#also i finally started adding my signature again. :D only on the first one though

[dogsnegad]

anyway ummm moe with a cane

#papa louie #flipline studios #flipline moe #flipline dynamoe #im sorry for drawing these 3 so much i just like daydreaming their dynamics like a mad man JWBSJWJ #can you tell im getting better at drawing these weird guys i hate it LMAOOOO #love drawing them with and withour legs its like a funny way to chibi them #as per usual moeroy propaganda #flipline joy #flipline roy #also i finally started adding my signature again. :D only on the first one though #artsies

[beetlegoose01]

Frostbite (Casetello)

AN: do these two have a ship name? Caseytello? eh whatever it’s casey x donnie and they’re gay

special thanks to cal for reading this for me and saying i should post it <3

There were quite a lot of things Casey Jones loved. Hockey, pizza, riding his motorcycle, video games, beating the crap out of his opponents. Normal teenage stuff. Lately he had been doing the latter, ever since he and April officially joined the 'Unofficial Turtles Team' , helping alongside the teen mutants on patrol. Goofing off with Mikey and Raph were the highlights, but he couldn't deny spending extra time with April was also a benefit. Even if they barely got a single word out- too busy fighting off random mutants scattering the city, it was still nice.

But what wasn't nice, downright unpleasant about patrol...was Donatello. There was an unspoken, mutual loathing that the pair shared that even quick glances at each other led to glaring and arguing. Leaving them together in the same room was never a good idea. Casey hasn't understood why the purple genius was so hostile towards him at first. But the reasons became obvious the first time he caught him staring helplessly at April, fumbling his words and blushing profusely. Not that Casey didn't feel similarly, heck, that was the problem. Both were attracted to April. Obviously Casey had the upper hand, being human. A turtle and a human girl in a relationship was built for disaster.

But their hatred didn't stop there. It wasn't just about April.  Eventually, everything about Donatello annoyed him. His whiny voice, his love for using complicated words to sound superior, soon every little thing bugged him.

Things were easier if the two stayed as far apart as possible.

Of course, fate seemed to work in mysterious ways.

It was starting to get late, the moonlight illuminating the sky. The group stopped on a rooftop, perched by the edge. Leo halted them silently, then turned around.

"Why'd you stop, Fearless?" Raph asked.

"I think we should split up. We'll cover more ground. If you see any sign of trouble, use your T-Phones." said Leo.

"No way dudes!" Mikey squeaked. "I saw this scary movie last night where the team split up! And then..." He paused for dramatic effect. "They all got taken out one by one. Starting with the cute funny one!" He trembled, hiding behind Donnie, who rolled his eyes.

Raph smirked, always prepared for a sassy remark. "Which means, you'll be just fine since you're neither of those."

"Hey!"

"And you'll be in pairs." Leo crossed his arms. "I've got it all planned out. Raph and April. Mikey and me."

"Mikey and I." Donnie corrected under his breath. Casey fought the urge to whack the smart aleck turtle with his hockey stick.

Leo ignored him. "Donnie and Casey-"

Casey involuntary let out a loud groan. Just his luck.

Leo narrowed his blue eyes, unamused. "Something wrong, Jones?"

"Er..." His eyes darted to Donatello, who seemed stoic, but equally frustrated with this predicament. On one hand, he wanted to argue and beg to be with literally anyone else. On the other, he didn't want to deal with the leader in blue getting annoyed with him.  "Nah Leo, that's fine by me. Right, D?"

Donnie huffed. "Yeah, that's alright."

"I think this will be good for you both." April grinned.

"Of course, April." Donnie agreed.

"No problem at all." Casey smiled through gritted teeth. When she turned away, they both shared an equally menacing glare.

"I knew I could count on you two." April smiled softly, though even she didn't look entirely convinced.

This was going to be a long night.

~•~

Turns out, Casey had underestimated the scrawny (ugh, svelte) turtle. In what Donnie lacked in muscle, he gained with his speed, mobility and of course, his mind. It was practically impossible to keep up once Donatello had leaped from the first building, tumbling and landing with ease, while Casey was coughing his lungs out as he ran desperately after the brainy terrapin.

"Okay, now you're just showing off." He panted irritably, nearly collapsing once he finally caught up with him.

"Are you coming or not?" Donnie gave his trademark gap tooth grin as he turned, slowing down.

"I am! You're just moving too fast!" Casey complained. "I thought turtles were supposed to be slow! I didn't even have time to get my grappling hook."

Donnie shrugged, ending the conversation with one simple movement.

They walked side by side, neither wanting to say anything. They both knew it would only end in arguing.

"Can I just say-" Casey started.

"No, you can't."

"I didn't say anything!"

"Exactly."

"Listen, Gap Tooth, I don't like this either!" He flicked a stone off the roof with his shoe. "But we have to ..." He swallowed. "work together, right?"

Donnie said nothing. He looked deep in thought.

"Is it because of April? Because it's not my fault she...y'know likes me more."

At the mention of April, Donnie turned away, eyes flashed with hurt, which only filled Casey with that annoying feeling of guilt.

"It isn't about her."

"Alright." Silence. "Sorry, let's just-" He cleared his throat. "Let's just work together, we don't need to be friends. Just get through the mission. After that, we can go back to hating each other."

"That was...surprisingly mature, Jones. Glad we can agree on something." Donnie quipped. "And for once, you're right. This mission is more important than our petty squabbles. No matter how insufferable you may be."

"Now you're just making up words."

Donnie fought the urge to roll his eyes. "So, that's two more hours of this."

Casey scoffed, but couldn't help but chuckle. Quietly of course. Last thing he wanted was for Donnie to think he was actually amusing.

"So...deal?"

"Deal." Donnie said, then added: "Cave Mouth." Which made Casey shove him lightly.

For a brief moment, they seemed to share a mutual understanding. The silence that followed wasn't awkward or forced, it was comfortable. Well, as comfortable as they could possibly be.

Donnie paused, startled by something. Lifting his bō carefully, he tried to follow whatever the sound was.

"What the-" Casey raised an eyebrow.

"Shh!" He hissed. "Do you hear that?"

"No?" Casey scrunched his nose, listening closely. It sounded like a...buzzing noise? Like a fly or mosquito. Irritating, but not dangerous. "Chill Don, it's just a bug or something."

"No, listen!" The turtle looked frantic and alert.

The buzzing became louder. Then, it was followed by the sound of snapping wood. Deliberate and exact. Casey gulped, taking his own weapon.

A massive shadow flew over their heads and landed in front of them. Donnie yelped in surprise, stumbling forward.

"Ah, shell." He swore, lifting his head to face the hideous insectoid mutant with acid green eyes. Scumbug spread his deformed wings, antenayes raised, prepared to strike.

"Well, I was right. That definitely is a bug. Scumbug! Wicked! This'll be fun!" Casey sneered.

"Which makes no sense, considering stag beetles aren't even bugs! They're insects!" Donnie spun his staff like a propeller, hitting the mutant face on.

"Not the time!" Casey tackled Scumbug, who roared, jostling him aside like a ragdoll. He smacked the floor with a sickening thud, directly on his arm. He fought back a scream of agony.  "Do you- gah- seriously have to be such a know it all, all the time?" He looked at his arm, which currently looked seriously messed up.

Donnie looked affronted. "I am not a know it all!"

"Yes you are!" Another whack of his trusty hockey stick, followed by a knock to the ground, face first. He wiped his mouth from the metallic taste of blood.

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you- Donnie, look out!" Casey shrieked, sounding less manly than he intended.

Scumbug, now furious, had efficiently used his enemies' bickering to his advantage. Before he could turn around, a spider web twirled from its appendages binding Donatello to the ground, who kicked and struggled furiously.

The mutant now crouched over the captured turtle, prepared to strike with his signature acid spit.

"Hang on, D! Casey Jones is here to save the day! GOONGALA!" He bellowed, racing towards Scumbug and latching onto him like a demented parasite. It was hardly the most graceful of moves, but it distracted him briefly.

He raised his hockey stick, poking him hard in the eye in an attempt to gouge them. Eyes were sensitive- he remembered Splinter telling him that.

With the extra time, Donnie reached for his bō, ripping the web apart with the extended naginata blade.

Scumbug, now looking more disheveled and horrifically disfigured than normal, retreated blindly into the misty air.

"I didn't need your help." Donnie said bitterly.

"Aw, is that any way to say thank you?" Casey retorted. "I just saved your shell." He poked his plastron roughly. "I think I deserve a little appreciation for my heroism."

"I had it handled."

"Did you? Because you looked just about ready to be eaten by Scumbug."

Donatello scowled, moving closer. "And he got away. So your heroism didn't exactly work, did it?"

"Would you rather have acid stuck to your face?" Casey growled. "You'd look even freakier than you do now. Next time you're a little 'turtle in distress' don't expect me to come save your-"

"I didn't need saving." Their foreheads pressed together, any moment ready to face each other on.

Casey gritted his teeth. "Sure, whatever you say. I didn't help because I actually cared about you or anything."

"Then why did you?" Donnie snapped, pulling away. "You could have left me."

"Because I- you- argh!" Casey felt his temper rising. "Because I'm not a monster, alright? We're a team, and we help each other. That's the deal." He wiped his chapped lips again, the disgusting taste of blood still lingering. He winced, clutching his arm.

"I can patch you up at the lair." Donnie said softly. "It just looks sprained."

"Mm." Casey grumbled, still pissed. Stubbornness was taking over any injury he had. He'd rather have his arm stay at this awkward angle than admit he was hurt in front of his rival. "I'll just wrap it up at home. I'll be fine."

Donnie sighed, raising his palm to his face. "Don't be so stubborn, I can help you."

Casey didn't look convinced.

"To repay the favor?" His warm brown eyes looked surprisingly sincere. "You did help me, after all. I'd probably be toast if you didn't."

Casey snorted. "You got that right."

A beat. Donnie looked unsure, as if he wanted to say something else. But whatever it was, it was holding him back.

"So...we should go back to the lair then?" Casey suggested, easing the awkwardness.

"Huh? Yes, of course. Totally. " Donnie nodded. "Naturally."

"Alright then."

"Jones?"

Casey turned, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"I just wanted to say...thanks."

"Hey, no problem. But don't tell anyone I saved your ass."

"Deal."

~•~

Casey never expected to be sitting in Donnie's lab table, in between Timothy the blob-organ filled mutant and several bunsen burners, but life tended to be weird that way. He also didn’t expect to be pouting on said table like he was at some freaky doctor’s office. The rest of the team returned shortly after them, and seemed surprised that Donnie was actually willing to fix Casey's arm- and not begrudgingly.

Donnie returned with a first aid kit, setting it on the table. He hummed a familiar tune to himself, as if to fill the empty air of any more awkwardness.

"I've seen these before." Casey said, poking the bunsen burner tap, immediately then swatted away by Donatello. "At my school's science lab."

Donnie nodded, rolling up Casey's sleeve to examine his bare arm. Casey flinched, not comfortable with the random act of touching. "Hey don't!"

"Do you want your arm fixed or not?"

"...yeah."

"Then let me work my magic."

Casey frowned, staring at the bottle the turtle was holding. "Your magic looks like antibiotics and advil."

Donnie's lip twitched.

After his arm was treated somewhat, Donnie wrapped him up gently with a clean bandage. The slow movement made his heart race increase every time Donnie's fingertips brushed his arm, but he ignored it.

Don't be weird, Jones.

"That should be good. Don't put any pressure on it." said Donnie, passing him the advil. "And take this, it'll soothe the pain."

Casey pretended to look offended. "Here I thought you were gonna kiss it better."

Donnie rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. "Don't push it, Jones. We aren't there yet."

Casey laughed. "Yet. Thanks for fixin' my arm, D. You...aren't so bad, I guess. But let's go back to hating each other, alright?"

Donnie smirked. "Whatever you say."

#tmnt #teenage muant ninja turtles #donatello #casey jones #caseytello #casetello #do they even have a ship name #enemies to lovers #rivals to lovers #fanfic #tmnt 2012 #i miss them #author is sleep deprived #jonestello #is that their ship name? #they're gay your honor

[xo-cuteplosion-xo]

How about a musician reader x character fic? Maybe a singer who performs in a cafe, or a classical musician who plays in an orchestra, or who plays in a rock band? I dunno I have a lot of ideas in my mind but I'm just too lazy to write them :D What do you think?

So here's the baseline you gave me - a musician reader fic x character. Here's what I decided to fill in for this lovely fic- a fluffy bsd collage Au where the reader is majoring in music and has the side job of a stage performer. Then, because they would match well, so I decided to go with a Fyodor x reader. Hope this is alright!

Words- 1728 ~

Hearts Composition | fyodor x musician reader | (collage Au)

Music thudded against the walls, muffled only by the thick layers that hid backstage from the audience. The aroma of heavily worn perfume surrounded people in pleasant bliss. Waitresses and waiters swayed with heavy plates rested along arms and in hands. Carrying much-wanted foods and booze to awaiting customers. The collection of accents muted under the heavy beats of taps and clicks from the metal of the dancer's shoes. Picking up a smaller wooden, finely carved, and rather expensive model of a violin, stood yourself. With a smile, your hands trailed the curves and strings of the delicate instrument. With all the work you had to do for university you had truly didn’t have time to be doing some minimum wage job. Though you didn’t care much, if you could play something, it would be fine. You performed here every once in a blue moon. You weren't one of the performers, but they would grace you with the intermission on busy nights. Much like these nights, when the crowd was full and the people rowdy and in need of constant entertainment. You could soothe those shouts and demands of perverted drunk men; Soothe the cries of broken women and rich spoiled children.

Stepping onto the wooden stage as the lights dim, allowing you the bare minimum of the peeping moonlight to find the microphone located at the center. Inhaling as your anxiety turned into bliss, you waited. As the colored light flew on, you rested your chin on the soft velvet. Holding up the bow, you set it to the strings. With a final inhale, your eyes fluttered shut as you played a classical piece; one constructed for an upcoming project that was due for your music composition class. You had nearly all the string instruments you could play finished; all but the cello. With every strum of your instrument, the crowd fell silent, enjoying the break from all the heavy excitement. Even the children's chatter soothed down, so your instrument could echo off the thin walls of the pub.

Sipping nothing but a cup of tea with a small side of biscuits, a male leaned in his seat. Sitting with a pristine, perfect posture, he listened to the soft sound. The way his violet eyes slowly lidded, and his hair fell back against his face, lit his features in a urethral, almost divine light. His mind working to recognize the piece. As an up-and-coming musician, he had several classics memorized. He could join in by ear, or even write out the full pieces without needing to see the original sheet music. This piece wasn’t something he recognized, could it be an original piece?

If you were to open your eyes as you neared the end of the first piece, you would notice his gaze rested on you. Eyes open halfway with hidden interest, and yet, the stare was attractive. The blank look that hid everything beneath a mask laid strewn across his features. As you finished and stood up, surrounded by applause, he watched your every stride. It was funny, he thought he could almost recognize you.

~

With shaking hands, your fingers typed within a group chat of other college students you had met and become close to. “I’m so nervous. I have to hand in that piece today. I pulled an all-nighter trying to decide on the cello part, but nothing sounded right, so now I might not get a full mark.” You could hear the whine through the text. When replies of good luck came to you, except for two replies, you chuckled. One read “could always just die before handing it in.” Another wrote, “I've got the wine ready.” laughing to yourself as you walked into the classroom and set down the folder in the bin. Glancing through the room, you took a seat with your head down. It was unusual for you to arrive early to class, but your anxiety with this project was slowly picking at you to just get there and hand it in. With twenty minutes till class started, you decided to pull out your laptop and listen to the recording from last week.

Taking out your notebook, you started jotting notes about small things to improve, and things you hated about your performances. You didn’t notice somebody else enter the classroom rather early. Carrying his bag, he set it down at one of the desks before the sound of a violin entered his ears. Sitting down he listened to the melody you had played several nights before. As the piece finished, his eyes traveled to the bin. Now understanding where you had gotten the piece from, he sighed. “You’re not half bad, you played a little flat, but it sounds okay. Becoming a flustered disaster, you froze glancing over to him. This wasn’t the first time you had noticed him in class, he was hard to miss. His completely perfect grades, perfect posture, and looks made him stand out. Not only that, but he had strong ideals and his debate skills could sway anybody. Though, you knew it wasn’t really skill, more manipulation. To add to everything his Russian accent stuck out with every word he spoke. “Could you play that again?” hesitating at first you restarted the piece.

He took out a blank piece of sheet music and started scribbling down notes. As if memorizing the piece, he tapped his fingers before bringing his thumb to his mouth and chewing on it. Tapping his foot as the piece came to an end, he glanced at the time before walking over to one of the room's cellos. His face resembled discontent as he looked at it. Looking to where he sat, you realized he didn’t have his with him. You presumed it had to do with the instrument being heavy and somewhat large. Though for somebody of his height, it may not be that big of a deal. Perhaps he didn’t want to lug it around with him, considering he had all of those other books for classes. “So uh, why did you want to hear it again?” you mumbled, rubbing the back of your neck as you watched him strum a few strings. He was checking the accuracy and pitch of the notes. With a contempt sigh, he shrugged.

“Your writing is considerably well done. I wished to try something that is all.” He did not shed a glance as he sat down and ran the bow across the strings. The sound was heaven within your ears, but to him, it was nothing but ordinary. The sound of a well-made expensive Russian model, the model he owned, was much better than this school-provided variant. As the melody played, you recognized it as your piece. Smiling slightly as your eyes sparkled. You bolted from your seat to grab your folder; the music that was due in 10 minutes.

Looking over the cello part you had constructed, you changed the key signature to hold a few new sharps and took away some of the flats. Boldly, you handed the male the sheet music and pointed as if asking "Is this the piece you were playing?" Setting the cello aside, he ran a finger over the bars with a nod. “So that’s what I was missing! You're a god at memorizing and creating. Now I'm excited to see what you concocted for the presentation.” You smiled lightly before placing the folder in the bin. “Oh, I never got your name. I’m-” he cut you off before you could formally introduce yourself.

“You’re y/n. I do pay attention to people who aren't a complete waste of time.” The layers of his ego began to shine through his solid expression. The way you'd called him god just then, was another layer added to the ever-growing ego this man had. He thought he was above everybody else; he indeed was. In every way possible, he was above the normal human. With an exceptionally sharp mind, emotionless facade, and a spin of extraordinary talents, he was a god among men. “I’m taken aback, you don’t know me.” frowning you sat back at your desk. Leaning your head against the palm of your hand with a frown, you clicked your tongue.

Coming up with a sharp reply, you rolled your eyes. “Please, who doesn't know the great Dostoevsky. You’re only at the top of our class. Correcting myself before you can, the top in everything.” He snickered his brows raising in interest. His lips curled into a smirk moments before breaking to speak to you again.

“Consider your words before speaking. That wasn’t exactly the best wording to say "I'm better than everybody at everything.” It took you several seconds to realize what had gone through his head. Of course, he understood what you were saying, but he also managed to nitpick everything.

Blushing you placed your hands in front of your face. “I didn't think about it because that’s not what I was saying!” he snickered again. Listening to him stand you peeked from your hands to watch him set away the cello and bow.

“How often do you perform at that pub?” He switched the discussion relatively quickly. But with the sudden pause of your reaction and the setting away of the instrument, it flowed nicely with the conversation.

“Once or twice a month?” You answer honestly. A bit upset by the lack of real performances you had.

“Next time, I'll reserve something, and we’ll set something up. I want to see if you can play something… difficult.” It wasn't much of a question, more a demand. Nodding you wrote down your number, sliding it to the student with a smile as the bell rang.

For the next week, the two of you met in the unused rooms Fyodor managed to snag for practicing. He often shook his head at your way of playing. He did compliment the several different instruments you would take with you. From the cello to the violin, there wasn’t much you couldn’t play. Each was expertly designed and crafted to fit your arm length and height. Custom made and shipped from all over the world. Eventually, it became a routine, going to his concerts as he attended yours. While you praised how good he was, he would find the smallest mistakes to condemn you about.

#bsd #bsd x reader #bsd x reader scenerio #bsd scenerio #bungo stray dogs x reader #bungou stray dogs #fyodor #bsd college au #bsd college au x reader #bsd college x reader #fyodor college au #fyodor college #fyodor x reader #musican fyodor #musician fyodor x reader #fyodor x musician reader #fyodor x you

[summonerscenarios]

Since it's getting colder, could I get hcs to Hephaestus and whatever two other fire units you want reacting to Mc going "Wow! My hands are cold as hell :D, here feel" and without waiting they grab their warm hand hand with their ice cold freezing ones?

sdfghgfd god I always struggle with pick you own requests because I have to stop myself from just going ahead and picking my favs lmao. But this was too cute not to do!!! gotta love some fluffy scenarios. (Also you’re a way better person than I am when I do that I go for the cheek and neck cause the reactions are hilarious)

--------

Hephaestus

Coming to hang out with the crafters it’s hard to stay in one place - there’s so much stuff to get distracted by and so many things to pull your attention away (all of which you attempt to touch because why wouldn’t you? It’s fun to find out what they do!). Which is exactly why you find yourself wandering around the place, running all around the outside of the building and only occasionally dipping in to check up on the stuff that’s happening indoors before going back out to run around again. Musashi’s usually doing rounds around this time too (despite how little fighting the guild actually sees) so you end up hanging around him for a little bit on one of his checks before it gets too cold for your liking and you decide to take shelter back inside, teeth chattering from the lack of winter-appropriate attire as you head inside the main building.

