Tumgik
#i am legit so so excited for this and i see some people getting up in arms
mishapen-dear · 8 months
Text
heads up to everyone- cc!bad and cc!forever want a conflict arc! (forever is second hand, but I've heard bbh talking about how excited he is about it lmaoo) so it's going to keep being silly. it's going to be so fun. i can't wait to see them tear each other apart. but if the conflict makes you want to attack other fans (or makes you perceive other fans attacking you- which, oftentimes they aren't. sometimes it's just your love for something that can make you hyperdefensive of it), then it's time to take a step back. and, if you DO want to negatively discuss the fandom, PLEASE tag #fandom neg. any general discourse discussion should be tagged #discourse. any character neg should be tagged #[character] neg. we're going to get more conflict as time goes on and you're absolutely allowed to express your opinions, but if everyone is conscious of everyone else's fandom experience, we're all going to enjoy this arc a lot more
202 notes · View notes
malkaviian · 9 months
Text
i hate the weird spot i have been when it comes about writing for the past months
#or maybe even a year at this point idfk. i cannot. write. or at least not multichaptered. i want to create an ongoing story#and write chapters and post them and shit!! but my motivation decays super fast regardless of how excited i am to write it.#i legit think is the reason i draw so much--- i have the need to create and a drawing tends to take me two hours and so. maybe three.#obviously it depends on the drawing but. that's the average. writing a single chapter can take me a week; or a long-ish one at least#there's another factor: i don't know who to write about. i try to resign myself to write fanfiction but it does not sparks joy anymore#*sometimes* it does tho. like the dumb wuthering heights saiou au i had in mind; it is fun to think about it.#but rn i have one plot i really like and i'm kind of. this does not fits any of my existing ocs either. what i am supposed to do with this.#and another one with elliot and a guy i created specifically for that story#because i resigned myself i don't have any existing characters to fit that role so i created some guy nate/devlin (name still pending)#but also. my own characters don't spark joy too unless i post it on discord or show it to friends bc nobody on my main platform cares.#and yes this is something i need to work on i'm going to therapy for that but i live off validation#and if people don't pay attention to my shit then i immediately lose motivation and i don't continue with it anymore#like; the one samael/mav story i was so excited to write about. nobody paid attention to it; so i shoved it to drafts#and didn't type a single word again. meanwhile i see the easy way to get attention is writing sa10u rn but. i don't want to.#i see people voting and commenting on my fics of these two and i try to think 'ok that's what people like i HAVE to write about them'#and maybe get a bit of faux-motivation but if i try to do it i end up unmotivated because. that's not what i want actually. so. i die.#negative#very fitting with my pfp
1 note · View note
kelppsstuff · 2 months
Note
So like what if Adam didn't die and lute managed to come out of the battle WITH an arm?
I want both of them to suffer a little so hear me out
What if our dear reader is an exorcist? So of course she's an angel!
What'll their reaction be if the two witnessed their dear close friend, the sweetest angel and friend they had the fortune to meet in their long lives, sacrifice herself so that the two of them would go back safely? (Forcing herself to go beyond her limits, healing all of their wounds and even opening a portal back to heaven just for the two of them.)
+ the fact that they're both horrible people and the only person who cared for both of them, tended their wounds, always there to back them both up, is now gone?
Angst is calling for me to make the two of them suffer a lil
Omg yes! This is such a good idea! I love making characters suffer! ALSO I do every request so don’t be afraid to send them! And it may take me some time to get to them, but I shall get to them. Sorry it took so long hope you enjoy! By far the favorite thing I’ve ever wrote. Like legit made me cry.
“I’m so fucking sorry!”
Part One| Part Two
Masterlist
Warning: death, angst, cursing
Summery: Adam and Lute watch you die, the only person they loved
Tumblr media
“Are you guys sure about this? I mean what if her father shows up?” You spoke to the two exterminator angels.
They both looked to you simultaneously and there eyes softened on your worried form. Lute was the first to speak up to ease your worries. “It’s gonna be okay. Lucifer was the one who let us do this yearly anyways.” You nodded your head. She was right but you still worried.
“Don’t worry about it, hot stuff. If he shows up I can handle him.” Adam spoke ever so confidently. “Promise?” You were so afraid for them. Adam walked over and gave you a hug, kissing the top of your head. “Promise.” You reached out for Lute, wanting her to join the hug as well.
As she joined the hug you spoke from between their chest. “After the battle let’s all go and have a beach day.” The two angels laughed and agreed.
You hurried to Lute as you so saw her rip her arm off. You never flew so fast in your life. When you got to her you stopped her from flying after Vaggie. “We have to help Adam!” She spoke frantically.
“And I will. You need to sit down and let me help you first.” You sat her on the ground and placed your hands over where her arm should be.
A white glowing light came from your hands as you focused on rebuilding her arm. You started to feel dizzy as blood pooled in your moth. You could see black spots but when you were down Lutes arm had been good as new. You would t even know it’s been severed if not for her uniform sleeve. You two went to stand but the ground rumbled. You looked up and saw a golden light. Adams golden light came down in the middle of the hotel.
You quickly threw Lute away from the beam and got hit instead. A cut was in your shoulder. In went clean through. Your arm was fucking toasted from the severed nerves. You finally blacked out.
“Welcome to heaven.” Saint Peter spoke as you arrived at the golden gates. Though you weren’t interested in him, more so the man beside him talking to another female. “Then when the concert was over a BUNCH of girl came to the back to meet me. It was awesome.” The man spoke. You quickly intruded the conversation. “You play in a band?”
The man is what seemed like a mask turned to look at you, while sipping his drink loudly. “Sure am babe! Your looking at the first man!” Your eyes widened, but not because he was first man. “What part in the band do you play.”
You showed no interest in him being the first man. Normally that would piss him off but this time he didn’t care. “Guitarist.” Your smile widened.
You looked to the girl, clearly wanting her to joking the conversation as well. “Are you apart of the band?!” You were so excited and nice. It felt refreshing for Lute. “No.” Her voice sounded cold, though talking to you sparked a warmth inside her. “I’m Y/N.”
Lute smiled and extended her hand. “Lute.” You started to excitedly shake her hand. Happy to make a new friend.
Adam wrapped his arm around you both. “I’m Adam.” Well two new friends.
“You guys what?!” You asked, eyes wide at what just came out of Adams mouth. It was a slip up on Adams part. They had just gotten done with the extermination and Adam was use to telling you everything. So he may have slipped up and started talking about the extermination.
“Listen babe. It has to be done.” Adam was worried. Worried that you would get kicked out of heaven if Sera found out you knew.
Lute was the one who explained the whole situation. How the sinners were up-rising. How it needed to be done to protect heaven.
To both Adam and Lutes surprise you understood. It made them happy that you were accepting of it. For the first time they truly felt like someone wouldn’t leave. Sure they had each other before this but there friendly relationship really started from you being there glue.
“Okay babe but now that you know you have to become an exterminator like us.”
That made you nervous but Adam and Lute always stayed with you during it. They also didn’t expect you to kill anyone. All you needed to do was wear the uniform one day a year.
You stared at the papers that needed to be done. Since you didn’t kill the demons you demanded to do Adams paperwork.
You slowly blinked. You were tired but you had an hour to finish this and give it to Sera.
A coffee was placed right in front of you. You looked up and saw Lute. You smiled at her and grabbed the coffee. You also grabbed her hand and gave her a friendly kiss on the lips.
It was something you two had started doing recently. A way to give each-other the attention you craved.
Just as that had happened Adam walked through the door. His eyes widened. You were quick to explain it was platonic before he could assume anything. One he understood what happened he demanded you start doing that with him. He demanded the same thing from Lute as well.
As time went on many people believed you were in a poly relationship. But y’all were platonic friends who did romantic things sometimes.
Sure y’all all had sex together quite a bit, but no one ever felt any romantic feelings. It was all friendly and it felt natural.
You groaned awake at the sound of Adam shouting. “All of man-kind came from these nuts!” You opened your eyes to see Lute staring down at you, panic in her eyes. You smiled at her. Though your moment was cut short at the sound of Adam gasping. You looked over to him and saw a little maid stabbing him. You and Lute shouted Adams name as your hurried to fly to him. Fuck.
“Adam look at me your going to be fine.” You spoke your tone in confidence despite the tears running down your face. He smiled at his two girls looking over him.
He may have lost two wives, but he gained two best friends he would never replace for a damn thing.
You started to heal his wound with your hand like you did Lutes arm. You could feel pain all throughout your body as you pushed your limits. Your eyes started bleeding as did your nose.
Lute was conflicted as she watched you. She knew you needed rest but she didn’t want Adam to die. All you had to do was save Adam she would get you to a hospital.
But you weren’t making it back.
As Adam eyes opened he felt better than the first day he was made. He looked to Y/N and she smiled at him. Happy he was okay. He went to talk but she fell to his side. Her breath shallow. He hurriedly got up and looked her up and down. At that moment the portal closed and all the angels were gone beside him, you and Lute.
“Fuck babe look at me.” Your eyes were distant but you focused back in on him. Your Adam. Your apple.
“I love you, Apple. I love you too, wild girl.” You said to them both. Making them cry harder. “I love you too. More than anything.” They both said to her simultaneously. You closed your eyes and a portal opened.
“Fuck!” Lute shouted. She knew you weren’t going to make it.
“I’m so fucking sorry!” He spoke loudly as your eyes started to flutter closed. “It’s okay. Be happy. And go have that beach day.” Lute sobbed in her hand as she fell to the ground.
Adam gripped to you harder his tears falling to your chest as he cried silently. He couldn’t shout anymore. “Come back to us.” He whispered. You didn’t complete his wish. The one time you didn’t give him what he wished for.
Your breathing stopped and your halo fell. “I’m sorry baby.” Adam cooed in your ear, as he started to rock the two of you. Begging for god to give him back the one of the two woman he ever loved. You and Lute.
He looked to the sky. “You cruel manipulative bastard! Was a good person. I thought god was supposed to be merciful.” Lucifer watched as the first man shared the same rage he once had with god. “I have never asked for anything! I didn’t ask for Lilith. I didn’t ask for Eve! All I ask is to bring Y/N back to us.” But god did not respond. Leaving Adam to turn his rage to the group watch.
“I will kill you all!” He shouted, the tears coming from his eyes seeming endless. “I will have my vengeance.”
He picked you up as Lute grabbed your halo. The two walked through the portal.
