#shadows pre-tour

[suppermariobroth]

Top: in the pre-rendered movie intro to Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, during a brief scene where Luigi is celebrating, the skin around Peach's eyes is brighter than usual.

Bottom: if a lighting effect is applied to the entirety of Peach's model except for the eye texture, the result will be the same as in the movie, with a characteristic angular shape around her eyes. It appears that this error happened during the rendering of the movie, whereby the shadow effect was mistakenly set to not apply to Peach's eyes.

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[bellewintersroe]

Sebastian Vettel x RBDesignEngineer! Reader.

Set in 2013 during the GP, Jennifer is fresh out of uni and has made a name for herself within the F1 world. She joins Redbull-Renault as one of their engineer designers and easily fits into the team, forming friendships easily. Most of all, she captures the attention of three time world champion, Sebastian Vettel. Part 1- just an introduction to the OC and situation, please excuse my inaccuracies about the 2013 GP and design engineering im not a pro and was like 11 back then 😭😭 here’s the LINK to part 2.

Australia, March 2013…

“And here… right through here is… our youngest, and my personal favourite design engineer. This is where all the magic happens.” The sound of Sebastian’s German accent caused my lips to lift as I took my head set off, spinning around in my chair. Sebastian was walking alongside a camera man, touring around the garages. It was pre practice day, only two more days and the 2013 GP would begin. Although I’d been hired for Red Bull back in October of last year, it had taken 5 months to get to this point of merciless training and shadowing to ensure I was good at what I was doing. The Red Bull driver made his way over, resting on the back of my large chair with an amused smile. “Hi.” I nervously giggled, pushing my hair behind my ear as my headset fell around my neck. “This is Jennifer, do you want to tell them what you’re doing today, Jennifer?” The use of my full, formal name was sending me slightly giggly as I gazed up to the blonde man. Maybe it was just him making me feel that way…

“Um… so, to put it in simple terms so it’s not so boring, we’re just checking all the components of the RB9’s- what Sebastian and Mark will be driving- to make sure we don’t need to make any last minute changes.” “And what’s your name again?” The camera man asked. “Jen, I never go by Jennifer.” I laughed, glancing back up to Sebastian again. Whenever our eyes met I found myself struggling to keep composure on camera. “Tell then a bit about yourself.” He then nudged me on, grinning down. He could tell I was getting flustered, but continued purposefully. “Nobody wants to know about me!” I laughed, attempting to spin my chair back around in embarrassment. Hiding behind my computer for the first two weeks was my safe haven, that’s what I’d reverted back to. “They do!! Tell us, how did you get into your position?!” Seb spun the chair back, sliding a hand down onto my very ticklish shoulder, squeezing as both my shoulders jumped up with a giggle.

“Sorry.” Seb breathlessly laughed. “Um- well I started here in October, I just finished my masters last year at Manchester in Motorsport Engineering- um… Im 22- I don’t really have anything else very interesting to say! Uh- I suppose I had- just had experience from working part time with my brother who’s an engineer when I was like… 15.” I explained.

“Clever girl.” Seb responded as I automatically gulped in response, looking up to him and awkwardly glimpsing back to the camera. I didn’t know how to act with that in my face. “And what’s this?” The camera zoomed closer in on my second screen, it was just information about F1’s plan to go electric next year and use Hybrid engines, but it contained private information. My hand flew up blocking the screen dramatically, “oh! Sorry, that’s a secret!” Seb burst out laughing. “Oh no!” I laughed, “don’t worry I’ll cut that.” Luckily the camera man turned away as I sunk back into my chair. I really hoped I didn’t leak some super, confidential information about Red Bull or I’d be facing the sack a mere half year into employment.

Sebastian flashed me another smile and squeeze on the shoulder before following the camera man and showing him around some more. When they left I let out an internal sigh. I’d known Seb for the same amount as everybody else here, but I just felt this immediate warmth to him. Once the intimidation had worn off (even now I still felt it) I could tell there was an instant attraction. At points it felt mutual, Seb would openly flirt with me, tease me, I know he was a charmer, but I couldn’t tell if I was being delusional or not. He was cuddly, funny, he always looked so deeply into my eyes whenever I explained something to him. I wasn’t sure how I’d deal with the feelings that would keep me on edge for a full season. The worst thing about it??? I had a boyfriend.

[jbaileyfansite]

Interview with the Los Angeles Times (2024)

“This is where all the cruising happened.”

Jonathan Bailey and I are standing in Pershing Square on a bright, blustery spring afternoon, nearing the end of a homemade queer history tour of downtown L.A.: One Magazine, Cooper Do-Nuts/Nancy Valverde Square, the Dover bathhouse, the Biltmore Hotel and this, the city’s former Central Park, a haven, since before World War I, for “fairies” and “sissy boys,” servicemen on leave and beatniks on the road.

“Is it still happening now?” he asks.

“Probably not as much,” I venture.

“Well, you let me know if it’s happening,” he teases, a mischievous smile lighting up his face.

Bailey understands the uses of the charm offensive. As Sam, the handsome Lothario of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s delightful pre-”Fleabag” curio, “Crashing”; Anthony, the romantic hero of “Bridgerton’s” second season; and John, the jerk of a protagonist in Mike Bartlett’s love triangle play “Cock,” the English actor, 36, has swaggered up to the precipice of superstardom. With roles in such studio tentpoles as “Wicked” and “Jurassic World” on the horizon, he may just break through. Yet he delivers career-best work in Showtime’s queer melodrama “Fellow Travelers,” as anti-Communist crusader-turned-gay rights activist Tim Laughlin, by leaving behind the self-assured rakes and tapping a new wellspring: soft power.

Tim may be, as Bailey puts it, “an open nerve,” but as it turns out, the devout Catholic and political naïf — who falls for suave State Department operative Hawkins “Hawk” Fuller (Matt Bomer) just as Sen. Joseph McCarthy tries to purge the federal government of LGBTQ people — is formidable indeed.

Stretching from the Lavender Scare to the depths of the AIDS crisis, in scenes of tenderness, cruelty and toe-curling sex, Bailey’s performance communicates that little-spoken truth of relationships: It takes more strength to submit than it does to control. The former demands discipline, courage, trust; the latter requires only force.

“In ‘Bridgerton,’ [Bailey] is like a Hawkins Fuller character — he is very sexy and has lots of power, has that kind of confident charisma that absolutely is not Tim at all,” says “Fellow Travelers” creator Ron Nyswaner.

But any doubt about Bailey’s ability to mesh with Bomer, who boarded the project early in development, was put to bed with the actors’ virtual rehearsal of a meeting on a park bench in the pilot. “‘Well, that’s a first,’” Nyswaner recalls an executive texting him. “I cried in a chemistry read.”

‘Am I inviting people in?’

Bailey grew up in a musical family in the Oxfordshire countryside outside London, and this, coupled with an appreciation for the morning prayers, choir practice and Mass he attended as a scholarship student at the local Catholic school, fed his precocious talents. (“I loved the performance of it,” he laughs. “Not to diminish the celebration of religious process, but I did love the idea of wearing a gown.”) By age 10, he’d appeared in the West End, playing Gavroche in a production of “Les Misérables,” an experience he now recognizes as an encounter with a queer found family — albeit one shadowed by the toll of the AIDS crisis, which peaked in the U.K. in the mid-1990s.

“When I’m asked about my childhood, there’s so much I don’t remember, and I think that’s true of anyone who’s been in fight or flight for 20 years,” he says. “I would have been in a cast of people whose friends would have died in the last seven years. I think of where I was seven years ago. I had all my gay friends then. It’s only retrospectively that I can retrofit a real gay community around me [in the theater], that I just wasn’t aware of [then].”

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, American and British culture presented queer adolescents with a bewildering array of mixed signals. As beloved celebrities came out in growing numbers, and the battle for marriage equality became a central locus of LGBTQ political organizing, the media continued to propagate harmful stereotypes of gay men as miserable, lonely, perverted or worse — and, Bailey remembers, callously turned George Michael, arrested on suspicion of cruising in a Beverly Hills restroom in 1998, and Irish pop star Stephen Gately, who revealed his sexuality in 1999, fearful he was about to be outed, into tabloid spectacles.

No wonder Bailey, like many LGBTQ people of his generation, should feel the “chemical” thrill of “validation and acceptance” during London Pride at age 18, then embark on a two-year relationship with a woman in his 20s.

“Dangerously, if you’re not exposed to people who can show you other examples of happiness, you think that’s the easiest way to live,” Bailey says. “It’s funny. You look back and you can tell the story in one way, which is that I always knew who I was and my sexuality and my identity within that. But obviously at times, it was really tough. I compromised my own happiness, for sure. And compromised other people’s happiness.”

Disclosures about his personal life have become particularly thorny for the actor since the premiere of “Bridgerton,” the blockbuster bodice-ripper from executive producer Shonda Rhimes.

“The Netflix effect does knock you off center completely,” he says, recalling the experience of finding a paparazzo waiting outside his new flat before he’d even moved in. “Suddenly, you do start having nightmares about people climbing in your windows... Even now, talking about it makes me feel like, ‘Am I inviting people in?’”

