#because the camera panned to the right twice and then it just looped

[sunglassesmish]

i just accidentally made an amazing transition in one gif and i’m obsessed

#because the camera panned to the right twice and then it just looped #and it looks so good

[hageny]

Succession Thoughts: Gerri x Roman

1. “Hey Shiv”.

At the beginning of Vaulter the team is discussing how best to deal with Stewey’s public attacks against Logan and the charges that he’s making about Logan’s ability to run Waystar. Gerri speaks up and suggests that laying low and not firing off a response right away is the best course of action to avoid looking rattled; Shiv disagrees--”So let Stewy sway all the shareholders while dad sits there with a thumb up his ass?”-- at which point Roman looks at Shiv and shoots back, “Hey Shiv”. What he says is not anything significant on the surface, but in reality it serves to highlight what will become important later in the season: that Roman is very uncomfortable with people attacking Gerri in any way and won’t hesitate to stand up for her, in the same way she’s done for him in the past.

2. Upstairs. 

When Roman goes to visit Gerri’s room in Argestes, he does something that is subtle but perhaps foreshadows the course of their relationship in the future. As he comes in the door he briefly peers upstairs, presumably to where Gerri’s bedroom is. This is significant because 1) Roman has obvious intimacy issues and 2) it serves as another reminder of the way in which Roman sees Gerri, which is different from how he views his girlfriends. Tabitha, for instance, is propped up like arm candy, usually seen at events or in public settings, whereas Gerri is often seen alone with Roman, and depicted in a more sensuous, sexualized way. This is not so much solely for audience interest as it is a look at Gerri through Roman’s eyes, who has an interest in her that he (almost) never displays toward the other women he dates. Even the girlfriend preceding Tabitha, who gives her number to the waiter at the gala in Sad Sack Wasp Trap, is only interesting to Roman when she gives someone else her number, and then it’s not so much that he’s interested in her but in punishing the other guy. Her character disappears soon after, while Roman’s interest in Gerri grows.

3. Vaulter.

When Logan gathers Roman and Kendall together to discuss the fate of Vaulter, the camera pans in on Gerri’s face twice, once while she’s listening to Kendall’s pitch, and once while listening to Roman’s. It’s obvious from her reactions that she is impressed with both the effort and thought Roman has put into his decision, especially when he mentions he took the staffers out and suckered them into providing information to him. This demonstrates two things about Roman that Gerri sees that no one else cares to recognize: when pushed, he is more than capable of doing a good job, and he has the people skills and tenacity to go places that Kendall does not, something that Gerri also possesses. As the audience, we’re supposed to notice now what becomes important as their relationship evolves, namely that Roman desires Gerri because of the way she views him, and who she can help him become--someone he is unable to be on his own without guidance and reassurance, so lacking in his childhood.

4. Belief. 

Later in Vaulter, Roman is talking to Tabitha about how his father has taken his advice about what to do with the company. Still somewhat shocked, he tells her that perhaps he is intelligent and capable--”Maybe I’m smart”--to which she replies, “Sure. Maybe. You did a thing. Mazel tov.”. This highlights an essential aspect of Roman’s personality: that he is looking for belief and approval from those around him in his abilities, and is repeatedly denied it. This part of his nature stretches back into his childhood, which is touched on Prague. Roman recounts the ‘dog cage’ story, and on the surface it’s just another anecdote that highlights the absurdity of the Roy children’s upbringing, but what Connor remembers is the most important part of the story: that Roman asked to be put in the cage in the same way he asked to be sent off to military school. Roman remembers things differently, that Kendall forced him into the cage, put a leash on his neck, fed him dog food to bully him, and that he (Roman) was sent away when he “cracked”. It’s noted that the cage was at his mother’s house, which is presumably where the game took place. This could be an unimportant detail, or could be interpreted to mean that not even in his mother’s home--which could be symbolically read as a ‘womb’ of sorts--was Roman safe. She presumably did nothing to stop the game, and the siblings all took part. What the truth of the circumstances were is hard to deduce. Did Roman really want to go in the cage, or was he forced to and then sent off to St. Andrews because he lost it? Maybe it makes no difference. What is the line between self-flagellation and whipping by another? In Roman’s case, there is none. Whether he entered the cage of his own volition or was forced in, the fact is the act of him ending up inside of it is indicative of his families’ attitude toward him: that he is like a pet, small, fun, but ultimately useless. From his earliest years Roman has believed that he is useless, has been treated as such by everyone around him, and is still viewed in this way by his girlfriend, where the theme loops back around in his life. One could even find in this story an allusion to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, wherein Plato recounts a group of people chained to a wall; these people watch shadows projected on the wall in front of them from objects passing in front of a fire behind them and believe this is reality. It isn’t, of course, but because of their chains they cannot leave and don’t know the difference. For so long, Roman has been chained in his own way, and his reality--his lack of self-belief--is the shadow darting on the wall in front of him, created by the people who should have nurtured him. Only Gerri ever breaks the chain, by believing that he can accomplish whatever he sets his mind to. 

#gerri/roman #gerri x roman #gerri kellman #roman roy #succession #succession hbo #hbo succession #succession thoughts

[lottiebagley]

blink twice- draco malfoy

There's more to be said in the silence Fill in the blanks you left There's way more quiet in a siren I hear what's in your head

She lets out a sigh as she sinks into the open chair next to her close friend and opposite her best friend

"Still no Draco?" Daphne questions, a gentle smile on her face and pity practically radiating off her.

"Nope. Apparently he's not hungry. I offered to skip on dinner and do something but he might as well have shoved me out of the room," The girl sighs, staring at the food in front of her. Her appetite gone as her stomach turns with worry about her boyfriend.

"He'll come around. It's been a hard couple months for him, with everything going on with his father I mean," Pansy reasons, watching as her friend shoves her food around her plate without eating any.

"I know that," Her friend sighs defeatedly, "We've been together for three years. I know it's hard right now and he has no clue how to healthily process emotions it's just hard. I mean he's cold and he's harsh at times but he's never shut me out like this. We've been back at school for almost a month and he barely even looks at me,"

"It'll sort itself out, let him have his space," Pansy smiles gently

"Okay, no. Pans is wrong. If Draco is not treating you right then you shouldn't just roll over and let him be a prick," Daphne disagrees. Unlike Pansy, who was close with both sides of the couple, she felt no need to try and mediate, she wanted the girl happy and if Draco wasn't adding value to her friend's life, Daphne was more than happy to point that out. Daphne was her best friend and her loyalty would always lay with her.

"I don't want to be a pushover but I can't get a minute alone with him to talk about anything,"

"If he can't spare you a minute of his time, dump him. You've had a boyfriend since third year, you are missing out on the array of men Hogwarts has to offer. If Draco doesn't appreciate you find someone else who will," Daphne shrugs

"I'm not breaking up with the love of my life because we are in one rough spot," The girl sighs, resting her head on Pansy's shoulder who reaches to give her knee a comforting squeeze

"I get that. I do. But he can't just treat you like this. You can't wait around forever for him to care about you again just because he has in the past. This is torturing you and you have to do what's best for you. Not what's best for him," Daphne rants

"He loves you more than anything. Just give him time," Pansy encourages. A plan formulating in her mind. She was aware of what was going on, their mothers were best friends and they grew up together. She knew he may not say it but he needed his girlfriend, he needed her love even when right now, he couldn't give her his.

We've been coming undone Holding onto a thread Learning to pick my battles Or I'll be the only one left

Pansy Parkinson storms into Draco's private dorm, he's sat crouched over his desk writing quickly, like he's in a rush to do something, what it is she dreads to think. His hair is dishevelled from running his hand through it and she notices immediately the framed photo on his desk has been carefully tucked away, only the frame poking out from the stack of papers he's placed on top of it.

It usually sits pride of places, an ornate silver frame with green emeralds. The picture is his favourite thing in the world. Better than photos from the yule ball or fancy dinners. They had been in the girls dorm with their friends, having a few drinks and Blaise had taken the picture.She's wearing his quidditch jersey and he's in a sweater. She's sat between his stretched out legs on her bed, leaning back into his chest and grinning at the camera, his head is leaning down to rest his chin on her shoulder and her head is tilted to rest against it, he's smirking and she's laughing at whatever he just whispered to her.

"I'm busy darling," He mumbles, not bothering to turn around to see the girl behind him isn't his girlfriend.

"Not your darling," Pansy comments, kicking the door closed behind her and crossing her arms over her chest.

"If I'm too busy for my girlfriend, I'm definitely too busy for you Pans," Draco snaps, she thinks nothing of it, edging a little closer.

"Why'd you hide the picture?"

"It distracts me," He mutters

"Draco Malfoy, I have known you since we were babies, I know when you are lying. Now, as someone who knows you so well, I think you moved the picture because you are ashamed and you don't want a picture of her staring up at you when you work on whatever it is you're being forced to do,"

Pansy knew that Draco had been forced into taking the dark mark. She's heard Narcissa crying to her mother one night. He knew she knew although he never told her, never told anyone. He could tell from the way she squeezed him a little too tight at the train station, from the way she sprung to his defence when Daphne would mention how awfully he was treating his girlfriend.

"What does it matter why I moved a stupid picture Pansy?" Draco snaps, finally putting his quill down and turning to look at her.

"Because you're ashamed," Pansy comments

"Of course I am. I don't want this but I can't change it,"

"That's why you're pushing her away?" She questions, eyebrows raised

"I'm pushing her away because I don't want her mixed up in all this," He snaps

"You know that not talking to her isn't going to make people believe you never loved her. If someone is going to use her to get to you they won't care that in the last month you haven't been talking to her. So why torture yourselves?"

"I don't want her to know. I don't want her thinking I'm evil,"

"She would never. She loves you Draco and you'd be doing everyone a favour to accept her love. Including yourself," Pansy states simply. Draco sighs, he knows she is right.

She turns on her heel, walking towards the door, leaving Draco in his own company again but pauses before leaving. "You will loose her if you don't fix this," Pansy states before slipping out into the corridor.

Draco sighs, dropping his head in his hands. He knows he couldn't survive that.

I only know you're home when the door speaks Blink twice if you still love me I'll never know, unless you tell me Did you ever really love me?

It's two days later, a Friday night. Draco was frustrated, he felt like for every step forward he took he went back about 10. He was lonely and he was scared and he was angry. He missed her.

He longer for her, wanting to feel close to her. Wanting to have her in his arms, wanting her lips on his, wanting her hands in his hair. He needed her. He wanted to feel like everything was okay. Like she wasn't slipping through his fingers. Like this was all going to work out.

He thinks as he strides through the halls from the room of requirement, that this is the only option that makes sense. He wanted to feel close to her but he couldn't actually open up. Couldn't handle the look on her face.

He never knocks on her dormitory door, he didn't used to but after walking in on Daphne changing had forced the habit.

"Come in!" Her voice calls back. Draco notices immediately how exhausted she sounds. He wonders if over the past few weeks when she had been trying to talk to him and he had practically ignored her if she has sounded so tired. If he had just not noticed.

He pushes the door open, happy to see she's the only one in her dorm. Sat in his jumper cross legged on her bed, writing a letter to her mother. Although his heart sinks a little in his chest, she looks sad and she looks hurt and he knows it's him.

"Hey darling," He speaks smoothly, she looks up and despite it all a bright grin takes over her face. Her eyes shining.

She jumps up from the bed to enter his now open arms "Dray," She beams, allowing his arms to wrap around her waist and pull her to him, her arms looping around his neck and their lips meeting in a sweet kiss.

She goes to pull away but he pulls her tighter, turning his kiss heated in an instant and for a second she gives into it. Doesn't think about how badly he's been hurting her. Doesn't think about how they clearly need to be talking. All that matters his him, his lips that are now trailing down her neck, kissing and biting and sucking.

"Dray," She moans out, words failing her. He smirks against her neck, the feeling of her hands tugging at his hair enough to make him feel, for the first time in months, like everything is okay.

And it would have been, if his hands weren't tugging at the bottom of the jumper she's wearing. It's so unlike him. It's too quick.

"Draco, wait," She speaks quietly. He stops immediately. Too much respect for her to try and push anything on er even if they've done it a thousand times.

"What's wrong my love?" He questions, hand's coming up to cup her cheeks, thumb stroking over her cheekbone. Now he had allowed himself to touch her again he couldn't bring himself to stop. He smirks at the way she practically melts in his hands, unsure if it's the petname or the loving touches.

"I just- we haven't spoken in like a month," She admits

"We can talk later. Please. I just need you right now," He speaks in a low voice. Anyone else alive wouldn't have questioned him, but she can hear the lilt in his voice, sees how he doesn't look her in the eyes when he makes promises he knows he won't keep.

"You should go," She mutters, pulling himself away from his hold. Draco sighs, eyes scanning hers.

"Why?" He questions gently

"Draco, if you just want someone to have sex with and then leave. You just want to fuck someone and not talk to them you shouldn't be in a relationship," She speaks quietly, scared of what this meant.

"I don't want to have sex with anyone but you," He argues, anger pulsing in him. Not at her. At knowing she's right. He loves her too much to treat her like this.

"I can't keep doing this. I can't keep waiting for everything to be okay again when I don't even know what's wrong in the first place," Her eyes are tearing and a pit of dread fills Draco's stomach.

"What are you saying?" He asks lowly, begging himself to stay calm.

"I don't know. I love you Draco,"

"More than anything else," He whispers and she sighs

"You have to talk to me. Please, just talk to me?" She begs and Draco can feel it in the air. This is the moment.

"I can't," He admits, refusing to look at her.

"There's nothing you could say that would change how I feel about you,"

"Darling, I can't," He whispers, heart breaking at the small sob that escapes her mouth.

"I can't just be sex to you,"

"You're not," He's quick to argue

"I am. If you don't talk to me, if you ignore me, if you avoid me. If you only come to me when you're horny that's all I am,"

"So, this is it?" He questions, his own voice cracks a little and he bites his lip to keep from crying. She nods "No. If after three years you are going to break up with me, look me in the eyes and say it," He demands, tears dripping down his cheeks.

She looks up and he regrets asking her to. He hates the look of her damp cheeks and red eyes.

"I'm breaking up with you," She whispers. He nods, turning on his heel and leaving. His heart feels like it is breaking over and over again.

Always calling it the last time I been taking the train Avoiding all the street signs That lead me back to your name

He can't help himself from letting his eyes fall to her. Watching wherever she goes. It's potions class that hurts the most. Their not allowed to change tables so his spot next to her becomes a spot a few metres away, he takes Daphne's spot next to Blaise.

The group who used to always talk loudly are now reduced to hushed whispers. Even months after the breakup there's an uncomfortable tension over them.

He doesn't listen as Slughorn lectures the class about amortentia before setting them off to start the lesson. He already knows he will smell her but he has no idea if she will still smell him, he'd been seeing her around with his close friend Theo a lot, he'd been assured it meant nothing but that didn't stop to the raging jealousy in his blood when Theo replaced her tired and sad frown that seemed to always occupy her face to a light smile.

The group work in silence amongst the loud classroom for the most part,  Draco struggling to bite his tongue when Cormac McLaggen stops at the table to hit on the girl on his way to the supply cupboard. She hardly reacts and Draco can't gage if she wants someone to step in and he doesn't want to overstep, it's not his place anymore.

She was always good at potions and it doesn't surprise him when he sees she's finished. Blaise and Pansy are holding a conversation about the quidditch match at the weekend more to save from the awkward silence than because either of them actually care.  He listens as Daphne quietly encourages her to smell it. He notices as she seems to smile for a second, a small smile like she's at peace and it's the first time he's seen her smile like that in months. He watches though as her eyes blink closed and she lets out a breath, pulling her head back away and blinking rapidly like she's trying to cry.

He wants to go and hold her and tell her she's going to be okay but it's too little too late.

He watches as Daphne reaches to squeeze her hand, a sad and sympathetic smile sent in her direction.

When Slughorn calls him to the front he feels a pit of dread in his stomach, leaning over the potion to smell it and say what he smells. He thinks for a second about lying but Pansy who seems to be reading his mind shoots him a glare before nodding her head in the girls direction, he thinks for a second they almost look hopeful and so he's honest.

"Honey shampoo and caramel cupcakes and vanilla perfume," He answers honestly and for a second his heart soars at the smile that overtakes her features.

That is until Cormac McLaggen's loud snicker interrupts the room "Didn't they break up months ago?" He questions his friend.

Draco storms out of the room, not sure if he's more embarrassed or angry, but knowing that the pity aimed at him in Hermione Granger of all people's eyes is infuriating.

He misses the way she glares at Cormac and snaps at him"Just because no one will ever smell you doesn't mean you need to be an obnoxious prick,"

We've been coming undone We broke the last thread Learning to pick my battles Or I'll be the only one left

Draco blinks his eyes open groggily, his entire body stings and he feels drained. Immediately though he feels more at ease when he notices the smell of vanilla perfume lingering in the air.

"Thank Merlin you're awake. Bloody hell, you gave me a heart attack," She exclaims, she's sat in an arm chair by his bed and practically tackles him into a hug.

The hug hurts his achey body but he doesn't complain, having her back in his arms is worth it.

"What are you doing here?" He questions when she settles back into her chair, eyes focused on her as she looks around his dorm not wanting to look him in the eyes.

"Professor Snape told me what happened," She shrugs

"And you came?" He questions, shock written on his face

"Of course I did," She hums out, unable to stop herself from reaching out to brush the hair away from his eyes "You need to start sleeping more Dray, you look exhausted," She comments, pulling her hand away. She laughs a little when he grabs her hand and places it back in his hair but complies, running her hand gently through his hair.

"You need to start smiling more, you look like you're about to cry every time I see you," He says it in a teasing tone but she senses the hint of truth behind it.

"I promise to smile more when you start sleeping again," She agrees. He smiles gently, not having the heart to say he doesn't know how to fall asleep without her in his arms.

"So no hospital wing," He comments

"Professor Snape thought it best the entire situation was handled privately," She shrugs, he nods and she lets out a sigh.

"I should go," She admits "I mean we aren't together anymore and now I know you're alive and all," She explains.

He nods, not knowing how to ask her to stay. She doesn't know if he wants her to.

"Look after yourself," She smiles softly before walking out of the dorm.

The second she leaves the room he feels tears in his eyes, rubbing harshly at his eyes to try and stop them. She sinks to the ground in the corridor outside his room, trying to silence her sobs as she wonders how to go on without him.

I only know you're home when the door speaks Blink twice if you still love me I'll never know unless you tell me Did you ever really love me?

"Why did you leave?" He question shocks him.

He had been sat in the otherwise empty common room, staring out of the window and trying to silence his thoughts. He hadn't even heard her come in but when he turns she's looking right at him. Standing only a few feet away.

"I still can't tell you," He admits

"That's not good enough. I love you. I dedicated myself to you and I don't want to stop doing that," She announces

"You should move on," He speaks in a montone, focused on keeping himself level. Trying not to let her know that right now he could scream.

"Bullshit,"

"What are you talking about?" He questions.

"I call bullshit. You don't get to tell me to move on when you haven't,"

"I have,"

"So why did you smell me in your amortentia?"

"I lied. I didn't want to admit who I really smelt so I lied," He speaks in a calm tone, rolling his eyes when she scoffs.

"And the other day? When I was in your dorm?"

"I'd been in a near death experience. I was just on some weird natural high," He shrugs, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You don't get to do this! You don't get to treat me like shit! You don't get to avoid me! You don't get to make me break up with you! You don't get to lie to me! You don't get to reject my love! You don't get to make me love you only to treat me like this. I love you and I don't care about whatever secret you are keeping from me. But I need to know if it's worth it! I need to know that you love me back. That you have always loved me. That we are going to be okay. That we are going to be happy again. I need you to give me a sign either way! Fucking tell me! Merlin you can blink real hard right now if you still want me.But you need to  But do something because if you aren't going to come back to me I need to stop kidding myself and it will kill me but yo-"

Her rant is cut off and suddenly everything falls into place.

Draco kisses her hard. Kisses her with every bit of love he has in him, desperate to prove to her that this is what he wants. That he feels exactly the same way. His arms pull her closer than humanely possible and her fingers tangle in his hair. He smirks when she moans into his mouth, pulling away breathless.

Barely moving away, forehead resting on hers and desperate to stay close to her

"Clear enough sign?"

"I don't know. Maybe you should do it again, in case I missed it," She teases

"Trust me, I'll make sure you know how much I love you,"

Did you ever really love me?  Did you ever really love me?  Did you ever really love me?  Did you ever really love me?