They did have that beach day, but it was your funeral. Where your body was buried where no one could find. Only him and Lute. The two hugged each other as they both lost the person they loved most.
OMG I HAVE NEVER CRIED WHILE WRITING SOMETHING UNTIL THIS DAY! But I hoped you enjoyed! And I do take requests so please send away!
- kelp 💛 (someone help I’m dying from heartache)
Taglist
369 notes · View notes
multifandomfanfic · 10 months
Text
Tumblr media
A Fernando Alonso x driver!reader Insta AU Series
A/N: As a disclaimer: I actually don’t mind Haas (Nico is the loml), so I don’t know why or when I decided to hate on them in this fic. I did not go into writing this thinking I would. It just kind of happened. Also, please excuse the bad “Competitors” graphic. It is 12:18 a.m. I am not doing too hot. 
Anyways, please enjoy! This parts mostly to establish who Y/N is (besides you ofc), then we’ll get into the better stuff :). Let me know your comments/questions/concerns after you read it, or if you want to be added to the taglist for the series!
f1
Tumblr media
liked by mercedesamgf1, yourusername, charles_leclerc, and 16,128,038 others
f1: BREAKING: Y/N Y/L/N has signed with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team on a multi-year contract from 2023 onwards.
yourusername: So incredibly grateful for this opportunity and excited to hit the track this season!
mercedesamgf1: Very happy to have you, Y/N! Welcome to the team!
pierregasly: I see you’re also doing the ol’ switcheroo
yourusername: you copied me
pierregasly: preposterous
susie_wolff: We continue to be so proud of you! You’re an inspiration to so many women and girls!
yourusername: Thank you so much, Susie. You know how much that means to me! 💕💕
sebastianvettel: sorry I couldn’t race with you another year, but i’m so excited to see how you do and how much you achieve!
yourusername: thank you, seb! i appreciate it so much 🥺🫶
user202: FINALLY y/n is getting out of that shit team
fanaccount1: as much as i support her, i’m sorry to see her leave haas. they did everything they could for her and she just goes to another team once her contract expires.
user014: she’s under no obligation to stay with them. she proved her worth and she’s smart to go to another team that isn’t underfunded. she had the team’s first podium seven years
user837: just another woman ruining something men created 🙄
fanaccount2: excuse me?? obviously, you’re not very educated in this sport that “men created,” because if you were, you’d know that y/n is one of the best up and coming drivers since forever. last year, she got eighth in the drivers’ championship in a haas. a HAAS. and she won the f2 championship the year before that. once she gets into mercedes’ far superior car she’ll finally be able to receive the results she deserves.
user162: preach 👏👏👏
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
f1
Tumblr media
liked by logansargeant, vancityreynolds, alpinef1team, and 11,291,027 others
f1: And here’s your starting grid for the first GP of the season!
landonorris: ready for this 💪💪💪
alphataurif1: new season, new possibilities!!
user101: how did sargeant do better than de vries??
fanaccount3: nooooo pierreeeee 😭
user628: y/n outscoring lewis??? omg???
fanaccount4: we already KNOW this is going to be a good season
user552: as long as she takes at least one podium from max i’ll be ok :)
user012: jesus i wish people would stop shitting on max. he’s literally doing his job like the rest of them.
fanaccount5: OMG if we get some alonso/y/l/n competition this year i’ll be so happy 
user268: i hope so like can you imagine??? two legends in their own rights fighting?? that would be so cool
f1
Tumblr media
liked by yourusername, olliebearman, mercedesamgf1, and 14,391,293 others
f1: your 1st, 3rd, and 2nd drivers of the day 🥳🏆
fanaccount6: admin decided the color scheme was prettier and put y/n in the middle
f1: yes 🥰
mercedesamgf1: First race and first podium of the season 😍
yourusername: So proud of the team!
comment liked by lewishamilton and mercedesamgf1
redbullracing: Incredible job!
user837: you say, as checo is probably being chewed out by horner rn
astonmartinf1: here’s to an exciting season 🥂🏆
fanaccount3: i haven’t seen that exciting of a race in forever! alonso and y/n legit started 5th and 6th and battled for the podium the entire time
user105: it was pretty awesome
fanaccount1: but did you see (when y/n was in 2nd in like lap 50) how close she got to max?? like there was a two second gap between them for a little while before she had to pit
user696: we stan 💖
Tumblr media Tumblr media
yourusername
Tumblr media
liked by mercedesamgf1, zhouguanyu24, robmcelhenney, and 2,834,351 others
tagged: mercedesamgf1
yourusername: Never in my life would I have imagined winning P3 in my first race of a season, let alone my first race of a season with Mercedes. I feel so blessed for this opportunity, and I can assure you, I am not going to let it go to waste. We’ll push to continue this momentum to Saudi Arabia and beyond; we won’t let you down. ✌️😎
(on a less serious note --> jumpscare warning at the end)
vancityreynolds: super race, y/n! you’re the only reason blake watches f1 races with me.
yourusername: omg 🥹 thanks so much!
lewishamilton: I’ve got a good feeling about us this year 💪
yourusername: 💪❤️
susie_wolff: That picture was confidential.  - Toto
yourusername: please don’t fire me
susie_wolff: Heavily considering it.  - Toto
yourusername: 😔
user030: she ATE and left no crumbs
fanaccount3: LITERALLY
fanaccount6: y/n marry me please 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
user827: she’s already my wife actually
fanaccount6: 😭
user582: guenther steiner is rolling on the floor screaming crying rn
liked by pierregasly
fanaccount7: Everyone saying she’ll be champion when (1) Max is still on the grid and (2) she has drove literally one race for Mercedes. Nobody can predict how the season will play out yet; there simply hasn’t been enough time to see how comfortable all the drivers are in their cars and how they interact with each other.
user455: interact with each other? their jobs are to win. it’s given that everyone will be competitive, so i think it literally just comes down their car and the risks they take. the reason lewis, max, and even schumi were so dominant is that they happened to drive for the team with the most powerful car, and they were willing to go as close to the corners as possible/be super aggressive with other drivers.
but, in the end, i agree with you. i don’t think we can see what’s going to happen in the end yet. personally, though, i think y/n can place higher than she did last year if she keeps doing what she’s doing.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
yourusername
Tumblr media
liked by schecoperez, vancityreynolds, angelinajolie, and 2,142,934 others
tagged: landonorris, carlossainz55
yourusername: baku <3
olliebearman: Congrats on P2!
yourusername: thank you! congrats on your wins!
logansargeant: great race, y/n!
yourusername: 💕💕💕
landonorris: there were much better pictures of carlos that you could’ve chosen
carlossainz55: Rude.
yourusername: yeah, lando. any photo of carlos is a good photo.
landonorris: 🙄
fanaccount8: 👀👀👀
user914: We love a queen who posts as if she didn’t get P2 in a race yesterday
fanaccount4: although i do like pictures from the actual gp, it is nice to see some normal touristy photos from celebrities
comments liked by yourusername
user914: HOLY CRAP HI Y/N
user777: Another close race! Finally, someone who can challenge Max and gives fan an actually entertaining race!
user267: honestly i think the reason why y/n’s so good is because she knows her cars so well. like, some of the drivers (not all of them), don’t know jack shit about the cars themselves and just know how to drive them. y/n could actually sit down and teach the components of the car to you. i think that’s the difference between her and the others.
fanaccount9: Congratulations, Y/N!
user129: ahhhhhhhhh she’s so pretty 😍😍😍
yourusername added to their story
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
yourusername added to their story
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
f1
Tumblr media
liked by mercedesamgf1, yourusername, dylanminnette, and 19,391,361 others
f1: how it started --> how it’s going
Congratulations to Y/N on her first ever podium, and on being the first ever woman to do so! 🎉😲
lewishamilton: 🤜🎤
femalesinmsport: You continue to be such an inspiration, Y/N! Congrats on everything.
yourusername: Thank you!
haasf1team: Congratulations on the amazing accomplishment, Y/N!
yourusername: Thank you so much! That means a lot. <3
user725: admin about to get firedddddddddd
fanaccount10: Can’t a team congratulate their former racer?
user725: not when their team principal blew up the way he did when she left
mercedesamgf1: yup, that’s our driver 😎
yourusername: 😎❤️
aussiegrit: Congratulations! Amazing job!
nicholaslatifi: congrats! miss racing with you.
yourusername: thanks, nick! you, too!
pierregasly: how.
yourusername: that’s my secret
dreamlover: I TOLD YOU GUYS. WE CAME BACK.
fanaccount11: OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG
user236: i have been dreaming of this day for so long 😭
user273: “we”
dreamlover: stfu and be happy
fanaccount6: Y/N is the greatest driver of the 2020s and you can not tell me otherwise
user627: 2020s? how about ever?
user981: induction into the f1 hall of fame when??
fanaccount12: three world champions on the grid, and she manages to be better than two of them. lewis and alonso are quaking in their boots rn.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
yourusername posted to their story
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
362 notes · View notes
anticipatecrime · 9 months
Text
'𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩'| colby brock x male oc
a/n: enjoy ;) summary: sam, colby, corey and jake plan to go to the witches forest, little do they know, they’ll meet a friend of jennifers. he’s a lonely medium studying witchcraft, what happens when colby starts to feel a pull towards him? his feelings confuse him, and make him question himself. 
words: 8.8k (TOO FUCKING MANY, i got lost in the sauce🫠)
sam sat on his couch, dialing the number of the woman him and colby met at the stanley hotel. the latter began to film as she picked up. 
“hello?”
“hi is this jennifer?” they shared a look towards eachother, acknowledging the awkwardness.
“yes, this is she.” 
“sweet uh.. about that forest, was that a legit offer? colby and i have been talking over the past few weeks and maybe.. are you in la now?” he asked, curiously.
“yeah i am”
“cool so maybe tomorrow or later this week we could meet up, and we’d probably be filming it so if that’s cool with you, you could tell us more like about what the forest is and then maybe like find time to schedule to go out there or something?”
“yeah we can meet up.” jennifer said ominously. 
“okay cool, maybe tomorrow we’ll schedule a time then.” sam started to laugh from the awkwardness, and immediately after the phone call was over he threw the phone onto the table and freaked out. “why is it so awkward?” he cringed.
“everytime we talk to her.” colby chuckles.
they both start talking to the camera about their plans with the witches forest, and planning a whereabouts for the meetup. 
a day had past, and sam, colby and jake were in the car, driving to the area where they were supposed to meet up with jennifer. colby had parked very close to another car in attempts to not be in the way of someones driveway. “can’t park in this driveway brother, gonna get a ticket.”