He is also critical of the media for churning out headlines about the smallest details of celebrities’ private lives, often detached from their original context. In an interview with the London Evening Standard published in December, Bailey described a harrowing encounter in a Washington, D.C., coffee shop in which a man threatened his life for being queer — and, in recounting the experience, offhandedly mentioned the “lovely man” he’d called, shaken, after it happened. Although Bailey acknowledges that the original story handled the subject with aplomb, he felt dismayed that more attention wasn’t paid to the intended warning about rising anti-LGBTQ sentiment: “The only thing that got syndicated from that story was that I had a boyfriend, and it wasn’t true,” he sighs. “It was kind of depressing, if I’m honest.”

Still, Bailey, who once turned down a role in a queer-themed TV series because it would have required him to speed along revelations about his personal life he wasn’t ready to make, is prepared to embrace the power of vulnerability when it feeds the work. Although a member of his inner circle expressed doubts about “Fellow Travelers’” steamy sex scenes, for instance, the actor intuited that they were what made the project worth doing: “I was like, ‘I’m telling you, they are the reason why this is going to be brilliant.’”

‘He’s changed my trajectory in my own life’

To those who would complain about the state of sex in film and TV, “Fellow Travelers” is the perfect riposte. All of it matters, from Tim’s first flirtation with Hawk to the finale’s closing minutes, because the series, at its core, is about the importance of soft power: the strength required to bend, but not break; to adapt, but not abandon oneself; to survive without shrinking to nothing in the process.And depicting that through sex, specifically gay sex, makes “Fellow Travelers” radical indeed.

Bailey understands that baring so much comes with certain risks. When I tell him that research for the story has filled my algorithmic “For You” feed on X (formerly Twitter) with speculation that his onscreen relationship with Bomer has a real-life element, he notes that “shipping” fictional couples and costars alike has long been part of Hollywood fantasy. But he bristles at the implication that he and Bomer are anything but skilled actors at work.

“I would love for people to know that the success of our chemistry isn’t based on us f—. It’s actually about us leaning into the craft,” he says. “It’s a vulnerable situation to be in, talking about it on record. I don’t want to rob people of their thoughts. But I do have a set of values, and as an artist, you don’t need to be f— to tell that love story.”

Underlying that craft, Bailey adds, is the confidence to speak up, as with one scene in “Fellow Travelers” that was adjusted because he said, “I don’t want to be naked today.” He learned to use his voice the hard way: In his early 20s, he recalls, he was once “bullied” on set when “someone was threatened” by him and vowed to himself, “I’m never going to do that to someone. I’m never going to allow that to happen.”

This impulse to direct his influence in support of others has blossomed further with “Fellow Travelers.” On the day of our interview, Bailey enthuses about an upcoming meeting with legendary gay rights activist Cleve Jones and shares his idea for a docuseries recording the stories of elders in the LGBTQ+ community while they are still here to tell them. He describes lying in a hospital bed on set on World AIDS Day, in character as Tim, surrounded by gay men who had lost friends and lovers during the crisis, and finding himself thinking, “What do I want to leave behind?”

“I think he’s changed my trajectory in my own life,” Bailey says.

This is, perhaps, the most common reaction I know to diving deep into queer history — the understanding that we, like our forerunners, are responsible for shaping the queer future, whether in politics, society or art. No one is going to do it on our behalf.

As we stand on the nondescript corner now named for her, I relate the story of the late queer activist Nancy Valverde, who was arrested repeatedly while a barber school student in the 1950s on suspicion of “masquerading” because of her preference for short hair and men’s clothing, and later successfully challenged her harassment by the police in court.

“What a hero!” Bailey exclaims, wondering at Valverde’s bravery. “The thing that’s so interesting with power battles is, ultimately, identity is the thing that gives you the most strength and power in your life, isn’t it?

“Because that’s one thing people can’t take away from you: who you are and how you express yourself.”

Source

[ravenssilver]

hello. welcome to raven succumbing to the voices.

aka 1.2k words of mountain realizing he’s emotionally neglected a lot of the time.

cw: dew gets emotionally spoiled, mountain has lots of trouble with his feelings, mountain lore👹

under the cut, if you please<3

Aether was gone.

Everyone was tentative around the subject, not wanting to trigger Dew into another fit of anger. Nobody really knew what Dew was mad at. It could’ve been Aether, the Ministry, himself—but nobody could say for sure due to how closed off Dew had been.

Swiss was always making jokes with Dew, wanting to distract him from the pain of not having one of his mates with them. Cumulus always got a fresh loaf of Dew’s favorite bread whenever they had a rest day, and everyone knew she’s rather be baking the loaf rather than buying it.

Cirrus was a silent comfort, in the shadows where Dew would hide, always willing to wrap her arms around him and whisper sweet nothings to the fire ghoul.

Rain, and by extension Aeon, were always there for Dew to rant to. And Aurora was more than happy to braid Dew’s hair whenever Rain initiated a mini spa night in whatever hotel the ghouls and their Papa were staying in that night.

And Mountain was tired of it.

He was tired of being the backbone, the one who constantly lifted everyone up when he was on the verge of crumbling himself. He was tired of watching everyone coddle Dew, and whisper with each other when the fire ghoul was asleep about oh, poor Dew—or—he’s been feeling better! Maybe he’s getting used to not having Aether around?

Mountain huffed behind his book, glaring over the tops of the pages at the fire ghoul sleeping on the tour bus couch.

He was tired of Dew being helped while he was tossed aside.

But he also felt like shit. He was feeling the same pain as Dew, yet here Mountain was acting childish, jealous over his mate who was getting the help that he needed.

But was it really being childish? Or was it realizing the mistakes of the pack, and how he felt being left in the dust when he needed support as well?

Mountain’s glare softened as he felt thorns growing from around his antlers. He slouched down a bit in the table booth, hiding his face behind his book until he could control the tears welling in his eyes.

He just wanted Aether back.

It wasn’t often Mountain was late to pre-show roll call. But tonight?

He was just so tired.

Mountain’s body was now facing the effects of being stressed out and emotionally worn. His stomach was constantly churning, he had an ever present ache right behind his eyes that never seemed to go away, his back was rigid and it hurt to move.

He was sore, and he knew he life was about to get a whole lot more exhausting after tonight’s ritual.

“Mountain?”

The earth giant blinked behind his goggles and looked down, seeing Aurora. Her much smaller hand was picking his up, a frown on her face as she felt how heavy his arm was, his exhaustion clearly echoed in the way he was holding himself.

“Hi.”

“Are you okay? You seem tired. Your ritual jitters aren’t as noticeable as usual,” Aurora spoke softly, reading the shaking of his hand as just simple jitters.

If only.

“I’m fine. Ready for the rest day we have tomorrow.” Mountain said simply, his face emotionless as he looked down at Aurora. His neck screamed at him as he looked down at her, the amount he had to strain his muscles almost laughable due to Aurora’s size compared to his.

Aurora nodded, a smile on her face.

“Me too.” She chuckled. She went to say more, but Papa cut her off, reeling in all the ghouls for the pre-show huddle.

Mountain sighed and stiffly walked over, taking note of how Rain, Swiss, and Aeon all walked over with Dew huddled between them.

His eyes narrowed as he watched how Aeon gave Dew a small buzz of quintessence to give him an energy boost. Mountain grumbled silently, knowing he could’ve used that small amount of energy much more than Dew.

But who was he to demand Dew stops getting the attention and support that he had been drowned in the for the whole tour?

A soft sigh left Mountain as he joined the huddle, tuning out Copia’s words.

Tomorrow.

Resting tomorrow will help.

He hated his sleep schedule.

Mountain was up with the sun the next day, and no amount of keeping his eyes closed lulled him back to sleep.

Mountain huffed and rolled onto his side, opening his eyes and discovering he hated something a lot more than his God forsaken sleep schedule.

Swiss was in the bed two feet away from him.

As well as Dew, Rain, and Aeon.

A low, earth rumbling growl left Mountain and he was immediately standing up, roughly unzipping his travel bag and pulling out some regular street clothes, his toothpaste and toothbrush, and his hairbrush. He grumbled as he walked to the bathroom, quickly getting ready for the day before he tossed his pajamas and hygienics onto the bed.

Mountain grabbed his phone and a room key before storming out of the room, ignoring how his now glamoured body complained with each step he took.

He didn’t know where he was going. He wasn’t even sure which city he was in.

He just needed to leave.

He turned his phone off after a while. The constant buzzing was getting on his nerves, and he had gotten close to tossing his phone on the sidewalk and letting it get trampled by the crowd.

He was so mad. The anger was only growing as Mountain realized how childish he was being.

He decided he needed to punch something. Hard enough to break whatever faced his wrath.

He wanted to indulge. He wanted to allow himself the brief respite that would be bruising his knuckles as his fists slammed down over, and over, and over, and over again.

Damned Beelzebub..

Mountain huffed and turned on his heel, walking back to the hotel and praying to his Lord below that he would be calm by the time he finished the fourteen block walk.

He just wanted to feel normal again.

Maybe he just wanted to be noticed.

