhh-

Ranboo: doing alright- what were- what were you up to?

Tubbo: I was just talking over with quackity, burger business, you know *laughs*

Ranboo: is- is- did everything go well? Is everything ok? With that?

Tubbo: uh, yeah, I assume it's- yeah! I'm pretty sure it's uh, fantastic

Ranboo: you sure?

Tubbo: uh, yea yeayeayea 100%. I think it's going really well! Can I come inside? I wanna have a look at all your- I wanted to have little look at all your place

Ranboo: um yeah, sure- it's not much right now but we're still- um, we're still- me and uhh, Wilbur are still working on it.

Tubbo: Why do you trust Wilbur so much?

Ranboo: hm?

Tubbo: why do you trust Wilbur?

Ranboo: well ok, here's- here's the thing. Basically, I don't like- trust trust Wilbur yet but I definitely do have more trust in him than you do. But um...

Tubbo: yeah.

Ranboo: I mean, thirteen years... I mean, thirteen years, a guy has got to change throughout all of that right? (Unsure)

Tubbo: yeah I suppose so- I mean I don't not believe that he's changed i just think that he has to have the opportunity to prove it.

Ranboo: yeah! And thats why im- that's why im here so that, when he does something that does redeem himself then someone can be there that's- that'll be able to see it and everything- and honestly I would rather have it be me, the person... um, id rather have the person that be there be me instead of maybe someone... else. So um...

Tubbo: yeah I guess that- that makes a lot of sense I guess. I.. I don't know I just- I'm not sure I feel prepared to put my life in his hands again if you know what i mean.

Ranboo: well this isn't- this isn't putting my life in his hands. This is just- this is just making a little burger shop and everythi- are- are you like, okay with all of this right?

Tubbo: oh yeaaah yeaahh it's fine it's fine. I think it's quite enjoyable.

Ranboo: *softly, to himself* ok that's- that's- that's good. Ok, yep...

Tubbo: yeah I understand it all it makes a lot of sense

Ranboo: you- you sure you understand? Because- like, if you need me to- to stop, then I'll stop, like-

Tubbo: no no, it's alright it's alright- is there a reason like, I noticed that you hadn't told Wilbur about the tax reasons marriage *laughs softly, self conscious*

Ranboo: yeah well that's- that's just because- from what I've heard from Tommy and everything the Wilbur that- thirteen years ago at least- might've- he used stuff against Tommy and everything, so, you know just in case, just in case. I mean I still trust Wilbur just not- you know not super fully but still, still at least a little bit.

Tubbo: yeah, o-oh I completely understand though that makes a lot of sense honestly

Ranboo: so I- I mean I like working with him as well- I mean it's nice to just- to do something. You know?

Tubbo: yeah fair enough. Like- yeah I think the competition will be *hesitation* good- yeah I mean I'm very excited, I haven't felt this happy in quite a while. It feels like I've finally got- you know, something under my belt, something I can, you know really sink my teeth into and be a part of- it feels like I'm part of- like a bigger cause now. Like-

Ranboo: so... so you're saying you're sure that this is- that you're all okay with- everything that's going on?

Tubbo: yeah yeah of course! It's just friendly competition man, it's gonna be awesome. If anything it'll just be better for consumers, it means we're gonna make better things for everyone.

Ranboo: *hesitance* yeah, yeah that makes- that makes um... that makes sense, at least. I mean...

Tubbo: I mean, are you alright?

Ranboo: how did you- how did you bury the hatchet with quackity though? That's what I don't get...

Tubbo: bury the hatchet? What do you mean by that?

Ranboo: cuz I mean- how did you make peace with him cuz the last time we spoke about him you were talking about he had a role in your... un- unfortunate removal of life...

Tubbo: yeaahh he did, but- it- I mean to be honest it's as much- well no I mean I'm not even sure it is as much quackitys fault as wilbur- but like- I don't- like- I mean I was gonna die no matter what that day... I mean, it just happened. I mean I don't... eh, I don't have much quarrel with him, I think it's a-okay. I mean, he seems to have... I mean look at what he's built, like, he seems good. I mean... yeah I managed to also, like, clean over all the ruckus that we had about the um, cookie outpost and stuff as well, so that's all past now.

Ranboo: oh really? So he's ok with that now? *relieved*

Tubbo: yeah, yeah he promised me a good life. Like-

Ranboo: what do you mean...? Was your- life not- good before?

Tubbo: no! Nonononono it was- he talked *hesitance* a lot about L'manburg... and like he- yeah.

Ranboo: well- that wasn't- that wasn't really that much of a good life for you though- was it?

Tubbo: oh no- you- you've only heard the bad bits of L'manburg- *confident* L'manburg was amazing. You've only-

Ranboo: he- he promised you like, the- the good bits

Tubbo: yeah, yeah basically, which is- it's awesome.

Ranboo: *softly, to himself* that's- that's good, that's good.

Tubbo: yeah, so I- I figured out how to- like um- get rid of the tension regarding the cookie outpost; we came to an agreement, signed a contract, dot the t's and the i's- you know, put the past in the past. Im excited to, you know, keep moving forward, it's exciting!

Ranboo: ... ok, a-awesome... so- *voice raises an octave* so he's okay with the cookie shop now?

Tubbo: oh yea! Yeah yeah he's 100% okay! Basically, we just came to the agreement- is- I wasn't acting myself, like before when I was working on the cookie shop- I wasn't being myself- I was, I was just upset, and sad, and like- I just wanted to have something to feel part of something bigger again. But then I realized instead of fighting the thing that would've given me that feeling, I tried to make my own. I dig my heels in- it wasn't really- the right thing to do. I-

Ranboo: mhm (of reassurance)

Tubbo: so we signed a contract, I- so the cookie shops still owned by me, but it just exists within Las Nevadas now. And um... yeah, it follows its laws and regulations.

Ranboo: ok- so is everything- is everything um... everything's- *pause* w-wait so how exactly again? Sorry- how did you- make quackity ok with it all?

Tubbo: so we went up to the needle, uhh, we just talked it out, we wrote up a contract and I just- basically agreed to have the cookie shop become part of Las Nevadas! Cuz I mean it doesn't make sense-

Ranboo: wait you- you gave away the cookie shop?

Tubbo: well I mean I didn't give it away- I still own it, it's just now part of Las Nevadas.

Ranboo: which is- owned by quacki- you gave away the cookie shop.

Tubbo: well... yeah, but not- entirely.

Ranboo: y- yeah, entirely.

Tubbo: no- thats not how it works at all. It's- it's still owned by me- it's just, it exists inside his territory.

Ranboo: wait- but it's property of Las Nevadas, which is owned by quackity.

Tubbo: no! It's not like that at all.

Ranboo: you gave it- it seems like you just...

Tubbo: no, there's a lot more to it than that, it's not just- it's not black and white and I just- gave it to him- I still own it, I still have full control over it. It's just- it just follows his laws- which is fine.

Ranboo: and his ru- awesome, cool- um, that's great! Oh would you look at that- the bread is- stale- I gotta go-

Tubbo: oh, ok

Ranboo: but it was nice um- it was nice- uh talking to you- im gonna go throw this bread in the river- alright!

Tubbo: okay

Ranboo: um, thanks for- thanks for stopping on by, um- I'll talk to you um... l- later. Alright buh bye-

Tubbo: ok, bye!

Tubbo: that was- that- that was um... uh, I wasn't expecting that to *laughs* go quite like that- I didn't think that mattered that much... uhh- that- I was not expecting that to um... he- he didn't seem- oh god. That was- that felt a little- awkward. I didn't, I mean- *defensive* it's mine to give away! I mean, I- I built the entire place! Like- I built all of it. That is so weird.

[axelmcsm]

for ryssel, pike and cosmo: basics 2, 5, 7, 8; appearance 4; personality 2, 4, 6, 8; background 3, 5; relationships 1, 2, 4, 5, 7; fun facts 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15

THANK YEW PEEPAW

-

RYSSEL:

b2: “ryssel” comes from “russell”, which comes from “rus”, which just means red! aiden named him that for his eyes, they’re a brownish-red color that leans more on the red side

b5: the day after founding day! not too hard to forget

b7: he’s just a crafter/human! nothin much there

b8: sword. he luvs swords .

a4: he carries himself extremely confidently. think early s1 aiden, just .. not an Asshole , and you got ryssel! like father like son

p2: entp! he likes new things and new challenges

p4: oh jeez. he’s a tad bad a builds, which is embarassing for him bc of his parentage, and is .. horrendous with redstone. fighting/writing is more his thing, although he wish he could be a bit more like his dad

p6: he’s got adhd, dyslexia, and autisim! got the adhd from aiden, and dyslexia and autisim from cosmo. he also smokes, and does a lot of bad things for him that slip under aidens radar - ryssel never tells aiden about this stuff because he doesnt want his dad to feel like he “failed” as a parent, but really aiden would try to help rys out if he knew

p8: not .. Stellar manners, again think early s1 aiden. puts his feet on the table (saw his dad do it as a kid, so he did it), and other stuff like that, also a tad rude although he doesnt mean to be. he has a lot of scabs from picking at his skin

ba3: hes part of beacontowns guard (implemented after creeks first death + blitz’s first attempt at assassinating jesse) and is gabriels apprentice! he’s also part of the “neo blaze rods” consisting of him, shiloh (gill and mayas daughter), alora (creek and axels daughter), micah (olivia and petras son), and auburn (aloras twin)! he considers himself the leader but shiloh and micah are really the ones in charge

ba5: beacontown, in the trainee dorms and technically with aiden! aidens place is a block or two away from creek and cosmo’s places / bad luck alley, near the aquatic district, and it’s a nice place! made of spruce wood and cobbestone and stuff like that. the trainee dorms next to the order temple are like apartments, each trainee has their own, and they can choose to share with a friend if they’d want. ryssel doesn’t share with anyone- he’d share with shiloh, but she shares with alora cus theyre gfs, and micah and auburn dont train in the guard.

r1: yeah! rys has a lot of pals. hes got shiloh, the winters twins, micah, radar, and a couple of the other guard trainees that i need to figure out names for. he considers shiloh to be his best friend- shes like a sister to him !

r2; kinda awnsered in ba3!

r4: he looks up to gabriel as a mentor, but especially looks up to aiden- he wants to be just like him, and aiden .. doesn’t want that. he’s flattered, and gets why a son would want to be like his dad, but he’s scared of ryssel making the same mistakes he did when he was 18

r5: ryssel doesnt “hate” anyone, but he really dislikes byrd, another trainee at the guard. however their relationship is . Very Complicated and byrd makes ryssel feel all sorts of things he doesnt understand

r7: hes great with kids! shilohs younger siblings love him :) hes pretty good with animals too

ff3: SWOOOOOOORD and cigs . and flint and steel

ff5: fetal. fucked up like his other parent

ff7: english and sign ! hes . trying to learn sign at least , he wants to learn it to try and be able to properly communicate with auburn

ff8: FUCK !

ff9: PUMPKIN he loves pumpkin scented candleS

ff11: hawk! hawks represent rash action and Well

ff12: jocks . so sorry everyone

ff15: nope !

-

PIKE:

b2: depends on which of his names youre talkin’ about!

yarrow: “Yarrow can represent both war and healing.”

temporal: “relating to time.”

pike: “Pike is a symbol of magic, supernatural help, for example [...] the pike - angry and violent predator, so often seen as the personification of greed, avarice, deceit, and prudence.”

b5: he doesnt know :[

b7: he’s an enderman! hes an empath and can teleport, although his teleporting is very poor due to his cracked pearl. it weakens him horribly and he doesnt do it often

b8: his claws!

a4: hes slouched over and has a resting bitch face a lot of the time. he generally looks very threatening, hence why his meetings with his friends always went well /s

p2: infj

p4: hm. being social /j

p6: schizophrenia, ptsd, and autisim

p8: his manners are what youd expect of a former high-ranking enderman, although as he stays out in the overworld that starts to change

ba3: beacontown, just as a normal citizen, but after s2 he goes back to the end and is bought back to his role as one of the pillars- but, he’s revoked of his duties, and replaced by myrtle, who’s made into the fourth pillar and given the duty of being an ambassador

ba5: the end, and he lives in a tower with the rest of his family. his room isnt huge, its his old room from when he was a hatchling/wyrm, but its messy and covered in pillows/blankets with bookshelves and lanterns all over

r1: yeah! the main gang (aiden, cosmo, creek, axel, petra) are all his friends, but he considers creek hs best friend. hes also close with tide!

r4: he looked up to aether, but .. yknow

r5: blitz . thats it

r7: good with animals, and only kids hes good with are myrtle auburn and alora

ff3: bowtie :)

ff5: sleeps like a dog curled up in a ball

ff7: sign and enchantment/endinese

ff8: bitch !

ff9: pine . reminds him of the cabin

ff11: a little cliche, but wolves! they represent guardianship and loyalty

ff12: loners/misfits .. hence the title of misfit mania

ff15: yes ! most endermen follow the religion of the ender dragon/aether and do their best to be balanced, since in legend aether destroyed the incarnate of chaos, and they get hostile at anything that seems like a threat to them

-

i will be doing cosmo later cus.. sleepy

[totallypathet]

Episode Six

Okay first of all, massive spoiler warning!!

Snaaaaaaatch gaaaaaaame!!! I love snatch game. It's such a good opportunity to shine, and be hilarious, and show us what you can do! It's also the challenge queens have the most time to prepare for, so it's always interesting to see who actually comes prepared...

Also, the runway this week was incredible! I think it's been the best week so far for runway looks, so many of them were sooooo stunning! Who knew that a Frozen theme would bring out the best of the season so far??

Okay, let's get into the breakdown.

1. Aiden Zhane

Oh my god. I am so so so so so so so so glad to see Aiden finally fucking LEEEEEEAVE. It's been a journey guys, but we got here. I am so excited not to have to see that little black wig anymore. Honestly, there was nothing good about her performance this week. I was actually really excited to see someone do Patricia Quinn, it's cool seeing people do references that I hadn't even thought of and salute older parts of LGBTQ history. The reality, though, made me want to jump off a building. It was sooo cringy and sad. There was nothing Patricia about it, she didn't even bother doing the accent. How are you gonna stand in the work room and say "oh I know her, I had lunch with her" and deliver a performance like that?? And also, every question she was just like "I don't even know where I am am!" And it's like... dementia isn't funny. It was just hard to watch.

