#promo

[sevenop]

Billie Eilish x Fem!reader: But I already have love in LA

A/n: 5,692 milli is the distance between calm nighttime Paris and sweltering Los Angeles, which almost makes Eilish howl like a wolf. A Paris promo in honor of the album mercilessly separates the two of you on an important date, but you find a way out.

Billie's point of view. 'Cause I like it.

"The person you are trying to reach is currently unavailable, please call back later," is the peremptory verdict unchanged over these endless eight hours, echoing coldly from a woman's voice on the other side of the handset. Not the voice I want to hear so much, not the timbre that makes my heart flutter so incredibly, as if it were your most expensive wind-up toy. Not your voice, absolutely not. You don't get in touch for such an ungodly long time, and I just diligently shut up the feeling of anxiety devouring from within throughout the day: a dark woolly monster grins hungrily with its wide mouth, loudly clicking its massive, fanged jaw. Each click is a new, painstakingly detailed picture in my head, causing hot anxiety. What if you're really lying helplessly on the hot as hell asphalt of LA, caught under the spiked wheels that tried to slow down with a soul-shattering screech? I know how hurried you are. What if you turned into a disadvantaged area, taking a shortcut, and now your lifeless body is lying in the nearest ditch, turning paler and colder by the minute? What if you just stopped breathing in your sleep for no reason?...

I take a deep breath, and the chains behind the monster immediately tighten with the deafening clang of massive links: it leaps, wanting to grab at me with its clawed paws, to pull me into the viscous pools of panic, but it still can't reach me. With a menacing guttural growl, its fangs gleam faintly in the semi-darkness, covered in viscous saliva. It's actually easier to contain my anxiety when my head is full of thoughts about the shoot, about the phrases I have to elegantly slip into the interviewers, turning their question marks into confident dots. It's easier when you're surrounded by a horde of people: security, staff, family. But when I'm in the silence of an insanely expensive French hotel, drowning in the uncompromising gloss of the surroundings, still perfectly styled and dressed in expensive dark clothes, coming straight from the shoot, nervous and clutching my phone in my hands with hope - it all becomes so impossible.

I'm dialing twelve digits again, just a little more and I'll be able to dial your number blind. "The person you are trying to reach is currently unavailable, please call back later." I lean back noisily on the cold silk of the sheets while that toothy, infinitely dark ball of anxiety laughs snidely. I check all the messengers, only to fling my phone away in a brief flash of anger somewhere upward, toward the ruched beige pillows: you still haven't been online in eleven hours, my messages unanswered. Fuck! It's becoming more and more like Jenga, where with each passing hour I take one wooden brick out of the structure and put it on top, making it even more rickety than before. Indeed, something has definitely happened, you couldn't just disappear from everyone's radar for no good reason, especially when today is our little celebration of a month-long relationship. There's five thousand six hundred and ninety-two miles between us, and the silence on the wire makes me want to howl. God, I'm going to go crazy...

Beep! It sounded like someone had thrown a grenade with the pin pulled right under the bed. I reacted immediately, but on the desplay is just a message from Fin in an endless string of unnecessary things. Well, better than nothing. Better than drowning in madness alone.

"Are you asleep?"

"No." How the fuck can I, bro?

"She still hasn't responded?"

"No."

The three dots bounce around again as my brother puts the right letters into words. Maybe I should call you again.

"Can you open the hotel room door right now?"

The restless gears in my head rumble to a grinding halt. Now? For what?

"For what?"

"Just open it, sis." - so unobtrusive and unexplanatory, followed by another gray block of letters: "You'll thank me later :)"

"Don't smile at me."

":)" - naturally, a smile. Damn Finn.

I dial you again and reluctantly get out of bed, shuffling my feet as if I were going to the lacquered scaffold under the shouts and whistles of the French Revolution crowd, but in fact only the thin tulle is swaying in the night wind, and the noise of rare cars, which enters the room so valiantly with the help of the open balcony. And here is the guillotine itself in the form of an oak door. I touch the gilded cold handle with the palm of my hand with pressure, and feel the massive blade whistling as it flies straight at my neck, severing my head. You're standing in front of me.

You look me in the eye and leisurely take the phone out of the pocket of your wide bard palazzo pants. Your accurate fingers finally touch the ill-fated green answer button before you bring the display to your ear. There's a slight, confused smirk on your lips, and on my end of the line there's finally the beeps and this mechanical female voice have finally died down. But it is still impossible to answer you, I can only stare at you in disbelief, as if you were a masterpiece that had escaped from the Louvre and had personally come to my doorstep.

"Bonsoir, Madame Eilish," your soft, purring timbre mightily shatters all anxiety, defeating the monster in my head. The only thing left were the massive chains of patience and self-control that held it back. You say what I've been longing to hear for these fucking eleven hours. You sound the way you've imprinted on my memory for the many hours we've spent together. - "A special gift exclusively for number one hundred and eleven."

I grab you into my hage, pulling you into the room in a flash. The door slams too loudly for midnight, but I don't care, you gasp, rustling a small package - I don't care, you babbling a hundred apologies for this frightening silence - I also don't care, girl. I don't care, I don't care, I don't care! I just leave a lot of barely visible lip gloss prints on your face, showering you with hot kisses, clinging to your lips with mutual hunger, making you almost choke, but I don't care! You don't pull away, just squeeze tighter, sliding down the wall a little. You're here right now, and the rest of it doesn't matter. And how can I take offense at you, when you have overcome five thousand six hundred and ninety-two miles...? At least not right now.

We calm down only when we reach the floor and settle down on the soft pile of the carpet. Your face now gleams beautifully in the warm light of the bedside lamp, your hair slightly ruffled either from my hands or the wind outside.

"I'm sorry." - You gulp in air with your mouth and repeat again, touching my cheek gently as if I were fragile Chinese porcelain.

"I almost lost my mind, Y/n." - I snuggle closer into your palm, finding the needed reassurance finally. - "But I'm so glad you're here now, my dumbass."

You chuckle lightly before rising to your feet in one merged motion, then gallantly offering your hand to me. My gaze first clings to the not-so-little bard stain spilling over the once flawless whiteness of your favorite shirt.

"What's this?"

"It's wine," you answer innocently as we walk to the back of the room, me holding your hand and intertwining our fingers, you holding the paper bag in front of you in your free left. - "I thought it unseemly to show up on a deep Parisian night and on our little holiday without a present. While we were choosing a variety with a nice elderly sommelier, he accidentally spilled some on me, for which he apologized for an extremely long time and stuffed a whole assortment of vegan sweets into the gift."

"Actually, it looks pretty good," I touch my hands to the damaged fabric where the wine petals had opened exactly opposite the heart. - "It looks like a flower, and it goes well with the pants."

"I told him the same thing, only in broken French!" - you laugh, sitting down on the bed. The package drops to the floor for nothing, revealing a dark bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, a corkscrew, and a dark blue box of obviously not cheap candy. - "Got a cup of any kind?"

"Only if it's cup after some coffee," the porcelain taps lightly as I hand you the cup along with the saucer that was on the bedside table. Drinking coffee at night is a little professional whim.

The cork easily yields to you under the spiraled steel of the corkscrew, so the generous scarlet stream quickly fills the porcelain cup almost to the brim, cleverly masking the coffee ring, which has already managed to imprint on the white dishes. You carefully pass the cup back to me, giving me the honorable right of the first sip. You already have a chocolate candy hiding behind your cheek. Sweet tooth.

You ask me about the past day, listening with incorruptible interest, you ask about the progress of the promo, about my dreams, I listening about your flight, about our first meeting, about Paris at night. We just talk about everything that comes into our heads, while the candy slowly runs out and the scarlet column of alcohol reaches the glass bottom of the bottle, and the bottle becomes more transparent than before in the weak light.

"You look ravishing, did I mention?" - My throat burns a little with the slight spice mixed with the flavor of currants and cherries, and your careful and transfixed gaze, albeit slightly cloudy from the wine, pleasantly burns my heart. - "Although, you absolutely always have that."

And I see you blush and your lips bend into a pleasant smile. When you're drunk, you're so sweetly embarrassed every time, like the word compliments are received by you, not me. Insanely nice. Insanely beautiful.

"Merci beaucoup, L'amour de ma vie." - in sweet, purring French, because you are a total provocation today, presented so elegantly and unobtrusively that I can't think of anything else. The chiseled collarbones are not only hidden under the thin fabric of the branded shirt, but also topped with a weighty gold chain. I catch myself thinking that you remind me of exactly this wine in the porcelain of the cup, which I want to sip leisurely, enjoying it alone. To taste you on my tongue is much more desirable than that cedar-currant flavor in the cup.

The bottle is almost empty, and you will soon begin to look like this pink wine stain blooming on your shirt. You giggle, shifting your gaze in embarrassment to the rich black lacquered wood that elegantly fills the bedroom space.

"Wow, is that a piano?" - so childishly naive, just to avoid my gaze. Gently I place the cup in your palms and then touch your chin with my fingers, turning you straight toward me. - "it's beautiful."

Along with the alcohol and fever rushing through my arteries, an absurd idea popped into my head, and it was an original sin not to realize it. I lean closer, deliberately slowly, though the knot of heat has tightened quite a bit. I like getting you so hot, Y/n, you'd know.

"It's beautiful, but it's only missing your nakedness," a languid whisper in your ear and you're already burning like a match. It's gorgeous. - "Shall we fix it?"

And you nod so obediently that even an expensive room in the best hotel in France and the same expensive wine are nothing compared to this one gesture. This will be the first time for you, the first time for the two of us, and believe me, I'll do everything I can to make sure that it goes well. I won't disappoint you, because all I really want is to drown you in a sea of pleasure. Think of it as my little gift to honor our date, like this wine.

×××

You moan so sweetly, and the only thing I really want right now is to seal your voice in a bottle so that I can open it later at any opportunity when you're not around again. You rest both palms against the shiny black lacquer on the closed top of the grand piano, standing with your back to the most elegant instrument and your face to me. You're standing completely naked, just a pile of clothes under your feet, and I'm already face between your thighs, kneeling. You grip the fabric of my black cardigan with trembling fingers, and like a whimpering child, you pull it on yourself. And it's so exciting to fulfill your little whims, knowing that it's still going to be the way I want it. I throw the dark, soft cotton off of me - a "storm cloud" glistens and shimmers slightly in the light of one dim lamp before falling to the carpet with the rest of my clothes. I'm completely naked now, too. Your lustful eyes dance on the ink of my tattoos, as if not knowing where to stop.

"Do you like the view too much, my girl?" - a grin, and you look away a little in renewed embarrassment. I touch your beautiful thigh, stroking it. "Hey, I like it when you watch."

And you watch again, only now you're looking clearly into my eyes, looking into the depths of my abysses, which for you alone are ready to serve not as destruction but as an unbreakable refuge. Your gaze is so focused, as if you want to dive in headfirst into my seas.

"I just... I just like absolutely everything, and I really don't know where to stop."

"So look, you can even touch me, as much as you want and wherever you want. You're allowed, Y/n." - I rise from my knees to push the banquette back to the piano again and sit down. - "Just for you."

And you explore, touching my skin with a gentle that the most distinguished musicians of classical orchestras will envy. Your hands outline my hips, my waist. You cling to my ribs with your fingers, then you stroke my shoulders and arms. I see a spark of delight in your eyes when you feel how the muscles are easily felt under the alabaster of my skin, while you reach to the very tips of my fingers, interlacing one hand in a lock with yours. Your other hand touches my chest, alternately slightly squeezing each one, and frankly speaking, it becomes infinitely difficult to breathe evenly. The same your hand slides over the stomach, heading to the bottom with like a sharpened arrow. Oh, my Goodness...

"Does that feel good?" - you whisper, touching two fingers to my clit with light pressure, alternating with circular motions. It feels good. Crazy.

So much so that all the words suddenly disappear from my head and stick in my throat in broken syllables, unwilling to form into something intelligible. I had to make an effort not to just nod like a silly dummy, chiseling out a single: "good."

You smile, feeling a gradual confidence, as if you're finally stepping on solid ground after the weightlessness of space, having been successfully rehabilitated. And I finally realize I don't have to hold back anymore. I can pull you close to me, rewarding you with a dozen deep, hot kisses, I can marked you with a bright hickeys on your neck, I can pick you up under your hips and lay you top of the piano cover with your shoulder blades, under which steel strings are silently stretched. While you're trapped in a haze of excitement, I can trace a path with my tongue and lips from your breasts to the bottom of your belly, where everything is burning Vesuvius flame. I can, I can, I can...