Mountain listened to the quiet snores of Swiss and Rain, ignoring the growling voice in the back of his mind that was reminding him Dew had a key to the hotel room.

He didn’t want to be mad at Dew, and after lots of thinking, he realized he wasn’t. Envious, for sure, but he didn’t blame Dew, despite how much he wanted Dew to feel the hurt that he had been feeling. He wasn’t jealous anymore.

Mountain sighed as he looked over at Swiss and Rain.

He knew he could join them. He could start an unofficial and unannounced ghoul pile, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to see any more of the pack until he had to.

He was mad at them for forgetting him. He was mad at them for leaving him in the shadows and putting Dew in the limelight of their care and attention.

Tears welled in Mountain’s eyes as he realized what he was actually upset about.

He rolled onto his side, facing the wall so he could have some resemblance of dignity as he begrudgingly let tears fall.

He was an afterthought.

And he had reached his limit.

Mountain curled into himself and buried his nose into his knees, whining quietly as his back screamed in pain yet again.

This rest day wasn’t very restful.

[guy-writes]

“Ye know they say this house is haunted” (John “Soap” Mactavish x GN! Reader)

Warnings: Shadow figures? No pronouns for reader other than ‘you,’ pre-established relationship, Johnny scares reader lol

You and Johnny are taking a small road trip to stay at his family’s farm, he decides to make a quick pit stop to show you an old hang out spot of his. It does not go as he planned… 

For @glitterypirateduck vacation mode challenge! This was inspired by prompts 42: Ghost tour (even though ya’ll aren't touring lol) and 77: Road trip. This was also heavily inspired by something that happened to me, sadly I didn’t have Soap there to help lmao

“What is this?”

“An abandoned house.”

“I know, but that doesn’t explain why we’re here…”

You and Johnny had been on your way to visit his parents’ farm. It would be a nice getaway for you both, considering how hectic your lives have been recently. 

Well, that was before Johnny – under the guise of ‘taking a short cut’ – had led you here, to this abandoned house. It had definitely seen better days. The outside was rotting, shingles had fallen off and there were a few holes near the bottom of the house. The windows were either boarded up or broken and whatever paint was left was clinging onto the brick for dear life. You watched as Johnny walked over to the rickety stairs and tested his foot on it, decided it was alright, then walked up them to get to the door. 

“Johnny- what the hell are you doing?” 

“Aw, c’mon, I just wanted tae show ye the old hang out spot.” 

“You and your friends hung out here?” You gave the house a once over again before giving him a deadpan stare. It didn’t help that the sun was setting. It wasn’t hard to believe he and friends used to hang out here, this was Johnny you were talking about. The more you stared at him the more he was giving you that look. The look that pleaded with you to just humour him this once. Sadly it worked- It always did. You found that your feet had taken you right beside him on those rickety stairs. He gave you a cheeky grin before taking your hand in his and opening the door. It creaked so loudly, Johnny opened it so fast that the door hit the wall with a bang. 

“...Oops,” he didn’t look all that apologetic and stepped forward, gently pulling you along with him. You both stepped inside and immediately were hit with the scent of dust and mildew. 

The inside didn’t look that much better than the outside. It was rotting away in there, most of the furniture was gone but the ones that remained were covered in greenery that was taking over. The floor had a few holes, when you looked up you could even see into the second floor. The floral wallpaper (or what was left of it) was peeling or ripped off the walls. You coughed lightly from the amount of dust in here and covered your nose. 

“Ye know they say this house is haunted,” Johnny said, he had a mock serious look on his face.

“Ah, now you're pulling my leg,” you gave him an unimpressed look, the only thing haunting this house was the dust. You let go of his hand and started poking around the house, might as well do something. Going near the kitchen you spotted nothing in particular, besides some debris and a lone table. 

“It’s true, this house is basically a legend… They say a farmer and his wife lived here, but somethin’ happened that made the wife go a wee bit mad before murderin’ her husband.”

“Johnny, that sounds like something thirteen year olds tell each other on the playground…” You grumbled out, growing more and more unimpressed at him. You were starting to think he was up to no good. He gave you a small pout before shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. 

“Fine, don’t believe me, but when ye encounter the angry ghost of the wife don’t come runnin’ to me for help,” he imparted before sauntering over to the stairs and going up to the second floor. You could hear the creaky floorboard under his feet as he walked around. You rolled your eyes before exploring the kitchen more. You noticed that under the table there were newer floorboards, like someone fixed that area up. You pushed the table away, seeing that it was a crawl space, you lifted up the cover and discovered some photos. 

You picked one up and saw a younger looking version of Johnny along with four other kids. They looked to be goofing off in the living room of the house, it looked much cleaner than it does now. Johnny still has that boyish grin that he gets when he’s having fun. You smiled, taking a look through the other photos in the pile. Most of them were of Johnny and his friends goofing around or fixing up the place. While shuffling through the pile you heard a loud bang coming from the second floor. It made you jump and whip your head around towards the stairs. 

“Johnny! Are you alright?!” You shouted.

Johnny never answered you.

Growing a bit concerned you pocketed the photos and walked over to the stairs. You looked up towards the foyer and saw nothing there. You shuffled your feet, starting to grow uneasy now. It was too quiet, besides the wind that was howling. The upstairs looked darker than the rest of the house, that’s where most of the boarded up windows were.

“Johnny?” You called out again.

Still no response.

“John MacTavish, this isn’t funny!” You shouted. You swore you heard some shuffling towards the end of the foyer. But you still got no answer from him. You huffed, growing more uneasy but now you were frustrated. 

“Soap I swear to god if you scare me…” You called out again before moving to go up the stairs. Once you made it to the top, there were three rooms presented. Two seemed to be bedrooms and one was a bathroom. It was way dustier up here than downstairs. You grumbled as you walked over to the bedroom on the far right. There was nothing but a dusty, stained up mattress, a broken wardrobe, and rotting vanity desk with a cracked mirror. 

“Boo!…” Someone whispered in your ear, wrapping their arms around your torso and bringing you closer towards them. You screamed, spinning on your heels so fast your arm whacked the person behind you in the stomach. 

“Steamin’ bloody Jesus!... Mo ghraidh, are ye tryin’ to kill me?” You saw Johnny rubbing his stomach in pain, even if you didn’t hit him that hard. You huffed in annoyance, crossing your arms and giving him a pointed look.

“Maybe I should ‘cause of the stunt you just pulled… I thought something happened!” You exasperated, you were happy he was fine (minus the hit you gave him) but that was uncalled for. You pinched his nose as revenge.

“Ack! Ah’m sorry, okay?? It was funny though…” He mumbled out before snickering to himself and that earned yet another pinch from you. 

“Uh huh… laugh it up mister…” you playfully rolled your eyes at him, you did see the humour in it after the initial annoyance dissipated and laughed along with him. Johnny looked over your shoulder towards the vanity desk, his laughter dying out. He squinted his eyes towards what he was seeing in the mirror. You raised an eyebrow, frowning at the focused look Johnny was giving.

“What the hell is that?” he whispered.

“What?” You asked, turning around to have a look but before you could- Johnny took your hand and started gunning it towards the stairs. 

“What?- What!?” You pressed, you turned to look behind you and saw in the mirror there was a tall, dark shadow in the corner of the room where the vanity was pointing. You saw its head following your moments as you both ran out the room. You felt a cold chill go down your spine as you let out a blood curdling scream. You both made it to the stairs, but running down them was a challenge. Johnny was trying to make you run in front of him- but they were too narrow and the edges of the steps were smoothed. 

That, combined with both your clumsy footwork, made you end up falling on your back and sliding down the rest of the stairs. You almost took Johnny out with you if he wasn’t holding onto the railing. He yelped, watching helplessly as you slid down the rest of the way. You started crying from both the fear and pain you felt. Pain was shooting up your back, your spine took most of the hit when coming down. It also burned, you tried getting back up but straightening out caused you to cry out in more pain.

Johnny quickly scooped you up in his arms and threw you over his shoulder. He sprinted the rest of the way to the car. Your back was in immense pain and being jostled around didn’t help. Once Johnny was at the car, he carefully placed you in the passenger's seat before running around and throwing himself in the driver's side. He stared out towards the road, panting lightly from the excitement of it all. The pain in your back was subsiding but you feared that your back was all scratched up from your slide down. You flinched but adjusted yourself to sit up right.

“Are ye alright?” Johnny finally asked.

“Yeah- I think I’ll live…” You groaned out. 

“Want me to check it?” You nodded your head and turned your back towards him, closing your eyes so you didn’t have to stare at the house. He gently lifted your shirt up, you heard him take a sharp intake of air through his teeth.

“Is it that bad?” You worriedly asked.

“Well… It could be worse…? Yer back is scratched to hell plus yer shirt was a bit torn from the fall,” he explained. He let go of your shirt, letting it fall back to its original spot. He gave you a reassuring rub on the shoulder, away from the injury, and kissed your temple. You shuffled back to face forward once more, sighing from pain and slight exhaustion. You opened your eyes and looked over at Johnny. Concern and regret was written on his face.

