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krisp-xyz · 2 months

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ok I'm gonna ramble about outer wilds.

if you haven't played it, even if you don't typically care about spoilers, PLEASE avoid spoilers bc this is the most delicate game ever when it comes to spoilers due to the way it's designed. it's one of the few games where spoilers WILL rob you of the experience. with that said,

OUTER WILDS SPOILERS

this is a very very special game to me fgkjldfjk the ending was really beautiful when i first played and the more i thought about and processed it, the more it really stuck with me to the point where i *will* just cry if i think about the ending too much and god i cannot play through that ending again without sobbing. since im assuming people reading this have played the game, yall already know the nature of the game. the only thing you have to gain from anything is knowledge, and once you beat the game, you cant really ever play it again. sure you could maybe go for achievements or explore things you never saw but the experience is kinda just over.

I very much interpreted the ending as being about death. the game has the whole supernova time loop thing going on which sorta makes the idea of respawning a canonical aspect of the game. the fact that you can just hop back into your ship and you dont really have repercussions from death which is a pretty much synonymous with games as a whole tbh is a canonical aspect of the game that you the player AND you the hearthian traveler exploring the universe are a part of. this doesnt immediately seem to special and didn't even click with me very much until quite a bit after i beat the game, but to beat the game is to accept that you're going to die, and truly dying in this game is kinda the closest media has come to communicating what death really means for me at least. you start aimlessly wandering this star system and eventually start to piece things together, you make goals and eventually figure out how to beat the game, etc. all the knowledge you have to gain in this game leads up to the ending. maybe you stop the supernova and save everyone! maybe thats why you're trying to find the eye of the universe! but no, all the stars are dying. you were just unfortunate enough to be born at the end of a dying universe. There's nothing you can do because death is inevitable for you and those around you.

to beat the game is not only to accept that the sun will explode for the last time, that the end of the experience is inevitable, that all your hearthian friends will die for good, but beating the game also requires accepting that *you the player* have reached the end of this experience, *you the player* cannot hang onto anything forever, that the end was inevitable for you too. sometimes i get genuinely sad that i can basically never play this game again, and i almost wonder if my little hearthian protagonist felt similar during the end of the game. that feeling of the inevitable end finally reaching us.

AND DESPITE IT ALL, you finally accept that you are not immortal, that this will not last forever, that the sun cant keep exploding and looping and exploding and looping forever, when you finally accept death on your own terms, when you have no idea of what's in store for you and what will happen next but you take that dive anyway, you just,, get to share a moment with the people close to you. you sit around the campfire as everyone's music comes together for the first time, once *literally* worlds apart, now, in harmony, as the little audio cues to find your friends on each planet become a symphony. they each share messages about how they feel and every single fucking one resonated with me so much sdjklfsklj stuff like "you cut it a little short dont you think?" and "i got to be a part of something really cool, so I've got no complaints" and "the future depends on the past, even if we wont get to see it" and MY FAVORITE FUCKING LINE FROM THE ENTIRE GAME. solanum, the only non-hearthian character around the campfire, a nomai, one of the species that made this all possible, a friend, says something different. she says that this is the end of our journey, and she asks you a question. she just asks if you're ready. its not required to say yes to finish, its not even required to talk to her to beat the game, but if you say no, she will ask again if you are ready whenever you talk to her afterwards, while leaving a message for you in case you are not ready for it to end. she says "its tempting to linger in this moment where every possibility still remains, but unless they are collapsed by a conscious observer, they will never be more than possibilities." when you finally take your final plunge in this moment, you watch the universe collapse before you, remarkably similar to all the times you watched the sun explode before your eyes, and you die.

even though you the player are clearly still alive, (its just a video game after all :p) the experience is over. you died in a way too. this world is no longer yours to explore and discover. after the credits theres a very nice touch where you see the start of a new universe after you enter the eye and the entire universe dies before you. you see some new creatures huddled around a campfire together to remind you that death isn't the end, because "the future depends on the past, even if we wont get to see it" and that maybe it was enough to be a part of something cool, to share those moments with your friends, to explore the universe in whatever unique way you did.

SO WHAT THE FUCK IS ECHOES OF THE EYE

DLC spoilers beyond this point ofc.

if you're like me or countless other players, you probably wanted more, well I've got just the news for you!! theres a DLC !!!! "but wait, doesnt this defeat literally the entire purpose of the game?" yes :D but that's not a flaw, in fact they do this in the best way possible. the DLC challenges the message of the game because there is a fundamental aspect of death that the game barely even touches that the DLC explored *thoroughly*: fear.

chances are, you realize you can beat the game and go beat it and are immensely moved and equally confused by the ending because it takes so much time to process that you never really have a moment to fear death. theres never a moment where you are scared of what comes next because it doesnt really click that this is the end of everything until after the end. in my opinion at least, this is pretty much the only flaw with their portrayal of death and the DLC remedied this.

so it turns out you want more and weren't ready for this to end! its time to explore the owlks and their contributions to this story. im not going to explain their story in depth because im assuming people have played ofc, but key traits with the owlks is that they feared loss. they archived what they wanted to destroy, they lost their home beause of the efforts they made to reach the eye and were horrified, they tried to escape by hiding in a world of their own creation. they hid the eye to prolong the life of the universe as infinitely far as they could. they stumbled across a way to similarly archive one's consciousness, and conquer even death itself, but it was all out of fear. they couldnt accept the end so they hid from it.

