#the working title for this was alternately 'Are you an Angel?' and 'boy has major crush (and also a major concussion)‚ more at 11

[rai-knightshade-art]

Anakin Skywalker: Are you an angel?

Padmé Naberrie: What?

Anakin: An angel. I've heard the deep space pilots talk about them. They live on the moons of Iego, I think. They're the most beautiful creatures in the universe.

Padmé: You're a funny little boy. How do you know so much?

Anakin: I listen to all the traders and star pilots who come through here. I'm a pilot, you know, and someday I'm going to fly away from this place.

-Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

(artist thoughts under the cut, image ID in alt text)

So I was rereading one of the final scenes from Young Jedi Knights: Jedi Under Siege a while back, specifically one of the last chapters of the book, which goes like this:

The Praxeum students have defeated the Second Imperium's Dark Jedi, Brakiss is gone with the destruction of the Shadow Academy, and everyone's returning to the Temple to regroup, get medical attention, etc etc. Zekk, formerly Brakiss's Darkest Knight, has been having a bit of a crisis as he's watched all his Dark Jedi fall, felt the death of Brakiss (explicitly a sort of father figure to him), and saw his guardian Peckhum's ship apparently crash into the jungles of Yavin IV. He's questioning his actions, his decisions, his entire being, spiralling as he realizes just how little control he has over his own life, until he finally makes the decision that there's at least one thing he can control. He ends up in front of the Jedi Temple, confronting Jaina, Luke and the other trainees, brandishing his lightsaber and refusing anyone entry. He and Jaina have a verbal battle of wills as she encourages him to embrace the light instead of the dark, appealing to their friendship, "I know there's still good in you, it's not too late to turn back to the light!" Eventually they cross blades, even, until Jaina turns hers off and throws it away in a classic Skywalker maneuver, refusing to fight Zekk; he continues to argue and inch his blade toward Jaina even as he appears conflicted, until they're interrupted when Peckhum's ship, clearly damaged but still flying and containing a very-much-still-alive Peckhum (Zekk's other father figure), which finally snaps him out of it.

Then the Temple blows up from the inside, and we finally get the reveal of what Zekk was actually doing as everyone runs for cover from the falling debris: stalling for time so that there would be no one in the Temple when it blew (a pre-planned act by the Second Imperium), therefore saving everyone. Zekk himself gets hit in the head with some debris after pushing Jaina back and out of the way, and falls to the ground unconscious as Jaina can only look on.

This is where the original chapter ended, and the next chapter time skips to after the chaos of the explosion, when everyone's getting medical attention and the lower levels of the Temple have been decreed safe to enter. I found this to be a bit of a let down though, I had remembered there being more tension, more emotion from these scenes, especially between Jaina and Zekk. And so, enter this comic, a sort of filler scene: after the debris has stopped crashing down around them but before most of the others have gotten their wits back about them, Jaina runs to where Zekk lies unconscious, heedless of any further danger, only concerned about her beloved friend's safety. And because i love it best when star wars rhymes with itself, they unknowingly recreate a moment from decades past, between another lost boy, and another brown-haired girl determined to change the world.

This comic was originally a little sketch along the side of Jaina and Zekk's character page, which you can see here. But even as i drew it there i knew i wanted to see it in full color with the lighting effects i had imagined in my head. And so, here we are!

[awhitehead17]

100 ways to say I love you - TimKon edition:

Number 36: “We’ll figure it out.” 

Enjoy! :D

Something’s been bothering Kon all day and Tim has no idea what it could be. From a short distance he could see how Kon drifts aimlessly between different rooms in the Tower, the way he can’t seem to focus on any task that he tries to do, the way he doesn’t engage in any conversation going on between the team and the way he doesn’t even seem to be eating.

This behaviour of his has been going on for several days and of course Tim’s taken note of it. When he first picked up on it he approached Kon, questioning gently if everything was alright but his boyfriend had only shaken him off with a tight smile and a small nod. Understanding that he didn’t want to talk then Tim left him alone, knowing that Kon will come to him when he’s ready (or at least Tim would like to hope he will).

When the behaviour continues for several more days Tim’s concern only grows, however he still doesn’t approach him. Tim desperately wants to, he wants to make sure Kon is okay but he doesn’t want to push him when he’s clearly not ready to talk about whatever it is.

Just because Kon won’t talk to him about what’s clearly bothering him, Tim uses an alternative method to work out what’s going on. If he has some idea to what’s going on through Kon’s mind then he would be able to come up with a way to gently confront his boyfriend and then they could work together to come up with a solution to Kon’s problem.

Tim does some digging. He recalls the last week or two before Kon’s off-behaviour started, noting down any events that may play on Kon’s mind, any conversations he may have had or any missions that may have gone sideways. Unfortunately that side of things all result with nothing. Tim couldn’t find a reason behind Kon’s mood change.

He moves away from events and looks into Kon’s personal life more. Their relationship is fine, it’s going well (at least as far as Tim’s aware). Kon’s isn’t speaking to Clark but that’s nothing unusual, Ma and Pa are angels as always, his and Kara’s relationship seems to be alright. The Titan’s are all okay, no one has fallen out and no one has died recently (thank god for that). So what could it be?

Tim sighs and leans back in his desk chair. He glares at his notes and runs a frustrated hand through his hair. What could be making Kon miserable? He doesn’t think it’s him, at least he hopes not. Maybe he’s done something that’s upset Kon without knowing. Then again Kon would have brought it up by now, together they’re pretty good with communicating with one another. It’s taken some time but they got there in the end.

Taking a breather Tim picks up his phone and mindlessly browses through various of apps with notifications showing. Believe it or not, it’s Instagram that highlights the potential answer Tim had been looking for.

Scrolling through his feed Tim comes across a photo Dick had posted a few hours earlier. It’s a selfie taken in the media room of the Manor, it had a cheesy caption but that’s not what clued Tim in, it’s who’s in the picture that does. Dick’s smiling face takes up most of the image but behind him, squished together on the couch is Damian, who is scowling, and Jon, who is beaming holding a tub of ice cream.

Jon.

Kon’s mood change has to be something to do with Jon right? That’s the only major new factor in Kon’s life recently. Tim doesn’t want to jump the gun but his gut feeling is saying that’s it.

Jon appeared in their lives little over three months ago, of course they had all heard about Clark having a biological child but no one had met him until then. It’s a complicated situation but Tim knows when he first came about it really rocked Kon, but his boyfriend had shrugged it off at the time claiming he’s fine.

It was only a couple weeks ago that Jon (and the press) started calling himself Superboy. The kid had started going on missions with different heroes, simple ones without much danger to begin getting him involved with what they do. Superboy is Kon’s persona, but now Jon is Superboy too.

If anyone could understand how shitty of a situation that can be, it’s Tim. He had to share the title Robin with Damian for a little while before moving on.

So could Kon’s problem be with Jon, or is it more to do with the idea of sharing a persona with the kid?

Now he’s got the question in mind, Tim is pretty sure this is what’s bothering Kon. If he’s wrong then that’s that, he’ll try and work out something else, but until then he has to go and speak to his boyfriend.

Tim finds Kon in his room. The Kryptonian is slumped over his desk, sat in the chair and is fiddling with an elastic band ball. Tim’s heart throbs at seeing his boyfriend so down, he really hopes he’s right about this then they can work it out together and then Tim will be able to support him.

Tim enters the room, shutting the door behind him and walks over to Kon. Kon doesn’t pay him any attention and it’s a clear sign that he still doesn’t want to talk but this time Tim isn’t going to be pushed away. Sighing Tim moves, he wordlessly pushes Kon up from the desk and back into his chair, he pulls the chair away from the desk before situating himself in Kon’s lap facing him. It’s the only way Tim knows that Kon will look and pay attention to him while they have this conversation.

To begin with Kon refuses to look at him, he’s got his head tilted to the side to avoid eye-contact and his arms are slouched over the arm rests not holding onto anything. Tim leans forward, gently cupping Kon’s face with his palms to turn his head back so they were looking at one another, once their gazes meet he reaches back with one hand to play with the hair on Kon’s nape, running his fingers through it in comforting motions.

“I think I know what’s got you in a funk.” Tim states softly. There’s no point beating around the bush.

Kon frowns at him but he doesn’t say anything.

“It took a little while to work out but I believe this moping mood of yours has something to do with a little, black haired, blue eyed boy right?” Tim smiles lightly, trying to soften the situation. “More specifically, I think it has something to do with a name, the fact that you’re now sharing the same persona. Is it fair to assume I’m right?”

He finally gets a reaction out of Kon. His boyfriend huffs in amusement and rolls his eyes, a moment later he looks fondly at Tim. “I really can’t keep anything hidden from you can I?”

“No. Remember, world’s greatest detective here, there is a reason why I got that title after all.” He jokes before sobering up. “That, plus the fact I know you. I knew something was bothering you and I hoped you would come talk to me about it but you didn’t so I did some digging.”

Kon groans and bends forward, he leans his head against Tim's shoulder. Tim wraps his arms around Kon in a secure hug. “Sorry. I didn’t want to bother you with this, it’s stupid and petty. It’s been on my mind for weeks and I don’t know what to do about it.”

“You can always come to me Kon, you know that.” Tim says firmly. “I’m here for you no matter what. Big or small. Also especially something like this, I know what you’re feeling, I’ve been though it myself. I want to be here for you no matter what.”

Kon’s arms finally come up and wrap around Tim’s waist, returning his hug. “I know, I’m sorry.”

Tim presses a kiss to Kon’s temple. “It’s okay, now I know I can support you. We’ll figure it out. We can spend some time working out a solution to this, perhaps it’s time to come up with a new persona of your own. Let’s be honest you’re no longer a boy anyway! We’ll take our time with it and get it right.”

Kon nods against his shoulder before pulling away to look up at him. He gives Tim a fake pout. “You just want me to get rid of the shirt and jeans.”

Tim smiles teasingly. “Well I certainly wouldn’t oppose to it…”

Kon hmpf’s in response and goes back to resting against Tim. “I guess we can work out something. I know I’ve been needing to do something about my identity for a while and Jon’s just come in like a wrecking ball and has shaken it all up. It’s thrown me off.”

“It’s going to be okay,” Tim reassures him, giving him a squeeze, “It’s going to be different, it may not feel right and probably will feel wrong but you’ll adjust and then it’ll be amazing.”

Kon looks up at him again and Tim could see how full of hope Kon’s blue eyes were. Instead of saying anything however Kon reaches up and tugs Tim’s head down, capturing his lips in a passionate kiss. Tim gets it though, how grateful Kon is of the words and his support.

When Tim had to change identities he had been on his own, if he can help Kon through his own transition and make sure he has full support then Tim will be there every step of the way no matter what.

[yuzukult]

i’m bad too 06 (m) || kdy & reader

title: i’m bad too - drabble series pairing: kim doyoung x reader genre: angst, fluff, smut, goodboy!doyoung, nerdy!dy (basically he’s a dork) & badgirl!reader, hitman!au, oc-isn’t-a-hitman-but-she-could-be!au, there’s just a lot of unspoken things happening here lol word count: 1.7k warnings: blowjob/handjob (lucky doyoung), sexual usage of ‘oppa’ lol don’t judge a/n: still tryna learn the correct jargon for warnings but this is a drabble so.... very minimal stuff here lmfao

please let me know if anyone wants to be tagged! taglist: @wownajaemin​​​ @crescent-iak​​​ @ncttboo​​​​ @byunbaekby​ ​​← previous chapter || next chapter →

Doyoung makes you watch an obscene amount of superhero movies. For clarification: Marvel-Cinematic-Universe-kind-of-movies. However, you barely complain. If it means more time with him, you’d even watch Sesame Street just to be in his arms. 

He doesn’t like to watch those movies where there’s a way deeper message hidden behind the plot. He lives for the action, sprinkle of comedy, and occasional love interest. But not a ton. Too much romance might set unrealistic expectations, according to him. 

Albeit you sort of think he still has a vastly different depiction of love in comparison to you.

For one, in this alternate universe where there’s villains and superheroes, you, without a doubt, are a villain. You’ve tried explaining to him that you fit the stereotype—the whole leather attire plus motorcycle really takes the cake, but he doesn’t even know what you’re up to half the time. In fact, almost every single event you’ve performed a task, you’d show up at his front doorstep, hands remaining dirty from a mission for the Boss, and he’d welcome you with open arms with no idea. 

Doyoung doesn’t even have an ounce of a clue what you do.

He’s such a nice guy. Girls practically eat that shit up when they meet him, often overlooking the fact that he holds so many great boyfriend qualities. When you’re sore from “work,” (he questions what you do all the time but you just shrug nonchalantly) he’d always slip off your socks, massage the soles of your feet and finish off the rest of your body with no resistance. He doesn’t expect anything in return—not even sex. Doyoung just gives and gives, nearly never taking.

On one side, you’re glad that most women don’t recognize how perfect of a significant other he is. It gives you time to figure yourself out; how do you become good enough for Kim Doyoung? You’ve already dropped smoking. You’ve been putting more effort in your studies, granted he is your tutor. And you’ve spent the majority of your free time with him. If you ever needed to review material, you’d do it with him, just to show how much you’re trying. 

Even if there isn’t a label for the two of you.

You’re friends—but you’re definitely more than just friends. You fuck, but you’re not just fuck buddies either. You’re exclusive but you’re not straightforwardly dating. Doyoung doesn’t hide the fact that he wants you to officially be his girlfriend, although he never forces the idea upon you. He’s content with the circumstances he’s under even though he hopes to have you be his and his only. Nonetheless, it’s under your terms and he never forgets to remind you that. 

Honestly, you thought that you might be okay with this. That is, until a pretty gal with shiny black hair, toned body, and gentle voice named Joy came into the picture.

Joy is a given nickname. Her actual birth name is Park Sooyoung, a name as beautiful as the beholder, but people had gotten into the habit of calling her Joy, since… well, she’s such a joy to be around. She’s part of the school’s cheerleading squad, called the ‘Red Velvet Queens,’ plus extremely involved with other extracurriculars, including the competitive tennis team that Doyoung is on. There’s a lot of bitches on the squad, especially with the encounters you’ve had with them, but Joy isn’t one of them. She’s an angel. She’s the woman version of Doyoung. 

Doyoung likes to wait outside in the parking lot, right in the unspoken designated spot where you leave your bike. You’ve offered him a ride to school since he often stands idly, except he politely declines, and you speculate that it’s from fear. He remains cute in your eyes despite being a bit of a wuss.

Today, however, he’s not alone. It’s a daily routine that the view of Doyoung leaves you breathless, heart pumping like you’ve gone running, but today is different. Your blood is boiling, smoke whistling out your ears like a kettle on a stove from the heat that lingers around your neck region. Joy stands beside him, the widest grin smacked across her cheeks, lips stained as red as her cheerleading uniform. You wobble on your bike into the parking spot, shutting off the engine before kicking out the stand, pulling the helmet off your head while obnoxiously chewing on a piece of gum in your mouth. 

Joy’s gaze meets yours.

She’s sweet, and none of this is her fault. But you kind of hate her presence right now, just because she’s got all of Doyoung’s attention. 

Spitting out the gum on the asphalt, you shuffle through your pockets for a toothpick. This stupid toothpick that you’re stuck with because you quit smoking cigarettes for that charming boy. Popping the wooden stick in your mouth, you rake your fingers through your greasy hair, slinging the backpack over your shoulders before walking past Doyoung. 

“Sorry, Joy, I’ll catch up with you later,” You hear faintly before his heavy footsteps are rushed, catching up with yours. “Hey-Hey! Where are you going? We’re supposed to meet here. Why didn’t you wait for me?”

You shrug. He’s not happy with that response.

Hand grasping on your shoulder, he halts you in your steps to turn you to face him. As much as you hate to admit it, but you feel this green-eyed monster gnawing on your insides and you’re not a fan of it. “What’s wrong? What did I do? Talk to me.”

“Nothing. I’m busy. You still wanna tutor me later or are you busy making plans with Joy?” You snarl, munching on the pick. Doyoung’s eyes lighten up; he knows the problem now. “Are you jealous?”

“That word isn’t in my dictionary.” It’s a blunt reply, and your unfazed stare is there to support it. “Why would I be jealous of a nice girl like Joy who wants to get with a good boy like you?”

Doyoung likes you, no matter how hard you try to push him away. Your dilemma before was that you always thought a guy like him, so generous, so kind, could never love someone with a charred heart like yours. And yet, here you are, evidently jealous of a girl practically his equal when he’s done nothing but proven to you that you’re the only one he sees.

You want more, and the longer you continue to deny and swallow these feelings, you’re even more desperate to be held by him. In the midst of a tutoring session, you’ve managed to unbutton his cute sky blue dress shirt, unzip his trousers and suddenly his dick is in your mouth.

“We’re supposed to review l-limits,” He stutters over a moan, fingers reaching to comb back your hair. “S-So I told her I couldn’t hang out with her today.”

“Mm,” You hum against the tip, tongue gliding down his shaft. “I heard you the first time.” His thighs tighten when your mouth envelopes down his dick to the base with his head thrown back in the chair of your bedroom. He’s glad that he noticed you take initiative to lock the door today since you often don’t, and the possibility of one of the staff members entering in while sucking on him is kinky but he’s still scared of your brother. 

Doyoung lets out a soft gasp when your tongue swipes over his slit where a pearly bead of precum sits. “S-Shouldn’t we— oh fuck—be reviewing materi—ohh?” He sighs; your hands are everywhere; it’s hard for him to focus on anything when you’re gazing up at him through your pretty long lashes with tinged pink cheeks from his cock hitting the back of your throat. He melts under your touch when you graze over his thighs, claiming the territory that he’s succumbed to you willingly. You kiss the head of his cock and he bucks into it. “We’re reviewing a different kind of material. Have you ever been sucked off by a girl before?”

He shakes his head ‘no’, looking down at you with hooded eyes. With his arousal still in your grip, it twitches, yearning for your attention. You hate to admit it, but you’ve obviously tainted his ‘good boy’ persona with him in your bedroom like this, but Doyoung doesn’t think that. Disheveled hair, mouth gaped open, and sweaty forehead is a view of him you engrain in your memory. 

Doyoung is a good boy, but he has a body of a bad boy. There’s no way that tennis is the reason behind those washboard abs, toned thighs, and built arms. He’s not as muscular in comparison to Johnny, nor his friend Lucas, but Doyoung is gorgeous like this, perfect in your eyes. 

That’s why when you moan around his girth and he sputters, you think he’s got a halo over his head. He’s so pretty, so gorgeous, and you want to see him in all types of forms. Your hand wraps at the base of his dick, mouth wrapping around the red and angry tip, it’s glistening with your saliva as you start pumping him at a pace that leaves his jaw slack, groans bouncing off your bedroom walls. 

“Baby,” He calls out the term of endearment raspily, heart racing and abs tightening. A familiar feeling stirs in his stomach, and he knows he’s about to combust. “I’m about to cum, I need a tissue, I—”

“Cum in my mouth, oppa,” You whisper, quickening your movements but calling him “oppa” is what snaps within him, ropes of cum shooting down your throat along with a string of curses and a breathy moan escapes from his lovely lips. 

“So,” Doyoung begins, fiddling with his fingers anxiously across the lunch table from you. “You called me ‘oppa’ the other day. That was uh… new. You’ve never called me that before.”

Tying your hair up in a bun with a bobby pin between your teeth, his cheeks flush pink at the thought of you giving him a blowjob in your bedroom the other day, his fingers streaking through those luscious locks, and him cuming in your mouth. Popping out the pin, you slide in to push back a short piece of hair. “Yeah, well, there was a reason for it. You know why.”

Doyoung blinks blankly, utterly confused. “I… don’t. W-Why’d you call me oppa?”

“So you wouldn’t get nervous and just let me swallow.”