By the time you’re back down into Hephaestus’ workshop you’re still chilly. You guess that because Heph (and Talos, by extension) has a naturally higher body heat than you he doesn’t notice just how chilly his workshop can get sometimes, especially during the winter months. You’re rubbing your hands together, bringing them up to your face to puff hot air at them in a bid to warm them up as you trot over to where Heph’s standing. He spins around to greet you, expression lighting up at the sight of you approaching him, but you beat him to the punch with a “Hey, Heph - check out how cold my hands are!” and proceed to reach down for his hands, taking one of them and cupping your hands around it. 

You’re right about the difference in body temperature - it feels as though you’re holding a mini heater in your hands, though it’s not an overbearing warmth in the least, and you could almost swear that the skin gets just a little bit hotter than when you’d first grabbed his hands. The rush of added heat is just what you need, and you let out a blissful sigh as you feel the energy seeping back into your fingertips, fingers flexing free of the previous stiffness thanks to the weather. 

See, at your comment of feeling cold, the first thing Heph wants to do is find something to warm you up - he’s not going to let you just stand there and freeze and would probably end up swaddling you in blankets until you felt warm again. But at the same time, he does not want you to let go of his hands at all (you can’t convince me he isn’t touch starved to high heaven - he’s desperate for affection but doesn’t wanna ask for it). So there’s a few seconds where he flounders, looking around and hoping to find at least a blanket or stray coat nearby for you to wear; thankfully, Talos is always nearby on hand, and upon spotting the scene unfolding comes in prepared. The android bursts into the moment with a fleece blanket in tow, and while Hephaestus is miffed at him for interrupting the moment it doesn’t last long as the blanket’s draped over your shoulders and you lift up the one side as you move one hand away, offering it to Heph and telling him to get under with you so he can warm up too. You’re sure that the flames on the side of his face burn brighter as he tentatively leans in so you can slide the other end of the blanket over his broad shoulders.

Jinn

Being able to stay warm no matter the weather, Jinn fares better during the winter months than some of the other teachers, which sometimes means that some of the outside lessons often get delegated for him to oversee and teach. And he love the opportunity! It gives him more time with his students and he gets to be a little more active in their education; though it seems as though his students are feeling the chilly turn in the weather a lot more than he is. When you come jogging back over to one of the benches for a quick drink break you’re rubbing your hands, cussing out the cold but too stubborn to make the trek all the way back inside to go put something warmer on as you drop onto one of the benches and make a move to look for your drink. When Mr. Jinn comes over to check on you, you can't help but note how he doesn’t even seem to be feeling the cold - especially because his usual outfit hasn’t changed (seriously, you think you’d freeze over if you tried to pull off his typical clothing style).

Jinn’s ridiculously warm thanks to being a smoke genie, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t just about jump when you grab his hand out of nowhere, grinning up at him as you exclaim “It’s so cold out my hands are like ice - here, feel em!”. He fumbles a bit over his next words, cutting them off with an awkward cough into his free hand as you squeeze his other one. By comparison to the heat radiating from his body you are significantly colder, which is what ends up turning his attention away from the fact that you’re grabbing his hand and focusing it onto the fact that you’re right - your hands are like ice.

Not wanting his student to get cold however, he ends up lending you his signature jacket to warm up with - after all, what good teacher would he be if he didn’t help you warm up when it was so chilly outside! His jacket’s surprisingly thick and insulated, so it warms you up in no time as soon as he slips it over your shoulders and lets you put your arms into the sleeves. Burying your hands into the pockets you burrow into the item of clothing and give Jinn a grateful smile as you thank him, and he swells with pride at the praise, his demeanor visibly brightening. 

He’s so chuffed that he ends up letting you wear it for the rest of the class - even after the class, because by the time everyone heads back inside to go to their last lesson for the day the fact that you’re wearing his jacket has completely slipped his mind until Mr. Mononobe points out that he doesn’t have it with him. The two of you just about end up slamming into each other, as at the same time you’re on your way back to return it to him, Jinn’s rushing to retrieve it before the final bell; you narrowly avoid barreling into one another, but Jinn manages to catch the two of you before either of you fall. He’s still surprised to see that you’re wearing it, and almost doesn’t want to ask for it back because of how snug and content you look wearing it, but you end up sliding it off of you when you realize you’ve found him, offering him thanks for letting you borrow it as you hand it back to him.

Kyuma

Being cooped up inside for a while makes it easy to forget that everything is getting colder sometimes, which is exactly the case for you when you finally decide to go out and spend some time with Kyuma. Given how long it’s been since the two of you have last seen each other, Kyuma’s understandably looking forward to the meetup - you don’t get the chance to spend time together often, so when you’d gone out of your way to ask to hang out with him he’d been excited to take you up on the invitation. Kyuma’s more dressed for the occasion than you are, with him being bundled up with a jacket and David decked out in a fluffy scarf to keep warm; it makes you wish you’d came out in something warmer, but that thought soon goes to the back of your mind when the two of you start walking around together.

It’s only when the two of you stop looking around the shops for a quick break that you realize just how cold your hands are, as upon walking into the shopping centre the wave of warmth that hits you is enough to make your cheeks sting from the temperature change. You bring your hands up to rub your cheeks, only to pull them away upon feeling just how cold your hands are. Upon noticing your reaction, Kyuma turns to you and asks what’s wrong, perplexed by your reaction. In response you shrug and hold up your hands, commenting “Yeah, my hands are just cold as hell - here, feel how chilly they are!” 

As soon as the words leave your mouth you reach down and grab Kyuma’s hand - he’s kept them stuffed into his pockets while you’ve been walking around together, so they’re warm to the touch the moment you slip your hand into his, and you immediately feel a little bit warmer from the contact. The second he feels the cold contrast in your hands he yelps at the frigid skin, instinctively moving to pull his hand away with a yell of “Ah, cold!” when he realizes that it’s your hand that’s holding his. 

Kyuma flushes a little at the feeling, even more-so when you flash him a grin and say “See - freezing, right?”, completely oblivious that his reaction is from your boldness. Not trusting his words, Kyuma simply nods, but before you pull you hand away he, in a moment of courage, ends up tugging your hand, still intertwined with his, and slipping them back into his jacket pocket. The warmness of his hand holding yours alongside the warmth of the fabric already has you feeling less cold, but when you give Kyuma a inquisitive look he sputters out that like this he’d at least be able to help you warm up a little - if that’s okay, of course. He worries that maybe he shouldn’t have been so forward, but at the sight of you smiling, moving so that you’d be able to walk in stride alongside him that worry eases. This time, when the two of you continue walking it’s side-by-side, hands interlocked together as you dip between stalls and immerse yourselves back into the crowds.

#mechanicaltrickster #housamo #tokyo afterschool summoners #housamo imagine #housamo headcanon #imagines #headcanons #hephaestus #housamo hephaestus #kamata crafters #housamo crafters #mr jinn #jinn #housamo jinn #kyuma #housamo kyuma #request #ask

[we-always-hit-our-ass]

Pecks and Clementines (George Luz x Reader)

Author’s Note: After this, I’ll shortly open my inbox so please stay tuned! I apologize in advance if any of my lovely readers are allergic or dislike clementines hnhh. Also also- I love you guys, that is all.

Warnings: just a few swear words, nothin’ too major +its pretty fuckin long cause ahaha slowwww burn with luz hnghh 

Words: 7.1k (my essays are quaking)

Description: A simple interaction shared between you and George leaves him enamored and he finds himself having feelings for you. You soon follow suit. Who knew giving clementines could get you someone as amazing as George?

Taglist:  @deldontplay, @thatsonefishyboi,@noneofurbusinez, @meteora-fc, @gutsandgloryhere, @hihosilvers, @rayleighshughes, @floydtab, @wexhappyxfew, @sherlollydramoine, @meganthesunflower, @3milesup, @jamie506101, @sunflowerchuck, @softlieb, @k-websters, @punkgeekchic, @speirs-crazy-ass, @hellitwasyoufirstsergeant, @runtdrummer, @fromtheoldtimes​

+if ya wanna be added, dont be afraid to send an ask or dm!

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A gesture was all it took.

What happened wasn’t even something intimate; it was more of a touch that was commonly shared by acquaintances or strangers rather than lovers. To briefly put it, that gesture was just you offering him a clementine. He remembers how he was fixed upon the bright orange clementine in your soft hand, ripe and just begging to be peeled and eaten.

A kind, old woman generously handed you plenty back in England and so you thought you’d share. George was the nearest to you and so he was the first one who received the sweet citrus fruit, something he never thought he’d be thankful for.

Passing it along to him, you thought nothing of the interaction as a mere act of kindness. However it felt like so much more. How an act as simple as that made him burst into flames is an enigma. Not to mention how your hand ever so softly brushed against his. The touch lingering mere moments longer after the deed was done and George couldn’t help but feel just a tad disappointed when it finally disappeared.

He didn’t even know if he felt it... But he did, and with that one coincidental incident--he was hooked. A magnetizing presence was what you had, and like a piece of metal, George was instantly drawn to you.

Who wouldn’t?

There was something unique about you, something he had never seen or experienced before. That moment back in England felt so far away but also felt like it just occurred yesterday. The technician thought about you for weeks, the beautiful and more than capable soldier who put up with the company.

(Y/N) (L/N)... (Y/N) (L/N), he kept repeating in his head, your name ingrained in his head and it spilling out of his lips like a mantra. Thoughts about you in his head bouncing around like how a ball would when thrown against a surface.

The young man couldn’t identify how to describe how he felt, what he was experiencing only categorized as a deep and sensual longing. Of course George knew that it was way more than a passing fancy, for it was exponentially deeper. Complicated were the feelings of love, and George was yet another who got caught in the mystery of it.

His heart fluttered whenever his honey brown eyes laid upon yours, that radiant (E/C) hue that seemed to reveal your innermost secrets yet simultaneously concealing them from the outside world. Of course for the past few months of his newfound attraction towards you, he’d dismiss it as nothing serious.

But one cannot plainly deny fate and George soon accepted that fact. Now, he made more of an effort to see you--to interact more with the woman who’d captured his heart. But moments with you were scarce, making it even more a reason to cherish and savor them for as much as he could.

Easy Company had been staying in Normandy, the events of D-Day all too fresh on everyone’s minds. A break was what they needed and the men indulged themselves in the quiet and peaceful moments before they would move out again. They were stationed in a quaint town where they were now resting.

Perconte was showing off the many watches he had snagged from dead soldiers to Blithe, who was only silent and once again zoning out. Banter was frequent and it comforted the both of you, a homey and cozy feeling enveloping your forms. But all good things come to an end and Welsh had told the company that they would be capturing a town called Carentan. Welsh had just informed the men, who were still tired and perhaps a bit sluggish, that General Taylor would be sending the whole division for this.

“Remember boys, maybe three days and three nights of rough fightin', and you will be relieved!'" George rang out towards the group. The ebony haired man receiving a few laughs and an especially amused look from 2nd Lieutenant Welsh as well. George cracked a smile of his own as he continued.

“Another thing to remember boys, flies spread disease, so keep yours closed.” Laughs were plentiful then, one soldier even jokingly telling him to shut up.

Then… That’s when he heard it--your laugh. George had never heard anything more beautiful in his entire life, and for once in the war, he felt like he was floating his way to heaven. He never noticed you were so close to him, as he was preoccupied mimicking the  General himself. George let his jaw go slack and gazed at your twinkling eyes, your lips still stretched in a smile. His own orbs never left your form and while his mouth was parted, no words came out.

“Ello, Georgie, you were imitating Taylor a lil while ago, what’cha mimicking now? A rock?” A devilish grin was on your face and George felt himself heat up, a light rouge color dusting his cheeks.

You chuckled as you walked alongside him with the rest of the men. The technician’s eyes only widened for a second before reverting to their normal size. “For your information Corporal (L/N), I was imitating a soldier who was left speechless from looking at a beauty.”

After his remark, it was your turn to flush. Turning your head sideways so as to not let George see your face from picking up any more color. Triumphant and feeling a bit proud in himself for making you react like that, George nudged you and you were met with a smirk. You two stuck by each other’s sides as you and the rest of the company kept on marching to their next destination, butterflies in your stomach the whole journey through.

Happiness was what you felt, and you found yourself experiencing them when you were with George. Silence took over you both, it was comfortable and quiet, even if the rest of the boys weren’t. For George, it wasn’t like him to be silent--little did you know that he was only like that because he was far too afraid to embarrass himself.

Prior confidence be damned, the poor boy was reduced to a puddle when around you, and you could say the same about yourself when you were around him too (you were just a tad bit better at keeping your composure than George).

Deciding to strike up another conversation with him, you looked up at him and your two eyes met for a short time before turning back to face forward again. “You all good, Georgie?”

“I’m good.” Warm hazel eyes glanced at your being next to his, the corners of his lips tugging into another one of his dopey smiles.

The way the sun played upon your hair, the beams reflected on it making it seem like you had a halo, and after taking note of that his smile only grew bigger. “Very good, (Y/N).”

And George knew that no amount of his jokes or imitations could hide the fact that he was head over heels.

------------

Carentan was nothing short of traumatic, it was something else and the thought of it left a foul taste on George’s tongue. It made him queasy just thinking about it and while he knew these sorts of things would happen, George would rather much prefer if these events were shoved deep in the back of his brain.

A lot of things kept his mind running though, like Skip’s hilarious recountings of what he did in his hometown, Johnny’s quips and sarcastic comments, and Guarnere chipping in his opinion on obscure matters. And of course, how could he forget you sitting right beside him--so close it was almost unbearable. You two joined in whatever conversation the men close to you were having and George felt as if he’d been blessed every time you giggled at one of his jokes.

Then all the sudden Smokey was reciting a poem he had made, much to the chagrin of Talbert and Smith. “Night of the Bayonet” as he had called it, and George exhaled air out his nose the moment he started speaking. Talbert and Smith were good-natured about it though, and every time Gordon finished a rhyme, a chorus of light chuckles followed. It was amusing, seeing one of your fellow soldiers like this and you were grinning throughout the entire thing.

“Never knew Smokey was Shakespeare.” You comment under your breath, and George perked up almost immediately as soon as your melodious voice flowed to his ears.

“Neither did I, but we’re all full of surprises aren’t we?” George playfully replied, reveling in the smile you sent his way before turning back to the standing soldier. Smokey went on in the background, making everyone in the mess hall chuckle.

Finishing his poem, with a slightly embarrassed Talbert and Smith still trained on his figure, Smokey took off his Purple Heart and announced how he’ll give it to Talbert. The mess hall erupted in whoops and cheers as Gordon handed it to a more than gleeful Tab. The atmosphere was right, and it was all smiles and laughs, how glad George was that Carentan was far behind them. Conversations danced in the air, easily coming out and before George could engage a talk with you, Lipton’s voice filled the air.

Words ceased and heads turned, their attention fixed on the Sergeant.

“Couple of announcements, men.”

“And woman.” George turned his head at you, his head of soft, dark hair taking up most of your vision.

His quiet comment and signature smile made you a bit more relaxed as you had quite stiffened up ever since Lip stood up. You playfully smack his arm and George raises his hands in a faux surrendering motion. The young man sticking his tongue playfully at you as you mockingly rolled your eyes before reverting your attention back to Lipton.

Apparently, their training had been canceled and you wrapped your arms around Babe (the replacement who you and Guarnere quickly got along with) and George briefly while cheering, the latter returning the gesture. Not even a second later, Lipton then announced how their passes were revoked. Smiles turn into light frowns and George’s happy mood deflates, he could feel your arms slowly dropping from his shoulders.

To further add salt to the wound, Easy Company wouldn’t be returning back to England. They were heading back to France, and they had to pack up all their gear and get a move on. Plans you had hoped to do in England were now unceremoniously pushed out of the window, your eyebrows now furrowed hard. You puffed your cheeks out in annoyance and in quiet exasperation as the building turned silent.

George and you exchanged glances at one another, George mouthing ‘what the fuck?’. That made you chuckle louder than you expected and during the Sergeant's announcements, and few men craned over to where you were, giving you a confused glance. Your head dipped from slight embarrassment and you teasingly glared at Luz, who only mouthed back a simple ‘not my fault’, which in return you softly elbowed his upper arm.

“As you were,” and with that, Lipton’s announcements were concluded.

Everybody remained silent for just a little bit longer, seemingly trying to process the new information, but it wasn’t long before chatter rose up. The table, however, was noticeably not the same old happy table they were before. Skip and Luz only looked down and you glanced at black haired individual, thinking of ways to cheer him up.

“Hopefully there’ll be sweet old ladies who give out a store’s worth of clementines in France too,” you said while nudging the technician.

The way you had said was almost wistful, dreamy even, as if you genuinely hoped that you would get at least one of the fruits that you have come to love. Luz immediately mentally makes a note to get you some soon.

George immediately let a wide beaming smile fill his face, his head replaying the memory of you ever so graciously handing him one--the moment where he realized that he had become smitten by you. In a singular moment, you noticed how the whole table seemed to brighten up. What you didn't notice was how George’s gleaming eyes were glazed and a light pink color situated itself on his cheeks.

“(Y/N), of course there’s plenty of them in France. I’m just not sure if they’ll give any to you though.” You feigned hurt at George’s joke, dramatically wiping nonexistent tears as you pretend to not stand George’s presence any longer.

Like a sappy movie, George imitated a heartbroken man and you broke your act, laughing hard at George’s ridiculous imitation. That same warm feeling returned to his chest seeing you clutching your stomach, laughing heartily at something he did.

It was surreal, transcending all human comprehension.

Skip and Martin were caught up conversing on a subject George couldn’t care less about and Guarnere and Heffron seemed to click instantly and they discussed things back in Philadelphia. Recovering from your fit of laughter was no easy task and you begged George to stop messing around or else you wouldn’t be able to breathe.

“You’ll make history Corporal (Y/N), can you imagine--the first soldier to die of laughter rather than a battle wound.”

“And you Luz--the first soldier without a brain to survive a war.”

Proudly smirking at his widened eyes and gaping mouth, it was beautiful seeing it bloom into another one of his charming grins. With no one really paying you two any mind, your smile to George felt different. No longer was it friendly, it felt almost more at that moment. In the frame of just a few seconds, you knew that there was something else.

The chatting in the background kept you tied down to Earth before you could further float away in the moment you and George silently shared. You two were just chatting mere seconds ago, so why now does George look so…? Look so handsome, why now do you only notice that? It was nothing, it was natural to acknowledge an attractive person, and so you paid no mind to that fluttering feeling located deep inside of you.

Clinking from the white porcelain dishes snapped you out of you and George’s reveries and you blinked a multitude of times to get a sense of what just happened. Skip ruffled your hair as if to catch your attention, and it worked.

“The “I’ve-Been-Scared-Shitless-by-the-Ghost-of-my-Great-Uncle” look doesn’t really suit you two.” Skip had said to you as he finished messing up your hair, you turned to give him a deadly look only for it to look like a pout--which he laughed at.

George stood up from the bench and situated himself next Skip before gracefully putting his arms around his shoulders in an exaggerated manner.

“Are you done shitting on the face my mother gave me or is there something else, Mr. Warren ‘My-Dick-was-Baptized-in-the-Niagara-River’ Muck?”

Skip quirked his eyebrows up at George, and a sound that seemed like a combination of a snort and an ambulance left the dirty blonde man. Amused and cheery, the three of you erupt in a burst of subtle chuckles and your exuberant beam dies as you three begin to quiet down.

“Well, if you two weren’t so busy ogling each other, we’re goin’ out already. Need to pack our bags and head out to France, just our luck.” Skip’s thumb pointed to the exit, a steady flow of soldiers already heading out the wooden door.

You grumble quietly, remembering what Lipton had said prior to all this and George couldn’t help but notice your slightly sour mood. Skip was well ahead of you and George, as the both of you took your time getting ready to leave. That same comfortable silence in which you two were so familiar with encompassed you both, but it was slightly dampened from that inconspicuous frown you brandished on your lips.

Finally standing up and smoothing down the wrinkles that have accumulated on your skirt from sitting down, your gaze fell to George. He was patient and didn’t mind waiting for you, but on his face a concerned expression makes itself known.

You attempted to reassure him with a smile, which only seemed to make his eyebrows furrow more. Walking towards the exit and subtly pushing your way through the soldiers by the door, you spoke up about your worries and frustrations.

“I’m just upset, y’know?” Your hands gestured to yourself before falling limply to your side, the both of you subconsciously walked back to the barracks--already having memorized the path to it.

“Oh wow, who would've guessed? Jesus Christ (Y/N), your frown is as noticeable as Malarker’s hair.”

George’s response made you blow out air from your nose, your tense soldiers relaxing before they went stiff again. The raven haired technician placed a reassuring hand on the back of your neck, immediately relieving you.

“But don’t you think it’s too soon?” You questioned him, “We only just got back from Carentan and we lost 65 men there. 65 men, Georgie!”

Immediately hands turned your body to face the man in front of you, and your lips briefly opened from the suddenness. Even after you had already been put forward his hands rested on your shoulders, lightly gripping the fabric of your uniform. Your breathing evened out, no longer the erratic rhythm it took on just a few moments ago. The dirt road you two occupied to the barracks were surprisingly barren, despite the many soldiers who seemed to have been more than eager to head back.

“It’s alright (Y/N), it’s goin’ to be alright.”

“And if not..?” That tinge of desperation in your voice slightly broke something in George and it struck a chord in his heart.

He didn’t want you to be like this--in fear of what the future holds. To see his crush and closest friend look so defeated and frustrated left a deep sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach and he desired nothing more than to see you beam again. Oh how he wanted to just swoop you up and kiss you until nothing other than him was on your mind, but he restrained himself. A genuine look nestled itself in George’s sepia eyes, and his hands loosened their grip on your shoulders.

“Well, you still have me.” A shit-eating grin that exudes cockiness replaced his once serene one. He was obviously trying to cheer you up, and of course it worked.

“Oh, shut up, George.”

“And you think that you saying that will make me?”