“can’t go to jail again.” sam laughs.
“we’re in a neighborhood, it’s not that sketchy.” sam commented, as they all start talking about how creepy this whole situation was, joking about getting murdered. 
they walk into the park, and they look around until they see two people sitting at a park bench. “hey!” sam calls out, as he sees them. “nice to see you again!” he goes in for a hug with jennifer. 
“how was the shoot and everything?” he asked.
“it was good.” she responded, nodding her head, before looking over to her friend, the guy next to her. jennifer didn’t really care about meeting up with strangers but elias, found it sketchy, so he decided to come along as some sort of backup.
“hey, i’m elias, good to meet you.” he shook hands with the person closest to him, colby. 
“nice to meet you too.” colby smiled, curious about the guy infront of him. he looked pretty cool, his sense in fashion was definitely something out of a vintage movie. his hair was dark brown, about medium length. he had brown circle glasses pushed towards his nose, contrasting his freckled face. 
from what he was wearing, you could see a few tattoos under his sleeves, along with a few different ear piercings. ‘damn this guy is cool’ he felt like some kind of fangirl.
as sam talked to jennifer, colby starting asking questions to the other. “are you also into the paranormal?”
“yeah. i grew up around it my entire life, and now it just seeks me out i guess.” he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “how’d you get into it?”
“that’s the same as one of my friends, corey.” he acknowledges. “honestly it’s not that exciting, me and my buddy sam would explore like abandoned places and stuff then it became haunted areas and now we think we’re haunted.”
“that’s cool.” suddenly jake climbs onto the picnic table, creating a thud sound. “jesus jake.” colby laughed.
“so do you guys chill at the park often?” jake tries to make conversation with the two.
“yeah.” they answer at the same time. the camera is held facing jennifer as she begins to explain why the cabin is haunted, and why it’s called the witches forest. 
“you really have to figure it out yourself.” elias commented, chuckling. 
“so you’ve been there too?” sam interrogates him. 
“you could say that, i also own a cabin about a mile out.”
“would you say it’s haunted?”
“oh definitely, in 1946 a couple moved into the cabin and after a few years they started like experiencing financial issues, and it caused a lot of stress between them and eventually the husband started drinking, and one night he killed his pregnant wife before shooting himself in the head.” elias smirked, watching their jaws drop. “let’s just say i’m not legally able to rent it out anymore because of what happened to the last guests we had.”
“holy shit.” sam looked to the guys, with wide eyes. 
“that’s actually insane.” colby said, rubbing his eye. “so do you live there or just use it as a vacation spot?”
“bit of both honestly, the spirits don’t bother me much. i was just there a few days ago and i stayed about three months, left with tons of scratches and stuff.” elias explained.
“do you still have visible marks?” 
“yeah, the longest one is on my leg, i can show you if you like.” the guys nodded, so he stands up and props his leg on the park bench, before rolling up his black pants. quickly a red shiny scratch is visible. it starts at his ankle and goes underneath his thigh. “it’s one of the weirder marks i’ve gotten. it’s shiny and feels almost like a burn, like blistered over and stuff.”
“holy shit, that’s crazy.” jake muttered.
“i don’t know if we should do this anymore.” colby laughs, jokingly crying.
“so on a scale of one to ten, how is this a good idea or are we going to die.” sam wondered.
“let’s just say it’s scarier then the stanley hotel.” jennifer answered.
“is that the key?” jake zooms into colby holding the key to the cabin. colby pauses for a second, having an idea. “would you let us see your cabin?” he asks to elias.
“uhh, i don’t know, i would have to be there to supervise.” “not just because i don’t know you, but also for you’re protection. the spirits know me well, even the negative ones, they don’t like other people.”
“jesus.” colby mumbles. “is that why you can’t rent it out anymore.” he nods slowly.
“we have a friend out there that we met from the summer camp thing. a few of them are still there. elias can probably get in contact with one of them to help you out. since they’re both wiccans.”
“so you’re friend is a... wait you’re a wiccan?” sam asks towards elias, pointing the camera in his direction, receiving a half nod. 
“after i became a medium it slowly transitioned into exploring witchcraft, i wouldn’t like 100% consider myself a wiccan but i do partake in that stuff.” he holds up his pagan necklace. 
“wow, so does your friend live around the cabin?” 
“yeah.” 
“now i see why it’s called witches forest.” sam laughed hesitantly. 
“so a lot of people there are wiccans i’m assuming?” colby asks, before receiving a nod. “witches forest, wiccans.” he does a weird voice to express how crazy this situation is.
“this is awesome, thank you so much for this, we would probably just of done another hotel video.” sam thanked her. “should we call corey?” he asks to the guys.
everyone begins to say goodbye, colby hugging jennifer and elias. “we’ll let you know how it goes.”
“but uh, i just wanted to say, i haven’t been there in awhile so be careful.” jennifer calls out to them.
jennifer and elias start walking back to their apartment. he glances towards the group they had just encountered. “they seem cool, colby’s pretty nice.”
“yeah i guess. i’m surprised you didn’t give them the key.”
“first, they’re strangers, second, they seem like novices, i don’t want their deaths to be on my hands.” elias joked.
“you could’ve gone with them.” she shrugs. elias pauses for a moment, thinking about it. maybe he should. they are trying to find the most haunted areas.. 
“i’ll think about it.”
it was early morning of the next day, and elias had been messaging with colby since he woke up talking about whether or not he should go up with them. colby has been trying to persuade him, borderline begging him to come. they think it would be awesome for the video and their paranormal experience. 
and secretly colby just wants to get to know him as well.
the four boys were in their car, on the way to the first house, to talk to a wiccan who is offering a reading, and more information on the witches forest.
“i was thinking about what the physic said a lot last night, about how corey and i are in danger, and i think they could be right. i hope we have service because we’ve never been in this forest, who knows, like what if we get lost right? that’s why i think bringing elias, who knows the area could be helpful.”
“honestly yeah, and he seems like a cool dude so.” jake shrugs, agreeing with the idea. corey then calls and agrees to come, making everyone so much more relieved. 
“let’s just act like we’re going to a cabin in the woods.” corey says, trying to lighten the mood as he gets into the car.  
they keep on driving, about twenty minutes out, pulling over only to get jake some food because he kept complaining about being hungry. they pull into a burger king, and grab some food. colby suggests sitting at a table so he can fill both corey and the viewers in about elias and the other wiccan.
“just to catch everyone up, we got some food and we are ten minutes away from the forest!” sam starts it off.
“i’ve been texting with both this wiccan and elias, who agreed on meeting us, but they want to meet us at her house. she was just like ‘yeah swing by, and i’ll show you my tarot cards and stuff.’” 
“well, let’s hope we don’t die.”
they walk out to the parking lot, and talk a bit more, explaining to corey. “me, colby, and jake met up with jennifer and this new guy, elias, so the reason why he’s texting to this random wiccan is because they’re friends, them two would meet up with her at summer camp, and she’s going to tell us about the area.” sam said.
as they start driving, they encounter the fog of the mountains, and they struggle to see out the window.
“yeah, elias is going to be with the wiccan, so atleast it’s not like we’re by ourselves with a complete stranger.” colby mentioned.
“well we don’t really know him either.”
“better then completely alone though.” he shrugged, continuing to drive until google maps said he was at the correct address.
“so what have they told you?” sam asked. 
“nothing really, just gave us the address and said see you then.” colby explained, shutting the car door. they walked up to the door, not even having to knock before someone opened the door. “hey colby!” elias said, arm on the door. 
“yoo hey.” colby gave a hug before smiling. “thanks for taking up our offer on this, having you here and talk about some of the stuff is super great for the video.” 
colby felt nervous, seeing elias stand confidentially at the door, he looked more relaxed today, grey sweatpants, black hoodie and his usual brown glasses. you can tell he wasn’t planning on coming. 
in the light, it was much easier to see his face. he also realized elias’ hair was slightly curly. 
“yeah it’s no problem.” elias said as the other wiccan presented herself. “good to see you again.” 
“hey, how are you guys?” she asked. “wanna come in? if you don’t mind i’ll have to sage you though.”
“yeah it’s no problem.”
after the boys were saged, they sat around the table and began to talk about the witches forest. “so why is it called witches forest?” sam asked, getting down to business. 
“there’s a lot of rituals that go on in this area, it used to be a spot with mobsters, there’s a lot of satanic rituals, which aren’t as bad or evil as you would think.” elias nods along, agreeing with her. 
“so you guys would consider yourselves wiccans in the way that you both study witchcraft. 
“yes, i identify as a wiccan, but i feel like it has a different perception of what you would think.”
“okay so can you explain that to us.” sam asked.
“i like to live my life by the moon cycles, so full moon would be a time of like creativity and energy, where as new moon is more introspective and..” she trails off as the door opens for the second time. 
“we’re trying to spend the night here, in the forest. do you think that’s a good idea or bad idea?”
elias grimances, shaking his head. 
“what’s that supposed to mean?!” corey fake cries.
“a lot of people have died up there.. not recently so i don’t think you’ll die.” she says positively. “if you want we can do a little tarot reading.” she suggests, waving over elias to help her with it.
“tarot reading?” colby repeats asking for clarification. 
“tarot cards really tell you what you’re feeling subconsciously, and they help give insight into the past, your future, or the present. and basically however you relate to the card, it tells you what’s going on with your inner-self or stuff you may be doing.” he explains, before sageing the cards.
“this basically helps to detach anything thats holding onto the cards, so for example, the past readings she’s done, it’s possible that those readings could effect yours. so when i sage the cards, it clears anything on them.” he hands over the cards to colby, who passes them to sam, to jake and then to corey, to get their presence onto the cards.
she takes the cards and sets them onto the table. a few gasps come from the guys after seeing the death card, “none of these are bad, so don’t be afraid.”
“the tower is an iffy card in my opinion, so it means danger and destruction, it’s basically like a very sudden unforeseen change, which means you have to rebuild. it can lead to the next chapter of your life. so it starts out negative and eventually it leads to rebuilding which is positive.” elias explains.
“yeah and chaos isn’t always a bad thing, which relates to the death card.” she taps onto it. 
“the next chapter of my life is death?” sam asked.
“no.” elias answered shortly. “the death card will almost never mean death or represent anything like that. it’s typically more like the end of an era, so it implies new beginnings. it also is commonly known as the card that describes self awareness.” he was briefly interrupted by a bang upstairs.