[lichfucker]

i would love to hear about why all of the ted lasso characters would fail survivor but especially rebecca

hhh ALL of them... okay the vast majority of the players can be explained away with just "physical prowess enough to make them a threat in individual challenges but dumb as bricks and would not be able to strategize themselves out of a bad spot"

this is abt to get long lmao so I'm putting individual ppl under the cut

nate is the most obvious first boot I honestly feel bad about it. bumbling, socially awkward, has NO idea how to assert himself without being an asshole about it (in the rare instances when he does assert himself at all), and even if he's smart enough to be a great strategist (which he absolutely IS), he can't convey it well enough to convince his tribe to overlook his (probable) lack of challenge ability. most of the time, people don't want to draw harsh lines in the sand on the very first vote so they can pretend everyone's getting along and still friends, so nate would be a sort of freebie vote that it'd be easy to agree on.

beard is too much of a follower. what ted says to dr sharon abt him is, "that man has had many lives, many masters." he's very comfortable being led by people with stronger personalities, and even when he disagrees with their calls he will still execute them like a perfect little lackey. the thing about beard is that I think he'd go VERY far in a season of survivor! I think he could EASILY make it all the way to the end! but I just don't think he can WIN. he's genius-level intelligent and SO strategically savvy, but more than that he is fiercely loyal. he'll attach himself to the right person (or the wrong person, as it were), and even if he is whispering in that person's ear all the way through, he would be TOO content to let them take all the credit, he wouldn't push back against them if they disagree with his plans and make a lesser move instead (the whole beginning of 'beard after hours' is him berating himself for not standing up and making the hard calls even when he knew they'd be better), he wouldn't turn around and slit that person's throat at the end to further his own game, and he would make himself socially impenetrable to everyone else. nobody could get close to him, nobody could like or understand him, he'd probably be seen as good collateral if the opposition couldn't strike directly at whomever beard works with, and if he DOES make it to final tribal, I think he'd have a very difficult time convincing the jury that he deserves the credit and the limelight. he wants to win, I just don't think he believes he deserves to.

ted and roy actually would have the exact same problem, which is "physically and strategically competent, but so FUCKING ANNOYING to live with that they get booted for the sake of tribal quality of life." roy would isolate himself socially with his aggression, and ted...

ted is the antithesis of what a "good survivor player" ought to be, which I actually think could work to his advantage in a number of ways? like I think more typical players would find him incredibly unpredictable because he's sharp enough to see what the best moves are, but generous and self-sacrificing enough not to make them. like, there's a reason he's a coach and not a player. there's a reason he says that he doesn't measure success in wins and losses. if he could survive the first few votes, his social game would be AMAZING-- the entire first season of the show is about him wearing rebecca down through the sheer magnitude of his friendship! lesser survivor players would be so endeared to him that they couldn't fathom voting him off, but they're the ones who are getting picked off in his stead. moderately savvy survivor players would not trust a single word out of ted lasso's mouth; there's no fucking way a man can be this kind and this sincere, not on survivor, it's just not possible, he must be plotting something MASSIVE, we have to strike first before he gets his chance. and the truly brilliant survivor players would realize that he IS genuine, he IS sincere, he IS loyal and giving to his core, and that's DANGEROUS. you can't let someone like that make it to the end or they'll take your million dollars. best to shut it down at the jump.

and above all that, I just think that ted... ted would thrive in the pre-merge, in the tribal portion of the game, he's SO team-oriented, but post-merge, in the individual game... perhaps if he had a solid alliance he could also feel that way about, then it might suit his temperament, but ultimately I think he just. wouldn't want it badly enough. I just think the significant majority of people would be vastly more self-interested than ted would be, so they'd take the shot first.

higgins is an interesting midpoint between all three of nate, beard, and ted, in that he's a henchman through and through even when he disagrees with his boss, he's a pushover who'd be seen as a liability in physical challenges in the early game, and he's off-puttingly friendly and polite to the point that nobody would trust that he's being sincere even though he absolutely is. early boot, maybe second or third.

maybe it's just because I've got cook islands on the brain, but jamie (esp season 1 jamie but like. season 2 as well lmao) would play A LOT like early ozzy. an arrogant wonder-boy who's good at everything (did you know there's literally a survivor casting archetype called the "amazing ace"?), with a heart-wrenching underdog story (playing for richmond, that is), an absolute beast in challenges, a huge threat but always immune, he'd win his way to the end but ultimately be beaten out in final tribal by someone smart enough to have dragged him along as their meat shield the whole game.

and as for rebecca... g-d. this one I think hurts me the most because she has everything going for her, she doesn't have a single one of the problems I've listed for anyone else, but I do genuinely believe that rebecca still loses. she's strong and she's smart and she's assertive and she's ruthless and she's sociable and she's a great liar and she's ambitious and she's ADAPTIBLE (she immediately bounces back after not getting the sun to run the photo of ted and keeley and comes up with an alternate plan that will still serve her own endgame, and by g-d being able to roll with the punches and change course is the single most important thing a survivor player can do), but rebecca still loses.

even if we set aside the fact that survivor on the whole is not particularly kind to women over 40... season 1 rebecca, especially early season 1 rebecca, is spite-motivated to the point of self-destruction. she will set her sights on one target and she will be relentless in her effort to get that person out and it'll make her so myopic that she won't see her own end coming immediately afterwards. nobody on that tribe wants to be her next victim-- better get rid of her once she's proven what she's capable of.

she's also dreadfully insecure in the wake of her divorce and when her polished veneer cracks enough to let it show (how many days of being rained on do we think it'll take for her to slip? my guess is five), some people will see it as the vulnerability that finally allows them to connect with her on a human level, while others will see it as a threatening endgame storyline and an exploitable weakness.

there are some juries, particularly old-school juries, that wouldn't vote for her in the end purely based on the fact that a million dollars is just a drop in the bucket to a woman like rebecca mannion welton. that would be a real shame, and a disservice to the game she would have had to play just to make it that far.

what's more likely than that, though, in my opinion, is that rebecca... loses the drive to win. I think that somewhere along the way survivor stops being a game that she is playing, stops being a competition, and instead becomes a journey of personal growth through adversity. I think she, like ted, stops measuring her success in wins and losses. I think she proves herself more capable and resilient than she ever thought she could be, and that is worth more to her than the money or the title of sole survivor, and she stops fighting for it. and maybe the jury admires that, and gives it to her anyway, rewards her transformation. or maybe they don't. maybe they view it as a concession, a forfeit. but I'm not certain that that moment of revelation happens at the final tribal council. I think it happens just before. I think it happens after the final immunity challenge, and she tearfully and valiantly allows herself to be voted out just inches from the finish line. I think rebecca is the fallen angel of the season, and she goes off to the jury with her head held high, which is nice, and so very noble of her, and the fans would be DYING to have her play again but she wouldn't, because she'll have gotten everything she could have wanted out of her survivor experience, and she doesn't need the crown on top of it.

I think rebecca COULD win. she just WON'T.

[clockworkouroboros]

I’m in a The Amazing Devil Discord server and have been going wild with crazy insane theories about just about everything, drawing connections that probably don’t actually exist, and generally losing my mind over both Love Run and The Horror and the Wild. That being said, I do have a theory about THatW that, if it’s not true, at least merits me a tinfoil hat, I think. Just be warned, this post will be long, and yes, I will include receipts.

So here’s this theory and Joey, if you read this, just know that I’m impressed either at how much thought was put into this, or the sheer number of coincidences that make this work if it wasn’t planned. It’s turned me into a conspiracy theorist for the past four days or so? And it’s severely affected the amount of sleep I’ve been getting.

My basic theory here is that Joey and Madeleine aren’t singing as themselves throughout this album, they’re playing characters, and those characters are old gods. Joey is the Wild, Madeleine is Time. (Alternatively, she’s Horror, fitting with the album title, but as she’s never explicitly referred to as such, I’m not insisting on that point.)

Now, where am I getting this silly idea from? None other than the title track, of course, in which Joey sings, “witness me, old man, I am the Wild, and Madeleine sings, “And I am Time itself.” And yes, they are both capitalized like that in the lyrics.

So they explicitly refer to themselves as such. But Emily, you might be saying (or not, depending on how much you care), that’s one song! This is hardly an album’s worth of proof! Sure, they might be gods in this song, but what about the other eight? To which I say, hoo boy, I’m just getting started.

Before I continue, I’d like to add something about how their characters are depicted throughout the album: Joey is more cheerful, Madeleine is not. (see: Wild Blue Yonder, Marbles, Battle Cries.) Joey is whimsical, Madeleine is practical. (See Battle Cries especially, but you can also see this in Wild Blue Yonder.) Madeleine is referred to multiple times as being stronger than Joey, and appears to assume a more protective role over Joey’s childlike. This fits in with my theory, by the way, in a roundabout sort of way that involves some squinting. Joey is the Wild, which is...well, wild. Think of little kids: cheerful, whimsical, in need of protection. Madeleine is Time. She knows what has been, what is, and what will be. Of course she’s going to be more mature, practical, and pessimistic.

And why is this important? Well, it’s kind of how I’m tying together a lot of the rest of the album. (Not all of it; Farewell Wanderlust is a notable outlier in many ways, and some of my connections are tenuous at best, but we’re going to ignore that and pretend it’s all rock-solid. Rockrose-solid. I’m sorry, I’m very tired.) I’m ignoring The Rockrose and the Thistle a little bit in this post, not because I dislike it (it’s gorgeous), but because it’s stubbornly eluding my attempts to tie it into anything other than Elsa’s Song, which isn’t even part of this album.

The vast majority of what you need to know about these two characters is in The Horror and the Wild (the song), so I’m gonna copy/paste some lyrics, and go through them. (Actually, the copy/pasting is nonexistent, these lyrics are imprinted on my brain at this point. That being said, if there are errors, lmk and I will edit the post and fix them!)

So we’ve got Madeleine starting, singing about Joey, with “You were raised by wolves and voices, every night I hear them howling deep beneath your bed, they said it all comes down to you.” Aside from the fact that I have no clue why “it all” comes down to Joey, or anything with that last bit, maybe a few more late nights with a tinfoil hat will do the trick. That being said, the first line of the song references childhood specifically in relation to Joey. Notice also how wolves are referenced in Wild Blue Yonder (“we don’t know what’s out there/could be wolves”) and That Unwanted Animal (“‘What’s the time, Mr. Wolf,’ but you, you’re blind, you bleat, you bear your claws”). The whole “howling” thing and “deep beneath your bed” both pop up in That Unwanted Animal, too: “and on the wind it howls,” for one. And for the other, there’s “you [presumably Joey] make the bed up silent on the floor so no one hears us,” later followed later in the song by “and the door below us splinters, and the creature creeps inside.”

Following this, Joey sings about Madeleine: “you’re the daughter of silent watching stones, you watch the stars hurl all their fundaments, in wonderment at you and yours, forever asking more.” First of all, I’m gonna say that this is Joey’s point of view; later on, Madeleine will refute the daughter thing (“I’m not a drunkard, a daughter, a preacher”.) Anyway, “silent watching stones” could reference Wild Blue Yonder: “every stone you threw, I stood on to better see the view.” The view being the stars hurling all their fundaments?

(Incidentally, I knew vaguely what “fundament” meant, but I looked it up to make sure I had it right, and learned that, among its other meanings, “fundament” can mean “butt.” But I don’t think that’s what Joey had in mind with this. I just think y’all should appreciate it.)

Anyway, we’ve also got in Battle Cries, “With you I could summon the gods and the stars, make them dance out the plays that we wrote from the heart, and we’d laugh at the ghosts of our fears,” with Madeleine singing, “Come on, love, please don’t start, sing your notes play your part,” and then the part that gets me every time: M: “we were gods,” J: “we were kids.” Which is a whole other can of worms involving their personalities, which I’ve already briefly outlined. My point is the whole “gods and the stars” bit.

I could (and have, on Discord) done a full, in-depth analysis of this track, and I don’t want to go all over it again, but “I promise you, they’ll sing of every Time you passed your fingers through my hair and called me child, witness me, old man, I am the Wild” has both Time and Wild as proper nouns in the lyrics, plus reinforces Time’s view of the Wild as a child. No clue who the old man is, though.

In verse two, Madeleine sings, “you [Joey] are the son of every dressing-up box, and I am Time itself, I slow and let you play, I steal the hours, and turn the night into day.” Again, this reinforces Joey’s childlike aspects (which will later be hinted at in That Unwanted Animal, with the “god-child,” who’s clearly Joey), but also shows, as in the refrain, the fact that Time has a sense of protectiveness over the Wild, at least sometimes.

That being said, although I’ve obviously referenced other songs, I still have mostly focused on the title track. So. I’m going to go through some of the other songs real quick.

The songs on the album (again, excepting Rockrose, because my attempts to tie it in have been frustrating and not gone anywhere, Mr. Batey please explain) can be grouped into categories: songs outright referencing gods (THatW, Farewell Wanderlust, That Unwanted Animal, Battle Cries), songs about their relationship, (arguably all of them, although Welly Boots is a bit confusing), and songs that refuse to allow me to classify them (Rockrose).

I would argue that this entire album is about the relationship of two old gods, but I’m not quite sure what the chronology is of the album, because it seems like it can’t be straightforward. (Farewell Wanderlust, although its placement makes sense in the setup of the album, doesn’t make sense in the chronology of this theory.) Another important note in some way is that every song on the album, with the exception of Farewell Wanderlust, is about being there for someone, or steadfastness in some capacity, while Farewell Wanderlust is about abandonment. It’s an outlier in a lot of ways. (Though not as many ways as frickin Rockrose.)

I have been talking about this at great length (and almost incessantly) on Discord, so unless you want this post to get even longer, I’m going to run by some lyrics real quick to try and show a little bit my thought process.

- “He watches her get dressed as though she’s hurtling through time” (Fair)

- “And she is stronger than he has ever been, he knows” (Fair) versus “Without you, I’m stronger, I’m no longer filled with wonder. How wrong you were” (Wild Blue Yonder, Welly Boots)

- J: “Place your hand in mine” M: “Hold the hand of the god-child, they said, as he falls from the sky” (That Unwanted Animal)

- “I’m the saint of the paint that was left in the pot, I’m your angel ellipsis, your devil of dots” (Farewell Wanderlust)

- “the fluttering of all your wings” (The Horror and the Wild) versus “when you think about him, my wings start to flap” (Farewell Wanderlust)

- “come, devil, come, she sang, call out my name. Let’s take this outside, ‘cos we’re one and the same. Our gods have abandoned us, left us, instead, take up arms, take my hand, let us waltz for the dead” (Farewell Wanderlust)

There are even more lyrics, and I’m going to be completely honest with you, I’ve gone totally insane with all of this, but this post is way too long already, so just let me know if you want any clarification or something.

Tldr: The Amazing Devil’s album The Horror and the Wild is about two old gods, one being Time, and the other being the Wild, or the god-child. The album is primarily about their relationship and steadfastness they show each other, even in tumultuous circumstances.

Now go excuse me while I attempt to take off this tinfoil hat that appears to be stuck on my head.

[tapioka-boi]

NSFW HEADCANONS - Ango Sakaguchi

(Alternative title: Ish simps so much over Ango that she's become an AnHOE)

Take two because my dumbass promptly queued and then deleted the post...

I've been thinking too much about Ango and I need more smutty Ango content so imma feed myself while I'm at it

(Also this is written based on a female/afab S/O bc my brain ain't working too good)

Also feel free to add on to this list if you want!

COME GET YA FOOD BOIS

𝙏𝙖𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩:

@angolicious @parcdox @bimbodemongf @sweet-cynical-writer @gogolparadise @poppirocks @yokelish @fyowyn-writes

WARNING: NSFW and very very thirsty headcanons

Ango prefers to be intimate in the comfort of his own apartment (or yours if you don't live with him) as it gives both of you the privacy you need. He isn't one to risk sex in public as it would put his job and reputation at risk as well as your own privacy.

He prefers to take his time so that he gets the job done throroughly ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). He'll start by kissing you and occasionally biting on your lip before moving down your jaw and neck and going for your sweet spot while he holds you close to him. And then, if you're not in the bedroom already, he'll grab your hand and guide you to the bedroom.

Loves worshipping you. If you're insecure about your body then he won't hesitate to worship you. And not just the whole "you're so beautiful" stuff. He can and will worship every. inch. of your body. Your hands? Perfect for him to hold and for you to wrap around his dick but we'll get to that later. Your smile? It's so beautiful that it's etched into his waking thoughts. Your thighs? Great for him to rest his head on and grab while he fucks you too. If you have scars, he will kiss every single one and remind you of how beautiful you truly are. In his eyes, you're a goddess and he'll never let you forget that.

BONUS HEADCANON: If you do the same to him, he'll sorta just,, stop functioning for a little while (ango.exe has stopped working)

Although he doesn't make you, the man LOVES IT when you wear lingerie. Like put on some stockings with suspenders paired with your favourite bra and panty combo hidden under one of his shirts and he will not hesitate to fuck you there and then. He doesn't admit it, but seeing you in lingerie is a major turn on for him.

There's something about seeing you look so innocent and pure when he lays you on the bed that makes him stop for a moment. The thought of you looking up at him so innocently before he absolutely ruins you gets him so hard he has to stop himself.

Once you're undressed, he doesn't hesitate to go straight for your pussy. And once he starts eating you out, you'll probably won't be able to stop squirming under his touch. Every so often he'll gently run his teeth against your clit before gripping your hips and going to town on you. Once he starts, he isn't stopping until he's made you cum a few times. “You seem to get sweeter and sweeter the more I taste you, my dear.”

Speaking of which, he makes the cutest moans when you suck his dick. The way he bites his lip while you bob your head up and down his member, gradually swallowing every inch of him. He loves watching you suck him off, especially when you look up at him with your pretty lips wrapped around his cock. He'll occasionally hold your head down and facefuck you, but not too much because he doesn't want to hurt you.

When Ango cums, it's beautiful. His lips part slightly and a shaky moan barely eminates. His eyes roll back slightly and his shudders ever so slightly as his release washes over him. If you're on top of him when this happens, he'll hold you in place as his back arches off of the bed. Either way, when he cums, he's like an angel fallen from grace.

When you guys get down to the main course, he'll start off slowly so that you can adjust to the feeling of him inside you before he picks up the pace. Once he's balls deep inside you, he tries to keep himself composed instead of just fucking you until you see stars. Once he gets used to it, his movements become calculated and he aims for your g-spot with each thrust while running messy circles on your clit. He knows every way to make you cum and won't stop until you scream his name.

Loves every little sound you make during sex. The quiet squeaks you make when he runs his tongue along your pussy lips. The uncontrolled moans when he thrusts into you. The pleas for him to keep going. He loves ALL OF IT.

Once time, you accidentally called him Daddy and he just stopped mid-thrust. It sorta woke something in him and he promptly let go of his inhibitions and fucked you mercilessly. Although being called Daddy is a turn on, he much prefers for you to call him by his name instead. “Scream my name, darling. Tell everybody how well you're taking Daddy's cock.”

Absolutely loves it when you cum. The way you moan so wantonly. The way your walls squeeze his cock. The way you hold onto him and bury your head into to crook of his neck as you come down from your high. It's majestic. It's a vulnerable moment that only he gets to see and share with you and he adores every moment.

After you both ride out your orgasms, Ango gives the best aftercare. He'll pepper you with kisses and hold you in his arms as he tells you that you did a good job. He'll get lost in the moment and gaze at the angel in his arms. He's mesmerised by your beauty and how peaceful you look in his embrace. It's as if he's found the answer to the universe, to the meaning of life, and it's pressed snugly against his chest. He can leave all his stresses behind him for a while, as long as he has you beside him. “Words cannot begin to say how much I love you, my dear.”

[princewelcomematt]

Alternative ending? Alternative ending.

So! Sam and Eileen start an organization for beginner-level hunters. Sam reconnects with Eileen right away, glad to have her back. They both bring all the reoccurring characters back to talk to them about updated monsters they have been uncovering - mutants, that are combined and evolved from what they were used to ten years ago. The world is changing and they have to change with it. (We see people like Charlie and Donna on the Bunker now, who disappeared in 15x18 without a trace).