"It's so romantic in Paris, isn't it? Won't even try to compare it, it's all love everywhere." - I make the first quick stroke of my tongue and then pull away, hovering over your face again. You barely keep the back of your head from banging against the wooden lid, arching your back in longing. Who says I forgot to get back at you for my nerves?

"I don't know, I guess, but I already have love in LA." - You exhale so hotly, but you endure stoically. You realize you deserve it, yes. - "And I don't need anyone else."

My own heart begs for mercy on your account with a solid thump against my sternum, and I'm back down in a flash, repeating the strokes again, playing with your folds to the accompaniment of your moans. You're delicious.

And when you thrust yourself on my fingers so obediently, waiting for the denouement, which burns you to the point of shaking, and then you spur me with my back to the lid, hovering over me with intermittent heavy breathing, but with such selfless love in your eyes; when you enter me with two fingers sharply, but so necessary and precise, easily beating out moan after moan from my lungs and ligaments, that I really realize how suitable an instrument like a piano is for you.

I realize that I also definitely already have love in LA, in the form of you.

[pandaemoniumminiatures]

Hi all, I got back from UK Games Expo on Sunday - a fantastic weekend!

So great to spend time with good friends playing games, chatting and laughing. I travelled up with close mates and we stayed together in an Airbnb apartment which proved to be ideal (and far cheaper than us all getting hotel rooms!).

Our intention on the Friday was just to scope the place out and play some board games, which we did (though I did splash out on a paint set too), and very early on reached the Fighting Fantasy stand where I bumped into my friends Dave and Chris, which was great timing! It was lovely to chat with Ian Livingstone and Jonathan Green, and also Dan at Blue Giant Studios again and talk about the upcoming Fighting Fantasy Fest in September, the special miniature I'll be painting, and see that they've put my painted Bloodbeast on the box!

Ian also let me know that there will be a gallery of the FF minis I did for him in his forthcoming book, so that was an amazing surprise!

Another highlight was that I got to chat with Gav Thorpe and Andy Chambers and try out Zeo Genesis , their new sci fi skirmish game, which was a lot of fun - I got to take a free mech suit mini too!

I had lovely chats also with Bad Squiddo Games, Blue Giant Studios, Cerberus-studios, Realms of Tiberium, Moonstone and Louis Downs (Louis and I have been trying to meet up at the last 4 shows!), MODIPHIUS, Duncan Rhodes Painting Academy, and finally got to meet Man O Kent Games, Mike Hutchinson (Gaslands), Jon Hodgson Illustration, Lost Haven Art (who produced my logo and business promo material) The Thornless Rose, Rolltex Texture Rollers, and my friends Gonders, Julian Sparrow and Geordie Calgar who I know through Twitter etc. On the Saturday night, some friends and I had a big game of Grimdark Future One Page Rules, with Luke pitching his Ork horde against mine and Saul's Rebel Guerrillas:

A great game, very hard fought, and eventually the orks victory came down to one dice roll to see if a squig was shaken after losing a combat - it passed and so finished by contesting the objective on our side of the table!

Purchases...

I decided to mainly buy things I had been promising myself for a while, and take advantage of show discounts, so in an effort to divorce myself from Citadel paints, I got the Monument Hobbies Pro Acryl base set from Element Games, and a rechargeable lamp from Daylight, which will be so useful when I'm painting at shows! I also picked up The Art of The Miniature Painting Tutor from Warlord Games  because I had heard so many good things about it. I did get a few minis, but deliberately kept that to a minimum as I genuinely want to clear my backlog... (yeah, I know...) so I got a couple of brilliant new Halflings from Bad Squiddo Games, one of Duncan's Sir Coats minis, and after my painful experiences with those Anarchy stencils a few weeks ago, I was determined to get some diamond stencils from Steel Harpy!  Also, as well as the  Zeo Genesis mechsuit, I was given a free mini from the Onepagerules folks. And given all that, I'm actually not feeling too bad this week - I'm continuing work on the Striking Scorpions and I've finished the first five, with the others well on their way, so I would think they'll be ready to photograph later today:)

[cirusthecitrus]

Can I ask Entrapta and Hordak for the character ask meme?

First impression: with Entrapta, she caught my eye even before the show premiered, when I saw the promo art. I fell in love with her design right away, though i didn't care much for her character at first, just didn't get the hype. It is only after she showed her vulnerable side, when she thought her friends abandoned her (but we knew it was not true!), thats when I got invested. Tuned in for the drama, stayed for the purble mad scientist

Same with Hordak. Didn't care for the character, loved the design. And I loved it specifically because he looked similar to the demon characters from my original story I was working on with a friend at the time. The long pointy ears, the nose, the glowing eyes, the clawed hands and sharp teeth, they also have wings just like Imp!

Oh and I always loved his relationship with Imp, it was so fun to watch these two interact :3

Impression now: to me personally Entrapta and Hordak are the real heart of the show. They are both integral to the story, they're interesting and fun in their own ways and their relationship is simply the best thing the show has to offer. Plus their personal journeys are so exquisitly tragic, love me some good angst

They're both my lil scrunklies, my beloved chew toys, one of my fave evil power couples. Though I gravitate more towards Hordak, he got that melancholic sad doe eyes rizz. And older brother issues (hes just like me fr🤝)

Favorite moment: oof but there are so many. 'Imperfection is beautiful' and 'I am Hordak' are obviously in my top 5, but I also want to mention some other ones

From entrapdak scenes - the one where they chat while sitting on Hordak's throne, the one where Hordak protects Entrapta from the portal explosion and the iconic "What have you done to me?" scene

As for their personal moments, I still giggle at Entrapta's "Do I need to explain math to you?🤨", also I can't get over her soft hum and lil smile when she remembers her lab partner in the portal reality

And with Hordak, again, love all the scenes where he's so casually adorable with Imp, also s4 moments when he's being obsessed with Entrapta (can't deside between the blushing scene and the 'crying over her' scene)

Idea for a story: For Entrapta I've been thinking about an au where she gets consumed by the Island before her friends find her, turning into this scary powerful monster who still has some of her free will. And she either escapes the island herself, becoming a threat to both the Horde and the rebellion (but eventually she and Hordak save each other with the power of love~), or she stays on BI and has this emotional fight with Adora and Bow where she gets to voice all her fears and grievances, but in the end gets defeated and comforted

For Hordak I have this idea about him meeting another clone with the same defect as him. Maybe he was just fresh out of a pod, and his condition only took a toll on him after the fall of Prime. I imagine Hordak being so gentle and protective of him, giving him all the love and understanding + recourses he was deprived of. I also imagine him finally not feeling so alinated when he's around his own kind, like a black sheep among his "perfect" able bodied brothers, because now he knows he's not the only one

Unpopular opinion: Entrapta's trauma should've been treated more seriously and not forgotten right after the Beast Island episode. S5 felt like s4 events were erased from everyone's memory. Also, it should've affected Entrapta more. Again, where are the conflicted feelings towards Hordak? It was never established that she found out the truth about her exile, that Hordak was lied to and had no idea about it. And where are the conflicted feelings towards Catra? The more I think about it, the more I hate that dumb apology and the fact that it was enough for Entrapta to forgive her, after everything Catra did to her and her loved ones

With Hordak... those are not quite common, but it is still tiring to see some fandom opinions where ppl critique this version of Hordak by calling him a loser and a lame villain/character, because he's not "badass" and "threatening" enough and is bad at his job as the leader of the Horde. Cause like... that's the point. Hordak was bad at this because he was not suited for this role, he is not a leader and thats not bad/contradicting writing, thats just his character trait. He was only trying to mimic the only role model he ever had in his life, trying to fit into Prime's shoes and obviously failing at it, because he's not Prime. He was also programmed to be an obedient slave with no wants or ambitions, not a dominant power hungry ruler, and I can only imagine what it took him to become as powerful and threatening as he is in the show. He did not belong on that throne, not because he's incompetent/useless or stupid or a bad warlord, but because choosing to become Lord Hordak, choosing to go all this way to try and prove himself worthy to his uncaring god was,on itself, his biggest mistake, not the right path for him. The Etherian Horde is like that because it's existence was a mistake

Favorite relationship: romantic? with each other. Platonic? Also with each other, but also -

For Entrapta - her friendship with Adora and Wrongie (also Scorpia, but only pre s5 Scorpia, like girl what happened...)

For Hordak - his bond with Imp and his relationship with Horde Prime (i just love how tragic and messed up it is okay?)

Favorite headcanon: idk if a have a favorite, there are all sorts of hcs, so i'll just focus on a random one I like

I do find the idea of Hordak being creeped out and lowkey haunted by Entrapta's cat painting hilarious, but I also like to think that the cat was her real pet, maybe a childhood pet even, and by keeping the painting she honors the memory of her old friend

[comicavalcade]

SUBMARINER SUMMER SPECIAL: 85 years of Namor, 85 years of Marvel

Hello #NamorNation! Today is the 85th anniversary of Marvel Comics #1, the very first Marvel comic! Of course, this also means it is the 85th anniversary of the very first official appearance of Namor, the Sub-Mariner! So today, because no one demanded it, I rant in a special Submariner Summer 85th Anniversary Special!

(Marvel Comics #1, 1939) Namor was first slated to appear in a special promo giveaway for movie theaters named Motion Picture Funnies Weekly. The giveaway apparently never happened and the comic was unreleased. Bill Everett, the creator/writer/artist, then sold the material to a new comics publisher named Timely for their first flagship title, Marvel Comics, using the material from Motion Picture Funnies Weekly plus some additional pages which introduced his childhood friend and later love interest and eventual first wife, Lady Dorma.

Marvel Comics #1 had several stories in addition to the Sub-Mariner, including of course the original Human Torch, who featured on the cover and was an artificial man, The Angel (no relation), The Masked Rider, and interestingly, Ka-Zar, one of the few Marvel characters to get a DC-style Silver Age reboot, and who is still around in the Marvel Universe today, usually in the Savage Land.

Namor, though, was unique in several ways. For one, his people had a grudge against the surface, and specifically the U.S., because they had suffered a mass catastrophe at the hands of its explorers. So Namor was not just willing to kill, he was urged to by his grandfather, Emperor Tha-Korr, and his mother, the Princess Fen. Still, Namor would continually stop to save people along the way, and in Marvel Comics #3 had his first taste of the upcoming war when he disabled his first Nazi submarine and handed it to the Allies. This complexity of story lends him the status of superhero comics' fist antihero.

But that's not his only first. Superman had already debuted by now, of course, and was a roaring success. But as the famous refrain says, he was super-fast (Faster Than a Speeding Bullet!), super-strong (More Powerful Than a Locomotive!), aaaaaaand...could super-jump (Able to Leap Tall Buildings in a Single Bound!). It would be years before his status as a flying hero was cemented. Namor, on the other hand, is described right away as "An Ultra-man of the Deep...lives on land and in the sea...FLIES IN THE AIR"! (emphasis mine) That's right, true believers, NAMOR IS THE FIRST FLYING SUPERHERO! As he demonstrates in Marvel Comics #1, flying to catch up to a seaplane with his trusty winged feet.

And last but not least...he was in fact the first underwater prince in comics. He may not always be the most well-known today, but he was in fact the first undersea royal to grace the funny books with his super feats. Nothing against any aquabros, of course.

Namor would go on to great popularity in the Golden Age of Comics, getting his own comic (Sub-Mariner Comics) as well as continuing to appear in Marvel (Mystery) Comics, and later in All Winners Comics. He is a character with eight and a half decades of history, in thousands of comics, hundreds if not thousands of stories. He's had his own solo titles not just in the Golden Age, but after being revived as a character in the Silver Age, would again have his own solo, which continued into the Bronze Age, get another in the Iron Age, and whatever Age we're in now if that's even a thing anymore, to say nothing of a veritable horde of mini-series. But that's not all! He's also a core character in team books the Invaders/All-Winners and the Defenders, and had notable runs with the Avengers and X-men. The first flying superhero, the first comic book antihero, the first sea king. There's just a huge amount of material with the character and immense historical significance.