“this card is all about fear and anxiety.” she points out. “but not a real fear, more like you’re worrying about something too much. like it’s in your head, like when you can’t sleep and you’re terrified but it’s not something that you should be worrying about. it’s more like you’re imagining something, like making up a problem.”
“like making conspiracy theories about yourself.” jake adds in, earning weird looks from colby and sam.
“just being scared of something that isn’t that big of a deal, like you’re more afraid then you need to be.” elias adds.
“that’s basically our group.” sam comments.
they talked more about the different chapters of their life, corey refusing to do more tarot. she gave more advice on how to keep the guys safe at their campsite, like taking the sage, having a ring of salt and holding hands.
elias watches as they huddle into the corner of the room and talk about some of their plans together. “honestly guys, i don’t know if i can do this.” corey admits. “this shit is crazy, we don’t need more spirits trapped with us.”
“i think we just have to hurry up because it’s a few hours from sundown, and we don’t know the area too well, i don’t want us to get lost.” sam comments.
“do you think we should invite elias?” colby asked.
“brother, now why would we do that.” corey said, shaking his head.
“he knows the area, and i think he would be awesome for content, he can tell us more stories, we can get to know him and maybe do more ghost stuff with him in the future.” 
“i’m down.” jake shrugs.
“we don’t know him very well, but i do think he’d be beneficial for this.” sam doesn’t seem to care that much.
“okay well i won’t invite him if you guy’s arent sure.” they all to look corey. 
“fine, but i swear to god if he murders us, i’m going to murder you again.”
“okay awesome!” colby walks away from the guys and up to elias. “i was wondering if you wanted to come with us, like to our campsite.”
“oh. uhh, i mean i guess i could hang for a bit, but it would probably be weird to stay the night with you guys. my cabin isn’t too far away in the forest so i’ll go back there once you guys are settled in.”
“we’d be chill if you wanted to stay the night in a tent beside us or something, but it’s cool if not.”
“i’ll figure it out later.” he shrugs, and follows the guys to the car. elias sits in the passenger seat, sam giving it up to sit in the back, so he didn’t have to sit squished next to strangers.
they began to drive in the direction of witches forest, taking a right turn onto a gravel road. 
“so where do you suggest us staying the night exactly?” 
“well i would say definitely be near one of the main roads, so you’re near your car, but as in area, if you keep going down here, there’s some pretty flat ground with trees surrounding it.” elias points in the right direction.
they pull into a blank area, and start gathering their stuff. “just down this way.” he leads, while helping carrying one of their bags. 
“awesome, thank you.” sam thanks him, actually kind of surprised how much this stranger was helping them.
“do you need help setting up your tent, or?” he wondered.
“uhh..” jake mumbled, knowing he’s never put up a tent in his life. 
“that is a possibility.” sam chuckles. ”so like, did you group up in california or elsewhere?” he took what colby said earlier, about getting to know him, and ran with it.
“oh uh, no i grew up in a small town out of seattle, but i moved to la when i was 17.” elias answered, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
“oh cool. why’d you leave seattle?” jake asked.
“just bad memories i guess.” he took a deep breath. “the house i grew up in.. my brother he died there when i was 6. his death brought me into the paranormal world.”
“oh, i’m sorry for your loss.” colby commented, beginning to build the tent.
“don’t be.” elias laughed it off. “it was a pretty natural death, he was born with heart complications, honestly a miracle he lived till 14. he was very positive and i’m sure he wouldn’t want people mourning, so i choose not to i guess.”
“that’s a good way to look at it.” colby smiled at the other. colby took a liking to him, he wasn’t sure why though but it felt like something was pushing him to get to know him.
“so you said you’re a medium?” corey asked, helping colby with the tent.
“yeah, the thing with my brother, it guided me to other spirits and i just kind of fell into it all. i feel things more the most people, i hear more, i sense more.” he paused. “i don’t feel any presences here but i feel sadness and regret.”
“that’s honestly really cool, so to become a medium does it need to be something that happens to you or can you like learn and study to become one?” colby asked, setting up the camera on a camping chair, pointed to elias.
“in my opinion it has to come to you, you can’t work for it. if you are gifted with the ability you can learn and study to enhance it but you can’t force it.”
“the tent’s looking good.” corey nodded towards it. “but i swear to god i don’t want to sleep here.” he begs, making everyone laugh.
once everything was set up, and looking good, elias decided to leave. “i’ll probably head up to the cabin.” he says, rubbing the back of his neck.
“yo, you sure?” jake asks, actually wanting him to stay. in the past few hours they’ve all been vibing pretty hard.
“yeah no pressure to leave.” colby said, giving him a smile. 
“i don’t wanna intrude too much on your video or anything, but feel free to come to the cabin if you have any problems or something crazy happens. can’t promise staying at the cabin will be any better but still. i have wifi, hot water, beds, all that stuff so don’t be shy.” elias smiled back.
“alright, thank you.” sam nodded. 
“make sure to say goodbye before you leave though!” elias called out, as he walked away. 
“bye!” colby shouted.
“cya!” jake yelled.
“dude, you’re staring.” corey pointed out, laughing at his friend. colby turned to look at him, before rolling his eyes.
“shut up, i just think he’s cool.”
corey winked to sam and jake, them chuckling to eachother.
it was hours later, maybe 3 or 4, and elias was in his cabin, drinking a glass of wine, while reading one of the books from the old bookshelf. his days here were simple. he’d tend to the plants, garden, read some books and drink wine. he wish he had a more extroverted life, and would sometimes regret missing out on opportunities. such as hanging out with the guys back at the campsite. 
he wondered why he didn’t just stay, when they were clearly okay with him there, but he was still unfortunately a stranger. they were okay with him there, but they didn’t want him there. 
‘god i need friends’, he thought. he’s been so lonely, his only friend being jennifer, and they weren’t all that close anymore since he’s started studying witchcraft. elias has only had a few friends in his lifetime, people thinking he’s weird or abnormal for his interests and gifts, and he’s only been in one relationship which ended around 6 months. 
he honestly hasn’t felt that interested in people, elias finds them too generic, but he did take interest in the group. no matter how goofy they all seemed, they were cool. especially colby, he seemed to care the most. and he was kinda cute so that’s a plus. but he was probably straight.
he paused, hearing a bang upstairs, before sighing. his only friends are the spirits of the forest. he took his glasses off and gave them a rub, as they got a bit foggy. 
‘maybe a bath will ease my mind’ as he began to run a bath he heard a scream for help. his eyes widened at the voice, that was definitely colby. 
“help!” it was a gut-retching scream. elias turned off the bath, and as he was running to the front door, he turned the outside lights on, immediately lighting up the area. 
“colby?!” he called out, opening the door. 
“elias?!” suddenly, he came into view. “holy fuck, thank god.” he sighed, relieved. he rushed to the door. 
“what the hell happened out there? where is everyone?”
“i-i i got lost, i don’t know where i am, i was chasing after a shadow and i thought sam and jake were after me but i went in circles and i walked for so long it’s been like 15 minutes and i don’t know where they are.”
“woah, colby are you hurt?” elias reaches out to the others side, seeing a few smaller scratches. he gently touches them, earning a hiss out of colby.
“ouch.” he chuckles. “anyways, i really need help finding them, i don’t know what the fuck happened.”
“you said you saw a shadow figure? was it just a shadow or were there any visible descriptions?”
“just a shadow.” he shrugs, shivering a bit. 
“theres been a few people spotting shadows around here, a lot of people think one of the main shadows, it’s of a larger male and it’s predicted that it’s the spirit of the husband i told you guys about earlier, and that he’s stuck in this forest as punishment.”
“jesus.” colby exhales. 
“here, come in for a second, i’ll get you a heavier jacket and i’ll get a bandage for your side.”
“oh, thank you so much.” colby rubs his neck, awkwardly standing in the others home. “this cabin is actually beautiful.” he said, not expecting it.
“haha yeah, i take pride in it. nobody ever is here to see how gorgeous the wood and plants are.”
“oh why’s that?”
“i just don’t have many friends.” elias said, while grabbing a few items. “gets lonely up here.”
“hey well, you can consider us friends, i think you’re cool as hell.” colby smiles, taking the jacket, and putting it over his shoulder. “it would be awesome to have you come with us to other haunted places.”
“i-” elias was about to decline, before he thought for a minute. he knew he would regret declining. “sure, why not.” he gestured for colby to move his arm so he could wrap his side. 
“that should do it.” he gave him a pat on the shoulder. “now, we really have to get you back to your friends, they’re probably freaking out.”
“yeah.” colby agreed, rubbing his side. 
“do you mind if i spend the night with you guys? i have a feeling.. like i can feel something bad in your future, and i don’t think it’s safe for you guys alone.”
“oh god..” colby sighed, not ready for whatever he’s talking about. elias grabbed a few more things, and shoved it into a backpack. “it would be appreciated if you stayed with us.” he laughed it off, pretending he didn’t care too much, but he actually felt pretty nervous about the idea. 
he’s never really found guys that attractive or anything but something about elias, it wasn’t even his looks, something about his personality or dare he say ‘spirit’ was alluring. colby just needed to know more, needed to get close to him.
“okay, let’s go.” he said, turning off the house lights, and turning on his flashlight. 
they walked through the forest, trying to avoid all of the unnerving noises they heard. “thank you.” elias said quietly.
“what? why?”
“because, today has been the most social interaction i’ve had in awhile.” he chuckled. they continued to walk in peaceful silence, colby instinctively walking closer to elias. they smiled to eachother, elias having to look away and blush out of sight. ‘jesus, what is happening to me.’
they walked a bit more, and finally began to see bright lantern lights, similar to colby’s. “guys!” he shouted.
“no way, colby!” corey shouted, running straight to him out of relief.
“guys!”
“holy shit it’s colby!” 
“colby!”
“what the fuck happened to you.” sam shook his head. they all looked closer and saw another person. as they got closer they realized it was elias.
“holy shit.” corey exclaimed.
“are you okay bro?” jake asked.
“the shadow person, i kept chasing it, i saw it again. it ran so i ran after it, i ended up going in circles and i got lost so i started screaming for help and i saw a cabin, thank god it was elias’.
“did you hear the scream? it was like a female scream.” sam explained. 
colby went to sit in a chair, his side aching. “no i didn’t, i scratched my side though.” he lifted his shirt to show the bandage. 