“My ma has some ointment and bandages at the house, we’ll patch ye up when we get there,” he kissed your head again before turning the keys to turn the ignition on. He started driving towards his family’s farmhouse, not making any more spontaneous detours. You had time to ponder what the hell just happened a few moments ago. Both you and Johnny had seen something in that vanity. A dark, shadowy figure as tall at the ceiling, was that even real?

“Did we actually see what we saw? Or are we just really tired from the drive?” You tried to rationalise. But it didn’t make sense that you both saw the exact same thing. Johnny seemed to tense for a moment, shuddering softly to himself.

“I- I don’t know… Ah was making that whole story up to scare ye- I didn’t think…” He wasn’t sure what to say about the situation, sure- he liked watching those cheesy ghost videos but he never actually thought they were real. He groaned, not liking the way his little stop turned out. You could see he was sitting with his regret, like that ghost showing up was any of his fault. You patted his thigh in a comforting manor before remembering something. You waited until you got to his parents’ house though. 

“We’re here,” Johnny parked the car with a tired sigh. 

“Hey… uh, I found something interesting while at that house,” You fished around in your pockets, pulling out the stack of photos you found. You gave them a once over, none of them were ruined during the chaos. You handed him them and he gasped in recognition. He had a fond smile on his face as he flipped through the photos.

“So,  are you going to explain why those were hidden under the floorboards?” You inquire once he’s done flipping through them. 

“Aye, it was just for safekeepin’, we wanted to hopefully go back and fix the old place up more,” he explained, “Obviously that never happened but I’m glad ye found these, mo ghraidh,” he kissed you softly and that seemed to be the end of that. 

…

Johnny’s ma was currently fussing over your back injury. While she was cleaning and disinfecting the wound she was scolding Johnny for bringing you there in the first place. It was kind of funny watching it all play it out. Your attention was brought away from them when his older sister walked into view and cleared her throat. 

“What’s that behind your friend John?” She picked out the photo she was talking about and handed it over to Johnny. He seemed to pale slightly once he saw what she was talking about. He just silently turned the photo towards you and his ma. There in the right corner behind Johnny’s friend was the thing you both saw in the vanity. 

“Man, I guess you’ve got a stalker,” You joked. Johnny’s ma initially gasped in horror before laughing at your joke.

“That’s not funny, hen,” he grumbled.

WC: 2,152

Reblogs & Comments divider by @//reveriesources

White dividers by @//kaitsawamura

[rochenn]

Honestly kinda weird what an almost 60 year period of de facto de-christianization in a language and culture otherwise steeped in centuries of Christianity does to a mf.

Like ur always referring to some dude when you swear and curse but you bet your ass most of the ppl around you have never seen a church from the inside unless they took a tour to look at the colorful altars and architecture. It's just history to you. Pretty buildings etc. You don't spare a single thought towards Jesus bc his birthday isn't named after him in your language and his resurrection is linked to pre-Christian traditions that are way more fun than going to church. You forget he exists. You celebrate his days either way, but all of that happens in the shadow of the gods he replaced. God and Jesus are little more than expletives to you.

Still it feels like something was taken from you and you don't know what it is??

[aaronsrpgs]

"Ancient World Fantasy" Reading List

(A little context to start. If you just want book recs, scroll on down to the first image.)

As I’ve been getting into RuneQuest (Wikipedia link), one striking component of the culture and community surrounding the game is that they’re very into the lore of its fictional world, Glorantha. I’m saying this as a comparison to a game like D&D, where the game is spread across tons of settings with no real sense of obligation to keep things in line with earlier editions.

Glorantha’s canon and worldbuilding has been going on since it was published in 1978 without, as far as I can tell, any big reboots. Which means that, unlike D&D, where people are bringing in all kinds of influences and doing direct adaptions of Jane Austen books and whatever, the RuneQuest game remains pretty tightly tied to the original setting. (There have been some exceptions. But not many!)

But since I run games for people who have ADHD or aren’t interested in studying up, I’ve been looking at all kinds of inspiration to drop into the game. Here are 20 novels that are roughly “ancient world” or “Bronze Age” like RuneQuest and deal with people interacting with strange gods, tight communities, and a world without fast overland travel or transferal of information.

I’m presenting them alphabetically by author’s last name.

The Brazen Gambit, Cinnabar Shadows, The Rise and Fall of a Dragon King by Lynn Abbey

I'm sorry for starting this post off with licensed RPG novels, but these are good! And I don't mean "good for licensed RPG novels." I've read tons of them, and most are so bad! But these are actually fun. Good character development in a sword-and-sorcery world. It's also an ecological apocalypse world, with godlike beings oppressing common folks, leading to a lack of technological advancement and knowledge of the past.

The Long Ships by Frans G. Bentsson

Written in the 1940s as a series of novellas, these stories take you on a tour of the Viking-era world, from Europe to the Middle East and beyond. Like a bunch of books on this list, this places them post-Bronze Age, so they're not officially "ancient world." But it gives a big spread of cultures, from the more clan-based Vikings to the bustling metropolises of Turkey. And it doesn't place any of them on any kind of linear advancement scale or whatever other gross way people "rate" cultures.

Tales of Nevèrÿon and Neveryóna by Samuel R. Delany

The master of weird sci-fi and gay historical novels, Chip Delany also wrote a fantasy epic. And it rules! Set on pre-historical(ish) Earth, these books describe the stories that maybe inform the myths we tell today? Dragons and slave revolts! A sort of "What if Game of Thrones was good?" series. Lots of good stuff about how people learn and how understanding expands.

I'm not listing the third book only because it's also a historical look at New York during the AIDS epidemic. It's an amazing book! But it strays from the "ancient world" aesthetic.

Baudolino by Umberto Eco

Another novel expressly set after the Bronze Age (this one starts in the 12th century). BUT it's about Medieval people's interaction with the knowledge they inherited from the past, specifically the myth of Prester John and the works of Herodotus.

I think I keep putting books like this on the list because roleplaying in a fantastical ancient world is not too far off from how Medieval people might have worshipped and referenced works from ancient Rome and non-European places.

Black Leopard, Red Wolf and Moon Witch, Spider King by Marlon James

One of our best living writers! These are fantasy novels expressly set in a fantastical version of ancient/Medieval Africa. The books explore the same events from multiple points of view and are full of cool magic, awesome spirit combat, and a vast number of places and cultures that actively deconstructs most games's portrayal of fantasy Africa as a homogeneous place.

The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth

I think Kingsnorth has been outted as a sort of eco-fascist? I totally believe it, so feel free to skip this one. It's a historical novel set in England in 1066, as the Normans invade from France. It's written in a faux Middle English language and focuses on the lower classes and how they try to resist the invasion. A good reminder that "Medieval culture" (and especially the Renaissance as a time that "culture advanced") is often based on certain classes of society, such as rich people and/or men.

Iceland's Bell by Halldór Laxness

Speaking of how class intersects with technological advancement, this book is set in the 18th century, but it focuses on Iceland at a time when it was ruled by Denmark, and the lower classes there were under an enforced poverty. It's a book about how a rich Icelander was trying to recover the stories of his people in order to create a sense of national identity and resistance. But it's also a story about how a destitute man acts like a total weirdo when he's not allowed to fish in his own waters and is cut off from understanding his place in history.

The Raven Tower by Anne Leckie

A big part of RuneQuest is people interacting with and enacting their gods. That's what this book is about! And it's about the strange vertigo that comes to people when they try to interact with the impossible timelines that gods exist on. Very good stuff.

Night's Master and Death's Master by Tanith Lee

Ostensibly set on Earth back when it was flat and demons roamed the world, which is basically RuneQuest. Sort of like a series of hornier, gay bibles? With lots of gender fuckery, fun sex, and cool monsters.

Circe by Madeline Miller

The story of the witch from The Odyssey, told from her point of view. Beautiful prose, tragic and beautiful characters, and a great share of mythical strangeness. Perfect if you want to learn how to run NPCs that are adversaries without being shallowly evil.

Ronia, the Robber's Daughter by Astrid Lindgren

Semi-Medieval again, but low class and vague enough that it could exist throughout ancient history. The daughter of a robber grows up in a tower full of robbers and generally has a wonderful time. Lots of weird monsters live in the woods, and there's a great starcrossed romance with someone from a rival robber gang. Perfect inspiration if you're running some cattle-raiding runs in RuneQuest; this is how to make robbers fun and sympathetic.

Read the book, watch the 1984 Swedish movie (which includes a great comedic scene of full-frontal dudity), and then watch the Studio Ghibli series.

A Stranger in Olondria and The Winged Histories by Sofia Samatar

Set in a world of pepper farmers and religious fanatics who worship a mysterious inscribed stone, these books do a great job of showing how people might interact with religion, rival cults, and mystery rites. It also portrays literacy and learning to read in places where it's gated behind social gatekeeping. And once again, the prose is beautiful.

The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola

The first African novel published in English outside of Africa, The Palm-Wine Drinkard is a funny, hallucinogenic story about getting drunk, stumbling through weird landscapes, and encountering fantastical spirits and people.

