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#I genuinely love these two characters even aside from the f/f

lamprophonia · 3 months

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》 [ yandere!Jock. ] 《

character intro. masterlist

yan!jock x gn!reader: yandere alphabet. 3227 words. reader referred to as 'you'. cw for general yandere behavior — manipulation, abduction, etc.

DO NOT USE OR REPOST MY WRITING ANYWHERE.

☆ A IS FOR AFFECTION. how do they show their love and affection? how intense would it get?

elijah's feelings are, to his dismay, very intense. he wishes they weren't, he wishes he could brush you off like he can anyone else, but that isn't the case, and he doesn't really know how to deal with that.

he's pretty uncomfortable with the fact that he has genuine feelings for you at all; this was just about winning you over, after all. he feels like he just fell in love with a lab specimen.

he will still show his affection, mostly by taking a near obsessive interest in whatever your hobbies are, but he refuses to call it what it is, insisting that any affectionate gestures mean nothing. he wants to be your partner for the group project because you're new, and he doesn't want you to feel awkward; not because he wants to spend time with you.

elijah is desperate to convince both you and himself that he doesn't care, all while going out of his way to do things for you.

☆ B IS FOR BLOOD. how messy are they willing to get when it comes to their darling?

the only problem elijah has with getting messy for darling's sake is that it makes him look like he cares. he'd get more comfortable with it the more comfortable he gets with his own feelings. he doesn't really have any moral objections to it in the first place. generally the type of guy to fix his problems with his fists, so this isn't really out of the ordinary for him.

☆ C IS FOR CRUELTY. how would they treat their darling once abducted? would they mock them?

elijah abducting his darling is an interesting idea in the first place; he'd either do it out of desperation or because he actually got so comfortable with them, he'd be able to just stop caring. either implies reaching some level of instability that would be unfamiliar and strange for him, but i can see it happening.

he wouldn't outright mock his object of fascination, but he definitely would lightly tease them about being so trusting.

you noticed elijah wasn't actually nice as he pretended, you learned he was more than prone to violent outbursts, and you still got close enough for him to be able to abduct you? silly little darling, are you trying to get snatched up by someone?

☆ D IS FOR DARLING. aside from abduction, would they do anything against their darling's will?

generally shadowing you. outside of the regular stalking you can expect from a yandere, elijah starts to follow you around and acting like the two of you are friends. he's going to insert himself into your life, whether you want it or not.

☆ E IS FOR EXPOSED. how much of their heart do they bare to their darling? how vulnerable are they when it comes to their darling?

absolutely nothing. at first, it's because elijah himself is confused about why he even likes you in the first place, then because he's gone into absolute denial.

yes, he saw someone shove past you in the hallway and wanted to knock their teeth in, but no, that doesn't mean he cares. he's just really passionate about anti-bullying measures in eastview. don't read into it. or into why all of a sudden you have all the same class and extracurriculars together. or into why he keeps running into you.

it doesn't mean anything. stop asking questions.

even if you two get together, he's not going to be in the habit of being emotionally vulnerable with you. he knows there's no hiding from his feelings anymore, but that doesn't mean he's going to start actually acknowledging them.

☆ F IS FOR FIGHT. how would they feel if their darling fought back?

it's funny that you think that will work. elijah regards any attempts at resistance as just... unironically really funny. rejecting him was what got him interested in you in the first place, you really think any continued rejection is going to have the opposite effect? he doesn't even try to hide his amusement. probably drops the "insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results" quote on you with a smug smile.

☆ G IS FOR GAME. is this a game to them? how much would they enjoy watching their darling try to escape?

it definitely starts off as a game, or at least a... study. it becomes more serious as time goes on (to elijah's dismay), but still, he would be more entertained than upset with his darling's attempts at escaping. it's almost cute. just... why do you think it's going to work? he's not leaving, and he's made that abundantly clear.

☆ H IS FOR HELL. what would be their darling's worst experience with them?

elijah's persistence. he just plain doesn't care that you don't want him around. he doesn't care how many times you make sure he knows you don't want him around. he's staying, and you can't do anything about it. hell, he finds your constant protests funny.

i would imagine that if it got to the point where you constantly told elijah about how much you don't want him to continue following you, where you made it clear that you hate him (and in return, elijah made it clear he finds that incredibly entertaining), he would just... stop all pretense of normalcy. he wouldn't bother with hiding the stalking and breaking into your house.

no use, if you already hate him, right? get ready to get up some time in the middle of the night to find elijah sitting on his phone, reading a book, or just looking around your room, as he casually reveals he was watching you sleep... and that it definitely wasn't the first time he's done so.

☆ I IS FOR IDEALS. what kind of future do they have in mind for/with their darling?

elijah hasn't thought much about his ideal future with his darling because it'd require him to actually confront his feelings for you, which he avoids like the plague.

he knows the idea of being separated from you or seeing anyone else with you hurts him — causes his hands to shake and his jaw to clench, from anxiety or from anger; he's not exactly sure. the alternative, however, is pulling himself together and not only accepting the fact he's into you but also gathering the courage to ask you out for the second time, which just sounds humiliating, and it's not like he even likes you, so why would he do that, and no, absolutely not, he refuses.

☆ J IS FOR JEALOUSY. do they get jealous? do they lash out or find a way to cope?

elijah's jealousy is the first thing that makes him realize that his feelings for you go beyond a mild fascination. he was fine, hell, he was getting comfortable around you, even thinking he might actually enjoy your presence, to his own surprise– until he saw someone hit on you. the realization hit him. if he didn't like you, why did he want to give whatever poor sap dared flirt with you a bloody nose?

he doesn't lash out at you, at most making some snide comments about how honestly, you could do much, much better (he means himself, please take the hint). his main way of coping with the frustration and anger he feels is pouring it all into sports, so let's hope that whoever he ends up playing against or even practicing with can take getting tackled with all the aggression of an entitled prick like elijah.

☆ K IS FOR KISSES. how do they act around or with their darling?

with his darling, elijah acts like they're already friends. hell, probably better. elijah's generally fake and overly nice to everyone, but with you, he lets a bit more of his real personality shine — obviously, not fully, he still has to maintain some standard of common decency — but he's stopped acting so sweet you worry your teeth might rot.

he's more sarcastic, regularly shit talks others to you as if you two were the only two intelligent people in the entire school, teases you relentlessly; he's definitely more rude, but he also seems more relaxed.

don't get too attached, though. elijah will spend half of lunch period bitching to you about one of his so called friends from the football team, and just when you think he might actually be a genuine person, he'll turn around and spend the other half with the person he just called the most incompetent moron in the entirety of eastview high, laughing and playing nice.

☆ L IS FOR LOVE LETTERS. how would they go about courting or approaching their darling?

to court you, elijah would have to actually acknowledge that he wants to date you, which he is not ready or willing to do. therefore, anything that hints at the romantic feelings he holds towards you, he will brush off immediately as you reading too much into things.

he does some nice things. makes a conscious, bordering on obsessive effort to learn about your hobbies and would gladly listen to you talk about them for hours. he does other, less nice things, like the snide remarks aimed at any potential love interest or the violent tendencies towards anyone who looks at you wrong.

either way, if you bring up anything he does, nice or otherwise, elijah will still shut down and go right into denying his feelings.

☆ M IS FOR MASK. are their true colors drastically different from the way they act around everyone else?

yes.

it's a shame elijah isn't a theatre kid, seeing as he's probably the best actor in the entirety of eastview. he has his sweet golden boy routine perfected. everything about him, his clothes, his mannerisms, his words, is perfectly manicured to the last hair on his head. he's known as being a genuinely kind person — a bit straight-laced, but chill enough. he's the designated driver type of friend.

to you, he's a bit different. whenever you two speak, elijah seems more relaxed; more cheeky, more sarcastic. more mean, sure, but in a way that you can't exactly call out without being told you can't take a joke. he talks shit about his main friend group to you, bitches about teachers and exams. it all seems much more authentic than the way you've seen him act with others, and you can't tell if it's comforting or not. probably both.

both of those, however, are facades.

facades that hide the fact that underneath it all, elijah is a self-centered and entitled brat. just one with enough self-awareness to realize that treating people like shit isn't going to get him anywhere. he instead approaches social situations in a way that's almost too pragmatic. he's learned how to paint a picture of himself as helpful and sweet, how to get people to like him.

☆ N IS FOR NAUGHTY. how would they punish their darling?

elijah knows, for the most part, at least, that he has no right to punish you. he is self-aware enough to know that you are allowed to flirt with that guy and that it's not your fault, and he's the one with issues for acting like it's in any way his business– but also, he's not exactly the healthy type.

the most he can do in terms of punishment for breaking up whatever imaginary rules he feels you should be following is be rude, and he makes full use of that. he begins making passive-aggressive and snide remarks that toe the line between teasing and abject cruelty, giving him just enough plausible deniability to keep you confused and compliant.

☆ O IS FOR OPPRESSION. how many rights would they take away from their darling?

none explicitly. elijah wouldn't really want to give his darling outright rules; all of those would be kept safe in the depths of his twisted little head, so he wouldn't take away any rights from his darling... technically.

the catch is that elijah is also very good at instilling fear in his darling. you can just tell when he's upset, when you broke one of those unspoken rules. his jaw tenses, his shoulders raise, and something about his eyes makes you wonder how anyone could ever believe him to be kind and sweet.

he wouldn't take away any of your rights, but he would be good at making you comply just by the subtle threatening aura he gives off.

so elijah never actually said you can't talk to any other guys than him, but he certainly wouldn't complain if he learned that since becoming friends with him, you felt uneasy about doing so. that same rule applies to every single guideline he never laid out for you.

☆ P IS FOR PATIENCE. how patient are they with their darling?

until you hate him, his patience is downright saintly. elijah is persistent as hell, and he can take his sweet time shadowing you, talking to you, worming his way into your life like a 6'5" parasite, not revealing dropping too many hints as to his intentions or his real nature.

once you do express the fact you hate him — that you think he's a creep, a weirdo, whatever number of insults you choose to sling at him — he switches up really quickly. still with that angelically calm expression, he doesn't care about putting up any walls anymore. elijah gets very comfortable about proving you right about just how creepy and obsessive his behavior can get.

☆ Q IS FOR QUIT. if their darling dies, leaves, or successfully escapes, would they ever be able to move on?

if elijah's darling dies, he will simply settle back into who he was before meeting you, only infinitely more bitter and apathetic. the same fake smiles that hide the same self-centered asshole, one who has now lost all hope of ever changing. he never felt the need to get better before, but now that he's lost you, there's no one to even try for anymore.

he'll probably live a pretty successful life by traditional measures. go to a decent college, get a decent job, get married, and have 2.5 kids. all of it will be a hollow shell, missing the only person that he felt genuine — albeit definitely not normal — care towards.

elijah wouldn't let his darling leave, but if you somehow escaped without him managing to stop you, the above will also apply. he doesn't have the unlimited resources he would need to track you down, so once you're gone... you're gone.

then, the above will happen. elijah will move on on the surface, pretending he never cared anyway. he'll settle back into his niche, but this time, not bitter or apathetic — instead, angry and sad. pray to whoever you believe in that the two of you won't meet again because if you do, he will start the cycle of his obsession all over again. only this time, elijah knows the pain of letting you go.

and he's not about to make the same mistake twice.

☆ R IS FOR REGRET. would they ever feel guilty about abducting their darling? would they ever let their darling go?

not on his own.

elijah might start feeling guilty after you start expressing the fact you're unhappy. at first, he'll tease and make fun of you about your pouting, but if you keep it up, it'll be enough to make him feel the slightest amount of guilt.

not enough to let you go, mind you. but enough to compromise on a few things, enough to keep you vaguely fulfilled and just on the verge of happiness.

☆ S IS FOR STIGMA. what brought about this side of them (childhood, curiosity, etc)?

elijah was nigh emotionless for nearly all his life, feeling mostly a very mild mix of smug superiority and equally smug disgust with others for most of his life. the fascination you spark within him is unlike anything he's felt before, which later morphs into genuine care and feelings.

☆ T IS FOR TEARS. how do they feel about seeing their darling scream, cry, and/or isolate themselves?

you crying, screaming, or isolating yourself puts elijah in a very uncomfortable situation.

on one hand, his instincts — his newly found emotions — are also screaming, crying, and downright begging for him to to and comfort you. to wrap you in his arms, kiss the top of your head, and... get you ice cream? something along those lines. he's not very good at comforting people. they're also pleading for him to physically rip apart whatever is causing you distress, but that's secondary.

on the other hand, elijah's colder and more analytical side steps in whenever he gets that urge. the idea of doing that, of showing how much he cares, makes him so uncomfortable he wants to turn on his heel and never see you again, which in turn makes him hurt, which in turn makes him uncomfortable, and... yeah, it's a vicious cycle of emotional constipation.

if elijah was the cause of your distress, his discomfort only increases. he hates that he hurt you, and he hates that he hates it. it's debatable whether he'll actually adjust his behavior, but he will offer an apology and a hug, if you'll take it. he can't afford to lose you, after all.

in the end, a somewhat satisfying compromise is achieved. he's never quite affectionate — not as much as he wishes to be — but he might ease up a bit on teasing you. give you a half-hearted squeeze. however, what elijah lacks in emotional vulnerability, he makes up for in fists and a willingness to punch things. or people. or both.

☆ U IS FOR UNIQUE. would they do anything different from the classic yandere?

elijah's pretty typical in this regard. he's definitely obsessed and definitely not opposed to violence. he's just a bit of an emotionally unavailable asshole about it.