The B plot is Dean getting Cas back, and he figures out that if he takes Cas' grace from him remotely it'll make him human. If only angels and demons can exist in the Empty, then the Empty would hypothetically reject a human and it would probably be GLAD to be rid of Cas, all considering.

So he figures out a spell and gathers all the ingredients and successfully summons a small glass vial full of grace, but Cas is nowhere to be found. Dean goes back to the Hunter's Bunker, heartbroken.

Unbeknownst to him, when the empty rejects Cas because he's human and not an angel, it drops him on the other side of Kansas, so Cas has to walk back and it takes like a week. Realistically, payphones don't exist anymore and so he's like Fuck It. I Will Journey.

So Cas shows up by surprise a week later and says "hello Dean" and Dean is like holy shit! And they have a conversation about how Cas "wanted to thank Dean for the rescue, because he knew it was Dean and he'll go now, goodbye" (because he doesn't want to be a bother but he does have a HUGE inferiority complex) and Dean is like HEY NO NO WAIT- Cas didn't give him any time to react to his confession when he was DYING and they got all the time they need now, and maybe,, he could try this whole,, guy thing,,,. Because Cas is his best friend and that's kinda the goal in dating, right? He's getting too old for one night stands. And also Cas changed his life and helped him learn about himself by being literally THE most compassionate and generous person he's ever met and the only one who deserves the title of a literal angel and he... always had a thing for hot nerds.

Cas gets insulted because he's not a nerd and Dean kisses him and laughs and Cas snorts and says "maybe this won't work out after all" and Dean says "oh gimme a break I'm not used to kissing people with permanent 9'oclock shadow" and Cas rolls his eyes in the way he does with his entire little body and they kiss again and Sam comes in on them and says JESUS, FINALLY ITS BEEN SO AWKWARD FOR LIKE NINE YEARS and Dean yells "HELL- A LITTLE PRIVACY?" and Cas looks vacantly pleased.

Sam and Eileen continue as the major organizers of the new Hunters Foundation along with new Hunters coming in every day to learn about how to protect each other and it's not just Sam and Dean anymore. They update their tech and start physical training programs too. Cas and Dean are hunting partners and it's implied both brothers get married by an overhead shot of matching wedding rings, and Sam has a little boy and he names him Gabriel.

One day, Sam and Dean are on a hunt, a silly casual easy one, and Dean gets impaled on a stake. He's dying and says his long goodbyes to Sam and Sam lets him call Cas and they all have their own ways to close their books, but Dean is relieved because honestly he's kinda tired... It's been like fifteen years since they abandoned God and ended the end of everything, and he's been doing this a while, may as well go out to some vampire mimes, right?

And he makes it to heaven!!! He's there for all of three seconds before Cas comes around the corner and they both laugh and Dean says "couldn't stay away, huh?" And Cas grumbles "My impulse control was dulled by years of living with you" and they hold hands and see Jack!!! They talk about how he's reshaped everything in heaven and he hopes they like it and that he loves them and thanks them for everything and says that he's sorry to Cas about not having a hand in his rescue, God wasn't allowed to touch the Empty and that's something he's trying to fix for the future.

And then Sam is there and Eileen is there after fifteen more years of very fulfilling life and THEN they all get in the Impala that's in Car Heaven but Dean lets Sam drive for the first time and slaps Cas on the ass as he bends to get in the backseat. They drive into the sunset to Carry On My Wayward Son, leaving a legacy of young hunters and rescued would-be victims behind.

What do you think?

[lifeinahole27]

CS ff: “Walking the Tightrope” (Epilogue) (au)

Summary: Killian’s daily routines are a matter of habit. When he wakes up late one morning, his routines all change for the better. Emma doesn’t care about routines, but she does care about Killian, no matter how reluctant she is to admit it to herself.

Rating: E (the content warnings matter this time!)

Content Warnings: There’s uhhh... poetry smut.

A Special Thank You: My continued gratitude to my lovely friends, @captainstudmuffin and @phiralovesloki. And a heap of love to @captainswanbigbang for putting this together and helping me accomplish this.

A/N: Holy crap! Here we are! It’s the end of the story!! Now, for those of you who read the original story, there’s not a whole lot that’s changed. I edited everything to fit the rest of the story and writing style, since the original version was a little rough, but other than little bits, it’s what you remember. If you didn’t read this, then welcome to the end! 

My eternal gratitude to those who helped me finish this, those who helped find my errors (my two lovely ladies are listed above), to those who read this! Who reblogged it! Who left comments and sweet tags and sent messages and made this all worth it. I constantly say that I cannot express how thankful I am and it’s true. With only words, I can only say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. <3<3

This epilogue is meant to tie bows around a couple major things and send these off the best way I know how. I still have a stack of headcanons and info that wouldn’t fit in here. I would love to share these things if anyone is curious. If you are, or have questions, or want to talk about specific parts, please send me messages. I would love to chat about this world that has lived in my brain and morphed over the last FIVE YEARS. 

(Poetry included is not mine: All rights reserved to Pablo Neruda "My love, understand me" and "Night on the Island" and to Leonard Cohen "The Mists of Pornography")

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 |

Find it on Ao3 & FFN!

-x-

Epilogue: The Art of Poetry

-x- April 

The day that Killian forgets the coffee mugs on his counter is the day he locks himself out of his apartment for the first time. He and Emma huddle on the front stoop together in the early morning chill waiting for his landlord to come unlock the door. He opens his jacket and pulls her closer, jumping when her cold nose touches his collarbone and she chuckles as she repeats the action until her nose is warm and he’s even warmer. They thank Marco profusely when he arrives with the spare set of keys.

They’re also both late for work that day.

The next day, when Emma comes back from getting coffee, there’s an envelope propped in front of her computer at work. When she opens it, a weight settles in the envelope and she pulls out the folded note. Killian’s neat handwriting stretches across the paper.

“My love,

understand me,

I love all of you,

from eyes to feet, to toenails,

inside

all the brightness, which you kept.

It is I, my love,

who knocks at your door.”

So next time I lock myself out, you can unlock it for me.

She peers into the envelope to see the key resting in the bottom and thinks he may be onto something with poetry if it always sounds like that.

Emma makes sure to beat Killian to the door when they walk back to his place after work so she can try out her new key, and she only smiles wider when the lock slides open. She makes a big show of swinging open the door, gesturing him inside with a sweep of her arm. 

When she gets home that night, Snow and David have once again broken into her loft, but she doesn’t much care for two reasons. Firstly, she knew they were going to do this after they texted her twenty minutes ago and asked whether or not she was spending the night at Killian’s. Secondly, it takes her five whole seconds to read the message on Snow’s shirt that proudly states that she’s “Pregnant AF” (the shirt’s words, not hers) and there’s a whole bunch of happy crying and flailing that follows. 

-x- Late August

Emma arrives home a little late one night to Killian already making dinner. The routines they do still live with all include household chores and the way they divvy them up, and she’s perfectly fine with the structure he’s brought to her previously chaotic lifestyle. He glances over his shoulder when she walks in and smiles.

“Get stuck late again?”

“Not quite,” she says as she comes to stand behind him. “That smells amazing, by the way.”

“It’ll be done in just a bit.”

“Want me to set the table?”

“I’d like to know why you’re avoiding a simple inquiry into why you were so late in such an obvious manner.”

Emma sighs heavily. “I kind of walked all the way back to the loft before I realized I didn’t live there anymore.”

“Kind of? I don’t think that’s something you can kind of do, love,” he says, still managing to stir whatever it is he’s making even when she goes to swat his arm. 

“Okay, so I did. You said it yourself, though. Old habits, right?” She hops up on the counter to watch him cook. 

“Indeed, love. So, I’ve been meaning to ask you. How do you feel our adventures have measured up to the expectations?”

“Well, you didn’t turn into a frog.”

“Aye, I’m sure there’s still time for that. We’re only in the middle of this tale. We’ll just have to see where the pages take us from here.”

“You are such a fucking romance novelist,” she says, laughing brightly when Killian removes his sauce from the stove and turns it off before he moves in to attack. And even though she’s squirming to get away from his nimble fingers as they target her ticklish spots, she sends up a quick thank you to Killian’s faulty alarm clock and his old habit of routines. 

-x- September

“You could just leave those until later,” Killian says, coming up behind Emma as she washes their dishes from dinner. He has his hand and hook on her hips and his lips on her hair, his voice full of implication. 

He’s learned not to try to talk her out of cleaning up, and instead he just enjoys distracting her in the best ways possible. 

She’s wearing a skirt - something she only does when she’s out of leggings - and the soft gray jersey fabric clings to her hips before flaring and draping down. It hides much of her legs, but her backside looks fantastic in it. On top, she has a light yellow shirt that’s tickling at his memories, the lines of a poem he once memorized during his university years making their way back to mind. 

Steady movements continue as she washes and rinses each dish, stacking them in the drying rack before starting to scrub out the sink. He’s struggling to remember the lines, yellow sweater, and with a smirk he glides his hand down to palm the back of her thigh.

“These are anything but boyish haunches,” he says out loud. Emma gasps as the shift from peaceful innocence to dirty.

“What?”

He hums, nosing some of her hair aside so he can find her neck with his lips. “From a poem. Your shirt brought it back to me. ‘The Mists of Pornography’ was the title,” he responds, moving his hand to the front of her thigh and sliding it up to rest on a spot right below her hipbones.

“Why am I not surprised that you know something with ‘pornography’ in the title?”

“Ah, but Swan, it’s about much more than that. Close your eyes. Listen,” he says, and uses his hook to brush the hair off her neck and lean closer to her ear. He sways just a little bit closer as he starts to speak. 

When you rose out of the mist / of pornography - He runs a single finger along her spine until it rests between her shoulders - with your talk of marriage / and orgies / I was a mere boy / of fifty-seven / trying to make a fast buck / in the slow lane / It was ten years too late / but I finally got / the most beautiful girl / on the religious left / to go with her lips / to the sunless place - and here he makes sure to push his hips against her to emphasize as she snorts. He continues reciting, crowding her against the counter, making sure the edge is pressing right where he wants it to.

This was my life / in Los Angeles / when you slowly / removed your yellow sweater - As he speaks, he slowly draws her shirt over her head and she lifts her arms - and I slobbered over / your boyish haunches - He runs his hand over the path that started this all and pushes the skirt off her hips to rub over the back of a now-bare thigh - and I tried to be / a husband / to your dark and motherly / intentions.

I thank you / for the ponderous songs / I brought to completion / instead of fucking you / more often - He punctuates by rolling his hips against her and she gasps as she clutches the sink for stability, and he keeps going.

Your panic cannot hurry me here / and my panic and falling / shoulders / our shameless lives / are the grains / scattered for an offering / before the staggering heights / of our love - His hand glides over her stomach and up to cup a breast through her bra. He’s sure she can feel where his cock is pressing against her ass, hard and wanting. Her hips are pinned against the sink and with each line, he thrusts against her, slowly lighting the fuse of what promises to be a spectacular orgasm if he doesn’t stop.

And the other side of your anxiety / is a hammock of sweat / and moaning - It’s getting harder to pay attention to the poem, especially when he pulls down the straps and cups of her bra, palm meeting her already hardened nipples as he alternates between them. Her body shudders with pleasure and he struggles to continue - and time comes down / like the smallest pet of God / to lick our fingers - he licks her shoulder instead - as we sleep / in the tangle / of straps and bracelets. 

With a great deal of effort, he keeps going, trying to make the lines appear in his head so he can read them off with ease and still give her the attention she deserves - and Oh the sweetness of first nights / and twenty-third nights / and nights / after death and bitterness - She reaches one arm back to wrap around his neck and firmly grasps his hair - and the impeccable order / of the objects on the table - He’s rocking her into the counter at just the right speed and he can tell how close she is with each new word - the weightless irrelevance / of all our old intentions / as we undo / as we undo / every difference.

With the last word of the poem out of his mouth, she tugs hard at his hair and she climaxes, coming undone and leaning back against his chest and tries to catch her breath. 

“Oh god, Killian,” she moans. He’s still rocking them against the counter as she rides out her orgasm. “By far, this is the most interesting way you’ve ever made me orgasm.

“Have I made you a fan of poetry yet, Swan?” He moves his hand back down to her hips, his fingers sliding just under the waist of her panties. She feels loose and light as she turns in his arms and pulls him against her.

“A couple more poems like that and I can definitely be convinced,” she says. “But for now I think I’m more interested in spending time with this one. What was that about lips and sunless places?”

His mind reels because she drops to her knees between him and the cabinets. He grips the counter for stability when she drags her teeth over the zipper of his slacks.

“Think you can recite another one?” She unfastens his trousers, sliding the material down and taking his boxer briefs with it. She wraps one hand around the base of his cock, lightly gripping his hip with the other.

“Hmm?” He’s concentrating really hard on not rocking his hips forward into her skilled hands, incredibly aware of the counter just behind her head. The absolute last thing he wants to do is accidentally give his girlfriend a concussion.

“Another poem, Killian. You have another one up in that head of yours?” She leans in and licks the tip of his erection, grinning up at him.

His mind scrambles for any other poems he memorized.

“You’re making it incredibly difficult to concentrate, love, but I did always love a challenge” he admits, another moan pulling from him as she wraps her lips around the head and sucks lightly. She pulls back again and looks up at him, her smile shining in her eyes.

“You once promised to read me dirty poetry. You’ve given me one. Surely you have another up there,” she says before leaning forward to kiss a spot below his hip bone. 

“There once was a man from Nantucket,” he starts, but she cuts him off with her laughter.

“No, no. Make it a good one.”

The poem that finally makes its way to his mind is not dirty, but he knows she’ll appreciate it. He clears his throat, closing his eyes and trying to concentrate on the words in his head instead of the love at his feet.

All night I have slept with you / next to the sea, on the island. He begins, and she runs her hands along his thighs. Wild and sweet you were between pleasure and sleep, / between fire and water. She grips his cock again and begins stroking it gently, placing kisses along his hip again as he continues.

Perhaps very late / our dreams joined / at the top or at the bottom, / up above like—

“Fuck, Emma,” he moans, her mouth going from the innocence of kisses to wrapping her lips around him once more and swirling her tongue around the tip.

“Keep going,” she pants out when she breaks away, dipping her head right back in when he starts reciting once more.

Perhaps your dream / drifted from mine / and through the dark sea / was seeking me / as before, / when you did not yet exist, / when without sighting you / I sailed by your side, / and your eyes sought / what now—/ bread, wine, love, and anger—/ I heap upon you / because you are the cup / that was waiting for the gifts of my life.

The hand that isn’t gripping the base of his cock trails up his thigh once more, pausing on his hip for a moment before brushing under the shirt that he’s still wearing and she runs her nails down his chest.

I have slept with you / all night long while / the dark earth spins / with the living and the dead, / and on waking suddenly / in the midst of the shadow / my arm encircled your waist. / Neither night nor sleep / could separate us.

She begins bobbing her head while her hand strokes the rest of his length, and it’s a struggle to remember the last stanza for a moment. He drops his head, opens his eyes again to watch her move and it’s too much. His movements against her during the first poem had already aroused him, and her attentions on him now are pushing him closer to the edge.

Emma moans around his length and his knuckles go white where he’s still gripping the counter. He can feel his release coming and she feels it too, speeds up and doesn’t prolong the torture. When it hits him, he has to brace his feet a little more so he doesn’t collapse. He’s breathing hard when she gracefully stands back up into the cage of his arms. She’s grinning, the cat that got the cream, as she winds her arms around his neck.

“Is that the end?” she asks, fingers threading through his hair. He shakes his head and swallows, wraps his arms around her and pulls her close.

I have slept with you / and on waking, your mouth, / come from your dream, / gave me the taste of earth, / of sea water, of seaweed, / of the depths of your life, / and I received your kiss / moistened by dawn / as if it came to me / from the sea that surrounds us.

He kisses her after saying the last verse, tasting his release still lingering on her tongue, and she hums into the kiss.

“Not bad,” she says when she breaks the kiss. “You may have just swayed my opinion. I’m now pro-poetry.” She’s smiling when she meets his eyes, and he chuckles. He places one more kiss on her forehead before bending to hastily pull his underwear back up, stepping out of his discarded trousers and leaving them on the floor.

“I’ll try a lofty and pretentious one next time,” he promises, remembering their previous discussions about poetry now that she’s brought them up.

“Only if you’re fucking me into the mattress when you do it,” she says off-handedly. He huffs out a laugh and rests his forehead against hers.

“You’ll be the death of me, love.” He hugs her tight to him as he says it and he can feel the laugh vibrate through her.

“But you love me anyways,” she responds, dancing her fingers across his shoulders.

“Aye, until the end of time.” He kisses her again, and she whispers her love for him across his lips.

And when they wind up in bed a short time later, he recites whatever he can think of—limericks, haiku, even a poem by Shel Silverstein—as he fulfills her request. 

When the Save-the-Dates go out a few months later, there is, indeed, an asterisk at the bottom that says “David was right.”