Tutuola also wrote My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, the inspiration for the famous(?) David Byrne/Brian Eno album. I haven't read it yet, but I'm keeping an eye out!

The Green Pearl by Jack Vance

This is a sequel to Lyonesse, which I haven't read because I love staring in the middle of things. Set around a mythical British Isles when Atlantis was still above the sea and part of the group of islands. Some great wizard shit, warring clans, romance, and a wizard whose name is fucking Shimrod (in case you need more convincing).

Those are my 20 novel recommendations! I'm gonna come back to add some nonfiction, comics, and myth resources for running games in fantastical ancient worlds. You can read SpeedRune, my ancient fantasy game, here.

[datcloudboi]

List of Video Games Turning 10 Years Old in 2024

Alien: Isolation

Assassin's Creed: Rogue (the one where you play as an Assassin turned Templar.)

Assassin's Creed: Unity (the one set during the French Revolution.)

Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky

Azure Striker Gunvolt

The Banner Saga

Bayonetta 2

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea (the DLC where you go back to Rapture)

A Bird Story (a sort of spin-off of "To the Moon")

BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! (is this a sequel to 1 or a prequel to 1? I forgor)

Bravely Default (in North America)

Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (the one with K*vin Sp*cey)

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 (to date, the last new Castlevania game to release)

Child of Light

The Crew (going offline at the end of March)

D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die (a wonderfully strange game from the guy that made Deadly Premonition)

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (in North America)

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (in North America)

Dark Souls II

Deception IV: Blood Ties

Demon Gaze

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls

Disney Infinity 2.0

Divinity: Original Sin (from the team that would go on to make Baldur's Gate 3)

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Dragon Age: Inquisition (the winner of GOTY at the very first TGAs)

Drakengard 3

Earth Defense Force 2025 (EDF! EDF! EDF!)

The Evil Within (from the creative director of Resident Evil)

Fable Anniversary

Fairy Fencer F

Far Cry 4

Freedom Planet

Guilty Gear Xrd Sign

Hyrule Warriors

Inazuma Eleven (in North America. And digital only.)

Infamous: Second Son (as well as its expansion, First Light)

Kirby: Triple Deluxe

The Last of Us Remastered (just one year after the original version came out...)

The Legend of Korra (the game from PlatinumGames that you can't buy anymore)

Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham

Lego The Hobbit

The Lego Movie Videogame

Lethal League (from the team that would go on to make Bomb Rush Cyberfunk)

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (the third and final chapter of the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy)

Lisa: The Painful (yes, really)

LittleBigPlanet 3

Lords of the Fallen (not to be confused with Lords of the Fallen, which came out in 2023)

Mario Golf: World Tour

Mario Kart 8 (the original version)

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes (the prologue to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which came out 18 months later)

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor

Might & Magic X: Legacy

Murdered: Soul Suspect (it's like Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, but not as good)

Natural Doctrine

Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty! (a from the ground up remake of the first Oddworld game from 1997)

Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 (yes, it got a sequel. I don't know how or why.)

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth

Pokemon Omega Ruby & Pokemon Alpha Sapphire

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy (the last time that Professor Layton himself was the protagonist. At least, until the New World of Steam comes out)

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Pushmo World

Risen 3: Titan Lords

Sacred 3

Samurai Warriors 4

Shadowrun: Dragonfall

Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (the 3rd one)

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments

Shovel Knight (yes, really)

Skylanders: Trap Team (the 4th one)

Sniper Elite III

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric

Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal

South Park: The Stick of Truth

Steins;Gate (in North America)

Strider (the one from Double Helix)

Sunset Overdrive

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS (or Smash 4 for short)

Tales of Xillia 2

Tales of Hearts R

The Talos Principle

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call

Thief (the reboot)

This War of Mine

Toukiden: The Age of Demons

Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (this game merged the storyline of the War for/Fall of Cybertron games with the storyline of the Michael Bay movies. I’m not joking)

Transistor

Valiant Hearts: The Great War

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

The Walking Dead: Season Two

Wasteland 2

Watch Dogs

The Witch and the Hundred Knight

The Wolf Among Us (sequel this year!)

Wolfenstein: The New Order

Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z

Yoshi's New Island

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Sorry, y’all, I’m still on my Imprisoning War kick, but I’m throwing everything together so all the Good Ganondorf content is in one post (at least up to this point - stuff without links is planned/somewhat written but not published yet) so here you go, all the stuff in chronological order:

Imprisoning War lead-up (pre-Hyrule Warriors)

Ganondorf and his family through the ages

Ganondorf thinks about his son & his daughter

Link, Hero of Power, meets Hemisi, Princess of the Gerudo

Link & Hemisi chilling

Ganondorf meets Link

Hemisi’s family ponders her new boyfriend

Gan has to tell Link to stop being an idiot (Link is sick)

Gan’s about had it with teenage antics but he’ll still invite Link to hang out with Hemisi

Ganondorf learns Link’s Hylian name

Link’s a little delirious (GanonDad and Link comfort and cuddles)

Ganondorf tells a bedtime story

Link and Gan father/son bonding time!

Despite having so much going for him, Ganondorf decides to ruin it and try to steal the Triforce! :D So many lives ruined that day

Imprisoning War

Casualties of war start to rise, and neither Zelda nor Link are happy about the king’s response to it

The Battle of Hyrule Field

Link gets the Master Sword

Zelda becomes queen

Link is captured

Assassination

Killing in Self Defense (spans across the war)

Battle of the Dragons

Maybe the kids had some mead

The eve of the war’s end - Link and Hemisi get engaged

Final Battle

The war is over, but the horror just begins - Zelda’s proposal

Era of Restoration (between the war and Hyrule Warriors)

The Triforce trio is not adjusting well after the war

Emotions run high at the royal baby shower

Link finally reaches his breaking point

Impa comforts Link

Zelda struggles with her situation

Zelda informs Link they’re going on a tour of Hyrule

The Goron Crisis

Link bonding with his daughter

A Shadow awakened - the Sage of Fire’s threat

The Throne vs House Ishita

Link visits Hemisi

Hidden Pregnancy

A Sage’s Play

An olive branch between the monarchs (Link and Zelda kind of have a good moment!)

Link and Zelda try to build some kind of relationship out of the crap hand they’re dealt

The Gerudo Civil War

Hemisi’s mental struggles

Golden Mercy (Hyrule Warriors)

Zelda tries to hold the kingdom together with normalcy as the War of Eras nears its end and Captain Link, Hero of Warriors, is generally confused

The war against Cia ends, and Ganondorf returns - Chapter 1

Captain Link wakes up a prisoner of the Gerudo

Link meets Ganondorf

Link and Nabooru bonding

Link tries to escape

Captain Link and Ganondorf have a quiet moment

Zelda is slowly unraveling trying to save Link and protect her kingdom

[uramilf]

ok what about the guys going on tour with reader (matty’s gf) and before one of the flights he gets very touchy and horny, so they scape to one of those lounges/private rooms 👀 I imagine the end like they losing track of time and hearing their names on the speakers and having thousands of calls, running to the plane and the guys start pissing them off but they’re in a love bubble so don’t really care

Yes I love this!! Turning it into a proper one shot lol x

Warnings: SMUT 18+, oral sex (m receiving), semi public sex, facefucking, switch!Matty, spitting

Stress Reliever

You could tell Matty was nervous for his flight. He hadn't let go of your hand the whole time you had been sitting in the airport. His other hand was drumming his fingers against his lap and he was chewing anxiously on his lip. The rest of the band had gone for food, but Matty didn't want to eat, so you stayed with him at the gate. The area was quiet, not many people around, no fans asking for photos. You slid onto his lap, placing your head on his shoulder and brushing a shadow of a kiss onto his neck. He was becoming awfully touchy with you, not that you minded. His hands gripped your waist and he buried his face into your chest and you heard him let out a groan. "What's wrong baby?" "You know what sitting on my lap does to me, Y/n." "Aww, poor baby. We're in an airport, Matty. We can't do anything." You knew he would find a way to get you alone and do whatever he wanted with you, he always did. It was becoming a bit of a pre-flight ritual. "We'll see about that, darling," Matty smirked and he urged you gently to stand up before taking your hand and pulling you through the airport.

You had forgotten all about you access to the VIP lounge, laughing at your boyfriend's cleverness when he guided you into the bathroom in the private area. As soon as the door was shut he pushed you up against it, looking down at you with lust in his eyes. "I need you, Y/n. Now." He crashed his lips into yours and grasped your hips, pulling you in to grind against him. He moaned into your mouth when you brushed against his hard-on, making you smirk. You pulled away from him and dropped to your knees, pulling down his grey sweats and boxers. You looked up at him and blinked, feigning innocence. "Tell me exactly what you want, Matty." "I want you, please Y/n." "I said exactly what you want." He groaned and shook his head at you. "You're a little shit, you know that?" "Say it, Matty." "Fine! I want you to suck me off." "Good boy."