“dude, me and jake saw like a baby or something small hung.” sam said.
“bro, i looked at it, and my first thought was that it was a baby hanging, it was swaying and everything.”
“wait.. you said you saw a baby hanging?” elias looked at them in pure shock. “holy fuck.. you saw her.” he mumbled.
“what?” sam asked, eyes wide.
“what the fuck is going on.” corey shouted.
“the.. the story i told you guys, about the husband killing his pregnant wife. a few people i rented the cabin out to, they would see shadows of a hanging dead baby outside the windows.”
“holy fuck!” corey screamed, jumping before walking a few steps away.
“that is fucking crazy.” jake exclaimed, holding onto his head.
“i can’t believe this.” sam held the camera, beginning to shake. “okay, a rule, we can’t separate again.”
they began to talk about what the shadow could’ve been, talking about the biker kids they had seen earlier in the day.
“it definitely was not a biker, you would’ve heard it a mile away, and nobody just goes for a walk in the middle of the night.” elias shakes his head in disbelief at the situation. 
“i’m not staying out here any longer.” jake says, running into the tent. everyone else begins to pack away their stuff, making sure that if they got scared again, they could leave without having to worry about their scattered belongings. 
sam pulls out the camera once everything is put away, and gives the viewers a quick update. “just a little update guys, we did clean up our entire campsite, and now we’re going to chill in here for a little bit, because we don’t know what’s out here.” he gestures inside the tent.
“is it alright if i stay here? i don’t feel like walking back to the cabin.” he asks.
“oh yeah of course.” sam practically invites him in. “you’ll just have to deal with our gross selves.”
“i think i’ll be fine, i was a babysitter for 3 years of my life.” he joked, earning laughs from everyone.
a small fight ensues about sleeping bags with the guys, and elias sits off to the side of the tent, not wanting to get too close and make anyone uncomfortable. he watches as colby pokes around at corey’s pocket. 
“brotherrrr, scared the fuck outta me.” corey cries out. “it’s either colby hitting on me again or a ghost.” elias laughed at that.
“i like to use shrek’s belly as a pillow.” jake mumbles, away from the drama.
a few minutes go by, and bugs in the tent frighten elias, while sam and colby start swatting at them before jake and corey talk about the white people face. elias, guilty of making that face more then once tonight.
the rest of the night was filled with fivesome jokes, jake playing with shrek into the camera, dance parties, sam touching more spiders in the tent, and colby trying to rest his eyes.
he originally laid near corey, between him and elias. he was resting on the end of his sleeping bag, feeling exhausted with the night so far. after another bug was squashed, they placed the camera back in the center of everyone.
elias was the closest to the camera, slightly out of frame, colby close by, corey leaning to the front, jake beside him, and sam on the other side also out of frame. “who keeps farting?” colby asked jokingly annoyed.
“yo what is that smell bro.” colby started cringing, holding his nose, causing everyone to laugh, corey the most.
“who farted dude?” jake commented about the smell looking towards sam.
“i don’t smell anything.” he shrugged carelessly, elias agreeing with him.
“yeah cause it was you!” 
“someone ripped ass, and it was me two minutes ago.” corey revealed, laughing like a madman. 
“my face was right by your asshole!” colby shouted, making a disgusted face to the camera before slowly shuffling away from the guy, and closer to elias. he dramatically collapsed onto elias’ leg and begged him not to do the same.
colby found his leg oddly comfortable, holding onto it like a pillow. he didn’t want to get too over the top and make elias uncomfortable, so tried to stay away from the boys lap.
then, it was back to jake putting shrek up to the camera, pretending to ring an imaginary doorbell. 
“look guys, stop recording if we’re actually going to fuck.” corey pulled his sleeping bag over his face.
“yeah i don’t wanna be on camera.” elias said, holding his hands up, making everyone snicker. it was kind of awesome how they could go from complete strangers, thinking eachother was creepy, to then making jokes like this.
speaking of jokes, everyone made comments about colby and how he was sleeping all cuddly on the other, and god was it unbearable. 
it was awkward, and uncomfortable but oddly enough, the friendly teasing felt better then being alone, so he dealt with it, and listened to corey’s little story about the boys and the shadowman. 
suddenly, noises started getting louder. exhales, footsteps, bangings. corey felt uncomfortable, and kept demanding to leave the tent. everyone paused, trying to listen to the surrounding sounds, sam hearing a car, and elias hearing thuds. 
“yo, should we just try to go to sleep?” colby asked, genuinely really tired.
“uh, no.” corey answered like it was obvious
elias felt the need to interrupt. “listen, the noises are obviously scary and whatever, but you need to understand that you guys are overthinking. think back to the tarot cards. you are scaring yourselves.” he tried to explain, as a way to calm them down.
it definitely didn’t work, corey hearing another exhale, and telling everyone to get out of the tent as a safety precaution. 
eventually everyone began to rush out of the tent, into darkness, sam screaming for someone to get a light. elias put on his glasses, and grabbed a flashlight, pointing it around the camp.
he heard rustling coming from a near bush and started walking up to it, he peeked around trying to find what the noise could’ve been. “elias, hurry up!” sam called, as everyone began running to the car. 
he caught up to them, not caring anymore and jumping in the back with jake and corey. “holy fuck.” he exhaled. “where are we going?”
“jennifer’s cabin.” corey replied, nodding at the idea.
sam’s phone started to ring as colby was driving on a tight road. “yo, yo, look!” he answered the call, everyone hearing absolute gibberish. it was random noises, deep exhales and other strange noises.
“that sounds like someone fucking with us.” colby stated, as sam talked about telling all his friends he was coming here.
“holy shit, i don’t think it’s someone pranking you guys.” elias stared, wide eyed at his phone before holding it up so everyone could see. 
“fuck.” jake muttered. “answer! answer!”
elias answered the call, putting it on speaker phone. the sounds coming from his call was much different from sam’s. these, sounded like chants, as if a huge group of people were shouting into the phone, cursing the boy. “guys, what the fuck is this.” he had experienced everything, but never has he gotten no caller id calls, with scary ass chants. “are you fucking with me right now?” he asked the group, tears welling in his eyes.
“no! no! of course not!” colby assured him. “we don’t do shit like that.”
he pulled into the driveway of jennifer’s cabin, immediately opening the doors and seeing the pouring rain. at the door, jake started shaking the water off of him, complaining about being wet.
quickly, elias could see sam was struggling. he was digging through his bag trying to find the key. he was beginning to panic, and everyone was starting to realize. 
“wait you don’t have the key?” corey questioned, getting nervous. “sam.” he sighed.
“was it in your pockets or the backpack?” colby asked.
“when do you remember last having it?” jake watched as sam patted his pockets.
“n-no i had it today, i showed the girl that jennifer gave me the key.” he defended. “here, just check the car, i swear, i have it.” 
“really try to remember, did you put it in your bag or your pockets?” colby kept pushing.
sam frantically looked around the car as the others judged him, complaining and blaming him for losing the key. “hey honestly sam, don’t worry about it, it’s just a mistake.” elias tried to reassure him everything was fine, only for corey to say something.
“i thought.. it’s either here or in the backpack.. unless is it in our bags? should we check the trunk?” everyone was freaking out, and elias stood there awkwardly watching. he felt bad for sam.. he could feel the sadness and guilt dripping off of him.
“we need this key. we can’t get in. dude jennifer trusted us with this key, you can’t-”
“is this the only key?” “sam, are you fucking serious, dude. i’m not trying to be rude, but first you lowkey lost colby, and now you don’t have the key. i’m just saying, this is why i don’t like doing this type of shit.” corey raised his voice. 
jake and corey agreed they didn’t want to go back to the tent, as colby kept filming. elias took a breath before saying excuse me and pulling sam to the side. 
sam looked confused, but his guilt was overtaking it. “what?” he looked at the other, wondering why he dragged him a few feet away. 
“dude, don’t listen to them, losing the key, like i said is a simple mistake, any of them could have done it, they’re not upset at you, they’re just upset at the cirumstances. but you’re forgetting i have a place just a few minutes away.” elias tried calming him down, seeing tears well in his eyes. he could tell sam wasn’t one that could deal with being yelled at.
“it’s not anything big, it’s a two bedroom with a pull out couch.” elias shrugged. “please just accept my offer, alright?” sam nodded, wiping any sort of water away from his eyes.
“thank you elias, really.” sam suddenly grabbed onto him, giving him a side hug. 
“no worries.” he smiled, leading him back to the car, before they explained the plan to the others. everyone could see the disappointment in sam’s eyes, as he sat quiet in the passenger seat. 
jake whispered to elias, about what happened out there, him shaking it off as to say it was private. he guides colby down the different roads, and in a few minutes they were outside his cabin. 
“here we are!” he welcomes them inside, turning all the lights on.
“shit this is nice.” corey nodded, jumping onto the couch. 
“woah woah, take your dirty ass boots off.” elias joked, watching as he threw them off in the direction of the door.
“thank you so much for having us here.” sam smiled, setting his bag down. 
“really, don’t worry about it, i’m glad you’re here and not outside.” elias took their stuff and organized it by the doors. “okay so, there’s two bedrooms, you guys can take those if you want, i don’t mind sleeping on the couch.”
“hell no.” colby laughed, refusing to have him give up his own room in his own house.
“mkay whatever, someone can sleep in my room with me i guess, because trust me the couch is very uncomfortable to sleep on. plus the rooms are much safer. the living room is the scariest, you’ll hear the most shit out here.” he chuckled. “you guys can look around if you want, also feel free to eat anything you find, and use the wifi, passwords on the fridge.” he yawned. “i’m going the fuck to bed.” 
the guys chuckled, taking him up on that offer. 
for over half an hour, they decided to eat some of the snacks in his fridge, and taking crackers from the pantry. “god i was so hungry.” jake moaned into the leftover burger he was eating.
“okay guys, take it easy, we aren’t trying to raid their food.” colby snickered, watching as his friends ate like hungry rats. 
“yeah good point.” sam took a handful of crackers and put the box back. “should we talk about sleeping arrangements?”
“there’s no fucking way i’m sleeping on the couch or anywhere in the living room after what he said.” corey stated, heading into the direction of the guest bedroom. 
“yeahh, me neither.” jake followed after him.
“so.” colby shrugged. “do you care where you’re sleeping tonight?”
“not really, i’ve gotten to know elias pretty well so it doesn’t really matter to me.” the brunette squints at him. 