☆ V IS FOR VICE. what weakness can their darling exploit in order to escape?

it'd take a considerable amount of time, but underneath all the smug superiority and emotional constipation, to put it lightly, his affection for you is still genuine. it comes from a twisted sense of fascination, sure, but he can't avoid his feelings forever.

there is some possibility that elijah's darling is able to manipulate him using the sincerity of his feelings. it would take a lot of finesse, but it could be done. once it's done, it probably wouldn't be too much of a nightmare to get away. he doesn't have unlimited resources to count on, so you would most likely be able to lose him and regain some sense of normalcy.

☆ W IS FOR WIT'S END. would they ever hurt their darling?

emotionally or mentally? yeah, pretty likely, given he is a yandere. physically? if he ever did, it would be an accident, and elijah would be left terrified of himself. a single bruise he gives you would probably make him rethink how he behaves from the ground up, which sounds good, until it makes him go into basically helicopter parenting. he'd start treating you like you're fragile — a delicate porcelain doll that he's already made the tragic mistake of hurting once. mellodramatic little shit.

☆ X IS FOR XOANON. how much would they revere or worship their darling? to what length would they go to win their darling over?

elijah's obsession is not so much worship or devotion as it is a scientific study. even after his initial interest grows into actual affection, he feels the need to learn everything about you. what is it that makes you different from everyone else? you're a mystery he desperately wants to solve.

elijah's not exaftly focused on courting you, though. since the fact he has any feelings for you at all has come as a surprise to himself, he's not exactly sure what to do. he is vastly unprepared. as mentioned a few letters above, attempting to get your attention is a task that requires acknowledging and making peace with his own emotions, which is not something he plans on doing anytime soon. he will still get more affectionate, but like a middle schooler with a crush, he'll insist it's all meaningless.

☆ Y IS FOR YEARN. how long do they pine after their darling before they snap?

a few months, most likely. elijah is persistent, but he is still in a high school setting — assuming his obsession starts early during senior year, he can't have you running off to some college across the country come june! if he can't get you willingly by may, that's when the last of the strings holding his psyche together go snap, and he decides to stop fucking around. you might actually get the slightest bit of reprieve from his shadowing at this point, as he stars feverishly planning your post-graduation disappearance. it won't last too long, though, and whatever time he missed with you, he will make up tenfold.

perhaps your cab never makes it to the airport, and you don't even get a chance to make it to your dream school. perhaps you do, but your roommate doesn't see you at all after move-in day, and it takes your parents to realize you're not just busy with your studies, you're just gone. whatever. elijah will figure out the details soon enough — he's more focused on what will come after.

☆ Z IS FOR ZENITH. would they ever break their darling?

probably. elijah definitely wouldn't have any moral problems with the idea. he doesn't really care; he'd love for you to be yourself, perfectly fine and dandy, but if he breaks you along the way... well. he won't lose any sleep over it.

#🏅 // e. steele #writing #yandere oc #yandere x reader #yandere x y/n #yandere x you #yandere x darling

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lai-mar · 1 month

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Can't wait till this blog is old enough so posts start showing in main tags, but for now, a salty lil rant

Shipping aside, I'm surprised by how Laios + Marcille even as friends doesn't get as much fan attention as I expected considering how heavily the series focuses on their development? I consider Laios to be the protag and Marcille to be the secondary protag but I can see the argument for the two of them being dual protags especially starting from around Thistle's house arc / Marcille becoming the dungeon lord. The protagonists are party members who bond over losing and finding a loved one. They save each other multiple times and live with each other in the end. They get copious amounts of screentime together and separate. They clearly care for each other and love each other (in whatever way). And there's no forced romance.

Before I read the manga, I saw all the yuri on my TL and was like YESSSSSS I'M READING THIS FOR THE YURI WOOOOOO and finished the Red Dragon anime episodes like "wow that was soooo good and gay. Let me go on Tumblr to see what people are talking about— people are shipping Marcille and LAIOS??? Probably annoying straight people who cannot conceptualize a friendship between a man and woman 🙄". So I started out with a squick for the ship. I think the fan perception made me believe F/M is canon and anything else would be like queer erasure? Except I later learned no ship is canon and was genuinely confused when the manga started giving us L/M crumbs (like the succubus chapter) because I thought the shippers were pulling this ship from thin air lmao.

The more I read, the more I was like.... "okay.... why are they kinda... okay I get it now... why am I.... oh shit... I'm really in it now" and I apologise because I really get it now 😭 and it baffles me to see people who have seemingly finished the manga going "Laios and Marcille have NO CHEMISTRY their only line of connection is through Falin". Like, okay, maybe that was how they were at the beginning (but I would argue they have chemistry even from the first few chapters), but that's the POINT and we get to see them evolve and get closer because they both love and miss Falin. Laios moves on from being "Falin's brother" and Marcille moves on from being "Falin's friend". L+M know about each other's deepest, subconscious desires. Marcille lives with the siblings at the end. No matter the bond, they are the two most precious people to her.

I was still squicky about romantic L/M even at the succubus chapter (which I know is probably the starting point for a lot of shippers) but THEN THE RABBIT CHAPTER. And after that when the Canaries found Marcille and she immediately jumped onto Laios I was like "Oh fuck. I'm really in this now fuck fuck FUCK". (Nothing makes me get into a dynamic more than having an initially squicky reaction because I'll need to have a strong enough conviction to overcome the squick LOL)

Anyways. Seeing people being annoying and pissy about L/M only made me like L/M more 🤡 because at least the shippers appreciate their bond. I'm a little desperate here. Even their platonic bond is kind of a rarepair in the English fandom 💀

I'm so glad the anime is going at the pace it is now because this is only the beginning of the L+M development!!!! The anime onlies will understand later!!! I made the same mistake and judged too early and I'm sorry!!!! So many anime L+M moments and panels and crumbs yet to be seen 🥺

Anyways. Laios and Marcille's bond is absolutely central to the plot and character development. But I wouldn't have guessed that if I didn't read the manga and just based it off fan attention.

#mine #salt #once again my duo with copious amounts of screentime and canon support is seen as a rarepair in the fandom lol #even as just a platonic duo that doesnt 'threaten' other ships #'theyre like siblings' 'theyre siblings in law' ok sure but before that they were fellow party members and companions and FRIENDS IN CANON #after the end of the manga they are no longer solely defined by their mutual connection to falin!!!! (arguably this started midway thru)#besides. for shipping. people can have two hands #also in my mind laios had a squish / platonic crush on marcille #[clears throat] i love it when and a man and a woman are friends. sometimes their bond compels me more than- [THROWN OUT OF THE DUNGEON]

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jerzwriter · 10 months

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All in the Past 2/3

This started as a request from @angelasscribbles for ONE scene. Three parts later... I decided to make this a follow-up and alternate ending to one of my favorite short, angsty AUs, Unblemished, because we needed more angst. All three parts will be posted today.

Series Summary: Tobias & Casey were friends turned lovers whose different dreams led them to become friends once again. Two years after their painful breakup, Casey has moved on. Tobias is in town to attend his friend and one-time love's wedding, with his new girlfriend on his arm. It's just the wedding of an old friend, or, is it?

Part 2 Summary: Tobias's girlfriend, Meghan, has some questions for him, and he answers honestly - or so he thinks. Sienna attempts to get displeased Casey to see the truth. Tobias finally runs into Craig, the groom-to-be, and then it all falls apart.

Book: Open Heart (Post Series)

Characters/Pairings: Casey MacTavish (F!MC) x M!OC, Tobias Carrick x F!OC, Sienna Trinh

Rating: Teen

Words: 3,100

Series Masterlist

Tobias x Casey Masterlist | OH Masterlist | Full Masterlist

His eyes were wide open. Every microscopic crack and spec of dust on the ceiling above had been committed to memory. Tobias accepted that sleep wasn't going to happen about an hour ago. No, tonight, it was him, the humming sound of the air conditioner and his latest girlfriend blissfully sleeping at his side. Without waking, she snuggled closer to him, and he ran his fingers through her long, auburn hair as guilt consumed him. He genuinely liked Meghan; he cared for her. She was witty and kind. So beautiful that every head turned her way when she entered a room. He enjoyed her company, and she was good to him. Perhaps too good. He knew she deserved better than the half-truths he fed her early tonight. But were they lies if he was struggling to understand the truth himself? Any other fool would recognize what they had in Meghan. Then again, any other fool would never have let Casey go.

~~~~~

(Earlier that day)

Returning to his hotel room usually meant only one thing for him, but that's not where this was headed. Meghan, bless her, didn't seem upset. Still, Tobias couldn't shake the uneasiness that began creeping up on him during yesterday's flight and hadn't seemed to let down since. This wasn't the weekend he planned. A quick getaway to a luxury resort, a little pampering for him and his girl, some laughs with old friends, then wishing them well as they embarked on their new life together. It was supposed to be easy. Simple. But the human heart and mind can act in peculiar ways. Denial isn't always intentional, nor is it meant to be cruel. Sometimes, it's a mechanism designed to protect the individual at all costs. But there is a downside. We never know when the façade will begin to crumble, and even then, the truth isn't easy to accept. Tobias was about to learn a harsh lesson. We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.

Meghan sat on the edge of the bed with a gentle smile. Removing her new sandals and gently rubbing her sore feet, breaking in new shoes hadn't been on her agenda. Tobias dutifully sat at her side, taking over the task so she could rest. Her head tilted back as her eyes closed, and a soothing sigh escaped her. This was nice. So nice that Meghan considered putting the rest aside. But she wasn't about to let a little comfort win over her practical mind.

"Tobias..." she began, gently touching his cheek. "I'm not mad, but I do want some answers."

"Sure. Ask away..."

"Why haven't you been upfront with me about you and Casey?"

"What do you mean? You know she's my ex, and we were friends before that. We decided being friends worked better for us, and that's what we've been for years. Where haven't I been upfront?"

"Maybe it wasn't your intention, and maybe I read it wrong, but I was under the impression she was a friend that became a brief romance until you both realized you should have never taken that step. But since we left Boston yesterday, I feel like there's more."

"Meg, Casey wasn't a fling, if that's what you're asking. We cared for each other greatly but wanted different things and decided we'd be better apart. And she's getting married tomorrow... so it's worked out well for her."

"Perhaps. But how it worked out for Casey isn’t my concern... but you... I know we're relatively new... so this isn't a life or death issue... but I don't want to invest my heart anymore if you're still in love with someone else."

"In love with!" He blurted. "Meghan, we've been over for two years. Do I love her as a friend? Yeah... but I'm not in love with her anymore."

"But you were..."

"Yes, was... past tense. Are you telling me you don't have anyone you've loved in your past?"

"Of course I do. At our age, most do. But... I feel like she's the one who got away, which is fine. Many of us have that person in our past, but most don't attend their weddings."

"You’re right. And I wouldn’t attend her wedding if that’s who she was.”

“Tell me why you broke up, the real reason.”

Tobias stood and paced the floor. “Her residency ended, and she was deciding what offer to accept. Duke was a great fit, but... that led to the where are we headed discussion. She wanted to get married, have kids, a dog, and a backyard... I wanted Boston or at least another city. I don’t like grass. I wasn’t too sure about a pet. I didn’t mind a partner, for life even... but marriage, kids... that always sounded like a trap to me, one I didn’t want to fall into. We talked, and when we couldn’t find a compromise, we decided to go our separate ways.”

“Was it hard?”

“The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

“Then you see my point... it wasn’t easy, and she’s still one of your best friends.”

He returned to Meghan’s side, gently touching her knee. “I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear about the extent of our relationship. But it’s irrelevant... because we’re in the present. Casey and Craig are my friends... I haven’t been sitting around pining for her.”

“What if she wasn’t with Craig?”

“Meg, that’s unfair. We can’t sit in a pile of what ifs; we can only go with what is.”

“You’re right,” she sighed. “I just don’t want my heart trampled on. I care about you, Tobias, and I think we’re building something good... I just want to make sure you’re all in, too. Are you?”

“I am,” he swallowed. “I wouldn’t have brought you here if I didn’t believe that.”

“OK,” she smiled. “Then there’s nothing more to discuss.”

“Look, I’ve had enough wedding events to last me a lifetime. Why don’t we go do some sightseeing, just the two of us? We can go wherever you want. No one will miss us until the ceremony tomorrow.”

“I’d love that,” she smiled. “But let me change into something that matches the shoes I had on during the flight. I don’t want to break anything else in until the wedding.”

“You do that,” he smiled.

He grabbed a beer from the mini-fridge, waiting for the sense of relief that washes over you after a discussion like the one they just had, but it never arrived. He mindlessly pulled the curtains aside to take in the view. The upgraded room was worth every cent; the view was magnificent. Then he shook his head. Of all the things his eyes could have landed on... it had to be her. She sat poolside, eyes glued on the book in her hands, and he chuckled. He never could get her out of a bookstore. He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. I’m not in love with Casey anymore. He insisted. I’m absolutely not. So why did his heart ache as much as it had on that Boston night? After all this time, why did he feel like it had never healed at all?

~~~~~

Sienna was the vision of a Northern tourist, happy to be enjoying a balmier climate as she walked alongside the pool in a bright floral swimsuit with a matching sarong, Jackie O! sunglasses, and a floppy straw hat. The look was completed with the two frosty tropical drinks in her hands. Her smile was as bright as the afternoon sun as she approached Casey.

“I know you’re supposed to be relaxing for the big day,” she grinned. “But I would be remiss in my maid-of-honor duties if I wasn’t checking to ensure you’re not getting sunburned.”

“That’s what this lovely umbrella is for,” Casey smiled.

“Yeah, but it helps if it’s opened,” Sienna chuckled as she twisted the lever.

Casey accepted the strawberry daiquiri, humming with delight as the sweet sensation enveloped her. “This is so good. You’re a lifesaver.”

“That’s what best friends are for! Now, relaxation is nice, but is there anything I can do for tomorrow?”

“Nope,” Casey replied confidently. “All under control.”

“OK, what about for the rehearsal tonight?”

“Under control, too.”