Her runway was, I think, the best she's ever looked. The wig was still shaky af, but her makeup was really pretty, and her padding was really good. The dress was lovely, but it wasn't very...creative. It was just a blue dress, and the yeti concept was only done from the neck up. It kind of felt like she went to the competition with just the dress, then she saw what everyone else was putting on and was like "oh damn I've got to make a concept out of this somehow!"

Also that lipsync though... it was like watching Vivienne Pinay and Honey Mahogany again, let's just say that.

Tl;dr: she deserved to go, and I'm glad to see her go.

2. Brita

Brita, Brita, Brita. Still bitter af. All she does is talk shit on other people and like...maybe if you stayed in your lane and focused on what you were doing, you wouldn't be in the bottom all the time? Just a thought. Shes another one where it felt like she just didn't do enough research on her character. It's so disappointing, and kinda inexcusable - you know what's coming, you have so much time to prepare and you still don't bother? I don't care for that kind of attitude. Also if she mentions that she won Entertainer of the Year one more time I'm gonna lose my mind. I don't care that you won it! Show me why you won it! Show me why you deserve to win this! I just haven't seen anything from Brita that I've enjoyed. I'm disappointed and underwhelmed.

Her look on the runway was also a bit underwhelming, it was a pretty gown, but it was almost and exact copy of Eureka's glitter look. That comparison has been made already, but it's true. We've seen it, why would you bring a copy of a gown from just 2 seasons ago? Underwhelming.

Her lipsync was also not that good, but she was against Aiden, so of course she won. Excited to see her go next week though!

3. Crystal Methyd

Whew, Crystal was a rollercoaster this week! Poppy was a really tough choice. I didn't know who she was at all, but I looked up a few videos of her after the episode and now I get what Crystal was going for. She actually did a fairly good job of what she was going for, but it just wasn't the right character for snatch game. We all know RuPaul has very simple humour, anything big, slapstick, edgy, all that stuff. The humour Crystal was going for could have been really funny (if I knew more about Poppy, that's on me), but RuPaul was never going to get it. And also, she was trying to do a robotic character like 2 seats down from Gigi, who was also doing a robotic character and killing it, so that's an extra level of difficulty.

Having said all of that. Crystal. Was the best. On. The. Runway. That outfit was incredible! And her makeup was so stunning! And the hair was perfect with it! She absolutely killed that runway, and I was gagged by it. Crystal has turned out so many looks, and I Love It. That runway 100% saved her from the bottom 2 and I could not be happier about it. So proud of her.

One other thing though, I am so bored of the El DeBarge thing. Move on, Ru. Crystal is far far more than a mullet.

4. Gigi Goode

Gigi is an absolute powerhouse this season. Her choice to play a robot was bold, but I live a queen with confidence. And she was confident, she knew what she was doing, she did her research, and she killed the snatch game. I'm so proud of her. One thing I will say, I swear they called the robot Maria, but I thought that human looking AI robot was called Sophia? Maybe there was a copyright issue. Anyway, her performance was so hilarious! The struggling with the cards, the calling everyone a bitch, the mispronouniation of vagina, I loved it all. She came with references, she came prepared, and I stan.

Her look was really great, but I almost feel like it was a little repetitive? I don't know, I just feel like I wasn't surprised by it. It was cute, it was perfectly fitted, there were really gorgeous little details about it, but it was the shape and style I expected from her. Maybe it's because she's set the bar so high leading up to this point, I was just a bit "meh" with her look this week.

She still fully deserved to win, and she did a fantastic job this week.

4. Heidi N Closet

Heidi also did a good job this week. Her Leslie Jones was a safe performance, she made me laugh, she had the look down, I was not at all mad at it. Was it perfect? No. Was it good? Absolutely. I enjoyed it. I'm glad she didn't do Phaedra Parkes. I really don't enjoy when Ru tries to change their characters in the walk through. They've brought information, and references, and preparation (most of them); and you want them to throw all that away and do someone else just because you think so? No. I will grant that sometimes Ru points them in the right direction when they're choosing between 2 characters - but I don't like when he just pulls a character out of nowhere for them.

Heidi's look was also really great; she was giving me 2018 Met Gala Rihanna but in Winter. Her makeup was stunning, she looked so pretty. The only thing I didn't love was the shoes. I kind of wish she'd just gone for a white or silver pump. The fur was too much for me.

Good week for Heidi, definitely a safe performance, I'm glad for her.

5. Jacki Cox

Jackie 👏 came 👏 prepared 👏 I have never watched Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, I was only vaguely aware of Lisa Rinna nefore the snatch game, but I still found her performance so funny! She looked just like her, she sold me who Lisa Rinna was really quickly, so I was able to laugh at the rest of her jokes. I didn't specifically know Lisa Rinna, but we all know a woman like that, so I could still get the humour. I might not have caught all the references, but it was still funny. That's how you play snatch game. You need to be able to make people laugh even if they don't know who you're actually portraying. I absolutely loved Jackie this week.

Her runway look was also stunning! I loved the snowflake, I loved her makeup, and I adored her hair. Jackie is so good at serving something so different every week but still sticking to her brand and her signature. I love Jackie.

6. Jaida Essence Hall

Jaida's Cardi B was really good! She looked just like her, sounded just like her, had her humour down... absolutely solid performance from Jaida.

Her look this week was also soooo beautiful! She's such am absolutely stunning queen, her makeup skills are incredible, she knows her body, she knows what suits her, and she rocks it every week.

The only thing for me with Jaida is I feel almost a little...disconnected from her. I just don't feel like I've seen the vulnerability from her like we've seen from Heidi, or Jackie. And that doesn't mean I want her to tell some horrific story from childhood, I just mean that when we see her she's always on, yknow? And I get that it's a tv show, and a competition show at that; I just wish we could see her humanity a little bit. Having said that, I totally get that queens of colour (and particularly black queens) get so much hatred from the drag race fandom, and I completely understand that it would be difficult to open up and be vulnerable after seeing what other black queens have been through during and after the show.

Nevertheless, she is utterly incredible and so deserving of a top spot. She's a real contender for winner of season 12.

7. Jan

I love Jan. I love her so much. Shes so excited to be there, she's working so hard, and I appreciate it so much. Her Bernadette Peters was not great. Or maybe it was, I have no idea who she is. And she didn't sell me, like Jackie did. It was kind of a shame. I feel like Jan has the talent to have done almost anyone, and she just picked someone that I feel like took too much explaining. Still a solid performance - for me she was on a level with Heidi. Solid performance, solid runway, good week.

I did like Jan's runway look more than Heidi's though, I loved the concept. Jan is another one who has pulled out something very different every week, but still stays distinctly Jan. I love her makeup as well! Jan doesn't get enough recognition for her makeup skills, she's really talented, she paints beautiful faces, and is not afraid to get artistic and high fashion.

8. Widow Von Du

I love Widow so much, but everything she did this week was just slightly off. I thought her Ike & Tina performance was actually a bit of a shame, I think she focused too much on having a gimmick that her performance suffered. The thing about switching characters in snatch game is that both characters have to be really good (and equally good), otherwise it just feels a little messy. Her performances just weren't quite there this week. I wish she'd just picked one and spent a little more time perfecting it.

Her runway also wasn't quite there. I loved the concept, she did something so different from everyone else, and I love when queens pull off a standout look. Her makeup and the ice on her face was also incredible, she honestly has the most beautiful face. I just wish that dress had hit the floor. I wish the skirt had been a little more full (maybe more petticoats?), and it had hit the floor. Widow does have this awful habit of wearing ugly shoes - and if the gowns hit the floor it just wouldn't matter. It was a shame.

Still a solid week and a decent performance, don't get me wrong; I just keep wishing for her to really pull it out and succeed, and she's just slightly missing the mark for me at the moment.

Okay, now I'm gonna say something kind of controversial about this season; I wish Jan, Jackie, and Widow weren't on it. I wish they were on next season. I'm saying that because I think they're all so incredible, and I think they all could potentially win a season - if they weren't on with Gigi Goode and Sh***y P**. Gigi has been so unstoppable, and I love her, but she's kind of overpowering, and I really want to see someone other than her (or Sh***y P**) win a challenge. I mean, it's no secret that Sh***y P** was pre selected to be top 4, and this season has been geared towards her, so of course she's been winning challenges. It just has almost become like a 2 person competition, and it's a shame! Because there's so many other queens who deserve wins, and deserve recognition, and they're not getting it because the top 2 is like always those 2. I'm not mad at Gigi, bc she's slaying the competition and she's working really hard; I just feel like there's been seasons where Jackie, Jan, or Widow would have absolutely killed it and won, but this season they're just not getting the recognition they deserve. Just my opinion!

[likeanemployee]

White Rose Week: First Date/The Coffee House

“YOU’RE WHAT!?!” Yang cried out in surprised joy “aww my little baby sister is growing up so fast!” she added squeezing Ruby in a tight hug which lifted Ruby in the air and shook her back and forth

“Yang stop you’re killing me…” Ruby managed to squeak out leading her to set Ruby down

“Oh don’t be dramatic you’re fine” Yang answered dismissively but Ruby pointed an accusatory finger at her and replied

“ME!?... you’re the one being dramatic what’s the big deal about me going to some coffee house with Weiss”

“Ruby, Weiss asked you and only you to go with her and only her to a café” Yang paused but when Ruby just stared back blankly, she continued “For coffee, annnddd we have a perfectly good coffee maker in the dorm?” She raised her voice making the statement a question hoping even Ruby would put the blindingly obvious dots together.

She didn’t. “So?” she asked in mildly irritated confusion.

“Ruby, it’s a date!” Yang shouted back shaking her head at her oblivious sister “she asked you out on a date!”

“What!?!” Ruby shouted back in shocked horror as she realized Yang was right. “Oh no. no, no, no, no, no!” she panicked pulling her hood over her head in embarrassment and pacing rapidly around Yang who just laughed in response

“Honestly, it’s about time me and Blake had an ongoing bet on which one of you was going to ask the other out for months, Which I just won” she added smugly “and Ren is holding a small fortune, he’s the only one we all trust, from all the bets on when it would happen half the school is in on that pool!”

“NO! NO! NO!...” Ruby continued only becoming more frantic and panicked as Yang spoke.

Yang ignored her sister musing to herself “I wonder who won that pool there’s some good money there. My next date was next Tuesday, I think Blake had this Friday, Nora and Ren had Saturday and Sunday I remember because those are always hot dates and I was mad they got to them first. I’m not sure who would have had today. I mean who asks someone out on a Wednesday? It’s the middle of the week! We have class and homework and woah hey easy Rubes you’ll hurt yourself!” Yang said realizing Ruby had moved from panic to frenzy dashing around Yang with her hands on her head. Her no’s had devolved into nothing more than an incoherent scream. Yang reach out carefully as she spoke and caught Ruby.

“I can’t… I mean it’s not… or well I don’t know.” Ruby mumbled nervously at Yang who gave her a slight shake before replying

“Ruby!” she called to get her attention before asking “you do like her right?”

“Well,” Ruby answered hesitating from embarrassment “I mean yeah, I guess” she finished deciding it would be best to just be honest “That is I think I do but I don’t really know I mean I was still trying to figure out, I wasn’t ready for…” she started to panic again but Yang interrupted before she could spiral too far.

“Ru-by! Hey, It’s ok. That’s what first dates are for beside come on, I mean you two are like the perfect couple everybody thinks so! Well ok maybe not perfect but you’d be really cute together trust me.”

“Yeah” Ruby started nervously but she gained confidence as she continued “Yeah ok!”

“Great! Now we can talk about what you’re going to wear!” Yang cheered back excitedly dragging Ruby by the hood toward their room as Ruby protested in an entirely different chorus of no’s.

Weiss sat at one of the small tables which filled the Coffee Pun and reminded herself not to be nervous. After all, there was no reason to be nervous, she thought, I’ve shared coffee with Ruby hundreds of times. I’ve spent more time with that little dolt than anyone else in my life. Heck, I may have spent more time with her then everyone else in my life. Well ok, probably not everyone and at least half the time we’re together we couldn’t avoid each other even if we wanted to. Plus, counting the hours we’re both asleep in our own respective beds, even if it is in the same dorm, as time spent together is probably unfair. If we were in the same bed that might be a different story, Weiss blushed slightly at her own thoughts, but that’s still a long ways off, she added quickly to herself, the point is we’ve done stuff like this lots of times and I enjoy those times and there’s no reason this should be any different. Well, except that the whole point of today is that we do spend so much time together and I do enjoy it and it’s supposed to make things different. I wonder if that dunce even knows, as nervous as I felt she barely missed a beat when I asked her here just gave that giant adorable smile she gives and said “Sure!” ugh but that lame excuse I gave “I heard about this coffee shop that’s supposedly really good, I’ve been meaning to try it out and was wondering if you’d like to go with me just you know the two of us” I mean it wasn’t a totally made up excuse Velvet did say she liked this place and I have been meaning to come try it out but come on even Ruby has to have realized what I meant. I should have just come out and said it “Ruby do you want to go out on a date with me?” how hard is that! I’m Weiss Schnee heiress to the SDC and I can’t ask a girl out properly!? Ok, ok calm down this is fine there’s no reason to be nervous Ruby will be here any minute and…

Just that moment Ruby walked into the small building and any effort on Weiss’ part to remain calm or act normal flew right out the window. She had intentionally selected a table near the door so she could keep an eye on the entrance and quickly greet Ruby when she arrived. She stood and took the handful of steps over to Ruby giving a nervous “Hi, Ruby” and offering an awkward handshake in a gesture she immediately regretted making.

“uh heh hiya Weiss” Ruby answered equally nervously, accepting the awkward handshake with no more grace then it was offered with.

“I umm got us this table, if that works for you?” Weiss said quickly, trying to move past the awkward exchange.

“It’ll be great” Ruby replied with an only slightly forced smile and followed Weiss to the table. Each briefly occupied themselves with taking their seats, taking extra care to ensure the weapons each still wore sat correctly, as a means of buying a few extra seconds to gather their thoughts.

Finally, each settled into their chairs and looked up at each other. Silence hovered for a moment as each took in the other’s appearance and tried to find the next words to say. Eventually, Weiss tilted her head with an amused expression asking with a slight chuckle “Ruby, are you wearing make up?” Ruby never wore make up in fact she tended to show disdain for anything which was, as she liked to put it, “a fancy waste of time”. Weiss had taken time to ensure she looked good for her date, but it was also just a coffee shop and she didn’t exactly dress like a slob regularly so there was nothing special about her appearance today. She hadn’t expected Ruby to do anything special either and as far as Ruby’s outfit went, she hadn’t changed anything which only made the make up even more amusing to Weiss.