**

Masterlist

#Draco Malfoy #Draco #draco fluff #draco x reader #draco malfoy x reader #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter masterlist

[heyitssmiller]

Clandestine: Chapter Nine

Another cliffhanger? Me? Nah. 

All characters belong to @lumosinlove

@donttouchmycarrots is the best and I love her so much. She also inspired a lot of this chapter’s angst, so it’s not all my fault this time! <3

CW: violence, blood/injuries, guns/gun violence

Clandestine Masterlist

.

Sirius woke up alone. This in and of itself wasn’t unusual, until he remembered the events of the night before. Wandering hands, soft, needy sighs, and warm lips that kissed him and kissed him and kissed him. He rolled onto his stomach and smothered himself with his pillow to hide the smile that took over his entire face, heart beating giddily in his chest. That happened.

Holy shit.

But that begged the question: where was he?

Sirius stayed in bed for a few moments, thinking that maybe Remus was coming back, but then he got too impatient and crawled out of bed to go searching. If he was camped out in front of that laptop again this early… but no. He was standing in front of the stove, prodding at the contents of a frying pan. The smell of coffee reached Sirius and he smiled again as he entered the kitchen, making sure his footsteps were loud enough for Remus to hear - that way it wasn’t a surprise when he came to stand behind Remus and wrapped his arms around his waist, hooking his chin on his shoulder to watch what was happening on the stove. 

A general rule of dating a spy - don’t sneak up on them. It tends to end badly.

“Morning.” Sirius mumbled, turning his head to press a lingering kiss to a tendon in Remus’ neck and smiling against warm skin. Remus hummed, leaning back into Sirius’ chest and angling his neck to give him better access. That simple, innocuous motion stole Sirius’ breath. Remus didn’t trust easily - Sirius could understand why, given everything he’d been through. But there he was, relaxed against Sirius, eyes closed, completely trusting. Sirius wasn’t exactly sure what to do with something so precious, but damn he really didn’t want to screw this up. So he continued to place kiss after kiss to Remus’s skin, finding a ticklish spot right below his ear that made him laugh and squirm in Sirius’ arms before he shoved him away, a wide, happy smile on his face.

Had Sirius ever been this happy before? He doubted it.

“So what’s for breakfast, chef?” He asked, peering at the frying pan. Remus turned the stove off and grabbed plates from the cabinet by the fridge while Sirius grabbed silverware and napkins. It was incredibly domestic. Sirius couldn’t get enough of it.

“Scrambled eggs, toast, and coffee. Nothing gourmet, but it’s the best I can do.” He answered as he scooped eggs out of the frying pan and grabbed toast from the toaster, then handed the plate to Sirius. They took their plates to the tiny kitchen table, along with the coffee and creamer and jams before sitting down to eat.

It was… nice. Their relationship had changed a lot the night before, but it was easy - a seamless transition from friends to more. He’d always assumed there would be some awkwardness with a big change like that, but it felt normal. Remus still teased him for how he took his coffee, Sirius still kicked him for it. They went over their plans for the day and what they wanted to get done. The ease of it all made Sirius wonder just how long they’d been teetering over that precipice.

It also made him feel guilty, how happy he was when his brother was still trapped with the Snakes and Finn still missing. Remus seemed to recognize his shift in emotion and smiled sadly, reaching across the table to tangle their hands together.

“We’re going to figure something out.” He said quietly before taking a sip of coffee, not once letting go of Sirius’ hand but playing with his fingers absentmindedly. It made it a bit tricky to eat, but Sirius couldn’t say he minded one bit.

He hoped Remus was right.

***

“Update?” Talker asked as soon as Remus and Sirius entered the office, looking tired. He kept pace with them as they walked, eager for a response. He and Finn were pretty close, constantly cracking jokes and trading jabs and playing pranks. But then again, Finn was a very outgoing guy - he was pretty close with a lot of people.

Sure enough, as they rounded the corner they found a gathering of people outside Remus’ office, all friends. All worried.

And a stranger standing next to Kasey, watching them as they approached. Red hair, brown eyes, faint freckles.

Remus didn’t have to ask who he was.

He stuck his hand out for the agent to shake. “O’Hara.”

Alex shook his hand briefly, soulful eyes a myriad of warring emotions. “Please tell me what the hell is going on.”

Remus looked at him, then the rest of the people around his office. They all needed to know what was going on, but he felt like Alex deserved the chance to hear this on his own, without the prying eyes of a bunch of strangers.

Sirius seemed to know exactly what he needed. It was like a sixth sense. “Lions, to the conference room! I’ll tell you what we know.” He gave Remus a warm smile, one that he was helpless to return. Last night was… blinding, as strange as it sounded. Sirius was all he could see now - the bright, expressive eyes, full, addictive lips, and wow he needed to get off this train of thought quickly. He had important things to do today.

Sirius seemed to know exactly what was on his mind. His smile turned secretive and sly before he shot Remus a wink and led the way to the conference room, leaving only Alex. Remus looked at him, then jerked his head towards his office. Alex followed after him and instantly sat down in one of the extra chairs, eyes never leaving Remus. He looked tired, worried, desperate for answers.

Remus sighed, an ache in his chest. He couldn’t imagine what it must be like for him, dealing with his younger brother being kidnapped. If it was Jules, Remus would lose his mind. “Let’s just start at the beginning, ok?” And so he did. He went over the general premise of the mission, what they’d done so far, and what went wrong. Alex listened quietly, taking it in.

When they were finally caught up Alex leaned back in his chair, raking a hand through his hair - a motion that was so Finn that Remus had to hold his breath for a second before releasing it. “So do we have any leads? What’s the plan?”

“We’ve got three possible locations. We’re going to try to narrow it down and then send in the two operatives we’ve already got in Slytherin.”

“Finn’s partners.”

There was something about the way Alex said that. The wrinkle in his brow, eyes hard and unflinching. Unforgiving. Remus gave him a look, keeping his voice neutral. “It was a freak accident, O’Hara. Not their fault.”

He wasn’t brave enough to tell the agent how much of that fault rested on his own shoulders. He was basically in charge of this mission. He’d been the one in charge of planning, giving them the go-ahead, looking out for signs of danger. There were signs of the op going bad - he could see that now, in hindsight. But hindsight was always 20/20, wasn’t it?

And now he was sitting here, explaining to the brother of the agent he let get kidnapped that they didn’t really have a solid plan. They were still scattered and struggling to recollect themselves after that disaster of a mission. What exactly was he supposed to say?

Alex ignored his earlier attempt at placation. “You’re telling me that your plan is to send one agent and a rookie safe-cracker into Snakes headquarters and break my brother out? That’s all you’ve got?”

“The rest of us are already on their radar. If we sent in other agents-”

“Bullshit.” Alex growled, leaning forward dangerously. And really, Remus couldn’t fault him for any of this. Their bond ran deep, apparently. “You’re taking down the Snakes anyways, what’s wrong with pushing up the timeline a little? We don’t need to be covert anymore, we need to be dominant and aggressive.”

“That makes your brother collateral damage,” Remus reasoned. “We go in guns-blazing, the first thing they’ll do is make it a hostage situation.”

Alex sighed, his shoulders slumping and all the fight leaving him in a split-second, frustration rolling off him in waves. “Fuck.”

“We’ve got an ex-Snake on the team and a guy on the inside. Potentially,” he felt like he had to add, because he still wasn’t sure what to think of the younger Black brother. Sirius trusted him, sure, but was that enough?

One wrong move and they could lose three agents. This required precision and cunning, not hot-headed recklessness.

“We’re going to do our best to get him out of there.” Remus finally finished, trying to instill confidence with just the words. Alex just smiled sadly.

“Good media answer, right there.”

Remus’ phone buzzed twice in his pocket, signaling an incoming message. He fumbled with it for a second, then looked down at the screen. “Well, I might have a better answer in a few minutes. One of his partners says they’ve got news.”

Remus just hoped it was finally some good news.

***

Logan was still pacing - back and forth, back and forth. It wasn’t a stressed pace this time, exactly. His stride was longer, full of pent-up energy and restlessness. Leo was switching between watching him and reading the messages Regulus sent the night before to Loops and Sirius, who were both listening intently.

“So let me get this straight.” Remus said through the computer speakers. “Regulus said he’d turn off one of the cameras that overlooks a side door, sneak you two in, and then help you get both him and Finn out?” He and Sirius were sitting close together at the conference table, sneaking glances at each other when they thought no one was looking.

Leo smiled knowingly. Good for them.

“Yeah.” Logan said as he continued to pace. “Get in, get them, get out. Simple.”

“Well,” Leo said, stretching out the word and watching Logan’s eyes snap to him. Yeah, he wasn’t going to like this. “According to Reg, one of Riddle’s flash drives is there too - in a safe in his office. Logan can get Finn, and I can-”

“No.”

“Logan,” Leo sighed, giving him a look. “After we get Finn out, they’ll put that place on lockdown. We won’t get another shot at getting this drive and you know it. Plus Riddle’s not even there right now. It’s the perfect opportunity.”

“When did he even tell you that?” Logan asked, staring at him incredulously. “I don’t remember this at all.”

“That would be because I’ve been texting him this morning because I knew you’d react like this.” Leo rushed to finish his sentence and be heard over Logan’s loud dissent.

“React how? Logically?”

“Over-protectively.” Leo corrected, watching the aggravation return to his pacing again as he grumbled something under his breath. “If we get this drive, that only leaves the ones Lestrange and Riddle have on them. Reg said he could probably grab the one Bellatrix has - he can replace it with the fake I slipped into his pocket at the gala-”

“Nut, you can’t be serious.”

Leo glared at him. “It’s a perfectly solid plan.”

“And it’s dangerous!”

“Are you forgetting what our jobs are?” Leo asked with an incredulous laugh. “Everything we do is dangerous.”

“Leo.”

The blond looked to the laptop, where Sirius and Loops were looking back at him. “Back me up here.”

Remus glanced over at Sirius, then back to Leo. “It’s risky, but if you feel like you can do it-”

“I can.” Leo said, no room for argument. The kid who was nervously drumming his fingers against his thigh and staring off into space before his first mission was long gone, replaced by a calm, confident agent - who still drummed his fingers on a regular basis, but who was self-assured and comfortable with his role. Logan wasn’t exactly sure when that had happened, but he was proud nonetheless - even if he was still terrified.

“When’s Reg going for Lestrange’s drive?” Sirius asked, in a similar state as Logan. Worried, but knowing he was fighting a losing battle. This was happening whether they liked it or not.

“She puts it in the same spot every night before she goes to bed, so he’ll grab it right before we get there when she’s already asleep. If we go really early in the morning - like really early - everyone should be asleep, save for a few.”

“They’re cocky like that,” Sirius added, “No one’s ever been dumb enough to try to break in, so they won’t be as prepared for it.”

Leo frowned, not sure whether to take offense or not. “Thanks?”

“So how long do you think getting into the safe will take?” Remus asked, keeping all of them on track, as usual. The steadiness and predictability calmed Logan down, just a little.

Leo shrugged. “Don’t know, depends on what kind of safe it is. Reg doesn’t know.”

“So you’re going in blind.” Logan finished, anxiety churning in his gut. That calmness had lasted all of three seconds. He didn’t like this. There was so much that could go wrong; it was risky enough sneaking in to get Finn out of there, but adding this on top of it? What if one of them got caught? What if all of them got caught? What if Regulus wasn’t as trustworthy as Sirius claimed? What if they were just walking into another trap?

What if, what if, what if. There were too many variables to this, too much at risk.

He’d never really hated his job before. In the past he’d loved the suspense, the intrigue, the unpredictability. He’d grown up wanting a career that had action and adventure, just like the movies he and his sisters used to watch. Now all the things he used to love were the things that were stressing him out the most. But then, he’d never had partners before - definitely not partners he was halfway in love with.

He was starting to hate this job now.

Leo’s voice brought him back to the conversation. “Not really. It’s either going to be a digital safe or manual. I’d crack a digital safe the same way I cracked the ones at the banks, and manual safes are kind of like giant locks. I just feel for the sticking points and do the math.”

“There’s math?” Sirius asked, looking disgusted. Logan thought back to Finn saying the exact same words, all three of them squished together on the bed with a nature documentary playing in the background, warm and content and relaxed. No stress, no sense of impending disaster, no one missing.

He wanted that again, more than anything.

He felt like this wasn’t the way to do it, though. Which was ironic, seeing that he was the one who usually wanted to be reckless. That was his M.O. - the rough, hotheaded agent who wasn’t afraid to take some risks. He completely changed his tune when those risks endangered his partners.

He couldn’t lose them - either of them. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if...

But arguing against this rescue mission was like leading a horse to water - pointless. The only thing left to do was to prepare. So Logan tuned the conversation out and started planning for every possible outcome he could think of. He wasn’t going to be left just reacting, not this time. He was going into this with every last detail mapped out, every potential misstep accounted for, every contingency plan organized in his head.

He wasn’t going to let anything go wrong. He couldn’t.

***

The alarm Leo and Logan had set was essentially useless, seeing that it found the two of them already awake, going over the plan in their heads. Logan stretched his arm out to shut it off, then rolled over to look at Leo. Blue eyes were already staring back, alight with optimism- a stark contrast to how Logan was feeling. He just hoped tonight wasn’t the night he would be disappointed.

“We’re going to get him back.” The blond said, no sleepiness to his voice as he softly leaned in to kiss Logan sweetly, then more enthusiastically. Logan let himself get lost in it for a while, a heart-wrenching distraction, accepting kiss after excited kiss with a sigh against soft lips. He took the lead a second later, pushing Leo back into the mattress and pressing their chests together, getting as close as he could manage and relaxing into the warmth.

“And then we’ll all be together again.” He added after a while, trying to reassure both Leo and himself as he kissed a dimple and earned a smile, bright in the early-morning darkness. “And we can finally have that talk.”

Leo hummed happily and pulled him down for one last lingering kiss before shimmying his way out from under Logan and getting to his feet, hair an absolute mess from a night of tossing and turning and Logan’s hands. Logan felt strangely proud of himself for that.

“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.” Leo chanted, dashing to his suitcase to grab clothes. His enthusiasm visibly shown in every action - brushing his teeth, pulling on his shoes, grabbing his tools. Logan soon found himself dressed and ready to go, turning his earpiece on and testing his mic. His gun was loaded and ready, a comforting weight at his hip. Leo’s voice echoed in his ear as he tested his mic, loud and clear. His tools were all packed up and smuggled away in his pockets, determination written across his face.

They were going to get him back.

Logan pulled up the directions to the address Regulus had sent them and they hurried to their car, blasting the heat as high as it would go to try and defrost the windows. The clock read 4:13 am as they pulled out of the hotel parking lot and headed down the street.

The drive was tense with anticipation and nerves and adrenaline. Leo’s leg never stopped bouncing from the passenger’s seat as he stared out the window, clearly lost in thought because it was still pitch black outside - he definitely wasn’t looking at anything. Logan kept his eyes on the road ahead and his thoughts on their mission, going over the details one last time as the navigation app instructed him to turn right.

The building they were infiltrating was on the very outskirts of Slytherin, somewhat secluded and run-of-the-mill. If Logan wasn’t sure this was the right place, he would never have guessed this to be a Snakes’ building. Which was probably exactly what they were going for.

Logan drove straight past the building, continuing down the road for a while until he figured they wouldn’t raise suspicion. He put the car in park, switched the headlights off, then turned to face his partner.

“You ready?”

The resulting grin was luminous. “You know it.”

Logan nodded, nerves gnawing away at his stomach, and got out of the car. He and Leo snuck around to the southeast side of the building where they found a door, the light above it flickering occasionally. Leo sent Logan a look, then rapped on the door with his knuckles twice.

A few seconds passed by, then the door opened silently. Regulus Black stared back at them, face as impassive as always. The two agents stepped inside without another word, watching as Regulus closed the door behind them and locked it before turning to face them again.

“I’ve got Bellatrix’s drive,” he said, so quietly that Leo and Logan had to lean in a little to hear him. “Snagged it about twenty minutes ago and replaced it with the fake. She’ll never know the difference.”

“Perfect.” Leo grabbed Logan’s forearm, eyes bright and intense. “You go get Finn, I’ll grab the drive. Meet you back at the rendezvous.”

Logan still didn’t like the idea. He didn’t like the thought of being separated. “Leo-”

“No one’s out this early, it’ll be the easiest grab of my life. I’ll be careful - I’ll be so careful, Tremz. You gotta trust me.” He pressed their foreheads together briefly and Logan allowed himself that one moment to close his eyes and press back, inhaling deeply. He still smelled like the hotel’s shampoo, clean and citrusy. After all this, Logan didn’t think he’d ever be able to forget the smell - or the memories that came with it. He couldn’t quite figure out if that was a bad thing or not. Because on the one hand, there was stress and kidnappings and hurt. But on the other hand, there was exciting, brand new kisses and falling asleep in his arms and the comfort of just being with him.

“Make it quick, ok?” he said finally, reluctantly leaning away and meeting blue eyes. Leo nodded, giving his hand a squeeze, and turned to set off down the hallway. Logan only allowed himself half a second to look after him - if he watched any longer, he just knew he’d start chasing after him, blindly following an angel and not caring where he was going. He’d probably follow him anywhere, if he could. He faced Regulus again instead, who was looking decidedly awkward. Logan just raised an eyebrow at him and motioned for him to lead the way.

His heart hammered louder and louder the more they walked, excitement and worry and adrenaline snowballing together and making his head spin. He could hear Leo’s quiet breathing through the coms, measured and steady and constant like the tide pushing and pulling against the shore. That, more than anything he tried to tell himself, calmed him down.

They reached a nondescript door and stopped in front of it. Logan glanced at Regulus, then back at the door. This was it. Finn was on the other side of that door. He was a paradoxical combination of excited and terrified of what he’d find on the other side of that door.

“I’m just going to wait out here,” Regulus said, moving so that his back was against the wall. “I’ve already witnessed you all soft and mushy tonight - I don’t think I can handle seeing it again. I’ll keep an eye out from here.”

Logan sent him a grin, incredibly pleased with himself and completely unashamed.

He took one last, deep breath and opened the door.

The sound of the door must have woken Finn, because the first thing Logan saw was the shifting of shoulder and back muscles as the redhead sat up with an annoyed grumble. “What the fuck is so important that you feel the need to wake me up this early?” He demanded, reaching up to further tousle his hair as he swiveled around to face the door. Their eyes locked and Finn froze, staring at him with his mouth agape and wide, wide brown eyes, one of which was blackened and swollen. There was blood at the corner of his mouth, dark and distracting. Logan’s breath left him in a rush, like he’d been the one punched in the face.

“Lo,” Finn whispered, that one syllable barely loud enough to reach Logan’s ears. He sat up straighter in an instant and continued to stare, as if he couldn’t quite believe his eyes. “Logan?”

That was all it took to spur Logan into action. He crossed the room in five quick paces and then he was on his knees in front of Finn, reaching for him hesitantly. Finn practically launched himself at him, arms around his neck and holding tight - almost bruisingly. Logan didn’t care. He’d gladly take the bruises if it meant having his partner in his arms again. It hadn’t even been that long since Logan had seen him, but it felt like an entire lifetime. He hugged Finn closer, probably holding him too tight, before leaning back and looking him over. Frantic hands passed over skin and clothing, feeling for injuries.

“You ok?” He asked, reaching up to tilt Finn’s face so that he could examine the black eye and split lip. Calloused fingers traced gingerly over constellations of freckles, marred by purples and greens and yellows. “God, Finn-”

Finn laughed a little, reaching up to still Logan’s hand and pressing it to his stubbled cheek instead. Logan could feel his smile against his palm and melted. “I’m ok. It looks worse than it actually is, I’m sure.”

You’re still gorgeous, Logan thought as he swiped a thumb across his cheek. He wanted to drown in the sight in front of him. Finn wasn’t great but he was ok and considering the circumstances, that was all Logan could really ask for. He was still livid, of course. And the ones who’d hurt Finn would get what was coming for them. That much he could guarantee.

“You shouldn’t be here.” Finn murmured, still leaning into Logan’s touch. Logan just shook his head firmly, eyes serious. How did Finn expect him to leave him behind? He clearly had no idea just how little they could function without him, the gaping hole he’d left in his absence.

Finn looked over Logan’s shoulder, then back to Logan with worried eyes. “Leo?” He asked and let Logan help him to his feet, favoring his left leg. Logan tightened his grip on his biceps and steadied him before answering.