[wincestreversebang]

Master Post for 2020

That is a wrap, folks! Here is the Master Post for 2020!!! Title: I Never Knew Artist: ncdover1285 Author: midnightsilver Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: drinking Summary: How can you know a person better than you know yourself but never know this? A drunken realization with a little help from a friend. (aka: ‘of course you two love each other, shut up and kiss already’) Art: Tumblr Story: Ao3 Title: Untouchable for Life Artist: angeltortured Author: sintari Other Pairing(if applicable): Sam Winchester/Jessica Moore, briefly mentioned Dean Winchester/OFC Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: Sex Work, Angst (see more at AO3), Jess Positive Summary: When Stanford student Sam is desperate for rent money, his girlfriend Jess suggests he turn to camming. As his uneasy relationship with sex work progresses, Sam's "Top Fan," the lurker Impala67, leaves him conflicted.... and something else. Art: Ao3 Story: Ao3 Title: Call of the Wolf Artist: tx_devilorangel Author: ncdover1285 Rating: PG-13 Warnings/Spoilers: N/A Summary: Something is terrorizing a small town in South Dakota. Sets of siblings seem to disappear into the woods and never be seen again. What is being seen is a huge wolf that is lurking in the woods. Sam and Dean go to investigate. Will they figure out what is happening in this small town, or will they be another set of siblings that simply disappear? Art: Live Journal | Ao3 Story: Ao3 Title: a sad fact of modern life Artist: emmatheslayer Author: thelegendofwinchester Rating: G Warnings/Spoilers: N/A Summary: The boys make a YouTube channel with the intention to easily be able to spread knowledge to new hunters and help them out. It goes downhill within minutes, but that’s not always a bad thing. Art: Live Journal Story: Ao3 Title: Cock Tails Artist: ncdover1285 Author: angeltortured Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: drunk sex Summary: Sam gets drunk off of phallic-shaped drinks at a gay bar. Art: Tumblr Story: Ao3 Title: Strap Your Hands 'Cross my Engines (Don't Mind Me, You Usually Don't) Artist: midnightsilver​ Author: nevergettingoverwincest Other Pairing(if applicable): Sam/Dean/Impala Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: N/A Summary: “Hold your horses,” the witch called when Dean pounded on her door. Sam and Baby were behind him, Baby craning her neck to look in one of the cottage’s windows. The door scraped open and the witch poked her head out. “Back already? Who’s this?” she added, looking at Baby. “This is my car,” Dean said, flatly. Art: Tumblr Story: Ao3 Title: Darkness And Light Artist: shealynn88 Author: ncdover1285 Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: Incest, M/M Summary: Sam and Dean are cursed and they are sent on separate journeys to figure out how to break the curse. Finding out that they may just get exactly what they have been longing for is definitely a bonus. Art: Tumblr Story: Ao3 Title: Burn for You Artist: darklittleheart96 Author: storyspinner70 Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: Dom/sub, Alpha Dean, Alpha Sam, Unusual ABO Dynamics, Possessive Dean Winchester, Dom Dean Winchester, Sub Sam Winchester, Bondage, Top Dean, Bottom Sam Summary: No one was surprised when both Winchester boys became alphas. The surprise came when Sam figured out that, while he might be happy to be an alpha, the only place eh really wanted to be was on his knees for his brother. Art: Tumblr Story: Ao3 Title: Trust Me Artist: ncdover1285 Author: amypond45 Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: Time travel, Humor, angst, Sam POV Summary: Stanford Sam travels back in time to the week after he left for college to show Dean how much he loves him. Art: Tumblr Story: Live Journal | Ao3 Title: Spellbound Artist: tx_devilorangel Author: theydraggedmeinowianintleaving Rating: PG-13 Warnings/Spoilers: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Past Jessica Moore/Sam Winchester, Canon Compliant, Up til season 3, not entirely canon compliant though, Dean Winchester Dies, Dean Winchester is saved from Hell, No Apocalypse, Angel Castiel (Supernatural), the angels are good guys, or at least neutral, Jealous Sam Winchester, Castiel & Dean Winchester Friendship, endgame wincest, Dean's crossroads deal, John Winchester Dies, implied wet dreams, Canon-Typical Violence, Sam Winchester Dies, but only for ten seconds, implied soulmates Summary: Sam had always known they were outsiders; hadn’t needed the oh so helpful input from any Harry, Dick or Jane to realize as much when tv had already told him. Or maybe he hadn’t always known; had once been young (and perhaps innocent) enough to not know any better. However, he’d learned; from blurry images on tiny tv-screens whenever their dad found it necessary to rent a motel room for the three of them. On the screen everybody lived in houses rather than an old car driving from one end of the country and then back again over and over and over. Kids didn’t know how to use a gun – Sam might not yet be the marksman his brother was, but he knew how to use every single one in their dad’s arsenal; which was another thing the people on tv didn’t have: a goddamn arsenal of weapons. Art: Live Journal | Ao3 Story: Ao3 Title: The Human Trap Artist: bluefire986 Author: storyspinner70 Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: Biker Dean and Sam, Violence, Aftermath of torture, Hurt Dean, Protective Sam, Revenge Summary: Dean and Sam Winchester were new to being the power behind The Knights of Hell biker gang, but they weren't new to the violence and pain that went along with it. They were working for a better future, but that was going to take muscle and brain and a lot of blood. Nothing worthwhile ever changed in a single day, but when Dean doesn't come back from a simple gun drop, The Knights worry that nothing will ever be the same again. Art: Live Journal | Ao3 Story: Ao3 Title: There Will Be Peace When You Are Done/I'll Come Back To You Artist: angeltortured Author: specialgentrin Rating: PG-13 Warnings/Spoilers: Major Character Death, Season 15 AU Summary: This is it. The final battle against Chuck Shurley. Art: Tumblr Story: Ao3 Title: No Retreat, No Surrender Artist: bluefire986 Author: smalltrolven Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: N/A Summary: After everything with Chuck is over, Sam and Dean move up to Rufus’ cabin in Montana, to finally retire. After the hunting life they’ve led, they know there’s plenty of people and monsters left out there that have a score to settle. All the monsters forgotten, memories avoided and choices made in the past make what happens next even worse. Art: Live Journal | Ao3 Story: Live Journal | Ao3 Title: Box Up My Heart Artist: txdora Author: levisqueaks Rating: PG-13 Warnings/Spoilers: N/A Summary: Moving in with Sam had been perfect. They were living the life at Stanford with the world and their futures spread before them for the taking. But sometimes Sam was swallowed up in pain, whiskey, and knives instead of sweet dreams. One day Jessica stumbles across a secret Sam had been hiding for years and the darkness that takes over him begins to make sense. Especially when they get an unexpected late-night visitor and she witnesses a secret kiss. Art: Live Journal | Ao3 Story: Ao3 Title: A Little Sugar Artist: emberthrace Author: hit_the_books Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: Canon-Typical Violence, Dubious Consent, Season 2, Recreational Drug Use, Explicit Sexual Content (see story for full tags) Summary: People are dying bloodily in Red Bluff, California, and no one knows how. The only leads? A strange substance that may or may not be a narcotic and hints of sulfur, and the rumor that a local outlaw motorcycle gang may be involved. Heading out to Northern California on the hunt, Dean and Sam are going to discover feelings they've been hiding from each other for a long time. Art: Live Journal Story: Ao3 Title: Payphone Symphony Artist: emmatheslayer Author: levisqueaks Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Barely Legal, Wincest, Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester, Older Sam Winchester, Younger Dean Winchester, Pining, Deception, Phone Sex, Dirty Talk, Sam Winchester is basically Dean’s Dad, Mechanic!Dean, Age Difference, Phone Sex Operator Summary: Sam Winchester never claimed to be a righteous man but he hoped that his good deeds could someday outweigh the sin in his heart. After all, what 35 year old man, who practically raised their younger brother fell in love with them? Sam finds a mysterious bill that sets off alarms. But when he overhears Dean greeting a caller using a known sex phone company’s name, Sam is tossed into a whirling sea of intrigue, deception, and longing. Can Sam redeem himself? Or will becoming Dean’s most loyal customer only drag him closer to hell? Art: Live Journal Story: Ao3 Title: Under a Blue Moon Artist: emberthrace Author: amypond45 Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: dubcon Summary: While hunting a lycanthrope, Dean gets bit. Sam figures out a cure, but he knows Dean won’t like it. Art: Live Journal Story: Live Journal | Ao3 Title: Spinning On That Dizzy Edge Artist: angeltortured Author: ratflavored Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: Rough Oral Summary: Sam’s tearing himself apart to finish the trials, so Dean forces them to have a night to relax in what he considers the bunker. But there's things going on behind Sam's poker face that Dean can't quite figure out. Most of the time, Dean can let that sort of thing slide, but when he's loose with whiskey and mulling over memories, it's a lot harder. What does Sam want from him? Booze, memories, and cards make for a dangerous combo. Art: Twitter Story: Ao3 Title: Titans Remembered Artist: midnightsilver Author: klove0511 Rating: PG-13 Warnings/Spoilers: Brief, non-graphic attempted bestiality; referenced animal sacrifice, hurt Dean Summary: Following a string of missing people and livestock mutilations, Sam and Dean stumble on a case where the monster has a personal beef with them. When Dean gets himself in trouble trying to do everything himself, Sam must come to the rescue and remind him that they're better as a team. Art: Tumblr Story: Ao3 | Tumblr Title: Wish Not Change Artist: kelios Author: smalltrolven Rating: R Warnings/Spoilers: spoilers for season 15 Summary: There’s a picture that Dean has in his wallet. It’s of the two of them, even though it’s not really them, but it’s still the stuff that wishes are made of. It takes a journey to New Orleans and back, a new case opened and closed, and wishes made and granted, for that wish to maybe come true. Art: Live Journal Story: Live Journal | Ao3 Title: Free Bird Artist: darklittleheart96 Author: merenwen76 Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: ExSlave!Dean, Hunter!Sam, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non, NSFW Art Summary: Written for the following prompt: Non-brothers AU, Sam (35 or older) is one of the best hunter, whose whole life has changed the day he rescued terrified and abused slave named Dean, who within the law is now Sam's slave... Art: Tumblr Story: Ao3 Title: The Boy Who Would be King Artist: sarasaurussex Author: annie46 Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: NSFW art, character death Summary: Without a soul Sam can be what he was always meant to be - King of Hell. He doesn't need Dean, or does he? Dean only wants to save Sam, or does he actually want more? Art: Tumblr Story: Live Journal | Ao3 Title: What Doesn’t Kill You Makes Us Stronger Artist: shealynn88 Author: ncdover1285 Other Pairing(if applicable): Dean Winchester/ others (mentioned), Sam Winchester/ Others (mentioned) Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: Dark, M/M, Unknown Incest, Dark Winchesters Summary: Sam and Dean grew up in different ways, but seem to have quite a bit in common. Both finding their way to a life of killing and lies. It’s almost as if something is keeping one from killing the other though when they take the other as a mark. Art: Tumblr Story: Ao3 Title: Moral Insanity Artist: midnightsilver Author: levisqueaks Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: Crack, This Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time, Dean Winchester Wears Panties, Cowboy Sam Winchester, The Boys Film a Porno Summary: When Dean got down to it, this was all Sammy’s fault. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, but when Sam convinces Dean they should make money by filming porn rather than credit card scams, the brothers end up a little too close to the fire. Why did he feel like he was walking to the gallows? He loved porn. He was a fine curator of porn. Had been since his first skin mag at 13. So why was the thought of being behind the camera so nerve wracking? Once Dean’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness beyond the wall separating them from the storefront he found the director circling Sam. Like a shark. This guy was a shark. Or maybe a vampire? He was some sort of deadly with teeth that wanted to eat his kid brother alive. What the hell had they gotten themselves in to? Art: Tumblr Story: Ao3 Title: The Hawk and the Wolf Artist: kelios Author: fledhyris Rating: PG-13 Warnings/Spoilers: N/A Summary: Two brothers, cursed for loving one another a little too closely, wander as knights errant, together yet forever apart. Their luck turns when Dean encounters a young thief, Garth, running from Winchester Cathedral with a stolen book. They have just one chance to meet the conditions for the spell to be lifted; will they win their hearts’ desire or be doomed to live out the rest of their lives under a cruel enchantment? Art: Live Journal Story: Ao3 Title: stumbling over universes Artist: kuwlshadow Author: embersdevine Rating: PG-13 Warnings/Spoilers: Some sexual content Summary: Sam and Dean find themselves in another world. Again. But someone finds them and it sort of changes everything. Art: Tumblr Story: Ao3 Title: Titanium (With You On the Edge of Every Tomorrow) Artist: darklittleheart Author: abeautifullie3 Other Pairing(if applicable): (all minor or passing mentions) Charlie/Eileen. Jody/Donna. Cesar/Jesse. OFC/OMC. Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: (full list at author’s LJ or AO3, here be the biggies) Spoilers through entire aired series…just to be safe. Semi-AU. Canon Divergence. A/B/O. Mpreg. Alpha!Dean. Alpha-to-Omega!Sam. A Few Instances of Gore. Graphic OC Deaths. Death of Not-A-Fucking-Lead Character. Graphic Deaths of Minors (not Sam and Dean's). Show Level Violence. Profanity. Graphic Sex. BDSM: A Bit of B…With Some D&S…No S&M. Pregnancy!Kink. Lactation!Kink. Pregnant!Sex. To Be Safe: Graphic Births. Kid!fic. Kinda-sorta Curtain!Fic. Kinda-sorta Fix-It!Fic. Angst. A Bit of Schmoop To Sooth. Summary: All the sigils, all the wards. All the hoodoo and white magic. All of the mystical safeguards they had in place, and yet there was one thing none of it could protect them from... Humans. Against the odds, Dean and Sam have built a life together aside from Hunting. With the help of a curse-turned-gift, they’ve even made their own family. Now, Sam eight months pregnant with his and Dean’s daughter, it’s all being threatened when Dean and their five-year-old son, Jameson, are abducted. It's perfectly executed. As if the kidnapper knows personal details about Sam and Dean's lives. Has knowledge – and access – to the bunker. Has been to their home. It's because she does and has. She's been training with them for over two years. Moved up in the ranks to both helper and friend. Hell, she's watched after Jameson for them. She's been biding her time. Now it’s Dean’s turn to bide his time, take care of his son as best he can while being held prisoner, keep them alive until Sam can rescue them. Which, if there is anything Dean knows for sure…Sam will save them. The weeks passing, stress taking its toll on Sam’s heavily pregnant body, with what little Sam and his people have to go on, what they’ve been able to piece together, he knows it’s up to him to find and rescue his brother and son from a sadistic psychopath who may be right in their midst. Semi-AU from season 6 finale. Some canon stuffs after that still happened. A helluva bunch didn’t…or played out differently. No time for significant “world building”, and not a primary focus, but this is A/B/O. Art: Tumblr Story: Live Journal | Ao3

[sagehaleyofficial]

HERE’S WHAT YOU MISSED THIS WEEK (1.22-1.28.20):

NEW MUSIC:

·         All Time Low dropped their first new song in over a year, titled “Some Kind of Disaster”. The music video takes place at an emotional group therapy session, in which we are able to observe all the different struggles people go through.

·         Over the weekend, Billie Eilish performed at the 2020 iHeartRadio ALTer EGO Festival, where she revealed when we can expect the release of her sophomore album. “This year? No, but I will be making it this year,” she said.

·         Producer Tommie Sunshine and dance artist Disco Fries turned the track “Falling in Love Will Kill You” into an electronic club remix. In 2014, My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way collabed with Wrongchilde (Mat Devine, formerly of Kill Hannah) for the song.

·         Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams released her solo debut after many weeks of waiting with a song titled “Simmer.” She then took to social media to share an extended cut of the video, titled “Simmer Interlude.”

·         After Waterparks’ Awsten Knight got one of his tweets to 20,000 retweets, the singer uploaded some unreleased demos to SoundCloud. The compilation is titled 1 (A COLLECTION OF UNRELEASED HOME DEMOS, THIS IS NOT G, OR EVEN AN ALBUM, SHUT UP ENJOY).

·         Billie Eilish shared the music video for her latest single “Everything I Wanted,” which features the talents of her brother FINNEAS. She shared the video with a caption revealing that she directed the video herself.

·         Machine Gun Kelly shared an Instagram story showing that he would be collabing with The Used on his upcoming pop-punk album. In the video, we see MGK dancing next to Blink-182’s Travis Barker with The Used frontman Bert McCracken singing in the booth.

·         Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong allowed Tyla Yaweh and Wiz Khalifa to use a sample of the band’s hit “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” for the remix of Yaweh’s song, “High Right Now.” The singer also makes an appearance in the track’s accompanying music video.

·         Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots posted a picture with cryptic caption including the words “rough mix,” which may indicate new music on the way. The band has not put out an album since Trench in 2018.

·         Picturesque released a new single titled “Necessary,” alongside a music video, via Equal Vision Records. The band kicked off a tour with Hands Like Houses and Dead American on Saturday in Brooklyn, New York.

·         The Wonder Years dropped a new acoustic version of an old song, “Washington Square Park,” to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of their record The Upsides. The band is hitting the road soon with Free Throw, Spanish Love Songs and Pool Kids for a special tour.

TOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS:

·         YUNGBLUD announced The Underrated Youth North American Spring Tour, starting off with his two Coachella performances on April 12 and 19. From there, he will play a total of 16 shows before wrapping up the tour at the Hangout Music Festival in Alabama in mid-May.

·         This year, The Maine surprised fans at 8123 Day with a free meet and greet at their store in Phoenix, along with a “Make America Emo Again” after-party. They also revealed an online scavenger hunt, through which they released several pieces of content.

·         The Academy Is… took to Facebook to share a celebration of 15 years of the band’s debut album, Almost Here. The event will take place at an EmoVsPopPunk night next month in Chicago.

·         My Chemical Romance announced four more shows, all of which will take place in Europe. Lucky fans will be able to see the band live in Italy, Russia, Ireland and Germany, as well as two more shows added in England.

·         Third Eye Blind and YUNGBLUD had a special performance of the former band’s song, “Graduate,” in Los Angeles during their set at the Roxy. The performance preceded the Grammys ceremony this past weekend.

·         Firefly Music Festival is coming back to the Woodlands in Dover, Delaware, this summer. This year, headliners include Rage Against the Machine, Billie Eilish, Halsey, Blink-182, Khalid and Maggie Rogers.

·         Bayside will be celebrating their 20th anniversary with the 20 Years of Bad Luck Tour. The band plans on bringing fellow acts Senses Fail, Hawthorne Heights and Can’t Swim on the road with them.

OTHER NEWS:

·         Fall Out Boy appeared on the iconic game show The Price is Right. Only one half of the band, Patrick Stump and Pete Wentz, were present, but the pair hilariously played the game, filled in and even modeled prizes for other contestants.

·         Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco was revealed to be making an appearance in Taylor Swift‘s new Netflix documentary, Miss Americana. The duo previously worked together on their collaboration for Swift’s latest album, titled “ME!”

·         Fearless Records announced they would be hosting an immersive music and merchandise arcade pop-up to raise money for Heart Support and the Living the Dream Foundation. The event was held over this past weekend in Los Angeles.

·         PUP guitarist Steve Sladkowski will be honored in his home country of Canada with the honor of receiving the “Maple Leaf Forever” guitar next year. The guitar is made from a silver maple tree that inspired legendary musician Alexander Muir’s famous 1867 song.

·         Former Set It Off guitarist Dan Clermont revealed he is no longer using his Instagram account to promote music, but instead will be focusing on producing. He also revealed he would be changing his username for “starting fresh.”

·         Basketball legend Kobe Bryant, age 41, passed away on Sunday following a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna Maria Onore and Orange Coast College basketball coach John Altobelli were also tragically killed in the crash.

·         The 62nd Grammy Awards were held on Sunday at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, with all Rock/Alternative categories announced prior to the televised program. Winners included Tool, Gary Clark Jr., Cage the Elephant, Vampire Weekend and Soundgarden.

·         Delivering an emotional performance of her hit song “When the Party’s Over,” Billie Eilish accepted her first ever Grammy Awards. Eilish had six total nominations, breaking a record as the youngest artist to be nominated and win the four major categories.

___

Check in next Tuesday for more “Posi Talk with Sage Haley,” only at @sagehaleyofficial!

[encyclopika]

18 & 20 For the ask game!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH KAT!!! <3 God this is long.

From this writer’s ask game...feel free to send me some asks!!! :D

Gonna link the stories here for reference and for anyone interested in reading!

The Missing Series // Fire and Brimstone

--

18. Do any of your stories have alternative versions? (plotlines that you abandoned, AUs of your own work, different characterisations?) Tell us about them.

Yes, ma’am! First I’m going to say that most do not, but the Missing series, particularly all that concerning Asuka and Ai, does in a big way...particularly the completely altered timeline that follows them if she doesn’t go away. You’ve seen the comic, where Ai doesn’t lose her nerve that snowy day and makes it obvious to him she also has stock in a deeper relationship. Yeah, that one. I’m currently working on more short comics from that timeline. Not necessarily a whole story, but snippets from that fluffier timeline. But that also means a few things happen differently - for one, Krow doesn’t join the Ryukyu offices, mostly because, in that timeline, he’s allowed to fulfill his own heroic story faster than he can in Missing. He’s not actually a rescue hero, but he doesn’t have Ai around in the main series to come into that as quickly. 

I also almost went harder on Ochako’s duality in Missing, almost making Uravity a separate entity that was starting to hate Ochako’s bullshit. I honestly hated that and clearly didn’t do that. Instead, the duality is more “in her head” than anything. This idea kinda comes out in Krow and Asuka instead.

Additionally, there was, once upon a time, an alternative “Missing”, in which Deku chooses not to return to Tokyo for the Pyromancer case, and Ochako faces him alone. It gets obnoxiously dark and gritty, to the point where I’ve taken that OnO fuel and split it between Escape Artists and my little-known horror project Downpour I’ve been working on in not-secret. But, yeah, that’s definitely an abandoned plotline...*shudders*.

There are small details here and there that I changed in both Missing and Missing Out that created alts, mostly concerning Deku and how he fights baddies/figures things out, name changes for OCs, The Ring’s and Pyromancer’s whole identities changed, and Irina’s characterization has really gone through the ringer (from being another lovable asshole bird like Krow that simply gets on his nerves, to being a dangerous, but important antagonist). I also had Deku introduce the idea that people’s quirks can kill them in Missing because I intended to explore it more, and I’m not sure if that’s totally abandoned... 

Thanks for asking this one. <3

--

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

Yes. 

All of that. I don’t wanna toot my own horn, but I live for hidden messages, references, callbacks, foreshadowing and symbolism. The Missing series (and to a lesser extent, Fire and Brimstone) is simply overflowing with these things...there’s so much that even with all of the people who have read it, there are still gems and Easter Eggs left to be discovered. And, before I get into it and make this post obscenely long, my reasoning for doing this is simple - I want you to read my fics again...I want to have reread value. 