“Casey, I’ll admit, I don’t have much experience with weddings, but I’ve never seen a bride this relaxed the day before her wedding!”

“It’s just a wedding,” Casey shrugged. “Our mothers are happy driving themselves crazy over the details. I just have to show up for hair and makeup, put on my white dress, and smile. It’ll work out.”

She turned back to her book, unaware of the concerned look her friend had fixed on her. Finally, Sienna had to speak.

“Casey, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Are you... happy?”

“Happy? Yeah... I’m happy.”

“Forgive me if I say that response isn’t terribly convincing.”

“Well, one doesn’t have to be gushing and oozing with delight to be happy, Si.”

“No, but it’s the day before your wedding, and maybe everyone isn’t a gushing, oozy kind of happy person, but... you always were.”

Casey closed her book and leaned back in the lounge chair. “If you have something to say, say it.”

“You’re right. I wouldn’t be your best friend if I didn’t. Do you want to get married?”

“Of course I do. Craig is a wonderful man, and he’s so good to me. We’re happy!”

“Happy... but not gushy and oozy happy.”

Casey removed her sunglasses and sat up to face her friend. “Who’s to say that’s for the best? I had gushing and over-the-top happiness. I know what it’s like. But what did it get me? It got me a broken heart. That amazing high dropped me into the lowest lows of my life. Days, months when I didn’t want to get out of bed...When I didn’t leave my house if not for work. And who got me out of that? Craig. He helped put me back together. And we are happy. No, it’s not all fireworks and rainbows, but those things aren’t real life. I’d rather live with reality.”

“Forgive me for saying this, Casey. But... I hope you’re not selling yourself short. I like Craig, I like him a lot, and I know he’s good to you, but you deserve the fireworks kind of love. And so does he. Settling isn’t going to do anyone....”

“I’m not settling! I love Craig; he loves me, and I’m not settling!”

“But are you in love with him?”

Casey looked directly at the pool without saying a word. She knew Sienna could see right through her when she lied, so she felt it wiser to say nothing. But Sienna wasn’t letting her off the hook.

“More importantly... are you in love with someone else?”

Casey’s neck flipped in Sienna’s direction with fire in her eyes.

“What are you insinuating?”

“I’m not insinuating. I’m asking. I’m not letting you say I do if your real answer is I’m not sure!”

“But I am sure!” Casey looked around to ensure no one could hear, then leaned closer to Sienna. “Fine! I’ll address the 800-pound gorilla in the room! Is my relationship the stuff of fairytales? Do I have moments when my heart practically stops beating because I love him so much? No. But real life isn’t a fairy tale. I had that kind of love, and I know how it feels. I was naïve enough to believe that if you find that, you would both do everything you can to never let it go. But you know what? I was wrong. Because I had it in my power to save it, and Tobias had it in his power, too. And guess what? Neither of us did. So what does that tell you?”

“It tells me you admitted you still love Tobias... but you’re not marrying him tomorrow.”

“You’re right. I’m not marrying him tomorrow, and I never would be.”

“So you’re settling.”

“NO! I’m not settling; I’m marrying someone I love and who loves me in return. Someone who wants the same things in life. Someone that I can build with and grow with, and that’s not a bad thing!”

“It’s not, but I feel like you’re selling me an insurance policy, not a reason to get married.”

Casey began to gather her belongings with a huff.

“You know what, if you disapprove of me marrying Craig and don’t want to stand up for me tomorrow, then don’t. But I’m marrying Craig tomorrow, and I wish it would be with my best friend by my side.”

“Hey, hey, hey...” Sienna grabbed Casey by the shoulders. “I’m not backing out. I’ll always stand beside you, no matter what. I just... I want to make sure you’re following your heart.”

“I’m following my head, Si. It’s always served me much better. I’m following my head, and my heart will follow. Now, please, can you try to be happy for me.”