“Currently? In Riddle’s office cracking a safe.”

Leo’s voice, calm and even, came through the coms. “Tell Finn I said hey.” Logan grinned.

“He says hey.”

Finn looked offended. He leaned closer to the mic Logan was wearing at the collar of his shirt, making the brunet still. The expression on his face - a comical combination of panic and turned-on - made Finn smile as he spoke. “You’re breaking me out of here after I was kidnapped and the only thing you can think of to say is hey?”

“Well, I was planning on saving the sentimental shit for when I actually see you.” Leo said distractedly from his spot on the floor in front of a truly ancient safe, rotating the dial slowly and feeling for the last remaining sticking point. “It’s good to hear your voice, though.”

He heard Logan relay the message to Finn, and then Finn’s resulting coo. Leo laughed under his breath at the sound right as the safe opened with a loud click, opening to reveal nothing inside but a blue and gray flash drive.

“I can’t believe this is the only thing he keeps in a safe like this.” Leo grumbled, reaching forward to make the switch-

Right as the office door opened.

Leo whirled around, slipping the real flash drive into his pocket as he faced whoever had walked in on him.

Unnatural yellow eyes stared back.

And a gun was pointed at his chest.

He could tell Riddle recognized him from the party by the curl of his lips that formed the beginnings of a smile. Cold dread washed over Leo at the bizarre sight. He wasn’t sure anyone had seen the leader of the Snakes smile before. If they did, they hadn’t lived to tell the tale. Leo’s heart raced as all he could do was stand there and stare. His gun sat heavily at his hip, but he knew reaching for it would only speed up the inevitable. He stayed still.

Leo’s partners were still talking over the coms, happy and ignorant of the situation going on right down the hall from them. As Leo stared down the barrel of a gun, he thought maybe it was for the best. Riddle wouldn’t react well to breaking Finn out of here, he knew that much. At least this would be a good distraction - if Riddle was focused on him, he wouldn’t be focused on his partners. Maybe they’d be able to get out of here before Riddle even realized the real reason Leo was in the building.

He’d rather die than give either of them up. He was a little scared at the honesty behind that statement… and the likelihood of it happening much sooner than he’d hoped.

Riddle adjusted his sights without saying a single word, finger against the trigger. Leo sucked in a harsh breath and braced himself.

Bang.

#lumosinlove #sweater weather #coast to coast #coops #sirius black #remus lupin #o’knutzy #finn o'hara #logan tremblay #leo knut #clandestine #cw: injuries #cw: blood #cw: gun violence

[knives-out20]

Magnetic Push - Erik Lehnsherr x Male!OC - Part 9

Fandom: X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014)

Pairing: Karmel Rosenstein (OC) x Erik Lehnsherr

Warnings: Swearing, Gay, Spoilers for X-Men: Days Of Future Past,

Notes: Welcome to the 9th part! Only one more to go.

Erik and Karmel, donning the same costumes they wore the day they broke Emma out of her confinement cell all those years ago, made it to the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. Erik simply floated his way down, but Karmel shot his vines out of his hands and torso, planting them into the middle of the stadium.

Karmel grunted, catapulting himself into the arena, his vines pulling back into him once he landed by Erik's side. He noted one other person in the stadium; some janitor. Karmel scoffed, walking in the opposite direction with Erik. He glanced down at his costume; it's been a while, but he was thankful it still fit.

This costume, per se, had a green colour scheme like Erik's was red. Karmel's cape hung off of one shoulder as opposed to both of them, and was shorter than Erik's; this way it wouldn't get in the way of his vines. Thorn-like spikes spun around the ankles of his boots, vines crossing over his torso in an 'X' shape. Not because of X-Men, Karmel just thought it looked cool. 

At least, that’s what he’d tell if anyone asked. The real reason was because the ‘X’ resembled Erik’s and his arms around one another when they hugged for the very first time; completely enveloping each other in their upper limbs.

His whole outfit resembled leather armor, all the way up to the dark green shoulder plates, down to the screw-like studs of silver metal on his boots.

It was Erik's idea for metal to be scattered over Karmel's costume, because if Karmel ever fell into danger, Erik could pull him out easily using his own mutation.

The janitor saw them. "Can I help you?" He called.

Karmel rolled his eyes, turning to Erik. "Can he help us?" He joked.

Erik stopped walking. "No, you can't" he answered, messing with the janitor's radio so that only static came out. Erik outstretched his arms, eyes falling closed as he focused on the stadium.

Karmel watched as huge marketing signs fell from their posts, the concrete level of the stadium cracking along.

The bars of lights broke off, crashing into the dozens of coloured seats that surrounded the stadium. It all came tumbling down, thanks to Erik's amazing powers.

“God, you’re ethereal.”

Erik cracked a slight smile as he slowly floated upwards, Karmel growing vines out of his body to follow Erik up into the air. He gestured his hand towards the White House, Karmel using his vines as long, long legs to walk alongside him.

"See the robots?"

"Uh-huh" Erik nodded, fingers curling inwards. Doing so, he activated the Sentinels, each one blasting into the air.

Karmel grinned in delight. "Get 'em, babe" he ordered, shooting vines out from his sides to wrap around the floating stadium, in order to help Erik with the weight of carrying it. Karmel didn't stop pieces of the stadium from falling like debris, crushing the road and cars in its way.

"Don't have to tell me twice, dear" Erik grumbled, balling his hand into a fist. 

Over at the White House, the robots rapid-fired bullets into the police cars, sending all the humans every which way. 

Erik gestured for the Sentinels, which came flying over to Karmel and him, forming a line in front of them. "Ever wanted a robot army?" He asked, raising his eyebrows at Karmel. Erik flashed him a smile.

"Only in my dreams" Karmel giggled. He pulled his vines that carried the stadium back into his body, watching as the stadium came crashing down, perfectly entrapping the White House in a circled barricade. He slowly retracted his other vines back into his body, feet touching the ground at the same time as Erik's.

Erik looked up at the Sentinels he sent over to different points of the stadium, making one stop behind Karmel and him.

Karmel heard a roar, and turned his head in the direction it came from. "You gotta be fucking kidding me- Erik, Hank" he warned.

Erik panned his head over, groaning under his breath. He turned further around, to the robot behind them. "Do what you were made for."

The Sentinel started up again, aiming an arm over at Hank and Logan and immediately firing in their direction. 

Erik closed his eyes, outstretching an arm and slowly scanning the arena. "Where are you?" He whispered, stopping when he picked up something metal from inside the White House. Erik opened his eyes, both hands reaching for the White House. 

"Logan, nine o’clock" Karmel nudged Erik, who looked over.

Erik nodded his head, a block of metal being thrown over at Logan- he dodged it. He repeated this action, Logan's claw tossing it out of the way. A few more times before Karmel rolled his eyes and stepped in.

Logan finally got knocked to the ground from behind, Karmel gesturing his hand up; vines grew from out the ground and looped over Logan's body, restraining him like a straight jacket.

Erik copied Karmel's motions, metal rebars shooting out from the block he had used, and twisting into Logan's body.

Karmel cringed, "nice."

"I know, right?" Erik agreed, turning his hand so that his palm was facing downward. "Now, let's see if the puppy can swim, eh?"

As Logan screamed in pain, Erik lifted him off of the ground.

"So much for being a survivor" Karmel hissed, Erik taking the advantage and unfurling his fist.

This sent Logan flying far, far away, landing in the Potomac River.

Now that Logan had been taken care of, Erik reached his hands out for the White House, once more. He focused on the metal he detected earlier, pulling it out of the ground and busting it out of the front of the House. "A bunker."

"Must've been fuckin’ underground, then" Karmel tilted his head.

The black bunker hit the ground, sliding to a stop in front of Erik and Karmel. Erik inhaled slowly, pulling the door of the bunker clean off. He made a pulling motion, which ripped the front wall of the bunker off, throwing it aside.

Karmel's vines sprouted out from his hand, using them along with Erik's powers to grab the men's guns and pull them away. Together, they made the guns float above their heads, and aimed them all down at the men in the bunker.

Erik slowly turned around, twirling his hands gracefully to make all the cameras face Karmel and him. He looked back at the government officials, who Karmel hadn't taken his eyes off of. "You built these weapons to destroy us. Why? Because you are afraid of our gifts."

"Because we are different" Karmel spat, steely gaze lying on the President. "Humanity has always feared that which is fucking different."

"Well, we are here to tell you, to tell the world-" Erik spun Karmel and himself around to face the multiple cameras, "you are right, to fear us. We are the future! We are the ones who will inherit this earth!"

"And anyone who stands in our way, will suffer the same fate as these men you see before you" Karmel shook his head, vaguely gesturing a hand back at the men in the bunker.

"Today was meant to be a display of your power. Instead, I give you a glimpse of the devastation our race can unleash upon yours" Erik explained.

"Let this be a warning to the world," Karmel started back up. "And to our mutants family out there...we say this" he said, placing a fist over his heart. Karmel locked eyes with Erik, nodding.

Erik nodded back at him, the two speaking in perfect unison.

"No more hiding. No more suffering. You have lived in the shadows in shame, and fear, for too long" They both urged.

"Come out!" Karmel called by himself, cupping his mouth with his hands. "Join us. Fight together, in a team of our kind."

"A new tomorrow, that starts today" Erik spoke. Hearing the President's voice, him and Karmel turned back around.

"You want to make a statement?" The President asked, pointing two fingers over at them. "Kill me, fine. But spare everyone else."

Karmel furrowed his eyebrows, hesitant. "I don't trust this" he mumbled.

Erik shrugged, approaching Nixon. "Very heroic, Mr. President" he started. "But you had no intention of sparing any of us. The future of our species begins now" Erik growled, all the floating guns locked and loaded on Nixon.

Karmel gulped, aiming the guns his vines held down, pointed at the President. He looked over, "Erik, robot-"

Erik shot his head to the side, holding up a hand at the approaching robot. Piece by piece, he broke it down until it was nothing but a torso with an arm.

Distracted, he didn't notice the 'President' pull a gun out and aim at it at Erik- but Karmel did.

"Erik!" He yelled, latching onto Erik and pushing him down.

"Karmel-!" Erik called, watching as a bullet entered then exited the side of Karmel's neck, practically grazing it. 

Karmel gasped, falling to one knee, then both of them, holding himself up by one hand as the other held the side of his neck. All of his vines reeled back into his body, dropping the guns.

Erik focused on Karmel’s unconscious body, dropping the guns he previously influenced. "Karmel-? Karmel! Karmel-" he called repeatedly, the other robots under his control shutting off, as well. Erik glared up at Raven (who had shapeshifted into Nixon), kneeling at Karmel's side. "You used to be a better shot- I'm glad it's used to, you-"

"Trust me, I still am" Raven cut him off, running over and knocking Erik out.

Erik fell back, knocked out at Karmel's side.

After Charles' intervention, Raven took Erik's helmet off of him. "They're all yours, Charles" she called, walking away and dropping the helmet.

Erik and Karmel's eyes snapped open, the two of them getting up while under Charles' control. Erik and Karmel outstretched their arms, using their mutations to pull the bars off of Charles, pushing them aside. 

Hank helped Charles up, taking Karmel and Erik out of Charles' influence.

Erik softly furrowed his brow, turning to Karmel. "You-"

"I'm alright" Karmel nodded, gesturing to the vines he quickly used to stitch his wound closed. "It's safe, don't worry."

Erik nodded, pulling Karmel in for a quick hug- one Karmel wasted no time in returning. He pulled away, glad that Karmel was okay. Erik turned to see the government's eyes on them. "If they weren't watching, I'd kiss you right now" he whispered, cupping Karmel’s face.

"Do it later" Karmel purred, smirking slightly.

Erik shakily exhaled, nodding. "I treasure you, Karmel" he mouthed.

"I treasure you too" Karmel mouthed back.

Erik and Karmel turned, watching Hank carry Charles over to them. "If you let them have Karmel and I, we're as good as dead." he noted, dropping his arms at his sides. "You know that."

"I know" Charles replied.

Erik frowned. "Goodbye, old friend."

"Goodbye, Erik" Charles replied, defeated. His head snapped over to Karmel, who was still at Erik's side, for some godforsaken reason.

Karmel stared right back.

"So that's it, then? You're still going with him?" Charles asked, dumbfounded.

Karmel's eyebrows knitted together. He squinted, "what-?"

Erik stepped closer to Karmel.

Charles scoffed, tilting his head. "After all this time, all this destruction- you're still siding with Erik? Endorsing his- his violence, his faulty views? What happened to the Karmel that worked at the peaceful library, huh? Helping anxious teens, reading to little kids? Don't tell me you're going to put your feelings above doing the right thing."

Karmel crossed his arms defensively, blinking his gaze down at the ground in thought. He side-eyed Erik (not in a nasty way, of course; more in a “are you hearing this?” Sort of way), before locking eyes with Charles again. "I'm with Erik because it's what I believe in. I'd still be standing right here even if I didn't feel for him, the way I fuckin' do."

"You should know more than anyone what Erik's capable of, Kar. Look at this, look at JFK, look at him-" Charles pointed right at Erik. "Old friend or not, it's very clear to me what corruption he could cause. Don't...Don't do this, Karmel. Come with Hank, and me. Stay with us" he begged, eyes pleading. "We can help you, just like we always wanted."

Karmel's tongue traced his teeth, turning his head to look at Erik.

Erik stared back at him, jaw clenched.

Karmel took Erik's hand in his own, bringing it up to his lips and softly kissing the knuckles of Erik's glove. He dropped Erik's hand, and made his way over to Charles and Hank.

"Karmel-"

Karmel held up a hand, silencing Erik. He walked towards Charles and Hank, looks of relief washing over their faces.

"Oh, Karmel" Charles praised, smiling happily. "I knew you'd come to your senses."

"Karmel!" Erik repeated, outstretching a hand. This couldn’t really be happening, could it?

Karmel stopped in front of Charles, his expression a blank slate. He turned his palm up to face the sky, and grew a vine out of it. This vine grew out a lush, purple flower. 

Hank arched an eyebrow, looking at it.

Karmel gulped, using his other hand to pluck the flower. He winced softly; the pain of plucking leaves or flowers from his vines was the equivalent of plucking eyebrow hairs. Karmel took Charles' hand, opening it up and placing the flower on it. He looked between Charles and Hank, swiftly turning around and walking back over to Erik.

As he did, Charles' face broke. "Really?! You're going to abandon your second chance at a real family, turn your back on doing the right thing-"

"I am doing the right goddamn thing" Karmel barked, hands tightening into fists.

"No, no you're not! You're doing this because of what, mate? Erik gives you pleasure? Huh? He makes you feel good? Millions of people may die in any bloody plan he mixes up, and you don't care because your brain is too full of what your pants is telling you, to comprehend the crisis we face?" Charles called.

Hank looked damn near betrayed.

Karmel groaned, rolling his eyes. "What the fuck did I just say? I'm doing this because it's what I believe in, Charles" he outstretched his arms. "It's what I've always mostly believed in, from the day my parents died, to the beach in Cuba- where YOU let me go with Erik- and up to where we are, right now. Whatever crisis we fucking face is because of the humans, Charles! After all these years, you're still blind to it?" Karmel scoffed. "Deep devotion to Erik or not, I'm doing what I need to do. I hope you can fucking see that, one day."

Charles grit his teeth. “Your experience of Erik’s attention is so profoundly harmful, yet so irresistible, it undermines you ability to think rationally” he spat, basically saying that Karmel likes Erik so much, it actually makes him stupid.

"Goodbye, Charles" Karmel waved, his face stone-cold. "Beware- it goeth before the fall."

Charles weakly inhaled. "Goodbye, Karmel" he huffed, not saying anything else. From this moment on, he truly knew how much Karmel cares about Erik. He just didn't want to believe that Erik was right, with what he said on the plane; Karmel's morals always fell closer to Erik's, even before he met the man. And Charles couldn't change that. But, in the future, that wouldn’t stop him from continuing to try.

Erik turned to Raven, as did Karmel. He outstretched his arms, slowly floating back up into the sky.

Karmel gave Charles a final glance, slowly growing his vines out from his back and using them as long legs. Now at Erik's level, he walked alongside his lover, glad that they were both free. But for how long? Karmel didn't care, as long as he was with Erik. He doesn't know what he'd be without Erik with him.

Erik floated by Karmel's side silently.

Karmel turned his head to face him now. "Where to, Erik?"

"Away, Karmel" Erik answered blankly. "From each other."

#x-men #x-men oc #xmen oc #xmen #brad pitt oc #young brad pitt oc #oc #male oc #Erik Lehnsherr #erik lehnsherr x male #erik lehnsherr x oc #erik lehnsherr x male!oc #magnetic push #male x male #male x canon #male x oc #oc x male #oc x canon #canon x oc #canon x male #karmel rosenstein #dofp #x-men days of future past #days of future past

[mittensmorgul]

Aah season 9. I’m watching 9.22 right now (*waves at Dabb from s15*) and crylaughing about how much s9 Metatron is just desperate to be Chuck.

METATRON: Yeah, and you met with the enemy... In secret. What is that old line about sins and stones? GADREEL: He spoke. He lied. And I listened. That's it. But I serve heaven. I serve you. METATRON: Good. Don't forget it. I mean, I-I don't get this whole Cas lovefest, either. I'm offering our people a way home, and still -- still, they're choosing him over me. I mean, sure, he's cute. And Castiel has this simple...charm. He's like a mentally deficient puppy. But I'm lovable. And funny. I made God laugh -- twice! GADREEL: You're the one who asked him to lead an army. METATRON: Well, I didn't think he'd be good at it.

Metatron is trying desperately to control the story, but he doesn’t understand the characters, and has completely miscast them for his purposes, you know? He could’ve written Gadreel as his villain, and rightly or wrongly, most of the other angels would’ve bought that story. They’d bought Gadreel’s original story and locked him in prison for millennia. But that’s not the story Metatron wanted to tell. He didn’t just want to elevate himself, he needed to villainize Cas, to cast him down in the eyes of all the angels. Yet all the while, Metatron wanted to BE Cas. He was even trying on trenchcoats. He was fascinated, and obsessed, with Cas.

All the angels Metatron convinced to explode themselves for Cas were CONVINCED they’d actually been approached by Cas himself. So another of Metatron’s “writer’s tricks” was this ability to create reality out of whole cloth. we KNOW Cas wasn’t the one who convinced Tessa to explode herself for the greater good or whatever, and yet:

TESSA: People like you, they never understand. Sacrifices have to be made. DEAN: So you go after one of the bad guys, and if a few humans get microwaved, no big deal, right? TESSA: In the grand scheme, they don't matter. DEAN: Oh, Tessa, you are so wrong. TESSA: When Castiel came to me and told me what I had to do, he said I was chosen because I was strong. Others...they couldn't handle this. They're too weak.

and

DEAN: Good times. Here's the deal. I like you, Tess, okay? For an angel. But tell me, why are you doing this? TESSA: Castiel. DEAN: No, forget Cas. Why are you doing this? What would make a person want to pop their top, huh? I mean, look, I've been in bad shape. I have. But I have never been that damn low. TESSA: I guess I just can't take the screaming. DEAN: Who's screaming? TESSA: All of them. The lost souls. The ones that can't get into heaven now that it's been boarded up. I hear them. They are so confused. They're in so much pain. All I want to do is help them. It's what I do. It's my job. But I can't. So I suffered... Until death, nothingness. Suddenly, it didn't seem so bad. It seemed quiet. DEAN: So, why don't you just jam an angel blade in your throat and call it a day? TESSA: I thought about it. But I was too weak. Till Castiel gave me a reason to die. DEAN: Yeah. See, that just doesn't sound like the Cas I know. TESSA: But doesn't it, though? And the Cas you know, would he raise an army of angels without telling you? 'Cause this Cas did. I'll tell you a secret. There's more out there...Like me. So many more.

And Dean said he was doing what he had to do, so did Tessa, as she killed herself with the first blade. She’d been driven to desperation. Then Metatron goes on about the very same thing. He engineered the experiences of all the angels-- from the bombers convinced Cas himself had recruited them. It’s... eerily similar to what Chuck has engineered in 15.05. It’s like the entire “case” was engineered specifically to lure Sam and Dean, right down to the victim they swore to protect appearing to be Lilith on a mission to destroy the Equalizer gun. I mean, for all Chuck’s machinations, he could’ve written it as Dagon instead of Lilith, you know? But Chuck’s somehow still stuck in the “old days” of the story, and even his cast of side characters is reflecting that now.