I’m going to put it under a cut in case anyone wants to discover them for themselves and also general spoils. Here are the ones I’m MOST proud of or that make me laugh or, dare I say it, make me feel smart. This is not an exhaustive list, and of course, I’m not pointing out any future Missing series meta for sake of spoilers.

Titling 

Titles, titles, titles, girl you know I love titles. I’m a title SNOB. And I do A LOT of fun things with titles, such as:

1. Using the title of the fic as a buzz word and callback to the theme. 

I get real obnoxious with this in the Missing series. The overarching theme of Missing is, well, missing people, particularly in the vain of heartache, loss, and longing. And I put it everywhere:

From Missed Chance:

Despite keeping steadfast to her goals and to her future, she knew that for a long time, she'd be missing him.

From Missing:

Today, there would be an update. As much as she wished it weren't so, the only time she saw Deku was when it had to do with Pyromancer or for a brief moment before leaving the police station in the mornings. Any other time, she was missing him.

“I miss you.”

...

“I'm always missing you.” 

That's probably how he wanted it - being Asuka, the one still missing Ai, was too painful.

It couldn't ever be the same again, and Ochako was happy for it, feeling like her life was now so full.

And not a thing was missing.

From Missing Out:

“Miss me?”

“Only a little.”

But even when she was being annoying as hell, I craved her, like I knew I'd miss her. 

Still, after all that time in the cold, her lips seemed like a warm reprieve...if I could have ever gotten there...

I miss her.

I'm always missing her.

^This one’s a double whammy, for obvious reasons.

2. Using chapter titles to run with a theme, too.

This only happens in Missing and Missing Out, but, look:

Chapter titles for Missing are the life of a fire and also follow the level of stress in the fic, as well as Ochako’s feelings: Hot Coals, Rekindling, Reignited, On Fire, Blazing, Inferno, Burn Out, Backdraft

Those words are used in their respective chapters too AND we run through them when Ochako is considering confessing or not in the last chapter.

I pull the same kind of crap in Missing Out, except all the chapter titles are things Ai gave to Asuka. If it’s an object, the object is in the chapter, otherwise, it’s stated in the chapter, too.: A Desperate Lie, Lunch, Skills, Home, No Conditions, Second Chances, Worry, Agony. It’s also in reference to this, because kill me, I guess.

Bonus: Since the story is told from within the theatre of Asuka’s memories, the titles for chapters 7 and 8, “Worry” and “Agony”, are spoiled in Chapter 6 here:

I didn't know I'd missed my last shot at telling her...I didn't know that I really would be missing out on a life with her.

Because everything after this is worry and agony.

BONUS BONUS - THE TITLE OF THE FIC APPEARS HERE TOO BECAUSE I’M OBNOXIOUS.

3. Title allusions and character.

Particularly for “Fire and Brimstone”, the title sounds like it’s just about the main boys, Katsuki = Fire, and Kirishima = Brimstone. BUT BUT BUT it’s also referencing biblical shit, which is appropriate, given it’s an Angel/Demon AU. It refers to God’s wrath when people use it loosely, but it is also the torment in hell for the deadly sin lust. *hint hint nudge nudge*

--

Okay that’s enough about titles. How about the fact that 

Krow is a Crow

So many little crow quirks, lore, and bullshit is put into this character, like wow.

1. The entire concept of his quirk is all about crow lore, in that they are often connected with death in a number of cultures. This is why, although he doesn’t like to explain it, his quirk isn’t literally a sense of smell, but a little more mystical than that. It’s a sense. His quirk also references the Carrion Crow, Corvus corone, for which he’s based, which is a scavenger and is heavily associated with carrion and is native to Japan.

2. The green and purple iridescence of his wings are also referred from the Carrion Crow in particular. 

3. What’s not overly obvious is that crows and ravens have positive lore too - in a number of cultures they are guides and messengers, sometimes to people, sometimes to Gods, which Krow fulfills to both Ochako and Ai (with Ai’s quirk, she could be compared to a goddess, for which he acts as the messenger - this was how she figured their partnership would work). Krow kind of puts this and the negative lore together when he explains his quirk for real in Missing Out:

 As a teenager, I ignored them. Death is everywhere and it usually isn't important. Whatever messages they need sending, I'm not the crow they're looking for.

He also actually has a messenger bag in Missing Out.

4. It’s referenced in Missing and outright admitted in Missing Out that he’s inexplicably attracted to shiny things, which is more or less also crow lore, rather than fact, but still. 

5. Krow’s name “Asuka” is a unisex name that refers to scents, but also birds and flight. There are a bunch of different refs that say differently, but I’m sticking with that. “Dakuro” is Engrish for “Dark”, which, if you really wanna meta, is actually his last name, considering his father is British. “Dakuro” is just how the Japanese people around him pronounce it. XD

6. He admits to collecting random shit he finds aesthetic, in reference to hoarding and collecting as crows do. 

7. Asuka and Ai’s “lunch for quirk fodder” exchange, as well as his giving her the necklace and the box of quirk fodder, is in direct reference to this adorable true story.

8. Asuka speaks more than one language and is capable of mimicry during his “feral response” while fighting the Bear Trap Villain. This is in reference to the fact that crows and ravens are capable of mimicking human speech like parrots.

9. Asuka likes to sit in high places and watch people, and squats in tree for the majority of Missing Out and often bitches about walking anywhere, unless it’s to protect Ai. He has the mentality of a bird. He’s also built like a bird, with hollow bones and air sacs to assist his properly sized wings during flight.

10. He’s actually incredibly intelligent, and uses it to finagle out of tough situations and generally be a trickster, as is crow/raven lore, but crows/ravens are considered the smartest group of birds besides parrots. Unfortunately, this gets balanced out by the fact he’s a teenage human boy, which makes him lazy and capable of dumbass moments. 

11. The murder investigations - there’s a number of instances where Krow can’t help but be drawn to death from his death sense in both Missing and Missing Out. He can’t stop himself from investigating the building Pyro is hiding in, the murder warehouse, and when Ai dies. Crows and ravens will gather around fallen comrades in a mix of mourning and also in an effort to try and figure out what happened and if that threat still pertains to them. 

:3 Birb <3

--

Secret Messages and Tells and Foreshadowing and Symbolism

-In Missed Chance, the duality split of Ochako and Uravity is referenced as happening at a particular moment. Throughout Missing, Uravity is treated as apart from Ochako until the end of Missing where they “agree” on letting Deku help. It’s a duality of self representation.

-At the end of Missing, I’m hoping its clear everyone but Iida was in on leaving the two of them alone. Aoyama initiates it by leaving first.

-There are at least two instances where there’s heavy foreshadowing of the end of chapter 7, once with Aoyama:

“Then where in this overcrowded city?”

“I see. Among the clouds, then.*”

And again with Deku:

“That's a relief. Now, I just need to make sure I don't float myself into the stratosphere and you'll be right!”

-There is SO MUCH symbolism related to flying and birds, I can’t really put it all here, but it’s there. Also so much symbolism to fire in Missing, not only with Pyro’s quirk, but Ochako’s feelings..

-Krow reacts to a memory of Ai before we know she exists (since he’s hiding it) while they are interrogating Necromancer: “That’s not bringing them back. That’s nothing like bringing them back.” He also lets it slip a bit that he’d speaking from experience when ragging on Ochako about Deku. Deku also introduces the idea that people’s quirks can kill them in the same chapter, which is in reference to Ai, but also what ends up happening to Ochako, more or less.

-If you replace Ai’s name with the literal meaning of her name in some sentences of Missing and Missing Out, the UwU angst goes up to an 11. Here’s the one that’s particularly the gut punch:

Ai saved me in every way someone could be saved.

[Love] saved me in every way someone could be saved.

-End of chapter 5 of Missing Out, No Conditions, it should be obvious as hell that if Ai wasn’t in love with Asuka before, she certainly is now. Particularly in the gift box scene, he gives her...butterflies...right? 

-Ai is compared to the winter throughout Missing Out. This is more in reference to what she means to Asuka than anything else. Winter, as a season, is the great equalizer and although things die in the winter, it is also necessary to the bloom in spring. This refers to the shift in Asuka’s life because of her - his villain life ends and his hero life begins. 

-In fact, that whole scene in the snow is based off this gif, particularly the alt comic. It’s of two crows sitting in the snow kissing UwU.

-In both Fire and Brimstone and Missing Out, it should be getting pretty obvious I like to have my winged beasties flutter their wings when they’re in love. 

--

Referencing Literature & Real Life & Pop Culture/Memes

-Pyromancer’s first crime in Alaska is based off the McCarthy, Alaska massacre where a lone gunman gunned down 6 of the 22 residents and injured more. Guy almost killed the entire town. Pyromancer actually did.

-I’ve referred to “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe a number of times, particularly in Krow’s famous line

“Nevermore, bitch!”

But I also referenced the Telltale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, Frankenstein, The Wizard of Oz, and fanfiction in general. 

-There’s a pop culture reference in Fire and Brimstone from Bioshock where Shinso says:

“Would you kindly go repent at the alter? Ashido is waiting.”

And I love it a lot, because in Bioshock SPOILERS, “would you kindly” is the trigger phrase that’s supposedly controlling the player, Jack, to do things for Atlas and in canon, Shinso’s quirk is brainwashing. Mineta upon hearing it just goes “okay” and promptly does what Shinso tells him. Shinso’s brainwashing is also referred to by Mineta just before that:

“Or get brainwashed into believing fairy tales,” Mineta said flatly from beside the Angel.

-There is indeed a motherfucking JoJo’s reference in Missing. And there’s more memes where that came from.

-Krow’s use of “my guy”, “lit” etc etc. is self explanatory. He is a whole ass meme chicken.

-In fact, I call Krow and the other birds of the Missing series “chickens” because of the meme of the girl pointing to a bunch of geese saying “look at all these chickens!” In fact, Irina calls and will call Krow a “cock” in Missing Out and Escape Artists, and it’s kind of a more sinister play on this. Transplant and Keeper, during their convo in Missing Out refer to the women captive under Keeper part of her “henhouse” and that she’d need a “rooster” to go through with her plans. Krow also refers to his fight with Irina as a “cockfight”.

-I’m not religious, but the lore is fun to allude to. The religious references should be clear in Fire & Brimstone, and a lot of the words I use relate to the topic, even casually in the narration, but also when the characters say “like hell!” Also in F&B, the real Angelic hierarchy shapes much of the worldbuilding, as do the references to real life racism, police brutality, and other shit like that.

In Missed Chance, the sun coming through the window puts a “halo” around Deku.

In Missing Out, Krow refers to demons on a number of occasions, sometimes towards himself, his family (which in comes the irony, since they look like Angels), but towards the end, it’s used to explain Ai’s mental illness. There are also these choice lines that entertain the notion of heaven and hell:

  Below us was hell – mothers with agendas, school, dipshits, murderous villains, oh my! But up there? It was just us...

I was under no illusions about a heaven...hell certainly exists back down on the ground but I've been high enough now to rule the other place out. Unless this cold, quiet nothingness is supposed to be the intuitive opposite to the chaotic, unfair bullshit below.

-There’s a lot of references and characters with mental illnesses - psychosis, sociopathy, anxiety, depression and PTSD are all explored. In fact, Krow’s tendency to laugh at everything and get triggered by certain events (all of Missing Out is the result of him triggering himself in order to make Ochako realize her mistake) is a tell-tale sign he suffers greatly from PTSD, and Ai’s mental breakdowns are indicative of the anxiety I myself suffer from. Honestly, I just wanted some fics that look into it. 

-In the same strain, all of the characters in Missing present different coping mechanisms towards what first-responders actively go through irl. Much of that was taken from my own life as someone with police in the family and being married to a firefighter/EMT.  

--

Okay, that’s enough. Hope you enjoyed...I certainly had fun outlining all of it XD

[nataliedanovelist]

(I did not draw this, my friend, @missinspi, drew this for me) (https://www.deviantart.com/missinspi)

Wanna read fics with this OC in it?

For a fic close to canon Gravity Falls (season 3?), read this.

For an AU about Stan and Ford getting a new neighbor at seven-years-old, read this.

Miscellaneous Oc Asks

@cityandking created a (relatively short) list of random, weird, hopefully interesting OC asks. Feel free to specify a character or just send a couple of questions, and then share it around!

What six CD’s would your OC keep in their car? Is it just a taste/preference thing, or do any of them have particular significance? I can’t think of any particular CDs, but as far as artists go... Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Queen (or in the Gravity Falls world, the band called King), ACDC, a disk full of instrumental piano music, and a Dolly Parton CD her friend Madeline Ingrid probably gave her.

What does your OC smell like? What does your OC wish they smelled like? Coconut butter, japanese cherry-blossom perfume, and occasionally disinfectant (she works at a hospital). She tried every hard to smell nice, as most women do, and if she feels like work is ruining that, she might use her favorite “stress relief” lotion to help overpower the smells of rubber gloves and baby spit up.

How aesthetically-oriented is your OC in their clothing? Their living space? Their general presentation? If their look™ is mismatched, is that on purpose? Hephzie has a plain, easy-to-follow fashion sense: blue-jeans with t-shirts for casual events, jeans with blouses for nicer days, and occasionally a sweater for the winter. She also has a small love for boys’ clothes; she won’t shy away from mens’ t-shirts or button-ups if they feel nice and look OK. Her living space is relatively tidy (having grown up with grandparents who needed clean floors to avoid falling) but she’s not a clean freak. Her living space is very artsy and mitch-match, having friends all over the world and she loves learning about different cultures. She might have a rug from India by her bed, but a quilt from Ireland on her bed and a small statue from Hawaii on her dresser. With a bunch of hand-me-downs and mis-match tastes, her overall aesthetic is old and comfort.

What one word would you use to describe your OC’s vibe? Chill.

What’s one mundane thing that would throw them off-kilter? Why? Nuclear families. She grew up with her Grandma and Grandpa on her mother’s side. She never knew her father and her mother abandoned her at a hospital, not even waiting to see what would happen to Hephzie. So Hephzie values family very much, but she sees no reason why blood should be the most important factor in the definition in “family”. The idea of a “normal” family, one with two parents who are married and in love, siblings, and occasionally cousins and aunts and uncles, is like a dream to her. It’s nice, but not for her.

What kind of AU is your OC best suited to? What kind of AU would be the worst? Is there any AU that would be, objectively, just really funny? Hephzie is in 2 AUs: one pretty close to canon Gravity Falls, and one in which she grows up as neighbors to Stan and Ford. Both AUs are very interesting and I love seeing how she responds to each scenario, but I think the more “tragic” of the two is the canon-like one. I’ve toyed with an AU of her becoming a singer and I can see it going either two ways: either she crumbles under the pressure and gets into drugs and overdoses, or she flourishes and uses her money and power for good, like feeding the hungry and helping the homeless find homes.

If your OC could pick a different name, title, or pseudonym for themself, what would they pick? Why? Have they ever been given an alternate name/title, and how do they feel about it? Well, her birth name is Alicia-Sarah Hephzibah Fisher Cece, but she HATES the name Alicia-Sarah and only goes by Hephzibah/Hephzie. In one AU, she legally “fixes” her name.

If your OC were playing D&D, what would their race and class be? What backstory tragedy™ would they give their character? Does that reflect their own life in any way? Be honest. Okay, because a certain extra-special person in her life loves D,D, & More D, she plays, too. She’s an woodland elf, a healer, and has very little interest in her character, but she likes the storytelling and the praise she gets if she manages to heal a wizard with pointy-ears and fluffy brown hair named Rokuro the Righteous.

Star Wars or Star Trek? A certain boyfriend of hers likes Star Trek better, but she likes Star Wars better. It’s been a bitter rival since the beginning of time.

If your OC is from a fantasy world, where in the real world would they come from? If your OC is from our world, which fantasy world would they most want to live in? Bonus: Would you ever write/RP them in that world? Hephzie grew up on Irish folktales (her grandmother’s family is from there), so she would love to meet færies and see magic and meet a selkie. Screw being a mermaid, she wanted to be a selkie! And... no, don’t expect a fic about this.

What plant, animal, and color does your OC feel like today? A Venus Flytrap, a mongoose, and the color dark-green. It’s been a rough day but she’s keeping a level head.

If your OC were a superhero, how flashy would their costume be? Also, what would their superpower be? Does this go with their costume at all, or are they all about fashion? #Can’tFightCrimeIfYouAin’tCute Well... in the canon-like AU, she’s kinda a superhero already, so... think something like a knight’s armor on the arms and legs with a maroon cape. Power would be healing, but she can also fight hella well with a sword and bow-and-arrows. And she’s never cared about looking good, she just wants to survive the war...

Does your OC thrift? Buy designer? Where would they shop irl? GOODWILL FOR THE WIN!!! She and her friends called it “treasure hunting” in high-school and it stuck. She loves it, and when a certain somebody came out with a song about it, she was livid (even if she was fifty-something years old).

Is your OC superstitious? If so, what superstitions do they believe? If not, what do they think of superstitious people? She’s constantly around the supernatural and abnormal... and loves it. She thrives off of what is different. So, superstitious?... Hm, she isn’t paranoid or afraid; she welcomes it with open arms.

Is your OC religious? Do they want to be? Have they ever been at some time in the past? How complicated is their relationships with worship/the gods/the church/etc? Her grandparents took her to church growing up and she loved the music. Her grandmother was the choir director and her grandfather played the piano, and she had “the voice of an angel”, so she happily sang in church, but she kinda stopped going to church when she went to college, but if you ask her she’ll tell you she’s a Christian. She says it just makes sense to believe in a god; there’s too much that science can’t explain. She also likes studying Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism to learn more about other people and cultures.

Hardwood, tile, or carpet? Hardwood. But she will NEVER say no to a fluffy rug.

What’s their go-to parlor trick? Are they actually that good at it, or do they just enjoy it? Do people tell them they’re good, even if they aren’t? How do they handle criticism? I can’t really think of a good parlor trick. She has a lot of talents she keeps on the down, like singing and stand-up comedy (don’t ask). On another note, she takes criticism overall pretty well.

If your OC could request one boon from a god, what would it be? The extermination of a certain three-sided demon.

Favorite comfort food? Do they enjoy junk food or are they more of a foodie? Can they cook? What’s their favorite thing to cook? OREOS are HERS! DON’T TOUCH THEM UNLESS YOU WANNA LOSE A HAND! She also secretly loves watermelon (doesn’t like to tell people this) and her comfort food is either hot tea or hot chocolate. Something to warm her hands. And no, she can’t cook; she burns everything. EXCEPT, she can brew coffee and she’s a pretty good barista (was one during college).

Any major theme(s) or conflict(s) in your OC’s life? How have they dealt with that? Are they aware of it, or do they ignore it? Did you design them with such theme(s)/conflict(s) in mind, or did they evolve naturally? Loyalty is a huge one for her. I think so many people have forgotten what it means to be a true friend and what real loyalty looks like. You’re willing to go far and wide for the people you care about because you want to, because you get fulfillment out of doing the right thing. Hephzie will have your back, no matter what. She doesn’t care what race, background, gender, sexuality, religion, she doesn’t give a shit. If you’ve got her, you’ve got a loyal friend. IOne thing she struggled with - and is only semi-aware of it - is loneliness. She finds it suffocating. It’s slight PTSD from losing so much in her life, and she’s not terribly clingy, but she’ll wallow about it and sink into depression if she feels abandoned or alone. She NEEDS that reassurance that she is not a freak and not alone and that SOMEONE would care if one day she was gone. This evolved naturally when shaping her backstory and realising it needed to have realistic consequences.

If they could steal one major piece of art with no consequences, what would it be and why? Bonus: how would they pull off the heist? Anything Bob Ross. Loves that guy. And she’d probably just recrute Stan to help her with either blackmail or her “Please, for me?” line.