“Sure,” Sienna said, pulling her into a hug. “I’ll try.”

~~~~~

Sightseeing on a scorching hot day was slightly more strenuous than Tobias & Meghan bargained for, and she had the splitting headache to prove it. As she lay in the room with a cool facecloth on her forehead, Tobias headed to the hotel’s gift shop to pick up some more ibuprofen. He had just taken his wallet out to pay when he felt a clap on his back.

“I was wondering when I’d finally run into you.”

“Craig,” Tobias blurted as he greeted the groom-to-be. “I was wondering where you’ve been. Is the hospital going to let you attend your own wedding?”

“They are now,” the handsome, dirty blonde man smiled. “As of this afternoon, I told them to pretend I was already on my honeymoon in Bali because I’m not answering my phone.”

“Yeah, I know that feeling.”

Tobias liked Craig. At least he liked him as much as he could like the next man in Casey’s life. He didn’t want to. In fact, at first, he decided he wouldn’t. The first time he met him, he spent his entire drive to Raleigh listing all the reasons he wouldn’t like him. But Craig was so polite, friendly, welcoming... and he was good to Casey. What choice did he have?

He’d never forget the day he learned of existence. Casey called with the words he wasn’t prepared to hear. “...I didn’t want you to find out from someone else.” Tobias was sure his heart had stopped. He knew the day would come... someone like Casey wouldn’t remain single forever, but... this soon? Barely six months had passed... and he wasn’t prepared for how profound the pain would be. He tried convincing himself it was for the best, even when his visceral reaction was to book a flight to North Carolina and beg her for a second chance, to tell her he had made a horrible mistake.

He made a horrible mistake.

For the first time since they broke up, Tobias had been honest with himself. Now, he had to let her know. As Casey kept talking, he was thinking of the best way to tell her, but then, he heard the smile in her voice. It had been gone for so long. The end of their relationship had been punctuated with painful, tear-filled conversations; then abject heartbreak followed their choice. He almost forgot what it was like to hear her... happy. It killed him that another man was the cause, but who was he to take that from her? He hurt her enough already.

He tried to console himself. It’s just a boyfriend, a transitional one, at that. When they inevitably break up, I’ll be on the first flight to Raleigh to set this right. But a year later, Craig was on one knee, Casey was saying yes, and Tobias decided he’d have to learn to live with his heart cracked in two. He knew it would never heal, but he had to find a way to let go.

“Casey mentioned you wanted to shoot some hoops,” Craig's voice pulled Tobias from his thoughts. “The only time I’d have is tomorrow after breakfast...and it would be cutting it close.”

“You know what. Let’s do it next time we get together. My luck, you’d end up breaking something, and Casey would never forgive me.”

“What a notion!” Craig laughed.

“What?” Tobias laughed with a raised brow. “You breaking something?”

“No. Casey not forgiving you. In what world? You have to know my fiance would forgive you anything. But, I appreciate sparing me the broken bones.”

“Yeah, uh..” Tobias sputtered. “It’s your wedding day... hoops with me shouldn’t be on the schedule.”

“Nope, far more important things to tend.”

“You’re so right,” Tobias smiled wistfully. “I’m happy for you guys.”

“Thank you,” Craig said, extending his hand. “That means a lot.”

“Casey is a wonderful woman. Be good to her.”

“You can count on it,” Craig smiled.

To Tobias’s relief, a gaggle of groomsmen appeared out of nowhere and pulled Craig away. Tobias slipped into a waiting elevator, never so grateful to be alone, because one by one, the boulders in his wall of self-denial began to fall. He loved her, he loved her with all his heart... and he lost her... at this time tomorrow... she’d be another man’s wife. Life is full of mistakes; everyone makes them, but the most painful mistakes of all require us to live with a lifetime of regret. He felt the elevator walls closing in on him as his life sentence became clear; panic filled his chest, and he couldn’t breathe. His legs unable to sustain him, he fell to his knees, and for the first time in a long while, he couldn’t stop the tears from flowing.

And that’s how he ended up here. Lying in bed with the ceiling, his only friend. He couldn’t take anymore. He had to get out of the room, or he was sure he’d lose his mind. So he slipped out of bed and left a note for Meghan so she wouldn’t worry if she woke. The hotel’s bar closed hours ago, but the 24-hour liquor store was delivering a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue. That and a lounge chair in the gardens would need to get him through the night.

He was a quarter bottle in with no idea how much time had passed. He had already bargained with God three times. Couldn’t He just turn time back a couple years? Was that asking too much? Apparently, it was, and he was still sober enough to know asking a fourth time wouldn’t change the outcome. Downing the rest of the bottle and sleeping for a week sounded ideal. Still, sanity won, reminding him alcohol poisoning wouldn’t help. His best bet was to return to his hotel room and try to get some sleep. He stood up with a curse on his lips; he turned around and gasped when he found her standing there. He rubbed his eyes to make sure this wasn’t a dream.

“Hello, Tobias...” Casey whispered. “I’m glad I found you here.”

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics @choicesjuly2023challenge - Sleepless Night

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harryleatherfit · 11 months

Text

Upper East Side || A.U || Frankie Morales

Chapter 11: Opening Night

Frankie Morales x F!Reader

Word Count: 7.8K (i was gonna keep going but Warnings: mentions of fucking bad family, unprotected p in v (um), oral f receiving, mentions of sub space (when you squint at the end), spanking, hard fucking, tit sucking, some fluff, performance on stage, lmk if i’ve missed any

Authors Notes: let me know what you guys think! genuinely this is the longest thing i’ve written but i fear i’ll be hated for the next few chapters 😵‍💫 i love you guys ♾️

Chapter Playlist

Jungle Fever- The Chakachas

Somebody Like You- Bree Runway

Lust For Life- Lana Del Ray

🪩Main Master List🪩 Series Master List🪩

Opening night, electricity filled your body. You woke up with light peeking through your window, you stared at the dust particles floating around, you wish you could stay here forever. Both nights were sold out, your heart racing thinking you had to be on stage tonight. Performing in front of thousands excited you on second thought. You loved the crowd, the air, the excitement as you smiled. You had gotten leads at UNCSA, but nothing could compare to this. You didn’t know where you lay in the acting world at all, but you had to remember that no matter what you would be yourself on the inside.

You had gotten up before Laylah, Rose, and Hannah, making coffee and staring at the sun. You were hoping Frankie was up looking at the same sun. You did breath exercises, prepping your lungs for the amount of talking you had to do for the next few days. Setting your headspace was most important to you. You were scrolling on your phone and Frankies name popped up in the corner of the screen.

New Message:

Frankie: Can you come early to the theater? Somethin I wanna show you.

You: My call times at 3, want me to come at 12?

Frankie: 11.

You: Okayyy, need me to bring food?

Frankie: No, assistants already brought a shit load, I need to see you.

You: Packing my bags as we speak🥱

“Hey hotstuff,” Laylah walks out of your room, yawning, “Smells good. Ready for your big day?”

“Ready as I can ever be.” You shrug, embracing the heat of your coffee cup. The mornings were always so cold.

“Anything planned for the morning?”

“Well, he asked me to come in early, something to show me.” You whisper.

“Oh shit, damn ok,” They get excited, “Have fun gettin old man dick.”

“Laylah!” You laugh.

“Nah, I bet it’s good. Look at him.”

“Believe me I know.”

“Have you guys fucked yet?” They nudge.

“No, but I'm not even sad. So many times guys just want to immediately fuck and it’s such a massive turn off.” You explain, “He’s soft and gentle with me, never in a rush.”

“Yeah me and Bryce haven't done the deed yet. Have high hopes for him. And he also uses my correct pronouns so yay men!” They cheer.

“Well here’s to fucking men I guess.” You click your coffee in the air, “Is he treating you right?”

“We haven’t done much aside from hangout during rehearsals and stuff, so after we’ll actually have time to be with each other.”

“You should go with him after the show tonight, get dinner and walk around the city.” You suggest.

“I think that’s what I’ll do.” They hug you, “My beautiful astonishing Lady Macbeth, I’ll see you tonight.”

-----

You arrive at the theater, New York Streets bustling with people at this hour. Broadway never fails to have thousands of people in and out. Tonight was going to be a big one. Book of Mormon was on, but that show was always on broadway and Macbeth was only on for two nights.

You wondered how many stars were going to come, how many people you loved that would come to see your show. How many playbills you were going to get to sign.

Your interaction with Wes Anderson made you think about your spine, your eyebrow conjecture, the way you present yourself and your character on stage. Everything had to be different. Mattias had a pep talk with you before you left the theater, no matter what happens on this stage, we both know we have put our souls into this show.

It was true, there’s no need to stress about impressing people.

You set your bad down at the entrance, seats already blocked off, ushers clocking in their hours.

“Hey, up here.” Frankie calls up from the theater's booth, “It’s set up a little differently here, Broadway has way more money than our school could ever imagine,” You walk up the steps, “I know so much bigger than our little shabby room at the school.” You take in the scenery of the room.

“I bet you’ve worked here a lot though, right? I mean this is like your job, to do shows for the college, teach the building basics of theater, and fucking work Broadway shows.” How could he act like this wasn’t a big deal.

“Honey, my job is cool and all but doesn't mean I enjoy it. Long hours, having to meet people's demands, spicy celebrities, whiney actors.” He purrs.

“Hey! I’m not whiney, you’re the whiney one, arguing with everyone who pisses you off.”

You hug him, he’s sitting on a stool in front of the lighting board, “I wanted to be an actor actually, but never went through. I never had the courage to do bigger roles and my dad was always focused on my brother. So I just went into tech, it’s easier anyways.” He mumbles.

“Sometimes I wish I went into tech, being an actor is fucking hard,” You stare at him, “Why’d you quit acting? You could never be second to anyone.” You rub his face, hands lingering on his porno stash, his scruff felt like lightening under your fingers.

“When we were in our twenties, he’s a little bit older than I am, he was breaking through the stock market and everyone was shocked. I mean he broke through after 9/11 so he was everywhere.

My dad was disappointed that I wanted to do theater and acting and not anything business related. I was doing mini side jobs for Broadway and small film roles. I went to Spain for some time. Until I started doing this I was finally important to my family.” You back off from him, circling the room.

He hasn’t talked to you about his family too much, he said he’s an open book but you didn’t want to push him too much.

“Sad boring people want to go into the stock market. Margot Robbie was the only interesting thing about Wolf of Wall Street by the way,” You chide, “You're not a fucking disappointment, you’re motivated. You create worlds for people to see, you have so much passion. I wish I was you.”

He moves from his chair, standing up, he’s way taller than you

“Smart girl, go turn off the lights.”

“Frankie,” You stare at him, “We can’t, you know we can’t.” Even though you fucking want to.

“We’re not,” He laughs, “Just go turn them off, I want you to see this.”

You do as told, flipping the switch and returning to your sanctuary.

“Lay down and look up, cmon I’ll do it with you.” He instructs.

You find your way in the dark, glimmer from the ceiling illuminating the room. You lay down as you feel his body next to yours.

“See the ceiling? It’s stars, they painted stars in here for the actors to relax before shows. I’ve done shows here before and they always help me even before a long tech run.” He whispers, the ceiling reminds you of a galaxy, calming and beautiful. He moves to your neck, smelling your hair. You could bathe in his after shave, bask his cologne. He always smelled so expensive.

“Don’t get too comfortable pretty girl, someone could walk in.”

“Then don’t smell so fucking good.” You shove him away, laughing to your side. The pain in your lower abdomen could never subside when you were around him.

“I have something to give to you now, but would you wanna come over to my place later? We could get food, or walk around, or if you want to go back to your place after the show home then we can go there, orwecanjustleave-”

“Shhh,” You shove your finger to his lips, “I would love to go to your place tonight, please. We can finally be alone. Finally be with each other without anyone interrupting us.”

“Ok, ok.” He shakes his head like a giddy boy, “ Oh baby you’re gonna do amazing tonight.,” He kisses you quickly “Before I set up, I wanted to give you these.” He fumbles into his jeans pocket, pulling out two VIP Caroline Polachek tickets.

“No fucking way, you did not do this. Frankie, you did not spend this money.” You squeal.

“Stop, I didn’t spend any money gorgeous. I pulled some strings and magically got them.”

He hands them to you, they were metallic with black printing of the venue and time, with her name in this beautiful ceryllic, you couldn't imagine being in her presence. You’ve wanted to see her since the beginning of college, but you never had the money to go. Since her breakup from Chairlift, you fell in love with her artistry. She was meticulous about what she exposed to the world and you wanted to be like her.

“A little something for an opening night present, and the concert’s before your recital. A win-win.”He looks at you, “I know her new album came out and I know her producer, maybe you’ll get to meet her.” He winks. Get to meet your fucking idol? You were shocked but it was Frankie, of course he would do something like this.

“Don’t worry about tonight darlin,” He holds you, “This weekend is gonna be amazing.”

------

Is this the real life, is this just fantasy caught in a landslide. No escape from reality.

Bohemian Rhapsody was blaring throughout the dressing rooms, never able to run away from Freddie Mercury.

After your soiree with Frankie, you had gone to freshen up, prep your hair and skin. Ate a protein bar and met with Mattias. You blindly went over your scenes, and then he offered some cigarettes You shouldn’t have, but you did.

You fled out the back, door checking to see if anyone would see you. Not that it would matter but felt too familiar. You found a cozy spot, wrapped up in a fuzzy blanket the team gave you and lit one up with him. You felt like you were a teenager in high school again, smoking before a show to ease the nerves.

Passing on local tradition.

“You’ve got any family coming tonight?” He opens his zippo lighter.

“Nah, just my friends, I don’t have family up here. You?”

“Mom and dad, they weren’t too happy I came to this school but it’s starting to grow on them” He taps his cigarette, “Anyone special coming tonight?”

“Something like that. It’s recently new with him and I, but he’ll be here.” You blow smoke,“You?”

“I just broke up with my boyfriend so probably not. We’ll see.”

“Ahh Mattias, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

“I’m okay, just means I’ll be clubbing fucking extra tomorrow night at the afterparty, are you excited?”

“Fuck I forgot about that, I haven’t clubbed in years.”

“It’s at this hoity toity place in the Upper East Side, not The Box I promise but it’ll be fun as fuck. The directors are supposed to come, like the whole school is going to show up.”

The fucking Box. Frankie being there.

Flashbacks of Frankie fingerfucking you agasint the bathroom counter race through your mind, you couldn’t understand how bad you wanted him. The one person in your life that has changed your entire being.

You guys finish your cigarettes, small talk with him was so easy. Giggling about the shit you’ve seen in high school and college as theater majors. Mattias knew what the struggle was like, he knew the difference between stage anxiety and general anxiety. You guys were the perfect pair on stage.

“You go head on in Ms. Macbeth, get your shit done and I’ll see you soon sweet cheeks.”

-------

“So at 3 tomorrow the whole cast has an interview with The New Yorker.” Ms. Roylance announces, it’s an hour before show.

“And the main 2 have an interview with Vogue at 5.”

Vogue, what the shit.

Tech crew, all the actors and directors were in a circle, saying a couple final words before curtains would go up.

Across from you, Laylah and Bryce are holding hands and Frankie is talking to Mr Miller.

You were trying to calm your heart rate, you felt comfortable with everyone around you, but if you sit in a dark closet and rehearse for the last hour you would.

“I want us to hold hands, close our eyes and say one word we're feeling, and the last 30 minutes before show we can just roam in the back, hows that sound?” Roylace gages the group. Everyone agrees, clasping hands, shutting eyes and embracing each other's energy. It’s the best you can do.

“I’ll start, pleased.” She finishes.

“Happy.”

“Elated.”

“Horrified.”

“Worried.”

“Terrified.”

“Thrilled.” Bryce bellows.

“Overjoyed.” Laylah says.

“Light.”

“Captivated.” You immediately knew that was Frankie, his voice, the utmost bass in his voice. Shakes you alive. You open your eyes, looking at everyone around you, soaking up your last minutes with everyone before you break apart.

“Wondrous.”

“Flamboyant.”

“Flustered.”

“Scared.”

It’s your turn, you’ve had the whole circle to think about this, “Content.” Your eyes closed, the mid stage lights shining on you, the murmurs from the full crowd behind the red curtain, the smiles on all your faces, you’re ready.

“Happy.”

“Petrified.”

“Euphoric.”

The last words slip into the air, opening your eyes exasperated.

“Places in 40.” Frankie says.

Everyone separates, straggling across the stage, getting to their righteous spots but you stay. It only feels right and you know he will stay with you.