GADREEL: Tessa, Constantine -- I recruited them, and you brainwashed them into blowing themselves up. METATRON: So? Well, that's an old writer's trick -- flipping the script. You start by building up a seemingly unbeatable enemy, like the death star, or a rival angel with a bigger army. That way, I look like the underdog. But then, oh, no! The competition gets greedy. He starts pushing things too much. With the help of my combustible double agents. And then, after a rousing speech, his true weakness is revealed. He's in love with humanity. And now...I'm inevitable.

Isn’t this exactly the way Chuck is “writing” for himself in s15? Metatron will eventually tell Chuck (in 11.20) that in his descent into evil villainy, he’d only been following Chuck’s own playbook, writing from Chuck’s own story. Metatron engineered every circumstance in his rise to power. While I’ve been typing, 9.23 has been playing now, and the entire scenario with the woman conveniently hit by a truck and killed right where Metatron happened to be on the scene to resurrect her ON CAMERA, his entire “miracle” broadcast out on Youtube the way he used the Heaven Microphone to broadcast his propaganda to every angel at once... Even with “God power,” Metatron still needed to engineer circumstances, and circumstances still weren’t guaranteed to play out exactly as he expected or intended. Because his plans couldn’t account for free will, just as Chuck’s can’t in s15.

Team free will is horrifically broken. Sure, they’re all on the same side, but the fractures between Sam, Dean, and Cas are severely limiting their ability to truly achieve a “win.” Dean, driven in part by the Mark but also just from his own frustration and anger and guilt (which drove him to take the mark in the first place), hasn’t had an appropriate outlet for his anger (which will be lampshaded by his eventual impotently angry speech to Metatron in 9.23 before his ultimate failure).

In s15, it’s Sam with a “mark of cosmic significance,” with an unwanted connection to Chuck the way the Mark once connected Dean to Amara. And now that we’re about to move into s10 on the tnt loop, I feel like I’ve been waiting for five years for Dabb to finally get his revenge on the 23 episode narrative failure of s10′s mytharc, this time “flipping the script,” as Metatron once called it, in favor of TFW.

At the end of Dean is on the outs with Cas because of Cosmic Nonsense interfering directly between them. Dean’s anger at Cas comes to a head, and it’s revealed that the real target of Dean’s anger is Metatron. As Cas tries to tell Hannah while he’s trapped in Heaven Jail, Metatron is the cause of all of their suffering. They only need to expose that fact and confront him. If only, for once, they could get out ahead of Chuck’s script.

DEAN: You've been working those people outside for, what, a day? They've already spilled blood in your name. You are nothing but Bernie Madoff with wings. METATRON [rising to his feet from the floor]: So I'm a fake. Do you have any idea how much pan-cake makeup and soft lighting it took to get God to work a rope line? He hated it. And, you know, humans sense that. So they prayed harder and longer and fought more wars in his name. And for what?! So they could die of malaria? Leukemia? And all the while, blaming themselves! "Oh, if only I'd been more prayerful, "God would have loved me! God would have saved me!" You know what?! God didn't even know their name! But I do. Because I've walked among them. And I can save them. DEAN: Sure, you can. So long as your mug is in every Bible and "What would Metatron do?" is on every bumper. METATRON: And? What, are you blaming me for giving them what they want, giving them a brand they can believe in? DEAN [starting to unwrap the First Blade in his hand]: I'm blaming you for Kevin! I'm blaming you for taking Cas' Grace. Hell, I'm blaming you for the Cubs not winning The World Series in the last 100 freaking years. Whatever it is... I'm blaming you.

Metatron wanted to be Chuck so bad, right down to insisting everyone call him Marv like he was just folks. Right down to using the same manipulation on Dean that he would eventually use on Cas.

METATRON: And you're powered by the bone of a jackass, and it is just awesome, right? Here's a tip -- next time, try to be powered by the word of God.

LOL. The word of God has lost a lot of its power in s15, and even Amara-- aka the source of power for that jackass bone-- has even pointed it out to him. But once again, Chuck’s favorite plot seemed to be working out anyway, through Metatron’s plagiarized story-- One brother sacrificed, check. But something went sideways. Dean and the Tablet shattered at the same moment. 

METATRON: Ah. So Gadreel bites the dust. And the Angel tablet -- arguably the most powerful instrument in the history of the universe -- is in pieces, and for what again? Oh, that's right -- to save Dean Winchester. That was your goal, right? I mean, you draped yourself in the flag of heaven, but ultimately, it was all about saving one human, right? Well, guess what. He's dead, too.

[...]

METATRON: You know, why you could never quite pull it together, Castiel? While you're sitting here with Your Grace slowly burning away and your reputation long extinguished? No curiosity. You didn't read enough. You never learned how to tell a good story. CASTIEL [looking straight at METATRON]: But you did. [CASTIEL swings his eyes over to the desk where METATRON's all-angel microphone sits with the switch on, broadcasting his entire speech to every angel in Heaven and Earth. The doors fly open and many angels walk in and take METATRON captive. CASTIEL raises an angle blade but then doesn't use it.]

The words were the thing. And whoever truly understands the whole story holds the key.

Sorry this got so rambly (I think everyone expects that of me anyway), but this is exactly what s15 is subverting, FINALLY. And not through the proxy of Metatron the Scribe, Metatron the Editor, and Chuck’s written word, but finally placing his due with Chuck The Author himself.

#spn s15 spoilers #spn 15.05 #spn 9.22 #spn 9.23 #spiders georg of the tnt loop #that's what free will is #using your words #s15 meta rewatch #the story became the story #i blame metadouche for everything including global warming and bee colony collapse #if you say 'mysterious ways' so help me i will kick your ass #it's spirals all the way down

[onepunchmiss]

OPM s2e2 Liveblog

The Human Monster

So I posted my (vague) predictions for this episode yesterday, lets see how wrong I was! As last time, I’m watching this from the perspective of someone who’s read the manga and webcomic. Long post ahead, but let’s get to it!

Alright, looks like we’re picking up right where we left off. This marks the first legitimate Garou episode, doesn’t it? I’m so excited to see the trash son in action.

Garou’s! VOICE! I know we’re already heard it briefly but AHH! I didn’t look into the voice actor ahead of time so I didn’t have much more of an idea as to what he’d sound like but I was expecting it to be...deeper? And honestly I like this way better than what I thought it would be please keep talking my boy you cocky bastard please please

Woah ok I had to pause again to point out how much I appreciate this music. Is this gonna be the recurring Garou theme? I hope so, it’s way darker sounding than any other music in the show that I can recall and I am LIVING

Oh FUCK Heavy Tank’s arm is some body horror right there why is the skin so lumpy???? “Baaaka~” Garou is not one of my top favorite characters but at this rate I think the anime might get him there pretty quickly. And I see JC staff is cutting no corners when it comes to animating his physique I’m sure LOTS of people are gonna be happy for that

Oh my fuck Aaaand more body horror, the sound effects make it worse. I knew this was coming but I forgot. Somehow.

Um excuse me but JC STAFF WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS? WHAT ARE THESE COLORS. WHY. ITS NOT EVEN LIKE YOU’RE CENSORING IT. YOU’VE ALREADY SHOWED THE WHOLE SEVERED HAND AND THE BLOOD WHAT IS THIS EYESORE. Like, the sudden randomly fast animation of Blue Fire’s hands caught me off guard completely and had me laughing even though I don’t think that was supposed to be funny? I though that was a kinda jarring animation choice but what the hell is this?

Ah yes thank you opening theme please cleanse my eyes of what just happened.

Yeah I’m never gonna get over seeing Zombieman’s pissy face at least TWICE every episode thank the heavens for that really. Also Phoenixman. I just think he’s neat ok

Also, I just realized they gave Choze silver hair when I totally imagined it blond. I guess they figured the Nazi imagery would be TOO MUCH given the character already?

OH MY GOSH ARE THEY GONNA DO A DIFFERENT S CLASS EVERY TIME?? LOOK AT THIS BABY. DOES THAT MEAN Z WILL GET ONE TOO IT WAS TATSUMAKI LAST WEEK FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

As expected, on to the Fubuki confrontation. But first I’d like to take a moment to appreciate Geno’s apron. Oh sonic SONIC! we ARE getting the TOASTER VS NINJA THIS EPISODE YES! YES! WAIT a 20 minutes later cut?? I swear they better not skip the action….

“Yo, I’m Saitama” Fucking hell the inflection of his voice when he says that is perfect. Anyway- the boarding in this sequence is messing with me. Is it just me or is every really monotone? Something just feels kinda off. There’s so many panning shots? Keep the screen still its making me a bit motion sick. This isn’t an action sequence there doesn’t need to be movement 100% of the time, it doesn’t fit well here. I’m gonna need to rewatch this beginning to end without pausing for the blog to judge it better [EDIT: after watching it in one go, its still noticable, but not AS BAD. Slightly more forgivable imo]

Fuck the fucking obligatory boob jiggle god damnit

“Are you gonna fight me with rocks n stuff? Better not” Was that a Geryuganshoop callback??

ok I put my finger on it. This whole sequence has been riddled with unnecessary panning of the camera. (90% of which is focused on Fubuki for whatever reason). This shot for example would have been fine with just gusts and rocks flying everywhere. but instead they panned up in this shot in a crooked gliding motion. why?? It keeps happening?

Why is it zooming in and turning sideways it’s getting distracting when the subject matter within the frame is relatively stagnant. Also, it got much better quickly with more action, but the Saitama speech on newbie-crushing felt kind of underwhelming. Maybe it’s just because I was already so distracted but it felt much more impactful and forceful reading it than listening to/seeing it just now.

WAIT

YES! YES!

Please let this fight be on a better note! aww, no smug Genos face. Let the boy smile for once in the anime pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee? And side note- I can’t wait for every single Shot of genos to be turned into a compilation of gifs, cause thats how the fandom do these days

This whole fight just had me shouting YES at the screen THIS IS WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT it got so much better! So much better!! A huge sigh of relief from me over here. There are so many good shot of Genos here oh my god thank the heavens yes. Oh that muffled voice effect with the clones is cool too, oh man. JC Staff loves sonic I’m convinced. Yeah, some bits are over the top with the flashing but I kinda don’t care

YEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SAITAMA YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

I’m so glad they nail this art style! Also I’d like to say that the anime delivered the serious series: Serious consecutive side hops 100% that is some GOOD SHIT.

OH MY FUCK did they seriously just rip the face directly out of the manga panel???? I Mean it’s perfection so i can’t blame them???? Oh Shit that’s fuckin gold and the now-vocalized ‘DOAUGHU’ is perfect.

Y’know, I knew they had to animate the tatsumaki spoon panel that shit was just too cool looking to not include. AH! Atomic Samurai’s Disciples! Oh my god I can’t wait to see them actually! Look at Kama my QUEEN

And ya know, I was completely willing to forgo the lil Aamai mask cut away but here it is. I’m gonna spare yall his stupid face. If you like Amai mask I’m sorry, you’re stronger than me.

Hah, “there’s also King, the world’s strongest man.” I just paused it before he walks in the door. Little do you know, gurl, little do you know. Oh, I appreciate the little ‘Hmph’ Fubuki does, too. Reminds me that she and Tatsu really are sisters. Ah, aaaaand there King is. AAAaaaaaaand its over just like that. Lets get through the end credits before I summarize my thoughts i guess!

well FUCK I WAS SPOT ON WASNT I?? The episode ended with Saitama and Genos getting their Hero Names and Garou walking away from Tanktop Vegetarian. Not gonna lie I’m proud I called it to a T.

All in all, I didn’t love it as much as the first episode, but I loved it nonetheless. Aside from the one color disaster and the Fubuki confrontation scene (which admittedly, is a big deal) I was REALLY digging it all the way through. It seems to me they struggled with making an emotionally impactful scene with only minor elements of action. The King scene last week was great, no nauseating camera movement or anything- just exactly what it needed to be. The full on action sequences were also fine this and last week. I don’t know if it was the combination of dialogue and static characters mixed in with Fubuki using her telekinesis that threw them for a loop but it definitely felt like they had issues with that scene. Not as bad as I initially felt, like I’m not mad at it per se, but they’re still there. Otherwise no pacing issues or anything- actually they covered exactly as much ground as I guessed they would and it felt great! I have today come to the conclusion that JC Staff loves Sonic and also has a weird thing about panning shots of Fubuki. Good episode still had me shouting YES repeatedly at the screen.

Seeya next week!

#live blogging #i give episode 2 a thumbs up! #one punch man #season 2 #the human monster #s2e2 #s2e14 #saitama #genos #opm #fubuki #garou #okamaitachi #iaian #bushidrill #sonic #sos sonic #child emperor #king #anime #blue fire #heavy tank loincloth #tanktop vegetarian #opmiss mumbling #spoiler #spoilers

[spongeekat]

The 6 Times Peter Wanted To Reveal his Identity (And the 1 Time He Did) Chapter 6

read on ao3

Masterlist Here

Day 6- Friday

Mary Jane was the angel in Peter’s life that he didn't deserve, but thoroughly appreciated.

Though the two had attempted to have a relationship after meeting their freshman year of college, by the end of the 3 months they’d become closer friends than they were romantic partners. The break-up had been a seamless transition, and with the expectations of intimacy being lifted from their shoulders, he found Mary Jane to be a reliable confidant and supporter. They told each other everything; she had been first to know about his feelings for Wade, and the second to find out about his superhero identity. Despite a bad reputation in the newspapers, she never criticized his actions or mistakes, and had always been an open ear when things went wrong and the world felt too heavy on his exhausted shoulders.

Still, he had never made a mistake this public. While Ellie had found out who he was due to his bad judgement, he had been able to keep it under wraps and it was an easily mended situation. This time, however, he had the sinking feeling he had ruined his life in wake of saving two others. There were dozens of people watching, twice that driving by or skidding to a stop when he halted traffic, and worst of all, Wade found out Peter had been lying to him in a horribly impersonal way.

Peter was still camping out on Mary Jane’s floor after his freak-out the night before. He wanted to go home to get out of her hair, but the thought of Wade showing up, or worse, the FBI showing up, and grilling him about his superhero abilities made him sick all over again. Mary Jane claimed she didn’t mind him hanging around, but he knew his stress was quickly becoming hers. Harry had been unable to find his backpack, and when he arrived to look for it the park had become a spot for a local news station to report on the ‘mystery man that stopped a car with his bare hands.’ So Peter sat cross-legged against the edge of her bed, flipping through news channels endlessly. The coverage on the event had been minimal, the best footage being of a mother video taping her children playing when it suddenly panned to the car slamming into the ground and him fleeing the scene. Still, he wasn’t sure if anyone had a dashcam that could have caught a glimpse of his face, or if a traffic camera may have been aimed at them. It was a waiting game now, either for new videos to be released, or for someone to divulge his facial features to the police.

Peter’s phone buzzed again at his side, and he glanced at the screen halfheartedly. Wade had been texting him non-stop. Most of them he hadn’t read, but every so often he caught glimpses of messages. Apparently Wade had gone to his apartment the night before to locate him, but his neighbors had threatened to call the police when he wouldn’t stop banging on Peter’s window. A couple of the other messages he had read were begging him to call, or asking where he had gone, but for the most part Peter had blocked them out. He couldn’t bare to face him now. He’d accepted his help and affection despite not needing it, and lied to Wade for days in the process. All because he was selfish, and scared, and in love. Horribly, horribly in love. He regretted every day he had put off confessing. Now he didn’t have the chance. Just a lot to apologize for.

“Pete?” MJ turned in her computer chair to quirk an eyebrow at him, as he stared at the television screen. He knew he looked as trashed as he felt. His brown eyes were hidden behind puffy lids weighed down by dark circles, his wavy hair was a mussed and tangled pile, and his clothes were disheveled and sitting awkwardly on his body. By contrast she was showered and well-put together, her lips pursed in concern and thought as she watched him. “Maybe you should take a break from your hunt. You’ll only stress yourself out more. Let’s go get lunch somewhere. I’ll set notifications on my news app for anything with your name or Spider-Man’s.”

Peter slowly shook his head and let the remote fall to the carpet, leaving the channel flipped on a segment about health care. He ran the palms of his hands over his eyes, a shudder rushing through his body. “I can’t eat anything. I feel too sick.” He mumbled, and finally dropped his head back against her mattress. He wished he could will away the day before, go back and redo it all to stop the dog before it even got close to the street, but he knew he would have to accept and deal with the consequences. Any dwindling hope that maybe he hadn’t been identified was crushed as soon as it materialized. He’d rather be prepared to be unmasked than taken by surprise when his face was thrust up onto the Times Square billboards requesting his arrest.

“You won’t know until you try, dummy.” Mary Jane walked over to where he was and dropped her hands to her hips, waiting impatiently for an answer. “I don’t like to see you moping so much. Watching the video, it all happened so fast, that the people watching probably couldn’t even remember your hair color, much less what you looked like. Stop being so pessimistic and go get pizza with me.”

Peter didn’t want to leave the room. His obsession with searching at least somewhat distracted him from letting the memory play on a loop. But the next moment his phone went off again, and another text from Wade popped up on the screen.

please tell me you’re still alive

Peter grabbed his phone and blocked Wade’s number the next second. It made a wave of nausea rush over him to think Wade still cared about his safety even after he had been deceived.

“Okay, let’s go.” Peter groaned, and pushed himself to his feet. His toes tingled as the blood flow returned to them, and he grabbed his sweater that had been thrown on the floor to pull on. “But if you see anything, please let me know.”

“As long as you promise not to ask me to check every minute.”

Peter breathed out calculatedly. “I’ll try.”

“And not every 5 minutes, either. I want a normal lunch with my best friend to help him calm down from a stressful week.”

The corners of his lips perked, and he finished adjusting his sweater and tossing his hair into a somewhat presentable style. “Every half-hour?”

Mary Jane thought for a moment, but shrugged good naturedly. “That’s a fair trade. Now let’s turn off this old-lady daytime television and get out into the world, Parker!”

They escaped out the door before Peter could change his mind, and took off on foot towards the pizza cafe they’d made a second home over the past 4 years. From study sessions to scarfing down comfort food, it had served its purpose as a cheap hangout joint for them to talk out their feelings. Even now, as Peter was riddled with so much anxiety his hands hadn’t stopped trembling for the past 24 hours, he felt himself start to relax when they entered the familiar hole-in-the-wall establishment. The smell of burnt crust wafted past his nose and a football game buzzed noisily on a small TV, but it was distracting enough to his senses that he was able to ignore the thoughts of dread for a bit.

“So...about Wade.” Mary Jane finally spoke once they’d put in their order with the teenager working the counter and claimed a spot in the corner. Peter had his back to the door, just to feel a bit more hidden from sight. “Did you ever actually tell him how you feel?”

Peter paused mid-sip of his water, the liquid suddenly feeling ice cold on his tongue. He set it down, and swallowed through the tightness of his throat. “...No.” He finally sighed, chewing on the inside of his bottom lip. “I mean, I didn’t think he would ever really see me that way. Even as Peter and not...” He gestured to the air. “...he complimented me and stuff, but I never got the feeling he, like, liked me.”

“But you didn’t ask?”

“I thought it made more sense to tell him who I was first.” Peter said in distress, dropping his chin onto his hand. “I guess it just never felt right. He talked to me the same in and out of the mask. Wade’s just overly friendly. He thinks it’s funny.”

“Uh-huh.” Mary Jane looked unimpressed, but her thoughts were interrupted when their slices were dropped off. They both thanked the waitress, and the red head immediately leaned in again. “From what you told me, it sounds like he was interested in a little more than coddling you. He asked you to go out with him and his daughter to the aquarium. That sounds more like a date.”

Peter knew his cheeks were flushing red, and his phone sat a bit heavier in his pocket. Maybe Wade’s texts were more worried than they were malicious. Even after royally screwing up, Wade just wanted to make sure he was okay. He looked down at the grease dripping onto his plate, reflecting on the week.

But then he remembered the astonished expression on his face when Peter had jumped out into the street and the thought vanished.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. I already blocked his number. He’ll give up in an hour, and then I’ll just have to avoid him on patrol for the rest of my life. If I’m not arrested for being a vigilante and resisting arrest a thousand times first.” Peter sat back with a look of defeat and determined he wasn’t hungry anymore, pushing his plate a few inches away from him.