“Yeah” Ruby answered turning red “I mean a little, Yang made me! She was giving me tips on how I should dress all afternoon!” she added rolling her eyes “finally, I told her I wasn’t dressing up to go to a coffee house which she agreed to but only if I let her do my make up.”

Weiss laughed lightly and responded coyly “Oh and why was she so worried about how you looked?”

Ruby froze realizing she had backed herself into a corner she wanted to throw her hood over her head and hide but she forced herself to answer “Well umm,” she started nervously trying to think of some excuse but none came to mind so instead she answered honestly “because this is a date right? I mean that’s what Yang thought and uhh kinda what I think too.”

Weiss’ heart skipped a beat as Ruby actually said the words. It was silly really this was a date. It’s what Weiss had always intended it to be. It’s what she wanted it to be or at least she was pretty sure it’s what she wanted it to be. It was all theoretical until this very moment though, a set of plans she could brush away as just friends if she decided to but now it was there in the open there was no pretending it was anything else and no going back. Yet, surprisingly her terror lasted only as long as that missed heartbeat and she smiled back at Ruby with a confidence she hadn’t felt until just now “Yes, Ruby it’s a date.” She said “I’ll be honest I was as nervous about admitting that’s really what this was as you just were but hearing you say it just now. I’m really happy to be on a date with you.”

Ruby looked embarrassed still, but she smiled and the “me too” she squeaked back was an odd mixture of embarrassment and excitement. They shared a cheesy moment of smiling brightly at each other during which Ruby relaxed back to almost normal levels before asking “so… what now?”

“now we order our coffees you goof” Weiss answered

“Right!” Ruby smiled “I won’t say no to that!”

[recurring-polynya]

Writing/Art Update 6/14/19:

So, there is good news and there is bad news.

The good news is, I have been tearing it up on Between Tides lately. At the moment, it stands at just under 80k words. I have a handful of to-dos scattered around in Chapters 1 through 11, and then another 6-10 scenes between Chapters 12 and 13, including some soft stuff I am really looking forward to and have been saving for when I finish all the tedious plot parts. Also, I got a beta reader. This has been tremendous for my confidence and also for the general quality of this puppy.

So my plan is to complete a close draft of everything, as noted above, and then I’m gonna post it one part per week, where I take that week to do a good close read and edit of each chapter before publishing. It is honestly really hard to work on something this big, but I think this is the way to do it.

Also, I am 1/3 through a new art that I am firmly-committed to finishing by the end of June, for thematic reasons.

So, the bad news is that I am doing some teaching at work over the next two weeks, which will necessitate working a bunch of overtime, which I hate, and which bites into my creative time. Then I’ll be away for most of the week of July 4th for a family trip.

We’ll see how it goes! I am doing my best! In any case, because I feel like I’ve been leading you all on, here’s the extremely gratuitous and not particularly relevant prologue, ft. Hanatarou. Enjoy! It’s honestly one of my favorite parts of the whole dumb thing.

“Ummm,” Rukia twisted her hands together. “How did it go?”

Hanatarou looked up at the ceiling. “It went… good, I think. We dug out three organs that definitely didn’t belong there, replaced his liver, and he was missing a kidney, so we fixed that.” Hanatarou scratched his head. “Don’t ever let Captain Kurotsuchi re-grow your organs, I guess is the lesson here.”

“Are you sure you should be giving me this level of detail?” Rukia asked. “I kinda expected you to just say ‘good’ or ‘bad.’”

“Well, he did list you as his ‘next-of-kin’ on his intake form.”

Rukia screwed up her face. “I guess he didn’t know who else to put.”

Hanatarou blew air out of his cheeks. “He’s actually awake right now. The general anesthesia is wearing off. I’m about to give him this--” he held up a horse pill in a little plastic cup, “which is probably going to knock him out again for about 12 hours, and as soon as he wakes up, I'm gonna give him another one. You wanna see him for the only five minutes he’s going to be lucid for the next few days?”

“Okay,” Rukia agreed, following Hanatarou back into a private room.

Renji lay in bed, his head turned to look out the window. It was a cold, blustery day out, as good a day as any to be cooped up in the Emergency Relief Station. His shitagi hung open over his chest, which was swaddled with bandages, cut off by the sheet pulled up to his waist. His hair was loose and looked a bit of a mess. Rukia had seen him grievously injured before, covered in blood, bruised and battered, but here, in the hospital, all swathed in white, and above all quiet, it was somehow worse.

“Hello, Lieutenant!” Hanatarou greeted cheerfully. “Look who’s here to see you!”

Dazed, Renji turned his head. There were dark circles under his eyes, like he’d been punched. When he saw Rukia, though, a joyful smile spread over his face. “Heeeey!”

“He’s still pretty heavily medicated,” Hanatarou whispered.

“Hey, yourself,” Rukia said softly, stepping up to his bedside. “Hanatarou says they got all the weird stuff out.”

“I know,” Renji replied, a horrified look on his face. “They showed me. It was gross! Healers are so weird. Why would they show me?”

“What’s your pain level?” Hanatarou asked, ignoring these slights to his profession.

“A two?” Renji guessed.

“That’s probably an eight for normal people,” Rukia pointed out.

“Oh, I know. We’re using the Squad 11 scale for him. Upsy daisy, Lieutenant Abarai, you’ve got a pill to take.”

Hanatarou and Rukia helped him sit up, and he dutifully swallowed his pill.

“You should start feeling sleepy in about 5 to 15 minutes,” Hanatarou promised. “Do you want Rukia to stay with you until then?”

Rukia opened her mouth to protest.

“Yuh-huh, please,” Renji nodded earnestly. How could she say no to that?

“If he’s not out in 20, come get me,” Hanatarou informed her. He noted something on the pad of paper hanging at the end of Renji’s bed, and then bustled off.

There was a chair in the corner, and Rukia pulled it up next to the bed. “Can I do anything for you?”

“My hair’s a mess,” he complained.

She frowned. “What do you want me to do about it?”

“Gotta bag around here somewhere. Gotta hairbrush. Can you braid it for me? So I can go to sleep?”

Rukia hunted around and found his overnight bag, complete with hairbrush and some hair-ties. Perching on the edge of his bed, she started running the brush through his long hair, gently teasing out the snarls. It was very soft, silky even. How did it possibly stick up so badly when he had it in the ponytail? Did he gel it? Did he do that on purpose? She divided it into three parts, and started plaiting. Maybe not the best job ever, but it would keep it out of the way while he slept. His eyelids seemed to be drooping.

“Thanks, Ru,” he mumbled. “That feels nice.”

She looped the hair-tie around the tail.

“There, all neat and tidy,” Rukia said, setting the brush on the bedside table. She started to get up to move back to the chair, and on a complete whim, planted a kiss on his cheek. He blinked, surprised. “For going to Hueco Mundo with me,” she said pleasantly.

He screwed up his face, trying to look angry and mostly looking petulant. “I wen’ all the way t’Hueco Mundo w’you and had to meet Dondochakka an’ got my organs broke, I shoul’ getta kiss on the face. Mouth face.”

Rukia’s eyes went wide. The audacity! She glanced out the open door for activity in the corridor, but this wing seemed pretty deserted. She got up on one knee on the bed. “Fine, you cheeky bastard.” She took his face gently in her hands, and lowered her lips to his. The kiss on the cheek had been chaste and closed-mouthed, but this one was not. Even though she was quite sure he was about to pass out, he kissed her back soundly, eagerly. She slid her fingers up the lines of his jaw, scratchy with stubble. His breath was stale and his mouth was dry. She didn’t care. They had almost died and they hadn’t. They were alive and their friends were alive and she didn’t know what was going to happen tomorrow, but at least there was going to be a tomorrow.

His head was starting to get heavy in her hands, and she realized he was fading. Pulling away, she scooted the pillows back into place, and helped him lay down more comfortably. He was definitely having trouble keeping his eyes open now. He mumbled something she wasn’t able to catch. “Sleep well,” she told him, pulling the sheet up to his chest, and letting her hand linger on his shoulder. “I’ll see you soon.”

Two weeks later, Rukia stood by another bedside, and this time, watched a spiky-haired boy wake up instead of fall asleep. They spoke. He wanted to stand up and walk outside. They spoke some more. This time, it was not “I’ll see you soon.” It was “good-bye.”

[multimetaverse]

Andi Mack 2x23 Review

I was shocked at how pivotal Keep a Lid on It turned out to be! J*rus sunk and Juffy rose and a lot of other interesting stuff. Let’s dig into it.

Positives:

Cyrus’ crush on Jonah was always going to end with him either moving on or getting turned down by straight boy Jonah and I’m glad they went with the former. It gives Cyrus more control over his own life and shows great character growth. He no longer idolizes Jonah but cherishes their close friendship.

I thought J*rus would end closer to the end of the season but in retrospect it’s clear that the show had to sink the ship sooner rather than later. It’s been 10 eps since their last solo scene and they’ve only had solo scenes in 6 out of 23 eps so far (including the space otters dinner in what was 1x13). Terri talks a big game about the importance of momentum and it’s clear that Cyrus’ story line was being stalled until his crush on Jonah ended. 

I noted last week that the show was reaching back to S1 with Cyrus in the vest and we also got Jonah calling Cyrus, Cy-Guy for the first time since S1 I believe as well as a callback to their hug at the space otters dinner.. It’s a very deliberate choice and allows the audience to see the growth and change in their relationship, Cyrus no longer worships Jonah and Jonah has largely dropped his smiley perfect image.

I know some people are still clinging to hope but guys J*rus is over. It was never going to happen, not on this show and not on this network. Hell Terri probably never even asked Disney if Jonah could be bi because she probably never intended him to be bi. Cyrus’ crush was always just a plot device to discover his sexuality. And if you don’t want to listen to the show, listen to Josh, he’s very bluntly told us that J*rus is a dead ship. Take time to heal and then hop aboard Cyrus’ real romantic ship: Tyrus.

I felt a sense of vindication as Juffy rose, I got a lot of scorn for predicting after the 2b promo that Jonah was going to be Buffy’s crush. And so many people told me that the yearbook wasn’t connected to the crush or that she didn’t actually have a crush or that her crush was on some irrelevant extra. But here we are and Juffy is thriving.

I had a moment of doubt last week after learning that Jandi survives past the art show but after seeing 2x23 I’m confident that Juffy is endgame. And yes I’ve seen the extended 2x24 promo and I don’t think that her crush is on Walker. Will she talk to Walker? Almost certainly but Jonah will also be there and I’m sure she’ll talk to him too. I have other reasons why I don’t think Wuffy is in the cards but first I want to talk more about Juffy in this episode.

I’ve been beating the drumbeat about Buffy’s impending crush since 2x15 and until tonight I thought it would be a disaster but I actually think that Juffy will work very well. Buffy knows exactly how to communicate directly with Jonah, something Andi never was able to. It also makes for a neat parallel with 2x22 where Tyrus communicated well while Jandi struggled as usual. And in this ep we also get to see Ham and Celia not communicating well.

When Jonah came over and he and Buffy had their  brief banter it immediately reminded me of that easy chemistry Muffy had. Obviously the show never planned for Juffy but they lucked out big time that the actors have great chemistry. It can’t be ignored how touched Buffy is that Jonah thought of the unburied time capsule and went to such lengths to get her jersey and get the whole team to sign the ball.

And who do they bring up right after talking about Jonah? Marty, Buffy’s old flame. Buffy and the audience get a final bit of closure and it helpfully reminds us that Buffy was sure that she didn’t have a crush on Marty but later this ep she is very sure that she now has a crush on someone. And when she tells Cyrus she has a crush she specifically mentions that it’s new.

Let’s assume for a moment that her crush actually is on Walker. Why would she not want Andi to know? Andi already kissed Jonah and chose him before she moved away. Sure it might be a little awkward at first but Jandi is now official and Andi only went on the one date with Walker so it’s not like she has any claim on him. Jandi, Tyrus, and Wuffy would be neat and tidy but where’s the drama, the angst, the passion? And why would she say that nothing is going to happen? As far as she knows Walker is single, there’s nothing stopping a confident driven woman like Buffy from pursuing Walker if she has a crush on him.

Andi Mack is a tween soap opera and it relies on its twists and turns. I just can’t see what pairing Buffy would Walker would achieve. They’ve had one scene together and they barely talked. Sure the portrait was nice but what kind of connection do they have? And why would Buffy suddenly develop a crush on Walker after learning about the nice things Jonah did for her? And if Wuffy happens that means that Jandi and Tyrus are endgame so why is there a need to pair Buffy with someone? Darius is great but wouldn’t it be easier and cheaper for the show to write him off and just have Buffy stay single?

Which brings me to the big structural reason why I believe Juffy is endgame. Buffy having a crush was a late addition to S2 only because Marty left. If Marty stays then Muffy would have been endgame but with him gone Buffy doesn’t have a partner. Cyrus was always going to end up with TJ so he’s taken care of which just leaves Andi and Jonah. Given how linked Jandi and J*rus have been since the very beginning I think J*rus sinking means that Jandi is doomed soon, even if they make it out of S2 still together. And of course Cyrus has the swing scenes with his endgame partner TJ just two eps before Andi meets her endgame partner Walker.

I think Terri’s original plan was for Muffy, Tyrus, and Wandi to be endgame while Jonah remained single in S3. This would have been a great twist, sinking the two original ships of the show and removing Jonah, who was explicitly introduced as a love interest, from the dating pool. This leaves 3/4ths of the kids in relationships which the show can mine for drama. But once Marty left, Buffy was left without and partner and suddenly you have half of the kids left single which is difficult for a tween oriented show to pull off. And of course Asher’s star has risen dramatically since S1 and Disney almost certainly wants their hottest star to remain a love interest.

Terri has spoken very negatively about Jandi in the past and I can’t imagine her making them endgame unless Disney forced her too. But paring Buffy with Jonah solves those problems: Terri still gets her big twist, half of the kids wont be left without partners, and Disney still gets to market Asher as a romantic lead. Whereas if Jandi is endgame there’s no need to give Buffy a crush as 3/4th’s of the kids will still have partners.

We don’t know when the writers knew for sure that Marty was never coming back but it must have been by the writing of ep 2x21 by the latest as that’s when they wrote that farewell letter from Marty. Not coincidentally it’s also the ep where we get Jonah’s ‘’Buffy likes me doesn’t she?’’ line and we see him spring into action and get Buffy the perfect gift, something he’s never been able to do for Andi.