Your hand went to playfully shove him, but his arm wrapped around your body, pulling you flush against his side. That same beautiful laugh of yours rang out in the air and the once tense and melancholy atmosphere from just a few moments ago dissipated like smoke on a rainy day. The sun could only hide in shame when it saw your blinding smile and George never felt so happy. Previous negative emotions also washed away, being replaced with a soft feeling of bliss.

You two walked back to the barracks, laughing on the whole journey there. The both of you seemed to forget how you still have your arms hanging around each other’s forms, too wrapped up in the conversation you shared with George. Either way, if you did notice, you didn’t think that you would ever want to let go. And for once you let your mind slip about what will happen in the war.

Like what George said: you did still have him after all.

-----------

Returning back to France wasn’t as bad as you had thought, maybe it was because you now grew closer to the ebony haired technician. Mourmand-le-Grand was a quaint little commune and news said that you’d be occupying the small town until Easy Company received orders for another assignment. For the most part, it was so serene, quite the opposite of what you were actually feeling.

A cacophony of little tiny voices of your head screaming at the same time and a discord and flurry of emotions swirled in your chest--restless thoughts about George occupied the space of your brain, turning it into a pig sty of complicated feelings.

After that day, your feelings for George surged through the roof, and what you thought was just as a simple crush turned into something more. Spending time with George went as usual, but you noticed a few additions.  Both you and George acknowledged this, but you two were too unsure of the signs to ever push things forward.

Maybe it was the way your hand was lingering longer on his shoulder, the way George looked at your direction for a few more seconds than necessary, or the persistent emotion that always flourished whenever you were near him. That same persistent feeling that could be compared to honey--sticking no matter what and saccharine sweet.

You two knew about your feelings toward each other, hell you even accepted the fact that you did! But how come you two never did anything else? It was if you two stumbled across a brick wall blocking you both from the next step, and instead of trying to find a way around it or break through it, you two just sat there. It just never picked up, and you really didn’t know what to do about it.

If someone were to tease you and George by calling you two a couple or ‘good match’, the latter would always erupt into flames. You would stammer, denying all claims even if they were so fucking obvious and clear as day-

Malarkey and Skip always pestered you to make a move, for he was as in love with you as much as you were with him. They’d try to goad you to finally make the relationship official, often asking you what were you waiting for. You dismissed their ideas and swatted their suggestions to do so, much to the chagrin of the two. It wasn’t as if you were afraid that he didn’t reciprocate your feelings, you knew he did. It was just…

God, why was it all so complicated?

“I don’t get it (Y/N), I really don’t,” Skip propped his elbows on the wooden table, “What’s the point of waitin’ around, you’re just making it harder for yourself.”

Malarkey scooted his chair closer to you and Skip, deciding to hop on the conversation you two are having, “Yeah, you two are practically a couple by now, why are you stalling?” He added, his flaming hair emphasizing the look of disbelief and confusion on his face.

“Well, it’s going to be weird, George is my friend!”

“He also happens to be a friend,” Skip raises his arms to put air quotes, “who is in love with you!” The blonde man quickly quips back, his hands gesticulating wildly in the air to highlight the absurdity of your predicament.

Not having the energy to respond with one of your own snappy remarks, you let Skip’s words sink into your mind. You exhaled and slowly slumped on your chair, your warm forehead making contact with the cool surface of the table. A groan from the back of your throat left your lips, your two confidants giving each other looks before turning back to focus on your hunched form.

“How about you tell him tomorrow?” Malarkey casually suggests, not noticing the way your eyes grow big.

The question punches you deep in the gut and you struggle to form a cohesive thought for a second. You raise your head to give an incredulous look to Malarkey, “And what makes you think I’ll agree to that-”

“Just think about it, (Y/N). You both still have your weekend passes, right? So maybe you two can have some quality couple bonding time with each other--tell him how you feel then you two can do whatever it is couples do.”

Your head went up at the idea, Malarkey grinning when he saw you do so. Your eyes flickered between Malarkey’s face and your lap, your (E/C) orbs deep in thought. Suddenly your face grew warm at the idea of you and George spending time together, and maybe actually going on a date. (Well technically you two actually went on plenty of dates and things like that, you both were just too stubborn to ever call it them that or admit it.)

“And you won’t even have to worry about the rest of us bothering you two because we’d probably be too shit-faced to.”

Skip let out a cheeky smirk and gave a knowing glance to both you and Malarkey, the both of you playfully rolling your eyes at the man. You contemplated for a few more moments, trying to wrap your head around what you’re going to get yourself into. It was a bit stupid--how you were waiting and putting things on hold. Maybe Skip was right about you making it more difficult for yourself and George. Your fingers and fingernails drummed against the wooden table as you pressed your cheek into the palm of your hand.

The two men only glanced at your figure, still idle on the chair. Waiting for an answer, you finally broke the stale, silent air. You released a breath you didn’t even know you were suppressing and gazed upon the expectant looks on Malarkey and Skip. They were on the edge of their seat, looking like a kid waiting to open their presents on Christmas.

“Fine. Tomorrow. If it doesn’t go well I’m going to replace your bullets with stale bread.”

Your thinly veiled threat, which wasn’t even a threat but more of a joke, didn’t deter Malarkey and Skip from bursting into a fit of cheers. Their loud whoops and shouts made you smile and gave you just a bit of reassurance for the next day. The blond and ginger man could be seen giving each other high-fives and patting each other on the back, clearly they had been anticipating this moment for a very very long time.

You knew these two will never shut up about them being you and George’s wingmen if the date goes as planned.

“Stop moping (Y/N), before y’know it, you’re going to be asking yourself why you didn’t do this sooner!”

You looked at Malarkey quizzically but as soon as you did your expression turned into something of the brightest of smiles. The two of them sunk back into their chairs, clearly proud of their feat of finally convincing you to go on an official date with George Luz himself. Both of these idiots are the both the best and worst things to have ever happened to you.

But you now had a date to worry about, and you prayed heavily for it to go well.

-----------

So that’s where you found yourself currently, fussing over your uniform even if you usually didn’t. Tilting your cap so it rested perfectly on your head and adjusting your tie ever so often. Adrenaline pumped throughout your body and a surge of excitement plowed through your being every few minutes.

You remember the pep-talk your two friends have given you (if you can even call it that, it was just Skip teasing you and Malarkey reminding you to stay responsible like a mother). Their reassuring smiles as they left the door brought a feeling of consolation to your nerve-wracked figure.

“--go get him, (Y/N)!”

“And don’t forget to use a condo-” You never shoved anyone so fast out the door so hard in your life.

“Why can’t you two just hurry up and get drunk sooner?”

Your exasperated tone did nothing to hide your clearly warm and flushed face, but your eyes could’ve most definitely paralyzed the men. Skip and Malarkey chuckled loudly before Skip stopped right in front of the door and took off his cap and bowed. Malarkey soon did the same gesture.

“You wish is our command, m’lady.”

Sarcasm flowed from every pore of that statement and you can only huff in amusement at their antics. The two men rushed to the pub where most of the other soldiers were, their arms raising up to bear you farewell, more words of encouragement leaving their lips. A cheeky grin flashed on Skip’s face as he gave you one last joking middle finger--which of course you returned to him.

Their forms disappeared around the corner and you took all your willpower to calm down your rapidly beating heart.

It was now or never, you had guessed.

Even with the two men always pouring you with comforting remarks and consoling you, your body soon soared above the skies with anxiety once again. Oh, you didn’t even know what you were worried about--you like him and he likes you.

In what part of this date was making you so nervous, you two had done it plenty of times. Perhaps it was because you finally came into terms that you did indeed have feelings for him, for all the other times you were so blissfully ignorant of your special bond with him. Shaking your head to relieve yourself of any more questions, you opted to stay silent for the duration of your wait.

So you patiently waited for George near the dirt road where you had told him to meet you. Your thumbnail was placed between your lips and your left foot drummed against the dry floor in a very antsy manner. Seconds rode on achingly slow, it was if they wanted you to suffer. Maybe this was a bad idea, and maybe he wasn’t going to come after all. Why’d you ever listen to those two? What good ever came from actually paying heed to them? With a defeated sigh, you kicked a pebble near your feet and maneuvered your body to head back to the barracks-

“Hey, (Y/N).”

Fuck.

So you turned slowly, your form still in the middle of trying to walk back. And as soon as you did, you thought you were blinded from the sheer beauty that George exuded. Your voice got trapped in your throat and you swore you forgot to even breathe for the briefest of moments. George Luz, standing in front of you with the brightest smile you ever saw him wearing. Both of your lips slightly parted as you took each other’s appearances in, gawking not so subtly at each other.

If you fainted, you wouldn’t exactly blame yourself--just look at him! His soft and short raven hair picking up light from the sun’s rays, giving it a sheer glow. And that damned smile of his, the same one he always wore--and every time they captivated you, this time was no exception. His uniform was clean and crisp, fitting him quite nicely. All you wanted was to stop time so you had just a moment to gather yourself. Instead of fluttering butterflies, you had a whole stampede of elephants occupying your stomach.

“You don’t look half-bad yourself, Georgie,” The amount of effort you put to make your voice sound presentable, you would’ve squeaked it out if you just let it out.

George only hummed in acknowledgement at your greeting, clearly distracted by your presence as you were with his. Your hands shuffled nervously, catching his eye. And the way your (E/C) gleamed as they always had, and despite you acting so flustered, that same spark you carried with you was noticeable. Your lips were caught between your teeth, and he laughed almost sheepishly when you noted his look. Beautiful… You were so beautiful in his eyes.

Time whizzed by and the date for which you two came for flew over your head. Stammering at the realization, you snapped out of daze and walked forward to stand face to face with George.

Forgetting the basket in his hands, George raised it up for you to see. You didn’t even notice that he had a basket for you, as you were too caught up admiring him. It didn’t even take a second for you to immediately recognize its contents. The vivid orange color of the many clementines that were nestled in the straw basket made you beam. After taking one into your hands and inspecting them, you turned your head to look up at George.

“You remembered! How’d you get these?”

Before his response could leave his lips, you pressed your index finger at his lips--effectively shushing him and making him flush.

“Wait no let me guess-” Your fingers snapped before pointing at him, “An old woman came up to you and ever so generously handed you these.”

George laughed and while shaking his head briefly, and that sent shivers crawling down your spine, and you felt aware of the close distance you two shared. You stepped away cautiously, as to not put attention on your form. George eyed the basket one more time before locking his chocolate eyes onto yours.

“Where’d you get 'em then?”

“Saw a tree down by the road-” Cutting him off you glanced at the orange citrus before playfully shoving George.

Shameless was George’s expression, he even seemed pleased even. You gawked at his nonchalant attitude, and George passed the straw basket to you.

“Oh, George you didn’t!” Strolling to your intended spot with George was filled with quips and chuckles, but you couldn’t conceal the surprised expression you held in your face. Eyes still blown wide and mouth stuttering. George stole these clementines… For you? He surely must be joking-

“Oh yes, I did.”

“George Luz, holy shit, where’s your dignity?” You teasingly questioned him.

While you seemed reluctant and against the idea of stealing the possessions of others, you didn’t even hesitate to let your fingers snatch up a small clementine from the basket.

“I never had any in the first place.” He replied, to which you giggled at.

Finally arriving at the place where you and George had agreed to spend your date at, you plopped yourself on the grass with the grace of a new-born deer. You were quite glad you and the technician decided this to be the place. It was simple, really, just a tree near a meadow. The spot wasn’t that far off from the main road and you had a clear view of the serene commune. The sky was absolutely beautiful, a gorgeous azure color--free of any clouds with the sun blessing you with its warm, welcoming rays.

The basket was set between the two of you, giving you a bit of space. The tree provided you with shade, the rustling of the leaves making for relaxing background noise. You would’ve heard the birds singing if it weren’t for the incessant pounding of your heart--it still manages to run a marathon even after it had surely been beating since the beginning of the day.

While your gaze avoided that of George’s, he was quite the opposite. George rested his eyes on your figure, trailing over your form and taking in every single detail. Adoration stretched across his face as the day continued, the two of you staying in a cloak of comfortable silence.

The clementine from earlier was still pressed snug against your palms, and to keep your head busy, you decided to peel it. Using your nails to shed the outer skin and popping a piece into your mouth, immediately hitting your tongue with the fresh taste. Growing bold, you picked a piece and reached your arm to offer it to George.

As if a movie reeled in his head, he was reminded of the first time he had ever interacted with you. George took the piece in your hand, his fingers brushing against your palm--offering him that same shock as the moment you two had shared in England. Muttering his thanks, he concentrated on how utterly peaceful you looked (even when on the inside, you were practically having all natural disasters occurring within you).

You grabbed another clementine from the basket, and once again offered a piece to George, who only looked pleasantly taken back. Breaking the silence, conversations soon flowed easily, like a stream. Hugging your knees close to your chest, you chatted with the black haired man, laughing and giggling ever so often at one of his stories. No longer the silence you two had shared at the beginning, but rather that same banter and ridiculous back-and-forth you always had with each other.

“Did I ever tell you the story of how I stole the neighbor’s dog?”

“You did what?”

“Don’t worry--I gave it back, naturally.”

Letting his words sink in, you grinned--your lips reaching the corners of your eyes. For a second, you felt slightly guilty for laughing at the whole thing. You raised an eyebrow at him, urging him to tell you more.

But you leaned back, still in disbelief at his words and still finding his antics just a bit amusing all the same.

“Well did I ever tell you the story of how I’m going to smack you so hard, they’ll give you a Purple Heart?”

His soft head of hair turned back in a flurry, his hands flying up to shield his upper arms. Giggling, you reassured him that you wouldn’t.

“I’m only joking, calm down!”

Settling down, George continued the many stories of his shenanigans back at his hometown. You gazed in wonder the whole time, nodding your head absentmindedly at each syllable that spilled out of him. The digits of your hands slowly inched closer to his, George also unknowingly doing the same.

The timbre of his voice and impressions left you breathless, your chest almost hurting from the countless times you let out a long chuckle. The grass felt nice upon the surface of your skin and you resumed your conversation with Luz, until you felt something warm against the back of your hand.

Visibly tensing up, you realized that George’s hand was on top of yours. Slumping and relaxing your shoulders when figuring out, George’s words came out fuzzy. Muffled and incoherent, you no longer paid them mind--instead bringing your fingers to intertwine with his. Your companion stopped speaking, sentences refusing to leave his lips.

Without even having to utter a word, the two of you were drawn to each other. Leaning in closer to close the proximity between you two, the basket placed in the middle was knocked over--the small clementines falling out and rolling a short distance before stopping. The clementines were strewn about, but you and George paid no mind. Tantalizing, his lips were right there in front of you--slightly parted and ever so rosy. And with a burst of passion, you leapt to capture his mouth in a slow peck, one that only lasted for a few seconds.

You did it. You actually did it.

“I love you so fucking much, (Y/n)--”

But before George could even say anymore, you silenced him with yet again another short kiss. Your reply was as clear as day, and George looked so enthusiastic and happy you could’ve giggled just a bit at his reaction if it weren’t for the current ardent atmosphere.

George’s cheeks were warm to the touch, and as you pulled away from the brief kiss he could only watch as you breathed heavily. Silently and deliberately, you leaned in--much slower this time. The peck from before laid forgotten in the fervent kiss you gave him.

Your (S/C) hand resting on the side of his head, cupping his head gently. Fingers that were once only loosely connected were tautly wrapped around her each other, his thumb brushing over the supple skin of your hand. In a moment that lasted for what seemed like forever, when you finally stopped--you only craved more.

It was so feverish and heartfelt, yet so tender and like a feather barely ghosting over the edges of your body.

Was this really the same George you knew all this time?

“Wow…”

That was all George said, he himself finding no words to even capture what he felt earlier. Captivated by you, George let his hands grab onto both of your wrists, slipping them down from his face so he can hold them in his own hands.

Deciding to tease him just a little bit, you smirked.

“Was I really that bad?” The way his face turned from a sappy, adoring look to a flustered emotion gave you happiness you couldn’t really fathom.

“Of course not- (Y/N)... You were-- You were amazing.”

“Real smooth, ain’t cha Luz?”

Still wrapped in each other’s embrace, Luz pulled you forward, setting yiu down on his lap as he wrapped his arms around you. Burying his nose in the crook of your neck, you relished in this intimate moment you shared with George. Sitting dormantly with limited movement, the world went still for a moment.

The early morning turned into a bright afternoon. Scooped in his hold, you pressed compassionate kisses all along the edges of his face, his eyelashes fluttering subtly whenever you did so. With the grass matted around your bodies, George’s voice--like music--peppered sweet and quiet declarations of love into your ear.

As you were about to doze off with the feeling of glee surrounding your head, George leaned forward, effectively knocking off your stupor on his shoulder. Light fingers brushed the skin of a nearby clementine--the rest still dispersed in a small pile. Bringing it up to your half-lidded eyes, you twinkled at the sight.

“Clementine?”

The simple act of you two offering the other the sweet fruit seemed like it was you and George’s own unique way of saying ‘I love you’. Sparing not even a second, you brushed what seemed to be like your 1,000th peck of the day on his nose. A fond feeling bloomed in his chest and he was sure that if he wasn’t already sitting down, his knees would’ve given out then--no matter how many times you did it.

“Of course.”

The cotton white clouds aimlessly moved in the sky as the leaves rustled all the same. There laid two people enveloped in each other’s presence. Silently vowing to forever love each other til the end of time. Chestnut eyes focus intently on your (E/C) ones, an affectionate grin setting deep in you and George’s features.

A clementine is shared, just as how the both of you shared your love with one another. Both of your lips move to meet, the whole world once again stopping as you finally do.

-----------

Author’s Note: (*slaps fic* this bad boy can fit so many words in it) Fucky fucky fuck- wow was that absolutely a long ride. As I have mentioned before, I’m finally going to open my requests really soon (whopeee)! I’m sorry if I sound like a wanna-be poet, my vocabulary and grammar skills do be lackin’. I may have a few mistakes here and there and I also apologize for that.

Hnghh, but I hoped that y’all liked this fic! I love you all for takin’ the time to read it. 😩💕

#band of brothers #band of brothers x reader #band of brothers fanfiction #george luz #george luz x reader #george luz fanfiction #hbo war #hbo war x reader

[arjsstuff]

Memories with Pkyek

My introduction to Pyaar Ki Ye Ek Kahani or PKYEK as we all called it started with the amazing introduction promos I watched several times on star one. I remember watching one of the trailers of PKYEK on star one when I was in 5th grade which is almost 11 years back. I was casually switching channels and I saw this ad, mysterious, the tone of the ad was pretty dark, a curly haired girl and a blue eyed guy and he saves her from getting hit by a car. It was strangely so beautiful and the words “math aao mere kareeb, aag hu main jal jaogi” was clearly stuck in my head and this was a promo a week before the serial released.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM1Cq62uJcY

I think the serial was scheduled to air from 18th October 2010 which was 2 days before my birthday and although I decided I have to watch this I could not watch it for some reason and I forgot about this serial. One day in class my bench mate and then close friend started talking to me about this serial and I immediately told her how much I loved the promo and she asked me to watch the episodes at 8:30 and if I missed it she also told me the re-broadcast timings which was sometime in the evening. I was like yeah sure since she strongly recommended it to me I would definitely watch it. So I was almost 7-8 episodes late and the first episode I watched was Abhay-Piya's first dance and the first scene I watched was Haseena telling Abhay to control himself on their party night near a small bridge kind of place and then the dance followed. 

OMG I must tell how it was one of the best dances I had ever seen on TV serial, it was so magical, especially the way they both were so lost in each other’s eyes and he ensured her torn dress wasn’t visible to anyone and also they danced on to kuch khaas hai song which was such a great song and it ended with the signature Mahiyaa tune. It instantly got me hooked to and I watched it religiously every day. My mom did not want me to watch teen romance Hindi TV serial so I literally had to change channels to Hungama every time she came to the hall XD. Since PKYEK was such a phenomena at school I made so many friends and the best part about pkyek is wherever I went after school for example junior college, Uni, my cousins friends etc all became my friends because of how we all watched pkyek LOL. 

Anyway so I got my really studious friend Z into watching it and she was this person who never watched TV but once she say Abhay she was hopelessly in love with that guy. I cringe when I think we all went through this in 5th grade, I mean how were we all swooning over him like proper teenagers. Anyway one day she went to the library and found his picture on some magazine and she told me and I literally ran to the library to get a hold of it but there were so many people already holding it and finally I got a glimpse of Abhay Raichand’s photo and a short interview by Vivian D'sena. I think she started getting so addicted to pkyek that her mom did not like it and she sometimes called me n my landline to talk about it lol. One day there was this class in school where we weren’t supposed to talk so her and I wrote whatever we had to talk on my notebook along with my friend D and the full chat was about Z, D and me swooning over Abhay, while letting A have Abhay and us mostly us teasing her with him. The chats were extremely funny so I tore them from my book and gave it to my senior in my school bus to read it, and when her stop came, before she got down she handed over the papers to me. I think my bad luck was super great that day and my bus teacher, who was this very this strict language teacher who 7-8th grade students caught her passing the papers onto me and asked me to hand it over to her. I immediately put them into my bag and tried tearing them into pieces while she kept screaming to hand it over to her. In the end I had to hand over one part of the chat which was quite dangerous considering we were only 5th graders going crazy about an actor and talking like late teens but I managed to save the dangerous part in my bag. This ***** ma’am read it and literally told me that she would hand it over to my school’s head teacher and she did that the very next day. Why can’t teachers get a life? 