You took him in your hand, beginning to pump slowly up and down, admiring how pretty he looked with his cock in your hand. He was huge, his tip glistening with precum and a thick vein running up the left hand side of his length. He was breathing heavily, one hand running through his curls, the other against the door holding his weight as he tried not to let his knees buckle under the pure pleasure he was feeling. With a few more strokes, you ran your tongue up his length and he cried out in ecstasy, the hand in his hair coming down to grip yours instead. When you finally took his length into your mouth, Matty didn't waste any time in taking back his power over you. He pushed your head down, forcing you to take as much of him as you could fit. You loved it, moaning around his thick cock and gagging a little when you reached his base. Matty didn't give you any time to get into a proper rhythm, instead thrusting his hips back and forward, fucking into your throat roughly. You didn't care, you were happy to be used as his stress reliever.

Matty was getting closer to his orgasm, panting "Fuck, babe, so good for me, I'm so close." A few more thrusts into your mouth and he was spilling down your throat, pulling out so you didn't choke. In the process he shot a few drops of cum onto the side of your face and when he had come down from his high, he dropped down to your level on the floor and stuck his tongue out to catch it. His thumb brushed your lip and you opened your mouth for him to spit his cum into. You swallowed it obediently and Matty pressed a heated kiss to your lips, you tongue meeting his. He could tase himself still on your tongue and it was already turning him on again. You broke the kiss, however, raising an eyebrow, "What?" Matty questioned. "Is that your phone buzzing?" "Shit! Yeah, it is." He fumbled in his jacket pocket whilst trying to pull his sweats back up. "Oh fuck. 16 missed calls from Hann, 12 from Ross, 7 messages from George and a voicemail from Jamie. We're fucked."

The pair of you practically run back to the gate to see Matty's manager and bandmates pacing anxiously. Adam spotted you first and put on his 'angry dad face'. "Where the hell have you two been?" You tried to conceal your smile but Matty was grinning from ear to ear. "Oh for god's sake! You two are the worst!" George was laughing manically, gasping out "I can't believe this! We nearly missed our flight because you two were shagging somewhere!" "We weren't, I promise! I felt sick so Matty took me to get a bottle of water from the vending machine around the corner." Ross was laughing now too. "Oh, the vending machine that we also went to? The one that we checked a million times when we were looking for you? Sure." You flushed red with embarrassment, and George put his arm around you and starting walking towards the gate with you. "Don't worry, Y/n, you can join the mile high club next!" Everyone groaned, including you and Matty, and you didn't hear about anything else for the duration of your flight.

[sirianasims]

When Marten realised that it was my first time at GeekCon, he appointed himself my official tour guide.

I decided to let him. He was cute in a geeky way, and I missed having a nice boy pay attention to me. I hadn’t dated anyone since my ex Oscar went to uni, and the creepy DMs from random people definitely didn’t count.

The first booth was a promotion for Dusk Glow 2: Moonrise. Marten ignored the two people dressed up as vampires and kept going.

“Not a fan of vampire romance?”

He waved a hand dismissively.

“Nah, I mostly read serious fantasy, and this is a bit too much for me, you know? I want A Song of Hot and Cold, not Wands of Desire.”

I made a mental note to pick up a copy when Marten wasn’t around. I also decided not to mention that I owned all forty-three books in the Wands of Desire series and had pre-ordered the forty-fourth.

Suddenly, a booming voice rang through the gallery.

“Stop right there, Black Shadow! What devilish scheme have you cooked up this time?”

At the next booth, someone dressed as Llama Man was pointing at me.

“Ah, Llama Man, my arch-nemesis. You always were quick to spoil my fun.”

The man smirked under the mask.

“Typical. I should’ve known you’d try to crash the party.”

I strode towards him, returning the smile.

“Oh, I intend to do more than crash it. What are you going to do about it, alpaca boy?”

“We all know how this ends, Black Shadow! With you behind bars!”

“Is that so? You’d have to catch me first!”

I blew him a kiss, and he smiled broadly and started walking around the table.

I quickly turned and ran.

He sprinted after me as other con-goers turned and stared.

“Fear not, citizens! Llama Man shall not rest until Black Shadow is brought to justice!”

A few people laughed and cheered, and I ran to the end wall and turned around.

“Blasted! A dead end! You win this time, Llama Man!”

He came closer, laughing as he pulled off his mask.

“You truly are a villain. Don’t make an old man run like that, I’m not quite in movie shape these days.”

I was shocked for a moment. I thought he was just another cosplayer. Did I just make Paul Romeo himself chase me through the Casbah Gallery?

“You look great, I mean, you look in great shape to me. I mean…”

I blushed helplessly as he sent me a dazzling smile. Then he leaned in and lowered his voice, gently lifting my chin.

“You know, sometimes heroes and villains have more in common than they realise.”

My eyes flickered to his mouth, now so close I could feel his breath on my skin with every word. Silly costume or not, Paul Romeo definitely still had it.

He continued softly. “They are both driven by passion… by the thrill of the chase.”

Then he pulled back, a playful twinkle in his eyes.

“Sadly, it seems fate had other plans for us, Black Shadow, and I don’t want to be another has-been actor who dates women half my age. Besides, I think your companion is getting impatient.”

I had forgotten all about Marten.

He was staring at us, his face unreadable.

Paul gave my hand a brief squeeze.

“Until we meet again, Black Shadow.”

beginning / previous / next

[krispyweiss]

Pete Best Band with the Cyrkle at Valley Dale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio, July 28, 2024

Pete Best says his four-show American swing is designed to take audiences “back to the days I played with four guys named John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Stuart Sutcliffe.”

That it did. Though the crystal chandeliers that hung from the ceiling of Columbus, Ohio’s 1920s-era Valley Dale Ballroom likely didn’t remind Best of the dingy U.K. and European clubs in which he put the backbeat in the Beatles from 1960-’62.

Best made the comment after his eponymous Band’s opening salvo of “Rock and Roll Music,” “What I’d Say,” “One after 909” and “Chains,” which were played on a stage bookended by screens that showed images of the Best-era Beatles together on- and off-stage.

It was the one time on July 28 the 82-year-old, black-clad Best would emerge from behind his white Gretsch drum set, from which he, alongside brother Roag on an adjacent kit, drove the all-Liverpudlian quintet though 23 songs and 90 minutes of authentically rendered, pre-Fab Beatles music.

Recreating Beatles tracks is a ridiculously difficult proposition, as Best’s tour mates, the Cyrkle, demonstrated during their hourlong opening set. The Brian Epstein-managed group, which has two members remaining from the lineup that played on the Fabs’ ’66 tour, offered such selections as “If I Needed Someone,” “Eight Days a Week” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps;” numbers by the Ides of March (“Vehicle”) and Ohio Express (“Chewy Chewy”); and its own two hits, “Turn Down Day” and “Red Rubber Ball.” The musicianship was shaky; the set list often beyond the Cyrkle’s grasp, particularly on the Beatles songs and McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed.”

But where the Cyrkle stumbled, the PBB soared, reigniting a 60-plus-year-old jumble of energy on Beatles numbers both mostly forgotten (the Lennon-Harrison instrumental “Cry for a Shadow,” Lennon-McCartney’s “Hello Little Girl”) and still-beloved as with “P.S. I Love You” and “I Saw Her Standing There.”

Best’s wisdom lay in his sticking with his era and avoiding songs with which he wasn’t involved. Tony Flynn, who proved his Britishness by praising the virtues of Olive Garden’s Italian food, was particularly adept on throat-shredding numbers such as “Please Mr. Postman” and “Mr. Moonlight,” yet softer fare, including “Besame Mucho,” “Till There was You” and “Like Dreamers Do” fared just as well, sounding right at home in America in 2024.

And by the time the Pete Best Band said cheerio with the pairing of “Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey,” fans could only be grateful Best returned to music in the 1980s and continues to share the fruits of his truncated career with Beatlemaniacs who are better off for his musical generosity.

Sound Bites still isn’t sure what he expected from Best. But it surely wasn’t an exceptional gig such as this.

Pete Best Band setlist: “Rock and Roll Music;” “What I’d Say;” “One after 909;” “Chains;” “Please Mr. Postman;” “Hello Little Girl;” “Mr. Moonlight;” “P.S. I Love You;” “Roll over Beethoven;” “Besame Mucho;” “Cry for a Shadow;” “Till there Was You;” “Slow Down;” “Money (That’s What I Want);” “Like Dreamers Do;” “Ain’t She Sweet;” “My Bonnie;” “Lucille;” “Memphis, Tennessee;” “Some other Guy;” “I Saw Her Standing There;” “Twist and Shout;” “Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey”

Grade card: Pete Best Band with the Cyrkle at Valley Dale Ballroom - 7/28/24 - A/C-

7/29/24

[your-divine-ribs]

Drive

Words: 2.2k

Another little something I wrote from 🤍 anon’s thoughts… // the smut part is very brief // I do have another little car fic planned out from a request I received a while ago which will likely be naughtier xxx

Imagines Masterlist Main Masterlist

It's shameful really, how little your boyfriend has to do to turn you on. Most of the time he's all too aware of what he's doing. He's so in tune with you that he knows exactly what his calculated but tender touches and whispered words of sweet praise are doing to you, but there are odd occasions where he's completely oblivious to the effect he's having on you. This is one of those times.