“what did you guy’s talk about?” he questions. 
“honestly, when he pulled me aside i was shocked. he like saw how overstimulated i was with the whole situation and he completely calmed me down, comforted me and everything.” he threw his arms as he was talking.
“yeah, i’m sorry about that, we were all just frustrated about the key.”
“don’t worry about it.” sam smiled. “are you and elias getting close? you were like all over him, sleeping back at the tent.” he was genuinely curious, considering he hasn’t seen his friend like this in awhile.
colby paused, thinking about everything that’s happened tonight. “honestly... i don’t know, it’s been really weird for me. i’m so confused with what im feeling.” he shook his head, so unsure.
“hm, i’ll go sleep with corey and jake.” they both nodded to that. “goodnight colby!” sam called out, walking in the same direction as the others did.
colby slowly approached elias’ room, pushing open the door gently. both bedside table lights were on, followed by a few candles around the room. he could see that the other boy was still awake. “oh hey.” he put down his book.
“hey elias. thought you were going to bed?”
“i was, heard some loud munchers in my kitchen though.” he giggled, as colby apologized. “no, honestly it’s okay, i was actually surprised how fast you guys decided to come to bed.”
elias yawned once more, stretching his arms out on the bed. “i can either sleep on the floor, make a little bed and shit, or if you’re cool i’ll just stay on the right of the bed.”
“literally don’t worry about it, not the first time i’m sleeping with a dude-” he paused, cutting himself off. “god that sounded bad.” he laughed, blushing with embarrassment. 
“wouldn’t be my first time either.” elias smirked, blowing a fake kiss before wheezing at their dumb jokes. 
colby moved closer, setting his personal backpack down and folding his jacket on the table. he shuffled towards the bed, and sat ontop of it. “i have no idea if i’m going to sleep tonight.” he sighed.
“that’s fair. it’s crazy out here. if you want we can just stay up and talk for awhile?”
“actually.. that would be nice.” colby rubbed the back of his neck. in was silent for a few seconds, him getting comfortable under the covers. “so..”
“how did you like the witches forest? scary enough for you guys?” the other asked, trying to start a good conversation.
“oh definitely one of the scariest places we’ve been to, like with the history of it and everything.”
“what other places have you been to?”
“uhh the stanley hotel, the biltmore, queen mary, cobb estate, griffin park, and we’ve explored so many creepy places, like morgues and abandoned hospitals.” colby explained.
“geez, no wonder you guys are haunted.” he laughs. 
“do you think we are? we joke about it but im genuinely curious if we are.”
elias thinks for a minute. “i don’t think you’re haunted. however, i can sense something with you. with you and corey. whatever is following you, is completely different then what is attached to corey. notice the different in words.” he points out. “i think you have gotten yourself into many negative situations, not just paranormal.” “would you consider yourself lonely, or sad?”
colby exhaled shakily. “yes, sometimes.”
“spirits love following people that are lonely, they find them to be like easy prey, vulnerable.” he emphasizes the last word. elias closes his eyes, really focusing on colby’s presence. “i think the spirit that is with you is also lonely. they are following along with you, because you are feeding into it, giving it attention. and that’s fine, but if you don’t want it with you, you have to make it clear.”
“is it friendly?” he asked.
“yes. it’s friendly. i can’t tell you where you picked this spirit up, but it’s positive, and enjoys your company. it will not hurt you-” he stops, feeling something float by him. “it will not hurt you, it doesn’t want to, that’s not it’s intent. infact, it wants to protect you. noises you might hear, when you go to a haunted area, it very well could be this spirit trying to assert dominance with other ones.”
“holy.” colby tried to calm his breathing. “this is crazy. as long as it’s friendly, then i welcome it.” “so, do you think corey’s ghost is like bad?”
“i wouldn’t say bad, but when i was sitting near him earlier, it isn’t as friendly as yours. it likes the fear that comes with scaring him, i’d even go as far as, it wants to scare him more, it wants to up it. and with that spirit challenging him, i am nervous for his health both physically and mentally.”
“jesus, i have to tell him that in the morning, he’ll probably freak.” he sighed. “it’s so cool how you can like sense this stuff, does it ever get overwhelming?”
“allll the time.” elias chuckles. “sometimes i can just be in a library back in la, and i’ll feel like some version of spirits and like all these weird emotions, and i have to leave.”
“wow i’m sorry that comes with such an amazing gift.”
“it’s okay, i feel at peace with it now. i think my brothers with me, helping me deal with it all. i think he realizes how alone i am, and has decided to follow me.” he laughs at himself. “sorry, sorry, let’s talk about something more fun.”
colby laughed along. “so do you have a girlfriend?” he wondered, making elias pause and blush lightly.
“no, i’m single.” “goes along with the loneliness, if you feel me.” he chuckled. “you?”
“same, it’s hard to date now that sam and i’s channel has blown up. a lot of people have tried to use me for like clout and stuff.” the other frowned at that, apologizing for his past experiences. “no, no it’s okay, i just hope i’ll find someone soon, i do feel you, it gets so lonely.” he fake cries.
elias sips his glass of wine, offering some to colby. “i’m a vodka and rum kinda guy.” 
and soon enough, the boys were drinking, gossiping to each other about absolutely everything. colby was a very talkative drunk it seemed. he was blabbing about his friends, girls, ghosts, anything. “so like, are you gay?” he asked.
elias spat out his wine back into the glass before turning to colby. “uh wow..” he rubbed the back of his neck. “where did that come from?”
“i-i don’t know.” colby admitted, trying to hide himself with the blanket. he really didn’t know why he asked, his weird confused feelings mixed with being drunk just made him ask, he was so curious.
“i’m bisexual.. how’d you know i was into men?” 
“i.. i didn’t.” colby mumbled into the blanket. he felt himself shaking, so nervous and anxious. he took a deep breath and exhaled aggressively before jolting up and looking right at elias. “i didn’t know you liked men but i think i do.” he rushed it out. 
“i’ve never felt anything for a guy before so i’m pretty freaked out right now and-d confused but i think i like you.” he rubs his eyes, embarrassed and uh pretty drunk.
“wait really?” he paused for a moment. ‘holy shit’ he thought. he never would have expected this, he just thought colby loved being physical with his friends from all the touches earlier in the night.
seeing that his confusing feelings were being reciprocated, it made elias the happiest he’s been in awhile. “dude, i feel the same way.”
colby stopped, completely still. both boys were completely shocked at each others confessions. 
“like i feel like i’ve known you for awhile.” elias commented.
“same.” he tried to think of what to say next, where to go from here. 
“hey.” the other touched his arm. “don’t get too nervous about this whole situation, we have plenty of time to get to know eachother, plenty of time for you to figure out everything you’re going through.” “don’t feel pressured into anything.”
colby thought for a few minutes. “thank you, i appreciate it.” “it’s.. it’s so weird feeling like this. ever since i was younger i’ve been so convinced that i’m straight, and now i’m getting all these feelings for you and it’s honestly making me scared. what if i do like you? does that mean i have to come out? tell my friends, family and viewers? what if i don’t and this is just a mistake?”
“you can.. or we can figure it out one step at a time.” elias smiled. “and by the way, never feel pressured to come out, it’s a personal and heavy thing to do.”
he shivered, tears threatening to spill. it was such a vulnerable moment for him. elias reached out to the boy, offering a hug. 
they shared a tight hug, elias rubbing his back out of comfort. 
their moment was interrupted by an incredibly loud bang, and three loud screams from the guys in the other room. “colby!” one of them shouted.
they pulled apart from their hug, just as the three barged into their room. “did you fucking hear that, bro?!” sam questioned, before looking at the people in front of him. he acknowledged how close they were, the slight tears in colby’s eyes,how intimate the room lighting was, the wine, the white rum.. 
oh fuck, they just interrupted a moment. 
the other two didn’t notice, too scared of the noises they’ve been hearing all night. “that was the loudest one yet!” jake announced. 
“i’m not going back in there.” corey whined.
“we’ve been hearing shit over there, what about you?” sam asked, before mouthing a sorry to the two sitting in bed. elias smiled at the gesture, before trying to wipe off his smirk.
“nope.” colby shook his head, his eyes less red then a few minutes ago.
“it’s safer in here.” corey stated, setting down the pillow he brought from the other room, and curling into a ball onto the floor, making elias laugh.
“are we having a sleepover?” he asked.
“oh, fucking totally.” jake snickered, running back to the other room and grabbing every blanket and pillow he could.
sam made a gesture with his finger, calling over colby. he noticed and walked to the bathroom with him. 
“uh, hey, sorry about that, we didn’t mean to interrupt you guys.”
“interrupt? you uh didn’t interrupt anything we were just talking.”
sam made a face, before nodding. it was his business, so when he wanted to tell him, he would, so he left it alone. “alright.. you ready for this sleepover?” he smiled.
“fuckkk yeahh.”
it had been over an hour, everyone was dead asleep, corey snoring. elias was the only one awake, he was too in thought to sleep. he watched over colby, who was laying right infront of him on the floor with the rest of the guys. they were each laying on both bed mattresses, covered in blankets, basically in a line.
he had been debating to put an arm around colby, but.. if they woke up like that he could expose colby to the rest of his friends, or atleast cause him to get teased. 
after a bit, he decided to shuffle his left arm under colby, so it was less noticeable. he held the boy, smiling, before finally falling asleep.
he didn’t know this, but colby was awake the entire time, smiling, wondering what the frick he was gonna do about this goofy medium he found himself possibly falling in love with...
329 notes · View notes
carrrrino · 6 months
Note
HELLO I am very excited for this project! I wanted to express a concern though…it’s rather hard to find the any info on the project aside from what’s on the blog (which isn’t…very much information wise) I’m not sure if that’s an intentional decision…
I know when I first found the info I….kind of didn’t believe this?? That sounds odd. I suppose what I mean is, it didn’t seem the most legit. I did digging through the blog, read all the links, searched for a Twitter and YouTube accounts and had a hard time doing that as well…Simply because there is very little information on it. Which there’s nothing wrong with…I was wanting to suggest (as an outsider) that you and your team put more announcements/ marketing into this…?
I REALLY hope to see this project grow, it’s absolutely deserved, and very few people seem to know about it. I’d hate that to be something people miss out on. I don’t really expect an answer on this but I thought I should share the concern as an outside perspective. 💛
I really hope this project is going well for you and that it gets the deserved recognition as it’s coming out!!! So excited!!!