Now it’s YOUR turn!

[buckybarnesbingo]

BBB Week 23 Roundup!  

We have exactly 450 fills so far in this round of the BBB, which is just AMAZING!  Make sure to leave some love for our wonderful participants!

Title: Guarding You - Chapter 8: Guardian Angel Collaborator: Fighting_for_Creativity, Purple_ducky00 Link: AO3 Square Filled: B5 - Letting go (for Ducky) Ship: WinterIronHusband Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Shooting, Violence, AU Bodyguard, AU College/University, College Student Tony Stark, College Student Rhodey, Bodyguard Bucky Barnes, Fluff, Angst, Happy Ending, Dorks in love, Falling In Love, Fade to black sex, slices of life, Mention of alcohol, creep tries to creep on Tony, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, Pining, Minor Carol Danvers/Maria Rambeau/Nick Fury, mentioned dog, betrayal, Violence, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Steve Rogers Is a Good Bro, Injury Recovery, Clint Barton Trolls People    Summary: Though he was fired, Bucky saves Tony's life. Word Count: 12,353

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Title: Laying in wait Collaborator: kalee60 Link: AO3 Square Filled: Y4 - First Time Ship: Stucky Rating: Teen Major Tags: Alternate Universe, Friends to Lovers, First Kiss, First Time, Getting Together, THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED, Implied Sexual Content, Puns & Word Play, Light Pining Summary: When Bucky’s sister gets engaged and has a destination party, he’d never imagined that they’d overbook the hotel and he’d be stuck sharing a bed with his best friend. Which of course wouldn’t have been an issue, not at all, except that pesky part where Bucky had been in love with Steve his whole life. But maybe, just maybe this rooming oversight might just be the push he needed to see what was right in front of him the whole time. Word Count: 1599

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Title: You better make sure you put me in my place Collaborator: call-me-kayyyyy Link: Tumblr Square Filled: U3 - Till Death Do Us Part Ship: Stucky Rating: Mature Major Tags: art, no serum bucky, no serum steve, wedding Summary: No-Serum AU where long-haired mechanic!Bucky and skinny artist!Steve tie the knot. ❤️

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Title: Here come the champs Collaborator: abitnotgoodiebag Link: Tumblr Square Filled: C1 - Paintball Ship: BuckySam Rating: Gen Major Tags: art  Summary: Paintball isn’t just recreation for these two, it’s a lifestyle.

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Title: Perfect Soldiers Collaborator: phoenixgryphon Link: Tumblr Square Filled: U3 - BAMF Bucky Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: art, Jurassic Park AU Summary: A Jurassic World crossover; Russians had interest in purchasing the Indoraptor, what if those Russians were the Russian branch of Hydra? Hydra took immediate interest in the specimen, it was strong, fast had no metal arm and deadly, making for a fine counterpart to work alongside their existing Asset. Of course there was the whole issue of making it comply, but to Hydra that’s nothing a little programming can’t fix.aka you don’t get any more bamf than TWS working with a dinosaur.

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Title: Guarding You - Chapter 9: Guarding You Collaborator: Fighting_for_Creativity, Purple_ducky00 Link: AO3 Square Filled: K2 - Forgiveness, Ducky Y3 - Take the Shot, J_Gun_I Ship: WinterIronWar Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Shooting, Violence, AU Bodyguard, AU College/University, College Student Tony Stark, College Student Rhodey, Bodyguard Bucky Barnes, Fluff, Angst, Happy Ending, Dorks in love, Falling In Love, Fade to black sex, slices of life, Mention of alcohol, creep tries to creep on Tony, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, Pining, Minor Carol Danvers/Maria Rambeau/Nick Fury, mentioned dog, betrayal, Violence, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Steve Rogers Is a Good Bro, Injury Recovery, Clint Barton Trolls People Summary: The boys do what they have failed to to so far, talking it out. Word Count: 13,650

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Title: gentle and soft Collaborator: plutosrose Link: AO3 Square Filled: Y4 - Kink: Gentle Sex Ship: Stucky Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Bucky Barnes Recovering, Gentle Sex, slightly pwp, Established Relationship Summary: Bucky tries to understand why he wants Steve to be so gentle with him. Word Count: 1288

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Title: Missed Dance- Second Chance Collaborator: fightingforcreativity Link: AO3 Square Filled: Y4 - Surprise Dancing Ship: WinterIron Rating: Gen Major Tags: Soft, Fluff, Angst, Bucky Barnes Feels, Soft Tony Stark Summary: A mission delayed Bucky's plan to go out with his boyfriend. Thankfully said boyfriend was nothing if not resourceful. Word Count: 980

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Title: I Thought You Were Smaller Collaborator: ariasfandom Link: Tumblr Square Filled: C3 - Free Square Ship: Stucky Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Smut, WWII era Stucky, dirty talk, size kink Summary: It’s the first night Steve and Bucky are together since Bucky was shipped out months ago, and Bucky wants to make up for lost time, and show him how much he loves his partner and his new body. Word Count: 1975

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Title: Kill List Collaborator: shadow-ravin Link: AO3 Square Filled: B1 - Kill List Ship: Bucky & Steve, Bucky & Natasha Rating: Mature Major Tags: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, 5+1 Things, Friendship, Killing, Character Death, But only bad guys die, Torture, Revenge, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence Summary: 5 times Bucky killed someone and one time he didn’t have to. Word Count: 805

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Title: Snowed In Collaborator: steves-on-a-plane Link: Tumblr Square Filled: U2 - Sharing Body Heat Ship: Bucky/Reader Rating: Gen Major Tags: not listed Summary: The last person that Reader wanted to be paired up with on a mission is the quiet and elusive Bucky Barnes. When the pair get snowed in together during a mission they have no choice but to warm up to each other. figuratively and literally. Word Count: 1373

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Title: bruises make for better conversation Collaborator: nightwideopen Link: AO3 Square Filled: K1 - AU: Supernatural Ship: WinterHawk Rating: Not Rated Major Tags: Blood/Gore, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Comics/Movie Crossover, Supernatural Elements, Vampire Clint Barton, Pain Kink, Lovers to Lovers    Summary: “Jesus Christ, Barnes, what the hell is that?” Bucky let Clint feed off of him last night, and it got kind of… intense. To say the least. But he can’t exactly tell Tony that because he doesn’t know where Clint’s at with their whole… sexual blood sucking thing. Also, no one knows that Clint is a vampire. Word Count: 4331

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Title: Speed Dating Collaborator: arrowsandmixtapes Link: Tumblr Square Filled: Y5 - Speed Dating Ship: Bucky/Reader Rating: Not Rated Major Tags: A few poorly placed easter eggs. Summary: Your desperation pays off when you meet a handsome man at a speed dating event. Word Count: 820

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Title: Vacation Gone Wrong Collaborator: jurassicworjd Link: AO3 Square Filled: K3 - Going On Vacation Together Ship: WinterHawk Rating: Teen Major Tags: swearing Summary: Marvel meets Jurassic World. Bucky knew from the beginning it was going to go wrong when Clint told them that he bought tickets to the famous Jurassic World theme park. Yet somehow, he allows his boyfriend to drag him out there anyways. Word Count: 3183

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Title: You Alone Collaborator: 27dragons Link: AO3 Squares Filled: Chapter 1: C2 - IMG: Tony working on Bucky’s arm Chapter 2: U4 - Take the Shot Chapter 3: U5 - Abandonment Issues Chapter 4: Y2 - Kink: BDSM Chapter 5: Y3 - Last TImes/Farewells Ship: WinterIron Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - No Powers, single parent tony stark, Omega Tony Stark, Alpha Bucky Barnes, War Veteran Bucky Barnes, Protective Harley Keener, Meddling Kids, First Dates, First Kiss, Past Tony Stark/Tiberius Stone, Panic Attacks, Sex, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Anal Sex, Light BDSM, Multiple Orgasms, Knotting, Weddings Summary: Life as a single parent isn’t easy, but Tony is proud of what he’s accomplished over the last fifteen years. He has his own electronics repair shop and has managed to keep his son Harley away from his toxic ex. So what if every alpha he sees puts him on edge? Most of his customers are omegas, anyway, and he’s content never to date again if it means never again having to go through the shit that Harley’s sire put him through. Bucky is more than intrigued by the smart and beautiful omega who’s repairing his arm, but Tony smells like fear, and Bucky doesn’t want to make things worse. He has to put a lot of effort into making sure not to trip Tony’s triggers -- made doubly hard by the fact that Tony doesn’t want to talk about them -- but he thinks it could be well worth the effort in the end. Word Count: 14,938

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Title: The Red Star Collaborator: startrekkingaroundasgard Link: Tumblr Square Filled: U5 - AU:Pirate Ship: Bucky/Reader Rating: Explicit Major Tags: m/f explicit smut, choking, public sex, exhibitionism, prostitution, name calling Summary: Pirate captain Barnes of The Red Star makes port and goes directly to the reader, his favourite prostitute, for some release. Word Count: 1305

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Title: (my hair) Through your fingertips Collaborator: darter_blue Link: AO3 Square Filled: C5 - “Kiss me.” Ship: Stucky Rating: Mature Major Tags: emotional hurt/comfort, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Canon Divergence - post Captain America: The Winter Soldier, hair washing, first kiss Summary: The asset left Steve by the river. Damaged. Broken.The asset himself is both of those things. But Steve should be neither.The asset needs to find Steve to makes sure he’s okay. Needs to right his wrong (just one of so many). And he needs to find Steve because he WANTS to, though he may not fully understand what wanting even means.Something inside him feels peace at the memory of Steve’s face (the only memory the asset can hold onto) and he maybe just wants to FEEL things again. Or for the first time…He just can’t remember… Word Count: 3651

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Title: Between a Rock and a Hard Place Collaborator: queen-of-the-avengers Link: Tumblr Square Filled: U4 - Rebecca Barnes Ship: Bucky/Reader Rating: Not Rated Major Tags: minor angst, crack fic, fluff and implied smut at the end Summary: ou and your two best friends are fighting, and you’re caught in the middle of it. The only person who will listen to you is your boyfriend, Bucky. Word Count: 1.1k

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Title: Aria in B♭ - Chapter 8 Collaborator: 27dragons Link: AO3 Square Filled: B4 - Alcohol Ship: WinterIron Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Alternate Universe - Historical, opera singer Bucky Barnes, nobleman Tony Stark, Prostitution, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Dubious Consent, Pining, Dueling, Gambling Summary: Lord Stark has his faults -- a bit too fond of a drink, a little too reckless at cards, and entirely too happy to flout his good fortune in his rivals’ faces. But a man as wealthy and powerful as Tony Stark is bound to have a few peccadillos. What he is not, is the sort of man who would force himself upon another unwilling, unlike Lord Killian, who seems to have taken a particular shine to an opera singer in the troupe Killian is hosting. Tony rescues Mr. Barnes from Killian’s untender mercies, moves the troupe into his own home, and takes Mr. Barnes as his bed companion for the season. The arrangement provides protection for Bucky and the troupe from Killian’s spite, and tweaks Killian at the same time -- a win all around, as far as Tony is concerned. He wasn’t counting on Bucky being so utterly charming and wonderful, or for the possibility that he might actually, after so many years a bachelor, fall in love. Word Count: 28,643

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Title: Siren - Chapter 3: Roundtable Rival Collaborator: Writing_mermaid Link: AO3 Square Filled: B5 - language Ship: Bucky/Reader Rating: Mature Major Tags: Language, mention of injuries, Steve is an asshole Summary: Y/N is a mutant, a Siren, the last of her kind, with deadly dangerous powers and a hidden past. If most of the Avengers likes and get along with her, Steve doesn’t, and it’s getting worse when Y/N and Bucky become close. After all what can bring two broken souls together if it’s not a dark past. Word Count: 5564

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Title: Obnoxiously Perfect Collaborator: plutosrose Link: AO3 Square Filled: B2 - Alpine Ship: Stucky Rating: Mature Major Tags: Alternate Universe - Teachers, Alternate Universe - College/University, Developing Relationship, Coffee Date, Brief Mentions of Grief, Self-Esteem, Finding Your Crush and His Ex on Social Media, Brief Mention of Past Sharon Carter/Natasha Romanov Summary: After hooking up with Steve at a faculty reception, Bucky consults Alpine for advice. Word Count: 2899

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Title: It's Only a Paper Moon - Chapter 1 Collaborator: SierraNovembr Link: AO3 Square Filled: B3 - Bucky/Tony Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: Depiction of a mental asylum, established relationship, Edwin Jarvis Summary: Fighting aliens alongside Captain America? A loving, supportive fiancé who overlooks the many flaws of Tony Stark? Tony often thought his life was too amazing to be real.  He might just be right about that. Word Count: 831

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Title: We Shall Be Monsters - Chapter 2: Dead All Day Collaborator: tisfan Link: AO3 Square Filled: Y1 - Hallucinations Ship: WinterIron Rating: Mature Major Tags: mentioned torture, Frankenstein inspired, reincarnation, rise from the dead, gross, dead bodies Summary: This is your 6:30am Rise from the Dead call... Word Count: 1370

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Title: Worth It Collaborator: darter-blue Link: AO3 Square Filled: Y4 - Pet rock Ship: Stucky Rating: Mature Major Tags: Modern Bucky Barnes, Fluff, Romance, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting Summary: Bucky is not having a great time here, speed dating was not the ‘opportunity to meet someone great’ he had been promised. This was just a faster, more efficient way for Bucky to get dumped. Until someone new sits down gracefully into the seat opposite him. Bucky’s looking up from where tight blue jeans around thick thighs have slid into the seat, up to a broad chest in a t-shirt that has to be two sizes too small, up to shoulders so wide they could carry a bus, and up, up, up to the most beautiful face Bucky has ever seen in real life. And he’s smiling. A real, enthusiastic smile.At Bucky. Word Count: 2051

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Title: Moments with You (Part 2 of 5) Collaborator: shield-agent78 Link: Tumblr Square Filled: U1 - Confessions Ship: Bucky/Reader Rating: Mature Major Tags: angst, anxiety, stress Summary: Both you and Scott Summers yearn for a beautiful remembrance that cannot be reached. Scott, in the form of Jean Gray, and you in wanting Scott to move on with his life and realize that love can be found again. Word Count: 1285

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Title: 5 Times Bucky and Winter Courted Tony, and 1 Time Tony Realized He Was Courting Back Collaborator: newtypeshadow Link: AO3 Square Filled: K1 - Steve Rogers Ship: Tony/Bucky/Winter Rating: Mature Major Tags: Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Domestic Avengers, Avengers Tower, 5+1 Things, Flerkin Shifter Tony Stark, Wolf Shifter Bucky Barnes, Symbiote Winter, Bucky Barnes & Winter Soldier are Different Personalities, Courtship, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Tony Stark, Kidnapping, Rescue Missions, Canon-Typical Violence, Dead animals, fresh meat, Cannibalism, technically, flerkins and symbiotes don't understand why eating delicious human meat is bad, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, murder fluff, Crack Treated Seriously, Getting Together, First Kiss, Aliens, Alien Cultural Differences, Polyamory, Flerkin Tony Stark, Cat Tony Stark Summary: There's a dead bird next to Tony's coffee maker. Gross. Except when Tony shifts into a flerkin. Then it's a delicious gift. Doesn't explain why Bucky and his symbiote, Winter, left it in Tony's kitchen though. Word Count: 10,630

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Title: They Never Went Further, They Never Went Back Collaborator: eachpeachpearplum Link: AO3 Squares Filled: Y2 - rescue mission (chapter one) C3 - free space (chapter two) C1 - recovering Bucky (chapter four) U4 - shoot first, ask later (chapter five) Y1 - hurt/comfort (chapter seven) Ship: Stuckony Rating: Teen Major Tags: identity porn, vigilante Iron Man, polyamory negotiations, asexual Bucky Summary: Steve and Bucky’s truck breaks down while they’re out searching for the vigilante Iron Man. Fortunately, mechanic Tony is willing to offer them a place to stay for a few nights. Word Count: 26,893

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Title: Hallucinations Collaborator: ShakespeareanQueer Link: Tumblr Square Filled: B2 - Hallucinations Ship: Stucky Rating: Teen Major Tags: Induced hallucinations, angst Summary: When Steve doesn’t make it back on the time travel platform, Bucky asks Wanda for a weird favor. Word Count: 3223

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Title: Better the Devil you know Collaborator: Kalee60 Link: AO3 Square Filled: C4 - Wings Ship: Stucky Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Explicit Sexual Content, Falling In Love, Bottom Bucky Barnes, POV Bucky Barnes, Idiots in Love, Light Dom/sub, they should really just talk..., Demon Bucky Barnes, Angel Steve Rogers, Denial of Feelings, Misunderstandings Summary: Attending work conferences was never Bucky's idea of a 'good time' - especially when the rival company was Heaven and he happened to be a demon from Hell. Even more unbearable, he'd been tasked to present a seminar (against his will) - Bucky was more about doling out punishments, less about educating his peers.So of course, while Bucky is already down, Steve Rogers turns up, an angel Bucky had been trying desperately to forget for the last millenia… for an array of reasons. Bucky now finds himself in close quarters with his feathery nemesis, and after living multiple lifetimes, was maybe finally learning that there really was a fine line between hate and lust, and an even finer one tethering it all to love? Word Count: 19,912

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Title: Know Your Enemy, Know Yourself Collaborator: rebelmeg Link: AO3 Square Filled: B1 - Mexican standoff Ship: Bucky & Winter Rating: Mature Major Tags: blood and violence, Winter is a separate personality, graphic depiction of violence Summary: The fight between Bucky Barnes and the Winter Soldier might happen in his head, but that doesn't make it any less real. Word Count: 771

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Title: Unshackled - Chapter 2 Collaborator: LiraelClayr007 Link: AO3 Square Filled: C1 - through a scope Ship: WinterHawk Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Amnesia, (of the short term), Sharing a Bed, Fluff, Angst, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, Implied/Referenced Mind Control, Deaf Clint Barton, Hurt Clint Barton, Hydra (Marvel), Slow Burn. Will add more tags and characters as they come up, Escape Summary: Nausea roils in Clint’s stomach, and he’s suddenly glad there’s no food in his stomach. Mind control. HYDRA’s perfected brainwashing and mind control. He needs to get out of here, he needs to tell… But of course it doesn’t matter. Because he’s shackled to the wall across from the fucking Winter Soldier, deep within who knows where surrounded by who knows how many HYDRA goons, and he hasn’t eaten for...how many days now? Even if he could get to his bow, he’s not sure he’d have the strength to draw it.In other words, he’s well and truly fucked. Word Count: 5970

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Title: Aria in B♭ - Chapter 9 Collaborator: tisfan Link: AO3 Square Filled: I3 - Disability Ship: WinterIron Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Alternate Universe - Historical, opera singer Bucky Barnes, nobleman Tony Stark, Prostitution, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Dubious Consent, Pining, Dueling, Gambling Summary: Lord Stark has his faults -- a bit too fond of a drink, a little too reckless at cards, and entirely too happy to flout his good fortune in his rivals’ faces. But a man as wealthy and powerful as Tony Stark is bound to have a few peccadillos. What he is not, is the sort of man who would force himself upon another unwilling, unlike Lord Killian, who seems to have taken a particular shine to an opera singer in the troupe Killian is hosting. Tony rescues Mr. Barnes from Killian’s untender mercies, moves the troupe into his own home, and takes Mr. Barnes as his bed companion for the season. The arrangement provides protection for Bucky and the troupe from Killian’s spite, and tweaks Killian at the same time -- a win all around, as far as Tony is concerned. He wasn’t counting on Bucky being so utterly charming and wonderful, or for the possibility that he might actually, after so many years a bachelor, fall in love. Word Count:31,979

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Title: [Art] Bingo Clusterfuck - Chapter 11: come on with it, come on Collaborator: call-me-kayyyyy Link: AO3 Square Filled: B5 - Kink: Vibes in Public Ship: Stucky Rating: Explicit Major Tags: art, semi-public sex, bottom bucky, top steve, fun-ishment Summary: Steve was done. He was absolutely sick and tired of Bucky riling him up on purpose in front of their tower-mates. Bucky loved making him blush with dirty comments during Avenger's meetings. Flustering him by "accidentally" brushing against his crotch in the community kitchen. Steve had had enough and it was time to teach Bucky a lesson. He sees his moment while their making out like teenagers in front of the big open windows in their apartment. "You like everyone watching Buck? You like it when I get all flushed and hard in front of our friends?" Bucky whined and kissed Steve harder. "Well lets see how you like it, huh sweetie? I'm gonna take you apart, right here where anyone can watch," he growled into Bucky's ear. "Rub your sweet spot till you beg for my cock. Let all of New York see how much you love being on all fours for me." Bucky was gonna learn his lesson alright, maybe twice.