[Covers of #1 issues from his series in 1941 (the character had already been around 2 years at that time), 1968, 1990, and 2012]

[Founding member of the Invaders/All-Winners and Defenders, member in notable runs of the Avengers and X-men] Now, you MAY ask...why the X-men? OH, well...funny story. He actually has one more notable first: First Mutant (as that last solo book up there clearly states on the cover). But how could that be? Easy! Fantastic Four Annual #1, in which Namor leads an invasion of Manhattan, was published in July of 1963. In it, Namor receives this description:

The first known MUTANT (emphasis theirs!) of our time! For reference, X-men #1 was released that same month; in tried and true Marvel fashion, an existing character in their most popular comic at the time (Fantastic Four) was used to pave the way for the new kids on the block, the X-men! And so, Namor was in fact the first mutant character published by Marvel. And just so there's no misunderstanding, he goes ahead and appears not long after in the pages of X-men itself, namely issue #6:

So his roots with the X-men actually go back farther than many might think. Frankly, I could go on and on with the many key stories and moments and actions Namor has performed and participated in over the decades. He has other firsts, other moments of historical significance. But I will wrap up by saying this: the Test of Time is a longstanding idiom for a reason. Not many things are able to maintain the necessary longevity to withstand it. There certainly aren't very many 85 year old comic book characters around. And while Namor is not as popular today as he once was, his presence is still undeniable; a version of him appeared in the MCU in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2022, and there's a Namor miniseries being published right now. His appearances are still significant, in destruction and salvation, an antihero, the antihero, who stood before the rest, and flew before any other.

Godspeed, Sub-Mariner. Here's to 85 more. 🎉🎊🥳

[wisemins]

Starshine's new spring promo!

𝐻𝒾𝓎𝒶, 𝓌𝑒𝓁𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓂𝑜!

❁ཻུ۪۪ Carrd | Pronouns n such | Fandoms | Full F/O list | Pinned post

❁ཻུ۪۪ I'm Miya or Starshine, your local 21 year old "Oh my god how can you have THAT many f/os???" Autism on wheels mutual!

❁ཻུ۪۪ She/they/zhe | Paragirl | Bisexual, Demisexual, Ficto

❁ཻུ۪۪ Like I mentioned, I have an absolute horde of F/Os, please check my list (plus I can barely keep my carrd updated) because I am not comfortable sharing romantics or QPs, unfortunately! BUT! If you have tags I can block, please lemme know, or I can just look! I wanna make friends, and I don't mind blocking tags, so if you think I seem like a cool person, follow me! The only f/os I don't desire to block tags for and would prefer a simple block are any of my A.OT/S.NK f/os, those are my one limit in terms of romantics!

❁ཻུ۪۪ I'm looking to find more active mutuals who like to gush and talk about their ships! I'm always open to talk usually, and I love making new friends! If you need someone you can just gush to or talk about your self-ships with, I'm your guy! You never have to hesitate when reaching out!

❁ཻུ۪۪ Special interests that are currently manning the car: Poke.mon, De.sperate housewives, Ne.w Vegas, So.ul eater, The b.ear, and many more! I'm very focused on my team rocket loves right now in terms of headspace as well as my Desp.erate Housewives men!

❁ཻུ۪۪ A bit about me: I'm an artist, a small business owner, a huge music geek, a GAYmer, and overall a nerd/loser who falls in love all too often! I absolutely love making lore and figuring out my place in a canon! Furthermore, I love to hear about other's ships and lore! So if I sound cool, follow me! I also run the imagines blog @selfshipseaside, that's me!

[snowbellewells]

Self Promo Sunday: "Darkness Before Dawn (Leave Hope's Light On)"

This week's Self Promo fic is another older chaptered CS story that I am bringing back “out of the vault” lol ;p.  Though there will certainly be some angst this time around, there is also a happy ending - I promise. This one is a post-Christmas/New Year's themed one, and it takes place between the 4a and 4b timelines of the show (i.e. after the defeat of the Snow Queen, but before Gold returns with the Queens of Darkness) and diverges from there.

Summary: A lovely holiday season has come and gone, and Emma hates to see it end. However, much more pressing concerns quickly take precedence when she and Henry are in a wreck. Now the Savior is fighting for her life, and those who love her can only hope she'll find her way out of the darkness one more time...

*Also available on AO3 and ff.net, if you would prefer...

(I've posted all five parts in this Tumblr post for ease of reading)

by: @snowbellewells

i. prologue

Only three days after Christmas, and Emma Swan finds herself driving Henry back to Regina's where he will stay until New Year's Day. She can't help but feel that the holiday has passed her by in a flash, and she is loath to give up the sense of her first real Christmas with her family, and especially her son, around her. Though she is ridiculously grateful that she and Regina have worked out a schedule agreeable to both of them and Henry; now she is afraid that with Henry gone for several days, all the leftover bits of holiday magic, pure, innocent joy, and the light that might still be lingering, will go with him.

Shaking her head, Emma sighs as she glances across at her son in the passenger seat, lost to the newest app on his iPhone and luckily oblivious to her gloomy thoughts. There is no doubt in her mind that she is being more than a bit silly, but that doesn't make the feeling disappear. Realistically she knows that Regina truly needs Henry right now; he is the one bright spot in a horrible time of loss for the formerly Evil Queen. Emma doesn't want to begrudge the other woman what little joy she can find. Yes, Henry needs to spend the time with his adoptive mother, but Emma still hates to see him go, even for a few days. So much of Emma's life has been spent alone, with no one to care about her, much less be there to share Christmas traditions, and she feels a near-insatiable need to horde the precious moments now that she has them.

It has been more fun that she could have guessed taking Henry to her mom and dad's to help them trim the tree, watching F rosty the Snowman and How the Grinch Stole Christmas , helping Snow bake dozens and dozens of sugar cookies, both to decorate and eat themselves, and then passing the rest out to seemingly everyone in town. She wants to make the warm and jolly December evenings they've spent laughing cozily together last forever, so she will never lose the feeling of being curled up between Killian, whose arm stretches lazily along the back of the couch and over her, and her father, chuckling at Henry as he makes faces to entertain his baby uncle and exclaims over his presents. Emma knows they all felt similar emotions at times, like when her watery eyes met her mother's over the boys' heads and a lump rose in her throat. This year has brought her more of a holiday that she could have ever imagined having a part in as a cynical, unwanted foster child years ago. Killian's arms have tightened around her numerous times in the last few days, and she has known that he understands all too well from the life he had lived. Her father seems to find every possible moment to squeeze her hand in his, as if reminding her that they had always wanted her with them like this.

Without realizing it, Emma lets her mind wander and loses focus for the briefest of instants. It happens so quickly that cause or fault will never be clear. Emma only glances at Henry beside her for a moment; takes her glance off the road no longer that she would need to adjust the heat or the radio volume. Yet, somehow, they hit an unseen patch of black ice on the wintry road, going at full travel speed. The Bug skids, back end fishtailing out one way, and then almost up even with the front, putting the vehicle perpendicular to its original path on the pavement. Emma scrambles to right them, and Henry calls out a warning, but it happens too slowly and isn't enough. Their little yellow car shoots offcourse, seemingly flying from the road and directly into a pole at the shoulder.

Mother's instinct makes Emma's arm dart out in a desperate effort to shield her son, and she feels – with both hope and fear – some of her magical energy leaving her fingertips almost like second nature, in an attempt to protect him. It is the last thing she feels before impact, and then her world goes dark.

ii. the call

"Mom! Mom!" Henry snaps out of the daze he hovered in after the sudden stop and the settling of the car. He can see snowflakes falling thickly through the cracked windshield, and bitterly cold air is filtering in, though he doesn't remember it snowing before they skidded. If his mom had not told him the Snow Queen was dead, and actually hadn't been evil, he would blame the unseen ice and strange drop in temperature while they were vulnerable on her. It doesn't really matter now, but he is still trying to get his bearings and stop his head from spinning. For an odd second or two, it’s like he is in a vacuum; roaring in his ears and dizziness makes him off balance and sluggish, but when his mind clears and he sees his birth mother slumped over the steering wheel, a thin line of blood trickling down the side of her face, eyes closed, not moving, his concern bursts through the haze.

Henry realizes that she must have used her magic to cushion him somehow and didn't have time to do the same for herself. Yet, even as he registers what she has done, the air around him seems to waiver, flicker, and whatever shield she put in place weakens and fades, allowing him to reach beyond it and touch her carefully, worriedly, enough to see that she makes no response.

"Mom…can you hear me?" he tries again. When he still gets no movement or reaction, Henry begins scrabbling around in the seat, then on the floor, until he finds his phone where it has fallen in the confusion. Swiping the screen quickly, Henry calls his other mom, then his Gramps, in rapid succession – once he has gotten an ambulance on its way.

As far as the teen can tell, nothing seems to hurt and he is completely uninjured. The car is caved in clear to the windshield from where it smashed into the pole head-on, but his door isn't blocked. He can get out, but is determined not to leave his mom until help arrives. Whatever Emma did to shield him came at the expense of her own safety, and Henry swallows back both guilt and fear for her at that knowledge. He is momentarily glad to be alone when he feels tears welling in his eyes.

Reaching over the console to grasp his mom's fingers in his, Henry threads them together and forces himself to hope it will all be fine. Her skin feels cold to the touch, and his brow furrows in concern. "Come on, Mom. Hang in there," he murmurs to her fervently, leaning in as though he can assure that she will hear him. "Please."

For some reason, as the silence stretches on and Henry worries more the longer she remains still, he realizes who he has forgotten to call in his anxiety. Killian will have to be told and will be crazed with worry for his mom. How he didn't think to call his mom's boyfriend until now baffles him. Killian will be frantic to get to Emma, to help, to see that she is okay, and he deserves to be with her. Henry genuinely likes the reformed pirate. He has more than earned his place at Emma's side. Hating what he knows it will do to the Captain, Henry also can't put this call off. Dialing once more, the young man waits as he hears the phone ring two, then three, times before Killian Jones picks up, sounding half-confused, half-exasperated at the modern contraption in his hand.

His accent is clear through the wire as he asks, "Henry? What is it, lad? Are you alright?"

"Yes, Captain, I'm fine. Just listen to me, okay?" Henry swallows hard, not sure what to say, how to deliver what he knows will be an awful blow. Yet, one glance at his mom's still, expressionless face, and he knows he has no choice … Killian might even be able to reach her. Henry is no fool. Both sets of his grandparents are True Loves – and he sees something just as deep and strong, if not as clearly understood, between his mom and Killian.

"Aye, lad," the Captain's voice breaks back in to agree. "My apologies. I will simply listen then."

Henry draws in a deep breath. He hates having to put this into words, but then blurts it out in a pained rush, not trailing off until the end. "Mom and I had a wreck. The ambulance is on its way, and they'll help, but Mom hasn't woken up yet. She's hurt, and I thought you should know what was happening. …I'm sorry…"

Drawing in such a sharp breath it sounds like he has taken a physical blow, Killian is stunned by the news. His chest tightens at the mere thought of Emma and Henry in pain or danger, and his mind is already racing to where she is and how quickly he can get there, what he can do. Yet, in the next moment, he knows there is something else he must take care of first. He can tell immediately by the lad's tone that he is already feeling guilt at being alright when Emma is not, and also at having to be the bearer of such awful news. He speaks firmly, and with intent when he responds. "No, lad, none of that. You need not apologize. You did not cause this, and you should not feel sorry at being unharmed. I have no doubt that is how Emma wanted it. Understood?"

Henry nods reluctantly before realizing that Killian can't see him, then manages a begrudging, "Understood."

"Where are you?" Killian asks, already moving around his rented room at Granny's to throw on his coat and grab the grey knitted scarf that Emma had brought him just a few days ago with a gentle smile and concern that he would take a chill. He is already reaching for the door as he adds, "I'm on my way to you, just tell me the direction."

"Head to the hospital – that's where we'll be."

"I will see you there, lad. I'm starting off as we speak."

"Killian," Henry breaks in again, strangely sounding as if he wants to reassure his mom's boyfriend, even though he is the one who has been in the wreck and is sitting beside his unconscious mother, "I know you were there once. Remember, they patched you up, even though you'd been hit by a car. They kept my gramps alive when he would have died for sure in the Enchanted Forest. They kept me stable when I ate the poisoned apple. They'll help Emma too. They have to! She's going to be alright. Just…I'll see you there, okay?"