and let me just say THE DLC IS FUCKING SCARY. they lean into horror and I think everyone should play it even if they arent into horror. the puzzles arent actually too challenging in execution, and making the discoveries you need is no sweat if you've gone through the base game tbh, although it is very different in a very refreshing way. The real challenge and the real roadblock is fear. some of the things you are required to do are immensely scary and put you into situations you frankly dont want to be in! but if you quit, if you dont do this out of fear, if you hide and if you try to escape this, you're just like the owlks. you dont get through this by not being afraid, you get through this by not letting your fear paralyze you. you need to face your fears (often quite literally as you need to lure owlks away from things and I think its a nice touch that they can also hide from you by turning off their lights and then they can still see you by shining their light towards you even if yours is off FUCK that but this is a bit of a tangent lsdkfgljsd) and if you succeed where they failed, you learn one of the biggest mysteries of the game. you learn why the eye's signal vanished as fast as it appeared, why the nomai failed to find it as effortlessly as the owlks did, but more imporantly, you make a friend :] you meet the owlk that enabled the eye of the universe to be found with a brief decision that they made in a single moment so long ago. the efforts to build upon what the prisoner did were not in vain, and the prisoner accepts death by literally walking into the water as their light goes out. they leave a final message for you, urging you to ride into the exploding sun with them by your side, and you know its time to go beat the game again.

hopefully at this point the ending has sat with you long enough for you to realize what this means. now, more than ever, this is finally the end of the game. you wanted more and you got more but that desire for more similarly cant last forever. the game still needs to end and this is why there should never ever be another DLC for this game please,, a desire for more and a fear of the end kinda come hand in hand, and the fears that you chose to face were not in vain. this is it! theres nothing else! maybe you're sad that the game is ending for the last time, and maybe you still dont want it to end. but in those final moments around the campfire, solanum isn't the only non-hearthian friend around the campfire :] the prisoner is there too wondering if they even deserve to be there after what their kind did, but its over now, everything worked out. they say something really simple that was, without a doubt, the perfect addition to the game for me:

"...How beautiful. It’s different than I’d envisioned.

Whatever happens next, I do not think it is to be feared."

I think one of the reasons this game resonated so much with me is something that I really struggled to grasp until I watched shammy's outer wilds review. there's something so much more significant about *being* rather than just, observing. tons of movies try to tackle these ideas of death and even plenty of games, but with outer wilds, *you* are having this experience that will end that you can never have again. *you* are exploring a world in your own unique way that cannot last forever. and I think that's ok. I think that's what makes it special.

I'm a game dev and an artist and I think outer wilds is genuinely profound. it makes me want to make something that touches people in the way I felt touched by outer wilds. I'm so happy things aligned for me to get to use this same medium for art. I'm gonna go cry now thanks for reading <3

#outer wilds #outer wilds spoilers #I'm not crying I'm not crying I'm not cr #i did just copy paste this from discord btw

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ooops-i-arted · 9 months

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filoni called anakin "the greatest jedi of all time" in the ahsoka sneak peak lmaooo that's wild. just the cherry on top of the slop he's been serving us in recent years.

is that why other jedi in his works are often trashed and his darling favorite oc ahsoka is so elevated in importance? is that why he doesn't know jack shit about attachments and constantly misrepresents it, because to him, jedi are the big meanies that tried preventing anakin from boning padme? someone please stop this man.

Ah, anon, did you sense a disturbance in the Force that brought you here? Instagram forced me to look at the new Ahsoka trailer about forty times today and I'm sure my saltiness is palpable. Every time I hear that orange fucktart say "Heir to the Empire" I could rip up his stupid notebook emblazoned with Ahsoka's symbol I saw in a behind the scenes post with my bare hands.

I think Filoni's Anakin (not canon Anakin, not the one in the prequel films, because TCW Anakin is NOT Anakin* and I will die on this hill) is a dear OC to Filoni, but of course not on the same level of Ahsoka. So of course he's speshul just the way Ahsoka is. The Jedi ~just don't understaaaaaaand them~ and they DESERVE special treatment and to break the rules like many an amateur writers' OCs.

*Apparently the TCW Anakin voice actor was told to "do a mix of Luke and Han" so clearly staying in-character for Anakin was never on the radar.

I did see a post I can't find now that was directed at Anakin stans, not Filoni, but it was interesting because it said basically Anakin is called the greatest Jedi of all time by his stans but they really mean "the most powerful Jedi of all time." Because he possibly/probably was, whether you go by midi-chlorians or just demonstrated power with the Force. But the post went on to say the Jedi don't value power like that, don't measure by it, so it's a fandom projection to say Anakin was the "greatest of the Jedi." Which makes sense to me, because the greatest of an organization wouldn't be the one who destroys them. And how are we measuring "greatness" anyway? Overall accomplishment? Skill with the Force? Number of people helped/saved (and do you get a penalty for people you hurt/kill)? Does Yoda win by default just because he's had longer than everyone else to rack up Jedi Greatness points and longer to practice his skills? Personally I would pick Revan, powerful in the Force, made a huge impact in her day, and her redemption (if you play Light Side like I did) was actively undoing the damage she did and defeating Malak for good, not just killing a Sith to save her own loved one and then dying. And of course I'll freely admit part of that is because she's one of my favorite characters. The point is, it's subjective. And Filoni has shown again and again he cannot be subjective about his faves. Just look at TCW Character Bo getting the Darksaber literally handed to her by the main character being shafted in his own show.