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Title: Dog Days of Summer Collaborator: hddnone Link: Tumblr Square Filled:  K5 - “Oh, hell no” Ship: WinterIron Rating: Mature Major Tags: temperature play with ice Summary: Summer was the worst season to have a metal arm.Fortunately Bucky had a boyfriend who would fix that for him. Word Count: 997

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Title: something like home Collaborator: nightwideopen Link: AO3 Square Filled: C4 - Canon Divergence Ship: WinterHawk Rating: Not Rated Major Tags: Graphic description of injury, mentions of brainwashing Summary: After the fall of the Triskelion, Clint retreats to his last refuge, the farm house in Iowa that he grew up in. On the way there, he finds an injured dog on the road leading to the Barton farm. Spoiler alert: it's not a dog.It's Bucky Barnes. Word Count: 13,048

[hellrisen]

WHAT IS UP, MY DUDES ?                  the name’s mads. short for mads mikkelsen’s #1 fan and lover —— alternatively amanda. you can call me whatever you want, though. or anytime :wink: i am twenty - three years young, and i go by she / them pronouns. my favorite movie franchise is scream and i think machine gun kelly is the best thing since sliced bread. but that’s enough about me … so, click the      READ MORE     below for a brief introduction to my oc’s ! 

ALISHA BOE, CIS WOMAN, SHE/HER   …   you’re looking for sawyer kinney? town as small as this, you’re bound to find them — the twenty-two year old nephilim and student with an unadulterated love for soccer, bonne bell cotton candy lip smackers, and 1980′s romcoms. with blondies′ sunday girl set as the soundtrack of their stroll, everyone can see clear as day that they’re tenacious, and yet blithe. i just hope you’re finding them for the right reasons …

BACKSTORY …

MEET SAWYER KINNEY —— half angel, half fun. adopted by a nice christian pair in ‘97 after her mommy kicked the bucket. that’s what happens when you fraternise with angels, you see. so … daddy dearest dropped her off at one of eden’s many, many, many churches and said SEE YA !

since then, angelic endeavours have been stifled. for the most part. her adoptive parents died when she was thirteen years old. car crash. and it might’ve been partially sawyer’s fault. we can’t all control our divine urges. or the powers inherited from fathers we never knew.

premonition and other sorts of fun hasn’t been experienced since. partially due to the seizure meds her family feeds her like tic tacs. she’s got epilepsy ! except she like, doesn’t. but from an adult pov and an absence of telekinetic rages since childhood, sawyer accepts the diagnosis at face value. nobody said she was smart.

she’s a vet student, though ! so, she’s semi - smart. sawyer loves all animals ( bunnies mostly ) and has since she was a wee lass. same goes for soccer. nobody loves muddy balls as much as sawyer kinney, y’all.

survivor of three near death experiences, only one which was self - inflicted, sawyer’s kind of convinced herself to have a purpose. she doesn’t. but since the third incident, she’s been more connected to god than ever before. a poor idolisation considering he’d have her sniped if he knew of her existence.

another addition to sawyer’s idiocy is her lack of deep thought regarding the town she lives in. yeah, it’s quirky ! and people are superstitious ! but that’s all there is to it. but as she’s starting to engage more with the vamps of eden, as well as pushing for a release from her medication, she’ll have to unveil this creep - fest for what it is … well, a creep fest.

PERSONALITY …

she’s pushy. like, very. sawyer’s very engaged with her friends and family, possibly due to middle child slash adopted child syndrome. include her or die.

competitive, too. she can get kinda mean when there’s a WINNER title on the horizon. because she has to win, she must win — she’s the best person at whatever they’re competing in. swear to satan ! ( that was me, not sawyer, don’t worry. )

on top of that, sawyer’s the epitome of a social butterfly. she’ll befriend anyone at any given opportunity, and maybe that’s why she’s gonna end up dead in an alley. either way, if there’s a person she does not know —— sawyer will know them by the end of the day. so, it goes without saying then, that she’s quite the partier. drinking is fun ! dancing is fun ! okay ? cool.

STEVEN YEUN, DEMI BOY, HE/THEY   …   you’re looking for wolfgang baek? town as small as this, you’re bound to find them — the thirty-seven year old human and podcast host with an unadulterated love for dario argento films, his super 8 camera, and chicken mcnuggets is easy to spot. with charles manson’s look at your game, girl set as the soundtrack of their stroll, everyone can see clear as day that they’re meddlesome, and yet voluble. i just hope you’re finding them for the right reasons …

BACKSTORY …

MEET WOLFGANG BAEK —— flop movie director / screenwriter, son of a successful movie director / screenwriter, who resorted to hosting a spooky podcast. men, am i right ? always making them podcasts …

wolfie is what you call a movie buff. horror movies specifically. he loves himself a good scare ! hence why he moved to this little hell - town called eden. it was all for that sick and twisted inspiration. for what you ask — well, for his next movie, duh ! the one he started four years ago and has yet to finish … yeah, that one.

due to his father’s job he spent the majority of his childhood on the cinematic scene. both off and on screen. yeah, he got a cameo in one of his daddy’s 1980′s films ! jealous yet ? you should be. but it isn’t just because of that he has never done a sport in his life, okay … he also has heart issues, baby. a defect heart valve that got fixed ( best it could ) when he was a wee bean. it’s fine now. for the most part.

now he’s kind of obsessed with outdoing his dad even though that is the biggest cliche out of all the cliches and he’s aware of the fact. simply being introspective is not enough, is it ? he’s made a couple shorts, and one feature length — flops the whole bunch. i mean, they’re decent to OUR standards. but to this perfectionist ? nah, son. burn that shit.

PERSONALITY …

wolfie can be … callous. insensitive. a bit of a prick. not in the sense of deliberate asshole - ness, but — he’s desensitised to the world’s tragedies ( too many true crime dramas ) and he’s incredibly pretentious. it’s cinema, darling.

he talks a lot, too. TOO MUCH ! nobody asked for his input regarding the rise and the decline of the slasher genre but here he is … putting it in regardless. odds are every other sentence includes either a. a movie reference, or b. a true crime reference. pick one.

because he’s all work and no play, he’s never had a serious girlfriend. i know ! shocking, right ? i mean, look at him !!!!!!!! but no. longest relationship lasted a whooping four months and we don’t talk about that one. there might be a part of him that believes he’s incapable of love … we don’t talk about that either.

AUBREY PLAZA, AGENDER, SHE/THEY   …   you’re looking for muriel stafford? town as small as this, you’re bound to find them — the thirty-five year old possessed human and journalist with an unadulterated love for impromptu road trips, take-out delivery food, and burt’s bees pomegranate lip balm is easy to spot. with santana’s she’s not there set as the soundtrack of their stroll, everyone can see clear as day that they’re aloof, and yet perspicacious. i just hope you’re finding them for the right reasons …

BACKSTORY …

MEET MURIEL STAFFORD —— stanford graduate and general pain in the butt. disowned by her family and the whole ghost hunting community. things we don’t discuss: see above.

to make a long story incredibly short, merle grew up in a haunted house. or so they say … you see, when merle was nine years old, her sister was possessed BY THE DEVIL. or so they say … and all that trauma ? documented, darlings. because momma and poppa don’t hesitate to capitalise on their own children. sickening.

according to merle, her sister suffered a psychotic break, and her parents — previously z listers with an affinity for running ghost hunting blogs — didn’t hesitate to make the fact their latest pitch. AND TO STARDOM THEY WENT ! meanwhile, agnes delgado chugged drain - cleaner two years after it aired.

fast forward last year of college, and the anniversary of the notorious exorcism documentary comes creeping up. so merle says enough is enough ! girl puts her soon - to - be journalism degree to use and writes an extensive exposé on her own fam. that ought to show them, right ? well …

turns out : her input was not wanted. as if it wasn’t bad enough to have the remainder of the delgado clan turn on her, the anonymous identity she’d craved ever since entering the spotlight years ago — it is snatched from her ! safe to say she did not think it through.

so, what now ? well, we change our last name to our mommy’s maiden name and we escape the hell - scape that is texas and then, we hope nobody added your newly - zit - free face to memory. because it’s been * math years * ! okay ? forget it … you never read any of the above …

PERSONALITY … 

merle has never cared for much in general, and that’s very obvious. she has a very deadpan approach to life and all of its difficulties. plus, riveting backstory in mind — she’s unlikely to share details of her life unless it pertains recent mundane bull - crap !

going against everything previously established, her attitude towards the supernatural is not skeptical. aliens, ghosts, ghouls … all things that exist. because muriel delgado grew up in a haunted house. and while her adult mind rationalised all that was seen in her childhood, it also suffered a break of its own post her sister’s death - aversary.

it’s nice to come face to face with old friends, though, innit ? and if all she has left of her past is the demonic presence lurking in the back of her mind, then so be it. beggars cannot be choosers, merle.

[liam-93-productions]

Liam Payne is on the cover of Esquire Middle East's June 2019 issue

The One Direction star was photographed on a rainy day in London

During the shoot, Payne opens up about the media's obsession with romance rumours

"Most of what you read online about me is straight BS" says Payne

It’s raining in West London. Every weather man, woman, and app had forecast that sunshine would be on the agenda for the day. But no. It’s raining. So, we’re stuck inside instead.

Alternating between balancing on a set of dumbbells (...) Liam Payne doesn’t seem to mind all that much about the weather. He’s used to plans changing pretty quickly.

“I’ve found in my life at the moment, because of the way things have happened, that everything’s kind of fast-forwarded,” says Payne, his dark eyes lighting up like those of a prospector that’s just panned a nugget of gold, “everything has fast-forwarded.”

Payne’s lived pretty much his entire life on fast-forward. He had his first X-Factortelevision appearance at the age of fourteen. He embarked on his first world tour with a little band named One Direction—you might have heard of them—only four years later. The band sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, and had four albums debut at number one in the US charts. (...)

As Payne ambles about the studio, it’s hard not to notice that even the tattoo on his forearm bears a striking resemblance to the fast-forward button on a television remote. Or a Spotify skip button.

Having recently performed alongside Rita Ora at the Global Teacher Prize concert in Dubai, Payne looks healthy and tanned, kissed by the sun even though his visit to the region was greeted by weather not dissimilar to today’s overcast conditions. “I think the weather’s just following me around at the minute,” he says with a laugh as abrupt as the first half of a hiccup. “There’s an air of something almost Vegas-y about Dubai,” adds Payne, “everything’s a little bit of a show there.”

Payne is no stranger to bit of a show. As well as having spent the better part of a decade touring the world with One Direction (the band is currently on a definitely indefinite hiatus) Payne helped break a concert attendance record in the Middle East last year by performing in front of 110,000 people. “I didn’t eat anything at dinner beforehand because I was thinking no-one’s going to turn up,” he admits.

To make Liam Payne nervous certainly takes some doing. Back in 2009—when ambitions of winning X-Factor as a solo performer were still very much at the forefront of his mind—Payne sang in front of over 29,000 fans as part of the pre-match entertainment of a game between his local football team Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United. A pretty heady experience for a boy not yet old enough to drive a car.

Now 25, Payne knew from an early age that he could “hold a tune”. What it took him longer to realise was that others couldn’t. “I think I thought it was just a normal thing that people could get on with,” he says with a shrug. That may well have been the case when it came to his local theatre group, but when considering most of the “normal things”that people “get on with”, we’d hazard a guess that the majority don’t involve amassing over two billion streams on Spotify.

But that’s Liam Payne for you: unassuming, self-effacing, and—for the most part—a guy who seems just genuinely happy to be here. It’s easy to forget when deliberating the merits of Linkin Park’s nu-metal masterpiece ‘Meteora’ with Payne that his face was once plastered on the bedroom walls of millions of tweens the world over.

Payne’s achieved extraordinary success in the quarter of a century he’s exhausted so far. So much so that you’d expect the moment that sparked off his passion for music to be equally spectacular. A real spontaneous Kevin Bacon dancing-in-an-abandoned-warehouse sort of epiphany. The reality is that it wasn’t romantic or sexy in the slightest. It was karaoke. “I used to go out to Cornwall and see my grandad and we’d always go to this karaoke bar and we’d sing a load of different stuff,” says Payne.

What sort of “stuff” does a future pop-star sing in a karaoke bar in a small town on the west coast of the UK? Well, the same oeuvre that you or I are have probably crooned into a microphone at midnight at Lucky Voice: ‘Angels’ by Robbie Williams.

While Payne isn’t ashamed to admit that he was listening to Williams pretty much 24/7 as a youngster (“No, I really was”), one of the first CDs he bought with his own money was an Eminem record. Growing up with both Robbie Williams and Marshall Mathers as his idols, he places his own sound as “somewhere in-between the two”.

A little bit Slim Shady and a little bit Rock DJ, that intersection of pop and rap is reflected in Payne’s solo career so far. His debut single, the catchy-as-the-plague earworm ‘Strip That Down’, featured Migos alum Quavo and went on to be certified platinum in both the US and the UK. The title track of his First Time EP also saw Payne join forces with rapper French Montana. Payne’s certainly not the first popstar to align themselves with a more urban sound in an attempt to appeal to an older demographic. Nor will he be the last. The transition from squeaky-clean boyband member to fullyfledged solo artist is, after all, anything but easy. To use a Take That comparison: for every one Robbie Williams, there are a hundred Mark Owens.

When it comes to One Direction, it’s still a bit too soon to tell who the Robbies and the Marks of the bunch are going to be. “When we did the band stuff it was very—not exactly scripted—but let’s just say you kind of knew your audience very well,” says Payne. “We’d usually sell a tour out before we’d even done an album. And then they [the record producers] would go: ‘Right, you’re doing stadiums’. And then you’d go: ‘Okay, so we need longer choruses—the kind of songs that people can chant in a stadium’. You had to kind of write around the tour.”

If that process sounds a bit paint-by-numbers, that’s because—by Payne’s own admission—it was. “It’s a very backwards way to do it,” he admits, “obviously people don’t really tend to write like that. But we just had no time, so it was like: ‘Quick! We need another hit and another and another!’ It was actually easier to write in that scenario because there were so many hoops you had to jump through. It wouldn’t necessarily be my choice of music now—it wasn’t something that I would listen to—but I just knew how to make it, if that makes sense?”

Going from such a canned bop formula to a world of complete creative freedom is a daunting prospect for anyone looking to make it as a solo act. But that was far from the only challenge Payne faced. Streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music have drastically altered the music industry since the phone-to-vote days that launched One Direction. “The way that the industry kind of works now is kind of a difficult one because of the way albums are and the introduction of Spotify,” says Payne. “When I was in the band, Spotify wasn’t really a thing for us, we didn’t really care. We used to sell a lot of albums and physical copies, so it was different for us. As I got more into the solo stuff it was a kind of, like, a bit f**king confusing.”

All you need to do is look at the chains that Payne draped around his neck during the releases of a series of sophomore singles to see a man adopting a kabuki mask that didn’t quite fit. A man who was, in his words, a bit f**king confused. “‘Strip That Down’ was amazing and I was really happy with the success of it—but it didn’t necessarily paint the right picture of me and who I actually am,” he says, “I always found, to start off with, that with a lot of the chains and the clothes and the fashion, I was kind of hiding behind something. We did a billion streams for ‘Strip That Down’ but it still all gets a bit heady and at a certain point you’re like: ‘what the f**k am I doing here?’ It’s a bit like being stuck out in deep water and you’re just going ‘well, it would be really nice to get back now.’”

Payne might still be far from the shore, but he seems to be treading water at a more comfortable pace nowadays. “It took me a long to get my head around it,” he says (...)

And where is Liam Payne now? Well, he’s sat in front of me looking comparatively anxiety-free: comfortable and relaxed in a plain black tee and pair of tailored HUGO trousers. “My style and my fashion sense are all quite laid back now because that’s kind of the way I am as well. I don’t feel the need to hide behind the clothes anymore. I feel I can finally be who I am and enjoy myself.”

The last few years have witnessed a real boy-to-man transition for the ex-boy band squaddie. A coming-of-age moment came when he arrived at Frank Sinatra’s house in Palm Springs to record his part of ‘For You’ with Rita Ora. A crooning, finger-snapping, rather embarrassingly-waist-coated rendition of ‘Fly Me to The Moon’ was what Payne sang to get through his first ever X-Factor audition. Walking into Old Blue Eyes’ home, for Payne, came with the realisation that he’d “made that complete full-circle journey”.

Suffice it to say there’s no turning around for Payne in that journey when it comes to the fame front; he’s well in the thickets of the tabloid jungle. Headlines about who’s “breaking silence on romance rumours” with the popstar are a daily occurrence in the British papers. So too are accompanying photographs of his face. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Payne has, after all, got a rather nice face. The latest use of which has seen it become the face of Hugo Boss’s latest HUGO menswear line.

“To be honest, they called me and it just seemed to make a lot of sense at the time. It was a direction that I knew I’d love to go down,” says Payne on how his partnership with the brand first came about. “It’s very rare that a big company like Hugo Bosscomes around asking for you to be the face of it. It’s a bit of a dream come true actually.”

Previous Hugo Boss ambassadors include the likes of Chris Hemsworth, Jamie Dornan and Gerard Butler. Handsome faces. Familiar faces. Faces that are now forever immortalised in the public conscience. A fact that Payne is all-too conscious of himself. “I was looking through the different people that they’ve had on their roster over the years and they’re all people that I look up to,” says Payne, “So, I’m obviously quite excited but it’s also a bit daunting because these things,” he spreads his arms in a gesture that aptly sums up the rigmarole of press junkets and interviews, “are literally around for forever now.”

Moving from location to location and outfit to outfit, it becomes evident that dressing to hide who he is, is no longer on Payne’s agenda. As he’s grown (both figuratively and literally) in the public eye, and Payne’s now come to accept the lane he’s in. “I’ve become more in tune with things now,” he says, “as the years go by, I think you gain a different level of confidence and find out what works for you and what doesn’t, rather than constantly trying to be something that you’re not. If that makes sense?” It does.

What makes less sense is why Payne decided to go with chains in the first place “It was quite funny at the time when everyone used to get really mad about it,” he says referencing outraged headlines like: Sleepy Liam Payne leaves a London studio wearing a HUGE gold chain. “It just didn’t really matter to me.”

What matters to Payne is when those stories affect the lives of those around him. One particular article published in the British newspaper, The Daily Mail, last year that attempted to insinuate he was romantically linked with a member of his team irked Payne so much that the usually apolitical Twitterer took to social media to criticising the newspaper.

“The difference with that story was that the people that they were putting me with have families, boyfriends, girlfriends,” explains Payne, “I go home every night and know that people write horses**t about me daily. I won’t worry about it because I know it’s f**king bulls**t. But for someone who’s never had a story written about them before? If they go home and their partner’s reading the paper going like: ‘what the f**k is this?’ It’s difficult for them to be able to explain that.” Payne’s voice ratchets up a few decibels when he says this. He uses more than a few words we’re not legally allowed to print. I can tell that he cares about this. That it needles him. That it’s not something he has to say, but rather something that he needs to say. So, I let him.“I asked for this, I get paid very handsomely to be here and it’s part of my life and I get it. It’s alright. You can write what the f**k you want about me but when it comes to other people who work with me? That is not on.”