And Jonah has had foreshadowy lines like that before. In 2x18 he asks if TJ are Cyrus are friends and later that same ep he asks if Bex and Bowie are getting married. We know that Cyrus and TJ will be more than friends and we know that Bex and Bowie will get married so why not Buffy having a crush on Jonah?

We also got Buffy referencing arm wrestling with Jonah which led to their only significant solo interaction back in A Good Hair Day. It reminded me of when Cyrus referenced meeting TJ at the swings when he and Buffy were comforting Jonah in 2x19. The show wanted us to think about the swing scene and what it meant and the show now wants us to think about the arm wrestling scene and what it meant. Juffy at least has some foundation but there’s nothing to support Wuffy.

My guess is that we’ll either get a half assed denial from Buffy next ep that she doesn’t like Jonah or it won’t be brought up directly but Cyrus will keep needling her. And Cyrus knows very well what having a crush on Jonah is like and would understand why Buffy doesn’t believe anything will happen or why she doesn’t want Andi to know. Next ep is also where we’ll get Buffy’s ‘’you two look so cute’’ line delivered to Jandi at the spoon. What did Cyrus do once he realized he liked Jonah? Hid it and became the world’s no 1 Jandi shipper. Perhaps we’ll see Buffy do the same.

One last reason I believe Jandi is doomed is because Andi didn’t make a new bracelet she took the old one from her memory box (ie from S1). But just like Cyrus’ vest wasn’t a magic totem neither will the bracelet be the totem that solves Jandi’s problems. 

I also thought it was a subtle nod to digging up the past and a little hint that we’ll be seeing Gabriel return from Bex’s past (and memory box) in the season finale.

I’m so glad that they didn’t mention the stupid 2 months timeskip. Someone must have realized what a disaster that would be.  And the excuse for Buffy moving back was a lot better than i thought it would be.

I wonder how Cyrus will come out in the future. He can’t say he has a crush on Jonah anymore but he at least has the swing that way reference to use with Tj, or TJ with him.

Negatives:

Not going to sugarcoat this; we just saw Ham have a midlife crisis and effectively decide to end his marriage and abandon his family. Of course he’ll be back and the show will pretend all is well but no man in his mid 50′s leaves his wife and family to go on a months long solo trip unless his marriage has collapsed. A lot of kids will be turning to their parents tonight asking if Ham leaving means he and Celia will be getting a divorce.

One thing I’ve been wondering all season is why haven’t we seen Cyrus in his vest friend shirt? At this point I think Disney forbade it because it would look too coupley. 

[soldierplum]

Clarity

Clarity

Chapter 5: Selling 

Summery: She skipped her session for a break, while he skipped his for a breather.

Bucky x Blind Reader

“Are you sure...?” Mothers voice was out of tune, she was hesitant, out of the blue I suggested she lets me find a hobby and work the second she came to pick me up from my meeting.

“Without a doubt,” I stringed my confidence in a wave. She would surly let me do this, plus it’s an extra paycheck in the house.

“Why after four years-“

“Because the support group made me realize that my blindness isn’t my handicap.” I know lying was bad, and it was slowly eating at my insides making my guts wrench and my blood feel dirty. “A guy, Henry, he recently got a job and I thought if he could, why couldn’t I?” My smile must have been convincing, because she let the subject drop, but her uneven breathing made me think otherwise.

And it took us to get in the living room of our home for her to spread the news like mornings butter over toast. Her voice was... cheery, I didn’t know if I should hate her or love her? Hate her, for she’s favorable over the fact I’ve accepted my blindness, or love her for letting me prove my mystery man wrong.

With that pleasant note, brother and father were asking many questions, like what exactly was I interested in? It’s not like we see many blind people working on a daily basis. Non the less, I suggested an art group, maybe even reading a book for kids, I could memorize the words by heart the night before and read the kids while flipping the page. I loved both, and honestly going to the library on Friday early and having to stay longer was pretty much my cup of coffee.

Plus they pay, not that much, but it’s decent. Brother was excited, he suggested taking me this  Monday to the library to get that under control. Father, he was mostly quite, but the atmosphere around him was, light, and beautiful. I didn’t understand what I was missing until today, because today was- and I could almost say maybe- as great when I first met my mystery man.

“We’ll get everything done before this Friday so right after the support group you could stay at the library and read the kids a book, hopefully that wouldn’t tire you out,” Brother spoke, “I’ll come from work early to pick you up and see you on your first day-“

“No, that won’t be necessary-“

And that metal bucket of ice...? Yah, down my spine in mere seconds.

“Brother really- I feel shy enough as it is.” He laughed, and father joined, and mothers silent but humorous chuckles filled the void.

“Ohh, remember when we said that to dad when he wanted to take us down to our class in fifth grade?” Brother remembered, fathers boisterous chuckle turned into a cough, and yet, everything about this Friday afternoon was, absolutely perfect.

And Saturday came, Brother was called in for work later in the day, saying something about last minute ‘charity case’. The division had sent the wrong files down and the whole system was pushed back a few days. So brother, who he let slip, is one of the big guns with Tony Stark.

“Why did he call you and not his receptionist?”

He didn’t answer me, instead he just grumbled about how I ask to much questions for my own good. That sparked a literal light in my heart. I had forgotten about my mystery man because of this whole me getting a job thing. Oh man, I really wish I can get a job before Friday, I want my mystery man to be proud.

Brother had asked around his work about a art section that is hiring, someone called Maria, she had suggested a nice art group halfway around town that pay for people to help around, I think he said they paint and need inspiration.

Whatever the heck that means, if I could get past the groups leader then that means they would paint ‘me’ for money. Cash, because they don’t know exactly for how long they would want to keep drawing me. Apparently they don’t stay long enough with one human body to have a good paying system. Or a stable one that is. Non the less, he was a bit skeptical, saying that they could put me in weird places and whatever. But I brushed it off and begged him to let me explore.

So he agreed, albeit a bit annoyed. He says something over the lines of ‘who exactly have you been hanging around with,’ followed quietly by ‘your tong has gotten long.’ Whatever. I like to think my mystery man is a good influence to me.

Mother and father were the ones I need to convince, so I begged and begged and practically sat on my knees stringing facts as to why Brother should leave that small tidbit about my body for art.

Monday came and instead of shooting for the library, I was heading to the meeting across town to see the art group.

Mother and father were practically gushing over the idea of me helping kids draw... oh boy, brother and I sent the wrong message but whatever.

“How confident with your body are you-“

“She’s not standing nude, buddy.”

“That pays less, but I mean, how flexible are you?” The man sat across us asked, his keyboard clicking, and pen smudging stuff around his paper. “We’ll be drawing you for our portfolios ma’am, some of the guys and girls here are sending their applications to prestigious Ivy schools.” He commented, his pen making a clicking sound as if he’s very nervous. “We can’t have you back down on us all when one guy or girl asks you to do a pose and your uncomfortable.”

“It’s fine,”

“Some of the students might want a one on one schedule- that pays double the amount and in most cases, students would pay anything to have a mural for only them to draw, makes their chances of applying more competitive.”  The guys explained. I was head over heels, and holding onto brothers hand was my way of telling him to just accept.

We came out that afternoon smiling and chatting, my work starts early tomorrow. So brother had to drop me off before speeding back to Starks empire.

We came home around one or two and the house was empty, mother and father were at work and just as brother dropped me off he was called into work, he suggested taking me with him, that it wouldn’t take that long, but I didn’t want to see my mystery man and scare him off.

I didn’t know if I should or shouldn’t.

Should I call him and tell him, or should I just wait until Friday for the good news.

It’s not like it’s late or anything, plus everyone won’t be back until the sun would set. While debating with my self I had already grabbed my phone and held the home button waiting for Siri.

And I asked her. And she called. And I waited. And three rings after he picked up.

“Hello?” His gruff voice was surprised. I think he gave me his personal phone and not work phone. Non the less, I was scared to talk to him. “Hello?” He repeated a bit angry this time, other voices were on the other end, but I pushed through.

“Hi,”

It was literally silent for about a minute. Mystery man was probably moving aside because shuffling could be heard from a distance, as well as people shouting around orders.

“I’m sorry, are you busy?” I asked, suddenly breaking the silence.

“Yes,” his sudden reply threw me off. I knew I shouldn’t have called. Damn him. “Are you not coming Friday?” He questioned. Already anticipating why I called.

Oh god, I would hate to correct him- “Actually, it’s something else, but it can wait-“

“It can’t wait anymore, because I went outside.” Oh god, please, please don’t make him get angry with me for harassing his phone number.

“I just wanted to tell you I got a job. I start tomorrow!” I exclaimed.

He sighed. I know that sigh, mother always sports it when I say or do something wrong. So that gesture is always linked with a bad feeling, a very bad felling of a lecture coming on.

“What’s your job?” His tone was... light? Damn, I’m blind not deaf. So why does it feel like I’m both at this second?

“I’m a pice for art-“

“Your selling your body?” His reply cut me off, if his tone of voice was light a second ago it’s normal edginess is back hard core. “Those students would rip your body for all its flaws-“

“I don’t have flaws-“

“Your hairline is very uneven, you have freckles dotting your cheeks, your nostrils are not the same size, and your eyebrows are crooked.” He shamelessly stated. “You have flaws just like me, but to those students your practically ugly-“

“I’m not ugly-“

“I know your not, but to them you are-“ He was shouting now, basically hollering in the receiver.  “Some of the kids there would sell your body to a third party, imagine your face sitting in the living room of some dude-“

“Why are you angry?” I didn’t mean to say it, and I most defiantly didn’t mean for my voice to crack or hiccup while on the phone with him.

“Your fucking useless, instead of finding a good job you degrade your body by selling it-“

“I don’t want to talk to you-“ I interrupt, he had broken my spirit by a mere second. I was over cloud nine just yesterday. I couldn’t even sleep, because I was very excited. And now I feel like I want to puke out everything and anything.

“Of course you don’t because you don’t want to hear the truth. Go sell your fucking body, why not just try out for a stripper on your way down, I can assure you they pay good for a hoe.”

“I’m not a hoe!” I shout ending the call.

First day on my job... damn.

Mother woke up early, making Brother and I breakfast, I was told by Jimmy, the art group leader, to not eat a lot so I won’t be bloated. So I just ate a little here and there, while brother practically scarfed down everything.

His excuse...? “Tony won’t let anyone out of his sight, and was practically eating Steve and his buddy Bucky alive for ruing a mission.” He said everyone is very tense and angry around the compound. Brother said that Tony even gave him a talk about coming in a second late to work. So he’s dropping me off very early.

So, we drove and he dropped me off. I met the students there and they were very pleased that I made it this early, so they begun their suggestions. I was standing in the middle of everyone, for hours on end. Until lunch came rolling around and everyone scattered off.

“You have nice freckles.” His voice was distant. Yet there. And he sounded small, very authoritative.

“Thank you,”

“Would you mind if I drew you in private?” The man asked, his voice was like jade, “Nothing personal just your face, no makeup. I want to put it in my office.” He explained, “I just like the way you look.” He answered truthfully.

I nodded, and asked for the specific times, he wanted it to be tomorrow around noon, “I’ll see you there,” He whispered.

“I’ll see you too Steve.”

I went home that day with cash in my hand. The guy said something about five hundred. But I didn’t care, I wanted to prove my mystery man wrong.

Wednesday.  I called brother while he was at work to come pick me up and drop me off at the center. His call was rushed but he tried to act as if he was listening to me.

Brother pulled through. He did. I asked if his boss was angry but brother said that he still hasn’t taken his lunch break and this would count as his today.

I apologized yah, and begged him to get something decent in his stomach. He said of course.

I was dropped off early, and I walked in with the help of my old click clank metal rod.

Steve was a gem. And absolute diamond in the world. He begged me to wear my old glasses even if I was blind. I wish I could see his face, his smile must have rivaled the sun. Because he was so giddy I came in without an once of make up on.

“This won’t take long I promise.”

And yet it did.

At some point Steve asked me if I was enjoying myself. And I blushed. Just waving him off, having him hum a song had me cracking a smile every now and then. But he would quickly stop so I won’t change my face.

He was very specific about my stance. He wanted my face neutral. He said I had a nice face and, he wanted me to look in the distance. Just be natural.

He quickly took that back with an apology saying that he didn’t mean to offend me, but he just meant that don’t do any facial expressions. And I didn’t.

I forgot how I looked, but I begged him to get me a copy of that so I can I have it hung over my dresser.

He must be good at something considering he’s taken up almost half my day. And suggesting that I sit right next to him with my knees practically glued to his. I would even feel his breath fan my face a few times, the guy really wants details.

Not that it bothered me, he would ask questions and I would answer. And I would ask questions and he would answer. Oh god, if only my mystery man would open up to me. If only he would just be a bit nice.  

Right away, that damped my expression, I knew I had a fat off look with my mouth creasing and brows breaking into a thread. I haven’t talked to him since he called me a hoe- the worst part is that he didn’t even text or call or tried to do anything. I wonder if he’s even coming on Friday.

“Hey-“ Steve called. I snapped out of it and tried to return to being neutral. But he chuckled softly. Placing his warm wet fingers over my thigh. (Probably paint) “I want to continue this Tomorrow- is that fine?”

I wanted to apologize, because I thought it was because of me- that I didn’t hold my stance the way he wanted me to. But he was quick to catch on and hurriedly explained that- while I looked great, he saw it was metal challenging. Plus work called him.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Thursday- dammit! I forgot!

I completely forgot today was a Thursday!

I came back from Steve very tired. I went to sleep right away and woke up for dinner. Mother and father were singing jolly tunes around the house and Brother was impressed with the amount of cash I brought in just two days.

“Are you going to tell Henry about your job?”

For a second there I was confused as hell- who the fuck is Henry!

“-your support group sweetheart-“ she further explained. And I almost chocked on my food.

“Maybe,” I answered. How could I have forgotten...?

Steve... damn Steve. That man might just be the death of her, he was quite the distraction today. And he was quite good at it too.

“You should sweetheart, so the others can be inspired just like you were!”

Brother and father agreed. And their chatters continued around the table, while I was praying to god my mystery man would come, and have some sense knocked into him for saying what he said.

Tomorrow...

A/N:

Omg it’s been years you guys! I’m in collage and I love myself! Collage is so fun and I’m excited and classes are a blast! You guys! I love collage! (Lol wish me luck tho) next chapter coming soon :$ also credit goes to the owner for that art. But that’s how I imagine Steve drawing the reader.

I’ll tag people soon and edit my draft. I just wanted to put something up. 