As soon as everyone is out of sight, he gets closer to you, but not daring to touch your hand. You watch him go to the middle of the curtain, he opens it slyly only to peek through to the crowd.

“Wanna come see?” He asks.

You walk downstage to him, setting in stone to his exact steps, letting one eye peek through the red fabrics and the whole crowd is lively, everyone is dressed so elegantly. The laughs, the people finding their seats. Ushers smiling. House lights dimmed sensually. This is what Broadway is about. Your jaw drops, but you wouldn’t let this dare scare your heart, you’re fucking ready for this.

“See, they are all here for you and Mattias, they are here to see the most wonderful production of the year and because of you, you bring the feisty energy they need.” He whispers into your ear. You shudder, almost tears of happiness, you had no stage fright anymore. “Now fucking blow there minds away baby.”

-------

The raven himself is hoarse, that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan, under my battlements. Come, you spirits, that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full

Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood, stop up th’ access and passage to remorse, that no compunctious visitings of nature, shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between, th’ effect and it. Come to my woman’s breasts

And take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers, wherever in your sightless substances, you wait on nature’s mischief. Come, thick night, and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, that my keen knife see not the wound it makes, nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark

To cry “Hold, hold!”

Make me fucking human.

For more or less, there was no crowd in front of you. Just Mattias holding your hand. Rebirth. Refinery. Frankie watching you from the booth, admiring every step you take. Acting is simple, people pleasing is simple, it’s melodic from making up the emotions on the spot and zoning through the waves of the artistry. It’s for the people, acting is a service. You’re giving your heart out to the world.

You follow your footwork with Mattias, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, husband and wife. Forcing your husband to follow through with your plan, killing the king. So detrimental.

You rush to the wings, dipping your newest costume with blood. Lady Macbeth is a woman of thrill and duty, she would do anything for her husband, and you know how that feels. You soak yourself with the sticky substance, getting it all over your face, fingerprints of deadly sins.

Hands so poignant with red, your heart could be falling out and no one would notice. Cue.

My hands are of your color, but I shame, to wear a heart so white, I hear a knocking

At the south entry, retire we to our chamber, a little water clears us of this deed, how easy is it, then! Your constancy, hath left you unattended, hark, more knocking, get on your nightgown, lest occasion call us, and show us to be watchers, be not lost so poorly in your thoughts.

You move the rest of the act, sit down through act 4, nothing involving you and finally act 5.

You mess around your hair, flick blood on your lips and action.

Out, damned spot, out, I say! One. Two. Why then, ‘tis time to do’t. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?

Instantaneously you have flashbacks when you were a child. In your cold room alone, dad and mom are fighting. This always fucking happened. The yelling would make you cry, but you learned how to get over it, you accepted that was your life. But now you’re safe, now you’re with people who love you and want the best for you. Men could never have control over you, ever again.

Do you mark that?

The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now? What, will these hands ne’er be clean? No more o’that, my lord, no more o’that. You mar all with this starting.

Go to, go to. You have known what you should not.

She has spoke what she should not, I am sure of that. Heaven knows what she has know.

The moment you’ve been waiting for,

Here’s the smell of blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand-

You don’t hold back, you dig into the crevices of your voice box, finding every follicle in your body to scream. To scare this crowd. You aren’t a little girl. Lady Macbeth is a story to never be let down. You drop to the floor, shrieking your mind away, begging for air and life. Letting the blood on you trickle with slobber and tears.

The exhaustion mixed with the heat of your scream made your head spin, but the crowd was silent- you lay there hiccuping for a minute, letting the waves of grief pass by.

What a sigh there! The heart is sorely charged.

I would not have such a heart in my bosom for the dignity of the whale body.

Well, well, well.

Pray God it be, sir.

The disease is beyond my practice. Yet I have known those which have walked in their sleep, who have died holily in their beds.

You shiver, shaking over to the edge of the stage,

To bed, to bed. There’s knocking at the gate. Come, come, come, come. Give me your hand. What’s done cannot be undone. To bed, to bed, to bed.

You exit, and the audience erupts in roars. They quickly sit back down, as there’s more dialogue with the doctor and gentlewoman, but not one moment did you hesitate to throw yourself into your monologue. It felt so powerful, unbelievably life changing.

The show finishes, sitting in the wing as your castmates finish the last monologue. Opening night was one for the books. You all line up for bows, tech right behind you, the curtain opens up and finally the moment you’ve wanted. Not the applause, but able to see Frankie in that chair, just staring at you. All you’ve wanted today is to be with him, but your performance was truly dedicated to him, he was the one that shocked your headspace, he’s the one that makes you want this all. You each take your singular bow, your feet wobbling, walking to the end, tearing up with this crowd, the graciousness you felt.

The standing ovation of the crowd was magnificent, every section clapping for minutes, no soul daring to leave their seats. New York, what a beautiful city. The strong whistles, the numerous claps, the chatter warmed your heart. Roses being sent your direction, hearts shown with hands.

Your crew was instructed to go back to your dressing rooms, clean up, hang your costumes and prepare everything the same for tomorrow, then you could go greet people if you wanted to.

Before you knew it, Mattias was dragging you out to the street, to see all the fans lining up on the street waiting to get their playbills signed.

You only wanted to find Frankie and Laylah, but you didn’t have one second to revive for yourself.

Mattias thrashes with your hand, opening the back door to the cold howling air, embraced by cheers,

“We love you guys.”

“I cried at your performance.”

“We’re coming tomorrow night”

“Lady Macbeth saved me.”

“I love you.”

Screams and shrieks were surrounding you, it’s not that you couldn’t believe it, but your heart was overpowered and overjoyed. So much in one sitting, your head turning in every which way, grabbing sharpies and scribbling your name as fast as possible.

One lady stands out, she’s quiet but vigilant, waiting for it to be her turn, and the closer you get you notice,

“Ms. Kim?” You could barely recognize her, it’s only been 4 months.

“My honey sugar, look at you!” She hugs you, tighter than a mothers hold, “Your teacher Mr.Miller gave me a shout and I booked my flight immediately, I couldn’t miss your Broadway performance.” She shakes her head.

“Ms. Kim, you didn’t have to do this, I could’ve sent you a picture, or a notecard, or a playbill.”

“Now that’s nonsense honey and you know that,” She swats your shoulder with her playbill copy, “Besides I know the whole team here, no need to worry I’m here for a week, so a coffee catch up is on your list after this weekend.”

The things that you could tell her.

“I miss you, I miss North Carolina.” You hug her again, breathing down her back, trying to not let people see your tears. She was there for you when you missed your mom, she was North Carolina in a summary, and you missed it so much.

“It’s okay sweetie, you were meant to leave that state it had nothing to offer, look at this,” She pointed at all the people, “This was your destiny.” She kisses you on the cheek, “I’ll text you for a coffee date, but go spend the night away.” She smiles.

“I love you!”

“I love you too honey.”

You leave her in the crowd, finding Mattias taking a picture with a group of girls. You tell him you’re gonna head back in to get your bag, to check your phone and possibly run into Laylah, find Frankie. Unlatching the door, the air rushing in your face, Laylah was already there with Bryce waiting for you.

“You did amazing! These flowers are for you,” They smother you, “The shock in the audience when you dropped to the floor, you stretched all of their hearts out.”

“Thank you.” You laugh, holding their hands, best friends working on Broadway together, your 16 year old selves would be thrashing down right now.

“My guys in the booth couldn’t believe they were at a college show, you and Mattias rocked it.” Bryce says.

“Thank you, that means the world. Seeing all the full seats was just fucking mind blowing and I’ll have to say that a million times to process.”

“We love you, were gonna get dinner now,” They wink, “See you tomorrow? Same time, same place?”

“Same time, same place.” You agree.

They grab your arm, pulling you close, “Get that dick tonight.”

You laugh so loud it refracts around you, we’ll see.

They leave you, content with the night. Smiling dumb because now finally you get to be with the man you’ve been itching to see.

You call him,

“Hey pretty girl, I was waiting to hear from you.”

“Sorry I was out signing playbills with Mattias. Working the night off.” You respond.

“Don’t be sorry, s’busy night for you. How d’you feel?”

“Good, Frankie, I feel amazing.” Seducing him over the phone, itching for him.

“That’s my star girl, shining so bright on that stage.” He smiles in the phone, you can feel it.

“Where are you right now?” You ask.

“In my car, just watching the sky.”

“And where would that be?”

“Behind the theater and the crowd, come find me princess.”

“Ok Playboy, I’ll see you in a second.”

You end the call, chucking your bag behind your back. You slowly walk to the door, finally entering a world you can’t step back out of. Reminiscing when you had no idea what the fuck you two were.

You sprawl out, no one would be here at this time of night. He’s smoking a cigarette, convertible top down. Collar open and his hat is off, puffed locks chasing every direction. He looks up to you.

“Frankie, an Ashton Martin Convertible?”

“Yeah.”

You stare at him, some fucking longer. “I don’t know, just an Ashton Martin roaming the streets, a really nice car I’ve only heard in books.”

“Would you feel better if you knew I saved a couple paychecks for this.” He raises his eyebrows.

“Sure.” So he had money, money. Double shit.

You get in and he stares at you, flickering between your lips and eyes. You could jump him now, but you had to wait. You liked the game.

“Food, bar, coffee, books, my house? What’s your wish tonight?” He holds your hand.

“Hmmm your house remember? Wouldn’t pass that up for a lifetime.” You remark.

He nods, setting the car in gear. You flicker your hands to his cigarette, he lets you take it and the drag of his menthol cigs felt smooth on your throat. Menthol and Frankie just make sense.

He’s playing Pink Floyd, blasting it through the dark streets of the city, and all you can do is smile stupidly. Your hair flying everywhere, hands perpetually finding the power of the wind, eyes closed.

You feel his hand sneak to your thigh, creeping to your body. Speaking to you through your mind. If his hand could do that now, what else would happen tonight? He moves further and further up your leg, eyes shooting open at him.

“What?” He turns to you, stopped at a light.

You grind your teeth, his hand was big enough to almost cover your whole thigh.

“You say something?” He smirks.

You wince as his hand lays on your skin, never moving but lingering so close where you crave his fingers.

A guitar ripple catches your attention from the speakers, he’s strumming to the beat on your thigh, and you can’t move.

“And we’re here darlin, what do you think?”

He parks in front of a modern brownstone, pillars glossing the entrance like a greek house. Bigger brownstone than usual. Everything about him makes sense, the expensive taste made sense, but this house was beautiful.

You take a breath, “It’s beautiful, Frankie. I couldn’t imagine anything different.” You’re scared to get out, but you itch to find what’s inside. He closes the top to the car, running around to open your door.

“Cmon pretty girl, don’t be shy.” He holds your hand out, he walks behind you up the stairs, punching in a code you looked away for.

“3570, didn’t need to look away baby, that codes yours.” He whispers to you, walking into his house.

Your first steps are met with roses, sprawled on the outskirts of the floor. His first floor, open for the world to see. Piles of roses, rose petals begging for your touch, he grabs your hips pulling you to him. “This is all for you.” You stand there with him, holding you. No man has ever gone this far to express something for you.

Grand piano deep into the room, kitchen with a marble island, champagne with two glasses full for you both, one staircase with golden spiraling leading to the top on the side. White columns and archways holding the house.

“And one person lives here?” You poke.

“Yes, but I quite enjoy it,” He lugs you closer to the kitchen to set your stuff down, “This is the house I dreamed of as a boy.”

“Well, it’s beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like this.” You ponder around like a child lost at Disney.

The back archway was all glass, you could see a light on outside to his backyard. His dining table to the wall of glass, next to the greenery. He had a conversational pit as his couch, dark green leather with faux fur overthrows. His TV was massive, and next to it were beautiful oil paintings.

He had shelves as a wall, lined with books and vinyls. Years of purchasing and collecting.

You take a peak, letting your hands run across the dusty spines.

“The Chakachas, João Gilberto…hmm Gerry Rafferty” You laugh, “Your music taste…is sexy Francisco.” He’s watching your every move.

“What can I say, I’m a cultured man.” He smugs a smile. He’s behind you, raining his fingers around your waist, you take Jungle Fever out of its sleeve, placing it on his record player.

“Just to set the mood don’t you think?” You snicker, “Have you seen Boogie Nights? You do look like a young Burt Renolds, scary kinda.”

“I get that sometimes, you like that darlin? Like broad-“ Kiss, “Hairy men?”

You dance with him to the music, listening to the women's moans of the song. Letting the dim lights glisten around his living room.

Moaning in his ear, grinding against him. Melting into his body.

“I love it.” You purr, “He was so sexy, don’t you think? That playboy pose he did made everyone in the seventies go crazy. I’d let him fuck me on spot if I was alive back then-”

He laughs, “Hmp, you wanna get fucked?” His head turns to the side, mouth curving open, with his eyebrows falling inward.

Your mouth falls, drooling over his voice. You hold onto his hair, sheething his body into yours, “Fuck me tonight Frankie, fuck me hard.” You whisper.

A lion raptures through his physicality, lifting you up to the closest thing, the Grand Piano.

“Frankie, we can't do anything here, I’ll break it!”

“I don’t care princesa, I don’t care, I’ll eat you out for hours and it could break, I’ll pay for another one.” He growls, “I need to taste this pussy now.” He set you down, looking you in the eyes as a rabid beast. His eyes were blown black, glaring at you for more.

He pulls your shorts down leaving you in just your shirt, your bottom half bare in front of him. “Mmh, no panties,” He chuckles, “What brought you to do this miel?”

“I figured there's no point, you’d rip them off anyway.” You shrug, head slating on the lid of the piano. Goosebumps rising on your body, the cold of the instrument touching your ass, air meeting the gloss of your entrance.

“Perfect fucking pussy, perfect fucking body. My girls so fucking perfect.” He spreads kisses down to your stomach, leaning when he reaches your mound. You grimace, you haven’t shaved in a long time.

“It’s okay baby, see?” He presses his hand on top of your sex, “Hair doesn’t change a thing how I feel about you. Hair doesn’t change a thing about how I want to fuck your brains out, okay?.” He kisses on top of your bush, shivering when you feel the wet of his lips with his mustache, nose bracing your clit. “I’m the only one that gets to touch your pussy like this, understand?”

You shake your head yes, “Only you can touch me.”

“Look at me, look at me while I destory your fuckin pussy.” He pushes your legs closer to him, eye level with your pussy. You wouldn't believe you’ve gone hours without this, without his tongue. He adamantly drives into your cunt, moaning as he shoves his tongue inside you.

He moans, the usual vibrations of his mouth floating through your lower abdomen. Cells inside your pussy sensationally fucked up from his mouth.

The tip of his nose would rub against your clit, he always managed to do it, but this time he was moving his face. His nose was creating circles against your nub, tongue squeezing the life out of you.

“Frankie- ngh- baby- feels so good- keep going-” You plead. Instead of grabbing his hair, you wrapped your hands around the edges of the piano, keeping your body from contorting due to the immense pleasure.

Your request followed through, he kept circling, shaking his head between your thighs. He would never let up, swallowing everything your cunt had for him.

“Pussy on my tongue, so tight. Pussy walls are quiverin for me baby.” He groans, dancing his hands to your stomach, legs dangling over his shoulders.

“Hold onto my hands dirty girl, I know you’re strong, cum in mouth.”

He raffles inside you more, squeezing his hands so your body doesn’t escape from his touch. Your clit suddenly buzzes, repeatedly shaking. Your walls come crashing on his tongue, he doesn’t stop pushing into you.

You scream for help, violently shaking against his hold. You couldn’t control your voice, begging for more. You can’t do anything other than yell because the movement form his tongue

“I’m gonna cum Frankie, I’m gonna cum on your tongue-” You cry.

“Give it to me, drip into my mouth.” His sinister base flows through your pussy, the room spins and you shriek against the piano. He sucks you clean from your orgasm, releasing his hold from you.