Anyway the next day I came to class and told everyone about this and my extra sweet friends told me not to worry about it. In between an afternoon class, the peon came and called Z first, we thought maybe she got called for some extra circular activity, but when the peon came again and called me I knew I was dead. I went into the head teacher's room and she had almost got screwed and I was next in line and I somehow told even D was a part of this convo and even she got called. The other girls in my class were actually worried cuz they knew what was happening. And later head teacher screwed all of us and I guess Z cried on her way to class and then the head teacher let me and D go to class but we were so shameless, after getting a earful we could not stop laughing and literally lmaoed in the corridor before entering the class. This whole thing kind of strained my friendship with Z, and we weren’t the best of friends anymore but D and I still stuck close.

My school had this weird system where there was a girls and boys corridor and the girl’s corridor was pretty cool since it was on the left side and was closer to the trees while the right corridor used by guys was where the teachers entered the class from. So in these corridors we always role played and for some reason I was always Abhay even though I wanted to be Piya (I’m guessing it was because Of my short hair and being an serious faced person generally) and a lot of my friends were Piya and this friend of mine who was crazy about guys was called tracker and my friend D was Misha and we used to randomly dance to songs and recall the dialogues from the previous episodes, do the remoe juliet skit from pkyek and all sorts of things.

The background music on Pkyek is seriously so legendary and is among one of my favourite bgm tracks for a hindi serial. I would personally rate it number one and it had been my ringtone for 3 years. I tried looking for the Mahiyaa singer and the official song but I could not find it anywhere and mostly found only the recorded copies played in the serial. In my school bus I had seniors who I was very very close to because of pkyek and we always sung the background music, it’s so funny how we knew all the background music from pkyek by heart and remembered it perfectly and were in sync. I started singing this usually in my class as well and my friends hummed along.

Times of India and this other newspaper which I can’t recall had this section where TV channel broadcast programs were listed every day and this tiny picture from random TV shows was displayed on top of it. Whenever there was a pkyek picture all our friends used to literally fight over a picture that was probably 1*1 cms, very very tiny and even the quality wasn’t great but if you opened my pencil pouch on any random day you would find at least 10-15 of them LOL (I’ve lost all of them now).

found this from https://thereandtheir.wordpress.com/tag/indian-tv-serial/ the tv listing was similar but it was a bit different

I already mentioned how strict my mom was back then so I had to watch the re broadcast since I couldn’t watch the episodes fully at 8:30 PM. I had to wake up around midnight or early morning to watch it. I remember my parent’s thinking I sleep walked because my parents found me in hall instead of my room on odd mornings. It was quite the life with the box TV since I had to sit so close to it and the volume had to be on 1 or 2 since I could not wakeup people at home while watching it. One of the benefits of waking up early to watch this was also that I could see the newest promos on TV and I was always the first one in class to tell what the new promos were about. I remember telling my friends some of the coolest Pkyek promos like the vampire reveal one which in my opinion is still the best promo for a Hindi TV serial (I think Parvati introduction promo for Mahadev on Lifeok is a close second) and the promo where Abhay bites her and many more. I remember revealing this to my friends and my friends rushing home and switching on star one and waiting for the promos to appear and calling me to tell how amazing those promo were.

I remember how this one time I went to my senior A's house and we created fake Ouija board to call spirits. So we called her dead grandmother's spirit and she asked if the creepy guy in her class who was obsessed with her would stop annoying her and I immediately remembered the pkyek scene where Panchi asks maithli on the Ouija board if Danish would ever get punished. I don't know who's idea it was to play with it but it certainly had to do something with pkyek.

Those were really the fun times of my life. Pkyek is and will always be the most memorable serial for me. It’s not like we can expect great cg and VFX for a vampire serial and it in no way could be another vampire dairy or twilight (not to forget EK produced it) but the story and the writing was really amazing. I was a huge sucker for Abhay-Piyas chemistry and the supporting cast were literally the best!

#pyaarkiyehekkahani #pkyek

[sarahlevys]

I’ve missed exploring the music side of my brain, so I’m going to start doing some musical analysis posts just for fun! If you want to send me a request, hit me up!

This post is going to cover Betty, by Taylor Swift, requested by @anniemurphys.

Quick facts:

Begins in the key of C, then modulates to D

Time signature of 4/4

Approximately 88-90 BPM

Vocal range of approximately 1 octave (G to G)

The verse progression (we’ll call it A) – “Betty, I won’t make assumptions...” – takes this shape:

| C - C/B - | Am - G - | F - - - | G - - - |

| C - C/B - | Am - G - | F - - - | G - - - |

We have a clear descending bass line, with the B in the root of the second measure’s C chord.

This translates to a chordal analysis of:

| I - I/vii - | vi - V - | IV - - - | V - - - |

| I - I/vii - | vi - V - | IV - - - | V - - - |

The vi chord (A minor) naturally pulls down into the V chord (G), which is typically our “cadence” chord.

“Cadence” refers to how we hear music “resolve” in Western music. Whenever we hear a V chord, our ears have been trained to want it to resolve back to the I chord (G tugs the ear down to C, which makes us feel like the passage has ‘ended’). The transition from a G to a C, or a V to a I, is called a “perfect cadence.” 

We take a brief detour away from the V chord down to the IV chord (F). IV can also resolve to the I chord (F to C) – called a “plagal cadence,” very common in church-y music – but V to I is a stronger cadence. 

Note the emphasis (longer time spent) on the IV and V chords – very appropriate considering these are our two big ‘resolution’ chords).

So to sum up all the music theory stuff, each progression of the verse has a very neat and tidy resolution.

The melody over the verse is pretty straightforward; we have C, D, E, and a low G, which are all notes featured in the chords of the verse.

We then go into the prechorus – “you heard the rumors from Inez” – which we’ll call A Prime (similar to A above, but different!):

| C - C/B - | Am - G - | F - - - | G - - - |

| Am - G - | C - F - | Am - G - | F - - - | G - - - |

In chordal analysis lingo:

| I - I/vii - | vi - V - | IV - - - | V - - - |

| vi - V - | I - IV - | vi - V - | IV - - - | V - - - |

The first line is the same as the verse progression, but it starts to change after those first four measures.

Check out the extra measure at the end of the prechorus! By now, our ears are trying to learn the form of the song.

Our first fake-out is in the second measure of the second line of the prechorus, where we go Am to G to C to F. We hit the C after the G, but we’re suddenly off it. This is confusing and exciting for our ears.

Our ears also now know that when we hear that Am to G to F to G, we’re going to have our resolution. By prolonging that a little bit in the second line, our ears are like, “Something’s coming. What’s going to happen?” Throwing in the extra measure builds the tension as we wait for the resolution back to C.

As far as the melody is concerned, this is the first time Taylor goes up to a higher pitch than what we heard in the verse – all the way up to the G above the C. We have C, D, E, F, and G in the melody, descending down, which matches the direction of the chordal progression (parallel lines).

Now we’re at the chorus – “but if I just showed up at your party” – which I’ll call B!

| C - C/B - | Am - G - | F - Am - | G - - - |

| C - C/B - | Am - G - | F - Am - | G - - - |

| C - - - |

In chordal analysis lingo:

| I - I/vii - | vi - V - | IV - vi - | V - - - |

| I - I/vii - | vi - V - | IV - vi - | V - - - | 

| I - - - |

Very similar to what we saw above, but we have a deceptive cadence 👻!! This is very exciting!! As discussed above, our ears are cool with hearing the resolution after the F chord (the IV) – they like hearing it after the G chord (the V) more, but they’ll take a return back to C after F. But also as discussed above, C and Am (I and vi) have two overlapping notes! So when we go from F to Am, our ears are like, “wait, I thought we were going back home, and now I’m here?!” This is called a “deceptive cadence.” 

Right after the deceptive cadence, we go back to the G (V), so they aren’t faking us out for too long. We’re right back to the C (I) after that, so we’ve returned home.

The melody of the chorus features C, D, E, and a low A. We haven’t heard the low A before, so that’s something surprising and new here – another  subtle way of grabbing your attention.

There’s an extra measure at the end because the word “miss” in “I know I miss you” lands right on the downbeat of the return back to the main progression (our A progression), which leads us into a brief little instrumental interlude.

The interlude is the same as the verse (A progression), but I’ll paste it here again:

| C - C/B - | Am - G - | F - - - | G - - - |

| I - I/vii - | vi - V - | IV - - - | V - - - |

From there, we go back to our verse – “Betty, I know where it all went wrong” – then our prechorus – “you heard the rumors from Inez” – then our chorus – “but if I just showed up at your party.” After the chorus, we do another instrumental interlude.

By now, our ears are like, “Yeah, we got this whole thing down. We love patterns! We know the pattern!” This is why bridges – “I was walking home on broken cobblestones” – are the perfect time to switch it up!! Let’s call this progression C!

| Am - - - | G - - - | F - - - | G - - - |

| Am - - - | G - - - | F - - - | G - - - |

| C - - - |

The chordal analysis looks like this:

| vi - - - | V - - - | IV - - - | V - - - |

| vi - - - | V - - - | IV - - - | V - - - |

| I - - - |

Our melody suddenly becomes a lot more aggressive – more insistent, more dramatic, more repeated notes, a lot more rhythmic instead of flowing. We’re singing C, D, E, and low A here, just like the chorus.

This is also the first part of the progression to not feature a C chord (I)!! We have 8 bars without our home base! And instead, we’re hammering that Am chord again! (Remember, Am and C are often interchangeable).

Even though we are starting all our lines with Am, we haven’t modulated into that key. All the other chords are rooting us in the key of C.

This is AN ENTIRE SECTION WITH ONLY DECEPTIVE CADENCES until we hit the word “long” at the very end, which lands on the downbeat of that C measure. And just like at the end of the chorus, this leads us into another instrumental interlude, but it’s different!

Our second instrumental interlude starts out like the others, then goes to a very different place. 

| C - C/B - | Am - G - | F - - - | G - - - |

| Am - - G  | F - - - | Fm - - - |

The chordal analysis looks like this:

| I - I/vii - | vi - V - | IV - - - | V - - - |

| vi - - V | IV - - - | iv - - - |

What?? Suddenly we have an F minor chord?? We haven’t seen this before, and it has literally no place in this key since it has an Ab. We’ve been hitting a C chord and an A minor chord for our home base, so to suddenly throw in an Ab is very dramatic.

Note the uneveness of the interlude, too – 3 bars instead of 4 at the very end. Things are getting weird!

We then go into something that’s basically the verse smushed with the prechorus smushed with the chorus for “Betty, I’m here on your doorstep.” I’m gonna call it the verseprechoruschorus. Everything’s happening, everyone.

| C - C/B - | Am - G - | F - Am - | G - - - |

| C - C/B - | Am - G - | F - Am - | G - - - |

| Am - G - | C - F - | Am - G - | F - - - | G - - - |

| C - C/B - | Am - G - | F - Em - | G - - - |

| C - C/B - | Am - G - | F - Em - | G - - - |

Chord analysis looks like this:

| I - I/vii - | vi - V - | IV - vi - | V - - - |

| I - I/vii - | vi - V - | IV - vi - | V - - - |

| vi - V - | I - IV - | vi - V - | IV - - - | V - - - |

| I - I/vii - | vi - V - | IV - iii - | V - - - |

| I - I/vii - | vi - V - | IV - iii - | V - - - |

The A minor and E minor chords both have an E in them, but they aren’t that interchangeable, not like the Am and C – they only have that one pitch in common.

And then we have the most drama ever – a modulation! This is when the key shifts from one key to another. I live for a good modulation, and I bet you do, too, even if you didn’t know what a modulation was before this.

We go from C to D – two keys that are side by side, separated by a whole step. And this modulation is ushered in by a transition from that final G to a D. This is, in the key of D, a plagal cadence as discussed above! In the key of D, the G is the IV chord, so we have that IV chord pulling to our new I chord. Crazy!!

Our final chorus – “yeah, I showed up at your party” – looks like this:

| D - D/C# - | Bm - A - | G - D/F# - | Em - A - |

| D - D/C# - | Bm - A - | G - D/F# - | Em - A - |

In our new key of D, this looks like:

| I - I/vii - | vi - V - | IV - I/iii - | ii - V - |

| I - I/vii - | vi - V - | IV - I/iii - | ii - V - |

We have a lot of new shit we haven’t seen before!

Instead of where we had that vi (Am) before, we’re now actually hitting the I, but with a F# (iii) in the root. Remember how interchangeable the I and the vi are? Taylor loves that shit, apparently, and so do I.

We also have never seen the ii chord (Em) make an appearance. It showed up before in our verseprechoruschorus smush that just preceded this final chorus, but it wasn’t as a ii chord. It’s doing the most.

And the ii chord is often interchangeable with the IV chord if you feel like adding more drama (which of course Taylor does) – they have two pitches in common, just like the I and vi. That’s exactly what we see here, the Em standing in for the G, which should go there.

Just like before, the “miss” of “I know I miss you” lands right on the start of our next section – in this case, the outro.

| D - - A | G - - A |  D - - A | G - - A |

| D - - A | G - - A | D - - D/F# | G - - - |

Harmonic analysis in the key of D looks like this:

| I - - V | IV - - V |  I - - V | I - - V |

| I - - V | IV - - V | I - - I/iii | IV - - - |

This is our triumphant race across the finish line. We did it! We won! etc.

 This is pretty straightforward – we’re doing a lot of movement from the I to the V to the IV to the V, spending tons of time on our home base chord of D and the two chords that have the neatest possible resolution.

This is where we also see the most rhythmic syncopation. The final chords of each bar aren’t coming in on beat 3, like all the other ones, they’re coming in at the near-end of the measure. Our ears are living for all the differences here, compared to what we heard before. We did hear it a bit at the end of the interlude before the verseprechoruschorus but not as much as we did here.

But at the very end, right when we expect to hear what we’ve heard before – remember, music is all about changing up what we think is going to happen – we suddenly throw in D/F#. The I and V chords are not really good subs for each other – they have only one tone in common – so our ears perk up at that.

From there, we end on a G (the IV of D) that doesn’t resolve. Not only is it not a perfect cadence (IV to I is plagal) but, again, it doesn’t resolve. We don’t hear a D again at the very end. The ear is left wanting to hear that resolution, and we don’t get it, and IMO this adds a little ambiguity about whether James and Betty really are supposed to be made for each other and whatnot. ;)

The end! If you want to send me a request, hit me up!

#betty #taylor swift #music #music analysis #music theory #song analysis

[jj-lives]

Sling Inktober Bmblb

Yang’s heart shattered into a million shards of regret the moment Blake ripped the curtain surrounding her bed wide. Her eyes frantic with worry, her hands shook as they reached out for Yang but abruptly she retracted them. Fisting her hands at her side lest she accidentally cause harm. The clench of her jaw and the way she blinked, too often, as she raked her eyes over every inch of Yang's body that was visible spoke volumes of her anxiety. Was she close to tears?

Yang, not for the first time, wished she'd chosen a different path that night. She should have never taken Nora up on her challenge —Yang had no right cliff diving as if she was still sixteen— resulting in the phone call that led Blake to have to pick her up. Yang refused the offers to follow her to the hospital. Pyrrha understood, finally putting a stop to Nora's guilty pleas, though Yang was in pain, she was also embarrassed. Not wanting to cause Yang more stress or pain than she was currently in Pyrrha agreed to go home instead of the hospital; only if Yang called Ruby to meet her there.

Ruby’s voicemail greeted her though she didn’t tell Pyrrha. She spoke as if having a quick conversation before hanging up. Pyrrha kissed her forehead before exiting the ambulance, letting the medics close her in. She’d tried multiple times to reach her sister and the hospital staff told her they’d left a message for her as well, but when her arm had been x-rayed, set and casted with no response from her sister Yang knew she had to call someone else. Tai was in Patch so not an option. She couldn’t stand the thought of facing Pyrrha again so soon, not just that she was embarrassed but also because then Pyrrha would know she’d lied about speaking to Ruby in the first place. Her only other option was Blake. But seeing her normal calm demeanor so rattled told Yang she should have just waited for Ruby to return the call.

“Are you-“ Blake’s voice quavered before she set her jaw, turning to the nurse checking Yang’s vitals. “Is she alright?”

“I’m fine.” Yang answered when the nurse jumped back at the hard glare Blake directed at her.

“What happened?”

Yang dropped her head in shame and gave a small recap of the afternoon's events.

“A dare,” Blake’s voice rose. Anger Yang had never heard resting behind her words. “You’re like this-“ she waved her hand at the cast covering Yang’s right arm from wrist to midway up her bicep “because of a d-“

Blake was unable to finish her sentence and Yang shifted uncomfortably under the heat of her enraged stare. The nurse slipped past Blake shooting a pitying look in Yang’s direction before exiting, mumbling something about discharge papers.

Blake filled out the paperwork, signing where they pointed and she held the clipboard so Yang could scribble a quick signature before they allowed Blake to take her. She was not family nor listed on Yang’s next of kin for emergencies. Yang briefly thought  that she might change it to include her while they were here. But the cold shoulder Blake was giving her told her she wouldn’t appreciate the added time it would take in the hospital; nor would she likely enjoy the implication this would be a regular occurance.

Blake was gentle as she helped her off the bed. She collected Yang’s things silently, even helping her step into her shoes, socks still damp from her earlier escapades. Yang felt sorry for her. She had enough on her plate with her Thesis paper check in coming up. She didn’t need to be wasting time because Yang was an idiot. They exited the hospital, Blake’s phone to her ear calling a taxi..

For the first time in a long time Yang was uncomfortable with the lack of words spoken between them. She’d long ago learned to enjoy the quiet Blake provided. It was relaxing and comfortable to be able to be in her space without the expectation of conversation to fill the void. But now, Yang squirmed. This wasn’t a comforting silence, it was a soul crushing quiet. But Yang didn’t know what to say to break it. Not wanting to make the situation worse she wondered if it would be smart to let Blake break the silence once she was ready.

The taxi pulled up and Blake helped her in, careful not to jostle her injured arm. She leaned around her to secure her buckle before rushing around the car to slide into the seat beside her. Blake leaned forward to give Yang’s address to the driver and Yang desperately took that as permission the silence had ended.

“We can drop you off first.” Yang’s voice was a raspy whisper. She slurred a little, a side effect of the painkillers they’d given her.

Blake did not respond. She stared a moment at the blue sling holding Yang’s broken arm to her ribs before she turned to look out the window. Dismissing the driver upon arrival Yang cut Blake off saying she would cover the cost but realized she’d left her money in her truck, which was probably parked at Pyrrha’s now. Again Blake was gentle as she helped Yang to stand and make her way up the stairs to her and Ruby’s apartment. But Yang could feel in the way her touch didn’t linger that she was still angry at the situation. At this rate all Yang wanted was to get to the apartment and release Blake from her duties as girlfriend so Blake wouldn’t have to deal with her stupidity any longer that day. She would call her the next day and apologize. Hopefully Blake would accept.

Blake had different plans, however. When they entered the apartment and Yang mentioned her leaving, Blake rolled her eyes; the action resembling Weiss’ exasperation. Yang resigned herself to her fate, regretting not allowing Pyrrha to follow her to the hospital. Embarrassment would be better than the cold shoulder she was receiving. Blake asked if she thought she could lay down but the pressure on Yang’s shoulder told her it would be a struggle for her to sleep. She said as much and Blake nodded, leading her to the couch and helping her sit. She disappeared a few moments, returning with some pillows and a blanket.

“Is this okay?” Blake asked, pressing the button to recline Yang’s seat.

Yang nodded, adjusting herself with her one good arm, hissing through her teeth as the movement jostled her casted arm. Blake jumped forward to help her find a comfortable position, placing a pillow at the small of her back. Yang sank into the comfort of the couch while Blake covered her waist and legs with the blanket she’d taken from Yang’s bedroom.

“How’s that?” Blake’s voice was terse.

“As good as it’s going to get.” Yang responded, closing her eyes and trying to relax. “The sling is cutting into my shoulder but I will have to live with that for the near future.”

“It shouldn’t hurt.”

“It’s more annoying than painful.” Yang assured, not wanting Blake to worry or fuss any more over her. “I’m sorry I had to drag you from your thesis.”

“It’s fine.”

Blake shuffled to the side of the couch, pressing Yang’s shoulder to get her to lean forward a couple inches. Yang obeyed without hesitation. Soon the pressure on her shoulder released and Yang let out a shaky breath. Blake adjusted another strap and gently lifted Yang’s arm from her ribs, apologizing when Yang whimpered in pain. A pillow was placed under her arm. The release from the sling’s strap and the support from the pillow finally allowed the cramped muscles of Yang’s shoulder to release.

“That better?” Blake asked.

“It’s official,” Yang responded, rolling her aching shoulder. “You’re a witch.”

Blake hummed in response before she grabbed Yang’s keys off the table. She took a step towards the door before something stopped her. Yang’s eyes followed her as Blake made her way to the kitchen. Out of sight Yang heard the water in the tap running before Blake came back, setting the glass, condensation already building on it’s outer edges, on the table within easy reach of Yang’s good arm.

“I’ll be back in a bit,” she said in her even tone.

“You don’t have-“

“You need the painkillers they prescribed.” Blake held up a small white slip of paper.

Blake’s voice usually excited her. She could be having the worst day imaginable but then she would call Blake and instantly have her voice relax and settle any of Yang’s negative emotions. Yang wished she could say something to make Blake smile or laugh. Hearing her laugh right now would heal her quicker than any medicine she was leaving to get. But she stayed silent as Blake walked out the door, locking it with Yang’s key behind her.

Expecting Blake to drop off the medication and leave, Yang was taken aback when she instead took up a spot perched on the other side of the couch when she returned twenty minutes later. Flicking through the channels Blake found some documentary about wolves before she reclined her own seat. The only words exchanged between them were Blake checking on Yang’s arm or asking if she needed anything. Yang, feeling guilt weigh on her conscience, always responded that she was fine and needed nothing.