[bigmacdaddio]

All Things Music Plus

sOchntfitgtoebSumedghrf 1pons0orS eagt 11me:1f8 dAsfhMd  ·

ON THIS DATE (51 YEARS AGO)October 10, 1969 – King Crimson: In the Court of the Crimson King is released.# ALL THINGS MUSIC PLUS+ 5/5 (MUST-HAVE!)# Allmusic 5/5 stars# Rolling Stone (see original review below)In the Court of the Crimson King is the debut album by King Crimson, released on this date in 1969. It reached #28 on the Billboard 200 Top LP's chart and #5 on the UK LP's chart.The album is generally viewed as one of the strongest of the progressive rock genre, where King Crimson largely stripped away the blues-based foundations of rock music and mixed together jazz and Classical symphonic elements. In his 1997 book Rocking the Classics, critic and musicologist Edward Macan notes that In the Court of the Crimson King "may be the most influential progressive rock album ever released". The Who's Pete Townshend was quoted as calling the album "an uncanny masterpiece". It’s astonishing to think that when this record was released in 1969 King Crimson had been together for less than nine months.It’s astonishing to think that when this record was released in 1969 King Crimson had been together for less than nine months.Aside from the impeccable musicianship, the record’s impact was helped enormously by Barry Godber’s cover painting. Commissioned by Crimson lyricist, Pete Sinfield, rarely has an album sleeve so accurately conveyed the shock-and-awe reaction which this extraordinary music produced in its listeners. Even the jewel-case format has done little to dilute its iconic power.It was Fripp’s idea to subtitle the album “An Observation By King Crimson”, which had the effect of framing the five pieces within an implied concept of sorts. Fripp also his suggestion that there be no print anywhere on the exterior artwork.John Gaydon, Crimson’s co-manager at the time recalls Island Records were worried about objections from retailers who would be confused about the lack of information on the sleeve. “Fripp said, well, it’ll be the only record in the shop without anything down the spine on it, so they’ll know which one it is. Which was brilliant when you think about it.”In light of this, Pete Townshend’s declaration that the album was “an uncanny masterpiece” seems something of an understatement.__________THE LEGACY of In The Court of the Crimson KingA life-long King Crimson fan, 40th Anniversary Editions producer, Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson offers his thoughts on the debut album.“For me this is the birth of progressive rock. Yes there were other albums before that. You could say Sgt. Peppers or Moody Blues Days Of Future Passed have a claim to laying down a blueprint of progressive rock but ITCOTCK really is the first time you have such technical prowess allied to musical experiments, great songwriting, and a conceptual feeling all tied together in one record.Greg Lake - Tea Party Boston, Massachusetts (October 30, 1969)I think musicianship is the key here. Bands like The Beatles and the Moody Blues attempted very ambitious psuedo-progressive albums before, but Crimson was the first time you had a band that were able to go that one step further in terms of their musicianship. They were young guys full of ideas and ambition and I really think you have to say that this is the true point at which progressive rock is born, and some would say never bettered.Some people snigger at the idea of progressive rock but for me when progressive rock was at its peak in the 69 - 74 period it was the most experimental, most credible, most ambitious music that has ever been made. The guys were reaching for the stars and very often got there."+++++ROBERT FRIPP:The impact of this group, featuring Fripp, Giles, Lake, McDonald, Sinfield, is difficult to convey 25 years afterwards unless one were part of it: something like the explosive impact of punk seven years later. A considerable influence on the musicians and groups of its generation, it is also the only Crimson which could have been a massive commercial success. Inevitably, it drew as much hostility as support.The only record from this period - "In The Court Of The Crimson King" - failed to convey the power of its live performance but hints at the intensity which characterises classic Crimson of any period. Contemporary ears might find the music part of another era unless they drop listening at the music and listen through it. The sonic landscape remains as bleak an authentic Crimscape as it gets. Neither heavy metal nor hard rock have been able to blow me away since I spent 1969 playing "Schizoid Man" and a mellotronic stroboscopic "Mars" throughout England and the US.My own perspective on Crimson is obviously rather different from the other founder members of the 1969 band. My impression is that they consider their Crimson to be the only real Crimson, a view with which I have sympathy but disagree. We would probably agree that this founding Crimson was charmed. There was something completely other which touched this group and which we called our "good fairy". After reflecting on how we went from abject failure to global commercial and musical success in nine months, I concluded after several years of reflection that sometimes music leans over and takes us into its confidence. This was one of those times.But we were also young men, too immature to handle the strains involved in rapidly moving from failure to international success. The group's birthday was on January 13th. 1969 at the Fulham Palace Cafe in London. It broke up in Los Angeles, December 1969.~ Robert Fripp__________COVERBarry Godber (1946–1970), a computer programmer, painted the album cover. Godber died in February 1970 of a heart attack, shortly after the album's release. It would be his only painting, and is now owned by Robert Fripp.Writing in the booklet accompanying the Epitaph box set Robert Fripp recalled “The cover was as strange and powerful as anything else to do with this group. Barry Godber, a friend of Peter and Dik the Roadie, was not an artist but a computer programmer. This was the only album cover he painted. Barry died in bed in Feb¬ru¬ary 1970 at the age of 24.The cover was as much a defining statement, and a classic, as the album. And they both belonged together. The Schizoid face was really scary, especially if a display filled an entire shop window.Peter brought the cover into Wessex Studios in Highgate during a session. At the time Michael Giles refused to commit himself to it, nor has he yet. But Michael has also never agreed to the name King Crimson. We went ahead anyway.The original artwork hung on a wall in 63a, Kings Road, in full daylight for several years. This was the centre of EG activities from 1970 and remains so today, albeit in its diminished and truncated form. For several years I watched the colours drain from the Schizoid and Crimson King faces until, finally, I announced that unless it was hung where it was protected from daylight, I would remove it. Several months later I removed it and it is now stored at Discipline Global Mobile World Central.”__________ORIGINAL REVIEWS FROM UK MUSIC PAPERSMelody Maker:This eagerly-awaited first album is no disappointment and confirms their reputation as one of the most important new groups for some time. It gives little idea of their true power on stage but still packs tremendous impact especially the brutally exciting “21st Century Schizoid Man” and the eerie title track, with its frightening mellotron sounds. It’s not all high power stuff though - there’s some nice flute from Ian McDonald on the beautiful “I Talk To The Wind” and “Moonchild” is pretty, though too long. The vocals are clear and controlled and the instrumental work can hardly be faulted. This is one you should try and hear.Disc:The first LP from the group heralded by those who know to be the most exciting discovery of the year. Get over the most horrific cover of the year and you’ll find the pundits are not wrong. A brilliant mixture of melody and freakout, fast and slow, atmospheric and electric, all heightened by the words of Peter Sinfield.International Times:The Ultimate Album. There is little one can fault with it: the arrangements make masterful use of multi-tracking, compressing and reducing, the standard of playing almost defies belief at the time, the vocals are merely excellent and the numbers are brilliantly and excitedly written.I don’t like one of the numbers, despite my total commitment as a Crimson-Bopper, which is ‘Moonchild’ and is too long. Otherwise a gassy, jazzy, heavy, complex, smooth and totally magnificent album: written, arranged, played and produced by the most original group since ........ (fill in your answers to Apple Ltd., Saville Row, London., for instance.NMEThe long-awaited first album from the remarkable King Crimson, a group which manages to provoke either loathing or fanatical devotion but which is undoubtedly capable of building for itself a sizeable reputation. This stunningly-packaged LP provides a varied selection of King Crimson’s style, although it lacks some of the drive of the stage performances that have made their name. Nevertheless, as a first album, it is extremely good.Daily SketchIf you want to know where pop is going in the 70s listen to this. It is magnificent.__________ORIGINAL ROLLING STONE REVIEWThere are certain problems to be encountered by any band that is consciously avant-garde. In attempting to sound "farout" the musicians inevitably impose on themselves restrictions as real as if they were trying to stay in a Top-40 groove. There's usually a tendency to regard weirdness as an end in itself, and excesses often ruin good ideas. Happily, King Crimson avoids these obstacles most of the time. Their debut album drags in places, but for the most part they have managed to effectively convey their own vision of Desolation Row. And the more I listen, the more things fall into place and the better it gets.The album begins by setting the scene with "21st Century Schizoid Man." The song is grinding and chaotic, and the transition into the melodic flute which opens "I Talk to the Wind" is abrupt and breathtaking. Each song on this album is a new movement of the same work, and King Crimson's favorite trick is to move suddenly and forcefully from thought to thought. "Epitaph" speaks for itself: "The wall on which the prophets wrote/Is cracking at the seams ... Confusion will be my epitaph.""Moonchild" opens the second side, and this is the only weak song on the album. Most of its twelve minutes is taken up with short statements by one or several instruments. More judicious editing would have heightened their impact; as it is, you're likely to lose interest. But the band grabs you right back when it booms into the majestic, symphonic theme of "The Court of the Crimson King." This song is the album's grand climax; it summarizes everything that has gone before it: "The yellow jester does not play/But gently pulls the strings/And smiles as the puppets dance / In the court of the Crimson King."This set was an ambitious project, to say the least. King Crimson will probably be condemned by some for pompousness, but that criticism isn't really valid. They have combined aspects of many musical forms to create a surreal work of force and originality.Besides which they're good musicians. Guitarist Robert Fripp and Ian McDonald (reeds, woodwinds, vibes, keyboards, mellotron) both handle rock, jazz, or classical with equal ease. Bassist Greg Lakes and drummer Michael Giles can provide the beat, fill in the holes, or play free-form. While Dylan and Lennon are still safe, lyricist Peter Sinfield does show a gift (macabre as it may be) for free association imagery.How effectively this music can be on stage is, admittedly, a big question. The answer is probably not too well. Still, King Crimson's first album is successful; hopefully, there is more to come. (RS 49)~ John Morthland (December 27, 1969)TRACKS:Written by Fripp, McDonald, Lake, Giles, Sinfield unless noted.Side one"21st Century Schizoid Man" – 7:21"I Talk to the Wind" (McDonald, Sinfield) – 6:05"Epitaph" – 8:47Side two"Moonchild" – 12:13"The Court of the Crimson King" (McDonald, Sinfield) – 9:25

[petalouda85]

Koi No Yokan, Chapter 7

Yay for a quick update!! I did not anticipate to update this quickly but I had a writing spurt and some intense procrastinating on my homework so here we are. Not sure if I’ll update during November as I’m participating in NaNoWriMo so my writing attention will be on my project and not my fanfictions. 

You can also read this on AO3

When he was born, he was cursed. Doomed to die at 18 unless he joined the Dark Side. Snoke is confident but there remains one threat, it coming in the form of a prediction made by one of the Jedi Masters: Ben would meet his true love on his tenth birthday and this elusive individual would be the only one that could awaken Ben from his eternal sleep

Hosian Prime was so much different than anything he could've imagined. He had heard stories from his mother over the last few days and he had seen the occasional picture of it but seeing it in person for the first time was an experience on its own, the stories and pictures unable to compare to actually being at the center of the Republic.

The desire to see everything was strong and the moment he landed, he wanted to explore the city. However, he decided to suppress that urge, knowing it would be so much better if his mother joined him and she wasn't able to join him right away. Before they had even landed, Leia had received a message that a meeting was to convene soon so they only had time to go to Leia's apartment, drop off their belongings and head towards the Senate Hall.

By the time they arrived, the meeting had already commenced but Leia's advisor informed her that she hadn't missed anything significant. Mother and son quietly took a seat, Leia listening to what was being said and Ben looking around the room.

It was filled to the brim with representatives from countless Republic planets, the room itself reminding him of the place used by the Senate of the Old Republic; it wasn’t an exact replica but from what he could remember of the pictures he had seen, the room was quite similar to it. After his quick glance around the room was finished, he tried to pay attention to what was being said, though he didn't understand most of it. The Senators seemed to talk about issues like trade, taxation and protection and on occasion something more drastic would be talked about but it all seemed minor to the teenager.

After about an hour, there was a brief break but once that was done, the meeting commenced once more, one Senator almost immediately asking for a chance to speak.

“Senator Aleksandrov, you may speak.” A dais above Ben and Leia moved and went to the center so all could see the Senator as he began to speak, his voice heavy with an accent Ben didn’t recognize.

“I am here to do to implore the help of the Senate. As you’re no doubt aware, the past year on Kievan Rus has been difficult, with political unrest widespread. I’m afraid the unrest has escalated and myself and thousands of others have found ourselves in danger of our lives. Not three days ago, the Czar and his family have been removed from power and have been replaced by totalitarian government, who have already begun in systematic destruction of their political rivals and any who they deem unworthy of their new government. Children are starving, many more being senselessly murdered or imprisoned for unproven crimes.” As he listed the atrocities, the other Senators in the room responded with gasps or shouts of anger. “Just an hour ago, I received word the Czar and his family have been executed on charges of treason.” That caused an uproar among the other senators and a shout of order was needed to silence them.

“What would you like the Senate to do?” The Chancellor asked the Senator.

“Send armed forces to Kievan Rus, get rid of the totalitarian government, and establish democracy.”

“Why should we send an army to aid a small planet like Kievan Rus?” Asked another Senator, their platform moving to be nearer to the Rus senator. “In regards to wealth and numbers, your planet is insignificant and not worth our time. Why should I or any other senator here bother to send troops to a planet ready to tear itself apart?”

“You forget that Kievan Rus produces some of the fiercest fighters in the galaxy and that we’re are in strategically placed location which would prove beneficial to whoever controlled it. Should the current government or the Imperialist movement gain control of it, any wars of in future could not prove in our favor.”  

“The Imperialist movement was destroyed on Jakku.” Another Senator interceded. “There are no more emperors, no more empires, no more stormtroopers or any other Imperial garbage. Tarkin is dead, Palpatine is dead, Vader is dead; there is no one left to lead any of the squabbles that remained.”

“Only a fool like yourself would believe such an absurd idea.” Leia objected, her dais moving forward as well to join the Senator in the middle, Ben feeling rather uncomfortable with all the eyes on him and his mother. “The Imperialist movement is real and a real threat to everything we’ve built. I say we help Kievan Rus, if it means that the Empire won’t gain a foothold on another planet.” There were shouts of agreement.

“Order!” Someone shouted, the room slowly falling silent.

“Senator Organa, Senator Tashow, your stances have been noted and will be reviewed. Senator Aleksandrov, I regret to say that my own forces are spread thin at this moment and I cannot offer you full assistance. However, if you would speak to me after this meeting, I’m certain will be able to reach an agreement.” With that statement, the three Senators returned to their respective spot, watching silently as the Chancellor moved on to the next issues.