"Aye, of course, lad," Killian assures, hearing both the pleading note in the boy's voice and the need to have his hope confirmed. The pirate already feels himself growing more frantic every second, wondering just how bad it is, but he can still try to give her boy a bit of comfort before he gives into his own fear. Though he speaks calmly to Henry, the desperate thoughts are already swirling inside his head. 'What if she doesn't wake? ' His beautiful, blunt, brave sheriff-princess, and he might never speak to her again, nor see her lovely green eyes sparkle with mischief. Killian shakes his head roughly, forcing that line of thought away. 'Not again. Not this time. Swan is strong. She will come back to me.' Killian has to believe that he will not suffer the loss of someone else he loves; even his life cannot be so cruel. "I'll be there as fast as I possibly can," he finishes saying to Henry, hoping the boy will be somewhat appeased; it’s all he has to offer.

"Good. Come find Gramps and me when you do, alright? ... And Killian?" Henry's voice fades for a moment, then adds, "You be careful. Mom will need you when she wakes up."

~~~~~000~~~~~~~~000~~~~~~~~~000~~~~~~~~~000~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After hanging up the phone, Henry lets out a breath of relief. Things aren't really any better, but the part he had been dreading is done. He looks back over to Emma, covering her hand with his own still-growing one, trying not to dwell on the chill to her skin. "Killian's on his way. Neither one of us want to lose you, Mom. I know you've had to do it a lot, but keep fighting. Stay with us."

Soon he hears sirens blaring, and then his grandpa peals up behind them in the town's outdated patrol car and runs to the Bug, ambulance wheeling in right behind him. Next thing Henry knows, David is jerking open the door and crushing his grandson to his chest. "Henry! Are you alright?!" he asks, drawing in a sharp breath as he sees his injured daughter over Henry's head. The EMTs are already easing her out of the car and onto a backboard for the trip to the hospital, and all he can really do is clasp Henry to him more tightly and watch. He feels the boy shaking slightly, even as he tries so hard to be strong. As a father, he wants to ask so many questions about his daughter. 'Has she spoken at all?' 'Opened her eyes?' 'What made her lose control of the car?' But he holds back, comforting his daughter's child instead. There is nothing he can do to help beyond that anyway.

Easing Henry out and guiding him with a hand around his shoulders, David ushers his grandson into the cruiser, studiously ignoring the sniffles the teen is trying to hide. He rounds the front of the vehicle, sliding behind the wheel and immediately turning it around to follow the ambulance. Still, he brakes for a moment, making eye contact with Henry and holding it determinedly. "She’s going to be fine. Trust me," he vows, knowing he shouldn't make such a promise, but unable to believe anything else. His daughter has been through so much to find her happy ending; it cannot be taken from her now. He hears Snow's eternally optimistic voice in his head, telling them to keep hoping, and he will not do anything less.

Henry merely nods in acceptance of his words though, and silence settles over them again as they make their way to the hospital.

iii. keeping vigil

Killian Jones cannot turn off the fear that has overtaken his mind – the worries for her, and the feelings of helplessness, that there is nothing he can do for Emma. He spends the whole walk – more run really – to the hospital with his heart in his throat, feeling it trying to choke him, in almost as much agony as when the Crocodile had held the organ and squeezed it in torture. His heart might as well be ash without her.

Unwanted visions of Emma lying pale and cold, as Milah had in death so long ago on the deck of his ship, flit across his brain – vicious waking nightmares that he cannot seem to banish. It pains him that he is already thinking the worst, when he knows he should not. Just as he once told Emma himself, his Swan too is a survivor. She has been proving so her entire life, and certainly as long as he has known her. Still, Killian cannot quell the near-paralyzing fear; he has lost everyone he ever loved, and he will not survive the loss of Emma as well, nor does he wish to.

Upon reaching Storybrooke General, Killian barrels into the ER, searching for Henry and David anxiously, and finding them in hard, plastic chairs in the waiting room to the right. "Henry! Dave!" he calls out, rushing toward them even as he gets their attention. "Have you had any news? How is she? Can we see her?" He does not mean to deluge them with questions, or to seem frantic in front of her worried son and her father, but he must know.

"Easy, Hook," David cautions, reaching out to place a steadying hand on his shoulder, "take a breath. We'll tell you what we know, but it isn't much at this point. We're going to have to wait."

Killian gives a curt nod and does try to draw in a deep, centering breath. He dearly wants to yell at the Prince, to rail at him for his seeming composure and for telling him to wait on word. Emma cannot wait; he needs to reach her. Instead, he forces the words down, blowing out a tense breath, reminding himself that David loves Emma as well, and is trying to help. "Fine," he grits, making his voice as controlled as possible, though still aching for something to hold onto, practically trembling with the effort of holding his body still, to appear calm. "Just please tell me what you know."

David nods, motioning for Killian to take the empty seat between himself and Henry, after moving their coats off it. "Emma's car hit a patch of ice. There didn't seem to be any others on the route they were traveling; it was just a freak chance of nature as far as anyone can tell. It was cold and starting to snow, and it just happened. They were traveling at road speed, so it's really a miracle Henry isn't in worse shape too."

"No miracle," Henry mutters, looking at his shoes forlornly, bitterness in his tone as he interrupts. "She threw her hand up, used her magic on instinct somehow to protect me, and she let herself get hurt."

Realization dawns on the Prince's face, as if he completely understands something that had been puzzling him. He doesn't comment on his thoughts though, instead moves as if to get up and embrace Henry. Killian jumps in first, getting Henry's attention and making sure the teen is looking at him. "Henry, what did I tell you on the phone? You can't blame yourself. Emma loves you more than anyone else in this world. She would never want to see you hurt if she could prevent it. There is no shame in that. She is your mother and will feel that way whether you are 13 or 33. She would not want you burdened by this, that I know."

"Hook's right," David seconds, making sure that his grandson knows no one believes Henry could or should have done anything more than he has.

Henry doesn't speak to agree or argue, but he seems less angry at any rate, and Killian's worry finally urges him to ask David to continue with his news of Emma.

Sighing, David does as he requests. "Regardless, Emma sustained a serious blow to the head, most probably from the dashboard, on impact. She almost certainly has a concussion, and she hasn't shown any signs of regaining consciousness. They have her in a private room under observation, monitoring to make sure she doesn't develop any subdural hematoma that puts undue pressure on the brain. If that happens, they will have to go in to surgically relieve it…" The Prince's face is grim as he tries to explain what he has been told, and Killian does not like the troubled expression the royal's eyes take on.

"Let us hope it does not come to that, mate," he offers awkwardly, not sure how else to provide comfort.

They sit in silence for a time, until Regina arrives. She and Henry leave to walk elsewhere in the hospital for a bit. Killian is honestly glad that Queen is here; she loves Henry dearly, and has raised him. She knows as well as anyone could what to do for him and what to say to him in this situation.

He clears his throat once they are alone and asks, "Is anything else being done for her? Can we see her? Sit with her? Anything?"

David shakes his head, trying to dissuade Killian before he goes up against the doctors and the hospital itself. "Right now, they aren't letting anyone in. She needs to be in a quiet, non-stimulating environment. When the doctor spoke to me, they didn't even want her to have visitors. After that, Dr. Whale assured me he would see what they could do. He said that her pulse was slow and a bit thready, while her blood pressure was up, and that her pupils were somewhat unequal in size. Both are concerns if she doesn't wake soon, and could indicate her unconsciousness deepening."

Thankfully, David pauses to draw breath and let that much settle in. Killian honestly does not know how much more he can stand, picturing Emma alone and helpless in such a fragile state. He wishes to be at her side, even if merely to hold her hand. She might have no awareness of him at all, but if there is any part of her which senses that she is alone, he would rather believe that she could sense if he were near as well. Killian knows that Emma's father is about to finish giving him what information he has, and is steeling himself for it, when they are interrupted by Regina and Henry's return and the arrival a few moments later of a harried-looking Dr. Whale.

"Any news on Miss Swan?" Regina asks brusquely of the doctor, cutting across both Emma's love and her father. Her voice sounds sharp and matter of fact, but Killian senses more care under the surface than he imagines Regina intends to show. She may be here for Henry's benefit most, but over time the Captain has seen her come to hold a grudging respect for his tough, no-nonsense Swan. They are qualities the former mayor has as well, and appreciates in others.

Whale looks startled by this new person firing questions at him, but as the prince does not seem to object, he answers anyway. "Not much has changed since I spoke with you last. Ms. Swan has withstood a significant blow to the head and is dealing with a concussion as a result. Her unconsciousness is a serious issue and must be monitored, but is not uncommon with this sort of injury. As long as her pulse returns to normal and her other vital signs remain stable, we are cautiously optimistic that she will wake once her body has had time to recover. If she remains unconscious through the night, we will make sure she is equipped to receive adequate nutrition intravenously in the morning. She will also need to be watched for respiratory difficulty or inability to swallow. However, we will deal with those issues if they arise. In the meantime, I am prepared to allow one visitor at a time, as long as each visitor remains quiet and calm."

Emma's four gathered visitors assure him that they understand all he has said and will abide by his orders; then they are led to the room where Emma rests. Killian is more than willing to allow Swan's father and her boy to each take their turns before him; he is so relieved to see her at all. Besides, once he reaches her side again, he has no intention of leaving.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~000~~~~~~~~~~~~~~000~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~000~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nearly two hours have passed when Killian Jones is finally allowed to slip into the silent room Emma occupies and be near her at last. It is nearing 9 o'clock in the evening, and he knows he could not have stood being kept from her much longer. David has gone home to update and reassure Snow, who had stayed with the baby, and all three of them will be back bright and early in the morning. Henry has left as well, with Regina only minutes ago, surprising Killian by wrapping his skinny arms around the pirate's waist in a tight, wordless grasp and furtively wiping a silent tear from his face as he pulled away. "Take care of her, Captain," he had murmured lowly, making Killian aware that the lad knew his intention not to leave her.

"Aye, lad," he had responded in a voice equally low. "Have no doubt of that."

Moving across the room dimly washed in the moon's glow through the blinds, he tentatively reaches Emma and looks down on her before sinking into the chair nearby. For a moment, words are lost to him as he wonders how to reach her. He studies her beautiful, pale features, unable to stop gazing on her as his hand comes up to lightly trace over her cheek.

Speech seems pointless in the stillness of the room and her unflinching slumber. He only wants Emma to know that she is not alone, that she is loved, that he would do anything to bring her back. Bending to place a kiss upon her brow, Killian only whispers, "Darling, if you can hear me…please come back to us, Love. I need you. Your boy needs you. I promise…I will be right here when you wake." He threads his fingers with hers, leaning over the bed rail to keep his face even with hers, to watch in hopes of seeing her eyes flutter open again.

And so he begins the vigil he will keep, no matter how long, until she returns to him.

iv. drifting

Unbeknownst to Emma Swan, New Year's Eve dawns clear and bright, a brittle chill in the air, but a piercing sunlit sky overhead as well. Her son, her family, and her devoted pirate captain have all been waiting, watching, hoping she will wake, wishing each time a new sun rises that her eyes will open to see it and return to them. With a little one at home, David and Snow take turns visiting the hospital in the morning and afternoon while the other stays home with the young prince. As they do everything, the two royals work it out seamlessly between them, an unbreakable team. They set a routine of arriving at 7:00 a.m. – coffee and doughnut in hand for Killian – and never fail to carry on hoping, letting not a single moment of weakness show or a second of doubt that any day now their daughter will be awake to return their morning greeting.

Killian has not left Emma's side since he was allowed in her room that first night. One determined night shift nurse had attempted to shoo him out at midnight, but the words had died on her lips as she entered to find him seated at the sheriff's bedside – silent as stone, fingers of his one good hand tangled with hers, hook resting on the covers where the metal gleamed sharply in the dim light. He had raised a dark brow in questioning challenge, but had not moved or made a sound. No direct threat had been uttered, but it was clear he was not going anywhere without a fight, and from then on they had allowed him to remain.

Regina brings Henry faithfully as well, timing it so that Emma and Killian are not alone long after whichever of her parents has made the afternoon visit is gone. In truth, Killian is grateful for the company. He can only sit so long talking to Emma with no response – no twinkle of her laughing eyes, no sassy comebacks for his best witty flirtations – without wanting to beg her to return, to collapse to his knees, to give into the tide of despair he feels hovering in the back of his consciousness as each day and then night goes by with no change in her.

An IV has been put in, to get fluids and nutrients to her, and though he knows it was necessary, Killian feels a sense of nausea climb up his throat at the thought of her being so helpless, how much she would hate not even being able to feed herself or take a drink of water. His Swan is stubborn to a fault, not willing to give up an inch, wanting to handle all that life throws at her with her own strength and her own two hands. If she were aware of what was going on around her, it would be driving her mad. What really sends him over the edge though is the confirmation that she truly is not present with him; she doesn't know what is happening around her and she can't do it for herself. He continually has to push down the fear that she will not ever again.

After the first two days, it is determined that there is no further swelling or dangerous intracranial pressure. Continued observation reveals Emma's pulse and blood pressure regulating back to normal and her pupils' return to near equal size. Each note is received gratefully by her loved ones, but Emma remains in her distant, suspended state. Dr. Whale tries to caution them all that the brain has its own way and time frame for healing. They need to stay positive, keep visiting and talking to her. He assures them that he has no indication she will not come out of her coma once her body is fully healed and ready, but he also cannot explain to them why it has not already occurred.

A feeding tube is mentioned on the night Emma has been in the hospital a week, and Killian is more relieved than words can say when her father protests rather strongly, asking them to give her a day or two more to wake up before taking that step. The process would not have driven Killian away; he would have been there at her side, squeezing her hand in his, trying to offer her comfort whether Emma was aware of it or not, but seeing plastic tubing forced down his love's throat while she is unaware and can't fight back or speak for herself on the matter – even if it is meant to help her – seems somehow cruel and barbaric to him. Killian honestly is not sure he has the resolve to stand by and allow it without falling apart, much less to be present and watch.

Gradually, with his extended constant presence, the former pirate has grown on Emma's two regular nurses. Though both the day and night nurses had been disapproving at first of this dark, forbidding man disregarding all their rules and haunting their halls, his obvious devotion, his desire to do anything he could to help, and his charming nature had won them over. The day nurse now greets him as she arrives each morning, giving him a maternal smile and encouraging his hope by asking if there has been any change in Emma over the night. The night nurse has more than once covered him with a blanket upon her arrival, finding him asleep in the chair right next to Emma's bed. She cannot help but admire a man who loves that deeply and holds on so tightly; she finds herself anxiously awaiting their little town's sheriff waking to see who she has in her corner.

As Emma's unconsciousness stretches beyond a week, and then two, the hospital staff watches more carefully than ever for respiratory distress. Due to her inability to swallow, they begin suctioning her mouth and trachea when necessary, wanting to prevent any chance of aspiration. After failing to get Killian to leave while the procedure is accomplished, they show him how Emma must first be turned to lie on her side, and he then gently holds her in place while they carry out their task. Emma's pirate remains undeterred by anything she needs from him, only wanting to aid in her comfort, to do anything that might help, might keep her safe until she returns to them. His hands are steadying on her shoulders; he can tell that even unawares the suctioning must cause discomfort from the crinkle that forms between her brows, which he lovingly smoothes with a tender touch. He aches to take the distress from her, and so he watches over her religiously, brushing her hair back from her clammy forehead, watching for even the tiniest hint of movement.

Once all visitors and staff have cleared out for the night and they are alone again, that is when Killian Jones can do nothing more than pull the blankets back over her, take her hand once more, kiss her palm, and whisper to her. "Come, Love, surely you've had more than enough of this. Open your eyes, Darling…please. I am not giving up on you. I know you can find your way back. You are too stubborn by half to let this beat you. This…cannot…be your end."

It is only then, as darkness falls in the middle of the night, the halls are quiet, and Killian is sure no one will see, that he lets his strength crumble. His weeping is silent and fleeting, but his shoulders shake, unable to throw off the fear that his princess has finally gone where he cannot follow.