Blake kept her water glass full and as the light outside the window waned she’d made Yang a grilled cheese sandwich. something that was easy to eat with only one hand. Yang thanked her every time, feeling more and more like a burden. When Yang’s eyes started to droop and her head to nod Blake cast off her own small blanket and stood. With soft supportive hands she helped Yang up, telling her to go to bed. Blake followed a minute later, handing Yang a pill and a fresh glass of water.

“If you don’t take this now you’ll wake up in pain later. You need your sleep.”

Yang agreed and swallowed the pill before trying to maneuver her shirt over her head to get into something more comfortable. Blake helped Yang out of her clothes and into a simple tank top and shorts when it was clear she was struggling.

“Get into bed. I’ll go get the pillows and blanket from the couch.”

Blake motioned for Yang to slip beneath the sheets. Not wanting to argue, or point out she could get into bed on her own, Yang simply slipped into bed as Blake lifted the sheet for her. Besides, she already proved there was little she was able to do with one hand and Yang knew it would take a little while for her to learn to do things with only her left arm. Blake returned and fluffed her pillows and gently spread the blanket over her before she crossed the room to turn off the lights.

“Good night.” Yang called weakly. She hated how heavy and stifling the silence between them had become. She knew once her head was clear of the anxiety and the worst of the painkillers she would have to form words and actions to make it up to Blake. But a simple ‘good night’ was all she could think to say before Blake left her for the night.

Instead of exiting the apartment after turning out the light Blake closed the bedroom door and made her way easily around the other side of the bed. Yang watched on, speechless as Blake shimmied out of her jeans and removed her bra from under her shirt. She slipped between the sheets and settled on the pillow beside Yang.

“You really don’t have to stay.” Yang whispered into the dark.

“You’re such an idiot.”

Yang agreed, she was a complete idiot. Not able to refute the claim she remained quietly staring at the barely discernible tiles above. Her eyes slow to adjust in the darkness. The mattress dipped as Blake adjusted her position and it wasn’t until her bare legs touched Yang’s, smooth and warm, that she realized she wasn’t just turning over, she was getting closer. Blake’s head pressed into her shoulder, her arm draped over Yang’s abdomen, careful not to disturb her casted arm. Yang was afraid to move. Blake was mad at her, wasn’t she?

“Blake?” Yang croaked not understanding her sudden change in behaviour.

There was no response and Yang was just about to try again but then she felt Blake’s body shudder against her. Yang froze, wondering what the spasm could mean. It happened again, and again. As Blake shifted, her face seeking refuge deeping in the crook of Yang’s neck she felt the cold dampness on her shoulder. The full realization that Blake was crying hit her like an elbow to her gut.  

“No. Blake. What’s wrong?” Yang’s soothing voice pleaded for answers. She hated seeing her like this.

Blake was always so strong and rarely showed moments of emotional stress. Her strength was something that drew Yang to her, and not having seen her in this state before terrified Yang. She had no experience on how to comfort her. Would she want to hear Yang’s voice? Did she want to be touched? Held? Or was leaving her to work through it the best route? The last option pained Yang and she knew she would never be able to sit there as Blake shook with grief beside her. She tried to reach for her but the shoulder Blake wasn’t lying on was in the sling. Yang had many reasons to despise herself for her actions resulting in the cast, but not being able to hold and comfort Blake when she needed her was the worst punishment for her idiocy. Wrapping her good arm securely around Blake’s shoulders Yang pulled her as close as she could. She whispered soothing things, hoping they reached her.

After a few moments Blake began to calm and still. Yang wanted to ask again what was wrong but knew as she settled Blake would understand Yang needed an answer. For several minutes all that could be heard was Blake’s ragged breathing and Yang’s own heart beating rapidly.

“You’re so stupid.” Was the first words whispered through broken sniffles.

“I know.”

“What makes you-“ a hiccough wracked her body as she surged beside Yang. “What makes you think I could leave you a whole night when the twenty minute trip for your medicine nearly killed me?” Blake buried herself into Yang’s side more securely, pinning Yang’s legs down with one of her own. “I was so scared when I got that call.”

“I know.” Yang tried to calm her.

“You don’t!” Blake growled, anger returning.

Yang trailed her fingers along the warm skin at the back of Blake’s arm. For the first time all night she thought of the situation being reversed, of her receiving a call from the hospital because Blake had been hurt. To learn the fear, the pain of the one she cared for, the panic was all avoidable if the other had just refrained from a stupid act. She would probably be angry as well.

“You’re right. And I’m so sorry, Blake.” Yang sighed in her defeat. “It won’t happen again. I shouldn’t have worried you. I could have waited for Ruby.” Realizing that she hadn’t told Ruby to not go to the hospital she searched for her phone. “Oh no, I forgot about Ruby.”

“I messaged her that you were home and okay but needed sleep. We probably won’t hear from her until the morning.” Blake relaxed into Yang’s warmth, soothed by her heartbeat and feel of her fingers drawing circles on her skin. “And this better not happen again. I don’t know what I would do if I lost you.”

It was then that Yang realized this wasn’t just about her being injured. She could have been killed and Blake knew it. Her mind continuing to work in reverse  and pictured Blake laying still in the hospital bed, machines beeping dangerously. She shook her head to rid her mind of both the sounds and sight of it. She couldn’t bear it.

“I promise.” Yang said with all the conviction she could force into her tone. She nudged Blake’s nose with her own, craning her neck painfully to do so, but she didn’t care. When Blake’s watery, muted amber eyes met hers she knew. She would do anything for the girl in her arms. “I promise you.” She repeated, pleading with her eyes for Blake to believe her. “I will never do something so foolish again. I couldn’t stand to be away from you either. I can barely stand not being able to hold you properly right now.”

Blake chewed her words over on her own tongue.

“I want to be the first person you call if it does.” She finally spoke. I don’t want to hear from my friend that my girlfriend was in the hospital. As stupid as you were today. I don’t want Ruby to be the first one you think of calling.”

Yang was surprised but realized she felt the same. It would be horrible to learn Blake was hurt by Ruby telling her the story the next day. “Only if I’m your first call too.”

Blake nodded. Her eyes dropped to the cast then back to connect with Yang’s again. A few moments passed as Blake contemplated saying what was on her mind and Yang gave her the space and time to say whatever it was. She owed her that much at least.

“It’s your dominant hand.” Blake pointed out. Her seemingly out of the blue comment confused Yang. “There are more activities besides holding me that you won’t be able to partake.”

“I guess weight lifting and basketball with Pyrrha are out, huh?” Yang groaned.

Blake nuzzled into Yang’s neck once more and Yang tightened her one-armed hold. If she couldn’t use both she would make up for it with just the one then. It surprised her when she felt Blake’s lips brushing her neck. She forged a featherlight path of kisses along Yang’s pulse and up to the hinge of her jaw. Suddenly Blake shifted, dipping her head to trace the same trail, this time with her tongue and wet, needy kisses. Yang gasped as Blake pulled Yang’s earlobe into her mouth, gently trapping it between her teeth before she released it with a ‘pop’.

“I wasn’t talking about any activity involving you and Pyrrha.” Blake’s sultry whispers shot pleasure straight down Yang’s spine, a wanton need resting heavy at her navel.

“I’ll just have to practice with my left then.” Yang smirked, enjoying the turn of events. Blake, always able to keep her on her toes.

Yang turned to kiss Blake but no sooner had she felt her oh-so-soft lips brush hers they were taken from her. Blake rolled over, back to Yang.

“No.” She said in a steady voice. It was a tone that told Yang she was not playing; she meant business. “I think you can wait until your cast comes off.”

“That’s ridic-“

“Doctor said six or eight weeks.”

Yang blanched. Although her and Blake’s relationship was not, and had never been, solely based on physical needs they’d never been separated in that capacity for more than a week since they’d spent their first night together at Christmas. Even a week seemed an eternity when Blake returned to Menagerie for spring break.

“You can’t be serious.” Yang blurted, unable to imagine refraining for so long. She craved Blake in a way she’d never known was possible until they’d met.

“Maybe it will teach you a valuable lesson.” Blake said through a yawn.

“That you’re-“

Blake rolled to look over her shoulder at Yang, eyebrow raised, challenging her to finish her sentence.

“That I’m…?”

Yang gave in. She’d been in the wrong. She’d scared Blake horribly just to get an ego boost that left her embarrassed to face Pyrrha’s friends ever again. If Blake felt this was a worthy punishment then Yang would accept it with whatever grace she was capable of.

“That you’re totally worth the wait.” Yang turned, fitting herself to Blake’s back. Carefully lifting her arm she laid the cast against Blake’s ribs like they had been to hers. She realized she was comfortable this way, Blake’s body warmly supporting her arm like the pillow had on the couch. “Is this okay?” Yang didn’t want Blake to be uncomfortable.

“If it is for you.”

“No sex doesn’t mean no cuddles or kisses does it?” Yang asked for clarification.

“No, I’m not including those in the ban.” Blake smiled and Yang placed a kiss at the back of her neck as thanks.

“Then okay. It’ll be torture but I’d wait forever for you so six weeks should be doable.” Able to relax fully now that she was comfortable, Blake in her arms, both of them safe, and the medication making her drowsy, she buried her face into the dark mass of Blake’s hair. “As long as i can have you in my arms that’s all I need.”

Blake’s steady breaths told Yang she was already asleep. Yang couldn’t blame her. She must be as tired as Yang was. Remembering the frantic look in Blake’s eye when she opened the curtain at the hospital told Yang she’d used up most of her adrenaline reserves and the way she broke down crying proved how exhausted she was. Blake didn’t break down like that.

Yang closed her eyes, grateful to have a girl as caring and amazing as Blake looking out for her

#bumbleby #yang xiao long #blake belladona #inktober #fanfic #my writing #sling

[iamrealbuilder]

Shawn Swift interview, part 2

You can find Part 1 of the interview here:

https://iamrealbuilder.tumblr.com/post/635493519657730048/shawn-swift-interview-part-1

Interview part 2, November 2020:

Corentin : You've previously stated that you stopped working with Sunstorm before Caribbean Life. Do you know why you're credited for it?

Shawn Swift : I left Sunstorm shortly after work on Life's a Beach began. So I'd probably provided them with some ideas, though I can't recall any I might have been responsible for. I'd also begun work on a map which if I recall correctly, was to feature some kind of caribbean jail or fort. I don't know if that ever made it into the final game as I never played it, but I didn't get very far on that map. I think I'd only made one cell at that point.

C: I'm wondering if perhaps some small constructions of yours were used within Caribbean maps. For instance I believe that this truck of yours from Final Destination was re-used by Robert Travis in DC (or was it the contrary?)  [editor note: Final Destination is a map from Xtreme, another DN3D add-on by Sunstorm]

S: Robert and I collaborated on the submarine base if I remember correctly. He focused on the interior of the sub, while I built parts of the base, and he finished it up. So yeah, I probably started with with that truck, re-using it and the spritework from my previous map. […] aside from my re-use of that truck, I don’t know of any re-purposing of old maps which took place.

C: So you can confirm that most if not all of the maps in Xtreme were made before DC? Making of Xtreme a compilation of older maps, for the most part (if not the entirety of it?)

S: My memory is a bit muddled here. It's possible I made the truck for DC and then ported it to Xtreme, or vice versa. I know DC was the first game we worked on, with Robert and I working out of our apartments, before Sunstorm had offices. However, I also recall that we finished DC in the new Sunstorm office, because that's where I created the ending, and Robert combined the two floors of the submarine into one. But I also recall working on levels for Duke Extreme at home.

So here's what I think happened... When I first started working at Sunstorm, I was hired as a texture and sprite artist for DC. I did all of the new sprites and textures for DC, and I made the new weapons for Extreme. But at some point, I switched from being an artist to a level designer, and I began work on Extreme from home. But Robert was still working on DC from home. I believe I made all of the maps I made for Extreme in a few days out of my apartment, then we moved into the new offices, and there I think I must have worked on the submarine base, so I probably took the subway from Xtreme and used that as a starting point for the DC map, or I simply recreated my work on the truck.

Then we released DC, and Xtreme I believe was released later, with many of the maps being created by contract workers we never met. And while they worked on those, and Charlie? worked from home on the scripting, and Robert and I began work on Cryptic Passage.

C: Speaking of Xtreme, the (excellent) DM map Library has no sig and its author is unknown. Do you know who made it? You may be able to confirm whether or not it's yours at least?

S: It's not mine, and I don't know who made it. I don't know the names of any of the contractors they used for Xtreme. I think there were five people outside the company he was hiring to make those levels? Not sure.

C: The one thing that doesn't look like you in the Brown Water control room however is the pillar in the middle, which is VERY reminiscent of the RT's pillars from another Xtreme map, Dirge.

S: Yeah, Robert added some stuff to the start of Brown Water I believe. Oh, and another bit of trivia for you... I don't know if this is still in the beta map or not, but in the Pentagon, there's a hallway that ends where it's collapsed, and I believe you can see through a hole there to the rest of the hallway beyond. At one point I had hidden my signature in there, but Tony made me remove it for some reason. Robert was much more clever about hiding his signatures in his levels. I believe in the White House there was one secret room hidden in the bottom of an elevator shaft?

C: Was there plans to make the Pentagon more fleshed out than it indeed up being?

S: Nothing was really planned, per se. We were given almost complete freedom to build whatever we wanted, aside from the general theme of this is the pentagon level, and Duke will get there via the sewers. Now, did I personally plan to build out more of the Pentagon? Absolutely. But I ran out of time, and I didn't have any idea what the pentagon actually looked like inside, so I assumed it was just long halls with offices to either side, and that wouldn't make for a very good level, so I didn't build out more than that single office and a bathroom. I couldn't tell you what possessed me to have the exit be at the bottom of a fountain in the middle. If I'm not mistaken though the sub base comes after that level right? Maybe I figured all drains lead to the ocean... :D

C: Thanks again to take the time to answer and for the explanations on the development of DC and Xtreme and other things. I'm not sure that anyone knows you made the new weapons for Xtreme either, there are very little known credits for it.

S: Yep, I made those, They were probably some of the last art I made for Sunstorm. After that they hired on another artist and I went full time level design.

The PSD said it was last modified Monday, ‎September ‎29, ‎1997, but that's not the original file. 

[Editor note: this bat never made it into the add-on. Shawn wasn’t able to remember what the plan was for it]

External links:

Duke4 blog megathread:

https://forums.duke4.net/topic/11471-blog-interviews-of-build-engine-video-games-developers/

Duke4 forum thread, discussion on whether or not Shawn’s cell made it to the final version of Caribbean Life. I decided not to include further info on this subject not to confuse people further.

https://forums.duke4.net/topic/9418-duke-caribbean-multiplayer-levels/

Thanks again to Shawn Swift for answering my questions and sharing these files!

#build #build-engine #build engine #blood #duke nukem 3D #duke nukem #cryptic passage #duke it out in dc #Xtreme #video games

[softderekhale]

from the archives: snippets of a sterek pacrim au

hey y’all! i definitely haven’t been super active on this blog or tumblr at all lately, for a lot of reasons but mainly just... life. doesn’t that suck sometimes? but i really, truly hope everyone is doing well and you + your loved ones are staying safe. (long reflection + tumblr fic after the cut, lol)

i’ve been in kind of a funk with writing since the last time i “had” to do it, which was 12 days/sterek secret santa like, 6 months ago. it’s frustrating to me that i went from writing my longest fic ever exactly 2 years ago to having almost zero output now, but i’m trying not to be too hard on myself and i know writing is a really fickle pastime. anyway, this is a really long leadup, but i decided to just release some stuff i wrote into the wild. it’s either here or my google drive, so i might as well see if anyone wants to read it! 

pacific rim is undoubtedly one of my favorite movies of all time (it was only bumped down by into the spider-verse, but they’re almost tied ;D). it came out right after my sterek obsession began, and i always imagined writing a sterek au based around derek and stiles being drift compatible. that whole concept has always been so lovely to me and fits in nicely with some of my favorite soulmate-y tropes. this idea always felt too ambitious, though, and i didn’t write a single word of it until i rewatched the movie in november/december 2019. i wrote the following stuff in an extremely giddy haze over the next few weeks. i’m not good about pushing myself to write, so i never added any more, but i still really like what i had/have! i hope maybe someday i’ll feel the urge to come back to it. but anyway, here’s my completely self-indulgent homage to one of my favorite movies and one of my favorite fandoms. in my au chronology for this, following the events of the first movie, global governments and the ppdc decided to deploy jaegers for continued deep sea exploration to further benefit scientific discovery and avoid wasting such expensive tech/training. this lead to a lot of corporate interference re: treasure hunting, etc. (national treasure, but make it underwater). oh, and werewolves exist (because wouldn’t they make great jaeger pilots?!). also, A SECOND PACIFIC RIM MOVIE WAS NEVER EVER MADE. THE END. laura and derek were copilots before a kaiju-fighting incident forced them into early retirement. laura is still alive, though! (because it’s me.)

***

“Mayday! Mayday! LOCCENT, do you copy? This is Luna Geminae paging for backup. LOCCENT! Danny, we can’t hold them much longer…”

Laura’s growl of frustration rang in Derek’s ear as he strained against the beast.

“Keep holding it, Derek. You can do this. I know you can. They’re so close, Derek, they’ve gotta be. Just a few more—”

Derek never knew how Laura intended to finish that sentence. All he would ever remember was the scream that tore out of her throat. Later, he would describe it as the first time he ever understood the meaning of “bloodcurdling.”

“Laura!” Derek gritted his teeth as pain roared down his left arm, causing his vision to blur and spark white around the edges.

“My arm, Jesus, my fucking… They got my arm, Derek—” 

As water poured into the cabin above and around him, the last thing he remembered hearing was Laura’s anguished howl. Then the sky became fire, and everything went dark.

***

The day of the accident convinced Derek that his world would never stop burning.

For months after, when he lay staring at the ceiling until the early hours of the morning, the staticky shapes his eyes created to fill the darkness always melted and formed a wall of flames no matter how many times he scrunched his eyes shut and buried his face in his pillow. The noises, too — the ambient whoosh of the Dome’s ventilation system and the soft heart-like thud of the power grid soon coalesced into a unified, rhythmic chant that sounded more and more like Laura’s scream the longer Derek listened: Derek! Help!

In the days and weeks following their accident, Derek had tried every trick he could think of to reassure his subconscious that Laura was alive and safe, and would remain so even after she left his line of sight. For almost a week after she was released from the medical bay, he slept in the spare bunk above her. As reticent as he normally was to invade Laura’s privacy any more than he had to, experiencing her near-loss allowed panic and instinct to envelop Derek’s frayed nerves. He never fully explained it to Laura, but he didn’t have to — she never questioned his presence, nor did she point out that Derek always waited to fall asleep until he was certain she had already drifted off. 

Eventually, though, Derek realized the routine was leaving them both sleep-deprived and irritable. He resolved to move back to his own quarters, not wanting to smother Laura with his relentless, anxious presence. But he knew she still sensed his distress — every evening at 2300 hours, like clockwork, she knocked on his door to tell him goodnight and gently pressed her right palm against her brother’s neck before waving and returning to her own room. It was a routine they continued even now, half a decade beyond the fight that had left their Jaeger decimated. 

They had made progress, which Laura was always quick to remind her younger brother. Nothing could have prepared him for the aftermath of the accident, though, and the dark places where Derek’s mind would drift when there was no one around to distract him. Alone with his thoughts, no reassurance was strong enough to quiet Derek’s memories.

He shifted again in bed, his half-awake mind scrambling to remember the breathing exercises Deaton had taught him over the years.

Inhale through your nose. One. Two. Three. Hold. Exhale through your mouth. One. Two. Three—

Derek!

Start again. Inhale through your nose. One. Two. Three. Hold. Exhale through your mouth. Slower this time.

Good. Again.

***

This comes way after the scene above lol sorry

“Right hemisphere locked. Left hemisphere locked. Vitals are steady. Initiating neural handshake.”

Danny’s voice echoed through Derek’s head as he let his eyes flutter shut and tipped his head back. He’d been anxious about this moment for days now, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t secretly a little — or a lot — excited, too. Drifting was a heady, emotional experience, and if he and Stiles were truly compatible, Derek might finally get to settle the unease he had felt since his connection with Laura was severed.

“Alright,” Danny said. “You should be feeling it in three… two… one.”

Derek’s eyes flew open, but his gaze defocused as he felt his center of gravity list forward before returning.

As his sense of internal balance returned, the tingle of the neural link fizzed over his scalp. There it is. Slowly, then all at once, he felt the rush of Stiles’ mind meeting his own. Their emotions flowed over one another like water, memories flashing and sensations pulsing before slipping away into their shared flow of awareness. Derek had trained himself long ago to let himself float until the waters steadied, and he could feel Stiles, ever perceptive, do the same.

“Neural handshake established and holding at 100 percent.”

Without having to think twice about the gesture, Derek felt his knuckles meet his palm as he dipped into a customary bow. As he and Stiles led Luna in her first exploratory steps, Derek felt the weight of any lingering fears melt away.

With Laura, Derek had always felt like they were extensions of one another, movements and decisions cascading seamlessly from a fully unified thought process. Drifting with Stiles, though, felt unlike anything Derek had ever experienced. They were two sides of the same coin — each aggressive and reserved in equal, opposite measure. If Derek and Laura were reading from the same script, he and Stiles were finishing each others’ sentences as they improvised the same scene. 

When they first met, Derek had found Stiles anything but graceful — but now, as they nearly seemed to glide across the ocean floor, he felt foolish for not realizing the instinctive adjustments and calculations stiles was constantly making based on his surroundings. As they steered Luna across the testing ground, Derek felt his temples begin to thrum with an energy he hadn’t felt in years. Best of all, he knew Stiles felt it too — he could literally trace the path of his elation as it wrapped around Derek’s senses and amplified his own excitement.