I'm so happy that people share the same excitement and concern for the series. Also, the fact that you guys think it's worthy of success Is truly inspiring! I think it's time I SAY something though about my current situation.
TL;DR - Our team basically went inactive after the summer; everyone returned to their lives and I'm the only one who can keep up with the project unconditionally. I didn't mean to dishearten you guys! It's a pain in the ass to work alone - excluding voice actors and SFX producers. The OUTBREAK blog will change entirely, it will be used for info and marketing. This blog will just be general art created by me (&no-namestuff). I will continue to work on the series independently, but I'll definitely give out more info as requested and make things more legit whenever I can!
Tumblr media
Over the summer, a group of us began working on the project together, but as most of my friends returned to school and their regular lives, it became almost impossible to keep going. Currently, only a few are available to help, but they're too busy.
I didn't want to worry anyone by saying that it's basically just me working on the project; it's tough to balance animating, scripting, marketing, planning, publishing, AND funding by myself. Over time it (advertising and insightful communication) just became indifferent to me, I even considered going silent for a while until I had a mother-load of progress, but that's really not fair.
Tumblr media
The project was a bit of a mess when we started. We didn't plan on making it a big deal, my animations were half-assed and incomprehensible; I barely knew how to work Adobe and could barely even pay it off, the sound was going to be recorded via iPhone, the script wasn't even halfway done, and voice actors weren't thought of until the Prologue. After more than six months of work, Verse 1-4 (or 6?) was deleted because of issues with the file.. this really drew the line for everyone.
So here I am, despite everything; I revised the script, which is barely halfway done, redesigned the characters, read more into the multiversal conundrums of AUs and UNDERTALE, built a portfolio, studied poses for the action scenes — and there’s still a lot that I have to learn. I'm working on Q&As, asks, and the teaser / test / project animations. I don't want people to be confused or hesitant, so I appreciate you a lot for reminding me of this. As requested, I will provide additional details about the project too :) !
Tumblr media
No-Name's theme is in progress (thanks to Synth Mints), I've invested heavily in software for good quality animations, talented voice actors from this fandom (some you might even know) have agreed to voice for me - I'm extremely grateful for their help. Even if it takes years to release an episode or pilot, I'm still excited about the outcome. Who knows, I might even have a genuine team by then! :D
aw geez sorry for the whole bit-life story, I'm just trying to shed some light on the situation for you all. I do care, I want everyone to know that, it's just hard work.
Until the next teaser animation, please have these lil' pieces of teasers / lore as an apology!
Tumblr media
SD by @/galacii ERROR by @/loverofpiggies / CrayonQueen
LASTLY today is my birthday yayyy 🥳🎂
213 notes · View notes
beatrixstonehill2 · 5 months
Text
"Mmmm, happy Detrans December everyone! I am so excited I won the latest tag war, sorry Kara, better luck next year.... Or maybe you can join in with me and we can have ourselves another healthy competition? Just dm me if that sounds like fun, or do you just wanna jerk it to me going through male puberty and losing my gorgeous boobies? Either way....
Ever since I first found this tag I was so turned on by the idea. I started transitioning in like the sixth grade and I'm 20 now, so I've had no shortage of people try and detrans me already. Every single time it makes me rock hard. Always a new doctor, or boss, or some coworker that finds out. They start exclusively calling me by male pronouns and tell me how great I'd look if I detransitioned, that I'm already mostly a guy anyway, that I don't pass very well, and they always say me 'moobs' look ridiculous and I have to feel really embarrassed going out looking like this.....
I know it's just people being bigoted creeps, but every time it happens it turns me on so much. I have to run home and jerk off. You wanna know a secret? One of these pervy transphobes was a doctor I had a couple years back who put me on penile growth meds, despite me being on estrogen and progestrone. He said growing a 'fat cock' will make me realize I'm supposed to be male. I..... can't say he was wrong. He kept me on it for six months, and I had to find a new doctor when he outright prescribed me T, but I did fill my first script and have it waiting and ready to go. ❤️ I never post bikini pics or anything tight because my cock is already about a foot long and really thick. My balls are the size of plums! They make it kind of hard to sit sometimes. I bet if I went off my estrogen for just a day my body would be totally flooded with T from these things. Unsurprisingly I jerk off a lot, like a regular guy, I love having such a big fat cock. How could I ever pretend I'm a girl? I'm so silly......
So, as soon as I discovered Detrans December I looked up all the vids and whatnot and got totally addicted to all the pretty girls shooting up T and losing their girly bodies.... So the second I started getting tagged, you legit could not pull me away from my computer, I was scrolling through your tags and comments for hours a day, jerking off like a good boy.... Mmmm, I'm going to love finally taking T, although I love getting fucked too much to say I'll wind up as one of these straight gym dudes you see trans girls turn into.... Hey, Kara, you only live a couple hours away. What if we both became femboys.... dressed all girly, you have a big cock you were forced to grow, to.... I want our cocks so big they're impractical for fucking, they'll be way too fat.... They'll be perfect for our fans and random guys we meet at the club to abuse and smack around, same with our oversized testicles.... Won't that be so much fun? A couple of flat chested boys finally going through male puberty, hung like horses, just begging for our guy parts to be mistreated. I think we'd have loads of fun together, don't you? Oooo, we can even get top surgery together! I can't wait to lose these silly, fat boobs, and I know you can't wait to lose those ridiculous looking JJ-Cup boobs of yours..... I bet you're jerking off watching me say all this, aren't you? Good boy, now cum. ❤️"
100 notes · View notes
andscene-if · 3 months
Note
Move over, LIs, I am all about MC here! Big MChead over here and I have QUESTIONS!!
How old is MC?
Do they have siblings?
Did their parents keep them out of spotlight or was MC always around at premieres, red carpets, etc.?
Did MC willingly get involved in their parents' films? Or did they try to avoid appearing in them first before realizing no one else is willing to hire them for (insert reason here)?
Related to #4, did MC have a say in appearing in the family films?
Did MC have non-acting experience, like modelling, singing, backstage work?
Does MC use their normal name when acting or do they have a stage name?
Did they go to a performance/filming school?
Did they act in indie films?
How will MCs that normally wouldn't fit into the mold of a "Hollywood Movie Star" be treated? Like queer MCs, trans MCs, male MCs who are small and/or feminine, female MCs who are muscular and/or butch etc. Or for the sake of the story, will such things be ignored, which is more than fair?
wait, we're kinda in sync cause i've got an MC article queued haha
i imagine them in the 20-22 range, so relatively young
yes, one older sister and their age gap is 8 years, so you had slightly different childhoods. when MC was only 1/2 years old is when things really started picking up in your parents' careers, so you've never really experienced the "struggle life" per se. bc of this age difference MC and their sister tend to clash, especially if you're someone who parties 24/7. but your relationship can improve or worsen even more over the course of the story
they did take you to premiers, events, galas, and such. MC quickly got used to that, because they raised MC at the beginning/height of their career, so that's definitely a world MC knows very well
all their film creds were in their early/mid teens, so i'd say MC was pretty excited to be invited onto their parents' set as a legit actor, just bc i think lots of kids would be. and it was a calculated move on their parents' part to get MC's foot in the door. so, it's not bc people wouldn't hire them, they actually got plenty audition interest, but your parents were adamant on finishing school first + it's not like they were dependent on MC for money
maybe some films they were less ecstatic about, but it's not like they were casted as the lead/main ones. it was kind of like the Apatow family with their kids, where you play a minor role, get your name out there, and then have something to show off your acting experience
they received lessons in the big 3 (modelling, acting, and singing) during their childhood!
you can decide but that doesn't mean the media/public will respect that! (lots of them drop your parents' name when reporting on MC)
nope, the nearest performing arts private school was too far, so they decided on weekly lessons, and a private school within the area, so that their busy schedules didn't put too much of a strain on family time together
yes, a couple, after highschool. some they made with friends, unpaid and for fun, and others they were hired to do. but people don't really care about all that; they hear "nepo baby" and see the family production creds, and immediately stamp you as "undeserving & talentless". so only very few people know of those films in which MC actually performs quite well in
tbh, there might be a few comments here and there, but majorly it will be ignored for story purposes, as it would be very hard to add something unique to every person!
hope this gave much more insight!!
82 notes · View notes
sgiandubh · 3 months
Note
I laughed at your sweet Sam post. Not meanly but I did laugh because yours along with some others over the last few days show how very little there is to actually talk about. This fandom is almost completely dead. I've been here a long time and its been dying as the years and the wait between seasons lengthens and the engagement ceases, but this time seems the worse one by far. Tumblr is dead, Twitter is dead, IG does not lend itself to blog style posts so is also dead. Cast: giving nothing. TPTB: useless photos and occasional BTS videos with no new content/no context. It's a real bummer. I did smile to see Sam's sweet little face though.
Dear Dead Fandom Anon,
I think one of the most interesting things about a fandom experience (first and last, for me) is what you make of it.
Cast keeping it mum? No problem, but still intrigued.
Twitter dead? Twitter has been dead ever since it turned into X, this is barely news. But since it's also politically loaded, I am not going to discuss it: I have my red lines and do not see fit dragging my daily life in here.
Tumblr dead? Make no mistake: Tumblr is dormant. But throw this crowd something, like I inadvertently did with those old S&C pics, and just watch your clicks explode. This crowd is always hungry for more. Always. And mind you, people will still hang around at least until this show is over. Some to see the end of it, others to taunt the opposing faction, in a completely useless attempt to do some missionary work. So nope: not yet.
IG is, of course, a joke. It's primarily for selling a media profile to future studio honchos, agents and all the other Hollywood types you'd wish to work with in the foreseeable future. The day those uber-excitable ('SHOUTING, SCREAMING, THROWING UPPP TO SEE MY PARENTS LIKE THIS' - yes, this is fandom legit jargon, Anon) women will understand they are a tradeable digital commodity like any other is the day Insta will begin to crumble. We are not there yet and so I suppose we'll see more of those (young?) people shouting, and screaming and throwing up in celebration of 'their wonderful friendship for life' (🙄). Or C's make-up, since that's just about all she's showing her sans-culottes. Or S's biceps, since that's just about all he's showing his mommies (spare for the booze- and no, FMN not coming soon in a liquor store near you: moi aussi, je suis désolée). Your pick.
As for ***, well... Never ever in my life have I seen a company so endeavored to destroy whatever it managed to build, in terms of audience success, in such a short time span. Whoever planned the current wreck should get the sack, sooner or later and they have only themselves to blame.