~~~~~~000~~~~~~~000~~~~~~~~~~~000~~~~~~~~~~0000~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emma feels as though she is swimming through a hazy dream world, floating unaware and unconcerned by any of the worries, any of the cares that normally tie her down. She feels no pressure, no impending doom from some new villain, no worry over whether she is doing right by her son, spending enough time with her new baby brother and her parents, serving her newfound home as both sheriff and princess the way all expect of her. No sounds disturb the easy quiet surrounding her, wrapping her up like a warm, soft blanket. It almost feels as though she could close her eyes and sleep for hours, days even, and it wouldn't matter at all. There would be nothing to stop her.

As quickly as that thought comes though, her calm is somehow shaken by a tremor of fear. Sleep for days? No one there to notice or worry about her? No sounds, nothing to see, nothing to do? Something isn't right, and on the heels of that realization comes the awareness that she cannot seem to open her eyes to see where she is or what is happening. She cannot make her arms and legs move or respond to her gradually growing distress. Emma wants to open her mouth to cry out, but her lips don't part and no sound escapes. The cozy grey haze that had seemed so comforting mere moments ago has become a thickening fog strangling her and pulling her down into its depths.

A soothing croon breaks through the darkness surrounding her. Emma cannot immediately place the speaker, but she knows instinctively that this is a voice she loves, a voice she feels comforted by amidst the nothingness surrounding her. "Open your eyes, Darling…please…" the lilting voice pleads, and desperately, painstakingly, with every bit of determination and energy she came muster, Emma moves toward that sound – or at least she attempts to. She surfaces from the sea of swirling fog and finally opens her eyes.

v. welcome back, love

Joyous pandemonium is not an exaggeration for the scene in Emma's room just an hour after her waking. Despite Dr. Whale and the nurses' repeated cautions that they are still in a hospital, that the other patients should not be disturbed, and that Emma should not be overexcited after being unconscious for so long, Emma's family can't help their enthusiasm and relief. Henry is unable to cease motion; one moment he practically bounces on the balls of his feet at the foot of her bed, and the next he shuttles forward to hug her again, as tightly as he dares, and then backs away as if afraid he will break her.

For her own part, Emma never wants her son to let go, but she is still dazed and can barely speak around the lump in her throat, so she wordlessly lets him do as he will. She catches Regina's eye over his head more than once, and though the queen only gives her a silent nod of understanding, Emma senses that even her former adversary is relieved at her return. David keeps bringing her water, trying to smuggle snacks to her, and pestering her for anything else she might need which he can fetch. Snow simply stands at her shoulder, looking at her with a teary smile, and bouncing Emma's baby brother gently in her arms. It is more than a bit chaotic after the absolute peace and quiet Emma has been stuck in for so long…and she loves it.

It had been a different matter when she first opened her eyes an hour ago. Relief had flooded through her upon finding Killian there, fingers of his good hand wound up with hers, speaking to her through the quiet dark. Emma had been so glad she was not irrevocably lost in the grey vacuum of her subconscious that it had taken her a few stunned, blinking moments before registering her sailor's motionless shock, and how he could not cease staring at her with wide, disbelieving eyes over tear-streaked, unshaven cheeks - drinking her in as though she might vanish from his sight once more and trying several times to speak before finally stuttering out her name. "Em – Emma? You can hear me?"

She wanted to tease him, to break the tense emotional stakes and make him laugh the hearty, uninhibited guffaw she had only recently learned he possessed. Instinctively though – knowing what he must have gone through if he was sitting there looking as bedraggled as he did while she found herself in a hospital bed – Emma bit back any smart retort on the tip of her tongue and squeezed Killian's hand gently, merely nodding her head in response to his question. She realized just how dry and unused her throat felt anyway; speech seemed a bit more of a challenge than she had expected.

Killian had not seemed at all disappointed by her stillness. The smile that crept over his face at her barest of responses was near blinding and adorably accented by the laugh lines crinkling at the corners of his eyes. Leaning over her, he delicately cradled Emma's face in hand and hook, then kissed her forehead. It might have appeared awkward to an outside observer, but Emma found the gesture immensely comforting. Still gaining her bearings, she swallowed hard, looking up to him for answers.

Her captain seemed to understand, as he always did, what she was thinking. "You've been out for more than two weeks, Swan. And…I will admit…you had me worried." He paused, seeming to need a moment to rein in his own reaction, brushing his fingers through her hair as he did. When he continued, his voice was suspiciously husky. "I must go find your doctor. He will no doubt want to check you over now that you're awake. I shall call your boy and your parents too; they have missed you tremendously."

She nodded her agreement, sensing that Killian hesitated to leave her alone, and gave him an encouraging smile. Secretly, she was thinking how good it felt to wake up to someone looking on her with such love. It was something she had been missing her entire life, and with him, it had been there the whole time – she had only needed to finally see. Twice in the last month, she had nearly lost this; first to Gold's attempt to crush Killian's heart, and now to her accident. Suddenly, Emma was clear on just how much she would be missing without this man in her life, how much she wanted to rest in his adoring gaze every night and wake up to it each morning.

His small upturn of the mouth showed once again that Killian possessed the ability to read at least some small portion of what was on her mind. "I will be but a moment," he assured her as he stood, then leaned back in with a whisper in her ear and teasing glint of white teeth in a happy grin. "Welcome back, Love."

Now, in the midst of the rest of her loved ones, and the night nurse who Emma can immediately see has fallen right under the spell of her pirate's irresistible charm, hugs are flying non-stop, and everyone seems to chatter and laugh at once, both in trying to fill her in on all that she has missed, and back and forth with each other. Emma feels wrapped in a warm, noisy nest of chatter and touch and genuine belonging, and instead of feeling smothered or pressured to respond in the right way, she simply feels happy and grateful to be back.

Killian is still hovering at her elbow. He smiles and nods along with what is said, responds when he is spoken to, but she can tell he is still shaken, still anxiously watching her, making sure she is alright. It is as though he had sat beside her standing guard for so long, fearing she was about to be snatched away from him, that he cannot yet relax and believe the ordeal is over.

As their miniature party breaks up and the rest of the group files out with embraces and promises to return in the morning when she is at last released to go home, Emma finds herself wondering how to comfort him. It was not so long ago that she had been standing frozen in the clock tower, powerless to do anything but watch as the Dark One prepared to kill her pirate. The anguish on his face when their eyes had met in that terrible moment; the corresponding pressure gripping her own chest as his heart was squeezed, and the irrevocable knowledge that Killian was slipping away from her against her will, were still incredibly fresh. The memory haunted her in ways she did not know how to express or assuage. Emma was all too well acquainted with how Killian might be feeling now, but what she didn't know was if she could provide any comfort when she had been the reason for his pain.

"Hey," she whispers, holding out a hand to him, urging her pirate closer to where the bed was raised for her to mostly sit up and interact with her guests more easily, "come here, Captain." Her voice is still a bit hoarse and strained from disuse, but Killian hears it immediately and is at her side almost before she has finished speaking. He had still been at the door from seeing everyone off, but upon her request, he is with her in an instant.

"What is it, Love? Are you in pain? Do you need something?" His hand hovers over her anxiously, smoothing back her hair and brushing over her shoulder, not sure where to settle.

If she doesn't stop him, Emma is pretty sure he will dart away again, off to fetch her something she doesn't even want, when all she needs is him – to draw him close and let him hold her. She isn't sure which one of them needs the contact more, but it has become a desperate necessity. "No! Killian, wait…" she swallows and licks her lips, trying to make her voice sound less scratchy and to gather her nerve. It may be the lingering weakness in her system, leaving her feeling raw and vulnerable, but she finds herself needing to take the leap, to let Killian know he is as important to her as she is to him. "I'm fine. It's just…I just…I need you."

His gaze, as deep and blue as the ocean he loves, depthless and encompassing, warms her as he takes her in, almost as though he cannot believe her confession. "Of course…Emma. Anything you want, I will do. I promise, Darling."

Emma's throat nearly closes up at the glassiness of his eyes and the way his voice goes raspy with feeling. She knows by now that Killian Jones does not make a vow lightly, and her yearning surges even higher at his words. Biting her lip, she reaches to take his hand once more, tugs gently, and pats the space beside her on the mattress, before whispering, "Then come here…please…I need you to hold me. I…I th-thought you were gone…"

The hesitant look on her pirate's face is so worried and careful that it makes Emma want to giggle. If anyone who had known him as the fearsome Captain Hook could see him now, it would be hard to believe he was the same man. Yet, Emma can see the truth; his strength and daring have never faded, nor his dashing looks and unwavering air of command, but the drive and determination which had twisted into hatred and pursuit of revenge were once again fixed on heroism – and his commitment to her. "I don't want to unknowingly do you harm," he says anxiously, while refusing to meet her eyes.

"You won't," she breathes, pleading in her gaze when he finally meets it again, "unless you don't get in here." She gives him a playful wink as further reassurance and scoots over until she lies on her side, facing him with her back against the bedrail. She moves the IV so he won't pull it from her arm accidentally and then watches him and waits.