“How are you doing?” Derek shouted across the rig. It wasn’t a question he needed to ask verbally, but he chose to anyway, knowing it would help ground them both in the present moment and prevent any stray thought spirals from taking over their link.

“So good, dude. This is — this is unreal,” Stiles replied, slicing through the air with his left arm to test the angle of the jaeger’s knuckle daggers.

Derek smiled. “Not exactly like the simulators, huh?”

“Nothing like the simulators, man. Holy shit.”

As they continued to acclimate to the drift, Derek took Stiles through a few more of Luna’s signature maneuvers. Stiles’ extensive research showed, and combined with the knowledge he and Derek now shared, the moves seemed to come naturally.

“Do you want some music?” He and Laura always played music when training, but he didn’t want Stiles to feel—

“That’s all I want right now, Derek.” Derek’s grin broadened as Stiles flicked through the controls hovering in front of him. A heavy bass line thrummed through the cabin, and Derek finally did what he never thought he would be able to again in his lifetime: he let his mind relax and free-fell into the drift.

***

Two hours after he and Stiles had eaten dinner and finally parted ways, Derek still couldn’t stop thinking about their drift.

That wasn’t unusual, all things considered — emotional transfer was common, especially for werewolves and especially during the first few drifts with a new partner.

Every time Derek thought about his connection with Stiles, though, and the experience of their emotions weaving together, his mind kept snagging in one place. It was a place that had struck Derek even during the high of the neural handshake, not because it felt odd or foreign, but because it felt hauntingly familiar — but looked ugly and sinister looming over someone else. 

It was anguish. It was a grief that had been doused in shame and set alight. It was a feeling of loss and self-loathing that made Derek feel like he was suffocating. It was exactly the way Derek had felt every day for years after the fire, and again after the accident. 

He had tried to explain it to Laura as dispassionately as possible all the times she chided him for blaming himself or expressing guilt over what happened to their family, but he never knew how to describe it until he experienced it through Stiles’ memories. It was sore, like a bruised rib, a persistent ache that radiated out from the point of impact and lingered at the edge of his consciousness. Distractions might be able to push away some of the pain, but as long as he kept breathing, it would always be there.

Derek hadn’t seen exactly where Stiles’ pain radiated from, but it seemed to shroud the memories of his mother especially strongly. Stiles told him she had been sick, though — why would he feel guilty about her death?

He sat up, his leg bouncing as he fidgeted absently with a hangnail. Since deciphering what that unexpected shared emotion reminded him of, Derek couldn’t stop thinking about it. This, he knew, was normal too — without an outlet, emotional transfer tended to create a feedback loop as a co-pilot bounced back and forth between their own memories and their partner’s. 

Before he could talk himself out of it, Derek shot up and strode to the door. It was late, almost midnight, and the full body experience of drifting had left Derek racked with fatigue. But — he just wanted to talk to Stiles. To be near him, again, as if it were a substitute for the feeling of absolute synchronicity they had just shared. It would only take a few minutes.

He was so distracted by his own jumbled thoughts that it took him a moment to register who stood just outside his door as he flung it open — it was Stiles, hand paused in mid-air.

“Stiles.” Very eloquent, Derek, he chided himself with an internal voice that sounded suspiciously like Laura.

“Oh— Well. Um. Hi.” Stiles gave a small wave before shoving his hand in his pocket. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were about to—“

“I was about to find you.”

Stiles paused. “Really?”

Derek stepped back, nodding toward the doorway. “Really. Do you want to come in?”

As he and Stiles stood facing each other silently, Derek scrambled for exactly what he wanted to say. Everything was so effortless when they were in the drift. Why was it so hard to find the words now?

To his relief, Stiles was the one who broke the silence. “Sorry, I’m sure you’re tired… I’m just kind of keyed up, I guess, and I couldn’t—“ Stiles ducked his head down. “I don’t know. I thought it might help to see you.”

“Don’t apologize. You have good instincts,” Derek assured him. “And I— I wanted to see you too,” he added, feeling the tips of his ears heat. 

He could almost feel Stiles’ sigh of relief in his own chest. “Can I sit?”

“Of course.” Derek scooped a discarded pile of clothes off his bed and gingerly sat down after Stiles, mindful of the careful space between them. “Are you feeling okay?”

Stiles’ eyebrows jumped. “Yeah, I feel fine, I really do, but I just feel… jumpy, I guess. Which is normal for me, but I can tell this is different. I don’t know how I know, but…” he trailed off, gesturing abstractly in front of him.

Derek nodded. “I know what you mean. You can’t really prepare for the drift until you’ve done it,” he said, remembering how disjointed he felt after his first few test runs. “But it gets easier,” he added.

Stiles shook his head. “I’m not worried about it. I trust you.” His eyes shot up to meet Derek’s, as if challenging him to dispute the steady, honest heartbeat behind his words. 

Derek was surprised to feel something behind his eyes sting at the pronouncement. He looked away from Stiles’ scrutinizing gaze, but he felt the other man’s eyes continue to study him. “I’m glad. I— that means a lot to me.”

Stiles nodded, remaining thoughtfully silent. Derek sensed he wanted to ask something, but wasn’t ready to admit it on his own.

“Is there anything I can do?” Derek asked gently, eyes seeking Stiles’ again.

Stiles looked pointedly away and bit at his thumbnail. “Um. It sounds stupid now. But I read… I read that physical contact can help,” he mumbled, so quickly Derek might not have caught it without his magnified hearing.

He realized Stiles’ admission may have felt embarrassing for a human, but for Derek, it was almost a relief. He reached forward slowly and cupped his hand over Stiles’ shoulder with a light squeeze. 

“It’s not stupid. You felt how intense the drift is. When you separate from a complete mental overlap, it can be disorienting. And you know how tactile wolves are — that makes it even harder for us, so you’re probably getting some of this from my own emotional bleed.” He didn’t miss the way Stiles melted into his touch, his whole body swaying into their point of contact.

Stiles nodded. “Yeah. That makes sense. Thanks,” his gaze flicked up to meet Derek’s.

“Do you—“ Derek didn’t really know how to ask for more contact. It came so naturally with other werewolves, so he’d never really had to think about it before. “I don’t want to touch you in a way you’re not comfortable with. But if you want to lay down, or you want me to lay down or…” He took a sharp, steadying breath. “I’m trying to say that I understand, and I think it will make us both feel better, and I’m fine with whatever level of contact you’re okay with.”

Stiles laughed, a bright and unexpected break in the tension. “Jesus. Listen to us. I feel ridiculous, but— Thank you. You’re very considerate.” He paused, expression drawing almost imperceptibly tighter. “I want that too, though. I want you to feel comfortable. If you’re not, if there’s anything I do— I promise I’ll ask, first, and if you can tell me, I want you to.” 

Derek felt a lump rise in his throat. Stiles’ words were sincere, but carefully chosen. He wasn’t sure how much of his own memories Stiles had observed, but it seemed to have been enough to understand that physical touch had once been a powerful weapon wielded against him.

“Thank you,” he answered quietly, before gently tugging at Stiles’ arm. “Here, lay down.”

The bed was barely wide enough for both of them to lay side by side, but it was just enough space for both men to settle on their backs with their elbows carefully layered between them. Derek hesitated for a moment before angling his head against Stiles’ neck. “Is this okay?”

Stiles hummed in agreement, the back of his hand flitting against Derek’s so softly he almost thought he imagined it. “This is perfect.” He inhaled deeply through his nose and tilted his head closer to Derek’s. They lay silently for a handful of minutes, and the rhythmic in-out of Stiles’ breathing nearly lulled Derek to sleep.

Suddenly, Derek felt Stiles still. “Why were you about to come look for me?”

Derek huffed. “I wanted to see you.”

“What, you had to check in on the rookie who can’t handle a drift?” Stiles’ tone was light, devoid of any real offense, and he jostled his shoulder gently against Derek’s.

“You did great. If anything, I— I hadn’t done it in so long, and Laura was my only co-pilot before you.” Derek frowned, remembering the heavy emotions of Stiles’ that had ensnared him earlier. He didn’t want to overwhelm Stiles, but he also wanted him to know that he both empathized with and thought highly of him. 

“I never thought I would get in a rig again,” Derek continued. “I don’t think I trusted myself enough. I carry… I carry a lot of guilt, Stiles. But when I thought about piloting with you, the guilt didn’t win. You’re the first person who’s been capable enough, smart enough, strong enough, that I didn’t have to worry.” 

Stiles didn’t respond at first, and a flash of panic seized Derek before he felt strong, warm fingers curl around his own.

“I won’t let you down,” Stiles said, his voice nearly a whisper and rough with emotion.

“I don’t think you could,” Derek whispered back, before he let his eyes slip shut and exhaustion overtake him.

***

When Derek awoke the next morning, he was startled — but it wasn’t in reaction to the way Stiles had draped himself over Derek in his sleep. Feeling Stiles’ arms around his waist felt oddly natural. The surprising part was how well he had slept — it was the first night of uninterrupted slumber he could remember having in months, if not longer.

***

yeah so... that’s all for now! if you read this, thanks and i hope you’re doing well!!! ❤️ 

#sterek #sterek fic #sterek pacific rim au #pacific rim au #my fic #tumblr fic

[littledemondani]

everything changes | duncan shepherd x fem!reader | part two

warnings: College Fuckboy!Duncan, semi-public smut, drinking, clubbing, reader being an all-around savage bitch, unprotected sex, unhealthy coping mechanisms. 

words: 2.2K

summary: You and your friends go clubbing to celebrate the start of the new semester, but what happens when Duncan ends up going to the same club as you?

a/n: Hey babes! This is the second part of my College Fuckboy!Duncan headcanons. This is also my first time writing smut. Also, big thank you to @wroteclassicaly for helping me with ideas for this. :D I really hope you all enjoy this, and I love y’all <3

part one

Thank you @ms-mead for this lovely moodboard <3 ily!

“Uhh, my name is Y/N actually.” You chuckled, trying desperately to keep your rage anxiety at bay. A million thoughts raced through your head at once that you didn’t even hear a thing Annette was saying to you. She excused herself and left to go do god knows what (you didn’t care, you just wanted to get the fuck out of there).

You got your phone from your clutch and send for an Uber. The last thing you want is to be stuck with Duncan for longer than you need to be. He hasn’t said a word to you. Nor has he so much as looked at you. Adding more fuel to the pent up rage you’re feeling. You decided to go outside and wait, knowing if you stay inside with him that you’re just going to lose your shit in front of everyone.

Once you reach the doorway you look behind you at Duncan one last time. He didn’t follow you, his utter shock keeping him from moving. His heart was thumping wildly in his chest as if at any moment it would burst out of him. He knew he had fucked up, severely fucked up. Still, he couldn’t find it in himself to follow you out and explain everything. 

He lifted his gaze from the floor to the doorway, locking in on your eyes. The look of betrayal and anguish on your face shattered him more than he’d like to admit. But as quickly as your eyes met, he turned away and walked off to go greet some acquaintances of his mother.

You felt your heart sink but knew what had to be done. This was it for you. No more putting up with Duncan and his bullshit. You opened the door and walked out of Duncan’s life, for good.

-

Summer vacation has come and gone - the beginning was spent crying over Duncan. For two weeks you waited for a call or text from him, heart jumping each time your phone rang. But nothing ever came. 

You can’t say you were surprised, especially not after the way he acted at the party. “Duncan Shepherd doesn’t chase after girls” had been a rumor you heard one day while waiting for class to start. It was true though: he didn’t chase after girls - they chased after him.

‘Not me,’ you thought to yourself. You were done with trying to figure Duncan out, done with crying yourself to sleep, done with wondering what the fuck you did wrong (which was nothing, of course). So you sought out to rid Duncan of your mind, and it worked.

The late summer nights were filled with drinking until you couldn’t feel anymore, getting lost in the embrace of another person, and waking up with a pounding headache that lasted all day. 

Maybe it wasn’t the healthiest way - but it got the job done. You soon forgot all about Duncan Shepherd and his fuckboy ways. Until it was time to head back to D.C. for a new semester. Then the memory of that handsome face asshole hit you like a ton of bricks.

Now here you are, back in D.C., and getting ready to go out to a club with your roommates to celebrate the end of your first week back. Anxiety flooded your veins at the thought of Duncan possibly being there with his frat brothers. But with the help of your roomies, and about 5 shots of tequila, that fear dissipated.

You were wearing a short form-fitting black dress, black Louboutin heels (yes..the ones Duncan got you), and a dainty necklace. After straightening your hair you put on your makeup. You looked over yourself one last time in the mirror, making sure every hair was in place and your makeup was perfect.

-

The club was filled with a bunch of sweaty college students, some drunk, some high, some both. You were on your 4th vodka cranberry, the drink making you feel fuzzy and carefree.

Your roommate invited her boyfriend and his friends, one of them being a guy you had taken some interest in as the night progressed. He was tall, but not too tall, with short brown hair, lean muscle, and pretty green eyes. 

Maybe it was your carefree attitude since leaving Duncan or your inebriated state of mind (let’s go with that one) that had you pulling whatshisname to some semi-secluded area near the restrooms. He was just looking too good and had been whispering dirty things in your ear as you danced with him, causing arousal to pool in your panties.

You pulled him in for a kiss, full of need with your tongues fighting for dominance. He walked you until your back hit the wall, running his hands down over your ass - squeezing - then stopping at the back of your thighs. Your hand snaking down to palm at his semi-hard cock, eliciting a small groan from him. 

“Jump,” he orders, lifting you with ease. You wrap your legs around his waist, bringing him in for another kiss.

“You’re not afraid of someone seeing us?” he asks while unzipping his pants and pulling out his cock.

“Just shut up and fuck me already.” 

Without hesitation, he pulls your lacy thong to the side and slowly eases himself into your tight, wet cunt. You let out a breathy moan, his girth stretching you deliciously. 

He rocked into you until he bottomed out completely, allowing you a moment to adjust to him. You grabbed the nape of his hair and tugged harshly, “I said, fuck me already.” a hint of venom laced in your voice.

You didn’t want him to be nice to you, you wanted him to use you. To fuck you like you meant nothing to him because he meant nothing to you. He was just a distraction, another person in your fucked up way of coping with the loss of Duncan.

He chuckled, “If that’s what you want-” he snapped his hips into you with brutal force, “then that’s what you’ll get.”

The pace he set was harsh and unrelenting. You loved every second of it, the way the head of his cock hit your most sensitive spot, the way your back was being pushed into the hard tile wall, the way your legs burned from clinging to him like your life depended on it, his bruising grip on your ass.

Your head was thrown back against the wall, hips snapping to meet his harsh thrusts, eyes closed in total bliss. You could feel the pressure building in the pit of your stomach, that familiar warmth spreading throughout your body.

You leaned forward and wrapped your arms around his neck, finally opening your eyes - when you saw him. Standing by the doorway of the men’s room, and watching you like a hawk, was Duncan Shepherd. You let out a loud, broken whine that came out more like a moan. 

“What the fuck?!” your train of thought actually leaving your mouth. This can’t be happening. You closed your eyes, thinking if you open them he’ll be gone, he’s just a figment of your drunk imagination. 

You open your eyes again, but no, he’s still standing there. Looking every bit the same as the last time you saw him. His hair perfectly styled, wearing his signature black leather jacket, dark jeans, and a black shirt. You let out another broken moan, pussy involuntarily clenching at the sight of him.

“Mmm, you gonna cum for me, doll? Cum all over my cock?” you ignored whatshisname, the only thing mattering to you at this moment was Duncan standing not very far from you, still watching you.

If he’s just going to stand there and watch, then you were definitely going to give him a show. You finally lock eyes with him, seeing the look of hurt (?) deep in his eyes...even better. 

You grab onto the back of whatshisname's hair, using it as leverage to help you bounce harder on his length. You moaned extra loud, wanting Duncan to hear you rather than just see you.

Each buck of your hips, every moan leaving your pretty mouth, was a knife twist in Duncan’s stomach. He couldn’t believe what the fuck was happening. How had he not noticed you before he went into the restroom? And are those the heels he bought you? 

It takes everything inside of him not to walk over to you and punch that guy in the face. But what would that do? Make you hate him even more than you already do? He knew there was nothing he could say or do at this moment, and it fucking killed him. 

It killed him to see you with another guy, much less fucking another guy - having someone else draw out those sexy moans and whimpers he loved hearing. Having another guy feel the way your cunt clenches and flutters when you're about to cum, it was all too much for him. 

Yet he couldn’t look away.

The way Duncan’s eyes bore into yours, like daggers, sent a fresh wave of arousal through you. This entire ordeal was something you found to be... exhilarating. You weren’t one to actively seek revenge - but this sure did feel fucking good, and you were getting off on it.

You weren’t going to last long, your orgasm fastly approaching. You turned your head slightly so your lips were near whatshisname’s ear, eyes never leaving Duncan’s, and whispering, “I’m g-gonna cum. I want you to cum inside me.” It was like your words flipped a switch in him, sending him into a frenzy.

His already bruising grip on your ass became even harder, thrusting up into you with such force you knew you wouldn’t be able to sit, much less walk after. Your moans turned into screams and legs shaking around him as your violent orgasm ripped through you.

A few more thrusts and his cum painted your walls. You stayed connected to each other for a bit, both trying to regulate your breathing. He moved to set you down, making sure you were okay to stand. You adjusted your thong and dress - looking up to find that Duncan had left from where he had been standing.

A tiny pang of disappointment (?) hit you. You had hoped that maybe Duncan would still be there, that you’d be able to rub it in his face even more that you were doing fine without him. Your thoughts were interrupted by whatshisname taking your hand in his and pulling you back towards your friends.

-

Several drinks later you found yourself back on the dancefloor with whatshisname. Your hips swaying to the beat of the song and his hands roaming all over your body. You turned around to have your back against his chest, your ass rolling against him.

And - for the second time that night, you caught sight of Duncan Shepherd. He was sitting in the VIP section of the club (of course) laughing with his frat brothers and some girls. One of them practically sitting in his lap.

Bitch.

Duncan was trying to have a good time. Trying to force the image of you fucking another guy to the back of his mind. Tried to let the girl practically throwing herself at him distract him from the clusterfuck of emotions running through him. Tried to drown his thoughts in alcohol in hopes that they would stop screaming at him. 

“Hey Dunc, isn’t that Y/N?” one of his frat brothers called out, pointing you out on the dancefloor. He turned his gaze to where his friend was looking, seeing you dancing seductively with your date. Without thinking he stood up and marched his way over to you. Ignoring the others telling him to stop and it was a bad idea. 

He wasn’t sure what he was going to do once he got to you. Wasn’t sure what he should say, or if he should say anything at all. He contemplated turning back but decided against it. He needed you to know how he felt, how he truly felt.

No more hiding.

Once he got to where you were, he grabbed you by the wrist and pulled you off the dancefloor. With the anger evident on his face you couldn’t help but start laughing. Was he actually serious? After everything, he put you through, and now he’s the one who’s angry? It was hilarious to you - even in your drunken state of mind.

Your laughter only made Duncan angrier. Pushing you up against a wall and trapping you by placing both hands on the side of your head. “You think this is funny, Y/N?” his voice seething. Nostrils flaring from how pissed off he was. 

You couldn’t help but think he was still fucking hot, even when he was mad. You also couldn’t help the arousal it sent through your body. Or the shiver it sent down your spine.

“Yeah, I do actually. Now if you don’t mind-” you move so you could leave, but Duncan pushed you back into the wall. “I’m not done talking to you. I don’t know what you see in that guy. He can’t fuck you like I can, make you cum like I can. He probably didn’t even make you cum at all.” he taunts while playing with a strand of your hair.

If you weren’t pissed off before - you were fucking pissed now. “He did make me cum. I can feel it between my thighs, wanna see?” you say with a smile. Duncan’s face dropped, which didn’t go unnoticed by you. “Didn’t think so, now get the fuck out of my way, Duncan.” you give him the nastiest glare you can muster up and push him off of you, walking back towards your date and your friends.

And Duncan stood there, head hanging low. Cursing himself for talking to you the way he did, for letting his anger get in the way of what he was really trying to do. But there was nothing he could do about it now. No way for him to come back from that. At least not right at that moment. 

For the last time - Duncan Shepherd lets you walk away from him.

-

Tags: @avesatanormalpeoplescareme @fckinsupreme @lovelylangdonx @wroteclassicaly @svjourn @hecohansen31 @ms-mead @your-daddy-langdon @delgrey

#duncan shepherd x reader #college fuckboy!duncan #house of cards #duncan shepherd #y'all this is trash but i wanted to post it anyways #take my hot garbage #take it now #dani's writing

[noonmutter]

Adventures in D&D part 6

- Party just woke up for the day and is headed out to the temple of Gond because they helped get a special material component for a new kind of weapon, and they want to witness the testing

- Right when they get there a dude in a cloak on horseback t-bones the paladin and party cleric says “HE’S GOT BLUEPRINTS”

- Paladin goes tearing off after him because paladin is a paladin of Gond and boy is she pissed off

- I go “can I cast Hold Person” because range is a thing and I genuinely don’t know how far away dude is yet

- DM says “...yes” after grumbling that he hasn’t statted anything out for the NPC

- Turns out this was supposed to be largely cinematic and my crowd-controlling ass just totally screwed that over but in my defense I asked and the DM said yes so really him bothering to roll a wisdom stat for the NPC and getting a 3 is his fault not mine

- Naturally the NPC fails the save and falls off the horse the instant it changes direction

- Commence the befuckening once party caught up with him, initiatives are rolled

- DM laughs triumphantly and says “He nat 20′d! He’s up!”