“Do meetings always last this long?” Ben whispered to his mother.

“Sometimes. It depends on what needs to be discussed. If we reach the topic of the Empire remnants again, we will be sitting here for a while longer.”

“Because no one here can agree on what to do about it?”

“Partly that but also because destroying a political faction based solely on the difference of opinion and policy goes against the standards of a democracy. Many here also are unwilling to admit that the remnants are still a threat; they want to believe the terrors of the empire are finished. And those that do believe the threat are unwilling to act without Ge on their side. Just you watch, before this meeting is done, Ge will be brought up.”

Leia was right. The meeting was nearing its closing when a senator inquired about a message the Chancellor had sent recently.

“I have received a response to my message but it is no different than others: Ge will not join the Senate or open any trading negotiations.” Once more, the room burst into an uproar.

“This is all the fault of her Grand Vizier. That man is controlling the Queen!” Someone shouted.

“I say we attack Ge! They have insulted us and have been doing nothing but aggravate us. No more talking, no more negotiating. I say we end this now!”

“Order! Order!”

“Are you suggesting we go to war with a planet that is protected by a shield with a gate stronger than the one on Scariff with a military that has weapons and ships made from the very material you vie for?” Leia interjected when the room had calmed down. Her statement made even the remaining murmurs go silent. “We don’t need war with the Genians and any threat of military movement will make them even more untrusting of the Senate. The situation is already precarious; let’s not make it any worse. Whatever was said in the Chancellor’s message, I doubt they were the words of the Queen herself. We all know that all the messages send in the past were signed by the Vizier and not by the Queen.” Murmurs suggested agreement. “Our best option is to send someone onto the planet itself and speak directly to the Queen. If such a meeting can be arranged, I think she can be reasoned with.”

“Senator Organa speaks true.” Another Senator added. “We need to find someone who can talk to the Queen. They will be difficult to find, as they need to meet certain criteria, but I believe they can be found.”

“Senators, take a seat please.” The Chancellor said. Once all were back in their place, “I will search for a messenger to send to Ge. If there is nothing else to discuss, this meeting is adjourned.” There was a short moment of silence before the low rumble of conversation began and the senators began pouring out of the room. Ben rose to his feet but Leia was slower to follow.

“Your first senate meeting. What did you think?”

“That was insane. Is it always like that?” Ben asked as they headed out into the hallway.

“Democracies are always hectic. It’s a lot of shouting and a lot of debating and often it takes ages for an agreement to be reached.”

“What do you think will happen with Ge?” Ben inquired. Hearing the issues that the Senate faced with the planet, Ben was concerned, particularly for his friend.

“I don’t know. The Chancellor is not so stupid that she would declare war on them but I doubt that a messenger will be allowed to enter the planet if their purpose was known. At this rate, nothing will come of this. And even if a messenger is sent, I still believe nothing will come of it.”

“Because the Senate wants the clypsoate?” Ben had no idea what it was but he had heard it was extremely valuable and that the Senate wanting it was the source of the ongoing conflict.

“Maybe you should become a Senator.” Leia chuckled, “But yes. The Senate wants the clypsoate and Ge is unwilling to trade it.”

“What’s so special about that stuff anyway?” Before Leia could answer, they were interrupted by a guard.

“Senator Aleksandrov wants to talk to you.” They stated, giving an apologetic look for interrupting their conversation. “He said it was urgent.”

“I’ll be there right away. I’ll see you back at the apartment.” After a nod and a quick hug, mother and son parted ways. Ben watched his mother leave before he walked in the opposite direction, intent on exploring the building and look for views of the city. It was his first time in the heart of the Republic so he wanted to see the most of it before he returned to the Temple. He had no knowledge of when that would be but he figured it would be soon; none of his Masters approved of putting off training for too long.

Worming his way through the throng of senators, he eventually found himself on a balcony which looked over the city. It was a splendid sight and he felt nearly breathless from how different it was. Vehicles zoomed past him and everywhere he looked there were people, accompanied by the murmur of conversation and trade.

“Benjamin Solo. Seems like yesterday you were just a baby.” He turned around and found him looking at the Chancellor, the woman smiling at him.

“Chancellor.” Ben responded politely.

“Would you care to walk with me?” The teen was surprised with the question. After all, why would she want to be around him; he wasn’t exactly a major political figure, not like his mother was.

“Sure.”

Going back inside, the two began a slow stroll down the hall, the Chancellor acknowledging other senators as they passed them. Once in a relatively empty hallway, she began to speak.

“I saw you were present during the Senate meeting. How did you find it?”

“It’s very different from the Temple. It was… a lot louder.”

“It can be at times.” The woman chuckled. “One wonders how we get anything done with all that shouting going on.” There was a pause. “Would you ever consider becoming a Senator? I have no doubt that, with the right training, you would be as great a Senator as your mother.”

“I don’t know.” Ben answered. “I still haven’t finished my Jedi training and I’m also expected to rule Alderaan someday. Besides, I don’t care much for politics anyway.”

“I didn’t mean to make you feel as though you had to say yes, Benjamin.” She assured. “I just wanted to tell that I think you would make a good Senator.” There was another pause, the silence interrupted when she cleared her throat, “I may as well get to the point of all this: I wanted to ask you something.”

“What?”

“As you no doubt heard in the meeting, we’ve been having issues gaining direct contact with the Queen of Ge. It would seem that all my messages have been intercepted by her Grand Vizier. I was wondering if you would be willing to go to Ge and deliver a message to the Queen on my behalf.”

“What?” Ben stumbled out, stopping his stroll as he processed what he was being asked. “Why me?”

“You’re royalty, the son of two famous war heroes, the nephew of a Jedi Master but, most importantly, you’re an acquaintance of the Queen. They wouldn’t turn you away from the planet without good reason and you’re perhaps the only outsider that would even be able to get close to her right now. Furthermore, you’re not a member of the Senate so you would be more trustworthy in their eyes than I would. I’m not asking you to participate in a political meeting; all I ask is that you give her a message.” Before Ben had even an opportunity to formulate a sound past his bout of shock, another guard came near, speaking to the Chancellor.

“Chancellor, forgive the intrusion but Senator Tashow wishes to speak with you.”

“Tell them I’ll be there shortly.” As the guards left, she turned her attention back to the teen. “It seems I have to cut our conversation short. Think about what I asked, Benjamin. If you’re willing to go, please come see me.” With that, she left, leaving Ben bewildered with his thoughts.

----

“Ben, are you okay? You’re very quiet.” Leia asked when they were about halfway through eating their dinner.

“I had a conversation with the Chancellor this afternoon.” He explained, “She wants me to go to Ge.”

“To be her personal messenger boy no doubt.” Leia said, her tone sharp.

“In a sense.”

“Are you going to do it?”

“I don’t know. I would like to go, if only to see Paro, but being a messenger boy for the Senate and going to a planet where they don’t get along with them, I feel like I’m placing my head on a chopping block.”

Leia was silent for a moment, her expression telling him she was contemplating something. 

"I can't lie to you, Ben; if you went, that might be the case." She took a sip of her drink before continuing. "Ge does not have a clean history when it comes to the treatment of their enemies. Their relationship with the Kraal is notoriously violent and bloody and many stories circulate of what was done to Imperial officers that were unfortunate enough to get caught; each one gets more disgusting. Claims have been made both by the previous Vizier and the current one that the situation has improved and that hostile measures like that would not be made against Senators or anyone neutral but as we're unable to send any ambassadors to the surface to inspect, I question how truthful those statements are." She dropped her utensils and reached forward, taking his hand in hers. "I'm not comfortable with the idea of you going, Ben. Ge is played off as a paradise of sorts but their politics are ruthless and while you're not as dangerous to them as I am, you'd still be considered a threat to their isolation and much of what they stand for." She took a deep breath. "However, the last time I forced you to go somewhere I wanted you to go, it didn't end so well for you. I'll let you decide if you want to go or not. All I ask is that you think carefully about it and the risks. Can you do that? For me?" The teen quickly nodded in response, which left Leia with a smile on her face. 

Later that night, Ben lay in his bed, wide awake and staring at the ceiling. It was well past midnight but the boy couldn't find sleep. The proposal of the Chancellor had been swimming without stop since dinner time and he was trying to consider the best way to move forward with it. 

The first option was to go to Ge, deliver the message under the guise of visiting the Queen and leave as soon as it was delivered. Quick and probably the simplest method. However, such an endeavor would look suspicious. No one sane would believe the guise of visiting if he was gone within a few hours. Worst case scenario if he were caught: he'd be temporarily blocked from leaving the planet. Not a horrible scenario but it would probably be the end of negotiations between the Senate and Ge. 

Second option: same as the first but extend the visit for a few more days. That would lessen suspicion on him, given that he gives the message at the end of his visit and not the beginning. The earlier he'd give it, the more likely he'd be caught. 

He was then struck with a thought: what would Paro think of him being a personal messenger boy for the Senate. He had talked her several times over the span of the last six years but they had spoken very little of politics so he didn't fully know what her thoughts were of the Senate or if any of those sentiments he knew had changed. Should he give the message, she could either keep it quiet and look once he was gone or order him to leave and calling him the Senate's puppet or something. He hoped it would be the former. 

The third and fourth option would perhaps be the safest for him: don't go to Ge at all or go but don't give the message. He knew the third option was the one his mother wanted him to choose and the fourth one was the one he liked best. Thinking about his mother and her thoughts, his stomach sank: he’d be leaving her for who knew how long after only a few days with her. He didn’t want to leave her so soon but Paro he wanted to see too.

He thought about his options a little longer, giving each one last thorough look to determine his best course of action once and for all. Eventually, he made a choice. Reaching to his nightstand, he pulled out a tablet and began typing a message. 

Paro, is that offer to visit Ge still available?

[beauty-andtheblonde-blog]

Hello lovelies!

Do I have some things to share! For those of you who may not be familiar, RuPaul is an Iconic drag queen who started making the art of drag a more mainstream and widely accepted community through means of being the first drag queen to land a cosmetic campaign (with MAC nonetheless), raising money for aids research, and more popularly known- hosting shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race and Drag U; shows that bring “undiscovered” queens with unmatched talent into the spotlight. Ru’s empire has been growing consistently since the start of his career, so a convention seemed like the obvious next step and DragCon was born!

Overview

DragCon has something for every kind of drag fan, which made for a diverse crowd. Meet and Greet’s were going on all day for those of us who had specific queens we wanted to meet (stay tuned for my post about meeting Cynthia Lee Fontaine tomorrow!). There were also dozens of vendors with all kinds of padding, jewelry, and costumes for queens that were in attendance, and there were a few cosmetic companies and other miscellaneous vendors as well! OCC, Jefree Star, Sugarpill, Ardell, Alcone, and Ricky’s NYC were all there, so I got to pick up some staple products and play with new ones! Each queen also had their own booth to sell their merchandise in, and there were some companies selling patches, pins, artwork, clothing, and pretty much anything else you can think of!

I will say, it was so crowded. This was great for all the business owners and vendors, but as a guest, it was so hard to actually do anything at the show. Lines to get into booths were crazy, which is expected. The length of the lines didn’t bother me as much as the lack of organization did. The last event I was at that was as crowded as DragCon had very distinct lines and labels. A lot of our time was spent asking what line we were in, and maneuvering around a line we accidentally got stuck in. It was just so difficult to get into booths; even the ones that weren’t that crowded. I really just felt like I was getting herded like a cow. Because the queens who had booths were doing meet and greets in their own booths, instead of a designated area, the situation only got worse as more queens came out for photos. If there was a designated area for queens to hold their meetings and take photos, I feel like the show floor would have been a lot less congested and things would have moved more smoothly. This being said, please don’t take this as me not liking the event. I had so much fun.

First of all, you could tell that everyone in the ballroom was so genuinely accepting of everyone who attended, and everyone there had some degree of love and appreciation for the art of drag. Seeing this kind of love and coexistence in such time of political unrest and social discrepancies made me feel like there are still good people in the world. You could literally walk into this event and find every kind of gender, race, identity, and orientation. I would bet money on the fact that not a single person felt out of place  or underrepresented there. It always amazes me how the communities that are so often subjected to hate and discrimination, are the same ones to embrace whoever might stumble upon them.

As far as shopping goes, the booths I did some damage in on Saturday were Sugarpill, OCC, Ricky’s NYC, Strange Ways, Madame Whiskers, the DragCon booth, and Farrah Moan’s booth. Keep reading to find out what new thing I got to play with!

Day One- Shopping!

Sugarpill

The line for Sugarpill was bearable and pretty easy to maneuver; definitely not the worst line of the day! There was a show discount of about $2 per item. So, eyeshadow pans were $8 instead of $10, pressed shadows were $10 instead of $12 and so on and so forth. I picked up three eyeshadow pans and one liquid lipstick. I desperately wanted the shade Dollipop- a bright pink that happens to be Farrah Moan’s signature pink eyeshadow. But, unsurprisingly the shade quickly sold out. I did end up with Kim Chi (left), Velocity (right), and Poison Plum (center), as well as the Strange Love liquid lipstick. I definitely plan on using these shadows for day 2 so stay tuned to see what I come up with!

OCC (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics)

OCC was having an awesome show deal and there was no line at all! The staff was super friendly and welcoming, and let you take as long as you needed to play around with samples and decide what you wanted to purchase (I was definitely having some trouble deciding what color glitters I wanted). I ended up with two glitters, a liquid lip, and a lip liner! Spoiler, I use this blue glitter for day 2 as well.

Ricky’s NYC

Ok, I told myself I WAS NOT going to spend money at Ricky’s since I go there more often than I’d like to admit. BUT, in my defense, everything in the booth was 25% off. It would be a sin not to take advantage of 25% off in a store that carries Lilly Lashes and House of Lashes. Sooo that being said, I am a proud new owner of a pair of Lilly Lashes in the style Mykonos, and a pair of House of Lashes in the style Iconic! I was going to pick up a few Violet Voss pairs as well, but I still have three pairs that are still in pretty good shape. So technically I do have self control when it comes to eyelashes. If I didn’t have any self control I would have bought the whole lash display.

Strange Ways

This was actually the first booth I stopped at, and I’m so glad I did! They had some awesome iron-on patches, some pins (including two Shea Couleè exclusives), buttons, and stickers! I wasn’t originally going to get any patches, but then I looked down at the denim jacket I had with me and instantly changed my mind. I definitely wanted something pink to throw on the jacket, and the fact that the “duh” patch was both pink and sassy, was enough of a selling point for me. I also went with the NYC patch because that’s where the event was, and it’s my home-city! The two buttons say, “I don’t care” and “I’m perfect”. Because who doesn’t love some extra sass and a confidence boost with their buttons? Then, because I spent $20, I got the brands pin and sticker for free! Check out all of their stuff riiiiiiiiiiiiight HERE!