Oooo, since you're here, wanna hear an absolutely RANCID crack theory I had today? What if the whole Din Grogu thing is setting up some obscure Outer Rim tradition of taking on another's name with your own so that Filoni has an excuse to have Luke say "Oh Ahsoka, you are so wise and perfect and the Best Jedi Of All Time Who Truly Embodies What Filoni Thinks A Jedi Should Be, I would like to go by Ahsoka Luke now! Who's Padme anyway, no one important." While Filoni claps and honks like a seal as Ahsoka Luke Skywalker appears in the credits. Okay it's very silly but I put nothing past him.

#I cannot even pretend to be polite about this damn show anymore i hate it #i hate rebels characters AND the thrawn trilogy being sacrificed at the altar of ahsoka #anti ahsoka #anti ahsoka tano #anti ahsoka show #if you don't have anything nice to say about ahsoka come sit by me lmao

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broadwaydivastournament · 17 days

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Broadway Divas Tournament: Round 2A

Jayne Houdyshell (1953) "JAYNE HOUDYSHELL (Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn). Broadway: King Lear; A Doll's House, Part 2 (2017 Tony nomination); The Humans (2016 Tony Award); Fish in the Dark; Dead Accounts; Romeo and Juliet; Follies (2012 Tony nomination); The Importance of Being Earnest; Bye Bye Birdie; Wicked; Well (2006 Tony nomination and Theatre World Award). Off-Broadway: Lincoln Center Theater: The New Century; Playwrights Horizons: The Pain and the Itch; The Public Theater: Well; Roundabout Theatre Company: The Language Archive; MCC: Relevance; Manhattan Theatre Club: The Receptionist; Shakespeare in the Park: Much Ado About Nothing. Jayne has received two Drama Desk Awards, two Obies, and the Lily Award. Regional credits include classical and modern plays at Yale Repertory Theatre, MacCarter Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arena Stage, Alabama Shakespeare Festival and many others. Film: The Humans, Little Women, The Chaperone, Everybody's Fine, Changing Lanes, Garden State. Television: "Only Murders in the Building," "The Good Fight," "Evil," "Law & Order: SVU," "Elementary," "Blue Bloods."" - Playbill bio from The Music Man, February 2022

Stephanie J. Block (1972) "STEPHANIE J. BLOCK (The Baker's Wife) Broadway: The Cher Show (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Award winner), Falsettos (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle nominations), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Tony, Drama Desk nominations), Anything Goes, 9 to 5: The Musical (Drama Desk nomination), The Pirate Queen, The Boy from Oz, Wicked. Off-Broadway: Brigadoon (Encores); Little Miss Sunshine (Drama Desk nomination); By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (Drama Desk nomination). Film and television: "iMorcecai," "Bluff City Law," Rise, "Madam Secretary," "Orange is the New Black," "Homeland," "It Could Be Worse," "Stephanie J. Block Live From Lincoln Center" for Great Performances on PBS. She currently co-hosts and co-produces "Stages Podcast" with Marylee Fairbanks and can be accessed wherever you get your podcasts. Twitter and Instagram: @stephaniejblock." - Playbill bio from Into the Woods, September 2022.

NEW PROPAGANDA AND MEDIA UNDER CUT: ALL POLLS HERE

youtube

"Despite her beating out Jan Maxwell, my beloved, I feel no lingering bitterness because Jayne Houdyshell is one of those divine character actresses who elevates every project she's in. Her Music Man nomination came as a wild surprise, but looking back, it just makes sense. She was exactly what we needed post-reopening."

youtube

"Once again, I am asking which of you is going to be contributing to the Send DroughtofApathy to London this Summer to See SJB in Kiss Me, Kate Fund? They released a little promo for it, and damn she looks good. Why is everyone going to the West End to do their shows? Do them here so I can see them, dammit. Who needs the West End and their strange tastes anyway?"

#broadwaydivastournament #broadway #broadway divas #tournament poll #jayne houdyshell #stephanie j. block #round 2a

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imaginesandbandfiction · 2 years

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Dating the OBX Crew

Headcanons based on Taylor Swift albums

Pairing: John B Routledge x reader, JJ Maybank x reader, Pope Heyward x reader, Rafe Cameron x reader, Topper Thornton x reader, Kiara Carrera x reader, Sarah Cameron x reader

Word Count: 3.7K

Warnings: Alludes to some mild gay panic

Summary: What dating the kids from Outer Banks would be like, as told through Taylor Swift albums.

A/N: I had SO MUCH FUN with this!!! I have a few JJ fics that I'm editing that will be coming out soon, but I'm down to write for anyone from this show. Please let me know if you want dedicated fics based on anything from this list because I will write them all if you want me to, haha.