You're on the long drive to Glasgow for the band's headline gig at TRSNMT. Van had chosen not to travel on the tour bus, favouring the drive with you instead, but you both hadn't accounted for quite what an arduous journey it was. He'd opted for the scenic route to avoid heavy traffic on the M74 which meant navigating some winding countryside roads. Whilst this provided some breathtakingly pretty scenery unfortunately it was doing nothing for his pre-gig stress.

"Shit... are ya sure this is the right way love? Feels more like we're driving up to the Highlands rather than into the city. You did put the right postcode into the Sat Nav, didn't ya?"

The hand that's resting on your thigh as he drives gives you a gentle squeeze and you squirm in your seat, your dress riding up an inch.

"I'm sure I did, you told me to programme an alternative route so that's what I did."

You sink down further in your seat, surreptitiously easing your legs apart, your breath catching when you feel the little callouses on his fingertips brush against your inner thigh as he flexes his hand.

"Might have to pull over in a minute," he mumbles to himself. "I know we've got plenty of time but I don't wanna end up driving miles in the wrong direction. Steve'll go ballistic if I turn up late for soundcheck."

He starts rambling on about the last time he'd left only minutes to spare for sound-check for an important gig and the band's tour manager had given him a lecture in front of the rest of the lads, but you're not properly taking in his words. You're too busy longingly watching his hand on your leg, studying his long, slender fingers and the shadows of the raised veins, the way he absentmindedly drags his fingers over the soft flesh of your thigh every now and again as he talks. You know you should be listening to him but to be honest your mind is well and truly at gutter level, imagining how it would feel if he slid his hand higher, his skilful fingers slipping under the lace of your panties to pleasure you as he drove.

"You're not listening to me are ya babe?"  His voice suddenly cuts through your filthy thoughts, and you turn your head to the side to look at him, see the little crease of concentration on his forehead as he peers at the road ahead.

"I am!" You protest, smirking to yourself. It's not a blatant lie but you're definitely not fully tuned in. Your flimsy dress is spread out on the seat, the hem only a few inches from indecency but you don't bother to rearrange it. You're just waiting for the moment Van glances over and catches sight of you. He never can resist you when you're looking all pure and pretty in a cute little summer dress, especially when the salacious curve of your lips adds that alluring hint of wickedness.

"So what did I just say then?" He challenges you, a hint of annoyance in his voice as he takes his hand away to place it back on the wheel as he navigates a tight bend. "You never listen, always got your head in the bloody clouds daydreaming about something."

"I was listening, you were moaning on about being late for gigs," you tell him, immediately missing his touch but trying not to sulk about it. "I don't know why it stresses you out so much to be honest... you never are actually late. Even when you're cutting it fine you always get there on time. Steve just likes to complain."

"Yeah well, I just like to be professional, ya know I do. Don't wanna let anyone down."

You hum an agreement, excitement mounting as he positions his hand back on your leg and it's a little higher this time. You're tempted to place your hand over his and slide it even further up but you don't. You're enjoying this little game that you've got going on, even if you're the only conscious participant at present.

You lull your head to the side to study his profile as he drives. He's so handsome with his long lashes framing his pretty blue eyes, the gentle slope of his nose and the scattering of freckles across the bridge of it, the sharp line of his jaw which is lightly stubbled after he'd foregone his usual morning shave. He's got the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows and you watch as the tendons in his arms flex under the skin as he relaxes and clenches his grip on the steering wheel.

Fuck... you'd never realised how much it turned you on simply watching him drive. You're not sure what it is but there's just something about it that raises your pulse. It's a warm summer's day but even with the air conditioning turned up full you swear the temperature's risen by a good ten degrees. Maybe you're ovulating. That must be it, your hormones tend to run rampant at certain times of the month and your uncontrollable horniness has got you into a compromising situation with your boyfriend on more than one occasion. Not that he complains about it or ever denies you, his own libido sky-rocketing whenever you take the initiative in your sexual encounters. In fact he'll often tell you it's his biggest turn on when you make your demands of him.

So you take the plunge in a sudden rush of boldness, darting out your hand to place it over his and firmly sliding it higher up your thigh, spreading your legs as you watch his stunned reaction.

"What are ya... oh... oh fucking 'ell," he splutters, eyes darting between your bare legs and the road ahead. His jaw falls slack before he's licking at his lips and shifting in the seat. You can practically see the cogs in his brain whirring as his thoughts take an unexpected filthy turn, the animalistic arousal you spark in him as you brazenly press his hand between your legs and let out a needy sigh.

"So this what you've been so distracted about eh?" He says, voice tight in surprise as his fingers come into contact with damp lace. "You been sitting there next to me thinking about this the whole journey huh?"

"Maybe..." you giggle coyly, pressing your head back against the headrest as you feel a fingertip rub temptingly over your covered clit. "Mmm... that feels nice..."

He lets out a small groan beside you, all need and frustration. "Christ babe, think ya gonna be the death of me... well maybe the death of both of us if I go and crash the car! We can't do this while I'm driving, you're too much of a distraction."

His eyes dart quickly to you then away, full of longing and desire as he reluctantly withdraws his hand, placing it back on the wheel. You know damn well he'll be fighting with his conscience right now, the reliable, dependable part of him telling him to concentrate fully on getting to his destination whilst his wayward naughty side is clamouring to be heard, urging him to pull over and fuck the living daylights out of you in the nearest lay-by.

"It's okay, it's just a little fantasy of mine. I know it's too dangerous..." You bite back a sulky pout, knowing Van's speaking the truth but still fighting the desire which is pulsing red hot between your thighs. "I’ll just have to wait until tonight after the show I guess."

"It's not that I don't want to..." he starts but you cut him off, leaning over the centre console to plant a soft kiss on his jawline, his stubble lightly scratching at your lips.

"It's okay... really... I'm not that sex-crazed! I can wait!" You laugh, finally pulling the hem of your dress down over your bare thighs, pushing away your salacious thoughts, stashing them away for later.

Van reaches over again, this time entwining his fingers through yours, pulling your hand up to his lips so he can press a kiss against your knuckles. "I'll make it up you... promise."

You drive in comfortable quiet for a while, Van humming a Beatles track that's just come on the radio and tapping out a beat on the steering wheel, you gazing out the passenger window at the pretty mountainous landscape. You're so zoned out that when his voice sounds out and you feel the touch on your thigh again you jolt a little in surprise.

"If I pull over and fuck you we're definitely gonna wind up being late. We'd better have a good excuse for the guys."

"What're you talking about? We just agreed to wait... oh..."

Your voice trails off as your eyes dip down to his crotch to note the bulge in his jeans. Even though you'd managed to temporarily switch off your arousal it seems like Van hasn't. A huge smirk breaks out on your lips, quietly triumphant that it seems like you might have got your own way after all.

"So it looks like someone can't wait until after the show then?"

Van chuckles, shaking his head in amusement. "Babe, I'll fuck you now and after the show. Can't stop thinking about you sitting there thinking all these dirty thoughts. I'm guessing it won't matter if we're a little bit late."

"You've certainly changed your tune," you grin, letting your legs fall slack as he kneads at the flesh of your inner thighs. "We don't have to make up some complicated excuse either, we can just tell the guys that we couldn't find the car keys.”

"Nah," Van disagrees. "I texted Bondy earlier to tell him we were just leaving out. Something's gotta happen whilst we're driving."

"Something is happening," you reply, your voice breathy as you feel his fingertips edging ever closer to the crease of your inner thigh. You push your pelvis forward in the seat, eager to feel more than just his teasing touches. "Just tell them we got lost... I'll take the blame. Tell them I was navigating."

This raises another chuckle from Van as he quickly snatches his hand away to flick on the indicator. "That's totally believable with your shit sense of direction. Here, this'll do, I can't wait any longer. I'll fuck ya right here."

He pulls off the road and you look all around to take in your surroundings, your eyes widening in surprise as you realise he's pulled into a roadside cafe, hardly the most secluded of spots.

"Here? You're joking aren't you? It's a bit public isn't it?"

But your caution isn't shared by Van who pulls into an empty space at the far side of the car park. He quickly kills the engine and unbuckles his seat belt in record time, his eagerness apparent as he leans across the centre console to loom over you.

"It'll be fine, we just have to be discreet. C'mon love, live a little!"

He's already reaching for you, one hand tucking around the back of your neck whilst the other releases your seat belt, his lips crashing against yours with passion, stealing your breath.

You're at once like a pair of horny teenagers, moaning and panting into each other's mouths, pawing at each other's clothing like you can't get enough of one another. It's still too risky to go all the way though, despite your love of pushing boundaries neither of you want to end up on an indecent exposure charge with Van's headline slot just hours away. So you settle for a compromise, needy fingers and hands delving under clothing, hot flesh and whispered stifled groans as you pleasure each other in tune to your desperate desire.

"Fucking 'ell! Look at you!” Van exclaims in stunned approval as he pushes your dress up around your hips to reveal delicate black lace, a new purchase you’d made for your trip with your boyfriend in mind. You know how the sight of all that pretty sheer lace drives him wild and it’s having the desired effect, his eyes blazing with lust as he hooks his fingertips under the lacy edge of your panties to pull them aside.