Heaving a sigh, Killian acquiesces, and though he wants to be sure not to hurt her, she knows he is craving the closeness as well. After shrugging out of his jacket and dropping it on the nearby chair and removing his shoes, he finally clambers gingerly up onto the bed next to her. Stretching full length on his side facing her, Killian leans in, nuzzling his nose gently over hers and kissing her lightly, still chaste and soft, but full of intense care. "Alright now, Swan?" he asks.

"Nearly," she responds a bit breathlessly. She reaches out to curl her fingers around the metal curve of his hook, taking this moment to make clear something he should already know. She is not repulsed by or fearful of his appendage – it is merely an extension of him. Pulling the blunted limb toward her body, Emma rests the arm on her hip, letting the hook wrap around her back. Then, she snuggles closer, fisting her hand in his shirt and burying her face in his warm chest.

They lie together like that for some time, comforted by the quiet closeness, heartbeats fitting to one another's rhythm. Finally, she pulls away just far enough to look him in the eye. Her words are fierce with passion when she speaks again. "I love you, Killian Jones. Don't you ever doubt that again."

He pulls her back, fervently ghosting his response with his lips at her temple. "You must know I feel the same, Emma. My love for you will never change – as long as either of us live."

The kiss that follows soothes both their fraught, churning hearts and finally brings the peace that both of them seek. Emma's hand finds the short hair at the nape of Killian's neck and begins to stroke through the dark strands. Killian's fear and sleepless vigil catch up to him in her embrace, and he soon drifts off to sleep. It isn't long before his warm, solid presence curled around her protectively does the same thing for Emma and she follows him into slumber.

Anyone else in Storybrooke General that night who peeks into Emma Swan's room cannot help but be touched by the sight of the lost princess- savior and her pirate prince finally at home…with each other. Right there for all to see is a vision of two healing souls finally granted a miracle.

Tagging a few who might enjoy (or have never seen this oldie!) : @jennjenn615 @kmomof4 @searchingwardrobes @laschatzi @whimsicallyenchantedrose @jrob64 @apiratewhopines @drowned-dreamer @xarandomdreamx @teamhook @revanmeetra87 @gingerchangeling @gingerpolyglot @tiganasummertree @optomisticgirl @spartanguard @therooksshiningknight @xsajx @bluewildcatfanatic @stahlop @motherkatereloyshipper @statustemporary @booksteaandtoomuchtv @kazoosandfannypacks @zaharadessert @lfh1226-linda @wefoundloveunderthelight @mie779 @winterbaby89 @hollyethecurious @bdevereaux @justanother-unluckysoul @elizabeethan @the-darkdragonfly @donteattheappleshook @ilovemesomekillianjones @thislassishooked @grimmswan

[unhingedhearties]

For $1000, Name A Character On WCTH Besides E, L or N.

It's been awhile since I really looked at the Instagram pages of the cast. I think they finally blocked a lot of the louder ragepigs that usually squealed at them, so it's been a bit quiet. Erin posted an edited photo of her and Kevin as their WCTH characters on a morning talk show. It's... eh. I think people reading this can figure out it's not my type of humor, but whatever, it's harmless.

It also attracts these kinds of people, and I'll never get tired of seeing this reaction:

I don't know, is there anyone else? You tell me. You tell me who else on the show should be included in some random, silly edit Erin did with one of the promo photos (photos she didn't take, she's just reblogging them).

It's Chris. Just be honest. You want Chris in there. Stop pretending like you give a fuck about the other cast members.

Now, on to the comment about "all" of Erin's posts being about Nathan (don't worry, I included a few subtle visuals to help you out)...

This is only 3 weeks worth of photos because I had to cut it off somewhere. Maybe there would be more photos of Chris if the ones she's already posted didn't attract a horde of angry, bitching hornets screaming about how she's only uploading these photos to manipulate them into watching Season 11.

[itsupermanti]

A promo for something new and unexpected;

Remnant…

A world long since abandoned by its so called “gods”…Plagued by creatures of darkness, and the stage of a shadow war that has been fought for over hundreds of years…

What it’s inhabitants don’t realize, is that its conflict is nothing compared to the ones that occur among the stars…Conflicts fought by defenders of Love and Peace, who protect the smiles of the people.

What should occur, if outside forces were to reveal a great secret to a chosen select few…

Jaune(as Remnant is seen from space): Wait…You’re telling us, that all this time…

Jaune(continuing as other planets near Remnant are shown, with many dry and barren of life): Our planet existed in a place called the “Lost Galaxy”?

???: The so-called Brother gods were not what they claimed to be…

Ruby(as a flashback is shown of her and her friends being driven back by Grimm in the deserts of Vacuo): Something saved us from falling in that pocket dimension…

Ruby(as a mysterious temple is shown rising out of the desert floor): Something tells me it was for a reason…

???: You were all chosen to learn the truth, to wield great power…

Ren(as they come across 5 swords in a stone): This changes everything we’ve ever known about life beyond Remnant…

Oscar(as his eyes are drawn to a sword with a medal depicting a wolf): This is bigger than Oz’s war against Salem!

???: You were chosen to help bring an end to this chaos…

Whitley(grabbing the sword with a medal depicting an ape, his aura glowing blue): I won’t stand by while my family’s in danger and I can do something to help!

???: You now wield great galactic power, and with it, a great legacy of power!

Jaune is shown along with Ruby, Ren, Oscar and Whitley. All of them now holding the identical swords that were embedded in the stone they found in the temple, their auras glowing red, pink, green, yellow and blue respectively…

???(as the eyes on the medal depicting a lion on Jaune’s sword glow): We only hope that it will be enough to allow you to handle what the universe will throw at you…

The swords glow the same colors as their respective auras, as special bracelets appear on their wrists as they stand defiant before the herd of Grimm heading their way.

Jaune(turning the golden dial on his bracelet to red): Ready?!

Ruby+Ren+Oscar+Whitley(turning their dials to their respective colors): Ready!

Jaune+Ruby+Ren+Oscar+Whitley(holding their hands open, palms outwards, before swinging their arms out and pressing the silver button with a zigzag pattern on their bracelets): Ginga, Tensei!

The five of them are engulfed in bright flashes of light, as they undergo a…metamorphosis…

Power Ran~gers~ Lost~

The five of them are now shown wearing what appear to be colored costumes with helmets depicting a different animal.

Lost~ Galaxy~!

Yang(watching them in amazement with everyone else): Woah…

Far, far away, deep in space, to a galaxy you'll go!

Jaune(engaging the horde of Grimm before hopping and scratching the ground with his fingers, kicking up dust): GingaRed!

Jaune(standing up and swinging right arm into a thumbs up across his chest as fire rages behind him): Jaune Arc!

Power Rangers, Go! Power Rangers, Go! Power Rangers, Go!

Ren(pausing to scratch the ground like Jaune did): GingaGreen!

Ren(flashing a thumbs up as green tornado blows behind him): Lie Ren!

There, lies the key, to the answer and the powers you will know!

Whitley(managing to fight the Grimm despite having no prior fighting experience, before copying Jaune and Ren): GingaBlue!

Whitley(giving a thumbs up as a waterfall is shown behind him): Whitley Schnee!

Power Rangers, Go! Power Rangers, Go! Power Rangers, Go!

Oscar(dragging Grimm across the ground along with Ruby as they run on their hands and feet before throwing the Grimm at other Grimm and copying the others): GingaYellow!

Oscar(giving a thumbs up as yellow lightning flashes behind him): Oscar Pine!

Aaaah Rangers, Turn on the power, Power Rangers!

Ruby(copying the others): GingaPink!

Ruby(thumbs upping as a pink petals falling off a tree appear behind her): Ruby Rose!

Lost~ Lost~ Galaxy~!

Jaune(pointing towards an enraged Cinder): The legendary blade that pierces the Galaxy!

Turn on the power, Power Rangers! Lost-Lost Galaxy!

Jaune+Ruby+Ren+Oscar+Whitley(together as the others watch them): Seijuu Sentai!

Jaune+Ruby+Ren+Oscar+Whitley(as they assume a group pose): Gingaman; Remnant!

Turn on the power, Power Rangers! Lost~ Lost~ Galaxy~...Go!

Salem(witnessing the battle with her seer Grimm): Impossible!

Power Rangers~ Lost~

Lost~ Galaxy~!

Jaune(with his new helmet removed as he, the others and their friends are onboard what appears to be a space ship, addressing the voices): Who are you?

Ruby(besides her fellow leader): And what do you want from us?

???: We are defenders of life, love, peace, and the smiles of everyone…

The first three voices are revealed to have belonged to a groups of people who appear to be constantly shifting their forms, each of them a respective color.

Red(shifting between various red costumes and helmets): We are the Morphing Masters, guardians of the morphing grid.

Blue(shifting between similar blue costumes and helmets, and sometimes even genders): We are partially responsible for granting you these new powers.

Yellow(shifting between yellow costumes, and much like the Blue master, genders and gesturing towards the fourth and final voice): As for your second question, you’ll have to ask him.

The final mysterious voice reveals themselves to be a man in a fully red costume, with a high collar, gold highlights, and a badge on his chest that bears the number “45” over his left breast.

???(striking his own pose): I am the one who inherits the red souls, Akared!

Akared(crossing his arms over his chest): We have quite a lot to talk about with you all…

Akared(as various groups of people are shown in similar costumes): You have all become part of the greater universe…

Seijuu Sentai Gingaman; Remnant!

Stay tuned…

[fearsmagazine]

DECADE OF THE DEAD comes to life with Film Mode Entertainment and makes Cannes World Market Premiere.

Film Mode Entertainment (FME), Flynn Forest Productions, Sight & Sound Productions and Lucky 13 Productions announce the Cannes World Market Premiere and screening of newly completed action/adventure, Decade of the Dead. The film stars Sean Patrick Thomas (Till, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Lying and Stealing), Shane Johnson (Power), Jenna Leight Green (Sabrina, Wicked), Corsica Wilson (In a World…, Dead Season) and Marissa Merrill (End, Dead Season). Decade of the Dead is directed by Adam Deyoe and Fairai Branscombe Richmond and written by Loren Semmens and Adam Deyoe. The film was produced by Loren Semmens, Bryan Spicer and Joel Michaely.

Decade of the Dead takes place ten years after the apocalypse, where a group of bounty hunters finds refuge on a tropical island only to discover it’s ruled by a deranged cult leader with plans to take over the post-apocalyptic world. Stuck between the cult and the relentless hordes of the walking dead, the survivors must fight for their lives.

Sean Patrick Thomas’ extensive body of work includes critically acclaimed features Chinonye Chukwu’s “Till”, Joel Coen’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth” with Denzel Washington, and Darren Aronofsky’s “The Fountain” with Hugh Jackman. His current role as Polarity in “Gen V,” Amazon’s The Boys spin off, has introduced him to a whole new generation of fans. As well as countless other memorable films such as the iconic “Cruel Intentions”, additional credits include the hit ensemble franchise “Barbershop”; and the fan favorite “Save The Last Dance”, which garnered him the Young Hollywood Award for Standout Performance; and two MTV Movie Awards, for Breakthrough Male Performance and Best Kiss. He is repped by Innovative Artists and Greenlight Management.

Film Mode Entertainment has acquired international sales rights for Decade of the Dead and is presenting the film and promo-reel to buyers in Cannes for the first time. The deal was negotiated by Andrew van den Houten of 79th & Broadway Entertainment on behalf of the producers with Clay Epstein of FME.

“We’re thrilled to be working with the amazingly talented Decade of the Dead team, who have successfully crafted an action-adventure film that raises the bar on one of the most popular and lucrative genres in the marketplace today,” said Epstein. “Decade of the Dead will wow audiences across the globe and leave them on the edge of their seats throughout a wild ride, to the very last shot of the movie.”

[adultswim2021]

Aqua Teen Hunger Force #82: "Chick Magnet" | April 19, 2009 - 11:45PM | S07E04

Chick Magnet is funny enough, so I respect it. In this one, Aqua Cup gets a big giant “Chick Magnet” which is a golden tiger or dog or something’s head doing a big scream, and it says CHICK MAGNET right on there. When you plug it in it radiates lavender energy out around it’s general vicinity. Over time we realize that it doesn’t attract chicks, but instead it pulls the Aqua Teens’ feminine sides to the surface and causes them to act all woman-like. To paraphrase Yoko Ono, Chick Magnet is the Shake Like Me of the world.