The only way for Payne to cut through that noise is by doing the thing he knows best: making music. “Everything I do is very, very public a lot of the time. I get reported on a lot for different things. I just think there’s a certain line where I have to have my say. And that there’s only one way for me to do that—which is through my music.”

(...)

Communicating as a public figure becomes increasingly difficult when navigating the glut of information that exists online. Do a quick Google search for ‘Liam Payne’ and you’ll be greeted by countless fan sites with a never-ending litany of “facts” about the man. Facts like:

“Liam Payne prefers showers over baths” “Liam Payne sleeps naked” “Liam Payne has a phobia of spoons”

While Payne is quick to assure me that most of what you’ll read online is straight B.S., one fact did keep cropping up again and again. And I mean, c’mon, I couldn’t not ask him about the spoons, could I?

“Yeah, I did have a fear of spoons,” he groans with the weariness of a man who’s been pelted with countless pieces of cutlery, “but it wasn’t so much a fear as something that’s now turned into a thing because of the internet. I was forced in detention once to wash up dirty plates and spoons and I think it just put me off looking at how dirty some of these spoons came back. But people used to throw spoons at me in concerts! I should have said I had a fear of pillows—that would have been comfier.”

All things considered, a fear of spoons is a fairly harmless rumour to spread. But rumours rarely ever are. Most are vicious; spreading like wildfire and burning all of those they touch. “I’ve been dead,” says Payne abruptly. “People I love have been dead.”

The non-stop 24-hour nature of the news cycles can be overwhelming to read, let alone to be involved in via the announcement of your own death. “You have to learn fast and we [One Direction] had to grow up pretty quick in the circumstances that we were under or else you kind of f**k it a little bit,” he says. If you’ve ever seen clips of The Beatles or BTS getting mobbed on the streets, you know the kind of hysteria that can ensue when boyband members are seen out in public.

“I don’t think I struggle in the sense of what you would naturally think of when I’m walking down the street with every person stopping me,” says Payne, “I mean, it happens sometimes but it’s mainly mentally where you struggle with it. It’s the getting ready and always knowing that you might be photographed.” From elaborate airport fits to the loungewear he puts on to pick up a pint of semiskimmed milk from the shop down the road, there’s never a moment where Payne and his clothing aren’t in danger of becoming front page news.

One of the ways that Payne combats that simmering anxiety is by going for a run at 5am every morning. It’s probably why he’s been able to maintain his sanity so far. And probably why he’s in—as evidenced by his numerous topless Instagram photos—such great nick.

“I love it. I get myself outside and into the day and get past that fear of ‘what if this happens?’ or ‘what if that happens?’. Because, for a long time, I became—what’s the word?” says Payne, gesticulating wildly as if he’ll catch the phrase careening around his head like a runaway wasp, “there’s a word for this condition where you stay inside and never leave, it’s in Ocean’s Twelve…”

I saw Ocean’s Twelve last week. The word he’s looking for is agoraphobia.

“Yeah, that’s it. I developed a bit of agoraphobia. I would never leave the house. And I do sometimes suffer with it a bit in the sense that I’ll get days where I just don’t want to leave my house. Even if it’s just going to the shop. I’d be going i to order a coffee at Starbucks and I would sweat because I wouldn’t know whether I was doing the right thing or not. I would be thinking: ‘f**k, I don’t want to be here’.”

I worry for a moment whether Payne is feeling that same feeling today but decide instead to take likely misplaced solace that my innate knowledge of the Ocean’s film franchise has won him over.  “I even used to have a really bad problem with going to petrol stations and paying for petrol. I can feel it now—it was like this horrible anxiety where I’d be sweating buckets in the car thinking ‘I don’t want to do this’.”

Many people suffer from moments of panic and instances where we feel crushed by the weight of  the world’s expectations and Payne is all-too aware that his specific anxieties stem from a position of privilege. “Unfortunately, it does happen to everybody in this industry,” he says, “I think at a certain point you just have to get over it as quickly as you can.”

There we are once again: back to doing things quickly. Back to being on fast-forward. Back to doing countless interviews in specifically allotted time slots. Back to that constant pressure where “everything happens a little bit quicker in my world than it does in everyone else’s”.

Everything might be happening a hell of a lot quicker for Liam Payne than me, but I’m still interested to know: what’s next for the man? What does he want to achieve in the not-yet fast-forwarded future? “I’m hoping for something a lot more than what I’ve done so far, if that makes sense?” Having listened to Payne’s solo discography in preparation for this interview, it really does.

Sure, Payne’s produced a spate of bonafide bangers—songs that will have you singing along as you whip down Emirates Road—but they’re also songs that are, for the most part, still formulaic. They’re catchy, glossily well-produced, yet contain something of an air of inauthenticity about them.

And, having met Payne, I can’t help but feel they seem at odds with his unabashedly authentic self. As he tells me: “People can see right through that s**t and it’s difficult for you to then go and say ‘buy this record!’ if you don’t really believe in what’s going on.”

So, what does a man who’s (sort of) afraid of spoons actually believe in? Moreover, what does a man who eats ice cream with a fork want to be remembered as having believed in? “I’m obviously really happy with some of the stuff I’ve done. Like breaking world records with the band and all sorts of amazing stuff. But in the recent years, it’s been a bit topsy-turvy with me kind of finding my way. And I’d rather not be remembered for a lot of those things. I want to make a really amazing album that’s not, like,” and he air-quotes here, “important, but something that people really get into. Something that makes certain people feel a couple things. I think that would be the best thing for me. I just want to make people move, if that makes sense?”

In case you haven’t already noticed, that question (‘if that makes sense?”) is practically punctuation to Payne. It’s a caveat that ends many of his statements; an interrogation of his own beliefs and a moment where his PR armour reveals its chinks and offers a glimpse of the man beneath the surface. A man that is equal parts cocksure and uncertain—a man who’s very rarely both and almost never neither.

While he might be living on fast-forward—and shows no signs of slowing anytime soon—Liam Payne, for the moment at least, might just be in the midst of the most interesting time of his life. His legacy is currently being written, awaiting the day we’ll eventually look back with a clearer idea of whether he’s a Robbie Williams or a Mark Owen. As for me, I’m just hoping that the next evolution of Liam Payne’s career is a lot more Liam Payne than the last. If that makes sense?

[the-marx-brothers-will-live-on]

Arthur "Harpo" Marx (born Adolph Marx; November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, mime artist, and musician, and the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers. In contrast to the mainly verbal comedy of his brothers Groucho Marx and Chico Marx, Harpo's comic style was visual, being an example of both clown and pantomime traditions. He wore a curly reddish blond wig, and never spoke during performances (he blew a horn or whistled to communicate). He frequently used props such as a horn cane, made up of a pipe, tape, and a bulbhorn, and he played the harp in most of his films.

Harpo was born on November 23, 1888, in Manhattan. He grew up in a neighborhood now known as Carnegie Hill on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, on East 93rd Street off Lexington Avenue. The turn-of-the-century tenement that Harpo later called (in his autobiography Harpo Speaks!) "the first real home I can remember" was populated with European immigrants, mostly artisans—which even included a glass blower. Just across the street were the oldest brownstones in the area, owned by people like David L. Loew and William Orth.

Harpo's parents were Sam Marx (called "Frenchie" throughout his life) and his wife, Minnie Schoenberg Marx. Minnie's brother was Al Shean. Marx's family was Jewish. His mother was from East Frisia in Germany, and his father was a native of Alsace in France and worked as a tailor.

Harpo received little formal education and left grade school at age eight (mainly due to bullying) during his second attempt to pass the second grade. He began to work, gaining employment in numerous odd jobs alongside his brother Chico to contribute to the family income, including selling newspapers, working in a butcher shop, and as an errand office boy.

In January 1910, Harpo joined two of his brothers, Julius (later "Groucho") and Milton (later "Gummo"), to form "The Three Nightingales", later changed to simply "The Marx Brothers". Multiple stories—most unsubstantiated—exist to explain Harpo's evolution as the "silent" character in the brothers' act. In his memoir, Groucho wrote that Harpo simply wasn't very good at memorizing dialogue, and thus was ideal for the role of the "dunce who couldn't speak", a common character in vaudeville acts of the time.

Harpo gained his stage name during a card game at the Orpheum Theatre in Galesburg, Illinois. The dealer (Art Fisher) called him "Harpo" because he played the harp. He learned how to hold it properly from a picture of an angel playing a harp that he saw in a five-and-dime. No one in town knew how to play the harp, so Harpo tuned it as best he could, starting with one basic note and tuning it from there. Three years later he found out he had tuned it incorrectly, but he could not have tuned it properly; if he had, the strings would have broken each night. Harpo's method placed much less tension on the strings.[citation needed] Although he played this way for the rest of his life, he did try to learn how to play correctly, and he spent considerable money hiring the best teachers. They spent their time listening to him, fascinated by the way he played. The major exception was Mildred Dilling, a professional harpist who did teach Harpo the proper techniques of the instrument and collaborated with him regularly when he had difficulty with various compositions.

In the autobiography Harpo Speaks! (1961), he recounts how Chico found him jobs playing piano to accompany silent movies. Unlike Chico, Harpo could play only two songs on the piano, "Waltz Me Around Again, Willie" and "Love Me and the World Is Mine," but he adapted this small repertoire in different tempos to suit the action on the screen. He was also seen playing a portion of Rachmaninoff's "Prelude in C# minor" in A Day at the Races and chords on the piano in A Night at the Opera, in such a way that the piano sounded much like a harp, as a prelude to actually playing the harp in that scene.

Harpo had changed his name from Adolph to Arthur by 1911. This was due primarily to his dislike for the name Adolph (as a child, he was routinely called "Ahdie" instead). The name change may have also happened because of the similarity between Harpo's name and Adolph Marks, a prominent show business attorney in Chicago. Urban legends stating that the name change came about during World War I due to anti-German sentiment in the US, or during World War II because of the stigma that Adolf Hitler imposed on the name, are groundless.

His first screen appearance was in the film Humor Risk (1921), with his brothers, although according to Groucho, it was only screened once and then lost. Four years later, Harpo appeared without his brothers in Too Many Kisses (1925), four years before the brothers' first released film, The Cocoanuts (1929). In Too Many Kisses, Harpo spoke the only line he would ever speak on-camera in a movie: "You sure you can't move?" (said to the film's tied-up hero before punching him). Fittingly, it was a silent movie, and the audience saw only his lips move and the line on a title card.

Harpo was often cast as Chico's eccentric partner-in-crime, whom he would often help by playing charades to tell of Groucho's problem, and/or annoy by giving Chico his leg, either to give it a rest or as an alternative to a handshake.

Harpo became known for prop-laden sight gags, in particular the seemingly infinite number of odd things stored in his topcoat's oversized pockets. In the film Horse Feathers (1932), Groucho, referring to an impossible situation, tells Harpo that he cannot "burn the candle at both ends." Harpo immediately produces from within his coat pocket a lit candle burning at both ends. In the same film, a homeless man on the street asks Harpo for money for a cup of coffee, and he subsequently produces a steaming cup, complete with saucer, from inside his coat. Also in Horse Feathers, he has a fish and a sword, and when he wants to go to his speakeasy, he stabs the fish in its mouth with his sword to give the password, "Swordfish." In Duck Soup, he produces a lit blowtorch to light a cigar. As author Joe Adamson put in his book, Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Sometimes Zeppo, "The president of the college has been shouted down by a mute."

Harpo often used facial expressions and mime to get his point across. One of his facial expressions, which he used in every Marx Brothers film and stage play, beginning with Fun in Hi Skule, was known as "the Gookie." Harpo created it by mimicking the expression of Mr. Gehrke, a New York tobacconist who would make a similar face while concentrating on rolling cigars.

Harpo further distinguished his character by wearing a "fright wig". Early in his career it was dyed pink, as evidenced by color film posters of the time and by allusions to it in films, with character names such as "Pinky" in Duck Soup. It tended to show as blond on-screen due to the black-and-white film stock at the time. Over time, he darkened the pink to more of a reddish color, again films alluded to it with character names such as "Rusty".

His non-speaking in his early films was occasionally referred to by the other Marx Brothers, who were careful to imply that his character's not speaking was a choice rather than a disability. They would make joking reference to this part of his act. For example, in Animal Crackers his character was ironically dubbed "The Professor". In The Cocoanuts, this exchange occurred:

Groucho: "Who is this?"

Chico: "Dat's-a my partner, but he no speak."

Groucho: "Oh, that's your silent partner!"

In later films, Harpo was repeatedly put in situations where he attempted to convey a vital message by whistling and pantomime, reinforcing the idea that his character was unable to speak.

The Marxes' film At the Circus (1939) contains a unique scene where Harpo is ostensibly heard saying "A-choo!" twice, as he sneezes. It is unclear, however, whether he actually voiced the line, or if he mimed it while someone said it off-camera.

In 1933, following U.S. diplomatic recognition of the Soviet Union, he spent six weeks in Moscow as a performer and goodwill ambassador. His tour was a huge success. Harpo's name was transliterated into Russian, using the Cyrillic alphabet, as ХАРПО МАРКС, and was billed as such during his Soviet Union appearances. Harpo, having no knowledge of Russian, pronounced it as "Exapno Mapcase". At that time Harpo and the Soviet Foreign Minister Maxim Litvinov became friends and even performed a routine on stage together. During this time he served as a secret courier; delivering communiques to and from the US embassy in Moscow at the request of Ambassador William Christian Bullitt, Jr., smuggling the messages in and out of Russia by taping a sealed envelope to his leg beneath his trousers, an event described in David Fromkin's 1995 book In the Time of the Americans. In Harpo Speaks!, Marx describes his relief at making it out of the Soviet Union, recalling how "I pulled up my pants, ripped off the tape, unwound the straps, handed over the dispatches from Ambassador Bullitt, and gave my leg its first scratch in ten days."

The Russia trip was later memorialized in a bizarre science fiction novella, The Foreign Hand Tie by Randall Garrett, a tale of telepathic spies which is full of references to the Marx Brothers and their films (The title itself is a Marx-like pun on the dual ideas of a "foreign hand" and a style of neckwear known as a "four-in-hand tie.")

In 1936, he was one of a number of performers and celebrities to appear as caricatures in the Walt Disney Production of Mickey's Polo Team. Harpo was part of a team of polo-playing movie stars which included Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy. His mount was an ostrich. Walt Disney would later have Harpo (with Groucho and Chico) appear as one of King Cole's "Fiddlers Three" in the Silly Symphony Mother Goose Goes Hollywood.

Harpo was also caricatured in Sock-A-Bye Baby (1934), an early episode of the Popeye cartoon series created by Fleischer Studios. Harpo is playing the harp, and wakes up Popeye's baby, and then Popeye punches and apparantly "kills" him. (After Popeye hits him, a halo appears over his head and he floats to the sky.)

Friz Freleng's 1936 Merrie Melodies cartoon The Coo-Coo Nut Grove featuring animal versions of assorted celebrities, caricatures Harpo as a bird with a red beak. When he first appears, he is chasing a woman, but the woman later turns out to be Groucho.

Harpo also took an interest in painting, and a few of his works can be seen in his autobiography. In the book, Marx tells a story about how he tried to paint a nude female model, but froze up because he simply did not know how to paint properly. The model took pity on him, however, showing him a few basic strokes with a brush, until finally Harpo (fully clothed) took the model's place as the subject and the naked woman painted his portrait.

Harpo recorded an album of harp music for RCA Victor (Harp by Harpo, 1952) and two for Mercury Records (Harpo in Hi-Fi, 1957; Harpo at Work, 1958).

Harpo made television appearances through the 1950s and 60s, including a 1955 episode of I Love Lucy, in which he and Lucille Ball re-enacted the famous mirror scene from the Marx Brothers movie Duck Soup (1933).[19] In this scene, they are both supposed to be Harpo, not Groucho; he stays the same and she is dressed as him. About this time, he also appeared on NBC's The Martha Raye Show. Harpo and Chico played a television anthology episode of General Electric Theater entitled "The Incredible Jewelry Robbery" entirely in pantomime in 1959, with a brief surprise appearance by Groucho at the end. In 1960, he appeared in an episode of The DuPont Show with June Allyson entitled "A Silent Panic", playing a deaf-mute who, as a "mechanical man" in a department store window, witnessed a gangland murder. In 1961, he made guest appearances on The Today Show, Play Your Hunch, Candid Camera, I've Got a Secret, Here's Hollywood, Art Linkletter's House Party, Groucho's quiz show You Bet Your Life, The Ed Sullivan Show, and Your Surprise Package to publicize his autobiography Harpo Speaks!.

In November 1961 he guest-starred with Carol Burnett in an installment of The DuPont Show of the Week entitled "The Wonderful World of Toys". The show was filmed in Central Park and featured Marx playing "Autumn Leaves" on the harp. Other stars appearing in the episode included Eva Gabor, Audrey Meadows, Mitch Miller and Milton Berle. A visit to the set inspired poet Robert Lowell to compose a poem about Marx.

Harpo's two final television appearances came less than a month apart in late 1962. He portrayed a guardian angel on CBS's The Red Skelton Show on September 25. He guest starred as himself on October 20 in the episode "Musicale" of ABC's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, a sitcom starring Fess Parker, based on the 1939 Frank Capra film.

Harpo married actress Susan Fleming on September 28, 1936. The wedding became public knowledge after President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent the couple a telegram of congratulations the following month. Harpo's marriage, like Gummo's, was lifelong. (Groucho was divorced three times, Zeppo twice, Chico once.) The couple adopted four children: Bill, Alex, Jimmy, and Minnie. When he was asked by George Burns in 1948 how many children he planned to adopt, he answered, "I’d like to adopt as many children as I have windows in my house. So when I leave for work, I want a kid in every window, waving goodbye."

Harpo was good friends with theater critic Alexander Woollcott, and became a regular member of the Algonquin Round Table. He once said his main contribution was to be the audience for the quips of other members. In their play The Man Who Came to Dinner, George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart based the character of "Banjo" on Harpo. Harpo later played the role in Los Angeles opposite Woollcott, who had inspired the character of Sheridan Whiteside.

In 1961 Harpo published his autobiography, Harpo Speaks!. Because he never spoke a word in character, many believed he actually was mute. In fact, radio and TV news recordings of his voice can be found on the Internet, in documentaries, and on bonus materials of Marx Brothers DVDs. A reporter who interviewed him in the early 1930s wrote that "he [Harpo] ... had a deep and distinguished voice, like a professional announcer", and like his brothers, spoke with a New York accent his entire life. According to those who personally knew him, Harpo's voice was much deeper than Groucho's, but it also sounded very similar to Chico's. His son, Bill, recalled that in private Harpo had a very deep and mature soft-spoken voice, but that he was "not verbose" like the other Marx brothers; Harpo preferred listening and learning from others.

Harpo's final public appearance came on January 19, 1963, with singer/comedian Allan Sherman. Sherman burst into tears when Harpo announced his retirement from the entertainment business. Comedian Steve Allen, who was in the audience, remembered that Harpo spoke for several minutes about his career, and how he would miss it all, and repeatedly interrupted Sherman when he tried to speak. The audience found it charmingly ironic, Allen said, that Harpo, who had never before spoken on stage or screen, "wouldn't shut up!" Harpo, an avid croquet player, was inducted into the Croquet Hall of Fame in 1979.

Harpo Marx died on September 28, 1964, (his 28th wedding anniversary), at age 75 in a West Los Angeles hospital, one day after undergoing heart surgery. Harpo's death was said to have hit the surviving Marx brothers very hard. Groucho's son Arthur Marx, who attended the funeral with most of the Marx family, later said that Harpo's funeral was the only time in his life that he ever saw his father cry. In his will, Harpo Marx donated his trademark harp to the State of Israel. His remains were cremated, and his ashes were scattered at a golf course in Rancho Mirage, California.