"Well..." you smirk mischievously, fingers tracing the outline of his erection through his jeans which sees him biting down hard on his bottom lip to stifle a groan. "Thought I should make an effort since I planned on fucking the lead singer of the band playing tonight..."

"You'd better not be talking about our opener," he teases, his mock-serious tone a contrast to the wide cheeky grin that surfaces.

"The pretty boy with the soft lips and the brown hair is the one I desire tonight," you murmur, your words devolving into moans as you feel him pressing two fingers inside you, the heel of his hand sliding slickly against your clit.

You grip hold of his forearm with a gasp, holding on tight as electric currents of pleasure zip up your spine, your body trembling as he hits all your sweet spots at once.

"I'm all yours love... tonight and every night."

[yinandyanglifestyle]

I went to Sydney for Alphonse Mucha

by: Icie

One thing to know about me, I was an interior design major back in my home country. I absolutely sucked at it, but I fell in love with Art History. In that minor, our professors taught us about different art styles through the ages and bit by bit I saw the progress of art through the ages. I loved the OG Gothic Style, Romanesque, was disillusioned with Baroque and Rococo from the west... It was too Western focused and it didn't interest me as much (because I was an Asian kid) until we got towards the end of the 19th century where the grandparents of weebs (of which I am a part of) hailed from and Japonisme was a thing. Japonisme inspired so much beautiful art and it triggered a domino effect that ultimately led to Art Nouveau where Alphonse Mucha was a main character.

This was it. My favourite art style! I can never go back to loving other art styles after discovering Art Nouveau. It spoke to me about how feminine it was and it awakened something from my mostly masculine soul. I wanted to see more of these beautiful girls surrounded by flowers and stars, wearing kimono-inspired clothes in pretty pastels. The macaroni hair only added to the romanticism of it all. This is what love is like, but in art form!

Fast forward to 2024, The Mucha Foundation collaborated with the Art Gallery of New South Wales to host over 200 of this master's works which was "the most comprehensive exhibition ever seen in Australia of this visionary artist's work". I had to see it. I needed to see it! I am a big fan of Mucha and Art Nouveau, and one of my dreams was to go to Paris, Brussels, and Prague for all of the beautiful swirly-whirlies. Being a Brisbanite, I was exited. Please come to my city! Please, please, please! But AGNSW said "sorry, it's exclusive to Sydney."

Dammit. It's off to Sydney I go. I donned my Sailor Moon dress, packed my bag for a 3 day trip with my partner just so I could see this legend's works and boy, I was not disappointed. I learned to love Mucha and his works even more. We landed in Sydney, didn't check in our hotel, and went straight to the main quest:

Outside, they had this big banner of Mucha's name. Inside was this glorious area that showcased Summer (left) and Rose (right). Oh wait, the exhibit is next door. So we went to the more modern building, down two floors, bought tickets, and enjoyed the art.

In the newer building next door, I was treated to pre-art nouveau Mucha. We learned about what his life was like before his popularity. He designed some clothes for a theatre, hung out with everyone's buddy Paul Gaugin, Ludek Marold and Annah the Javanese. The tour guide said, "if he wasn't a painter, he would've been a great photographer".

Then we were treated to the meat of the exhibit: the Sarah Bernhardt stuff, his lithographs, his sketches, but what struck me most were his concept art to reality. (Excuse my phone's shadow. For some reason, AGNSW decided to put these works on a 45° angle under bright lights. The girl beside me even said "fucking glare!" and I wholeheartedly agreed.)

We were treated to so many wonderful works and I cried when I saw parts of Le Pater. I'm an atheist but this made me think that maybe there is a god. Maybe. But still, beautiful artwork that left me speechless.

I got to stand next to my favourite work of his: White Star. Joy!

At the end of the exhibit, the tour guide talked about how Mucha who was somewhat influenced by Japan, now influenced Japan. Now we come full circle with anime and manga characters depicted in art nouveau styled paintings and posters. Oh boy, we had our Lord Yoshitaka Amano's works in the gallery as well. I was so lucky to see works of my two favourite artists in one day!

It was almost 2PM by the time we finished the tour. We spent at least 4 hours in the gallery after landing just because I fangirled and was willing to spend money on Mucha. Yeah, I bought stuff. A reproduction of Alphonse Mucha's original "Documents Decoratifs" which focused more on his industrial design work (jewellery, cutlery, furniture etc) which I rarely see on the internet, a set of badges and make-up from Japanese brand MilleFée.

I went to Sydney for Alphonse Mucha and it was worth it. I end this rabid fangirling with the parting words of the Art Gallery of New South Wales' tour guide: Mucha's style has never been as well loved and as well represented as it is in Japan.

[mikerickson]

8/5/2024 - 8/8/2024

Time for the latest installment of my "Don't post about a vacation until after I'm back home" series:

We were killing time in a mall before leaving for the airport on Friday when I noticed the overhead lights swaying in a store. Felt like a massive train was rolling by just outside, but I knew we weren't close enough to the NJ Transit line to actually feel it. Turns out it was a ⋆⭒˚.⋆4.8 earthquake⋆⭒˚.⋆.

Our flight got delayed for three hours while the runway was inspected for damage. While waiting to get dinner in the terminal, the lights started swaying again and we felt a 3.8 aftershock six hours after the first.

@perilous-pursuit-of-perfection and @humdrumhootenanny picked us up from the airport and let us stay with them and we didn't take a single group photo the entire weekend, but just trust me.

Next day we went to the Ohio statehouse in Columbus for a free tour. Learned that Ohio bounced around three previous capitals before the state legislature passed a law to create a permanent capital. Also Abraham Lincoln was in this building giving a speech to the state assembly when he received a telegram informing him he'd won the 1860 Presidential Election.

Next day went to the Columbus Art Museum and I was trying to get that picture of Morning Sun by Edward Hopper but this hipster couple stood in front of it chatting for honestly more than 10 minutes so I left and came back later. Also there was a cool exhibit from 2023 about "Final Girls" in horror slasher movies. Slumber Party Martyrs by Robin F. Williams was my favorite.

We also went to a Field of Corn, except the corn was made out of concrete. Andrew climbed and stood on top of one without killing himself and it was very impressive.

Day of the eclipse we left for the National Museum of the US Air Force super early and hit no traffic, and were directed to park surprisingly close to the exit. Got to see literally dozens of planes from pre-WWI up through current models (was not expecting to see an actual F-22 on display). Also the B2 stealth bomber is enormous in person and really does look otherworldly compared to "normal" planes.

The sunlight started getting noticeably dimmer about a quarter to 3 PM, and the rate of dimming felt exponential. Things started getting dark very quickly in the last minute. The museum was having a huge event for the day so there were maybe a few thousand people there with us. I thought that would take away from the experience and be distracting, but it kinda made the whole thing even more thrilling to hear a massive crowd around us cheer and shout when the sun disappeared. Totality honestly looked fake. It looked like a hole was punched in an old CRT computer monitor. The air got noticeably colder and you could see stars in the sky. The entire horizon looked like a sunset in every direction at the same time. Honestly got emotional and lost my breath in a physiological reaction; it felt like I got punched in the gut without the pain. About 2 1/2 minutes later a very bright pinpoint appeared in the bottom right quadrant and the sun started coming back. A few minutes after that, looking to the northeast where the shadow continued it just looked like a massive thunderstorm without any clouds.

Managed to beat the crowd out of the museum parking grounds and hit zero traffic on the 1-hour drive back to Columbus. The eclipse was even still happening when we got back to the house.

Other than the earthquake (which, who the fuck saw that coming), this trip went exactly as I planned for, which is such a relief considering how much I was stressing myself out over the weather in the week beforehand.

[randomthefox]

People are reacting to being told that Emerl destroying the ARK in Dark Beginnings is not New Information by going "UMM WELL SEGA NEVER RERELEASED SONIC BATTLE SO WHAT DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO?"

as if Game Boy Advanced Emulators can't be run on your fucking iPhone nowadays.

That's the real mark of a tourist, to me. When they're presented with an archive of content that released before they got into the franchise, they respond incredulously. They respond by saying "well that content has not been curated for me by the IP owner, so I wont bother with it"

IS it a problem that Sonic Battle and 2005's Shadow the Hedgehog are not more accessible to a modern audience on current digital platforms? Yes, and I would never argue otherwise.

But methods of partaking in those old releases certainly exist, and are not difficult to uncover.

A fan will react to being told there's EVEN MORE content of this thing they've become interested in with delight, with an archeologists glee at being able to dig into this history and uncover even more of what they've discovered they enjoy.

A tourist complains that there's no pamphlet of attractions directing them where to go and the vacation agency did not supply them with a tour guide and will insist it's obviously not worth it because the experience has not been pre-arranged on their behalf and the graphics don't look nice enough to take selfies with for their vacation album anyway.

Tourists who complain about being directed to this trove of medias past to enjoy can fuck off. For real fans, cringelords like me would happily serve as a Sherpa to guide them into these vast ranges of old Sonic games so they might behold their splendor. That's the difference.