Madame Whiskers

I am such a sucker for earrings, and especially ones that are not your typical gold or silver hoops. Madame Whiskers had so many original pieces of jewelry, varying from huge dangly ones covered in glitter, to unconventional studs. Shocker, I went with something pink again; and something that describes my mood about 85% of the time. I was so stuck between these hearts and rose gold glitter coffins, so I will definitely be ordering from them soon. You can find their Etsy shop HERE. The companies Socials are on the business card below!

DragCon Booth

I was so happy to find out that event merchandise wasn’t super overpriced. Yes, $25 for a t-shirt was a little up there, but $2 buttons and $10 keychains, among other reasonable priced items made up the majority of the booth. There was a $200 bomber jacket and oh my goodness I was so ready to sell a kidney in order to own it. And I will say, the DragCon T-shirt might have been $25, but it’s not your typical cheap scratchy cotton blend. It’s super soft and light!

Farrah Moan

So, as most of the queen’s booths operated, there were two separate lines. One to purchase merchandise, and one for the meet and greet. In order to meet a queen, you had to purchase a piece of their merchandise. From what I could gather, this was a pretty common practice among the show. It was a little frustrating having to wait in two separate lines, I feel like there definitely could have been an easier way to move the process along. Even though I bought a Farrah tank top, by the time I got there she was already done taking pictures, which was also frustrating. Don’t get me wrong, the girl’s gotta eat and take breaks, she’s a person not a machine. I’m not angry that she took a break, I just feel like there should have been a better way of communicating that information, rather than waiting until you got to the front of the line to tell you that you couldn’t actually meet Farrah until tomorrow. The ticket I got worked for the next day as well, so again, I was more agitated that I waited in a crazy long line when I could have been doing something else. BUT I actually ran into Farrah outside the show while I was walking to the Port Authority. She apologized but said she didn’t have time to take a photo, again- TOTALLY UNDERSTANDABLE. She was really sweet and looked gorgeous, as expected.

Wrapping it up and Headin’ Home!

A few other miscellaneous adventures included the red carpet photo-sesh; totally necessary. We also stopped at the VH1 booth for a quick photoshoot and metallic bag!

Day one was a huge success! I got most of my shopping done, as well as anything that required a crazy long line. I was aiming to do primarily shopping and waiting around on day one, so I could relax a little more on day 2 and really enjoy the show, rather than wandering around getting stuck in lines,

Day Two will be up very shortly! Let me know who your favorite queen is, and who you hope to see on all stars this season!

Love and lashes,

Katy

RuPaul’s DragCon Day One- Definitely What Unicorns Dream Of Hello lovelies! Do I have some things to share! For those of you who may not be familiar, RuPaul is an 

[artificialqueens]

Black Leather Chapter 2 {biadore} - imafuckinglibra

Meow moew. Since the anon gave the thumbs up and you guys seemed to like it here’s another chapter. You ever wonder what really went on in the show between their little gazes and shit? Well here it is bitches. I have nothing else to say. K bye.

Dela ran into the workroom with a jump, kicking his leg into the air as Roy followed close behind.

“Wha-wha wha wha.” He sang in a semi-cheerful but still his usual grumpy self manner, after linking with Danny 2 days ago he was riding a high like no other.

Because they couldn’t see each other when they weren’t filming he hadn’t seen Danny again since. But the minute they got into the bus together and he saw that smile he was on top of the world.

He decided to dress as casual yet nicely as possible to look good for his new love. And he did look good in his black and white striped tank too and dark blue jeans rolled up at the bottom, if he does say so himself.

He couldn’t help grinning brightly when Danny followed behind him asking “What size?” In a nasally chola voice.

“There’s 6 of us!” Dela shouted followed by Shane entering with a high pitched “Yay!”

When they got to the table, standing around it in their usual spots with Danny and Roy at opposite ends he noticed Danny ogling him. He only noticed because he was watching Danny too.

He looked incredibly adorable, no pun intended, in his black tank, grey knee length jean shorts and black boots with the shin length white socks poking out.

“You look nice.” Roy mouthed in his direction, grinning widely at the way Danny quickly looked down blushing. The younger awkwardly mumbled something to himself about Roy looking nice too that nobody seemed to pick up.

“So what’s next?” Dela asked and Darienne made a joke about them doing magic.

This prompted Shane to start telling a story about being a ‘glamorous assistant’ once while Joslyn wrapped a disgustingly bright colored shawl around his head.

“…I was in such a contorted position that my right testicle popped out entirely.” Shane widened his eyes to emphasize how ridiculous the story was.

“Why do you have a rat testicle?” Dela asked looking very confused and slightly concerned for whichever rodent Shane had left scrotumless.

“My RIGHT testicle.” Shane clarified and the room erupted in laughter.

The loud siren signaling the new shemail with their cryptic clue for the next challenge went off ending their conversation.

“Oh! Thank god.” He groaned tilting his head back. Grateful to get away from the topic of rodent testicles.

Ooooh girl!

Dearly beloved…

From the corners of his eye he could see Danny’s displeased expression as he stood with his arms crossed and his leg nervously shaking.

He himself was standing between Shane and Joslyn with his arm resting on Joslyn’s shoulder. His mouth involuntarily dropping open at the marriage themed shemail.

The universe could sometimes be a cruel, unforgiving bitch and today was one of them. Of course the first shemail they got after linking would be something wedding related.

If this show wasn’t so intricately thought out months in advance he’d had sworn Ru and the production team were pulling some kind of bad prank on them.

Wait…Did RuPaul know? Did any of the producers or even the other queens know?

We’re gathered here in the presence of…yes gawd.

Suddenly it was if he could hear Danny’s thought as vividly as his own. With an open mouth he tilted his head in disbelief and confusion when Danny’s voice popped into his head saying some shady shit about Langanja.

Say I do…

‘I do.’ He heard Danny’s voice in his mind again and the sudden urge to smack his birthmark hit him. It was the only alternative to smacking his soulmate and scolding him for his loud thinking.

But he knew slapping his chest like a disgruntled cave man wouldn’t exactly read very well on camera or even to his peers. So he resisted the temptation and continued listening to the shemail.

“Uh oh.” He pursed his lips when Ru entered the room. He disregarded the cameras for a minute and gave the tall queen a very serious, shady glare.

Examining his every move in deep concentration to try and figure out if he knew about their linking.

Ru greeted the girls and they all neatly lined up like they did for every mini challenge. Why he and Danny had to be so far apart was an unnecessary mystery of the competition he now hated.

Even though they were only separated by three people, well Darienne counted for two, he could feel the pulling in his chest. Not bad enough that he was in pain like most days but still not pleasant.

He tried faking the biggest cheshire cat grin he could to play off the discomfort, but when he felt Danny’s heart flutter at the mention of marriage equality it made his flutter too.

“Everybody say love.”

“Love!” The girls chimed in unison and he could feel Danny’s eyes on him when they did.

Danny’s own uneasiness faded when he said the word, Roy could tell by the way his soulmate’s giddiness was easing his tension too. Despite all the bad of linking, like the first night when the rush of all Danny’s angst from his teen years overwhelmed him, being linked had it’s perks.

Like now for example.

It was nice getting to feel Danny’s gentle heart lighting up. His partner’s happiness made him happy.

“Oh scruff pit crew!” Roy singsonged.

The queen’s doing their usual little woofing at the nakes men entering. Roy decided to throw a little flair in and with his hands in front of his chest like little puppy paws he did his barking in the deepest voice he could muster.

Once the challenge was announced and Ru gave them the go the girls sped off. Danny with his gangly long legs of course was the fastest by a landslide. Roy meanwhile took his time half jogging over to the rack of disgusting nude body suits that hung in a row.

-

The mini challenge had left them all looking like a hot mess so afterwards they were promptly escorted to the bathroom to clean up.

Who came up with this shit anyway? Twerks of art? Really? It was a lot of fun though Roy had to admit that much and he did win which was a neat little bonus.

The production really went all out in spoiling their contestants didn’t they? A small bathroom with maybe, if you’re pushing it, three working stalls. Classy.

Shane and Danny had the most paint on them so by the time the others were done they weren’t even halfway. Roy took his time cleaning his face so he could wait around Danny a little longer and keep him and Shane company.

Eventually when it was just the three of them he couldn’t restrain his hands from moving towards Danny’s face, his thumbs brushing Danny’s eyebrows down. What remained of them anyway.

“Your baby brows are really fucking cute you know that?” He softly smiled, forgetting Shane was with them. But who cares anyway? He knew he could trust his friend. He was a cunt but a reliable one.

“Shut up!” Danny playfully whined giving his shoulder a light shove. “Yours aren’t too bad either. This is cute.” He tilted his head. His index finger tracing the little cut at the base of his right eyebrow.

“That’s where I’ve seen it!” Shane suddenly shouted. “When I helped you into that hideous shin length gown! The one with the low cleavage…ooh.”

“Birth mark.” Roy clarified for Danny when he saw the confusion in his eyes. Pulling the very low cut tank top Danny wore down a bit further to tap the moon shaped fleck.

“Oh. Party.” Danny shrugged it off and gave the hand poking him a little slap.

“I won’t tell anyone.” Shane winked at Roy who mouthed ‘thank you’ in return.

“We’re not keeping it a secret or anything.” Danny nervously added.

“I know?” Shane brushed his high pitched tone off and continued rubbing the yellow and purple paint out of his ear. Paint and small nooks never work out well.

“I mean we have nothing to hide right?” His wide eyed gaze flicked back to Roy.

“Calm down there spazzy you’re making me feel all…twitchy.” Roy shivered and gave Danny’s ass a small pat.

“About the whole feeling each others emotions, what’s its like? Can you actually feel everything he does?” Shane took a break to rinse out the stained cloth he was using and look at Roy waiting for an answer.

“I don’t know about you.” Roy handed Danny another make up wipe. “But I mean for me, it’s like…”

“Like when you’re in a dark room.” Danny finished his sentence.

“Yeah exactly…here.” He saw Danny was doing a shitty job cleaning the paint off behind his neck so he took the wipe and did it himself. “You know when the lights are off and you can make out the shapes and sometimes if your eyes have adjusted you can kind of see things but not exactly. It’s all pretty muffled but yeah we can feel ‘em.”

Danny nodded, giving him a quick peck on the cheek as a thank you for helping him.

“And I’ve always been pretty in tune with like, feeling peoples energies and stuff but this is pretty heavy duty shit.” With his face now clean and Roy helping him clean the spots he missed he rested his head against the shorter man’s shoulder. Peeking into his shirt to smile at the matching mark on his chest.

“Guess that’s why it’s called a gut feeling right?” Roy thought out loud. “When you were nervous for your black and white runway but you were acting so cunty. I knew you weren’t really feeling it because I got this almost…sinking feeling in my stomach. You know what I mean? Even though I was fucking confident about ours I could still feel your nerves making me nervous. And we weren’t even fucking linked yet, how that work?”

“Sounds exhausting.” Shane pouted.

“It actually feels super natural.” Danny tilted his head down to kiss Roy’s chest.

“It does. Although…earlier I could hear your thinking?” Roy remembered how vividly he could hear Danny’s snide remark about Laganja.

Before Danny had time to give an explanation a crew member came in to call them back into the workroom.

Since Roy had won the ridiculous mini challenge he had the privilege of assigning the brides to the queens.

Their main challenge this week, they thought, was to get brides ready for their wedding. What they didn’t know was that they actually had to turn their galant grooms into the blushing brides instead.

He had decided on playing it as fair as possible and assigned each person with a bride that looked similar to the queen’s look or personality. If he had known they’d be dragging up their grooms however he might’ve gone a completely different route.

What’s done is done I guess.

Roy still felt fairly secure-ish in his pairings despite the new twist right up until he saw Danny hunching over in despair hiding his face in his palms. His bride next to him making matters worse when she let out an “Oh no!”

He shook the uncertainty from his head and eased up a little once he was sitting down with his couple and discovered that he had actually picked the perfect pair for himself. They seemed open to just about every suggestion he made which got him really excited.

The bride even said she wanted a dominant eye AND a dominant lip. This was going to be fucking perfect and a whole lot of fun.

“Oh! You are my kinda girl Eddie!” His voice got higher with excitement.

As he was writing her comment about makeup down he lifted his head ever so slightly and caught Danny mid stare. The younger smiling at him biting his lip made him smile too. Classic giddy school girl looking at her crush moment.

“Busted.” He mouthed in his direction with his brows raised.

Danny stuck his tongue out at him and both resumed their consultations. Okay so he didn’t fuck this up too bad for him, that’s comforting to know.

-

“Well just so you know I’m not gonna hit on you because I’m not really recruiting. There’s enough gays in this world so…and now that they can get married you know it’s only gonna be a mess.” He joked with his groom…bride? Whatever, while they were working on snipping him some hip pads.

Following his comment the conversation turned to marriage equality and he soon discovered that his partner, surprisingly enough, was actually a really nice guy. More surprisingly that he had made a friend in this stranger.

Him. Roy Haylock. Friend.

His bride, Alex, was easy to talk to and seemed open minded and easy going enough that they just naturally clicked. They continued talking about Holland’s views on homosexuality and acceptance and somehow, somewhere along the lines soulmates came up.

He felt a bit hesitant to open up about Danny and being newly linked, mostly because they were being watched under such a strict magnifying glass that he didn’t know what the people around them would catch onto.

He didn’t even know if soulmates were allowed to compete together, Alaska and Sharon almost competing popping up in his mind, so he avoided mentioning his or even thinking of him.

His body betrayed him slightly though when Danny left the room for a smoke break. The sudden absence of his young lover sent the burning in his chest ablaze.

Automatically when Danny was out the building his hand reached for the little crescent moon shaped fleck on his sternum. Taking a deep inhale to try and push back some of the queasiness building in his throat.

“You okay there?” Alex must’ve picked up on the dip in his energy.

“Yeah I just need some water..heartburn I guess. Us old folk you know how it is.” He lied but he could tell he wasn’t buying it.

“A little trick I found that works is keeping a little like trinket or something of hers on me at all times. Just the reminder of them on you will help, trust me.” He whispered digging something out of his jean pocket.

It was two small leather bands braided together to form a bracelet with a locket. Probably with his fiancé’s photo inside but he didn’t want to be nosey and poke around.