Sorry. Anyway: they start to suspect this is what’s happening, so they eventually throw the thing out. It comes with a mysterious screw that they’ve been not using on it, and the end is that Carl tightens it and actually does literally become a chick magnet, with a big horde of babes all flying towards it and sticking to it.

Hey! Didn’t Rick and Morty sorta do this at one point? I mean, I’m sure the idea of a literal “chick magnet” being in media wasn’t invented with ATHF. I remember a promo for USA Network’s Weird Science using actual physical “Babe Magnets” in a promo for the show. For some reason, this promo has not left my memory banks since it aired. I don’t even remember what my father’s voice sounds like anymore. He’s still alive, I just don’t like talking to him. 

This one’s real simple, but I thought it was funny enough that I sorta chalked it up as “basically good” episode of the show. Some of them lines were good. The stuff involving the literature the Chick Magnet was shipped with was fun. Hey, there were references to the movie! Two! I don’t feel like typing out what they were. Hey, look at the time.

Squidbillies - Volume Two DVD (April 21, 2009)

Volume Two, SEASON THREE of Squidbillies came out on dang old DVD. I deleted my digital copy of it today, actually. Fancy that! I didn’t feel like renaming all the files. You know? That’s a thing I’m doing, organizing files. I just decided “I do not want to have these on my computer just because some of the episodes have commentary.” I am positive that god will provide me with these episodes when I need them again. And I don’t even believe in Squidbillies Volume Two on DVD.

MAIL BAG

This might be my worst blog entry yet, so let's also answer some MAIL BAGs poorly:

I think you said you didn't like this sketch but I think my MVP sketch for season 4 is the Cinco Urinal Shower. Just the right level of gross without crossing the line, the "bottle juice fellow" guy being the custodian, the random hip hop beat that pops in and out, and its always great when someone pleads for help from Jon Mugar and he just stands there. It's all good, bro. Worst goes to JJ Pepper, kangaroos is ran-dumb shit.

I remember not liking the urinal shower thing the first time I saw it, but I've come around on it. You are right, Jon Mugar looking too spooked to help is an underrated motif of the Tim and Eric universe. You are also right about JJ Pepper being bad

Can you explain what you mean by “UCBness”?

Being younger and funnier than me : (

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

"IT'S NOT A DIFFICULT FILM TO SYNOPSIZE. IN FACT, IT IS STRAIGHT OUT OF "BUCK ROGERS" AND "FLASH GORDON" BY WAY OF TOLKIEN..."

PIC INFO: Spotlight on an original "STAR WARS" (1977) unused painting by Dan Goozee intended for a SW promo poster.

POSTER OVERVIEW: "This painting is a varation of the final art used for an advertising campaign art from the original 1977 theatrical release of "STAR WARS" was painted by movie poster veteran Daniel Goozee ("Moonraker," "Octopussy," "Clash of the Titans," and "Superman IV")."

-- SCIENCE FICTION ARCHIVES

FILM OVERVIEW: "It’s not a difficult movie to synopsize. In fact, "STAR WARS" is straight out of "Buck Rogers" and "Flash Gordon" by way of Tolkien, "Prince Valiant," "The Wizard of Oz," "Boy’s Life" and about every great western movie ever made. Our hero, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is a farmboy from an arid desert planet called Tatooine who suddenly finds himself – through a series of unlikely events – smack in the middle of a galactic civil war. His allies include Han Solo (Harrison Ford), a daredevil space-pilot-for-hire; Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), a mystical old gent who is the last of a group called the Jedi knights, and who knew Luke’s father when; Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), who is one of the chief rebels opposing the Empire; Chewbacca, the Wookiee, an eight-foot-tall, intelligent and ferocious anthropoid; and two wisecracking robots named Artoo Deetoo and See Threepio (the former speaks android, the latter English) who practically steal the film.

The chief bad guys are Darth Vader (David Prowse) and Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing), aided by a horde of flunkies and storm troopers. They operate out of the Death Star, an enormous satellite designed specifically to go around the galaxy zapping recalcitrant planets unwilling to side with the Empire. It is clear, early in the film, that confrontations are inevitable. It’s also clear who’s going to win."

-- ROLLING STONE (TV & Film), "George Lucas: The Wizard of "STAR WARS,"" "A conversation with the writer and director, who reveals the voice behind Darth Vader, why robots need love too and where Wookiees come from," c. August 1977

Sources: Science Fiction Archives & www.rollingstone.com/feature/george-lucas-the-wizard-of-star-wars-2-232011/amp.

[nyctoheart]

oh yeah, aren't celebrities like swift's the only ones that get actual verification marks? i could've sworn i saw her tumblr once and she had a verification mark, but i could be remembering wrong

((oops I blocked that account so I wouldn't have see it on my feed BUT)) You might be thinking of a sponsored post they did to promo something because looking at it on desktop, I just see a bunch of promotion posts but no checkmark or "verified"/"official" text etc.

Or you might be thinking of when companies/brands make a deal with tumblr for official urls/usernames, cause I remember that troll/comedy disney-official account one day had a bunch of numbers appended to their username by force. Or when staff make a new blog like changes/staff/wip because there's no way some of their new blog urls weren't already horded by some rando lmao

But just because *I* haven't seen an unironic verified label doesn't mean they don't exist 10000%, maybe you HAVE seen it and I'm the one who's wrong! But I definitely cannot recall a single time I've seen anything like that, even on tumblr's official blogs.

[freedfromthegalactichivemind]

Okay, browsing another fandom-tag, (the thing I am newly becoming RE-obsessed with, my longstanding decades old fandom re-emerging due to shiny new material)... well... I found something that made me think of THIS fandom and how ridiculous it is sometimes and how ridiculous fandom can be about certain things.   Take a look at this reblogged image on my other sideblog: Classic Trigun Official Art.   Its kind of spoilery for those who haven’t seen the 1998 original anime series, but it’s non-canonical at, anyway.  At least, I think it’s non-canon art.  However, it is official, as in, it’s not canon art / not an image from the actual anime, but it is promotional, a kind of post-series funsies thing done by crew.   The pale-haired guy in the space-suit there?  The one who’s got the smiling spiky-haired guy’s arm wrapped around him?  He’s the series’ main villain.  He’s also a genocidal maniac with a deep hated of humanity who has murdered millions of people.  He of course is here, in this funsie official / adjacent art shown in the trope of a “reforming villain” with heroic-characters including the main (Vash with his arm arround him - twin brother) gladly hanging out with him.  Anyway, my point is that - hey, look at the actual official although non-canonical art of the “defanged villain” trope - done for fun, to show a villain being begrudgingly good / implied to be on his way to reformation post series, etc.  Silly promo / bonus art.   It made me think about how She-Ra fandom had the Catra vs. Hordak wars and how some people / factions were just AGAHST at the idea that some of us fan-critters loved to contemplate redemption arcs and do fanart and fanfic that defanged the villains and so forth.  While people don’t seem to mind it much for Horde Prime - people doing sexy or silly fanart with him to scratch that itch for a “defanged dark lord” fun time, people got really bent out of shape for a while for both Hordak and Catra, didn’t they?  In the Hordak fan-faction (hi there, where I make my bed, or my clone-pod, as it were) there were a lot of people who hated Catra, thought of her as taking time away from their blorbo and who considered her “too toxic” for Adora and made this big honking serious deal out of it.  Fanfics about Catra fucking off to the Crirmson Waste alone and whatnot... I actually don’t mind pairing Adora with other people, it’s just that some of the “Catra cannot be redeeeeeemed!” stuff got a little obnoxious for me, even though I, myself, got sick and fucking tired of overzealous Catra-stans calling me a genocidal colonist for liking Hordak.   And of course, um, Hordak.  A villain portrayed with some sympathy and human emotions, despite being an actual dictator trying to conquer a planet. Yeah, Hordak’s done a lot of fucked up things, like employing torture and execution-by-exile in his reign.  I like him, anyway, because of those sympathetic points - the clone-cult stuff, the sense that he has a desire to be wanted and loved despite everything (thank you, Entrapta).  And, well, I LOVE the idea of post-canon, of “Lets let him live a cute domestic life with Entapta and lets dress him in sweaters and have him discover how delicious mangoes are, the poor cult-denied big fruit bat!”   And, well, there was a big row among people about liking these characters, something of a sympathy-contest of who “deserves more sympathy” and whatnot.  I was sitting here the whole time going “Let me enjoy my defanged dark lord trope in peace.”   Meanwhile, back in my old fandom, which I have returned to... it’s like “Oh, yeah, there’s official art of the actual literal genocidal maniac who canonically has a very graphic 100K+ body count being domesticated by the good guys, not to mention what the fandom does and the thirst some fans have for this guy”  and it’s like.... “Whoa, anime fandoms just be more chill than American cartoon fandoms, don’t they?”    No one accuses you of wanting to erase humanity because you enjoy Millions Knives, so why do people accuse you of being a real life abuser or colonial apologist if you enjoy Catra or Hordak?  

[m1ckeyb3rry]

KARASU appearance I’m not ready guys. Ok but very excited to see how you’ve established their relationship (as it’s now no longer a romantic one LOL)

FR it’s especially even more endearing when you factor in Nagi’s lack of parental attention or guidance really?? And how (I think) he’s even mentioned in that one extra chapter from movie promo where he visits Reo’s house and it’s kinda implied how he didn’t fully like being just like left alone and thrown to the wilderness (LMAO)

FR yeah er bllk is quite limited on that aspect especially since it’s also set in like..normal world au(??) like no special powers or systems really besides what’s established in Blue Lock itself which also doesn’t leave much room for anything…and yeah not very conducive to women MCs unfortunately…the only two routes I can even imagine are manager/assistant (kinda like the game setting) or your typical cross dressing mulan sneak in cliche (there’s a rather (unsurprisingly) large amount of those works floating out there I know LOL) I feel like the latter still wouldn’t be plausible though since I’m sure ego and anri do a very thorough background check on all bllkers so….either way those options also don’t really give much room to expand on a whole lot in the verse either so I can imagine the struggle

I was not aware an anti nagireo tag existed LMAO but FR they’ll sometimes come in hordes to bombard antis and it’s a nightmare I see some comment sections occasionally and it’s insane IN IT TOGETHER FR!!

Thinking about a color spread from epinagi just reminds me of the latest one and im like??? They really just took the light novel visuals and lined them all up class group photo style LMAOAOA I was fr expecting like an action color spread scene relating to the current match but um. I guess not!!! :,)

NO FR because the way he’ll be chill and compliment people left and right if they do something cool/unordinary in a match but we’ve also seen him beat the shit out of all those people in second selection + almost igaguri + rin when I first saw him colored my jaw dropped that’s such an interesting color combo…very Shidou though

Also I saw the words Karasu in your CW section of the latest Kaiser fic and I had to double take (fr have the Karasu radar on 24/7) I won’t lie I can’t say I’m the biggest fan of Kaiser but I’m about to inhale another work of yours I also got Karasu baited in a way LMAO (if I get converted I’m holding you responsible /pos)

-Karasu anon

HE’S SO COOL IN HOLLYHOCK TBH like def one of my fav characters i think…i won’t gas him up too much so you can make your own opinion on him though hehe

oh i have many thoughts about how the parental neglect nagi faced is a DIRECT cause of his “laziness” LMAOO let’s just that mr and mrs nagi are NOT safe from me. i think it’s comparatively a subtler form of abuse compared to what kaiser for example faced and maybe not intentional on the nagi parents’ part but nonetheless it is maltreatment/abuse and likely was traumatizing for him!! i do think that as much as he chafes against barou’s bossiness he probably appreciates it in a way (or at least needs it LMAO)

yeah i’ve seen a lot of those “only girl in bllk” type of aus and ykw probability aside…would it not be terrifying to be the only girl in a facility full of boys?? like even as an assistant or manager i guess you have authority so it’s not as bad but being a player would genuinely be horrifying imo. like we the audience know the bllk guys are good guys for the most part and would never hurt a woman but a character in-verse wouldn’t yk?? being the singular girl locked away with 300 boys is genuine nightmare fuel to me 😭 i feel like of the few fics like that i’ve skimmed (never really gotten into any unfortunately) i’ve never seen that aspect being explored — mostly because, again, we as readers trust the bllk boys, so we wouldn’t really think of a character not doing the same?? now i’m tempted to write a version of that more cliche story that takes the cliches and subverts them heheh…i think it would be a fun challenge at any rate although idk if anyone would really read it.