Masterlist

John B Routledge – Debut

Childhood best friends to lovers arc!!!

Your relationship would be super wholesome since you’re two years younger than him and you grew up together and your parents are friends so he wouldn’t want to move too fast (at least not at first)

You’re also best friends first so you have the most fun together

10% angst, 90% fluff

Top 3 songs: Mary’s Song, Our Song, I’m Only Me When I’m With You

Mary’s Song: Do I even need to explain this one??? Mini golf dates, front porch kisses, taking long drives in the Twinkie when he finally gets his license just because you can, play-fighting, ugh I can’t!!!! You’d get married on the beach (obvi) and everyone in the Cut would watch as you sail away on the HMS Pogue to your honeymoon. Your daughter was conceived on that boat, and John B swears he has never loved you more than when you’re holding her. He’s an amazing dad and wants another, like, immediately, but you convince him to wait a couple of years. His patience pays off, though, when you give birth to twin boys two-and-a-half years after your daughter was born. You raise your kids in a little house just a few blocks from your own childhood homes, and they are the cutest beach babies in the OBX.

Our Song: He would 100% sneak in through your window at night when everyone else was asleep, at first when you’re just friends and he wants to hang out with you but then when things become more and he misses you. Your relationship is defined by all of the mundane things about life in the Cut; sneaking out through broken screen doors, running barefoot on the beach, late-night swims, laughing 24/7. One day, when you’re driving with the windows down in his car, you ask him what your song is, and he tells you ‘everything,’ and it makes you melt into your seat.

I’m Only Me When I’m With You: Laying on the beach and stargazing, comfortable silences, home is anywhere you’re with him, you know everything about each other so you’d be super open and honest about everything and work through any fights or problems as a team because, at the end of the day, that’s what you are and what you’ve always been.

JJ Maybank – Red

You grew up on the Cut with the Pogues but had your own group of girlfriends so you weren’t always with them

You spent enough days (and nights) with them to know that JJ Maybank was no good for you, but you fell for his bright blue eyes and charming smile anyways

He’s a hothead so you’d probably have some big fights but you would always make up and your relationship would be stronger for it

30% angst, 70% fluff

Honestly, this whole album is just perfect but I’ll narrow it down I guess

Top three songs: Treacherous, State of Grace, Stay Stay Stay

Treacherous: This song describes what it feels like to fall in love with JJ. You know you shouldn’t, and he’s probably just going to break your heart, but it feels right. It’s exciting and you get swept up in his wild adventures and somehow you become best friends within the span of just a few weeks. He’s always showing up at your house early in the mornings to take you surfing, or late at night to smoke and then go get ice cream from the gas station. You let him take the lead and every day is something new and exciting.

State of Grace: It’s on one of your late-night adventures that he finally shoots his shot. You snuck into some Kook’s pool, and it’s dark but the moon is bright and it makes everything glow, especially JJ. His blond hair looks shiny and golden, and his blue eyes sparkle when he looks at you. He challenged you to a shotgun contest earlier, so both of you are feeling a little tipsy. You float on your back and pretend like you’re floating amongst the stars, and you babble about whatever random things come to your mind. JJ swims up to you and slips his hand in yours which makes your heart race. He pulls you towards him and you kick your legs back down so you’re upright. Your tip-toes barely bounce on the bottom, but JJ can stand, and he grabs your other hand to keep you from floating away. He pulls you in, slowly, with a cheeky grin on his lips, until you’re pressed up against him. His hands wrap themselves around your waist and his eyes flicker up and down from your eyes to your lips. When you whisper ‘kiss me,’ he does.

Stay Stay Stay: I read a fic inspired by this and it’s perfect but I can't find it so if you know it or wrote it please send it to me so I can link it! Your fights are mostly about stupid stuff, and JJ would 100% wear a football helmet to apologize to you, sort of as a joke but also just in case. He definitely loves to rile you up because he thinks you’re hot when you’re mad. Sometimes you think you guys just pick fights because making up is so fun.

Bonus! Starlight: Because you and JJ would absolutely go thrifting for fancy clothes and sneak into a Kook party. You’d get drunk on champagne and eat little finger foods, stumble around on the dance floor, and talk about all of your crazy dreams together. You’d end up getting kicked out and would walk home on the beach and look at the stars and plan out your whole future together.

Pope Heyward – Speak Now

You’re JJ’s sister so you’re technically off-limits but, really, what did JJ expect when he dragged you along everywhere he went. If you didn’t fall for Pope, it probably would’ve been John B

You’re the quieter, more studious sibling, so you and Pope have always gotten along, especially when the rest of the group is dreaming up some crazy scheme. You would make eye contact and just roll your eyes at each other

Pope likes having you around because at least someone understands his literary references and wants to discuss more academic topics. As much as he enjoys JJ’s philosophical high thoughts, he likes talking to someone with educated opinions and a wider worldview

5% angst, 95% fluff

Top three songs: Long Live, Mine, Innocent

Long Live: Despite the fact that you’re both pretty content to just read on the beach, you still get pulled into the Pogues’ crazy adventures. You never feel more alive than you do searching for gold, or running from the cops, with your best friends. Even before you start dating, Pope would always make sure you were keeping up, and he was the first one to offer a helping hand or encouraging words when you needed them.