“Breathe baby, breathe.” The fuzziness of the lights die down, and his face comes in contact again.

“Your tongue- is fucking magical.” You drunkenly smile, “But I want more tonight. Please.” He pulls you off the piano, leaving a sweat mark on the top. You plant your feet to the ground, he holds your body up.

He chuckles, “Tell me what you want mi amour, what is it that you want?” He taunts.

“Fuck you, you know what I want.” You seethe.

“Ok,” He nods his head, “If you think I know, then fuck yourself for me. Go down to the couch, take your shirt off, and fuck yourself with your fingers.”

He had your full attention and you feel small, you’ve never done anything like this in front of a man.

“Go on princess, I’ll be right here.”

You faintly walk to his couch, slipping past the steps. You sit down at the edge of the couch, taking your shirt and shifting your bra off your chest. You’re completely naked in front of him, nipples begging for his touch.

“Play with yourself for me, pretty girl.”

You snake your hands down to your entrance, fiddling with your slick. You touch your clit, but it feels nothing like his hands.

“Frankie please, I need your cock.” You whine.

“You should’ve just said that, now look at you, yeah?” He walks to the steps, sitting down, “I need to you to cum on your fingers before I fuck you, I wanna see it.”

You hum, discoing your fingers on your clit, you imagine his cock finally slipping inside of you. What you’ve wanted since you’ve laid eyes on him.

“Push those fingers inside, think of my cock dirty girl.” He growls, looking you up and down.

You plunge your fingers inside, moving your hips against your hand. Wishing to have his thick cock inside you.

“Frankie, I’ll be so good, please. I want you inside me. I want you holding me down, I wanna be filled with you.” You mumble, terrorizing your hand.

“Wanna be a good girl for me? Fuckin tie you down, fuck you until soak me.” You shovel your fingers inside your cunt faster, imagining yourself restrained against his bed. His cock pushing into you at an unforgivable speed. “You’d like that huh dirty fuckin girl. Not able to move while I fuck your cunt, fillin you up til you feel it in your stomach.”

You slant your eyes open,” I want you to tie me up one night Frankie, be your-fucking rope bunny. Want you to use my pussy.”

“I wanna do everything with you, dirty girl, so perfect.”

You feel yourself tightening around your hand, his words making you interclose on your hand.

You would never be able to make yourself cum this fast because of your fingers, but because of him, because of his coaxing words, your own orgasm felt stronger.

“I can it hear baby, I see you leakin, cum for me, let go. Then I’ll give you my cock for as long as you want. Shove those fingers in for me.” He purrs.

You fall back on his couch, wavering your body to your orgasm. You gave a final push, laying stagnant from your orgasm. You watch him stroll to you from his steps.

He’s hungry.

“So gorgeous, so wet for me.” He smirks, “Now what do you want, so perfect and plump for me.”

“I want your fucking cock, I need you inside me Frankie.” You tremble.

He licks his lips, sitting down on the couch, “Don’t wanna do anything you’re not comfortable with pretty girl,” He moves your hair behind your ears, “Is this how you want me? Let me get a condom.”

You push him down, you should use a condom but you couldn’t be less botherd, “You could’ve fucked me in that bathroom and I would’ve cared less Frankie, fucking on this couch will be more than heaven,” And it is, “Don’t worry about a condom, I need to feel you bare.” He goes to object, but you shove your fingers to close his mouth.

Your eyes linger on his cock, he’s already swelling, “I wanna do everything with you Frankie, you could never make me uncomfortable.”

You close in to the crook of his neck, kissing him everywhere, praising him for making you feel so good, “I need you to fuck my brains out, make it hurt Frankie.”

Without blinking, he lifts you to his lap, placing your naked pussy on him. He kisses you sloppily on the lips, holding you close so you don’t fall, he growls possessing more of you.

“My beautiful girl, I’ve been waitin for this to happen, been dreamin of you sitting on my cock. I’m so glad we’ve waited, it’s gonna feel so good baby.”

You rub against him, letting your liquid leak all over him.

“I’ve been so good Frankie, I’ve been trying so hard not to think about your cock, when you were down my throat all I wanted was to be full of you everywhere.” And now-” You shimmy his shirt off, kissing his collar bones, rushing to his belt.

He flings it off slamming it to the ground, you look past it as it impacts the floor, making a hard whipping sound.

“Bet you’d like that naughty girl, fucking whip until you’re red. Tie you up with my belt.” You squirm against him, humping his bulge.

Images of Frankie whipping your ass with his belt, slapping your pussy, makes your brain short circuit.

He pulls his pants down with his boxers, flinging his cock out. You don’t remember it being this big. He was uncut and at least 8 inches. How could he fit inside you? The sight already making your pussy leak.

You rush your hands to his head, dangling your legs on his lap, pussy out for the world to see. You pull his foreskin back letting his precum bead down to your fingers.

“Feel s’good baby, fingers feel so good wrapped around my cock.” He grimaces.

You pump his dick, letting him grow against you, he keeps getting bigger and bigger. His tip was so pink, you wanted to suck him off like a lollipop. You wanted his dick down your throat. Embellishing in every way he can fill you up.

You lick his precum off your fingers, and he shoves his thumb in your mouth, “Suck.” He demands.

You enclose, treating his thumb like his cock. Swirling, letting every part of your saliva coat it.

He parts from you, soon attaching it to your pussy to moisten you up. He was going to stretch you so wide.

“Tell me if it hurts baby, please, I don’t want you to hurt.” He requests.

“I don’t care if it hurts Frankie, I need you to push me open. I need your cock.”

You shift until your lips are hovering over the head of his dick, waiting for him to pump into you. The tension was so thick you could barely breathe.

He carnally anchors into you, his cock magnetizing inside your cunt, the moment he surges into you, holding onto his shoulders stronger, you both gasp from feeling each other for the first time.

“Holy fuck, princesa you’re so tight.” He braces.

You try to move up from him but he attaches his hands to your hips and pushes you up and down. The air is eccentric and you’re so grateful you get to be so close to him, clasping on to his figure as he fucks into you.

He nips at your collar bone, lazily kissing you. Your hair disheveled from your body shaking.

“I love your cock, I love your cock. Oh my god- FuFuFuFuck.” You chant in his ear. The simplicity of having sex made you feel safe, this was more than magical. He was almost fucking your heart. He was so deep inside you, your mound was connecting to his base.

You loved when he was so dominant with you, you loved when he was in control, you loved Frankie.

“Fuck me- as hard as- you can. Use- my pussy.” You yelp.

The more you felt your pussy lips gripping onto his cock, the more you seized. The connection was beyond powerful. He aggressively slips into you, his tip touching that perfect spongy wall that would make you lose all will power.

“God darlin, love watchin those eyes roll back. Didn’t know you’d get this cock drunk baby. You love my cock so much?” He rasps.

“Spank me, please, slap my ass and fucking mark me.” You whine.

He lifts his hand, slapping your ass. He grabs onto your love handles, pulling you onto his dick harder.

“You like that? When my handprints on your ass? You want more?” He grunts.

You shake your head, and he continues, the sting firing your pussy up. His animalistic movements make you worship his soul, he matched your sex energy and you couldn’t be more thankful. You relished this moment, so grateful for Frankie.

He lusted over your tits, he slowed to kiss them, suck your nipples to hardened peaks. Somehow your heart hammered, watching him take care of every need your body craved, made you pussy twitch with his cock inside you. Watching his mouth wrap about your tits intensified your lust for him.

“I want you to do something for me,” He releases, “I want you to spell my name.”

“How-”

“Move your hips, move your hips with my cock still inside, ride me.” He stirs.

He intertwined his hands with yours, you back up from his chest preparing. He doesn’t lose your eyes for one second.

“F” You shake, his dick is everywhere inside your walls.

“R” You whine, the contact so slow and vivid, you could almost hear the colors off the walls.

“Keep going, that's it, just use that dick.” He coaxes.

“A” The tip of the A making his cock arch into you deeper than you could have ever imagined, you yell, soliciting for neighbors to hear.

“N”

“K” The ache in your pussy crying to cum, but you weren’t done. You knew you had to finish.

“I”

“E” You whimper, not able to sit straight any longer.

“Such a good girl, knew you could do it. My good fucking girl.” He kisses you, “I know what that pussy wants, I know she needs to cum. Wanna cum pretty girl?”

“Mhm, please Frankie. I-I was so good. I wanna cum on your cock. I’ll do anything, I’ll be so so good.” You plead.

His cock was intoxicating your brain, oxytocin so high you couldn’t think about where you were, only that Frankie was all you cared about in your life right now.

He aggressively hurls into you again, pinning your hands behind your back as he holds them in place. You couldn’t do anything but take his cock, you had to accept that he was gonna fuck you til you saw stars.

“You can do it baby, pussy’s already leakin all over me and the floor. She’s clamping around me. I wanna see that pretty face when you cum.” He finalized.

“Fran-Frankie keep going, I’m gonna cum I’m gonna cum,” You praise.

You couldn’t even process his words, half-lidded and half dazed, all you could focus on was your pussy devouring his cock. Him driving past you until you couldn’t hear. The power to force you knew your voice was giving out. You couldn’t touch him, but him holding your hands back made you grateful, your orgasm so powerful you felt as if you were gonna break his cock.

Your voice box cracks, you immediately fall against his chest, stagnant from movement with the only action you could do was breathe.

He lays there will you, wrestling his heart from fucking you so fast. You couldn’t open your heart, let alone walk.

He picks you up, he leaves his couch area and you sense he’s taking you upstairs. He saunters into a dark room, placing you on top of his duvet cover keeping the lights off. You couldn’t tell what his room looked like, but you felt like a vegetable. He came back to you, cleaning your entrance with a baby soft towel. He has to move your legs, you were unresponsive with the widest smile on your face, eyes slanted to only see that he was getting in bed with you.

He lifts the cover, tucking you in next to him. You snuggle against his chest, embracing your body heat, spooning into him. Your breathing falters, in sync with his.

He rubs his hands through your hair, making you fall asleep faster.

“I love you, mi amor.”

And that's the last thing you remember before sleeping off the best night of your life.

—

i love lady macbeth soooo much. looking into the meaning of her monologues are so powerful and she changed my thoughts on shakespeare 🔁🔁

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taglist: @pastelnap

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katatonicimpression · 2 months

Text

Two entirely unrelated lukewarm takes:

I don't personally vibe with kid fics, headcanons about a ship's offspring or any of that barefoot and pregnant twee fantasy stuff. Not my cup of tea. And that's my business, no one else's. But I do kind of resent how every m/f ship gets so much of this stuff. Even when it feels at odds with the characters. Like, shocking I know, but marriage and pregnancy aren't inherently the happy ending for a female character. Idk broaden your minds that's all.

Slightly warmer take: whether or not you think Steve was ooc in endgame for leaving the way he did (personally I'm middling about it), the thing I genuinely could never see him doing is hanging around in the modern day, in his young super powered body, and still passing on the mantle to Sam. For a start, I don't think it would occur to him to give it to Sam in that scenario, even if he quit independently. And secondly, Steve ain't that nice. His motivation for giving the shield to Sam was partly the fact that he didn't want it anymore and he felt that Sam should be pleased and grateful for it. He loves Sam, and thinks that he's more than capable of doing it, but this gesture isn't entirely respectful either. Anyway, I just fully do not see it. Any of these scenarios people write where Steve is around and young and chilling and Sam is still cap just read as unconvincing. Also, guys, say it with me. Its OK if people are old. A character no longer seeming fuckable to you is fine. That's not a thing you need to fix.

In the comics, Steve's motivation to give Sam the shield is that his body rapidly aged and he literally couldn't do it anymore. Again, it wasn't just spontaneously quitting and giving it to Sam because Steve wouldn't do that - it's not what he's like. It's out of character.

When Steve gets young again he's briefly technically a different guy but OK when they get rid of hydra!Steve, he does go back to being Cap eventually at a time where Sam has already quit over the whole "my ex partner is a secret nazi wtf is happening" thing. Now sam is cap again, but they both are. They're officially sharing the mantle. Steve doesn't acknowledge Sam when he's not there. They barely work together. As far as most people in universe and most marvel comics writers are concerned, Steve is cap, and Sam is also there. This is kind of a terrible scenario for a few reasons, but I do think it's in character for Steve.

He's possessive over the title, it's absolutely the main thing in his life, even if that's lame of him. I don't think he would ever hand over the reins and elevate Sam over him as the captain America unless he was quitting super stuff entirely, and he wouldn't quit super stuff unless he was too old to do it.

And maybe it sucks that there's this in built antagonism, or competitiveness with the two caps. That they're not truly on even footing in the audiences eyes, or the characters themselves. That what they're doing with Steve is taking away from Sam. That's a shit scenario. But I will say, this isn't spiderverse. This isn't a "we're all the same superhero with our own unique twist and we coexist". That silly mini series about all the gimmicky cap characters aside, no most of the time it's this dynamic between these two men who aren't as good friends as they used to be.

And that's a downer but yeah that's my thought.

#the way i browse the tags in the morning like it's the daily papers #and get increasingly annoyed

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childofaura · 11 months

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Not to bust out another question after the last one but I got a big question…

Why did you state that you hate Niles? I thought he is a pretty decent character, slimy comments aside.

Hoo boy… so first off, I do apologize. I know Niles is very popular, so I’m not trying to rain hate on him. As a character, he’s well written.

On a personal level to me though, he’s an incredibly awful person and hasn’t seemed to really seek to change himself. Like for example, one thing I’ve adored about Shura is that he actively loathes the lows he’s reached in order to survive, and despite his hardships he treats others (from what I’ve seen in the F!Corrin support at least) fairly and with respect. Plus, he doesn’t squander this godsend of a second chance and acts accordingly in the army.

Now Niles… despite the fact that he’s loyal to Leo and drops the banditry, continues to be an incredibly shitty person to others. Especially in his support with Camilla where he mocks her love for Corrin and essentially calls her a privileged princess, while assuming she’s never known any kind of hardship or sadness. Of course, Camilla figuratively goes for the throat:

And even after all this, Niles can’t put his masochism aside and begs Camilla to flog him, it’s a super inappropriate response to what she just told him. Also, he tries to judge Corrin the same way before Corrin tells him about their childhood trauma. Plus he gets mad at Arthur for judging him based on his life despite him doing the exact same thing.

But I think the worst part of it, is Nina. Despite the fact that he was scorned by having a dead-beat, piece of shit dad… he inflicts that exact same heartache on Nina, and then tries to pretend like he has authority over the things she does (while also taunting her, which he has absolutely no place in doing so). There are characters who don’t visit their kids as much, that is true; off the top of my head I can name Arthur, Hinata, and Hayato. But for the first two, I can give it to them that Arthur stole a wyvern egg with his bare hands so Percy wouldn’t be alone, and Hinata actually saves Hisame instead of fighting him while apologizing for his absence. Meanwhile Niles didn’t even know that Nina had left the Deeprealms. I commend him for apologizing and resolving that, but it doesn’t erase that he never visited her.

That’s pretty much all my feelings on Niles and his character. I like asshole characters SOMETIMES, like Azama, but even Azama has redeeming qualities to his character, like a genuine duty to help heal people (while putting aside his snark in that regard) and being an actual balanced father to Mitama. Niles is just a mess of a human, and not in a fun way to me. But again, it’s just all my personal feelings on it.

#Anti-Niles #Tagging as that just in case #I remember the thing boiling me up was someone trying to say Niles was actually a good dad only because he cared about Nina and…#Look; You can be a father with good intentions but that doesn’t make you a good dad #Literally the best dads of Fates are Benny; Laslow; Odin; Kaze; Silas… man this list is kind of long #ANYWAYS the dads who are actually there for their kids and are balanced and fair

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sunshineandviolets · 1 year

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first two chps of first comes love, and here are my thoughts...

i feel like the writers don't know what the 'best friends to lovers' trope even is. cause this aint it. The mc had an instant crush on Blake the moment they met and already flirty??