“I’ll remember that.” He made a mental note taking a big swig from his water bottle under the table.

Alex held the big circular piece of foam he was working on up in front of their faces pretending to ask if he did a good job. Leaning in close to Roy as if he was examining it from a different angle. “So…which one? I won’t tell.”

Roy followed his lead showing some imaginary flaws on the padding. “Ol’ smokey.”

“Ah…hold tight.” He padded Roy’s shoulder and went up to a crew member, asking to be excused for a smoke break.

‘Didn’t even know he smo…oh no.’ Roy caught on to what he was doing. He was going to talk to Danny.

Fuck!

Roy debated running after but since he doesn’t smoke that would look too suspicious.

He returned his focus to drawing more guidelines on the foam for Alex to cut, distracting himself any way possible.

His distraction tactic apparently worked so well he didn’t even notice Alex coming back in a few minutes later. He did however notice when Danny had come back because the way the tightness in his chest had significantly subsided.

“Hold on to this.” Alex discreetly slipped a small piece of something into Roy’s back pocket. Hiding it by casually sliding his hand up to Roy’s back to pat it. “Back to work.”

He wanted to make a joke about Alex having done this before with something along the lines of drugs but knew if he acknowledged it they’d be caught. Thus defeating the purpose of being sneaky.

His curiosity eventually getting the better of him he reached back into his jean’s pocket finding a small piece of cotton fabric between his fingers. He rolled it around while examining Danny from head to toe trying to piece together what it could be.

In all honesty whatever it was it worked. Having his little piece of Danny had a calming effect on him. Normally in these situations where they were on opposite ends of the room he’d feel a tight, almost pulling, sensation in his chest.

But now he oddly enough felt, fine. The pulling was still there, he could feel it on Danny’s end as well, but it wasn’t that intense. It was pretty manageable actually.

It suddenly made sense to him why his dad had always kept one of his mother’s rings around his neck. He made a mental note to give Danny something similar of his as well.

They resumed giving their pale foam its ‘hair cut’ just casually chatting about Alex’s future wife. How they met, when they linked all that fun jazz and he couldn’t help but wonder if he sounded that tranquil talking about his own love.

Speak of the devil. He heard a loud thud from somewhere in the room. When all the girls looked up from their work in the direction of the sound they spotted a bright beet red Danny jumping up from the ground.

“What was that?” He asked with a chuckle while Dela and Shane were hanging over each other laughing their asses off.

“My shirt.” Danny lied in high pitched tone, the same one he used whenever he was lying.

‘Dead giveaway, moron.’ Roy scolded in his head.

Roy joined in with the rest of the room laughing at his terrible lying. “That sounded louder than a shirt, bitch.”

“…I was in it…” He nonchalantly admitted before his giggles got the better of him.

-

Everyone was back to being hard at work on constructing their ‘bridal wear’ for the main stage presentation.

Roy knew this would be a breeze for him, unlike the last challenge that he had gone into with misguided confidence he was genuinely sure he’d win this.

Making and designing clothes had been his thing since he was a kid so he definitely had this in the bag. He could make a dress in probably 3 minutes flat so making a simple wedding gown would be a cinch. Especially now that he and Alex had clicked and were working well together.

While he was hand stitching something onto his white satin fabric, easily adding intricate detailing with no effort at all, he noticed his love struggling.

“I hate it!” Danny sitting on the ground in front of him whined while he pinned something to the mannequin. “B…I need to make a skirt.”

He lifted his head from his stitching to see Danny pouting at him. He leaned forward across his table to see how bad It was and if he could help in any way.

“I just don’t know how to do it.” Danny was on his knees his with his big doe eyes looking up at Roy. His attempt at a peach skirt held in place with his thumb.

“Okay. So now you trying to put an overskirt right?” Since this was his forte why not help him out? The other’s couldn’t really question his motives for it since he’s helped them out so much in the past as well.

Danny nodded biting his cheek with a hint of a smile.

“Well pin it on there first and see how it looks.” He instructed with his tone soft and caring.

Danny and his bride went to work placing the patterned lace over skirt as he had told them to. Not needing to pay much attention to his work with muscle memory taking over he continued his stitching. Keeping an eye on Danny’s progress.

He wanted him to do good on this challenge not just because of the obvious reason but because he wanted the young queen to prove to the judges and the others that he deserved to be there. Which he did.

Granted the obvious reason did play a big part. Losing Danny this close to the end and right after they linked would literally be soul crushing.

He didn’t know if his heart would be able to survive being apart from him. Even just the distance of being in a different hotel room than him had taken it’s toll.

The day they had to spend apart was so tough on his body that he was curled up in agony the entire time, occasionally even throwing up because of it.

Soulmates weren’t supposed to be apart too much after they’d linked. It usually ended in pretty severe repercussions to their systems.

There’s a reason it’s called heartbreak for fucks sake. Many cases have been reported that after one soulmate dies their partner was soon to follow from their heart giving in.

Something about the muscles in the organ tearing from what it had to endure being separated. It’s what caused the searing pain, that he had attributed to heartburn, whenever they weren’t together. Long term separation or after death, without their soulmates, the remaining partner’s tendons in their heart would become completely shredded.

“Like that?” Danny asked still on his knees, proudly showing Roy what he had done with a big open mouth smile.

“Yeah.” Roy nodded.

Danny obviously wasn’t as confident as he put on though. He started loudly laughing with a very fake, nervous smile on his face. He looked like some psychotic movie character honestly.

“What are you tryna do?” Roy asked trying not to laugh at his idiotic young lover even though he could sense his panic. He couldn’t help himself, regardless of his smile being fake as fuck it was goddamn adorable. “You gonna have it open on the side?” He returned to being somewhat serious.

Danny defeatedly let go of his dress and threw his hand over his face. His head turned awa avoiding Roy’s gaze.

“I’m asking.”

He could feel Danny’s energy tank. With his hand still on his cheek he looked back at Roy with a very worried expression. “I dont know…”

Roy lifted his eyebrows in uncertainty halting the stitching his hands were still working on. ‘Baby…’ He thought to himself. ‘I don’t know how to help you…’

“Oh my god!” Danny cried getting up to attempt fixing his garment.

“Well you got this, bitch. C’mon.” He tried reassuring him and resumed the work on his own bride’s outfit.

-

Deliberation and untucked had both taken a severe toll on Bianca, even more so on Adore by the feel of it.

Bianca could feel every agonizing moment of self loathing, anxiety and the longing for her mom. Only heightened after Bonnie’s call in untucked. It was slowly eating her up inside, and this was only the parts of it Bianca could feel.

What Adore must’ve been really going through had to be about a 100 times worse. All she wanted to do was jump over Joslyn and grab hold of her love to tell her everything would be okay.

During their brides’ vows Bianca kept an eye on Adore and the way the younger queen was standing with a sombre expression and her hands clasped tightly in front of her chest.

Listening to the couples declare their love on the main stage made Bianca realize that she wanted to be them. She wanted to be up their with Adore instead of watching by the sidelines. To love and to hold in sickness and in health, tucked and untucked.

On their way out of the gold bar Bianca had stopped to grab Adore’s hand, giving it a tight squeeze to let her know everything would be okay - that she would be okay.

And who knows maybe it worked. The younger queen had put on another killer lip sync performance and sent Joslyn home. Thank god. She loved Joslyn and her, for lack of a better word, simple ways, but she loved her Adore more. With all her heart in fact.

“Top 5!” Courtney sang behind Darienne when they entered the workroom.

Adore and Bianca had followed them in last behind the rest of the pact since they had others matters to attend to first. They had cornered the AD before they were ordered to enter the workroom and explained their unavoidable situation.

They came to an agreement that suited all fairly quickly and pain free. They had gone up to him with an already well thought out plan, at least Bianca did, that they knew he couldn’t reject so they weren’t really expecting him to put up much of a fight. Still nice to know more drama was avoided though.

Bianca, being the more level headed responsible one, had brought up the fact that there were only two episodes left aka one week of filming.

They weren’t asking for special treatment or any benefits the other queens wouldn’t be getting, they weren’t even asking to share a hotel room.

All they wanted was to keep their relationship off the show. They’d be completely professional when cameras were rolling with the understanding that the crew would allow them to be affectionate whenever they weren’t, like when they were dedragging or getting mic’d for example.

In return they’d let them show whatever footage they did have at the finale and make a grand spectacle of it all if they wanted to.

Duncan, the AD, agreed to this on the terms that what they would end up showing when it aired would be tiny moments of them maybe looking at each other or Bianca being helpful. Nothing too obvious that they were an item but enough that would lend itself to fan speculation. Just for the ratings.

If they did catch anything more on film that was too telling they’d simply edit it out.

This seemed fair enough so the pair happily agreed and rejoined the others to film the walk in and Adore’s mirror cleaning.

“Congratulations to you young lady!” Dela congratulated a cheerful Adore. Probably a little too cheerful for someone who just lip synced but oh well.

Whenever Adore was happy, Bianca was happy…in theory. Something felt wrong, about Adore maybe? She couldn’t place her finger on it but something was up.

‘Right…linked.’ Bianca thought releasing a deep sigh. She still wasn’t use to feeling someone else’s moods and emotions. She was happy enough, certainly not unhappy about winning the challenge, but Adore was a different story.

Bianca was trapped in a pitch black room again and her eyes were having difficulties adjusting. She could make out an uneasy tension coming from her soulmate but she couldn’t place exactly what it was or why she was feeling that way.

“I’m the new Trinity!” Adore jokingly snarled puffing her arms out like a big buff wrestler making the girls laugh.

“You turned out that lip sync even though when you took of your shoes you looked a little like the girl from The Grudge.”

“Yeah I did.” Adore agreed with Dela’s comment.

Bianca couldn’t help still wallowing silently in a low mood as she watched Adore’s bantering with Dela. She made it look so effortless, as if this was genuine joy instead of a mask hiding a scared little boy. When Adore turned to her and spotted her frown her smile fell.

‘Shit. Busted.’

Before either could say anything Dela jumped in congratulating Bianca on her win.

”Thank you my love.” She followed Adore’s example and picked up her energy a bit. “I will send all of you a post card from Hawaii…because remember you’re my sisters.” She sang in her fakest voice doing her go to ‘smiling and then fake disgusted face’ trick.

One or two girls laughed at her expression but Adore’s face lit up, probably at the mention of Hawaii. She felt a sudden glowy feeling wash over her body. Yep…definitely Hawaii.

“Can I come with?” She excitedly asked making Bianca laugh. There was honestly nothing like seeing Adore’s idiotic face so bright, but that was probably going to be one of the moments cut thanks to their new arrangement.

Either Courtney didn’t notice their moment or she just decided to ignore it but she changed the subject to Darienne’s potty mouth.

Bianca opted to stay out of the conversation since it was just basically Darienne, the shady elephant, being shady. Shocking.

She spotted Adore rolling her eyes like an obnoxious bored teenager during Darriene’s comments and couldn’t help but snorting at her childish manners.

Being completely over it despite Adore’s silliness lifting her spirits Bianca swiftly ended their conversation. “Okay well, having my balls shoved up my ass is fun and all but can we fucking get this shit off?”

“Amen.” Courtney smacked the table and the girls all rose with various degrees of exhausted groans to go dedrag.

-

Managing to become Roy again in probably a new record speed for Bianca he slumped down onto the grey couch where he had pinned Danny onto a few days ago.

Originally Roy had kept his look for the runway simple enough so that he could blend in with his bride, Alex, and not overshadow him too much or put to much work on himself to finish anything elaborate.

Now however it seemed like the best decision he’s ever made. Less tassels and beads the quicker the dedragging. Thank you Jesus.

He was sitting on the couch distractedly fiddling with the little white handkerchief Alex had slipped into his pocket earlier. The same handkerchief he had gotten for Roy from Danny and the same one Bianca had used on stage in her little crying mother bit.

In spite of the fact that Danny had to stand on the other end of the main stage this small, seemingly unimportant, piece of folded fabric had made it possible for him to remain in control.

When Roy had started feeling the all too familiar gnawing in his chest during Adore’s critiques from having to stand apart so long he felt like following Joslyn’s bride and vomiting in the same bucket. Or passing out, which seemed more likely in that moment.

But while Michelle was saying something shady he quickly pulled out said handkerchief and rubbed it between his fingers. Much like his goddaughter Lola had done as a baby with her blankie.

God he missed Lola.

He couldn’t wait to get back to New York and introduce his favorite little girl to his new favorite little boy. Boy…oh god.

‘13, 14…14!’ Roy quickly did the mental math of their age difference. 14 years. Before he could start worrying about this, quiet frankly, unimportant detail too much his thoughts were interrupted.

“There’s my favorite little chola.” Roy teased when he heard clumpy boots heading his way, already knowing who is is by the sudden surge of butterflies in his chest and the loud stomping.

Danny had kept his face on, same as Roy usually did, which explained why he was done so quickly. Not that he had a lot of anything to take off in all fairness.

Danny took hold of the hand not playing with the fabric and as he sat down sideways on his knees next to Roy he placed it over his shoulder. “Hm…hi.” He half yawned half giggled.

“Hi my love.” Roy gave him a quick kiss drawing him in closer to his body with the hand Danny had so politely draped over himself. “No music today?”

“Uh-uh.” Danny shook his head leaning up for another kiss before tucking his head into Roy’s shoulder.

“Because we had company?” His hand had now moved to the small of Danny’s back. Running it gently up and down his spine feeling the tired young man melting into his embrace.

“Mh-hm.” Danny hummed. He was definitely falling asleep. Which was completely understandable I mean he just had to lip sync for his life a second week in a row.

“You’re a fucking child.” Roy chuckled under his breath. He looked up at Shane when he felt his eyes on them. He had a strange smile plastered across his annoying little face with his bottom lip out and his hands clutched in front of his chest. “Shut up.”

With Danny’s hand drawing lazy patterns on his chest around his birth mark and his head still in Roy’s shoulder the older felt at peace.

The opposite of the panic he thought he’d feel from being so open about their relationship in front of the others, might have been helped by some residual euphoria he was feeling from Danny though.

“Is anyone else seeing this?” Darienne shouted from the other end of the room pointing at the couple.

“It’s sweet let them be.” Dela chimed in in her usual gentle almost motherly voice.

“Yeah!” Shane stomped his foot.

“They look like…”

“Hey!” Roy aggressively snapped in her direction. “If you say one fucking word you nasty cunt so help me!”

“Adore Delano! Bianca Del rio!” Duncan came into the room with 2 other strangers yelling their names loudly. “We need to talk, follow us please.”