Mine: You start studying at Heywards Seafood just to get out of your house, and when it’s slow, Pope will quiz you with flashcards or help you with your homework. Even when it’s busy, he would still make sure to check on you frequently and keep your soda full. He’d bring you your favorite food without you ever actually ordering, and he wouldn’t let you pay for anything. You fall in love in his parent’s little restaurant, during quiet afternoons, and eventually, you start keeping him company while he cleans up at the end of the night. He takes things slow because he knows you’re afraid of falling in love because of your dad, but he’s patient and helps you through it because you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to him.

Innocent: You and JJ have gotten yourselves into lots of trouble just trying to survive with your father being who he is. You’ve done things you’re not proud of, and experienced the darker side of life that some lucky people never do, and yet, somehow, you’re still the most innocent person Pope knows. You’re so sweet and trusting, and instead of being paranoid and defensive (kind of like your brother can be, at times), you always give people the benefit of the doubt and are quick to forgive. Whenever things get just a little bit too dark, he’s always there to turn the light back on for you.

Rafe Cameron – Reputation

I mean, come on, it’s obvious

Your relationship is a hurricane. Intense, chaotic, and dangerous, but beautiful at the same time

Broken champagne glasses, screaming at each other in the middle of a party then having hot make up sex in the bathroom, being the hottest couple everywhere you go, glamorous dresses and designer suits crumpled on the floor

85% angst, 15% fluff

Top three songs: Ready For It?, So It Goes, New Year’s Day

Ready For It?: ‘Let the games begin’ is SO ACCURATE. Your family just moved to Figure 8 from NYC and you are the hot new it girl on the island. Rafe is obsessed immediately. You play hard to get for a bit, but then hook up one night in the bathroom at some fancy charity gala, and from then on it’s intense and messy. You’re both the jealous type, and you love making each other jealous. It’s like a game, you see how far the other person will let you get with someone else before they burst in and interrupt. Is it healthy? No. But it’s fun and the sex afterward is incredible.

So It Goes: This song describes the moment you realize you love Rafe. The two of you are at a club on the mainland and he’s playing your usual game, dancing with some hot 30-year-old. He makes eye contact with you over her shoulder and then whispers something into her ear. She kisses him, hard, and moves her lips across his jaw and down his neck. Instead of marching over to claim him, you slip into the hallway to the bathrooms and lean your head back against the wall, willing the tears not to fall. Eventually, he realizes something is wrong and he comes to find you. Her bright pink lipstick is smudged on his face and you lose it. Rafe catches you before you fall to the ground and holds you while you cry. When you calm down enough to be able to speak, you confess your feelings. He wipes your tears away and tells you he loves you too. You’re the only one he dances with for the rest of the night and your chemistry is so intense that no one in the club can take their eyes off you.

New Year’s Day: You’re the only one who ever gets to see his softer side. It doesn’t come out often, but you cherish the quiet, romantic moments when you get them. Cleaning up after his parties becomes one of your favorite things because he’s usually more subdued when he’s hungover. Clingy too. You laugh about the stupid things your friends did the night before while you pick up discarded bottles and sweep up glitter and confetti. It takes twice as long as it should to clean everything up because he’s always interrupting. He’ll take the broom from your hands and pull you in close, swaying to whatever music you’re listening to in the empty foyer. The juxtaposition of the remnants of last night’s debauchery and his pajama-clad body makes you giggle, and in these moments, you know you’ll stand by him through everything, whether he’s the king of Figure 8 or disowned from his family.

Topper Thornton – 1989

You’re a Pogue, he’s a Kook, can I make it any more obvious?

He’s not as unhinged as Rafe, so your relationship is less dramatic and more fun

Going golfing just to get drunk and race golf carts, dancing on tables at parties in Kook mansions, skinny dipping,

30% angst, 70% fluff

Top Three Songs: I Know Places, Style, Wildest Dreams

I Know Places: Your relationship is a secret, at first, and you take turns showing each other your favorite hidden spots in the OBX. You spend a lot of time on the mainland, too, and it’s there that some random Kook catches you shopping hand in hand a few months into dating. She posts it on her Insta story and by the time you make it home, everyone knows. A lot of people are very unhappy about it, and they are not shy about letting you know. When people yell things at you on the street, Topper turns toward you, shielding you from their view with his body. He’s always a little tense after that, ready to protect you at a moment’s notice. When things get to be too much, you grab his hand and run to one of your secret places where he can finally relax for a bit.

Style: Things die down eventually and people don’t care as much. Topper is lowkey a sugar daddy, not because he expects anything in return, but because he genuinely loves spoiling you. He loves taking you to Kook parties and coordinating your outfits and the two of you become the best-dressed couple in school (they even give you an award in the yearbook). You think it’s more about your attitude than the clothes, being in a Pogue/Kook couple and not hiding it, you need to have confidence and be above all of the petty high school drama. The whole vibe, cool clothes, and the way you are so openly happy and give no fucks about what anyone else thinks is just chef’s kiss.