like um no - wouldve been better if they met when they were kids/teens , got to see their friendship grow and become closer. Both characters being there for each other at their highs and lows. Then slowly having a crush on the other, but never doing anything about it to avoid ruining the friendship or not realising what they have is a crush crush. Ones oblivious dating on and off with others, whilst the other is pining from a distance trying to move on over time...

bonus with f!blake, could be a perfect queer realisation arc for the mc. like being in high school and having gay dreams about your bestie but not quite sure what that means.

Then comes with Rebecca and I actually really like her - she's very sweet and kind, but i hate that the narrative is pushing the mc to dislike her... for no other reasons but cause shes dating Blake???

^^ like this, this is villain behaviour. Rebecca literally done nothing wrong at all and yet the mc feels entitled to be with Blake cause they are apparently 'perfect' together and of a marriage pact?? also don't get me started on Marcelino - fucking can't stand him.

What i wanted was the pining, the shared looks from across the room, reuniting with your best friends that you haven't seen for years and those feelings that you kept locked down starting to bubble back to the surface. watching them be with another - feelings of confusion, confliction, genuine sadness cause don't want to ruin your friends chance at happiness.

What it seems Im getting instead, an entitled mc putting down another woman for the sake to be with their old school crush. like the mc is 30 yet acts like a pouty teen.

Lastly, Eve is currently the best character. and i kinda hope that maybe she has a crush on Rebecca, but put her feelings aside after Rebecca and Blake met/hit it off. And is really good at hiding her own feelings with a smile cause both Rebecca and Blake are her good friends.

I want to remain optimistic about this book, but from the way its starting out... not a good look so far. Im really hoping we can have the choice to be nice to Rebecca and not forced to hate her, cause girlie does not deserve that hate/sabotage.

#playchoices #first comes love #choices first comes love #im a die hard best friends to lovers fan #and i just hate it when it gets done so dirty #when it could be good!!!

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randomnameless · 2 years

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Something you’ll find interesting: if permadeath is enabled and a recruited jeralt dies, byleth says they’re sad they lost him, but at the same time say that now that he’s gone, they’re going to seek out rhea themselves because they want to know why jeralt was avoiding her, they want to find out the truth. So azure gleam does have that even if it’s a crumb at least, and sothis was still fucked writing wise. But it does give weight to the fact that byleth has a stronger family with the church than they did with jeralt. Who knows? Rhea obviously recognised them as Sitri’s (in golden piss but still) so she’ll likely take them in and tell them the truth they want to hear.

This also made me like Byleth more (i didn’t hate them in houses, but i was more indifferent) and it makes me mad that they have a genuinely interesting character aside from backstory that houses shafted for whatever reason. Because we get information like them being curious about the world, getting along with rhea and liking her (she’s the only character to have a pre time skip a support), and even being quite soft spoken and gentle instead of the energetic protagonist types. I’m just disappointed that was only shown in three holes and feh instead of their actual debut game. Is Koei to blame to try to force us as players to want to woo edelgard or why did they make them mute? I would’ve loved to hear them voiced talking to rhea about sitri and the nabateans and having tea and fishing with Seteth and flayn.

Oh really???

AG can possibly still end with Billy at the monastery, becoming a teacher, and maybe Worst Mom having to interact with her children (lel) - it really is the best route lol

Pretty sure Rhea knows who they are, and if Billy's already green, she might even think they're Sothis and come to the realisation that they're 2 different persons earlier than in FE16 too!

I think @renisfan pointed it out earlier, but JP!F!Billy is also more soft-spoken and gentle than what is the "western depiction" that tried to maker her appear more "Badass".

But yeah, as I suspect, the reason why Billy couldn't be more "themselves" or "interesting" in FE16 was because Billy must be able to woo Supreme Leader - thus they cannot really get to know their lizard fam - and also because both games are allergic to Nabatean content - bcs Hresvelg Tea - so Billy being a half-nabatean like being cannot be under the spotlight.

I know I joke a lot about poor Jerry, but the fact that FE16 really tried to hammer the "best dad uwu feel sad for him uwu look we made two mouthpieces to tell you how awesome he was" angle when it also didn't erase the dramatic implications that Jerry effectively ran away with his kid because the kid was "abnormal" - as a result of the heart transplant Sitri asked Rhea to perform/or because Billy is biracial - but never developed about it, bar some half-assed reheated ravioli can "maybe it was a mistake to leave the monastery" before his death...

Only for Nopes to add more on the "deadbeat dad" angle and highly suggesting Jerry, as much as the crest stone, is the reason why Billy was so emotionally stunted...

But we couldn't have a resolution with Rhea and Jerry and Billy, where it would be more or less revealed that Jerry loves Billy and ran away to protect them from Rhea, even if what Jerry feared was only a result of Billy, just like Sitri and Rhea herself, not being human.

And we of course couldn't have Jerry, after learning the truth, feeling like a watermelon because even if Sitri wasn't a human, he still loved/s her, ultimately apologising to Billy and to Sitri to have shat on her last choice - with Billy telling him that he doesn't need to apologise, but maybe from now on they can all live together and be a real family, regardless of their race because they love each other, and sit on warm rocks together -

Why?

Because the game dgaf about nabateans, and coexistence between humans and nabateans directly contradicts Supreme Leader's motto, and Supreme Leader can never look bad or be contradicted, because everyone has to learn to love her, so even if she says Nabateans are incapable of human feelings, shouldn't rule over the people because they are nabateans, have no regard for human life or are cruel beasts - we can't have anyone's arc go frontally against her mindset and say that despite the shape of their ears, Nabateans and Humans aren't so different, they have the same feelings and can ultimately live together, hell, through Billy, love each other.

Now, I'm going to drink a cup of Earl Grey.

#anon #replies #FE16 #3 Nopes #Jerry 'don't go to see Rhea'#Billy 'hello i'm billy jeralt told me he had some history with you'#Rhea 'here take this zanado fruit i made your mother and i saved your life but btw are you also my mother?'#Sothis 'shit i forgot what was her name. Immaculate One #or Crusty wings?'#Nabatean stuff #I mean what we could have had

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lanternmice · 1 year

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you clearly love them a lot and i am So curious what ur thoughts on seven red suns as a character are. theyre.. kinda mean from what uve seen, but you probably have some great insights!! if this means gushing about your f/o instead of serious analysis i am also in 100% support of that gbjhf

WUAGHHHHH I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN I LIKE THEM SOOOO MUCH i really really want to talk about General interpretations but it's hard because of how obviously biased i am. but. Augh. this is so nothing but it got long and i'm embarrassed so woe read more be upon ye

i gotta start by mentioning that faelings original design & concept for suns (and spearmaster by extension) is sooo important to me and a lot of my personal interp comes from that, comics like this (link to the official discord btw) that they made for example! and though it has arguably less to do with suns, the 1.5 drought mod also has a special place in my heart but if i get too into that i'll start screaming and crying about it. just know that wanderer is so special to me and suns has two kitty cats that they love so much ok?🫶

anyways. i think because of the fact they aren't fleshed out much in canon aside from the spearmaster broadcasts there's a lot left up for the player to decide, which honestly is really fun to me and i genuinely love seeing other peoples interpretations!! but personally because you mentioned it and because i feel kinda strongly about this in particular, i wanna say that i don't think suns is mean, i think they definitely have the potential to be overprotective and intimidating, but it'd almost always be out of love. one thing the broadcasts ARE good at showing is just how much they care about basically everybody around them, even if they're a little.. dense about some things. they way they talk in the chat logs with nsh, about their guilt over pebbles' situation and trying to make up for it even though pebbles clearly doesn't want their help, about dooming not only pebbles but moon as well (who as far as canon text goes, they don't seem to have ever personally talked to moon at all imo). and when nsh stops messaging them, or becomes increasingly worried about moon, they get visibly concerned about his wellbeing as well and does their best to console him. my favourite broadcasts are the ones about their gradual realization that maaaaybe they care about spearmaster a little more than they originally intended to. they raised spearmaster, going as far as to teach it a personally modified sign language rather than a quick and easy one-way mark of communication like most iterators would do. the chat logs after spearmaster encounters pebbles and how worried suns was for it, about how they regret ever sending them to pebbles in the first place, and that they just wished it'd return home to them safely. there's also the fact that they kept an eye on spearmaster with their overseer basically 24/7, to the point that even pebbles knew that suns was watching. overseers can act on their own, we know that from what we see in canon, but pebbles knew that suns was actively watching when spearmaster entered his can. which. god this wasn't supposed to be about pebbles but pebbles not killing spearmaster is something that's so important to me because he so easily could have killed them and there was no reason for him not to. but despite how hurt he was and how wronged he felt, he knew that it would have ruined suns so he held himself back and it's so AAUUGHHHHHH!!!!!!! i love them all so much. this is barely even about suns anymore sorry i didn't mean to type so much about spearmaster i just love their campaign so much. don't even get me started on the thought of ascending as spearmaster that shit will make me start killing people i actually was going to talk about headcanon stuff too (mostly stuff from before the global ascension/after riv) but. i started thinking too hard about suns and pebbles and spearmaster and wanderer and and and. Well sorry but i fear that if i think about rain world any more today i may end up on national television. so maybe another day

#mhmnwwmewbmwh ebmenwm ebebjehwjelwkhe a #NOBODY READ THIS I'M SERIOUS the more i started typing the more embarrassed i got but. euugghhhhh. ilike them so much #it felt kinda silly breaking stuff up into paragraphs like i was typing something important but i didn't want it to be a wall of text #i need paragraphs to stop being so long. it's embarrassing #anyways i almost never talk about my personal rw interpretations bc i get shy about it but. augh. eerie convinced me to answer this🥹#it's nothing special really they just mean a lot to me especially their relationship with spearmaster. oh my god what if there was a family #that's why this mostly ended up being about them and spearmaster. In the end it's always about their kitty cats #it's not even an analysis. i just started reading the broadcasts and went AUGUHHHHHHH #what if suns was sooooo dense but they loved and cared about everybody so much. But oh my god they're kind of really dumb #and remembering faelings original design... i honestly really dislike how msc massacred suns design but i don't like to be a downer about i #it just means i get to see sooooo many cool fan designs instead so❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️#this post wasn't about designs as much as it was about them as a character but i think we alllllll know my favourite suns designs🫶#btw if you're curious about the hc stuff well. a lot of the past suns hcs i have are shkikas fault honestly #i never really thought about suns before the ancients ascended but ummmmm. hehe.#i like kikis interpretation of past suns relationship with the ancients in their city so much. so go look at their comics ok? for me #also while typing this i realized just how many typos there are on the broadcasts dialogue wiki. i could fix her💔#WAAAUGHHHHHHHHHHH ok nobody look. nobody look at me i don't like talking i'm scared #runs away crying #everybody pretend i don't exist i need to go bury my head in the sand now

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zhongrin · 1 year

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Okay I'm back from getting dinner (very late wwww) to see your answer to my ask and ;v; you made me melt on my seat haidbsishsis I can't I have to genuinely compose myself before thinking of a reply and failing WWWW

Actually, on the topic of f/os, I've had a few! I honestly don't talk abt them a lot because I'm still shy abt admitting who they are but one of the is Kazu, and I'm... Stupidly still pining over him wwww, he's so cute but some part of my brain just goes "lol absolutely not!" when I think of talking to him in private 😭 it's insane

Absolute horrendous karma because I have gotten more characters on my roster, and sometimes I just feel some of them (coughAlhaithamandYelan) just staring at my back as I admire him and they keep telling me I'm a simp :") it's not my fault he's so... So charming and sjhdidjdkd (< mentally rebooting)

... anyway, that aside I also like Heizou (hes such a smug bastard but the way he phrases things make me swoon I want to slug him sm /aff) and Albedo! I hadn't gone around to confessing to Albedo because I genuinely have no idea how to approach him ahaha ;; social anxiety is a bitch and I sometimes want to stop myself before I expose my own shamelessness, but some of my friends told me I kin him with my attitude.

Ah, I'm gonna stop rambling from here before I go on yet another tangent wwww, I just want to share a few of my f/os because I really love them a lot, even if I... Don't get to confess to some of them haha ^^;;

— 🌸🍒

pls i feel like kazu would adore the way you're so obviously pining over him. he thinks you're so precious when you get all flustered from him just calling your name. you make his more mischievous side awaken and he has to urge himself to not tease you too much lest you run away... >:)

same goes with heizou! and though it might take you some time to warm up to albedo (bc we all know how awkward it is for two introverts/strangers-shy people to be thrown in a room together) i think he'll find you relatable in many aspects, so he'll get comfortable sooner than usual!!

you and your army of soft short boys are adorable. let me adopt yall

#rin answers #rin is having tea with: anon 💟#🌸🍒 anon #rin selfships #zhongrin #zhongli: dear. you can't keep one-sidedly adopting people. that's not how this work-#me: but ;(((((

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the-clockwork-three · 1 year

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Swan Lake is a classic for a reason. Beautiful story. Amazing music. Incredible choreography. I do wish Ireland had... Literally any other ballet playing. Our cultural scene is incredibly stagnant. Just Swan Lake and the Nutcracker. Anyways this is musing from the production I saw today (technically yesterday)

The set for this production was very Greek (???) to me, especially in Act 1. (Not in the sense of the phrase but actually like Greece). There was a lot of pillars, and marblesque seats and fancy pots full of flowers. The lake was a lake in the even acts and the Act 3 ballroom is very plain. However the costume design was normal, which is to say they could be from anywhere in western Europe. But they were all sparkly so that's a plus

Act one. That's a pas de trois. You cannot convince me that that dance with the bestie and the two girls is not a valid Grand Pas de Trois. A dance together, everyone gets a solo, then they are together again. Swan Lake says polyamoruos rights. And this polyamory really want a fourth, but Seigfried keeps being like "nah it's alright, you go ahead I'm going to stay here". He is NOT interested in their advances.

Random half-joking headcannons aside, the crossbow was like really pathetic. It was pure white with what looked like delicate carvings and gems and I genuinely thought it was a pickaxe for a second before I remembered the plot. It's just.... My dude that's not going to hurt a fly it looks like your mum bought you a nice decoration. Also, if your mum gives you a crossbow in the first scene I expect you to have shot it at the evil wizard by the last one. Chekhov's gun,,,, or what I like to call it, Seigfried's stupid little crossbow

Anyway MIME STRIKES BACK. We all know that ballet is incredibly tied to mime as an artform and so the only way I'll my communicating the concept of marriage from now on is by laying one hand over the other and giving loaded looks. Anyways ballet is so silly and I love it

Act 2. Cygnets. I love cygnets. Give me more cygnets. I've also performed a lot of act 2 so the music is a little burned into my brain. Watching it made my feet hurt from remembering standing still for 3 solos

Anyways, here we meet Seigfried's first, but certainly not last, cringfail moment. He is the lands worst marksman. God help us all.

Also he proves himself to be an absolute wife guy. Odette has this lovely solo and he's just on the sidelines giving her heart eyes.

Act 3 <3 I've said it before and I'll say it again. I LOVE WHEN BALLET IS CLOSER TO ITS FOLK DANCE ROOTS. Character dance? Yummy. 3/5 of the folk dances were character. AND TARANTELLA. I LOVE SPAINISH DANCES. Rad grade 4 dance f (maybe. Possibly) is my favorite dance I have ever done for a ballet exam. If you take nothing of this watch RAD grade 4 dance f. The tamberines in the fourth dance were clearly missing their cymbals though. You can hear the dancers pointe shoes clunking against the stage, you would be able to hear the tamberines. And when they smack the thing there was the merest clink. Again as I have done the tarantella in rad grade 4, I can tell you that dancing with tamberines is LOUD