Mary Jane just shook her head and went back to eating. “It’ll be okay, Pete.” She said between bites. “You just gotta try to think positively.”

“That’s kinda hard to do when my suit got jacked along with homework that clearly has my name written on it, and all I can do is wait for someone to turn it into the police. And I’m a coward, MJ. Aunt May is at our apartment alone, and people could show up at any moment looking for me. She could get hurt. You could get hurt. And that’s exactly what I’ve been trying to avoid all these years.” Peter huffed and dragged his arms in to cross over his chest, twisting to look back at the TV. “I messed up, and I hurt everyone in the process. Positive thinking is stupid. It won’t stop anyone from coming after the people I care about.”

Mary Jane pushed her plate forward as well, and it clinked as the two collided in the center. “I get that you’re stressed, Pete, but when you’re done being a jerk, we can talk.” She said as she stood up and started to lift her purse on over her shoulders. Peter turned back around, shame tugging at his features. “Positive thinking isn’t stupid, it just keeps you from freaking out on the people trying to help you. I’m not saying everything is going to be perfect, but it’s better to have hope than to wallow in your self-pity.”

“Hey, MJ, I’m sorry.” Peter stood as well, the chair scraping the floor. “I shouldn’t have been mean.”

“You’re right, you shouldn’t have. Go home. Get sleep. Be there for Aunt May in case she needs you. You aren’t helpless just because you don’t have a mask to hide behind. And for god’s sake, just call Wade. He obviously cares about you.” She sighed, and tucked a strand of cherry red hair behind her ear. “You know I wanna help you. I’m sorry you’re going through this. But life has a funny way of working out sometimes. Just try to make it through the day? Please?”

Mary Jane said goodbye to the waitresses before waving at Peter, as he slowly sunk back down in his seat. She was right. He shouldn’t be ignoring Wade. Not when he had been the one to lie. He owed him an explanation as to why he hadn’t been honest in the first place.

Peter pulled out his wallet and set down all the change he had as an apology tip, tossing his slice of pizza on the way out. Aunt May had been on vacation for too long, and he should at least be there to greet her. Especially if something went wrong and he was taken away without notice.

He hopped on a bus a few blocks down and planted himself near the front, before drawing his phone out. The texts from Wade had stopped coming through, but he was still easy to locate. He hesitated, but eventually pressed the UNBLOCK button and closed out of the app.

He would call him later, but he needed to collect himself. The first way to do that was to see Aunt May.

--

“May?” Peter pushed open the door and peeked past the frame, studying the inside of the apartment. It certainly looked more clean than how he had left it the morning before, so there was no doubt she had been home. Whether she was still home after not having her texts returned the entire day was the question. “May?” He repeated, stepping inside and shutting the door almost silently behind him.

His senses alerted him to the scuffle of a slipper on tile, and a grey-haired face popped around the corner.

“Hey, you’re home.” Peter greeted, toeing his shoes off into the rack by the door, before walking closer. “Glad you made it home sa-”

“Peter. Benjamin. Parker.” Aunt May stepped fully into view, tugging tautly on a towel she had been drying her hands on. Peter immediately winced and backed away, but that didn’t stop the older woman from coming at him with an irritated stride. “Do you know how worried I was when I got home and you were nowhere to be found? I got you that phone for a reason! Use it!” Her towel snapped and lightly hit his forearm. It wasn’t hard enough to hurt, but Peter jumped and massaged the spot anyways. “I thought you had suffocated under the mounds of trash and laundry you let collect in your room!”

“Sorry.” Peter said honestly, relieved to see her again. After the crazy week he had been put through, he desperately wanted his Aunt back. “A lot happened, and I spent the night at Mary Jane’s. I didn’t mean to ignore you.”

“You look heartbroken.” Aunt May commented, simmering down as she studied his limp body language. Concern replaced the anger on her face. “Is everything alright?”

“No.” Peter said honestly, turning his face down towards the floor. He felt pathetic, especially when she placed her soft hands against both shoulders and gave them a comforting squeeze. “I made a lot of mistakes these past couple of days. I may have hurt someone I really...like? And I feel like my life is ruined on top of it all.”

“Did you apologize?” May tugged on his arm, prompting him towards the couch. He followed her obediently, and she guided him to sit on the cushions beside her.

“Not yet. We haven’t spoken since yesterday.” Peter leaned his head against her shoulder, and her fingers found his hair to run through it comfortingly. “I want to. I just don’t know what to say.”

“You’re a good and humble boy. I’m sure you know what to say to him in your heart.” May dragged her fingers through his bed head, and he made a choking sound at her pronoun choice. “Is it not a man?”

Her motherly instinct would always outsmart his secrecy. “It is.”

“Is he a good person?”

“...He is.”

“Does he care about you as well?”

Peter swallowed the knot that formed in his throat. “I-I think so. I don’t know if it’s that way, but we’re close friends.”

“Friends will forgive each other. It may take time, and it may be uncomfortable, but you can’t hide your feelings forever, Peter. You should be honest if you want to keep him close..”  May kissed the top of his head, and he sunk further into the couch. She was always the voice of reason, even if it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “I know you’ll make the right choice. You care too much about others. That’s one of the things I love so much about you. Do you want to tell me exactly what happened?”

“It’s a lot.” Peter mumbled. “Basically, I just… lied. I took advantage of his kindness. I don’t know why I didn’t tell him the truth, but I just got so comfortable in the lie that I didn’t bother to correct it. And then he found out what I was lying about, but so did others, and I feel like my world is crashing down, even if it isn’t yet. But I know there’s the chance it might and I can’t stop freaking out over it… does this make any sense?”

May chuckled and shook her head at his rambling. “Can you be more specific? Or is this one of those times it’s better to just now know?”

“Better to not know. If that’s okay.”

“Well, you’re alive, you’re healthy, and you have a good heart. There’s nothing you can’t fix as long as you have your smile.” May rubbed his shoulder again, and pulled herself to her feet to walk back to the kitchen. “You go call your friend and apologize, honey, and I’ll finish getting dinner in the crock pot.”

Peter released a shaky breath, but he eventually stood as well. “Thanks, May. I’m glad to have you home.” He found his phone and located Wade’s number, his finger hesitating over the call button.

As he moved to close his door, her voice shouted out once more. “And clean that room!”

“Got it!” Peter laughed back, before he took the plunge and pressed the green phone on screen. The sound of ringing made him tense, but he eventually managed the courage to hold the phone to his ear.

When Wade picked up, there was a set of gunshots from the other end.

“Wade? Are you okay?” Peter asked immediately.. A man shouted, and the phone shuffled.

“Petey! Bad timing, but I’m so so glad to hear from you.” Wade gasped, out of breath. It sounded like he was running, but Peter couldn’t be sure over the cracking of bullets and distant threats being screamed on the other end. “I got the notification you blocked my texts and I figured you had thrown yourself off the Empire State Building or something and your phone company just didn’t want the extra charges. Hold on one second. Guess you shoulda brought that Gram-Gram of yours with you, huh? At least she could hit me- fuck! Watch it! Not the face!” Wade slammed an object and a person yelled out in pain. “In a job, sorry, sweetums. Some old lady mob boss has her grandson running a human trafficking ring, so I gotta play cops and robbers and clean it all up. Anyways, it was kinda shitty to run off like that yesterday without saying anything. Ellie was really disappointed...and so was I. I don’t know your story, but shit, you couldn’t even tell me you were superpowered?”

Peter cleared his throat, guilt weighing heavily on his heart.  Wade hadn’t realized yet exactly who Peter was. Which meant he still had to figure out how to tell him. “I’m sorry. I know I can’t explain what I did, or why I did it, but I want you to know that I didn’t mean to put off telling you for so long.” He could barely get the words out, unsure how to explain his true feelings without giving away everything. Another round of bullets went off, and Wade cursed again. “Dude, do you need help? You sound like you’re having a hard time.”

“Well, originally this was a game of cat and mice, me being the cat obviously, but they just brought out a bunch of guns, so now it’s more like cat trying not to get sprayed because I just repaired and washed this suit yesterday, and all of the mice are on steroids. If you wanna haul that tight-but-scarily-strong-ass down here, I’m sure we could scare them off.  But judging by how long you ignored me, I’m guessing you don’t wanna do that, baby boy.”

“Okay, um, can I just talk to you tomorrow? In person? I would rather discuss this when you’re not, like, trying to stay alive. I also lost my backpack, which had things I really can’t lose in it, and I’m freaking out a little.”

“Oh, I grabbed that.”

“What?” Peter gasped, instant relief flooding him.

“Yeah, I texted you this morning. Guess you didn’t read my texts, though. Didn’t want you losing your homework or anything.” Wade grunted as he slammed another object, and his katanas slid across one another with a sharp zing . “I was gonna dump it at your apartment, but I got a little distracted by work and hanging out with my gal pals.” He joked as another man screamed.

“...Did you look inside?”

Wade didn’t answer, sounding like he was ripping open a pocket on his belt. After a few seconds, he finally responded. “No. Should I have?”

Peter didn’t want to lie anymore. He couldn’t lie anymore. Wade deserved so much more than that. So he took a brave breath, and shoved down his fear. “Yeah. Go ahead. And then we can meet up tomorrow and I can explain everything. I won’t leave out any details this time.”

“You aren’t secretly part of the X-Factor, are you? Those guys keep ignoring my birthday party invites.”

Peter cracked an uncomfortably smile, and he looked down at his feet. “No, I’m not a mutant. But I’ll see you tomorrow and things will make more sense.”

“See you tomorrow.” Wade agreed. “No more secrets or lies or anything, though, okay? I actually care about you and wanna be there for you and all that shit.” Then the line cut off.

He drew his phone down from his face and clicked on Mary Jane’s contact. He wouldn’t feel okay until he apologized to her, too.

Peter would still have to keep an eye on the news, but for the most part, the major cause of his anxiety had diminished. At least he knew where his suit was, even if he didn’t have it in his possession.

Tomorrow, Wade would know he was Spider-Man.

For the first time that day, he started to feel a twinge of hope in his chest. Maybe things would end up being okay after all.

#spiderman #deadpool #spideypool #my fic #fanfic #marvel #spideypool fanfic

[not-close-to-straight]

Flags (Spideypool)(Pan!Wade, Bisexual!Peter)

Part Two

Part Three ********************* J. Jonah Jameson-- for all his asshole posturing and shouting and dropping f bombs like he was raining them down on the innocent people below-- completely supported Pride Month. Every June, he instructed his reporters to stop reporting on death and mayhem and that fucking spider and--and  this is a direct quote, mind you--- -----“find someone carrying a rainbow flag and make them a celebrity. This is Pride Month. So let’s show how fucking proud we are of all of them. Fucking ridiculous, people having to hide who they are from the world. Who the fuck cares? Fuck haters. Go find me someone fabulous and fucking flaming to interview. I expect rainbows and glitter and drag queens.” Granted, Jameson’s attitude might not have been exactly politically correct, and maybe he used the wrong words to describe members of the LGBTQ community, and maybe he still came across as fairly insensitive, but his heart was in the right place. And he certainly might have teared up once or twice or a dozen times when he heard that two of the male reporters in the bullpen were tying the knot. He also might have given them two weeks paid vacation for their honeymoon, and a giant bonus because he was so happy for them. So, brushing aside the incorrect phrasing, and the insensitive but well meaning enthusiasm of the editor, the staff of the Daily Bugle just smiled and ‘yes sir’-ed and went out to follow his instructions-- edited of course because a casting call for someone ‘fabulous and fucking flaming’ might not go over as smoothly with the real world. No one knew why the cantankerous editor suddenly became pro-glitter during June, but they knew him well enough not to question it. 

So when Jameson had yelled for Peter to stop photographing that “goddamn wall crawling pain in my ass and get down to the Parade and for gods sake wear something with a unicorn on it!”, Peter had just grinned and grabbed his camera and headed down town.

Posting up on a corner where the parade route came close by, Peter started snapping pictures as fast as he could, twisting and turning to catch everything, unable to wipe the smile from his face.

It was wonderful. The darling couple wearing hot pink tutus and rainbow bras holding hands and skipping down the street. The two men who looked like they could bench press a car walking arm in arm and talking quietly. Dozens of girls from one of the sororities laughing and cheering and waving little flags. The high school soccer team who had shown at in full force to support their captain, who was currently carrying his boyfriend on his shoulders. The parents walking slowly, somberly, holding a framed picture of their son and his boyfriend. The mother was dressed in black with a rainbow pin on her blouse, and Peter had to put his camera down for a minute to clear the tears clogging his throat. They weren’t the only people attending Pride in remembrance, and that sort of thing was never easy. It was all wonderful, though. Wonderful, and inspiring, and encouraging…. And Peter wished he was just one-tenth as brave as they were, so maybe he could stop hiding what he felt from even himself. But that was easier said than done, wasn't it? He had been struggling forever it seemed. Since high school at the very least. Some days he felt fine and perfectly attracted to Mary Jane when she wore those too short red shorts and bent over to do laundry. Other days it was Harry he wanted to throw down on his bed and strip naked. It didn't matter of course, either way. Mary Jane would never be his, and neither would Harry. Hell, at nineteen Peter hadn't been kissed by anyone, guy or girl, not unless you count Gwen kissing him once in first grade because he shared his cookies. But Peter didn't count that at all. A flash of color caught his eye, and Peter pulled himself from his thoughts, swiveling around, camera already up and ready to capture whatever was going on. “Whatever was going on” turned out to be a big man in nothing but rainbow colored bike shorts dashing through the crowd, whooping and hollering and handing out beaded necklaces and kisses to whoever wanted one. Looking like he had bathed in baby oil, because how else could he shine like that?-- he would flex huge biceps, perfectly defined abs, and even let one of the soccer players squeeze at his butt as he laughed and shouted through the noise and took selfies with everyone. The man was wearing a flag as a cape and cowl, holes cut for his eyes, the over sized flag streaming down behind him. Peter snapped a picture curiously, because his flag wasn't the usual rainbow, instead it was a hot pink, yellow and blue, as were his shockingly tight (and hard to look away from) bike shorts. He kept taking pictures though, watching in amusement as the man handed out beads to everyone- girls, guys, older, younger, it didn't matter. Each person who got a necklace got a kiss, and as the man came across a small group of drag queens from the neighborhood burlesque, he started cheering and tossing beads all over, grabbing each of the heavily made up women (men? Peter wondered, because he wasn't quite sure how to label them??) and laying a loud, messy kiss on their lips. The Queens cheered and hollered at him, and away he went again, flinging beads into the crowd. One of the strands came flying right for Peter, and by force of habit, and years of Spiderman instincts, his hand shot up to grab, wanting to laugh at the sheer amount glitter that rained down from the beads. “Hey! Yes! I was hoping you would catch those!” Before Peter could even blink, the man had jumped up onto his post and was grinning at him wildly. “Pucker up cutie pie! You touched my balls, now you have to give me a kiss!” “Wait-- what-- touched your what?--I can’t---” Peter didn't have time to reply or protest or anything before the man grabbed him and bent him over dramatically, to the cheers and whoops of the crowd surging past them. “Pucker up.” he repeated teasingly, then, “Unless you hate the idea?” 

Peter shook his head, a little too dazed to even think about what he was doing, puckering his lips automatically for the short kiss. Except when the stranger broke the embrace, he didn't pull away right away, didn't let Peter up at all. Instead he licked his lips and that already deep voice sounded hoarse when he said “Oh, baby boy, I'm going to need to kiss you again. Blink once for yes, twice for no.” 

Peter stared at him in shock, then very deliberately blinked once. 

And the man kissed him again. 

Longer this time, one big hand under Peter's head to hold him steady, the other spread low on his back keeping him from falling, fingers digging to keep him close. 

Peter couldn't do anything but kiss him back. Couldn't do anything but hold onto his camera for dear life, and loop an arm around broad shoulders and grab tight. Couldn't do anything but part his lips when the stranger's tongue coaxed him open, couldn't do anything but moan as he was held tighter, closer up against a solid body that made him want to melt.   Finally the kiss ended and Peter could stand back up to stare into light hazel eyes and a smile that was doing just devastating things to his heart. “Will you call me?” the man whispered, and Peter licked his lips, his breath hitching when those intriguing eyes dropped down to watch. “I don't have your number. Or your name. Or--Or--” “Oh baby boy, you are fucking adorable.” he laughed soft and low and heat curled through Peter's body. “Here.” a small card was pressed into Peter's hand. “I have a lot more beads to throw and just hundreds of people to kiss, but please. Please call me. I think I might have a new addiction.” Then he grinned. “It's you. You’re my new addiction in case that wasn't clear enough.” Then he was gone, jumping down from the step and disappearing back into the crowd. Peter stared as long as he could, until he lost sight of the oddly colored flag wrapped around the gorgeous man. Jogging down the steps and slipping into a side alley, Peter took a few deep breaths and tried to wipe the grin off his face. That had been….well, it had been his first kiss. And it had been from a man. And damn if he hadn't loved it. He remembered the card and flipped it over. In bright rainbow colors it read, “You Have Been Kissed By Pansexual Man! And It Must Have Been A Good One, Because I Can't Wait to Do It Again! Call Me!” Underneath was a number in Queens and Peter grinned again and tucked it in his back pocket. Was he going to call the stranger who had all but attacked him with a kiss? The stranger with intense blue eyes, and big strong hands, and shoulders so broad it made Peter weak, and a voice that was like gravel wrapped in velvet and so low it still made him shudder? ….yes he was.

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

#spideypool #pride fic #pride month #pride parade #bisexual peter parker #pansexual wade wilson

[teslatricity]

they’ll put no stops to us Shallura week Day 3 - trust rating: t

Allura forced her palms to stay flat against the arms of her chair.  Clenching them into fists would only give away her frustration, and in the face of these terrorists, she could not.

“Regardless of how you feel about my accession, I am of the royal blood,” she said, putting as much authority into her voice as possible.  “I am a sacred Altean in a line stretching back to the Founding, and I am your Queen. You will cease your rebellion and put no more of our people in danger.”

“You’re no queen of ours.”  One of the masked figures—she thought it was one of the members of House Jokast, who had been cousins of hers on Altea—made a gesture, and the camera panned to several other rebels surrounding a figure kneeling on the floor.  He had a sack over his head, but Allura would know that form anywhere even if the silver metal of the prosthetic arm hadn’t caught the light, even if they hadn’t dragged the sack off.  She knew the shape of her husband, and when Shiro’s bruised and bloodied face was revealed to her, it took every last drop of self-control for her not to stand up and scream for him.  Every muscle ached with the strain of keeping her expression level and her body relaxed, because if she cracked now, if she gave in—

“As you can see,” the rebel spokesman told her, “We have a significant amount of leverage.  If you wish to keep your filthy alien husband, you must step down in favor of a candidate of our choosing.  If you refuse, well, you’re young.  You can remarry.”

Allura ignored them, focusing on Shiro.  “Are you all right?”

He looked right into the camera and right into her heart, blinking rapidly.  “Been better,” he replied.  “Don’t listen to them, Allura.  You stay right where you belong.”

“That’s enough,” one of the rebels—a woman this time—said, yanking the sack over his head again.  “You heard us.  Either step down, or watch this one die.  The choice is yours.”

The comm channel went dead.  For a long, long moment, nobody in the room moved or spoke… then they all erupted at once.  The other paladins, Coran, her advisers, every single one had something to say, but it was Lance who stopped, then yelled until everyone was quiet.

“I think we all need to give Allura a minute to come up with a plan,” he said.  “Let’s all just.  Give her a minute.  Okay?”

“Shiro’s captured—“  Keith began heatedly, but Lance was already hauling him out of the room. Hunk followed them, and at Coran’s urging, the other advisers filtered out as well, until it was just the two of them and Pidge, staring thoughtfully at the space where the holodisplay had been.   

“Your Majesty?” Coran asked softly.  That was all it took.

She felt it start as burning heat and let it out now that she didn’t have to hold herself together.  Wrapping her arms around her stomach Allura bent over, sobbing hard enough to choke on the rage welling up in her.  She let it out in a scream, stuffing her knuckles into her mouth to muffle it as much as possible while hot tears ran down her cheeks.  She felt like throwing up.   

“We’ll work on tracing the comm channel,” Coran said.  He’d put an arm around her shoulders and Allura leaned into him, covering her face with her hands.  “He’s strong, our Shiro.”

“And smart.”  Pidge leaned over them, tapping keys until the displays came up again.  She pulled up the video.