- Two more party members have their turns

- Mine’s up

- “I cast hold person again”

- “...you asshole”

- Fight ends very shortly after that because the party isn’t willing to totally murder the dude while he’s paralyzed

- They start interrogating him on the street

- He breaks the hold person again but whoop-de-doo he’s surrounded and on the ground

- Eventually starts messing about with a poison tooth

- Other party members go to stop him

- I go “Hey DM?”

- “...yes?”

- “I cast Hold Person again.”

- Long silence

- DM’s mic is open and we all hear thumping, I assume either his head or his hand beating his desk, and he eventually posts a screenshot of the NPC’s roll

- Even at advantage, he rolled a 1 both times

(I’m pretty sure this was the moment where I could officially call myself a Real Bard)

- “I fucking hate you”

- “YOU COULD’VE SAID NO AT ANY TIME”

- Anyway brosef is a prisoner of the Temple of Gond now and the DM is grumbling that as “punishment” we don’t get to see a really cool thing happen when the dude made his escape, to which I keep reminding him he allowed me to fuck up his plan and he can’t be mad at us for it

- Cleric casts zone of truth on the prisoner. It manages to affect two party members--Dumat included--and nobody else. Dumat knows this and sits down to hold his mouth shut and sulk

- Cleric then leaves the temple because he’s pretty sure the party’s going to torture the prisoner and he can’t participate or witness it but he doesn’t see an alternative

- By the way it’s important to mention that Dumat got ahold of Yeehaw’s Rootie Tootie Point n’ Shooty a while ago, which is a crossbow with a special ability that functionally allows him to shotgun a cone with it, but also is cursed and causes the user to grow a mullet, speak in a southern drawl, and not be able to put the crossbow down

- This was a funny gimmick for about 20 minutes before Sage Got Bored and started adding rules (after running them by the DM first)--like having to roll wisdom saves to not engage in “Hold My Beer” moments

- He has several saves to make before and during the interrogation of their prisoner

- He succeeds beautifully at all of them which is frustrating the shit out of me and the DM

- When he finally starts failing them, it’s a fuckin’ cascade of failures that result in things like shooting the restrained prisoner in the foot and then twisting the crossbow bolt around while saying shit like “Right about now I’d be tellin’ ya ta dance, but, well, that ain’t gonna work out so hot is it?” and responding to ‘I don’t fear death’ with “Well then we’ll just have to make sure y’don’t die now, won’t we?,” shooting at the Paladin--and later the cleric--when they say they should get that crossbow away from him, and shooting at the cleric because he’s being boring while reading from a holy book

- Eventually, during the torture parts, the cleric and paladin realize at about the same time that Dumat is not actually insane (the paladin remembered at the last minute that Zone of Truth was on Dumat and he wasn’t lying about the shit he was saying to this poor bastard, the cleric was just super upset by all the screaming) but is in fact possessed

- While the Paladin and Cleric are figuring out how to fix this, I go to the DM and say: “I demand that one of them be forced to a showdown in order to break the curse properly, in the "high noon" sense, Ready? DRAW! That”

- DM is On Fucking Board for this, party starts doing exorcism mumbo-jumbo, eventually Dumat’s bound body drops the crossbow and a smoky hand crawls out of it, eventually forming into the ghostly shape of a motherfucking cowboy followed by ethereal whistling of the intro notes for The Good, The Bad, And the Ugly theme

- I exclaim in voice chat OH MY GOD I HAVE ART FOR THIS and go digging through my old drawings, then produce:

- Voiced by me doing my best Frank Welker impression in a cowboy drawl, Original Character Do Not Steal (seriously though Buck is mine and I drew this in 2005, as the signature says)

- First time I open my mouth another party member goes “holy shit” and I feel warm inside

- The party actually tries to convince him to work for them and offers to let him take the body of the prisoner instead and offers him gold and stuff, to which he responds kinda like Izzy from The Mummy: 2, all “d’you think I can walk into a store and buy shit?”

- A conversation between the cleric (who insults his hat and has talking privileges revoked), paladin, and the demon who introduces himself as Buck eventually comes down to him proposing a duel for ownership of Dumat’s body, and the party rogue--who’s only been with the party for like two ingame days at this point--cheerfully agrees to be their shooter

- Back-to-back, ten paces, turn, fire (contested attack rolls)

- Duel ends like this:

"As Conny turns and fires, so does Buck. Time stands still--literally--as the twang of two crossbows fills the hall. For a moment, there's a faint ethereal sheen over Buck's crossbow, some kind of metallic cylinder. And the twang is not a twang, but a CRACK. Buck stands tall, longcoat whipping gently in a nonexistent breeze... as Conny feels a bolt enter her shoulder."

- Victorious, Buck turns to take Dumat and Shit Goes Down as the cleric steps in and casts spiritual guardians and good fucking christ this party is lucky they had two holy types who could do radiant damage because he takes a beating before he goes down

- Last thing he says before he dissipates into the ether is directed to the rogue (Conny), the paladin, and the wizard (the firebug): “See you in hell, little girls--wear somethin’ nasty”

- Crossbow drops to the ground and turns black like it’s been set on fire and allowed to cool, is promptly picked up by some acolytes with pole-hooks and put into a heavy box that the paladin is keeping close by

- I drink more fluids than you can possibly imagine for roughly an hour and a half and DMed a whole scenario because I thought it’d be cool

- I accidentally a Recurring Villain

- yay but what have i done

#dnd #dumat

[maddgarbagemonkey]

I Just Saw the Wicked 2019 Touring Cast and Boy Howdy, am I excited to Rant! (All Good things!)

There's a lot so buckle up your seatbealts!

So, first off, this was my first time seeing the show *cough cough* legally *cough* and I was amazed.

I instantly fell in love with the big metal dragon and nearly screamed when it moved and started blowing smoke out of its nose, as my Grandpa lied and told me, even though he's seen it 4 times, that the dragon was just decoration.

I love that the first solid 5 minutes of the show are just winged monkeys running around on the stage and looking concerned at one another before the opening number starts.

Glinda, played by Erin Mackey, was my WIFE.

During her first speaking part of "No one Mourns the Wicked," she got stuck on her big metal bubble and the ensemble had to crowd around her to help her get off, which, because coming off of the bubble was her cue to continue, led to a really long silence. But it kinda fit and showed that she hesitated to celebrate Elphaba's death so yeah! I just thought it was adorable and I admire how she was able to turn it into a cool window into her character!

When Elphaba, played by Mariand Torres, entered we all screamed for a solid 3 minutes and, after seeing her performance, she deserved a solid 8 more. I loved her so much!

I loved her early performance of Elphaba at Shiz because she played her as an angry little bean that snapped at everyone and everything instead of just shy and quiet and it worked so well, especially with how overprotective she was of Nyssa.

A girl literally faints upon seeing Elphaba and I can relate cause she was SO PRETTY!

Mariand's "Wizard and I" was so powerful and emotional at the same time I just wanted to pick her up and keep her! <3

THE 👏 GLINDA 👏 AND 👏 ELPHABA👏 HEIGHT👏 DIFFERENCE!

Usually you see Elphaba portrayed as tall while Glinda is shorter but, because Mariand was a tiny angel and Erin was a tall goddess who literally towered over Fierro without heels, it was quite the opposite and I l o v e d every second of "What is this Feeling" because of it.

I would die for tiny little ball of angry Elphaba and Tall, regal, princess Glinda holding her back from fighting everyone who dares look at them funny and you can pry them out of my cold dead hands.

Mariand did the thing where she mimicked Glinda for the "Your Voice" line and made it extra squeaky and I died.

She also, whenever Glinda had her back turned, copied her with a stupid little kicking dance and tossed her hair way too frantically and I fell in love.

For the "boo", Elphaba had to look directly up and jump at Glinda because she was so short and I squealed

Oh my God. C U R T. H A N S E N. This man was in Big Time Rush and I can not picture Fierro's entrance without the theme song ever again. (Bruh, Chill)

His choreo also had some "not-so-subtle" scarecrow like poses and taps.

Dude, he played him as such a snotty little twink and I loved it! He almost knocked down the statue in the center like eight times during "Dancing Through Life!"

His mic also made him sound like he was under water for a total of one (1) line and I snorted.

Nyssa, (sorry Mili Diaz, you were incredible and I love you,) Please exit my server.

Glinda made at least 16 Tik Tok references and I know, it's not towards the app because duh, but I'm still very conflicted.

Elphaba was S O mad at the scene with Dr. Dillamond I was so proud and in love!

E L P H A B A ' S D A N C E!

It was so good and pure and when Glinda joined she made it look so graceful!

And Elphaba looked very doubtful at first but then she looked around at everyone doing her dance and back at Glinda and she had the biggest smile on her face and tears in her eyes because she was accepted for something and it was beautiful!

Only Boc's mic was really working at this part so the "Let's DAAAANCE" reverberated deeply into my soul and stayed there for a really long time.

Popular was superb and I literally cried.

Literally.

When Erin got out of breath, she fell on the floor and just layed there for 16 counts breathing really heavily into the mic. Pure Poetry

Glinda suffocated Elphaba with hugs to her throat and swung her around like a rag doll while she just glared angry and helpless.

During "Don't Make me laugh" Glinda pushed her hand into Elphaba's face and gently and slowly set her back on her bed and if that ain't the biggest mood.

So many kicks and giggles I LOVE ERIN MACKEY!

When Glinda fell into Elphaba's arms crying after Fierro ran away at the train scene she took up half of her body and I just needed to write that out.

The egg-like Emerald City suits without arms that extended their necks and twirled them like lassos. Need I say more?

Elphaba's teary smile at "Finally, no one's looking or staring at me!" And then Glinda takes off her glasses and grabs her hand saying that she looked as beautiful as an emerald and... A C K

Upon meeting the scary robo wizard, Glinda got scared and tried to hide her 5'9 body behind little 5'1 Elphie and she looked so protective and ready to throw down I loved it!

Monkeys. Monkeys. Monkeys.

"Let her go! It's not her that you want! Its ME!" She sounded so powerful and angry I would die for her.

The part where Elphaba's begging Glinda to go with her but she's too focused on the fact that she's shaking and ties that spooky cape around her shoulders.

Mariand's "Defying Gravity" was so strong and beautiful with all of her God-tier belts and riffs I could not stop smiling and when she finally flies I yelped because you always hear about how cool it is and looks but then you really S E E it and it's beyond words! I had to do nothing and breathe for a second afterwards to find my bearings!

I loved Erin's "Thank Goodness" a lot. She poured a lot of emotion and beautiful vocals into it and just... god, she's gorgeous!

At the part where Elphaba appeared in the closet in Nyssa's office and the mirror became see through I heard a kid behind me exclaim "Zoo Wee Mama" and I won't be the same.

I don't remember Nyssa being so horrible but... *shrug* She gets it from her Dad I guess.

I love that Boc's reaction to finding out Nyssa can walk is just, "oh, good! Now you can work on this whole walking thing and get tf away from me! This worked out perfectly!" Same, boi.

I loved! LOVED! Nyssa Rose's song with a passion and the way her words get all twisted and angry literally talking about how she's going to rip Boc's heart out for leaving her and it gave me a good amount of spooks.

"Don't say I'm beautiful. You don't need to lie to me." B A B Y

"My Family has a Castle! No one lives there or will see us besides the guards!" "Where do you live, now?" "... The other castle." Oh sweetie.

Glinda, you deserve so much more than scarecrow boy and I would die for you!

Elphaba's voice drops at least 8 octaves during her line in "As long as Your Mine" The "For the first time I feel...

Wicked

I have never been more physically and emotionally attracted to a green lady Other than Princess Fiona

Also, there was so much smoke during that song that I could hear some Orchestra members cough.

During that scene with Elphaba's and Glinda's argument at Nyssa's "Funeral", while preparing to fight Glinda twirls her wand and strikes at Elphie like she came out of the Karate Kid.

Elphaba's witch laugh after Glinda slaps her followed by the most serious "Feel Better?"

Both Fierro and Glinda yell at Elphaba to leave before she gets hurt and I feel things because of that.

While Fierro is fake/real threatening Glinda with a gun, she just tearfully shakes her head in a silent plea and he INSTANTLY drops his gun. I love 'em

The way Glinda's "Fierro" melts into Elphaba's "FIERRROOO!" Love.

"No Good Deed" will always be my favorite song. ITS SO GOOD! Mariand's voice was incredible and her riffs and belts added so much!

During Elphaba's little "let all of OZ be agreed I'm wicked through and through," she makes her voice all scary and raspy, but it melts back into her own voice and beautiful despair at "since I can not succeed, Fierro saving you!"

NO GOOD DEED! 10/10 LOTSA SMOKE

March of the Witch hunters always has and will give me chills. Nothing more to say. Just one good bop.

This is the part where I cry too much.

"For Good" was gorgeous and I cried. A lot. A lot.

Elphaba kisses Glinda's hands and wipes her tears away.

Glinda runs her hands across and straightens Elphaba's hat and OH MY GOD!

It hurts how frantically Elphaba hides Glinda to protect her! Side note, I would also die for Chistery.

At their final moments together, Elphaba blows Glinda a kiss and then proceeds to get "murdered" in a really cool way by Dorthy.

Glinda's "Elphie!?" Is so tragic and panicked I was struggling to make it through, and then she grabbed her hat and cried into it and I was long gone.

Fierro adopts spooky Scarecrow movements at the end which I think is really cool and he also mimics Elphaba's "Don't lie to me!" Line.

Before Elphaba leaves, she becomes entranced by Glinda's beautiful singing, like she's thinking of telling her she's okay, but then she turns around and walks through the door with Fierro.

The last thing we see of Elphaba is her wearing her signature hat and walking into dust with Fierro. The last thing we see of Glinda is her sobbing into Elphaba's book in her bubble.

In conclusion, IM NOT OKAY!

Nah, Fam! But seriously! Mariand and Erin's vocals and performances were to die for! It succeeded my wildest expectations! I had so much fun and would 100% recommend seeing the show if you haven't seen it or want to see it a 19th time. Both are just as valid. :)

#wicked #wicked 2019 #glinda upland #elphaba #wicked the musical #musicals #fierro #wizard of oz #erin mackey #mariand torres #glinda the good #elphaba x glinda #glinda wicked #wicked witch #curt hansen #musicals 2019

[bernuviels-inspiration]

Mike Shinoda's show in Zurich, 17. March 2019

I had the amazing chance to attend one of Mike’s concerts of the last Post Traumatic Tour. And it was absolutely awesome!

You can read all about my little adventure under the cut. It’s pretty long though. xD

I was very surprised when Mike announced a show in Switzerland, since we did pretty bad in the „WeDemand“ campaign and I barely knew any other Swiss fans. But I was so grateful and excited – Zurich is only about 20km from my home! In order to help make the show a success I founded a Facebook group for it. On show day we had 90 members! I had also joined the Linkin Park Street Team a while ago and they sent me some posters to put up. And I printed 1'000 flyers and distributed them around Zurich with some friends from the group. I met so many nice people from all over the world thanks to that group: Finland, Denmark, Brazil, Spain, USA, etc. And even finally some fellow Swiss fans! We planned flash mobs, painted a flag and even had a little meet up the day before the show. It was so much fun! Thank you LP Family, I love you all dearly. <3

Since I'm an LPU member, I tried my luck with the Meet & Greet contest again. And as usual when it comes to random, luck-based things, I had none. But there was another contest by the host of the event. They wanted us to tell them, why we deserve to win a Meet & Greet. Both of my sisters wrote beautiful, heartwarming comments about my commitment with the FB group and advertising, but also how I coped with Chester's death by drawing all those LP artworks and how much this band (and especially Mike) mean to me. Even complete strangers said, that they think I deserve it most. That moved me to tears! At first the tickets were given away to someone else. But one of the winners got ill and asked the host to give the ticket to someone who really wants it. And they chose me! I couldn't believe it! That was so nice of all of them. Thank you so much. <3 And so the most incredible thing happened: I got to meet my hero! The 16 lucky winners were taken into the cool London bus of a local radio station. There we all got to meet Mike one by one. It was awesome, but unfortunately also very brief. Everything happened so fast, that I didn't really have time to realize what was going on. I just remember that the first thought that went through my head when I stood in front of him was: “He is so CUTE!”. I mean, I knew that before, but he's even more adorable in real life and up close. xD I was very nervous and probably talked too much, which is very unlike me. But I could finally give Mike the Post Traumatic artwork I drew for him, which means my biggest dream came true. And he signed the second one for me. In the picture it looks as if he wanted to say something about it, but couldn't because I was blabbering too much – damn! I'm so sorry, Mike. Oh, and the hat was a gift to him from one of my friends from the group. I almost started laughing, when I realized he wore a jacket with the exact same pattern – that's so Mike! And also yay, free fluff. :D

After the Meet & Greet we were even allowed to go into the venue first! That meant front row! I've never been that close to a stage before and was super excited about it. I'm usually not the “front row type”, since I'm quite reluctant and shy. While waiting there, I saw a crew member put our Swiss flag onto Matt's keyboard. I texted the girl, who painted it and she was super happy about it. We succeeded with getting the flag to the crew through the M&G – I was damn proud of us! xD Then the “opening act” started. Well, it was more of a last minute stand in, since the original one (a local rapper) got canceled without any explanation. And so a young “DJ” was hiding behind his laptop, playing one song after another without doing any DJ-ing. They could have just turned the radio on, but it was okay. We weren't there for him anyway. And finally, showtime! Mike, Matt and Dan entered the stage with lots of applause from the crowd. They even started the set with a song that hasn't opened any sets on this tour before: When They Come For Me. I love this song, it's so much fun! I was just hoping that my parents, who I talked into coming to the show too (yes, I did that with everyone I knew xD), didn't catch a certain word. I didn't want them to think badly of Mike. xD Following was the probably most well-known (at least in Switzerland) Fort Minor song Remember The Name, also unusually early in the set. Then Mike took the first little break and welcomed the audience. That was our signal for the first flash mob! It was a very spontaneous one, inspired by a certain video, he has uploaded just a few days prior. The front row was shouting: More cowbell! Mike started laughing and walked over to Dan, who indeed had a cowbell on his drum set. Mike said “Just for you guys.” and played a hilarious cowbell intro to Ghosts, which is a kinda funny song anyway, thanks to the sock puppets. I was so happy: Another success and we even made Mike laugh! :D

Next Mike talked about a tweet from the same day, where someone was analyzing the chances of a song being played in his set. He doesn't like to be predictable, so he decided to screw up the statistics and play some extra rare songs tonight. Thank you, spreadsheet guy! xD The first song that came from this, was the hilariously sarcastic High Road. It's in my Top 3 FM songs and funnily enough, he played it last year in Cologne too – one of only 5 times on the tour! The following song had a high chance of being played and I love it very much: The emotional Roads Untraveled. During the “and if you need a friend, there's a seat here alongside me”, Mike pointed at the crowd again. That's just so nice of him! Then Mike played something super rare again, it was actually even a tour debut: Kenji! I know how much this song about the tragic history of his family means to Mike, so it was a great honor to hear it live. Some fans (including me) even made the peace sign at the end of the song, like he used to. That was really moving. And he continued with songs I love dearly, starting with the PT bonus track Prove You Wrong. Even though the melody sounds kinda sad, there is something so uplifting in those lyrics. Mike also put it into his Instagram stories and you can actually see me singing along. I sang every song as loud as I could, forgetting about my shyness for a while. It was amazing! The next song in the set was the only one that got me emotional in a negative way (but only for a second). I was prepared for In The End and his speech, but I was not prepared for Nobody Can Save Me. For a moment I was back on July 20th, sitting in the darkness of my room and singing along to the One More Light album while crying. Luckily I managed to snap out of that quickly, because I actually love this song. It's one of the best Linkin Park has ever written, in my opinion, because it has such a great message. Nobody can save us – only we ourselves can. And Mike sang so beautifully... What an honor to hear that live! Another OML song followed (luckily not OML itself, I just can't take that one): Sorry For Now. Dan played an amazing drum solo in the bridge and Mike added the demo verse of Lift Off afterwards. He then even rapped the chorus of Step Up, a super rare and old LP song! (I could tell, because barely anybody knew the answer to “Who can rock a rhyme like this?” - I swear I shouted “Like this!” as loud as I could. xD) I love Step Up! Especially in the amazing rock-hip hop medley with Nobody's Listening and It's Going Down, that LP used to play in the Meteora days. Mike then also introduced Dan, who got a lot of applause from the crowd. Later he also introduced Matt, by asking him since when he's even been there. Matt answered: “The entire tour, but sometimes I take bathroom breaks.”, which resulted in Mike laughing about his British accent. These dorks! There was also another crew member, that Mike introduced to us: Photographer Chady. Some Swiss friends of his had invited Mike to eat Raclette (melted cheese that you usually put on potatoes, pickles and pearl onions – it's very tasty!). Mike joked that eating lots of cheese before a show is really good for you. xD The set continued with PTs lead single Crossing A Line, which inspired my artwork. I just love how hopeful it is. During the song, Mike threw some guitar picks into the crowd. I wasn't trying to catch anything, since I already had that awesome signature and thought other fans deserved it more. But I guess Mike had other plans... During the bridge of the song he plays on his drum pads for a moment and then throws the sticks into the crowd blindly. Well, he tried to kill me with it! xD (Luckily I put the phone away, just a moment before the drumstick hit my hand. Damned it Mike, that hurt! xD)