And then we have Odile. My boy you're so fucking stupid. I love you, but you are good of heart, dumb of ass. But the dance was breath taking. Of course. Fouttetes<3 and then Seigfried's pirouettes à second<3 I do think the ballerina fell out of the last fouette so she might not have done the full 32, or if she did she needs to work on her technique of stopping. Show stopping though. And? Then? At the end of the grand pas de deux????? The way Seigfried gripped Odile's hand and pressed it to his cheek. Raw devotion. It made my heart wrench. My boy is just so fucking stupid.

It's also really interesting to me that the Grand Pas de Deux goes to Odile. Odette does not get the dignity other tragic heroines get. The main dance in her story doesn't even go to her. She doesn't get the fouettes. Her love, her spotlight, her story was stolen from her. I think that's what made this veiwing of swan lake different from my earlier ones, as I understand the structure of ballets now. Also this one I'm seeing live

Act 4. May have laughed when Wizard Man crawled off stage. He was so wet and pathetic. Can neither confirm or deny.

Alright back to the idea of devotion. Seigfried to his last breath looks to the sky for Odette. He tries to give her what he gave Odile by mistake, his declaration of undying love. He presses he head to her hands with a desperation. He would try a thousand times over if they had the time. Odette for her part forgives him. She raises him from the ground when he feels the weight of his sins pressing down on him. She does not hold a grudge, but that doesn't change that she is scared. She knows Rothbart is coming, and the other swans are anxious with her. But they stay together, because that's what love is, right? Staying by someone's side, through good and bad, and forgiveness.

I'll be honest, I was not expecting a kiss. Not every romance needs one yanno. Sometimes pressing one's cheek to their loved ones hands communicates just as well as a smackeroonie. And if someone never kissed me but did the hand thing, I'd believe they liked me (note to self, possible solution to icks the idea of kissing gives you.). But then they did kiss and :D tbf it's implied that they are both super dead and on the way to heaven but that's a happy end in my books

Anyways watch swan lake. It good.

#is mise an crann #egg skreev #<<< definitely less closely tied to my writing than the last one but i make the rules her mkay?

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themosleyreview · 2 years

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The Mosley Review: Top Gun: Maverick

Way back when I played so many games on my Playstation 2, I rented one of the greatest games I've ever played. Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies was the most thrilling experience in aerial dogfighting I've ever had and I fell in love with the franchise. It was the closest I'd ever come to recreating the same since of speed and tension that the original Top Gun gave me as a child. That film is an 80's staple and still one of the best films of all time. The trend to make sequels to classic films 20+ years later has sort of died down a bit which is good. It is truly heartbreaking to add a film that tarnishes the legacy of the original and fortunately, this film adds on and strengthens that legacy. From the opening frames to the last shot, this film captured the magic of the original and seamlessly updates it for todays technology and audience. It was an unfathomable amount of fun and the emotional beats the story had was truly earned. The action was fantastic and real which is hard to say compared to the more CGI led films today. I loved that it was shot for real with minimal CGI. It gave the true feeling of being a Naval Pilot and you feel the amount G's these characters pull in every bank, climb or spiral. The action is always the great, but it would've been nothing without the relatable and excellent character work done by the stellar cast.

Tom Cruise returns as Capt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell and he hasn't skipped a beat. You can see the amount of care that Tom put into bringing back his career making role and the amount of fun he's genuinely having. I loved that Maverick still has that hotshot edge to him and he continues to push the limits. I loved that he was flawed and still haunted by Goose's death and how much of a burden he carries. Val Kilmer returns as Tom "Iceman" Kazansky in an amazing and heartfelt scene that truly was a highlight. Their bond is so strong and their chemistry has never been better. Jennifer Connelly joins the cast as Penelope Benjamin, the old flame Maverick talked about in the original film. She was as graceful and heavenly as you'd expect and I loved her in the film. Jon Hamm was perfectly stern and powerful as Vice Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson. He may give Maverick a chance, but man does he not like him. It was great to see the two of them battle it out over operational superiority and strategy. Glen Powell as Lt. Jake "Hangman" Seresin was excellent and the ever present arrogant jerk of the new Top Gun mission candidates. He gets under your skin and is almost a complete mirror of what Maverick/Iceman used to be. Monica Barbaro was awesome and strong as Lt. Natasha "Phoenix" Trace. She was quick on her feet and a fierce pilot. I loved Jay Ellis as Lt. Reuben "Payback" Fitch and how even though he had a great personality, he was always ready to learn. He had one of the scariest moments in the film during a training exercise. One of my favorite pilots in the film though was Lt. Robert "Bob" Floyd played by Lewis Pullman. He may be the butt of a few jokes, but he was one of the most valuable members of the team. Miles Teller as Lt. Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw really stole the film as he plays the son of Nick "Goose" Bradshaw. The amount of resentment he carries for Maverick was heartbreaking and understandable. There is so much emotional history there and it easily explored and expertly performed by Teller. The chemistry between him and Tom was electric and fun to watch.

Aside from the action and Tom Cruise's aviator sunglasses, there is nothing more iconic than the score. Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga, Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe all got together and crafted a perfect score for this already fantastic film. The "Top Gun Anthem" is placed perfectly throughout the film and it immediately brings back the feeling of joy and sets the epic scope of the story. This film wouldn't be Top Gun without the anthem or Kenny Loggins’ hit song "Danger Zone" and the song returns with the fury of the F/A-18E jet engine roar! Visually this film was stunning and I loved that we are in the cockpit with the characters as they fly. The way the cameras are set up have changed the game in terms of audience immersion. Speaking of immersion, the sound in this film was amazing! I felt ever after burn, turn and jet engine ignition. Director Joseph Kosinski has made yet another amazing film and one of the best sequels of all time. This is one of the best films of the year and genuinely a great film. This is a MUST SEE for all Top Gun fans and in IMAX! Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

#top gun maverick #tom cruise #miles teller #Jennifer Connelly #jon hamm #ed harris #glen powell #val kilmer #monica barbaro #lewis pullman #joseph kosinski #lady gaga

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antiqua-lugar · 20 days

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Top 5 dating sim love interests! (even if they're all from the same game!)

THANKS FOR THIS ASK <3

I tried my best to pick ones from different games/series. I failed because I either forgot which LI I liked or I forgot why! (Sorry to Kent from Amnesia, Kojaku from DRAMAtical Murder, Lily from Katakawa Shoujo and Souya from Storm Lover Kai!) Also they are all guys, because otome games were way easier to find than f/f games and I prefer female romance options in RPGs anyway! That said! (most images have been taken from the internet as I lost all my screenshots) 1. Mihara Shiki (Tokimeki Girl's Side 1)

I know what you are thinking. You are thinking "Wait isn't that the super dramatic artist guy who sometimes dresses as a nun and elects the two of you king and queen of fairies and wants to spend the whole school trip role-playing as husband and wife?" Yes. And that's why he is my favourite despite Himuro being right there being a hot math professor who plays the piano and drives a Maserati. I just love the fact that Mihara is living his best life being unapologetically himself and his route isn't about like, humouring him or "fixing him" but instead is about Mihara realising the heroine is a kindred spirit and dragging her into his world so they can live their best lives together.

2. Hikami Itaru Tokimeki Girl's Side 2)

One of my secret weakness in otome games is guys with glasses because they are usually the studious one who likes rules and/or organising stuff and Hikami is definitely that guy but also his main character trait is that he loves rules because he thinks they genuinely help society. And that's just very sweet and he never gives up despite the fact that his fellow students think he is just a stick in the mud and he struggles with social interactions. And eventually he manages to learn how to communicate his ideals better! And he genuinely likes learning stuff! That said if Mizushima was avaiable I would have a very hard time picking between the two.

3. Sakurai Kouichi (Tokimeki Girl's Side 3)

He is the bad boy with a scary face and a heart of gold. He is the eldest brother. He drives a motorcycle. I want to steal all his clothes for myself. He somehow has some of the saddest moments in the whole series and might honestly have the worst self esteem issues in the whole franchise. Also I liked that they actually tried to address the fact that he is a teenager delinquent not very academically gifted living out of an abandoned diner with his younger brother. Also they did a great job in writing a character with some like, macho-lite tendencies who is also Bambi's biggest supporter (after Karen). Not sure if the translators had anything to do with it but it is a good balance of "The kind of guy who says 'my woman' but who also is very proud that his woman is going at a top rate university to fix the world" (or whatever you think your Bambi would do with her life). Probably because all his macho-lite tendencies come from the fact that he needs to know that he is doing a good job at taking care of his loved ones or he will die. 4. Julius (Harvest Moon : Tree of Tranquility/Animal Parade)

Promoting Harvest Moon as honourary dating sim here but I would argue that the dating aspect is like half of its popularity ESPECIALLY in ToT/AP where imho they really nailed it, also with the festivals and village events.

Anyway he's my favourite and also I Iike how they depict his relationship with masculinity - his gender expression being like what it is a lot of people mistake him for a woman, which he is canonically insecure about, but aside from that he isn't singled out as being especially feminine compared to the other bachelors. He even works a physically demanding job and everything. (His insecurities also make him the only bachelor from which I accept AP's stupid "bait and switch" proposal where you do all the work of getting ready to marry and then the bachelor proposes to you. Like excuse me, this is Harvest Moon, the one building a two stores house and climbing mountains to get the Magical Engagement Ring Equivalent is the one who gets to propose here! "I love you" WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I HAD TO FURNISH THE WHOLE KITCHEN THEN) Also I love that his favourite gifts are precious stones, roses and pumpkins. He's equally happy getting a ruby or roasted pumpkin and I respect that. 5. Nate Lawson (XOXO Droplets)

XOXO Droplets is an excellent dating sim where you play as a jerk who only wants to have fun and date cute guys who gets sent to jerk group therapy so she can date other jerks. Obviously my favourite is the huge stick in the mud who takes everything seriously, wants things to be organised and on time, it's regularly called out for being a killjoy and doesn't even tell you you are together because "it was obvious". Also he power walks everywhere and expects you to keep up. Also he and his best friend who is also a fellow jerk are a packed deal and you just have to live with it. HONOURABLE MENTIONS Kazuma Suzuka (TMGS1)

He is funny and he is sweet BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY when it comes to high school based dating sims he is the only sporty guy the heroine can date while being a fellow athlete. He's in the basketball male team while the heroine is in the female one, so they are both winning championships and kicking ass instead of he guy kicking ass while the heroine cheers on on.

Benkei (Shall We Date? Destiny Ninja)

Most of the Shall We Date games are easy to forget because duh but I always remember this guy because I imprinted on him like a baby duck and he is like the most generic chill generic guy in a cast of complete anime characters and the game knows it so I had the best time of my life being the love interest of the side character. Also frankly they should have got into a throuple with the lord.

Thank you so much for the ask! I kind of want to replay most of the games now...

#antiqua personal #dating sims #antiqua plays tmgs

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tehuti88-art · 10 months

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7/21/23: r/SketchDaily theme, "Free Draw Friday." This week's character from my anthro WWII storyline is Walther Dannecker. He's the husband of Margit Dannecker and father of Lt. Col. Ernst Dannecker. He's deceased by the time of the main storyline and happened to meet a particularly unfortunate end because his entire family is messed up. There'll be more about him later in my art Tumblr and Toyhou.se.

Regarding his design, he's a Siberian husky.

TUMBLR EDIT: Walther is the posthumous background character father of another posthumous secondary character (Lt. Col. Dannecker appears only in flashback in the bulk of the story, Reborn and Reunion, and has nothing to do with Ultima Thule, though I'm unsure about Genesis--he does play a major role in the "lore" prequel story Weltuntergang, however), therefore I've not developed his own background yet, if ever. I imagine he had a normal middle-class upbringing. Most of his action in the storyline, including his disturbing end, can be found in Margit Dannecker's entry.

The Dannecker family is hopelessly f**ked up, for want of a better term, though Walther himself is actually sane and stable. Unlike other characters who start out good but go bad, such as Georg Klemper or Jürgen Werner, Walther is genuinely decent, and never falls down that particular hole; he just has the misfortune to marry into a family line with lots of problems he can't fix. When he finally does learn the extent and seriousness of what's going on, he even correctly identifies his son Ernst as a victim--despite Ernst willingly participating in his mother's actions, he's not old enough to make such decisions on his own. Result, Walther's anger is aimed at Margit, not Ernst. He realizes that the only reasonable course of action is to separate the two, and accordingly sends Ernst off to a military academy. It's an act that ensures both wife and son will forever hate him, though he hopes they'll come back to their senses, and even if they don't...well, he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

Walther is a good person, like I said, and that's why it doesn't occur to him that his son Ernst, aside from being victimized by his mother, was additionally just born broken. If not a full-blown psychopath, Ernst is quite close, and that's something that no amount of motherly "love" or fatherly discipline can fix. Margit herself starts to catch on as to their son's true dark nature after he comes home from the Great War--full grown now, and taller and stronger than his own father--and treads carefully. Walther never has the chance to reach this realization, mostly because Ernst murders him before he can, but also because, being a good person himself, it simply goes against everything he's ever known or learned about people, to realize that some of them are just born bad. Walther figures that, like Margit (who's not what I'd technically call a "bad person," but does do bad things), bad people are made that way through their experiences (Margit, too, was similarly abused by her own father), not born that way--why would it ever occur to him that a child who's been raised sternly but was otherwise loved and well cared for might turn out broken, anyway? The concept is just beyond his understanding. Even if someone were to inform him, I bet he would've thought there was something he could do, to change his son for the better. Walther is no fatalist.

This is a hopeless task, however, and Ernst has a lot stacked against him. Walther's attempt to straighten him out by sending him to the military academy, and by extension unwittingly sending him to the Western Front (he hadn't counted on war actually breaking out while Ernst was away), only exacerbates Ernst's dysfunction by teaching him how to be an even more effective predator and killer. Ironically, Walther--in an attempt to save his family by saving his son--ends up helping Ernst destroy it. (Ernst Dannecker then carries on the tradition by victimizing his stepdaughter Gret, who then, with the aid of another of his victims, helps kill him, in turn. She takes his honor sword both as a trophy, and as a means to protect herself...far better than Ernst ever did.)

Walther ends up a victim of not just his own broken family, but also his own good yet misguided intentions...well, Ernst Dannecker later earns the nickname "Der Teufel" (the Devil), and what is the road to Hell paved with, after all? As well, he becomes just another rusty cog in the malfunctioning machinery of the Dannecker clan, all too easily disposed of and forgotten after playing his part in ensuring the family's collapse.

Maybe, though, in some small roundabout way, that's a good thing after all.

[Walther Dannecker 2023 [‎Friday, ‎July ‎21, ‎2023, ‏‎2:00:52 AM]]

#artists on tumblr #ibisPaint x #SketchDaily #original characters

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