“Oh, Pidge, I don’t think Allura—“

“No, no, she needs to see this.”  Pidge dragged to the point in the video where Shiro was looking directly into the camera.  “See? Look at him blink.”

Allura watched, swiping at her eyes as Pidge played it once, then twice. “It’s… what is he doing?”

“It’s Morse code.  He does it the whole time he’s talking.”  Pidge watched again, tapping keys, then one more time to confirm before enlarging her own display to take over Allura’s.   

T R U S T  M E

She clasped her hands and took a few deep breaths.  Shiro was hurt and in danger and asking her to trust him enough not to act.  She would have to believe he knew well enough what to do.

The others, predictably, didn’t like that she wouldn’t be taking action, but Allura folded her hands and refused to budge.

“He asks me to trust him.  I do.  That does not mean we will be lazy, however.  Coran, Pidge, I want you to try and find where this comm channel originated from.  Lance,  Keith, come up with a plan for extraction should it come to that—Hunk will help with anything you need.  I will not let him be killed.”

A few days later, Allura waited for the doctors to finish with his face.  His injuries weren’t severe enough to warrant time in one of the pods (or at least, he’d refused going into one), but he still winced when she brushed her fingers over one of the bruises, thumb tracing his cheek.

“Next time you go out I’m assigning an entire squad of bodyguards,” she told him, laying her hand gently over his cheek.  He leaned into the touch.

“Thank you,” he said, kissing her palm.  “For trusting me.”

“You know I do trust you, Shiro, with my life.  What did you do, anyway?”

Shiro grinned.  “Theoretical knowledge is great, but when it comes to fighting, there’s no substitute for experience.  I knew I could take on at least half of them, but really, once I beat the ringleader the rest of them caved pretty quickly.”

Allura smiled too, but pulled his forehead down so she could press a kiss to it, then to his cheeks – carefully, with the bruises – and then finally to his mouth, and sighed when she felt him loop an arm around her waist, pulling her in.  “I do ask one thing,” she breathed against his mouth, leaning back a little and letting him chase her lips back for another kiss.

“Mm?”

“Do not ever, ever do something like that again.”

#shallura #shalluraweek #lana writes #more married shallura bc im traaaaaaaaash #or just know what im about

[musicvideoprojectakamuka]

Music Video

Ideas

Originally for this project I was planning on lip syncing a song but then I found out that it wasn’t allowed because of copyright laws, so I was really lost on what to do. I considered contacting a dancing group to dance cover a song, but I just couldn’t see it with out a few lip syncing. 

I also contacted a grime group but things didn’t work out between me and them so I had to find something else.

So after a lot of thought I decided to go with one of funniest songs I know, Moustache from ‘A million ways to die in the West’.

I love this catch song, filled with moments that make you just want to dance. Also the light hearted nature of it makes even more enjoyable to listen to.

Before I get into this project let me tell you about the music I listen to and what I like to see in a music video.

Music and visual taste:

I literally listen to anything that sounds good, doesn’t matter if I understand it or not, as long as it is “music to my ears” then I will play it, and if it happens to have a good video with then that’s a bonus.

A genre in particular that never fails to disappoint with their music video is k-pop. I love me some k-pop. The genre is based on songs that have a choreography to it which makes it easy and perfect to sync, but the visual effects and concepts they come up with is just crazy and so inspiring.

Take Idol  by BTS.

There are so many creative concepts that inspire me not just musically but visually in general.

The over the top outfits complimented by the over the top art style goes so well, there is much colour and you could see all of it, on the left side its more warm, but towards the right its cooler.

More vivid colours and patterns, creating a frame for the singer who is also dressed in a colourful fashion.

This shot in particular caught my attention when I saw it, its so in your face and loud you’d want to go back and replay it.

Another music video I looked at was also from BTS called Mic Drop

There are couple of great shots and synchronization in this music video.

When the beat drops the clinch their fists and explosion goes of behind them... SO AWESOME.

But this shot/technique is what I love the most, having the background slow mo while the foreground is moving at normal speed. So everything in the blue outline is slow mo’d and the solo singer is moving and dancing at real time.

Another music video that adapted that technique was also from a k-pop group called TWICE.

https://youtu.be/V2hlQkVJZhE?t=123

They must’ve filmed the background singers separately and the main singer, the one that will play at normal speed on a green screen, then keyed her and composited her into the footage.

I really want to adapt this technique into my work.

The final k-pop video I would like to mention is Exid: ah yeah

https://youtu.be/egqDPipqIAg?t=104

What I like about this is that they have split personality/alter egos to help get their narrative across.

Synchronization:

What makes music videos so powerful is the syncing of the music and the visuals, this could be done either through a visual effect technique, clever editing or physical movement.   

The following are example starting of at the syncing part 

https://youtu.be/V2hlQkVJZhE?t=184

The dancing is so in sync with the music that even the little “dundun” the dancer shakes her thigh, also the cinematographer also played a huge part in the sync zooming in and out, and the editor changing the setting while maintaining the dance’s continuity.

https://youtu.be/9_k_goMr5ZI?t=136

This one is more subtle but I love it, when the rapper says “life styyyyyyyle” the camera pans for the duration of “yyyyyyyyle” giving it a very nice sync feel.

https://youtu.be/6ONRf7h3Mdk?t=289

I could write a whole essay on Sicko Mode, how the variation of the vfx styles match the variation of flows on the song. But lets talk about the specific syncing example, the jagged flips are so sudden and quick they match the beat perfectly, but they’re so subtle yet so obvious, but it syncs to the beat so we just accept it with out really thinking about it.  

Cartoon Music videos:

Everything I’ve spoken about up till now was to do with live action, I would’ve implemented some of these techniques into my project but I decided to go down the motion graphics side. 

I really like this because of the simplicity of the art style and the retro look which reminds you of an old game. There is little movement in it but it doesn’t feel like a flat image because the elements are animated which gives it more life.

https://youtu.be/oHKVS-vphXA

This one is dear to me because its from my favourite anime, ‘Gintama’, the first half of it is very artistic with simple animations with little movement, but its done in such a tasteful way, they added shadow drops to the characters to make them stand out and I really like. The second half is your standard anime animation.

This one is a beast, the animators really out did themselves, on the contrary to the previous cartoon videos I mentioned, this one is full of movement and effects. This really shows that the only diffrenece between this and an live action music video is that these are cartoons, but other than that it really does feel like a music video.

https://youtu.be/rQvIR1oL1vE

Bojack horseman opening is also very simplistic but it gave me the idea to use simple cartoon 3D using maya’s toon shaders.

Moustache Music Video:

I decided that it was only suitable to have a moustache lead singer for this song.

But I had to decide what style of moustache, an audition if you will. 

In the end I decided to go with this, I like how detailed it looks but it could still fit a light hearted role.

The vibe I was going for is to give him human features since he’s performing, so I gave him legs which are basically stick legs, I’ve tried adding a guitar and hands but it didn’t look good at all.

But that hat worked out well, I kind of animated it in an overly cartoony way which I think fits the theme and the vibe of the song.

In this song I kind of decided to take a satire political approach by getting two moustache-less gentlemen and placing moustaches on them to give them “looks” and “dash”.

Hitler and Stalin moustaches.

The borders for the portraits is made of from smaller moustaches aligned a rectangular border. I thought it would give it more flavour instead of just having a plain rectangular border.

To add to this scene I added the moustache dancing along to give the feel that the moustache is dancing around the video environment and acting almost like a host.

Character animation:

This was my first time trying to animate a character, so I don’t really know how to optimise and use my time efficiently, so I ended up duplicating a lot of the layers, and some of the layers were animated frame by frame.

But then I figured out the time remapping expression which allows you to loop animations and that really came in hand.

Also in order to give the moustache a bit more life I used the puppet tool on some of the animations to give it a bit of a dynamic wind blow.

3D Toon:

I decided to make some sort of sign and I wanted it to look 3D, orginally I attempted doing it in after effects using roto, but then I figured I would just use maya toon shader.

I made two versions of each light sign, lighting one and skipping one. This gives the illusion of animation.

There were some problem as you imagine using the toon shader for the first time, for example some of the outline over lined, some lights bugged out and didn’t display their textures.

But the outline was great it really was the cherry on top for the toon effect.

I also used the toon shader on a piano to place on the stage since I felt it was sort of empty.

3D no toon

3D with toon.

Another thing I did to make things not seem so bland is give the sign a wood texture in after effects just to give it more character.

Evaluation:

Overall I didn’t optimise my time for this project and kind of did the whole thing in a week and a half. But am half impressed with my results, but theres so much more that could be improved. For example adding more animations and doing more of the song. However I am really pleased with the toon shading turn out and I will defiantly try play around with it more, same thing with the puppet tool.

I didn’t have time towards the end so I reused the animations at the beginning, I was planning on adding some other characters alongside the moustache, like a scissor playing the piano and a comb dancing on the side.

I might also look into more basic character animation just for fun, because it is enjoyable to see the results.

[sueboohscorner]

#TheWalkingDead Season 9 Episode 8 "Evolution" Mid-Season Finale In Depth Recap And More

Holy freaking oh my god!

Sunday night's Mid Season finale was off the chain! From badass walker-killing moves to creepy whispers from the (not so) dead that walked beside them, Sunday's episode was one for the top best of the series.

'Evolution' opened with Daryl, Dog, Jesus and Aaron tracking the herd that hunted Rosita and Eugene. Daryl speculated that about 130 to 140 walkers were involved in the said herd, but something wasn't quite right... they were just mindlessly wondering in a big cyclone funnel. None of their actions pointed to an average herd. They were confused but decided to move onward. The camera panned to the walkers when one stopped and turned.

When it came back, Alexandria was busy with daily activities including Gabriel attempting to save Negan. But, to no avail... he insists to the Father that no matter how close he comes, the thoughts that follow would "blush the collar on your neck right off." Negan gives Gabriel compliments on bagging and tagging Rosita, and he admits that he appreciates everything he's done for him. Negan tells Gabriel that the window they installed for him has given him a sort of "TV" which he loves because he gets all the juicy talk including that of Rosita which may or may not include how she feels about the Father or...someone else. Disgusted, Gabriel gets up and leaves. That's when he sees the Hilltop messengers with word of Rosita.

A man on horseback is seen riding quickly towards the front of Hilltop, warning the residents that riders were nearing. Michonne and her band arrive shortly after. Michonne likes the growth she sees. Luke likes what he sees with the new place and Kelly signs to Connie that she will keep a close watch. The guards warn Tara, and Magna tells her group to get ready. A gate guard asks Michonne why she is there and Michonne tells her. Everyone drops their weapons to show they aren't a threat, and the weapon will be returned after thorough inspection. After they go inside, Tara tells Michonne what happened with Rosita, Eugene, and Aaron. She tells Michonne that "it's like the old gang's back together" after she tells Michonne that Daryl came down with Henry and Carol. Siddiq asks Enid about Rosita, and she tells him she's exhausted and dehydrated but nothing serious. Tara tells Magna's group that they'll have to wait until the leader returns for inductions, but they'll have to earn their keep for the meantime. Connie signs "thank you" and Kelly interprets. Siddiq tells Michonne that it was a good thing they came. Magna, Connie, and Yumiko get to work immediately. Siddiq apologizes about keeping things from her. Carol walks up and greets Siddiq and hugs him. She greets Michonne and tries to persuade her to help and get back to the communities of old, but Michonne won't have it. Disappointed, Carol says it was good to see her. Carol is packing up to leave when the guard asks if she may hitch a ride. She feels that Hilltop doesn't need her anymore. Carol agrees. Henry sees his mom off and tells her that he will be back before the fair. Daryl and Dog track as Aaron and Jesus talk. Aaron thinks that Jesus should take the leadership seriously and stop trying to shove it away considering how good of a leader he is. Daryl hushed them and told them that another herd was nearing and the wind was carrying the sound. He wound up a timer and threw it into the field.

Jesus watches the herd from the forest and tells Aaron and Daryl that either the herd merged with another or its a different herd. Daryl said it didn't matter as long as it was going the opposite direction. Henry was hard at work apprenticing when Enid stopped by to grab Alden. Earl asks Henry if he would like to have dinner with him and Tammy Rose and Henry was going to decline until he saw Enid and Alden kiss. A heartbroken Henry agrees to dinner at Earl's house. While changing Negan's bedpan, Gabriel was subjected to daily Negan banter and taunting. After picking up on the fact that something was wrong, Negan asked what was going on and genuinely offered an apology. "Its bad enough I have to clean up your shit I shouldn't have to listen to it too." Negan's cell is slammed, and he is released back to his cage. At lunch, Henry is seen eating alone. After, three kids by the names of Gage, Addy and Rodney call him up to chat. They all have been at Hilltop most of their life's so they ask about traveling and other communities. Rodney asks about Oceanside being all women and say that maybe he should become a fisherman. After a small chat, they ask if he wants to partake in some fun. He agrees. Michonne and Rosita were inside of the infirmary with Rosita who was still unconscious. Siddiq tells Michonne that it isn't too late to change things with the communities. She tells him that she won't mend fences to their terms. Rosita suddenly wakes up and freaks out. Michonne tells her that a search party is already out looking for him. Rosita tells them that can't handle what they done know what they are dealing with and quickly remove her dip and walk away.

Dog tracks close and Daryl follows close by. Dog finds a barn then alerts Daryl to a hay pile where Eugene was. After he called that he was down there, Daryl and Aaron pull him out. Eugene tells them that he was injured and needed to be hidden for the betterment and survival of Rosita. He tells them that the herd is looking for him. They all say that's not true and Eugene says that same herd has come back twice. He tells them that they were whispering and Rosita can back him up because she heard it too. He tells them "it isn't a normal herd" and Dog suddenly barks signaling that the walkers were near. They pick Eugene up and run out the back. Rodney, Addy, Henry and Gage party and drink. Henry asks what they do when they're bored, and they show him. They corralled a walker and threw things at it, and they try to make loops around it or urinate all over it. Henry had seen enough and killed it. They get disgusted and leave.

Jesus, Aaron, Daryl, Eugene, and Dog track their way back through the forest while the herd is nearing. They stop at a road crossing and Eugene offers a theory that the walkers are evolving. He explains to them most confusingly that even though they're dead, they aren't dead-dead meaning that they aren't functioning a normal way but considering they still have to be put down by a brain tap, they're still "alive"...kind of. Daryl says he and Dog will stay back. Jesus, Aaron and Eugene leave. In Negan's cell, he's throwing his ball back and forth when it goes out of bounds (outside of the cell). "Well shit," he says. But Negan stares for a moment before he stands, noticing something. He walks over and pushes on his cell door which flies open. Smiling, he grabs his ball and stares at it. Smiling again, he throws it away and leaves his cell.

That night, Tara brought Earl to Henry's cell below Hilltop and told him that she had better things to do than clean vomit from her boots. Earl scolds Henry and says that he reeks of bad moonshine. He tells Henry that he may as well pack up and leave if that's how he's going to take his responsibilities. Henry admits to screwing up and explains Earl why. He tells him that people are counting on him. Earl says that he will talk to Jesus about getting him out of the cell and tells Henry to get some sleep. Earl leaves, and Henry does what he was told.

Daryl is propped up on top of a roof waiting for the herd to near. He gives Dog a command to bark as he starts to set off firecrackers but hears something and immediately silences him. "Keep them together" Jesus, Eugene, and Aaron arrive in a graveyard, but the herd is getting closer. They squeeze through a small gap for a choke point to slow things down. Jesus finds a gate but its rusted over. They find a ledge low enough to get over but its too late... they're upon them. All three men get their knives, and they kill. Whispers are heard! Then, Michonne is seen! Magna, also. They break the gate down and open it up just in time as walkers come. Jesus steers them away then Hong Kong flies them until all of a sudden one maneuvers behind him, stabbing him and whispering "you are where you do not belong." Aaron yells and the others charge. They kill all the ones near. Aaron sees Jesus' dead body and cries. Daryl calls Michonne after seeing something...stitches. He cuts the stilted open and pulls the mask off to reveal a person... whispers are heard all around them as they get surrounded. "They are surrounded, they're trapped, don't let them slip by..."

Holy god! I have been waiting so long for this arc to begin in the show and may I say I am not disappointed! This was very well done, and I was delighted. This episode chilled me to my bones. What did you think of the Mid-Season finale? Comment below!

The Walking Dead returns to AMC this coming February.

Author/Editor: Joeleen Gatlin

#TheWalkingDead #TWD TheWalkingDead TWDS7 Alexandria TheKingdom TheHilltop Oceanside #Tom Payne

[twentysomethinginorlando]

Disney Fairy Tale Wedding Showcase 2018

New Post has been published on https://twentysomethinginorlando.com/fairy-tale-wedding-showcase/

Disney Fairy Tale Wedding Showcase 2018

Disclaimer before any of my relatives freak out: I am not currently engaged or planning a wedding, but I like research. 

A few months ago, the Disney Ever After blog announced the 2018 Disney Fairy Tale Wedding Showcase, a miniature expo designed to show off all the magical wedding options Disney has to offer. I read a few reviews of previous years and figured why not? It sounded fun. There were two ticket options- one that included just the Expo for $45, and one that included the Expo and a Happily Ever After dessert party for $90. I considered doing the dessert party, but we wound up deciding it made more sense to do the less expensive one, and buy a second ticket for Jay. 

Somehow, I didn’t think Duffy would need one. 

Before the Expo, they were having an Open House at the Wedding Pavillion at the Grand Floridian Resort. Neither of us were off work in time to make it, since we didn’t want to take the whole day off, but I really wasn’t concerned. I’ve wandered all over the Grand Floridian. If there’s nothing going on, you can literally walk right up to the Pavilion and stare in the glass doors. 

I did manage to get out of work early enough to get to the Contemporary Resort around 2:30 p.m., and Jay was joining me when he got off work at 3:15 p.m. The night before we had put together last minute Disneybounds, and I was super excited. I had my Meg dress and Wonder Woman boots on and he was going to be Hercules. (I would like to state for the record that this was another case of Jay saying no one would get it, and me proving him wrong, as multiple people told us how great we looked.) I got checked in and sat down to wait for the doors to open. The name tag was already falling off my dress; it wouldn’t stick, so I put it on Duffy instead. 

The doors opened about five minutes after three. The Expo was set up in the Fantasia ballroom with vendors up against the walls, and tables spread in the center. It was a really low lighting setup, which, from what I saw online, was different from previous years. I started to wander with no real plan in mind, after dropping off my raffle ticket. I didn’t want to talk to anyone until Jay arrived, so I focused on taking photos and somehow found myself in line for raw cookie dough. Pretty awesome line to accidentally wind up in! 

The room was divided into four themed sections: Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Tangled, and Classic Fairy Tale. Basically, what this meant were there were four decor examples scattered about the room, in addition to the light projections on the walls and the Cinderella Coach. 

I had read online about spa treatments so I wandered over to the Senses booth. They were doing mini facials and make-up as samples of what you could have done for your wedding. I figured I’d save that for last since I didn’t want to mess up the make-up I was already wearing before pictures. 

The well has actual running water!

I wandered around a bit more before heading out to wait for Jay. I didn’t want to miss anything but being by myself just felt awkward, and trying to handle the backpack, camera, and Bear all at once was getting tricky. I had jumped in line for the bar but realized I didn’t have a hand to find my ID with. Thankfully, he wasn’t far away, and arrived about ten minutes later. We checked him in and grabbed his wrist band. I proposed starting with the alcohol and then working our way around the room in a circle, and he agreed. 

There was the big open bar with the wine options, and a smaller table to one side with shot glass samples of mixed drinks. I grabbed the “Cinderella’s Glass Slipper”, which was a blue drink with vodka. Jay got the pink mai-tai since he prefers rum, and then we both jumped in the line for wine. One of the men pouring the drinks explained that all the drinks had ties to Disney. Some were from family wineries with Disney connections, including one owned by Lily’s family, and others were from Disney properties like Skywalker Ranch. My favorite was the Fairy Tale Cuvee Champagne, which is apparently created exclusively for Disney weddings. There were no limits on how much you could have, and I noticed they were filling Jay’s glasses higher than they were filling mine. To be fair, I was carrying a Duffy Bear. I had two glasses and he had three, the first time through the line, and we went back twice. 

Rather than going to the next booth, we crossed the room to start our loop next to the stage at the cake displays. Not intentionally because we wanted cake or anything. They had about seven different pictures of cakes, and four or five on display. I don’t understand how anyone eats something so pretty! We waited our turn for samples. You got to choose what cake base you wanted, and then the icing. I got Marble with Cookies and Cream, while Jay opted for Chocolate with Churro icing.  