Wildest Dreams: He gets into an Ivy League school and you’re going to UNC, and it throws you off. While your relationship was able to work in the OBX bubble, your insecurity and self-doubt get the better of you. There are going to be so many smarter, prettier, richer girls at his new school, and having a long-distance girlfriend is going to get old after a while, especially since you won’t be able to afford to visit him as often as he can visit you. He’ll grow to resent you (you just know it) so you decide that you need to end things before they get to that point, while you’re still in love with each other, so you can always remember your time together as happy and fun. After prom, he takes you to one of your favorite spots just to chill and you break up with him. You both cry, and he begs you not to do it, but you don’t budge. “I want you to remember me like this. In my prom dress, at sunset, with my makeup all done up and cheeks flushed with love.” You’d definitely get back together the summer after your freshman year, though, because both of you were lovesick all year.

Kiara Carrera – folklore

The gay cottagecore relationship of your dreams!!!!

She would be the most touch-feely girlfriend ever, always grabbing at you whenever you’re within arms reach

Braiding each others’ hair, secret kisses during sleepovers, looping your arm through hers whenever you’re walking anywhere, being iconic ‘best friends’

20% angst, 80% fluff

Top three songs: seven, betty, invisible string

Seven: The two of you used to be best friends in elementary school but you grew apart, mostly because her parents didn’t want her hanging around with Pogues anymore. You were so close that even at seven years old you knew something was different about Kie. You had other female friends, of course, but they never wanted to hold hands on the swings, cuddle at sleepovers, or say I love you whenever you had to leave each other. Nobody else knows, but Kie was your first kiss. It was sweet and innocent, it happened on the playground late at night, at the top of the jungle gym. The darkness hid your blush, and the two of you ran all the way home afterward, holding hands and niggling like maniacs. You think that her parents found out somehow because it’s shortly after that when her parents stop driving her over to the Cut for playdates.

Betty: You reconnect with Kie in high school, when you’re assigned to the same homeroom. Your heart skips a beat when she saunters into the classroom just seconds before the bell and slides into a seat in the very back row, laughing at something on her phone. When the teacher comes in, she shoves her phone in her pocket and looks to the front of the room where she meets your gaze and flashes you the biggest smile. She waits for you at the door of the classroom and throws an arm around your shoulders as you walk towards the science wing together, and just like that, your friendship is rekindled. It’s just as intense as it was when you were kids. She’s very touchy-feely, and every bit of your skin that she touches burns with electricity for hours afterward. It only takes a few months before she kisses you on the couch in her parents’ basement during a sleepover, and you feel like you’re going to pass out. That unlocks a whole new element of your relationship, and whenever you’re alone, you can’t keep your hands (or lips) off each other. You never label anything, though, so when you see her dancing with JJ Maybank just a little too close to be platonic, you feel like you don’t have the right to be upset. But you’re upset anyways. You avoid her for a few days, and then you hear from a girl in your Algebra class that Kie and JJ were making out at a kegger over the weekend. Weeks go by where you don’t talk to each other until she shows up at the party your brother throws when your parents are out of town and confesses her love for you in front of everybody. You don’t respond with words, just kiss her as if your life depends on it, and then she asks you to be her girlfriend. Again, you respond by kissing her.

Invisible String: Kie’s favorite thing to do is visit you at the ice cream shop just off the beach where you work. During the summers and school breaks, when the Tourons descend upon OBX like they own the place, it’s always busy, but in the in-between months, things are slow enough that she can spend your whole shift sitting on the counter. Over the free scoop she somehow always manages to charm you out of, she gives you the play-by-play of the ‘lost years’ (as she calls the years where you weren’t friends). She goes through every single time she saw you, and what she felt in those moments, what she dreamed about doing. You interrupt when you have your own stories to share, and the two of you decide that there’s some invisible force tying you together, that no matter what directions your lives could have gone in, you would always make your way back to each other.

Sarah Cameron – Fearless

The ‘I’m in love with my best friend’ cliche that pretty much every baby gay goes through

But you’re lucky enough that your best friend loves you back

Because you’re both Kooks, and there are expectations you need to live up to, it takes a while for you both to be comfortable with your feelings, but once you are, it’s like a fairytale come true

30% angst, 70% fluff

Top three songs: Fifteen, You All Over Me, Fearless

Fifteen: Sarah Cameron is your best friend in the whole world. You do everything together. When you finally get to high school, you’re both excited to wear makeup and flirt with the boys in your classes, and whenever things go south, you’re always there to comfort each other. You share every intimate detail of first kisses and sloppy hookups, but none of it fulfills you. One day, you connect the dots, and the shock nearly knocks you over, but you vow to keep it a secret forever, scared to lose your best friend.

You All Over Me: It’s Sarah who makes the first move, on one of your early-morning, sunset-chasing walks. It rained yesterday, so everything is damp and dewy, and the island smells fresh and rejuvenated. Everything is golden in the early-morning sun, and Sarah turns to you with her hair blowing in the breeze and her bright smile shining and she pulls you down to the sand and presses her lips to yours. It’s soft and slow and sweet, everything you’ve ever dreamed about and then some. When she pulls away and you open your eyes to see her eyes closed and a small smile on her lips, you forget to breathe. But then her smile fades and her eyes open, and she mumbles ‘I have to go,’ and runs off, back towards her house. You sit there, touching your lips, for what feels like hours, and you spend the next month trying not to think about Sarah as anything other than a friend (you fail).