He then played another PT song, which I love dearly: Hold It Together. The lyrics are pretty dark, but there is something very fun about the melody. The first mashup followed: Waiting For The End / Where'd You Go. The crowd's singing sounded amazing, especially in the outro, which is a piano version of WFTEs first verse and chorus. Mike praised us: “You guys have beautiful voices. You should sing more often, it's good for you.” Matt and Dan left the stage and Mike started this calm piano playing and speech. Time for our second flash mob! We held up signs that said: “Music Inspiration Kindness Emotion”. This time there were even more signs than for the first one. (I spent quite some time inviting every fan to join our flash mob before the show and handing out the signs I designed.) Mike noticed them, curiously asking “What are those?” Then he realized it: “That's my name! That's very kind. Thank you guys very much, that's cool.“ He seemed so happy and both of our flash mobs were a success! He then continued with his speech, saying that he doesn't want these shows to be sad, but to celebrate Chester's life instead. The crowd cheered very loudly for Chester for several minutes! And then we all sang the beautiful piano version of In The End together. After that, Mike asked us if we wanted to sing another song. Is that even a question?! xD He started to play Heavy, but stopped before the singing part, because he thought the crowd would want another song more. I already got worried during the show and it really hurt me, when I saw all the hate the Swiss crowd got on social media from people who weren't even there... As if we wouldn't know the words to Heavy... It's the most played LP song on the Swiss radio! We would have loved to sing it! (Me especially, because my father was in the crowd and he really likes that song.) But Mike decided that Numb would be a better fit, maybe even to not make everyone too sad. Numb is my favorite Linkin Park song, because it's the one that made me fall in love with the band in the first place. And it was awesome to sing it with so many people. The Swiss crowd did a great job! Video: In The End & Numb (with Mike's speech & reaction to the second flash mob) They closed the main set with my favorite medley of the tour: About You / Over Again / Papercut. Even though it reminds me a lot of Chester (About You & Over Again are the PT songs that are most about him) and it's really painful to see Mike perform Papercut's bridge alone, I could also enjoy it. Everyone was jumping around and shouting during Papercut. That song is just so great! Mike, Matt and Dan then left the stage for the encore break. The crowd started to sing “lift me up, let me go”, but not as loud as in Italy a few days before. We are just a generally reluctant nation. The hall also wasn't as full as I hoped it would be. There were probably around 2'000 people. Hopefully we did well enough for Mike to want to come back to Switzerland. After a few minutes, Mike, Matt and Dan sneaked back on stage, hiding behind their instruments. As if we wouldn't notice them anyway! Such dorks. xD They played a beautiful instrumental version of Robot Boy, which really let their skills and teamwork shine. It's so sad to think that this is the last Post Traumatic tour. Matt and Dan have really grown on me and it's hard to see them leave. Mike then sang a beautiful PT song I haven't heard live before and that wasn't even originally planned: World's On Fire. I know he wrote it for his wife Anna (and his kids), who is a wonderful person too, but it was as if the crowd was singing it for Mike. It's true, when the world's on fire, all we need is him. I'm so grateful that he shared PT with us! He led us all through the grief and darkness that followed Chester's death. And that night it was obvious, that we are in a much better place now. Following was the beautiful, consoling Castle Of Glass, one of my favorite LP songs. And then they played the second PT single Make It Up As I Go. Such an amazing song and it always reminds me of those hilarious moth memes. xD Mike encouraged us to sing his part of the chorus while directly looking at me. I was singing my heart out! He smiled and shouted “yeah!” That was an awesome moment. I rarely felt so appreciated like on that day, not just by Mike but also by the other fans. The last mashup followed: Good Goodbye / Bleed It Out (including a drunken pirate who wanted to give Mike a kiss xD) and the crowd went wild! For Running From My Shadow, the last song of the set, Mike came down to the crowd as he always does. He stood on the barricade just about two meters away from me. It was great to see him have so much fun up close! Afterwards he high-fived the front row (including me :D) and returned to the stage. He smashed one of Dan's cymbals until the end of the song and then soaked us in water. When Mike left the stage, he stopped at our Swiss flag and blew it a kiss. I loved seeing that, because it gave me hope that we didn't disappoint him and he might come back someday.

I still can't believe all of this actually happened! I made new friends from all over the world. I met my hero and finally got to give him my artwork. I got to spend the entire show in front row, super close to Mike. They played so many amazing songs and had so much fun. The flash mobs worked out and our flag made it on stage. All my hard work payed off. I really enjoyed this concert, it was a once in a lifetime experience. Thank you so much, everyone! I hope I'll see you all again soon. ;)

#mike shinoda #post traumatic tour #fan report #fan review #zurich #switzerland

[douxreviews]

Star Trek: Discovery - ‘Project Daedalus’ Review

Spock: "We will never relate as equals, so long as you continue to pretend that every burden is your own."

By nature I love brevity: A very good episode taken by itself, but in the context of the larger show it both highlights and compounds one of the show's major issues, and the episode's impact suffers for it.

I complain a lot in my reviews of Star Trek: Enterprise that the only characters who get developed nearly enough are Archer, Trip, and T'Pol. From the amount of development the others get, particularly in the first two seasons, one might even assume that they weren't main characters at all, and were simply part of the background. In most episodes, they get one or two lines each, mostly in the regular performance of their duties aboard the ship. Sound familiar? While Discovery may not have the same problem when it comes to main cast members like Tilly or Stamets, or even Ash Tyler, it does suffer greatly from its failure to develop the secondary cast. It is notable that at least some effort is being made this season - we do now actually know all their names - but not enough. Even the more prominent bridge crew members like Detmer or Owosekun get little tidbits and nothing more.

I think the main problem, and the main reason this happens, is that this show is so laser-focused on its plot that it doesn't have time to develop their characters. This is by no means to say that it couldn't have time, but I think that it doesn't have the time right now. It just doesn't seem like it's a priority for the writers. We have so much development for Saru, Tilly, Stamets, Burnham, and even now Tyler and Culber, that I now care about each of their characters (to varying degrees, of course; Shazad Latif turns me off of Tyler and I don't find Burnham compelling). But while little nods like 'Owosekun grew up in a Luddite community' or 'Detmer has had her pilot's license since she was a teenager' help to ground their characters as humans, they haven't been developed at all as characters in this show. I don't have a sense of Owosekun's emotional state, or Detmer's motivations. And the reason I say the show could very easily make the time for those characters is because it did so here.

Airiam's development here is quite good, and I found her backstory compelling enough. The problem is that it was all shoved into this one episode. That short a span of time is not enough to get to care that deeply about a character. It's not even like it had to be complicated in previous episodes. Maybe a scene where Airiam logs her memories, or a brief little dialogue exchange between her and Burnham to establish that they were friends. If the show had made a conscious effort to sprinkle little bits of Airiam's character throughout the season, it would have made a world of difference for this episode's emotional impact. As it was, director Jonathan Frakes and all the actors brought everything they could possibly have brought to the scene, but it just didn't have the impact it needed because what had come before wasn't compelling.

That said, I am glad Airiam got something of weight before her departure, and it did lead to some further characterization of the other bridge crew, Detmer in particular. I don't think I've seen them feel more human than they did here. The shots of each crew member's horrified blank expression at the death of their friend, combined with Frakes' emotional direction and Jeff Russo's suddenly understated music, really drove home the emotion of the scene, even though I didn't feel it myself because I had only just been given the opportunity to become attached to Airiam.

We have other stuff to touch on, so let's get into it. First, let's get the main plot out of the way. The story worked just fine, and the reveal of Control's complete, well, control over Section 31 was well done. They've dropped hints of the evil AI in charge of 31 throughout the season with just the right balance; it was enough that the audience understood what it was and that it was there, but it wasn't heavy handed enough that it made me groan with how obvious it was. I think I like the direction they're taking it, with a few caveats. If things continue the way they seem to be continuing, I anticipate that we will find out for certain that the conflict in the future is between the evolved Control and the rest of the universe. This could be good for a couple of reasons. The first is that it gives the whole story a sort of connectivity that the two half-arcs last season lacked, and the second is that this could very easily be the reason that Section 31 drops under the radar by the DS9 era. Maybe 31 collapses almost completely at the end of the season, and Starfleet shelves the project, but then Georgiou secretly starts it up again independent from Starfleet. That would also give the announced Section 31 series some sort of direction to go in.

Here we come to the biggest thing that makes all shows sink or swim - the characters and their relationships with each other. In what is becoming a nice trend for this season of Discovery, the writers continue to provide us with pairings of characters that make us think and, for the most part, work. This episode the highlight was Stamets and Spock. I really enjoyed their little scene together in Engineering. I really like that this show is starting to slow down enough to have scenes like that, where characters make their connections and have moments that would fall by the wayside in the middle of an action or plot-driven episode. Stamets gave Spock some very human advice to his problem that logic has not been able to solve. Likewise, Spock provided Stamets with a much-needed outsider's perspective on his relationship with Culber, lending him an objectivity that he would never reach on his own.

The other relational dynamic, that of Spock and Burnham, is less interesting but still of worth. As with last week, their relationship is deeply broken and fractured, and their issues aren't just going away. Spock's criticisms of Burnham are valid and cut deep, but at the same time, her evaluation of his current state rings true. Spock is still struggling madly to wrap his head around the problem before him, and nothing is working. As the chess game shows expertly, Spock has just about given up. As he said last week, both logic and emotion have failed him. He has nowhere else to turn, and his dejected resignation shows in Ethan Peck's performance.

There's a lot to recommend here. I ended up liking it a great deal. I just wish they'd laid the groundwork better earlier down the line.

Strange New Worlds:

No new planets this outing, but we did see part of Section 31 HQ.

New Life and New Civilizations:

Confirmation that Airiam is a human with cybernetic augmentations after she was critically injured. it also struck me that a significant portion of our cast has some sort of augmentation using technology. Detmer has her eye, Nhan has her breathing piece, and Stamets has those things in his arms that allow him to connect to the spore drive.

Pensees:

-Another appearance of Admiral Cornwell. I like Jayne Brook, so that's always fun to see. It was also good to see her using her background as a therapist.

-The ship looked brighter in this episode, and at some points significantly less blue. I wonder why; could it be Frakes?

-Every single time they say 'logic extremists' I want to burst out laughing because the name sounds really dumb.

-The Federation doesn't permit the use of mines at this point in the timeline.

-There was a distinct red glow on the scattered chess pieces at the end of that scene. Interesting...

-Faith interpretation of the week: Faith in your own abilities.

-Some definite parallels to Star Trek VI with the magnet boots in zero gravity, and the floating blood.

-My viewing group guessed that Admiral Patar was dead about ten seconds before the episode told us.

-Saru can see heat signatures, even through subspace. Cool.

-So Airiam downloaded all her memories into Disco's mainframe? Is that just opening the door for her return?

-Burnham using Kirk Fu is amazing. That's really all that needs to be said.

-Other Trek references - Kadis-Kot and 3-D Chess

-I can't help but feel like they had Nhan kill Airiam just to absolve Burnham of the responsibility.

-For some reason, something kicked out our ads and our teaser for next episode when we watched it on Amazon.

-Next week's episode is called 'The Red Angel.' I guess this is it, folks! Final theories in the comments below!

Quotes:

Stamets: "Can one of you say something? I don't like hearing myself talk when I have an audience." Burnham: "We're thinking." Stamets: "Think louder." There's good old grumpy Stamets again.

Pike: "Giving up our values in the name of defense is to lose the battle in advance."

Burnham: "I express myself through my work and my choice of decor." Spock: "Clearly."

Burnham: "If there's a logical reason to sacrifice your rook, I don't see it." Spock: "Perhaps I simply dislike rooks."

Spock: "I understand now. If only I'd taken your pawn, the mystery would have been solved."

Spock, to Stamets: "Perhaps he needs distance from you not because he no longer has feelings for you, but because he no longer knows how to feel about himself."

4.5 out of 6. Would have been 5, but the poor context drags it down.

CoramDeo picked a lousy day to wear his contacts.

#Star Trek #Star Trek Discovery #Michael Burnham #Saru #Sylvia Tilly #Paul Stamets #Christopher Pike #Spock #Disco #Star Trek Reviews #Doux Reviews #TV Reviews

[lokismercedes]

Spring Break with the Asgardians

Chapter 1

Word Count: 1,982

Warnings: Swearing

Paring: Loki x Reader, Thor x Gracie

Summary: Sadie and her twin sister get roped into taking the Asgardians to Daytona Beach for spring break. There will be trigger warnings in later chapters, smut also in later chapters. Slow burn.

Almost all of Mercedes and Gracie Starks suitcases were packed. As they were putting the suitcases in Gracies' jeep wrangler there was a brilliant flash of light that literally knocked Sadie on her ass. A minute later two regal, tall, and very handsome gods were standing on a permanent ruins circle in front of Tony as he helped Sadie up from her spot in the driveway.

  “LADY MERCEDES AND LADY GRACELYNNE!” Thor shouted and pulled them into a spinal injury inducing hug.

 “Hey it’s great to see you two bros, but next time can you give me some warning that you're coming? I nearly died when that light hit my small, weakened, mortal eyes.” Sadie said as she stepped away from the hug rubbing her eyes.

  “Oh, Mercedes, you are fine,” Loki smirked at her. “Besides how would we let you know we were coming? Your primitive technology doesn’t reach Asgard.” The cocky asshole had a point.

  "Sadie, I told you last week they were coming the day you two were due to leave,” Tony shouted above the song Gracie decided to start blaring from the jeep. “By a GODDAMN BIRD! THING WAS HUGE!!!”

  “No, it was Hunn,” Thor corrected and let out a booming laugh at his own joke.

  “Jesus Christ. This. Shit. Is. Heavy.” Gracy said throwing a suitcase in the back hatch. Thor noticed all the bags in the back of the jeep. “are you two going on a mission somewhere?” Thor asked hopeful.

  “NO, WE’RE GOING ON SPRING BREAK TO DAYTONA BEACH!!!!!” Gracie basically bounced up to him

  “What is that?” He asked curiously

  “It’s the vacation we both desperately need!” Sadie said and shrugged her shoulders “would rather go for the Daytona 500” She mumbled.

  “Sadie, this is to help clear your mind. You have taken so much shit, from everyone you surround yourself with. You need positivity. You need this. I came up from Tennessee to go with you” Gracie hugged her twin and looked deep into her eyes, Sadie gave a sad smile. Loki walked up to Sadie.

  “Who do I have to kill to put a better smile than that on your beautiful face!” He deadpanned looking directly at Sadie and towering over both women. Technically being 5’2 everyone towers over them.

 “Loki, really it’s fine.” Sadie looked up at him and shrugged her shoulders and waved him off. He frowned

  “No, it is not,” He brought up his left hand to Sadies cheek “or you wouldn’t have that pout on your face,” Loki put his index finger and thumb under her chin. “Talk to me dear” Sadie broke out of his hands and smiled again, but it wasn’t much better.

  “I can’t, its guy trouble, plus I have to finish packing, I’ll call you when we stop for gas?” She asked quietly, voice thick with emotion, a tear slipped down her cheek. Quickly she wiped it away, but not before Thor saw it. “Tony thank you for watching the girls for me.” Sadie tried to go for her signature crooked little grin but her bottom lip started to quiver.

  “Least I can do for my baby sister” Tony smiled at her. This gave Thor a great idea knowing that the girls weren’t going, then there would be room for both of them.

  “How long are you gonna be gone for?” Thor asked smiling. Sadie narrowed her eyes at him

  “You two ain’t going!” Sadie said and crossed her arms on her chest.

  “Please Lady Mercedes, I promise we will be good, no fighting, arguing-” Thor was cut off by a finger in his face as Sadie stood up on Gracie's shoulders.

  “I’m trying to get away from men, you two alone pump out enough testosterone to suffocate a large Christian Neighborhood.” Sadie said “Plus you two came out to see the Avengers” Sadie finally pointed out. Tony stepped up.

  “Actually Sadie, I think taking them along with you is a great idea.” Tony put an arm around her when she jumped down off Gracies back. Sadie didn’t see the wink Tony shot Loki. Sadie also didn’t know that the whole reason the Asgardians were here was to see her and Gracie.

  “Why?” She narrowed her eyes at him.

  “This will give you a chance to show these two how to REALLY party.” Tony finished with a wink this time thrown at Sadie. In return she shot him her most devilish grin.

*************************************************************************************************************

Two weeks after the Asgardians came back from saving the world in England, every now and then they spend a few days or weeks with the Avengers. When Loki finally met Tony’s niece Sadie he was immediately mesmerized. She always had a witty comeback for him, and her constantly challenging him with her crooked little grin. He never met anyone like her before, the women on Asgard always immediately either submitted to him or shut his advances down, some even seemed to be annoyed that Loki was the prince that sought their companionship for the night and not his older, stronger, more handsome brother.  Yes, Sadie agreed to go on a date with him for valentines day but she made sure they were only going as friends. She was still healing from her divorce and Loki understood, but it’s been almost 3 months when he has seen her last, he is going to have her no matter what he has to do. Seeing Sadies face as soon as Gracy mentioned why they were going in the first place assured him of it. He pretty much had this on lock though. Sadies twin daughters, Savanna and Dakota, absolutely loved Loki and once told him that they refer to him as “dad” to each other. Hearing that from them brought tears to his eyes and pulled in both into a lung-popping hug that could rival Thors. The three of them held each other for a long time. It was in that moment he knew that not only was he in love with Starks little sister Sadie, But he loved her two fifteen-year-old daughters as if they were his. When they let go, they asked him if they could actually call him dad, he was so shocked and taken back, he was speechless. It wasn’t until Dakota said in a very small voice

  “If not that’s totally ok, we completely understand, I mean we’re just mortals, and well-” She was cut off when he hugged them both again and told them in his most proud voice

  “I go by many names, little mortals, God of lies, Mischief, Silvertongue, and others, but never have I gone by dad,” he gave them a smirk and added, “That would be my most prized title, but how would your mother react?” He quirked an eyebrow.

  “Mom wouldn’t care.” Savanna shrugged.

  “Then you two are more than welcomed to call me dad,” Loki said releasing them.

Since then both of the girls completely dropped calling him by name and started to call him dad, at first everyone, was shocked except Sadie, when Steve Rogers questioned Sadie why she doesn’t care that her girls are calling Loki dad, she stated simply that the girls are the ones who wanted to.

*************************************************************************************************************

“I cannot believe Tony talked you into bringing these two with us.” Gracie mumbles and she pulled out onto the road.

  “Well believe it Grace, because he did.” Sadie rolled her eyes.

  “What gives? Why did you cave? Sadie, that’s so unlike you.” Gracie sneaked a glance at y/n who was looking out her window.

  “Honestly? I basically stopped caring after all the shit that happened last weekend.” Sadie said leaning her head against the window and shrugged. Thor and Loki shared a look in the back seat, but neither said a word. Sadie’s behavior worried them, this definitely wasn’t the tiny little spitfire of a mortal that, one minute made friends everywhere she went, the next ready to throw down with a group of men much bigger than Thor single-handedly.  Sadie shifted in her seat so she was able to turn to face the brothers. “Hey listen, guys, sorry I’m not being much fun to be around, Gracie and I have to make a quick stop about 3 hours from now, in Harrisburg Pennsylvania,” she looked both the brothers up and down.

  “You might want to take Thor in with you,” Gracie mumbled leaning her head by Sadie ear. Sadie seemed to ponder that and shook her head and replied: “I was thinking the opposite actually, honestly I was thinking of taking Loki in, sure Thor has the muscle but these people are always strapped to the teeth and Loki would be way more useful with his Seidr.” Sadie pointed out trying to speak as quietly as she could. Thor was the one who spoke up

  “Uh, lady Sadie, would you care to share with us what you two are planning? Especially if you’re gonna need us.” He asked with a ghost of a smile on his lips.

  “I’ll let you two know when we get closer, trust me the less you know the better.” Sadie waved her hand nonchalantly.

  “That’s not doing anything to assure me, my dear.” Sadie sneaked a glance behind her seat and seen Thor actually had a very worried look on his face.

  “Aww don't worry handsome, you know Ma’s got you, If there's one thing I’m awesome at it’s running from the law,” Sadie held out her fist and waited for Thor to do the same, as he bumped knucks with her “Plus I’m needing Loki for this hustle.” Sadie looked at him. “What do you say Big D? You wanna move a hustle wit ya girl?” She asked.

  “First, what in the Norns did you just call me? Second even the gift of Allspeak can’t translate what in the 9 realms you’re trying to tell me, milady.” He purred and quirked his brows at her, Sadie just waved her hand in the air.

  “Hm, some translation language hack. I’ll tell you more when we get closer, oh and Big D stands for Big Daddy.” Sadie put her bottom lip, gave him her most sincere saddest pout and the look immediately stirred something in Loki, his breathing hitched as he felt his pants grow tight. She noticed his eyes widen, as he immediately shifted in his seat and a light blush crept onto his face. “Pretty please, I’ll owe you one?” Sadie hesitantly asked. Loki locked eyes with her and held out his hand so fast she flinched involuntarily then winced when she realized she had flinched. She took his hand in hers and holy shit was it monstrous compared to her tiny little hand and shook it. “Why do I feel like I just sold my soul to the devil?” Sadie mumbled leaning back in her seat.

  “ Oh no, my little princess, I promise you I’m much worse.” He seductively said. Sadie inwardly groaned but outwardly rolled her eyes, not wanting to show how his words immediately lit a fire in her core. As she turned to look back out the window, Sadie thought this trip with the two brothers might not be so bad after all. In fact, most likely she’s gonna get laid. It’s no secret to anyone that knows Sadie and Loki how they both feel about each other. Sadies able to hide it a little better though just because of her recent events that had gone down with her ex-husband. The last thing she wants is to screw up Loki’s life the way she has screwed up basically everyone else's life that fell into step with her. Sadie leaned her head against the glass and closed her eyes. Gracie looked over at her sister and sighed.

  “Love you, Sadie.” Gracy smiled.

  “ Love you too.” Sadie mumbled without opening her eyes and fell asleep.

#lokixreader #springbreak #daytonabeach #thor odinson #loki odinson #rednecktwin