LMAOOO i think tumblr is a very pro-nagireo site so the antis are p nonexistent…i wouldn’t even consider myself an anti necessarily i just am not FOR them!! omg if people ever come for me i’m just going to block or smth i don’t have the time to deal with…at the end of the day it’s fiction and never that deep

THAT’S WHAT I MEAN like he’s one of the only characters who compliments players from opposite teams if they do smth he finds cool so in that sense he’s chill but also as soon as someone does smth he finds annoying he just starts swinging 😭 wasn’t there a point during the u-20 arc when aiku had to stop him from beating up the team LMAOO?? lowkey rare aiku slay

AHAHA OMG THE INSTRUMENT??? i wrote that a while ago actually for my event!! i just remembered it and reblogged because i was like “hold on i actually like this more than i thought i did.” kaiser isn’t one of my favs either tbh (although he has grown on me a lot) so when i got that request i was very very nervous to write it and then for some reason i decided to write it in present tense which i have never done before or since?? it’s honestly not a very romantic story and very contrary to the typical fanon characterization of kaiser but honestly i feel like i ended up loving the way i wrote him…i personally thought it was closer to his manga self than him being super charming and lovable. and HAHAHA the karasu reference in the tags i was giggling when i came up w that 😭 that was in the era before fwtkac and whatnot so the most i had written karasu was his shithead cameo in cherry tree 😓 so adding him in the tags there was like a personal gratification moment FJSKFJJS i’m sorry i karasu baited you 💔 i hope you like reading it anyways!!

[wisemins]

✧˖*°࿐ Starshine's Seasonal Promo!

𝐻𝒾𝓎𝒶, 𝓌𝑒𝓁𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓂𝑜! ❁ཻུ۪۪ Carrd | Pronouns n such | Fandoms | Full F/O list | Pinned post ❁ཻུ۪۪ I'm Miya, your local 20 year old "Oh my god how can you have THAT many f/os???" Autism on wheels mutual! ❁ཻུ۪۪ She/they/zhe | Paragirl | Bisexual, Demisexual, Ficto ❁ཻུ۪۪ Like I mentioned, I have an absolute horde of F/Os, please check my list because I am not comfortable sharing romantics or QPs, unfortunately! If you only share like, one or two of my f/os I'm sure I can just block your tags if need be, just let me know! ❁ཻུ۪۪ I'm looking to find more active mutuals who like to gush and talk about their ships! I'm always open to talk usually, and I love making new friends! ❁ཻུ۪۪ A bit about me: I'm an artist, a small business owner, a huge music geek, and overall a nerd/loser who falls in love all too often! I absolutely love making lore and figuring out my place in a canon! Furthermore, I love to hear about other's ships and lore! So if I sound cool, follow me! I also run the imagines blog @selfshipseaside, that's me!

[finishwhatyoustarted-event]

Finished It Friday - Event Masterpost - SFW

This special post celebrates all of the Safe For Work (rated G and T) works posted during this spring Finish What You Started event! This will include ones only included on previous twitter threads, as well as ones in tumblr posts and ones from the AO3 collection.

Art

https://x.com/outofyourvector/status/1785686992975798637

Original character art of Debonair by outofyourvector on Twitter

Writing

A Good Book by TheStarGayzingEtherianCollection (TheStarGayzingEtherian)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power - Adora/Catra, Adora & Catra & Glimmer - Fluff, Post-Canon, Reading, Libraries - Rated G - "Glimmer and Adora try to get Catra to read a few of the cheesy romance novels they've become obsessed with."

Reassurance by TheStarGayzingEtherianCollection (TheStarGayzingEtherian)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power - Adora/Catra - Post-Canon, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Adora Needs a Hug - Rated T - "Adora’s insecurities mistakenly lead her to believe Catra is mad at her over… something."

Taking Out The Trash by TheStarGayzingEtherianCollection (TheStarGayzingEtherian)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power - Adora/Catra, Perfuma/Scorpia - Fluff, Post-Canon, Post-War, Very Mild Angst, Muscles - Rated G - "With a few of their friends, Adora and Catra clean up one of the old Horde outposts near Plumeria."

finally got it all right by larkspur_9

Twitter promo - 陈情令 | The Untamed, 魔道祖师 | Módào Zǔshī - Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji/Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Lan Yuan | Lan Sizhui & Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji, Lan Yuan | Lan Sizhui & Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian - Choose Your Own Adventure (8 endings), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Getting Together, Fluff, POV Multiple, the following tags only apply to certain paths through the fic: Amnesia, Mutual Pining, Meet-Cute, There Was Only One Bed, caught in a rainstorm, WangXian.mp3, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, vaguely defined spy assassin AU, Canon-Typical Violence, Minor Character Death - Rated T - “Here’s what A-Yuan has learned from his regular trips to the library with Ning-shushu: - Zhan-gege tells the best stories. - Zhan-gege always knows the answers to all A-Yuan’s questions. - Zhan-gege has two bunnies! These, as everyone knows, are the most important qualifications for a baba. [A-Yuan is in the market for a new baba, and he’s set his sights on children’s librarian Lan Wangji. In this choose your own adventure fic, there are eight different paths you can take to A-Yuan achieving his dreams!]”

To Remember A Hero by TheStarGayzingEtherianCollection (TheStarGayzingEtherian)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power - Adora/Catra, Bow/Glimmer - Major Character Death, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Hurt/Comfort - Rated T - "Adora has died and her friends now take a moment to remember her, especially a certain Queen and a certain catgirl. (Catradora, Canon-Divergent, Angst/Hurt/Comfort)"

Breaking The Ice by TheStarGayzingEtherianCollection (TheStarGayzingEtherian)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power - Adora/Catra - Fluff, Light Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dungeons - Rated G - "After causing a commotion during Princess Prom, Adora and Catra are now locked in the icy dungeons in the Kingdom of Snows, where the two are forced to bond after so long apart. (Catradora, Canon-Divergent, Fluff/Angst)"

A Closeted Collection of Princess Merchandise by IncurablePeppermint

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Rarity/Twilight Sparkle - Pre-Relationship, Pining, Secret Crush, Love Confessions, Hoarding Merch of your platonic gal pal is very normal - Rated G - "Rarity doesn't realize she has developed a crush on Twilight Sparkle until Rainbow Dash points out the similarities between her stash of Princess Merchandise and her usual strange shrines to her crushes." - Tumblr promo

He can't know you took him by pollitt

Twitter promo - ด้ายแดงซีรีส์ | Until We Meet Again The Series (TV), เชือกป่าน | Between Us (Thailand TV) - Dean Ratthanon Chatpokin/Pharm Triwinij, Team Teerayu Siriyothin/Win Phawin Wanichakarnjonkul - Best Friends, Double Dating, Established Relationship - Rated T - “It's a bit on the nose. Dean, Pharm, Win, and Team play mini golf, friendly competition (with various stakes) happens, and there just may be more going on behind the scenes than Dean realizes. In hindsight, the striped shirt should have been a tip-off that something was up.”

My Eternal Companion by TheStarGayzingEtherianCollection (TheStarGayzingEtherian)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power - Adora/Catra, Catra & Melog - Post-Canon, Fluff, Aliens, Melog Talks, Telepathic Bond - Rated T - "Catra finds herself wondering if Melog is truly happy being with her on Etheria. (Catradora, Canon, Hurt/Comfort/Fluff)"

A Kitten Stuck Up A Tree by TheStarGayzingEtherianCollection (TheStarGayzingEtherian)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power - Adora/Catra - Post-Canon, Fluff, Babies, Parents Adora/Catra, Future Fic, Cat/Human Hybrids - Rated G - "While Adora and Catra are sparring together, baby Finn decides to be quite the mischievous little kitten. (Catradora, Canon, Fluff)"

A Premature Goodbye by TheStarGayzingEtherianCollection (TheStarGayzingEtherian)

TW: "Discussions of suicidal thoughts, but obviously nothing actually shown" - She-Ra and the Princesses of Power - Adora/Catra - Post-Canon, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Suicide Notes - Rated T - "While exploring their old rebel camp, Catra finds a note from Adora… one addressed to her. From the night when Catra had left. (Catradora, Canon, Hurt/Comfort)"

I Wish I Had That With You by TheStarGayzingEtherianCollection (TheStarGayzingEtherian)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power - Adora/Catra, Netossa/Spinnerella, Adora & Netossa & Spinnerella - During Canon, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, War - Rated G - "After seeing Netossa and Spinnerella playfully arguing after a mission, Adora realises her feelings for Catra. (Catradora, Canon, Hurt/Comfort/Fluff)"

Baby Bump by Griselda_Gimpel

Our Flag Means Death - Blackbeard | Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet - Post-Canon, Unreliable Narrator, phantom pregnancy, Domestic Horror, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Emotional neglect, Not A Fix-It Ficlet - Rated T - “Stede and Ed run an inn together. Everything is not perfect.”

Carry Me From These Walls by HopeStoryteller, IllusionOfDeath

CW: Graphic Depictions of Violence - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Link/Revali, Urbosa/Zelda's Mother, Daruk & Urbosa, Mipha/Zelda - Characters Play Dungeons & Dragons, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Minor Character Death, Parent Death, Major Character Injury, Queerplatonic Relationships, Unreliable Narrator - Rated T - “Link grows up playing Dungeons & Dragons with his neighbor Zelda, her moms, and a few other friends. It makes for the best few years of his life, before the DM is murdered and the group falls apart. Years later, in college, Link and Zelda reconnect—and, alongside a few new friends, start up a new campaign, not expecting anything more from it than maybe a bit of closure. Little does anyone know, a much larger conspiracy has been afoot for almost a decade now…”

The Squad's Rebirth by Griselda_Gimpel

Suicide Squad (Comics), DCU (Comics) - Gen - Amanda Waller, Werner Vertigo, Floyd Lawton, Pamela Isley, George "Digger" Harkness, Ivan Illyich Gort, Original Characters - Farce, Satire, Action/Adventure, Human Trafficking, Foreign Intervention, Imperialism, Canon-Typical Poison Ivy Behavior - Rated T - “After Amanda Waller becomes temporary president of Diabloverde, members of the Squad are recruited for a mission in Qurac to help trafficked Vlatavan women. What could possibly go wrong? (Everything.) Set after the Ostrander-Yale run of Suicide Squad. Complete.”

Staple the Princess by borzoieyes

CW: Graphic Depictions of Violence - Squirrel Stapler (Video Game), Slay The Princess (Visual Novel) - Gen - The Narrator (Slay The Princess),  The Hunter (Squirrel Stapler),  The Hero (Slay The Princess) - two characters stuffed into a blender, Crack, POV  Second Person, POV  First Person, POV abuse, Unreliable Narrator, Corpse Desecration,  Gore,  Trapped,  Gaslighting,  Surreal,  Fanart, Illustrations - Rated T - “You are on a path in the woods. At the end of that path, is a cabin. On the way to the cabin are squirrels. You must slay them so you can staple them onto the princess.”

Frenchie's Box by Griselda_Gimpel

Our Flag Means Death - Frenchie/Israel Hands - Post-Canon, Hurt/Comfort, Trauma, Israel Hands Lives - Rated T - “After a rough encounter with Prince Ricky, Izzy encourages Frenchie to open his box and take one thing out.”

Death Note the Ninth by Griselda_Gimpel

CW: Major Character Death - The Locked Tomb - Fandom - Original Characters, John Gaius | Necrolord Prime - Suspense,  Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence - Rated T - “What if John hunted down the trillionaires and killed them one by one instead of making nuclear threats?”

The Sacred Texts by Griselda_Gimpel

The Locked Tomb Series | Gideon the Ninth Series - Tamsyn Muir - Gideon the First/Wake | Awake Remembrance of These Valiant Dead - Humor, Movie Night - Rated T - “During their date night, Commander Wake shows Gideon the First a series of films about the true history of the Empire.”

Remember When by Griselda_Gimpel

CW: Suicidal Thoughts - Our Flag Means Death (TV)  - Fang (Our Flag Means Death)/Israel Hands - Hurt/Comfort,  Discussion of canonical character death,  Grief, Depression - Rated T - “After Blackbeard shoots Izzy in the leg, Fang cares for him, and they reminisce about Ivan and better days.”