Fearless: At Midsummer, you try and pretend like nothing is wrong so your parents don’t get suspicious, but you and Sarah are unusually quiet, standing on the edge of the party nursing your drinks instead of taking over the center of the dance floor like you usually would. Sarah’s parents try and push her and Topper together, and when they’re dancing to a John Legend song, tears prickle behind your eyes and you slip out the back doors of the country club. It’s storming out, which feels like a dark omen, so you huddle under the overhang above the door and try not to cry. You have no idea how long you stand there, shaking from both the cold rain and your sobs, but eventually, Sarah finds you. She runs out into the rain, which stains her perfect white dress with dark streaks, and confesses her feelings for you. When she finishes, she takes a deep breath and steps forward to hold out her hand to you. You take it, and she pulls you out into the rain with her where she spins you around wildly and then kisses you. You’re both smiling and giggling into the kiss, and you spend the rest of the night dancing in the rain with your new girlfriend.

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wheels-of-despair · 5 months

Text

Enough | A Make Up Story | Tom Grant x You | Series Masterlist

Chapter 13: You Never Danced for Me Like That Words: 2k

You showered away the day's grime and traded your comfortable clothes for a Going Out Outfit that you'd bought on shopping trip with Jade that seemed like a hundred years ago.

"Too much?" you asked, looking down cynically.

"Perfect."

Tom wore dark jeans and a plain t-shirt. He looked perfect too.

You didn't often go out on your own. If you were with Jade, you let her pick the outfit and do your makeup. She was better at this sort of thing. But even if he wasn't being entirely truthful, Tom's approval made you feel like your efforts were worth it.

You put on your jackets, and you toss him your keys.

"Watch out for drunk idiots wandering in the middle of the road, I don't think my car can survive another one of those," you tease.

"You're very funny." His tone is sarcastic, but his smile is wide.

You turn out the lights and follow him to your car. On the way, he tells you about the bar he's taking you to. He says its outer appearance is so unremarkable, the tourists don't usually bother with it, so it's a favorite of the locals. Which sounds nice, but the reality is that you'd let him take you anywhere.

It doesn't look like much from the outside, as advertised, but the inside is warm and welcoming. Almost everything is made of wood; the bar, the mismatched chairs and stools, the tiny tables. Yellowing photographs and vintage advertisements decorate the walls. It's nothing at all like the places in the city Jade used to take you to, all new and neon and packed with bodies.

"You want a drink?" It's not very loud in here, but Tom leans down to your ear to ask anyway. You nod. He takes your hand and leads the way to the bar.

"Usual, mate," Tom tells the bartender, dropping a few bills on the bar and spinning around to scan for familiar faces. The man pulls out a bottle from beneath the counter and pops the top off, sets it in front of Tom, and raises an eyebrow at you.

"Uh, same, please."

The bartender sets your beer down and collects his payment.

You and Tom thank him and wind your way through a cluster of tables. You smile when you recognize Kyle, who's sitting with a pretty blonde you've never seen before. You settle in next to Tom at their table, and he casually slips his arm around the backrest of your chair. After a few minutes of sipping beer and partaking in awkward conversation, you notice that more people are filtering in by the minute. You give Tom's knee a squeeze and get up to explore the jukebox while it's free. You slip a coin in and browse, then you feel arms sliding around your waist. You tense, but relax when you see Tom's reflection in the glass.

"You alright?" he asks.

"I'm fine. It's just that you've been my only human contact for nearly a week. I've forgotten how to interact in the wild." You press a few buttons and lean back into him with a smile.

"You should dance with me, then," he mumbles into your neck. "Forget everyone else is even here."

You hate to dance. It makes you feel like an idiot. Like everyone's watching you. Judging you. Jade even calls your third drink of the night your Dance Drink, because that's how many it usually takes to get you out onto the dance floor with her.

You don't know what's possessed you, but instead of protesting, you let Tom lead you onto the dance floor. A slow song you recognize but can't place right away plays through the room's many speakers. Not that anything else actually matters when you lock onto those beautiful brown orbs of his. You sway back and forth with him for what felt like both seconds and hours, staring into each other's eyes as one song fades into another, until a grating one-hit wonder comes on and messes up your flow.

"Want another beer?" he asks. You smile and nod, and Tom gives you a soft kiss before returning to the bar.

You stand to the side and people-watch while you wait for him to come back. The blonde has seated herself in Kyle's lap, so you don't want to go back to the table and interrupt. The crowd has grown considerably since you arrived, but you'd been so focused on Tom, you hadn't noticed until now.

"You never danced for me like that," a velvety voice says from behind you. You swallow and turn. Jade smiles at you like it's hurting her.

"I wasn't dancing for him, Jade," you say slowly, like seeing her again is hurting you too. "I was dancing with him."

Her smile disappears, and concern clouds her face. "Are you doing alright, dove?"

"I'm fine."