I have long said the only things I care about with a wedding are the cake, the dress, and the photos, so I jumped in line to talk to cake artist. He explained that all the cakes are three tiers and they feed about fifty people. 

“That’s great. Now can you make it look like him?” 

I held up Duffy.  

Apparently, they aren’t allowed to do actual Disney characters because they’d never get them 100% right and Disney wants them to always look perfect. I’m very curious about the chocolate Chip and Dale on the table then, but that’s fine. He suggested making the cake look like Duffy’s fur, and I asked if ears could go on it too. The answer was yes! 

The next booth was a bunch of food samplings. They had chicken pot pie, Sheppard’s pie, mac and cheese, and something with fish. I grabbed the chicken pot pie and glared at Jay as he got the mac and cheese. Stupid dairy allergy. (For the record, I acknowledge chicken pot pie is likely not dairy free, but I can do it in small doses. Cheese is about the worst thing on the planet for a Chelsea.) 

The next table had a painter who apparently can be on site for the ceremony or reception, and paints as the day goes on for a memorable keepsake. Sounds awesome, but we kept walking and trying to balance our food to eat it. The next booth was all food as well, but for some reason it was all cauliflower themed. While I understand they were trying to be different… cauliflower? Jay doesn’t eat vegetables in general, but even I won’t touch cauliflower. We moved on. 

Next to the cauliflower food booth was the beautiful Tangled wedding display table, complete with Snuggly Duckling sign and chocolate frying pans. Out of all of the décor sections, Tangled was definitely my favorite. It looked the most like the movie. 

The next table was actually more in the middle of the floor than on the sides like everyone else. They had a frame photo prop like you see in the parks with Photopass, and we stopped to see what the deal was. There were two different kinds of cameras on the table from HP Sprocket. Essentially, they’re modern versions of the Polaroid camera and you can have them out for guests to document the wedding day. They took our picture with the photo frame and it printed out as a sticker.  

Apparently, this was the photo section because the next area was a display of different photo offerings. We skipped that. There’s not really anything Disney can tell me about photo printing other than prices, but there were some beautiful options. 

We couldn’t figure out what the next booth was, so Jay jumped in the long line while I went to find out. It was a virtual photo booth, sort of like a second generation to a green screen. Instead of a traditional photo booth with a background, they had different options you could choose from. For the Expo, they had all four parks represented in about twenty options. Normally your guests would have four photos to choose from, that you picked out ahead of time. They promised me they could get the Jungle Cruise. I actually picked one that wasn’t from any of the parks but seemed the most fitting. 

Now we were back at the doors and moved over to what was probably the first booth most people hit, the Honeymoon planning service. I talked to the girl for a minute. She herself had gotten married about a year ago, and now was getting to help other people. 

The next booth was for Vero Beach, the resort about two hours south of Orlando that everyone forgets about. They also do weddings there, and had their actual wedding planner at the Expo. She explained both the indoor and outdoor venue options, and handed me what was probably the thickest packet of information I got all day. 

We spent a long time talking to Alex at the Disney Cruise Line section. He was super informative and didn’t mind taking the time to answer all my questions. Disney Cruise Line weddings are surprisingly some of the most affordable Disney weddings, with the basic package starting right at $3,000 for up to eight guests. However, they are some of the most limited. Where the sky is the limit of what options you want at a Walt Disney World wedding, the Cruise Line weddings have a set number of options. I was told I could bring all my Duffys though, as my own decorations, so there’s that at least. (His eyes got a little wider when Jay mentioned there are fifty of them.) 

Disney Springs had the next table, most importantly with chocolate samples from the Ganachery as examples of add-ons you could do for your guests. 

The next booth was a display from Themes Come True, which is a service that provides anything printed you could possibly need for your wedding. I should have taken more pictures but the graphic designer in me was too busy geeking out. They had everything from Haunted Mansion Stretch Room invitations to programs that looked like park Times Guides. 

We had made it back to where we started and jumped in line for our second pass at the bar before we headed past the spa booth to another food station. 

This food station was slightly less strange than the cauliflower one, but I’m still surprised by the choice. Given I haven’t actually been to that many weddings, but soup just doesn’t seem like something you were serve, much less in little goblets. Jay got a sampling of one that I honestly don’t remember what it was, but it was frozen with nitrogen. They had four options and it all looked fancy- I’m just not a soup person. 

We had reached another decor section, this time dedicated to Snow White. There was a wishing well with actual running water and a beautiful table of red roses and mirrors. Next to it was the Zales Jewelry table with samples of their Enchanted Jewelry collection. It was all super pretty, but none of it seemed wedding themed, unless maybe it’s for the bridesmaids or to go with the dress? One of the women asked who my inner princess was and I said, “Wonder Woman.” Somehow, I don’t think that was the answer they were looking for. 

The final food station was the one I had hit first, the cookie dough. They had four flavors to try in a cup or a cone, and it  was all oat based, whatever that means. (It did feel a lot thicker than the Wonderland Cookie Dough that I’m used to.) We went back for seconds, thirds in my case. 

Around the cookie dough was the Beauty and the Beast section covered in red roses and gold accents, complete with Cogsworth. 

Next to the stage was another cake display, this time modeling Disney’s famous projection technology. They took the magic they use to project pictures onto Cinderella Castle and scaled it down for a wedding cake. It’s gorgeous. 

At some of the tables in the center of the room, they had Disney wedding consultants on hand to meet with couples to discuss their plans. Jay and I didn’t want to waste their time, but it had only taken us about an hour and twenty minutes to get all the way around the room. There were still raffles left, so I certainly wasn’t going anywhere. We took a few more passes at the food booths and found someone to take our picture together in front of the Cinderella Coach.  

Jay told me to go see about the facial while he took pictures, so I headed back to the spa booth only to find out you had to sign up and the list was a mile long. I’d really like to know why I wasn’t told that the first time I came by, or I would have signed up then. So, no facial for Chelsea. 

They announced the final raffle at 5:15 p.m., a two-night hotel stay for two. We hung around another half an hour or so hoping the spa would get to me, but no such luck. 

This was the first time I’d been to the Disney Wedding Showcase. I did read a few reviews of previous years, so it seems like they cut some things for this year, including the two classes they offered in the past. I definitely feel like there wasn’t enough to do for three hours, but I also didn’t meet with one of the planners to see how much time that would eat up or go over to the Open House at the Grand Floridian, although it started at 2 p.m. instead of 3 p.m., like the Showcase. I got a good feel for how expensive a Disney wedding can be, but I never saw a price in writing for anything. 

Well, that’s not entirely true. I never should have seen pricing. They didn’t have printed prices to hand out, but I found what I think is a Cast Member’s cheat sheet that they dropped with the exact pricing of the decor spreads. I’m not going to publish that information online, but feel free to email me at [email protected] or message me on the Twenty Something in Orlando Facebook page and I’ll be happy to answer your questions as best I can. 

Honestly, I didn’t learn a whole lot that I couldn’t have found out on Disney’s wedding website. Seeing the stuff in person was way more fun, however and we got lots of free samples. A photo sticker, a digital photo with the background, chocolate, cake, food, and more. Plus, I’m fairly confident we each drank more than $45 worth of alcohol, at least at Disney pricing. It was definitely a cool way to spend an afternoon. 

Cost: $45 flat per person. 

Duration: The Showcase lasted three hours, but we could have left in two. We did skip the Grand Floridian Open House that would have added more time. 

Value: A lot of fun and pretty informative. I highly recommend it if you are planning a Disney Wedding, but I’m not sure I’ll need to do it again when the day comes. 

Add Ons: They had a $90 ticket option that included a fireworks dessert party. Some friends of ours did it, and it looked really cool. 

#convention #disney #disney resorts #expo #happily ever after #wedding #Adventure Report

[livingthervdream]

Yellowstone Day 2

Sleeping in again, I could really get used to this. Today our plan is to head to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We round up in the car and head off. As we leave our campsite, we see a buffalo just sitting chillaxin about 30-50 feet from a person’s tent. Crazy!

We start driving into the park and the kids begin to get restless. Kids are seated 3 across the middle row of the suburban we rented. GB didn’t want to put the back row up and have the haste of Andrew getting in and out. Well with 3 of them that close in proximity to one another things are bound to happen. He touched me, she looked at me, really bad knock knock jokes…you get the picture. GB and I finally have to put the hammer down to stop. Libby responds “I’m just going to look at the fu$&*+%# trees”. The whole car gets quiet. Ali asks “ what did you say Libby?” And clear as day she says “I’m just going to look at the fu$&*+%# trees”. Andrew and Ali start to laugh. I look st GB in disbelief but trying to belt out a big laugh. Now for those of you who don’t know, GB lays out some choice words every now and then…I just turn and look at him…now you really need to stop swearing. He has been sending me Facebook posts about how people who swear are smarter than others…well then our 3 almost 4 y/o must be Einstein! We explain to Libby that we don’t say that word and she quietly said “ok” and hopefully that is the end of it. I really don’t want to get the phone call from school as she starts 4K next year talking about her choice of words she uses during class😳

We spot elk and of course buffalo along the way, which now I feel we are pros at but alas no grizzlies yet😞. We arrive at the Grand Canyon and honest to God the parking lot for the Grand Canyon is smaller than a McDonald’s! We drove around in circles for about 15 minutes before some started backing out of their spot for us to take. As we approach the Canyon, we can hear the roar of the waterfalls which of course calls for picture taking! It is so crazy how diverse the different regions are in Yellowstone. The Grand Canyon is massive (I’ve never seen the Real Grand Canyon…so I consider this massive). The colors are unreal and the depth of the Canyon is just beyond words. We found a family to take our picture and laughed because his camera was about two times the size of mine and probably twice as expensive. GB explained that this was our first really nice camera and don’t make fun of us. The man and his family just laughed and said “you have to start somewhere right?!” We have now gotten in the habit of taking a smiling picture and a silly crazy picture with the kids along with selfies of each of us with them. Funny how habits just start like that. After the Grand Canyon, we stopped in Canyon Village for lunch and of course more souvenir shopping. I had a huckleberry soda which I guess is popular around these parts. I think there is a reference some where to Teddy Roosevelt but I am too lazy to switch over to google to check it out 😜. I ate a 1/3 lb bison/elk burger which was delicious. A little bit more dense than a burger and not as greasy, yummy all the same! Libby scarfed down her PB and J as if we have never fed her. The couple next to us just eyed her in disbelief. The couple also showed up with refillable cups that apparently if you bring them they will refill for free after you purchase the cup. In eavesdropping to the conversation they were having with the wait staff, apparently that cup is about 15 years old! Way to get your money’s worth out of that cup folks! Our waiter was from Tulsa OK. I told him how I had worked at St. Francis (otherwise known as the pink hospital). He then proceeded to tell me that is where his Grandma died. Wow buddy...way to kill the mood! I apologized and tried to change the subject. GB likes to bring up "Atomic Burrito" which is a Mexican place in Tulsa that GB and I loved to go to while I worked in Tulsa. Sad news for those of you who now want to go there...our waiter informed us that it closed down!!!😳. He said there is a new place there now and he was part owner. He said the food was good but for the life of me I can't remember the name of it. Oh well! Just a little sad that the Atomic Burrito is no longer there...but what a name right?! It really draws you in so if anyone out there is up for running a business, grab that name!!! Talking to the waiter and just enjoying Yellowstone got GB thinking and hence our retirement plan was born. Our new plan is to buy and RV and come out to Yellowstone. I would work on site as an employee and we would be able to camp out on the grounds. GB would work from the RV via satellite as wifi's are nonexistent. I would either work at one of the shops or I am also thinking I can start studying now to become a park ranger!!! That way by the time I retire I will be knowledgeable in all things Yellowstone and forestry stuff. We also saw there are people called Campground Hosts. GB and I dubbed them almost the RA of the campground. I always wanted to be an RA because I had amazing ones (name drop JenRA!). They basically drive around the site in a golf cart making sure no shenanigans are going on, help with traffic, monitor wildlife aka visiting elk and buffalo and just help out as needed. They then park their RV on the campsite and have a little American flag by their camper along with a carved wooden sign that says "Campground Host." If I was feeling adventurous I could make little outdoor tags for new campers to hang on their campsite number just like RAs did for our door decals on holidays and birthdays! I then mentioned to GB that what if the kids wanted to visit us in the summer when they are off from school...to which GB answers..."tough luck!" My he moves on so quickly. My plan is to do a little research once I get home to see what this all entails...I am super excited to bad I have to wait 15 years or so till Libby's in college...but hey it's good to have goals!! Ok...back to the trip! After lunch we head out for the Lamar valley to scope out some animals. We did make a pit stop at the mud volcano which was also super cool. Andrew got a kick out of it...GB was not too fond of the smell. We got some pics and walked around. Kids again stayed close by (awesome) and definitely became familiar with the sign that read "danger, thermal area ahead." We trekked up to the north east corner of Yellowstone and the Lamar Valley seeing lots of Elk and bison. We then got to a crossing point: continue on the Lamar Valley and turn around or head to the Mammoth Hot Springs to do a loop we had not done before. We had heard that you would be able to go swimming and we had our swim gear in the car...so...Mammoth Hot Springs it is! Mammoth Hot Springs is in the north east corner of Yellowstone. We made the drive seeing more animals and finally approached the hot springs. The rock formations are a bright white color due to (don't quote me) but the chemicals from the hot springs eroding on the stone. This one was a hike up. We hadn't done much hiking with Libby but we thought we could tackle this one. Lots of walking and stairs but the older two were pretty excited so off we went. By 1/4 of the way through Libby was done. She complained for pretty much 90% of the hike up and down. I tried to distract her the best I could and there were moments she was great but most of the time she was just tired and hot. A couple tantrums happened and a couple "pretend leave behinds" were performed by me and she would come running up saying she was sorry but still she would just revert back to her "I am tired of walking and my legs don't want to walk anymore." As we made the loop back around and were nearing our car, there happened to be a family that was behind us for the last half of the hike down. I then said to Libby "Was that really bad?" to which she said "No, not bad at all Momma!" The family behind us just laughed! We got back in the car and the kids settled down with snacks and cold drinks as we made the trek back to the campsite. On the way back, we got stopped by construction. We are sitting there just gabbing when we noticed people were getting out of their cars and looking into the valley next to us taking pictures. GB noticed it first "look Bears!" The whole car got excited. Sure enough there was a momma grizzly and her baby just foraging through the grass I would say 50 yards away and walking closer. I grab my camera and start sitting on the window to get a closer look...no way I am getting out of the car...that's a freaking momma bear...I needed the safety of my car. But here goes waking up, what had to be 12 y/o girl with a camera trying to get up close for a shot. She was way braver than me that's for sure! I went camera crazy taking pics as they got closer. We were stopped because it was a one lane road in front of us and they were letting on coming traffic trough so we had plenty of time. I felt scared for the construction worker who had to stand near the edge waving traffic through and at the same time reprimand people who were getting too close for their safety. It was then our turn to go through but I kept snapping photos as we got closer. Super exciting!!! We finally got to see a bear! Now I know I can go to Milwaukee Zoo and see bears anytime but it is just so much different seeing them on their turf...super cool! We made it back to our campsite and all the kids were famished...I mean it had been 1.5 hours since the last time they ate!!! We are literally starving them!!! Well now it was my turn to cook and we were having pizza pudgie pies for dinner! It took 1 practice attempt (one side got completely charred) but after that it went decent. The kids liked the change from hot dogs and spaghettios and I liked that I was able to cook a little instead of GB. It also involved easy clean up which I also was a big fan of. Don't get me wrong, I love when GB fires up with skillet and Le Crueset pans (yes that is what we use for camping cooking) but they are just a pain to wash in general and on top of having a super small sink it makes the task doubly challenging. We roasted some marshmallows but unfortunately the mosquitoes were so bad we had to call it in early so we wouldn't get eaten alive. We had bug spray but GB didn't want the kids getting in his bed if they had spray on them...there's the germaphobe I know and love! Ali and I enjoyed a nice walk at dusk through the open field near our site. We got some beautiful pics of the night sky and a couple selfies of us gorgeous gals with the gorgeous backdrop. It was kind of nice having quiet time with just me and Al. I usually have the littlest attached at my hip so we don't get a whole lot of alone time. This was perfect! We headed back to the RV and got ready for bed. It was our last night in Yellowstone. Everyone talked about what they liked the best...all 3 said the bears! GB and I enjoyed as much as we could outside with the mosquitoes before we just had to come in. Our last night in Yellowstone...2 days went by fast. There was so much more to see but we were limited by the youngest with regard to hiking and climbing. I think we did the best we could do for us and hat I am happy with. We saw so much and did so much that I really can't complain at all. The weather has been absolutely perfect with not a raindrop to be found and only clear skies above us. GB did it right in planning this trip and who knows when we will be back. The sure thing is we WILL be back! Good night Yellowstone!

[2gameprince]