Before you can analyze if you really are fine or not, her eyes dart to your left, and she takes a step back. "You two have fun, yeah? You deserve it. Really!" Jade smiles once more and disappears into the crowd. You know Ruth is here somewhere, but you can't see her. And that's fine with you.

You turn around to find a red-faced Tom clutching two beer bottles. "What did she want?" he asks through gritted teeth, glaring in the direction she'd disappeared. The veins in his neck are strained.

You reach up and cup his face, making him look at you.

"Nothing," you smile. When his eyes soften, you free the bottles from his death grip and place them on a nearby table. You pull him closer by his belt loops. "Nothing at all," you whisper, letting your lips ghost over the hot skin of his neck before leaving one, two, three kisses there. You eventually reach his mouth. Are you putting on a show? Perhaps. Does that make it any less enjoyable? Not at all.

Tom pulls away for a deep breath, then rests his forehead against yours. His hands fall to your hips and he pulls you closer, under the guise of continuing to dance. You can feel his erection pressing against you. You look down between you, then up at his red face and raise an eyebrow in amusement.

"Any chance you're ready to go home?" Tom bites his lip.

"Oh no, I won't be ready to go for hours. I'm having far too much fun making you blush in front of all these people."

His face falls. You lean close to whisper in his ear.

"Do you think they know why you're pressed up against me so tight?"

"Please," he whines. You laugh at his pouty face, but know you can't deny him anything.

"Take me home, Tom."

Tom grabs your untouched beers, deposits them on the table as a gift for Kyle and his blonde friend, and pulls you out the door without another word.

You take the wheel this time. What you have planned for Tom will work much better if there are no lives in his hands… while he's in yours.

"Why are you driving so fucking slow?" Tom complains once you're on the road, squirming in the passenger seat.

"It's Friday night and it's dark. There could be drunks wandering about."

He huffs an annoyed breath through his nostrils and adjusts himself again.

"Why are you so fucking antsy?" you tease, knowing the answer. You don't take your eyes off the road, but you can feel him glowering at you.

When you leave the main road behind, you decide to take pity on him. Or maybe make it worse, who's to say. You reach over and rest your hand on his upper thigh. He freezes for a moment, but once he realizes what this could mean, he shifts closer to you.

You smirk and keep your hand in place, rubbing your thumb over the inner seam of his jeans and making no move to take things further.

"Are you going to torture me all night?" he asks.

"What would you have me do, Tom? I'm driving, you see." He whines again, and you suppress a laugh. This is your new favorite game. Tom bucks his hips into your unsuspecting hand so you can feel how hard he is. You remove your hand and place it back on the steering wheel.

After a moment of silence, he's back for more. "Please."

"Please what, Tom?"

"Please touch me." He says it so desperately, you can't torment him any longer. You cup his bulge and lightly tease him through the denim. Tom throws his head back against the headrest and grips the edge of his seat.

"You think you can last 'til we get home?"

"No," he breathes.

"Okay, then," you say, starting to your hand away again. Tom's fingers close around your wrist.

"Please don't stop, I'll try, I promise I'll try."

"Alright, Tom," you grin. "If you make it home, you get to decide what's next. If you don't… I'm gonna torture you all night long."

"Deal." He releases your hand and clenches his fists. As fun as tormenting him is, you really would like to see him make it home without blowing a load in his jeans. You take it easy on him the rest of the way, finally pulling your hand away when you reach the caravan park.

You drive slowly through the paths to Tom's, and don't look at him again until you've turned off the ignition and the headlights.

"Did we make it?" you tease, knowing he did. He nods. "I knew you could do it," you grin. "What's next, Tom?"

"Right here."

"Right here?"

Tom nods, and you smirk. You reach over to unzip his jeans, but he jumps into action and beats you to it. He shimmies them down enough to free himself from his denim prison and waits. Even in the orange glow of the security lamps, you can see how much he's blushing. He's so fucking beautiful.

You twist in your seat and bend, taking him in your mouth. You're done teasing. You feel Tom's hand on the back of your head; not trying to move you or hold you in place, just letting you feel that he's there with you. After a few bobs, you swirl your tongue over his head the way he likes, and his hand closes in your hair as his hips jerk upward. He releases you as soon as he comes down and realizes what he's done.

"Oh fuck, I'm sorry," he pants, looking fearful.

"It's alright," you chuckle, instinctively wiping your mouth on the back of your hand. "You good?"

"You have no fucking idea," he laughs, tucking himself back into his boxers. He leans back against the headrest and looks at you, the light from outside making half his face glow like the most beautiful sunset imaginable. You reach over to brush a sweaty curl from his forehead.

"What's next, Tom?"

"You," he smirks. "Think we're gonna need a little more room."

You raced inside and spent hours pulling orgasm after orgasm from each other. Arms and legs in a tangle. Sheets soaked with sweat. Not a care in the world.

When you finally exhausted your energy for the night, you lie on your side and watch him, stroking his soft curls as he loses consciousness. Even half-asleep, his smile is goofy and gorgeous. He sighs happily and burrows further into his pillow, getting comfortable before sleep finally takes him.

"Love you, Ruth."

You felt your heart shatter for the second time that week.

#writings of despair #tom grant is enough #tom grant #tom grant x you #tom grant x reader

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