Killer

"His first victim, he cut out all of the man's intestines, diced them into four pieces and tied one to each one, which he used to hang the man from his apartment ceiling lamp, resembling a puppet. All of the man's teeth were removed, and placed in the formation of a smiley face beneath his dangling body. His second victim, he placed the man's severed genitals into his mouth, sewed it shut, then stuffed his severed head up into the man's torso, which was then, also, sewed shut. His thumbs had been severed and shoved into his eye sockets. His third victim, the man's brain and stomach were removed, swapped and stabbed repeatedly. Thirteen knives were sticking out of his chest when he was found, and his limbs had been severed and swapped as well. Legs where his arms should be, arms where his legs should be. His ears were swapped and sewn as well. And with this trilogy of terror, the maniacal killing spree of America's most elusive murderer has only spiraled further and further out of control." The papers were writing about me again. It isn't like I don't enjoy the exposure, but when I start to get noticed, that's usually around the time I have to pick up everything and relocate. To avoid capture, of course. So many years. So many faces, come and gone. Jane, Dan, Ronnie, Sam, Henry, Dick, Matty, Frank, Sandra, Joe, Eric, Bart, Leo... and those are just the few I have rotting at the bottom of the Hudson River. God knows how many more I've killed. I try to keep a grip on things. And out of respect for the deceased I do try to remember each and every one of them. What I do is not a service. I do not do it to help anyone or to push ulterior motives. I kill simply because it is fun and, given the right circumstances, can be pushed to unfathomable lengths. The key to existing as a killer of my magnitude lies in the ability to be unseen by all. To go unnoticed, under the radar of people you interact with every day. That's what I had told old Detective Connor a few months back. Right before that poison I slipped him took effect. Believe me, I had no ill will toward the detective. But alas, he attempted to apprehend me. Which, of course, is something I can't tolerate. Things like that you don't duck around with. Playing on the fantasy of being apprehended is exactly what gets you apprehended. Throughout this "career" of mine I have met others like me. Each with their own motives. A few that have even tried to take my head. Apart from the psychopaths, I find most of them to be pleasant-enough people. More men than women, though. Once I had walked into the middle of a wide-open cemetery. I had brought my nineteen-eleven with my silencer. I was at a low point after this break up. This was many years back. I walked up and down the isles and when I came across a single person looming over a grave, well, I shot them. Took out six people that day. And no one had noticed. Not a gunshot was heard, and anyone nearby just assumed the lifeless bodies were over-dramatic folk groveling in the grass. I would say It was almost poetic, but I'm not very good at making metaphors for stuff like that. Best not to assume a position on something I know nothing about and be proven wrong. Now if there’s one thing that gets my stomach turning, it’s when someone kills a poor homeless guy. like they don’t already have it bad enough. To me that’s just rude. I used to know this guy, Derek Starch. He loved killing hobos and vegetables. Sick fuck. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. Even had a few drinks with him. It didn’t take long before I paralyzed and hung the fucker from his trailer. Sure he looked up to me, but how was I supposed to associate myself with someone of that… caliber? He had already killed twelve people by the time I had met him. He worked at an old folks home. Clever bastard. I doubt the law would’ve caught up to him until he had about ten more bodies under his belt. So, I cut his career short. We’re all better off for it too. Now, on the subject of my childhood. If I had to guess, I’d say I started killing at age eleven. grown ups, surprisingly. Never fellow children or animals. At least to me, that’s sick. The elderly or crippled I will also spare. It’s this sort of mutual feeling of hardship which allows me to differentiate between those deserving of death and those that have just fallen on hard times. In a perfect world what I am doing is a grand service. That’s how it would appear. But, I do not care. maybe once or twice I’ll slip and help the greater good. Kill a mugger, shoot a rapist, gut a pedophile. But at no point do these acts take away from the fact that I kill who I want, when I want. And in which ever way I want, as well. I stay off of social media. That shit rots your mind. I can’t imagine spending my precious hours typing away on a phone or keyboard, bitching and moaning to a world that doesn’t care. What we do out here, pinned up against flesh and blood. This killing. This is real. More real than any point of view held on some bullshit social media account. Or maybe I just don’t understand what makes it all so fascinating. I do like to believe I am living out of the shroud of corruption and corporate mind-numbing tactics. but, what if my “condition” is a negative effect of me rejecting that brainwashing? Now that’s heavy. never the less, I go about my daily activities with glee. In these parts I am a sales man. these parts being Colorado. Before here I was a mechanic in Iowa and an underground medical doctor in Arizona. I’d say that in Iowa I killed roughly twenty-four people. Give or take. A gang member here or there. An ex-coworker. The usual batch. But when I hit Arizona, oh boy. It was a Neo-Nazi open season. That was the best two years of my life. I must of cut up twenty of those poor bastards. I left them all in pieces across the desert. Even left some of them in Nevada. Sometimes I’d mail their heads to their little ‘daytime meeting groups’. It was funny watching them scatter, going to war with biker gangs that they thought had committed the killings. It escalated quickly. After a while there weren’t many of em’ to kill anymore. All that massacring got me tuckered out. So I left a good while after the nazis’ and the bikers’ numbers began to dwindle. I’ll say it again. I didn’t do it for the greater good. I did it cause I felt like it. I did kill an innocent mailman. No. Two actually. Yeah. But they were on an off-day. Just to get my jollies up. Okay, so one of them was sleeping which this guys wife. So what? I did them all a favor. I guess sometimes I’m just drawn to the pitiable. I can’t help it. I run on fun. Fun and instinct. I am pleased to say that my age has brought with it a solemn lessening to my violence toward those I do kill. As the papers say, I was quite the Jackson Pollock in my youth. Every few years I change up my tactics and my style of slay. This has put me in the running of a position with not many “in-the-loop” killers get. See, there are those killers who go about their deeds completely ignorant to the fact that if you look hard enough, there is a whole anti-nation of folks just like me. An unspoken society of a murderous population that keeps the world in balance, when we can help it. Now, among this ‘under-nation’ there is a singular goal that most murderers in my shoes wish to achieve some day. This is gaining the statues of a mass murderer. To reach the point where you have literally wiped out a whole state’s populous in your lifetime. There’s online communities dedicated to it, forums, sites, the whole nine yards. Not only that, but with the birth of the new age murderers are recording their kills and uploading it to the web for all to be astonished by. It’s quite amazing. With so many sick people in the world, it’s a wonder this society of the secretly psychotic ever started up in the first place. So this one night I was walking home from the corner-shop back in Idaho. I notice this guy in a hood starts coming up behind me. Now, I’d say I had a pretty good idea of what he was planning to do. Mainly since whenever I would try and shank a nightcrawler, I’d watch my footing and use my location to help trap and kill a target. If I never killed someone in the matter that he was planning on doing me in, I could have been dissolving in a barrel after that. Luckily, as he came up behind me, I maneuvered his hand away and shoved my head into his throat, crushing it in. Well he choked out and made a fuss before finally killing over. Looking down I noticed his knife and a camera, recording his kill. And that was the first time I had ever seen something like that. Traveling for some time, I usually got thrown out of the loop on things like the advancements of computers and phones. Which I frequently pondered about using in my murders. I didn’t really bother to hid his body. Obviously, it was in self-defense. So when the cops came snooping around my trailer early that morning, I was happy to comply. Good thing my kill was caught on a store-front’s camera too. There was no denying I merely protected myself. That was one of the many things I’ve always loved about the south. The laid back nature, above all else. I never expected for my little venture with that night-stalker to go anywhere, but when I was tracked down by some of his “buddies” you could imagine I was quite taken with what I’m gonna tell you next. The kid I killed, Alex, I believe his name was, was the leader of a band of hooded serial killers. They operated as one unit. They would provide alibis for one another when one of them was suspected of their kills. And when one of them fell or was injured, the next in line would take his/her place. It had appeared that Alex remained uncaught for four years since the teens had started up their little project. And I was the one who killed their founder. At first I believed they wanted to kill me. For obvious reasons. But that’s not how things panned out. No, they adored the little bloody number I did on Alex and offered me the chance to guide them. To take up the mantle of their group, “The Duskers” and serve as their functioning sociopathic grandmaster!! Oh, we all had some great times. There were six of them in total. We were unstoppable. We must have killed ten poor souls a month. Mostly bus-people heading in and out of the city. Commuters. Believe me, we were doing them a favor. Nine months I stayed with them. Training them in my personalized art of the kill. And when it came time for me to move on, they were hesitant. Even threatening to kill me if I left. They really didn’t want me to go. So I compromised. I killed each of them in their homes while they slept. Not one o my best moments, but how else was I supposed to get out of that jam? They trusted me enough, and I needed to take to the road again. I won’t ever forget them though. No matter how hard I try. Some time after that I had found myself being tracked by individuals whom I believed to be private investigators. It soon turned out that this group of mercenaries were tailing me. Admiring me. Out of the pan and into the fire, I suppose. Turns out this group had been recording my every kill and identity change for the past six years. Collecting more than enough evidence to put me away for good. They asked me to join their little brigade for a few years or so. I would be paid to do what I was doing now. Killing, only this time, without the fear of capture. This group knew ‘officials’ which kept them out of the public-eye. They weren’t part of that sociopathic-society I had mentioned earlier. These men were old soldiers that blurred the line between vigilante and cold-blooded murderer. I went along for the ride. And in two years I killed myself an estimated one-hundred and fifty four city folk. Most of them with guns and bombs. The group liked to make it seem like we were terrorists. They said it fueled the citizen’s hatred and gave rise to their loyalty to their country. We could kill off all the people we wanted, blame it on foreigners, collect the earnings and at the same time have everyone believing that each mass killing made them stronger as a civilization. Yeah right. As if they could ever pass the racism, greed and class indifference they’d always felt since birth. Change was a miracle. And my time with the ex-dogs of the military showed me that no such thing exists in this world. Not that I cared. It’s 8:17 by the time I hop onto the elevator with Eric. He doesn’t know me at all, but I’ve been observing him for quite some time. Eric is a meek man with a large belly, not much hair and a habit of biting his nails until they bleed. He’s a heavy-set paranoid blob with good reason to be weary cause’ tonight is night I take his life. It didn’t take much effort to decide whether or not I was going to kill him. He works a couple blocks from me, doesn’t have any family and contributes nothing to society, so the way I see it he’s as good as dead anyways. Still, a part of me is going to miss watching him walk down the street in that monkey suit of his, tightening his bowler on that bald head of his. Stalking victims almost fills me with a sort of unspoken connection by the time it comes to finishing them off. Almost like we could have been friends if we’d both been dealt different hands in life. But this is the trail I skip along. With knives hidden on almost every inch of my body, it is my duty to rid the world of undesirables. The world calls my actions “senseless murder” yet if I worked for the CIA I’d be paid heavily to shove knives through men’s throats, or other fun acts. Such a twisted structure of morals we’ve set up here. And such a twisted face Eric now has. I waited until the doors closed to pull out my beautiful stiletto and cut his throat in a mere instant. He was so surprised and spent a few seconds fumbling around the elevator, realizing it was a long way to the top and by then he’d surely bleed out. Now I’m not the sadistic type so I waited until he finally bled out completely before carving his face. Even I admit it’s a rather ghastly sight. looking back at the act it seems almost childish. Makes me feel a little ashamed, realizing my excitement overtook my actions and threw me overboard. No doubt one day I will pass over to a point of complete lunacy. That is how I will fall. By my own hand I will put myself up against unbeatable odds and all my “services” to this world will have been for nothing. If I plan to make the world a better place I have to live to be around for a long long time. And that means killing a whole lot of people which is completely within my grasp. What with the tens of bunches of detectives, fire fighters, businessmen, clerks, homeless people, even a bitchy soccer mom every now and again. The world is better without all the people that don’t play their roles correctly. I’ll find them all one day. Every single last one, and on the day I die the world will look to the skies, declare my name and remember me as the one who moved society forward, the one who controlled the population and the one who allowed the children of tomorrow to live in a world free of ‘clogs’. Until that day I’m a humble janitor at the Cresto Vallu’ French Restaurant and an associate of the SONN Co. Computer Repair, both located in the heart of Manhattan. My jobs aren’t too fulfilling, unlike my off time. I hope you don’t mind if I don’t dwell on them too much. The focus of all my attention is on the people who's lives I take. A new job, a new face. I still go on, as usual.

[twentysomethinginorlando]

Disney Fairy Tale Wedding Showcase 2018

New Post has been published on https://twentysomethinginorlando.com/fairy-tale-wedding-showcase/

Disney Fairy Tale Wedding Showcase 2018

Disclaimer before any of my relatives freak out: I am not currently engaged or planning a wedding, but I like research. 

A few months ago, the Disney Ever After blog announced the 2018 Disney Fairy Tale Wedding Showcase, a miniature expo designed to show off all the magical wedding options Disney has to offer. I read a few reviews of previous years and figured why not? It sounded fun. There were two ticket options- one that included just the Expo for $45, and one that included the Expo and a Happily Ever After dessert party for $90. I considered doing the dessert party, but we wound up deciding it made more sense to do the less expensive one, and buy a second ticket for Jay. 

Somehow, I didn’t think Duffy would need one. 

Before the Expo, they were having an Open House at the Wedding Pavillion at the Grand Floridian Resort. Neither of us were off work in time to make it, since we didn’t want to take the whole day off, but I really wasn’t concerned. I’ve wandered all over the Grand Floridian. If there’s nothing going on, you can literally walk right up to the Pavilion and stare in the glass doors. 

I did manage to get out of work early enough to get to the Contemporary Resort around 2:30 p.m., and Jay was joining me when he got off work at 3:15 p.m. The night before we had put together last minute Disneybounds, and I was super excited. I had my Meg dress and Wonder Woman boots on and he was going to be Hercules. (I would like to state for the record that this was another case of Jay saying no one would get it, and me proving him wrong, as multiple people told us how great we looked.) I got checked in and sat down to wait for the doors to open. The name tag was already falling off my dress; it wouldn’t stick, so I put it on Duffy instead. 

The doors opened about five minutes after three. The Expo was set up in the Fantasia ballroom with vendors up against the walls, and tables spread in the center. It was a really low lighting setup, which, from what I saw online, was different from previous years. I started to wander with no real plan in mind, after dropping off my raffle ticket. I didn’t want to talk to anyone until Jay arrived, so I focused on taking photos and somehow found myself in line for raw cookie dough. Pretty awesome line to accidentally wind up in! 

The room was divided into four themed sections: Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Tangled, and Classic Fairy Tale. Basically, what this meant were there were four decor examples scattered about the room, in addition to the light projections on the walls and the Cinderella Coach. 

I had read online about spa treatments so I wandered over to the Senses booth. They were doing mini facials and make-up as samples of what you could have done for your wedding. I figured I’d save that for last since I didn’t want to mess up the make-up I was already wearing before pictures. 

The well has actual running water!

I wandered around a bit more before heading out to wait for Jay. I didn’t want to miss anything but being by myself just felt awkward, and trying to handle the backpack, camera, and Bear all at once was getting tricky. I had jumped in line for the bar but realized I didn’t have a hand to find my ID with. Thankfully, he wasn’t far away, and arrived about ten minutes later. We checked him in and grabbed his wrist band. I proposed starting with the alcohol and then working our way around the room in a circle, and he agreed. 

There was the big open bar with the wine options, and a smaller table to one side with shot glass samples of mixed drinks. I grabbed the “Cinderella’s Glass Slipper”, which was a blue drink with vodka. Jay got the pink mai-tai since he prefers rum, and then we both jumped in the line for wine. One of the men pouring the drinks explained that all the drinks had ties to Disney. Some were from family wineries with Disney connections, including one owned by Lily’s family, and others were from Disney properties like Skywalker Ranch. My favorite was the Fairy Tale Cuvee Champagne, which is apparently created exclusively for Disney weddings. There were no limits on how much you could have, and I noticed they were filling Jay’s glasses higher than they were filling mine. To be fair, I was carrying a Duffy Bear. I had two glasses and he had three, the first time through the line, and we went back twice. 

Rather than going to the next booth, we crossed the room to start our loop next to the stage at the cake displays. Not intentionally because we wanted cake or anything. They had about seven different pictures of cakes, and four or five on display. I don’t understand how anyone eats something so pretty! We waited our turn for samples. You got to choose what cake base you wanted, and then the icing. I got Marble with Cookies and Cream, while Jay opted for Chocolate with Churro icing.  

I have long said the only things I care about with a wedding are the cake, the dress, and the photos, so I jumped in line to talk to cake artist. He explained that all the cakes are three tiers and they feed about fifty people. 

“That’s great. Now can you make it look like him?” 

I held up Duffy.  

Apparently, they aren’t allowed to do actual Disney characters because they’d never get them 100% right and Disney wants them to always look perfect. I’m very curious about the chocolate Chip and Dale on the table then, but that’s fine. He suggested making the cake look like Duffy’s fur, and I asked if ears could go on it too. The answer was yes! 

The next booth was a bunch of food samplings. They had chicken pot pie, Sheppard’s pie, mac and cheese, and something with fish. I grabbed the chicken pot pie and glared at Jay as he got the mac and cheese. Stupid dairy allergy. (For the record, I acknowledge chicken pot pie is likely not dairy free, but I can do it in small doses. Cheese is about the worst thing on the planet for a Chelsea.) 

The next table had a painter who apparently can be on site for the ceremony or reception, and paints as the day goes on for a memorable keepsake. Sounds awesome, but we kept walking and trying to balance our food to eat it. The next booth was all food as well, but for some reason it was all cauliflower themed. While I understand they were trying to be different… cauliflower? Jay doesn’t eat vegetables in general, but even I won’t touch cauliflower. We moved on. 

Next to the cauliflower food booth was the beautiful Tangled wedding display table, complete with Snuggly Duckling sign and chocolate frying pans. Out of all of the décor sections, Tangled was definitely my favorite. It looked the most like the movie. 

The next table was actually more in the middle of the floor than on the sides like everyone else. They had a frame photo prop like you see in the parks with Photopass, and we stopped to see what the deal was. There were two different kinds of cameras on the table from HP Sprocket. Essentially, they’re modern versions of the Polaroid camera and you can have them out for guests to document the wedding day. They took our picture with the photo frame and it printed out as a sticker.  

Apparently, this was the photo section because the next area was a display of different photo offerings. We skipped that. There’s not really anything Disney can tell me about photo printing other than prices, but there were some beautiful options. 

We couldn’t figure out what the next booth was, so Jay jumped in the long line while I went to find out. It was a virtual photo booth, sort of like a second generation to a green screen. Instead of a traditional photo booth with a background, they had different options you could choose from. For the Expo, they had all four parks represented in about twenty options. Normally your guests would have four photos to choose from, that you picked out ahead of time. They promised me they could get the Jungle Cruise. I actually picked one that wasn’t from any of the parks but seemed the most fitting. 

Now we were back at the doors and moved over to what was probably the first booth most people hit, the Honeymoon planning service. I talked to the girl for a minute. She herself had gotten married about a year ago, and now was getting to help other people. 

The next booth was for Vero Beach, the resort about two hours south of Orlando that everyone forgets about. They also do weddings there, and had their actual wedding planner at the Expo. She explained both the indoor and outdoor venue options, and handed me what was probably the thickest packet of information I got all day. 

We spent a long time talking to Alex at the Disney Cruise Line section. He was super informative and didn’t mind taking the time to answer all my questions. Disney Cruise Line weddings are surprisingly some of the most affordable Disney weddings, with the basic package starting right at $3,000 for up to eight guests. However, they are some of the most limited. Where the sky is the limit of what options you want at a Walt Disney World wedding, the Cruise Line weddings have a set number of options. I was told I could bring all my Duffys though, as my own decorations, so there’s that at least. (His eyes got a little wider when Jay mentioned there are fifty of them.) 

Disney Springs had the next table, most importantly with chocolate samples from the Ganachery as examples of add-ons you could do for your guests. 

The next booth was a display from Themes Come True, which is a service that provides anything printed you could possibly need for your wedding. I should have taken more pictures but the graphic designer in me was too busy geeking out. They had everything from Haunted Mansion Stretch Room invitations to programs that looked like park Times Guides. 

We had made it back to where we started and jumped in line for our second pass at the bar before we headed past the spa booth to another food station. 

This food station was slightly less strange than the cauliflower one, but I’m still surprised by the choice. Given I haven’t actually been to that many weddings, but soup just doesn’t seem like something you were serve, much less in little goblets. Jay got a sampling of one that I honestly don’t remember what it was, but it was frozen with nitrogen. They had four options and it all looked fancy- I’m just not a soup person. 

We had reached another decor section, this time dedicated to Snow White. There was a wishing well with actual running water and a beautiful table of red roses and mirrors. Next to it was the Zales Jewelry table with samples of their Enchanted Jewelry collection. It was all super pretty, but none of it seemed wedding themed, unless maybe it’s for the bridesmaids or to go with the dress? One of the women asked who my inner princess was and I said, “Wonder Woman.” Somehow, I don’t think that was the answer they were looking for. 

The final food station was the one I had hit first, the cookie dough. They had four flavors to try in a cup or a cone, and it  was all oat based, whatever that means. (It did feel a lot thicker than the Wonderland Cookie Dough that I’m used to.) We went back for seconds, thirds in my case. 

Around the cookie dough was the Beauty and the Beast section covered in red roses and gold accents, complete with Cogsworth. 

Next to the stage was another cake display, this time modeling Disney’s famous projection technology. They took the magic they use to project pictures onto Cinderella Castle and scaled it down for a wedding cake. It’s gorgeous. 

At some of the tables in the center of the room, they had Disney wedding consultants on hand to meet with couples to discuss their plans. Jay and I didn’t want to waste their time, but it had only taken us about an hour and twenty minutes to get all the way around the room. There were still raffles left, so I certainly wasn’t going anywhere. We took a few more passes at the food booths and found someone to take our picture together in front of the Cinderella Coach.  

Jay told me to go see about the facial while he took pictures, so I headed back to the spa booth only to find out you had to sign up and the list was a mile long. I’d really like to know why I wasn’t told that the first time I came by, or I would have signed up then. So, no facial for Chelsea. 

They announced the final raffle at 5:15 p.m., a two-night hotel stay for two. We hung around another half an hour or so hoping the spa would get to me, but no such luck. 

This was the first time I’d been to the Disney Wedding Showcase. I did read a few reviews of previous years, so it seems like they cut some things for this year, including the two classes they offered in the past. I definitely feel like there wasn’t enough to do for three hours, but I also didn’t meet with one of the planners to see how much time that would eat up or go over to the Open House at the Grand Floridian, although it started at 2 p.m. instead of 3 p.m., like the Showcase. I got a good feel for how expensive a Disney wedding can be, but I never saw a price in writing for anything. 

Well, that’s not entirely true. I never should have seen pricing. They didn’t have printed prices to hand out, but I found what I think is a Cast Member’s cheat sheet that they dropped with the exact pricing of the decor spreads. I’m not going to publish that information online, but feel free to email me at [email protected] or message me on the Twenty Something in Orlando Facebook page and I’ll be happy to answer your questions as best I can. 

Honestly, I didn’t learn a whole lot that I couldn’t have found out on Disney’s wedding website. Seeing the stuff in person was way more fun, however and we got lots of free samples. A photo sticker, a digital photo with the background, chocolate, cake, food, and more. Plus, I’m fairly confident we each drank more than $45 worth of alcohol, at least at Disney pricing. It was definitely a cool way to spend an afternoon. 

Cost: $45 flat per person. 

Duration: The Showcase lasted three hours, but we could have left in two. We did skip the Grand Floridian Open House that would have added more time. 

Value: A lot of fun and pretty informative. I highly recommend it if you are planning a Disney Wedding, but I’m not sure I’ll need to do it again when the day comes. 

Add Ons: They had a $90 ticket option that included a fireworks dessert party. Some friends of ours did it, and it looked really cool. 

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