Thankfully, this series will be over and done with. It is my deepest wish, Anon. And then, we shall see. We shall live and we shall see.
Keep calm and carry on: that's your (our, really) boredom speaking.
Tumblr media
48 notes · View notes
dozing-marshmallow · 5 months
Note
Hello! I was reading your Nibling reader and chris stuff.
Thought maybe I could request one(if that's okay-)
How about one with Nibling on total drama world tour that's terrified/disturbed by Sierra? (like I am now-shes creepy) like, they will go to the other side of the plan just to get away from her. Even if it means avoiding people they like(even Chris at one point) but then it gets to the point that Reader legit begs Chris to kick her off.
Kinda dark, but now whenever I see how Sierra treats Cody, it upsets me-)
Hope you have a wonderful day/night!^^
I hope you’ve been having wonderful days yourself! I’m so sorry I took a long time with this one my dear, I really hope you enjoy it and that it was worth the wait😵❤️!! 
CHRIS MCLEAN’S NIBLING! READER HEADCANONS (PART 8)
Tumblr media
Chris didn’t think through Sierra’s position on the show.
“Hm, Gwen... There’s something I wanted to tell you since I first saw you.” you swift your curious words up to the goth girl.
“Oh? What’s that, (Y/N)?” what did you want to say to her that you couldn’t before?
“Your hair... It looks like Coraline’s, doesn’t it?” the cyan black brushes upon her shoulders,“The colour, the length...”
Her facial features shake in surprise,“No way! You know that film?”
Who doesn’t!?,“Of course I do!”
“Who was your favourite character?” she asked electrified.
“The actors, Miss Spink and Miss Forcible!” you declare,“That scene where they were doing acrobatics had to be one of my favourite moments in the film!” you didn’t need to watch said scene physically for your mind to fly in amazement.
Gwen agreed, smiling with you,“I second that! But Other Father’s song has to take the ultimate cake for me.”
“Fair!” now time for the real question,“Do you think Coraline ever escaped?”
Gwen gives a tiny squeal, the happiest you’ve seen her with you,“I have been waiting to talk about this with someone!” She’s excited to discuss it. So were you.
Until Sierra walks in.
“Gwen, is it fine if we talk down there?” like excitement, your voice lowered, with your hand tugging her sleeve.
“How come?”
“Be...Behind.”
Gwen only had taken half a glance to inhale through her teeth and comply. By nature, shifting down to the other end of the economy class guaranteed no invisibility as Sierra sprinted to you,“OMG! It’s cousin and bridesmaid! Everyone on my blog has been dying to get some more nibling and contestant interactions! And I get to witness it in person, face to face...!” her voice sharpened down to a whisper at the last part, before steaming back up,“What are we talking about??”
“Erm...we weren’t talking about anything.” you couldn’t hold strict concentration on her, you might turn into stone,“I remember Chris said he needed to talk to me about something. Maybe next time.” you whisper to Gwen,“Sorry. We can talk about it later.”
Gwen nods as you hurry to the front of the plane, leaving her with Sierra.
“Uh...” she wasn’t a fan of her company either,“I should probably go check up on Leshawna.”
“Leshawna?” Sierra’s shriek did nothing to stop the goth from walking out,“Wasn’t she eliminated?”
Fast forward to another conversation she ruined.
“Uncle, do you remember the first time you flew on a plane?” you asked him in the middle of the first class section.
“Oh ho ho...” he had himself sat down in one of the golden seats. You know it’s gonna be good,“How could I forget? It was chaos! For a start, your nana lost her purse during security check so we spent an hour helping her find it. We thought we were gonna miss our plane, until they announced it would be delayed for three boring hours. When we did get on, we were seven hours in the air before turning back, because the plane we boarded had a faulty air pressure and there was a hurricane.”
...Wow. You could count on his stories for being wild, but a hurricane on top of a faulty pressure? That sounds like too much stress for one childhood,“That sounds so scary!”
He laughed,“Sure was! Your mom was crying for hours. She thought we were gonna like die.”
Of course!,“Eh? Didn’t you?” If you had been there, you would have responded the same!
“I diiid, but death comes for us all eventually. I’ve had near-death experiences growing up, so the whole thing just felt like missing the school bus. What can I do? I’m walking proof that God has favourites!” your uncle was awesome, but he can be quite a stretch. Still, you get what he’s thinking.
“...Do you think we’ll get any hurricanes?” your naive conscience was now screaming with dystopias of the plane crashing.
“Maybe. If we do, it’ll be one heck of an episode!” if you didn’t know better, you would have thought he wanted it to happen.
From the corner of your eye, you see Sierra finishing with forcing affection around Cody’s cheeks. She was now by herself.
Don’t come here...
Chris noticed first that you were stepping away.
“Something wrong, (Y/N)? Is there a hurricane coming?” it was meant to be a joke, but somehow was applicable.
“Chris... Please.” you gestured him to move with you, to which he responded in facial confusion. Why. Why didn’t he see you wanted to get away from her? Why was he still sitting there?
If keeping distance from your uncle meant you could avoid awful Sierra, so be it!
Speak of the striking devil...
“Aww! Aren’t I soooo lucky to witness my very favourite family bond!” she gushes, hurling her camera out from nowhere,“Can I take a photo of this for the fans?”
“Erm sure...” though you weren’t exactly spending time with Chris anymore.
“Smiiiile!” you don’t. She puts her camera down and gives you a saddening look,“Why so down, cousin? Is it because you don’t have any siblings or other cousins to play with? Oh, cousin! Don’t worry, don’t worry! My mom’ll be sure to give you some!”
“Huh?” what did her mother have to do with it?
Chris knew, by immediately remembering the last time Sierra opened her mouth around you,“That’s enough, Sierra.”
“But it’s true, Chris! You know you wanna marry my mom! We’ll all be one happy family! We’ll never cut ties!” delusion drives her voice as she rubbed her thumb on your palm, staring right into your eyes,“Did he ever tell you how babies are made?”
Okay.
That was a question you frequently thought about.
But with Sierra looking at you with that devious grin...
You lost it.
You took your hand back,“Leave me alone! I don’t want to know! I don’t want you to tell me!” you start crying. Why couldn’t she leave anyone alone?!,“I don’t like you! I don’t like you! I don’t like you!”
For someone who wanted kids, she was terrible with them!,“Now you’ve done it, Sierra...” Chris groaned at the girl whose rare panic tore her face, his arm shielding you,“Couldn’t keep that mouth zipped for a minute, huh?”
You’re brought into Chris’ quarters where he silently grasped you in his arms. You felt like a burden to your uncle, but you knew he would tell you that if it were true.
“Chriiis, I don’t like Sierra...” you sniffle, mouth sandpaper dry,“She keeps thinking we’re cousins and she keeps getting close to me! She never listens to me! Can you kick her off? Please, uncle?”
“I know, (Y/N).” he spoke, unmoved,“But I can only influence how the game plays. I can’t directly do anything, especially when Sierra is a huge attraction for ratings. It’s Team Amazon that makes the call to let her go.”
So... All you need to do is convince the rest of her team to vote for her? That should be a piece of cake, the superfan was unpopular with everyone. You wouldn’t be surprised if they already were voting for her.
“I’ll promise you that the next time we have Team Amazon voting and majority of their votes are for Sierra, I won’t decide to make it a reward challenge last minute.”
“Are you sure, uncle?” he was infamous for breaking his word,“Your fingers aren’t crossed, are they?”
He takes his hands up above you. Not a finger crossed,“Promise.”
You felt a little relieved that Sierra’s fate was partially determined,“Mm... What should I do then?”
“Just wait a little longer... She’ll be gone soon.” his words were a succour, but the sound of his voice makes you think
Will it really be soon...?
55 notes · View notes
mazzystar24 · 8 days
Note
I have been saying, and I will keep saying it, people are going crazy for Tommy because he is a white man. Because I’m pretty sure, that if Tommy and Eddie’s roles were switched, People wouldn’t act like this.
I’ve been MOSTLY lucky so avoided most of the racists (and I utilise that block button like my life depends on it)
I think that it’s less people are excited because Tommy is white it’s more just general happiness to see queer representation and also the storyline has been really nicely written so far and been really nice for buck
I think buddie would absolutely get the same if not double the hype were they to go canon, but I will say yes I FULLY agree that if it were buddie there would be the extra component of the racists emerging to have some OPINIONS on it, like for some reason white queer rep always seems to sit easier for people, Latino men especially have the stereotypes of masculinity and stuff that add to that , and if they go the catholic guilt route? Phew I pray for us with the amount of assholes that will be there
Back to the point tho, Tommy was legit flat out stated to be EXTREMELY similar to Eddie, so I think that there have been people who are very anti buddie and being very toxic while very pro bucktommy who have said some stuff that makes my ears quirk up like 👀👀 that had a little..undertone
Like I think that some things are only visible to like poc fans because we spend like our whole lives navigating and dissecting conversations that have no real significance to white people but like we KNOW what that person really meant if you get what I mean.
Just to clarify for any who will mistakenly (cough cough or intentionally) misunderstand me I AM NOT SAYING BUCKTOMMY SHIPPERS ARE RACISTS OR EVEN THAT ANTI BUDDIE FANS ARE RACIST IM SAYING SOME HAVE SAID THINGS WITH RACIST UNDERTONES
37 notes · View notes
funnylovepuppis · 7 days
Text
I should probably shut up about it because there is so many other people talking about it. But I can't stay silent about it. I can't stress enough how upset and uncomfortable I am with being here in buddie fandom right now.
As a bisexual myself, I agree with the importance of its representation in mainstream media. Especially when it comes to male characters, who are really low in static speaking. We can all agree on this, and hopefully, we can all see it. I'm really thrilled about Bi Buck's journey and about finding his happiness. He's not fixed, he just found out about his other sides he never knew they were existed before. As @m3r1m4r5u333 said in their post, bisexuality is not a personality, just a small piece in whatever color that is a part of many more pieces of soul. Buck, like many real-life people, is trying to figure out himself. I honestly don't think that self-journey will ever stop, not just on sexuality but on many other things. That's how living is, right? So yes, it's very exciting and kind of carefree for him, and I'm truly happy. He deserves it big time after all that he has been through. And I really think that Tommy is genuinely the right person for him at the moment.
But aside from me being bi, I'm also demisexual. Honestly it's more than that for me, because besides the need for emotional connection before sexual intimacy, I need some degrees of emotional connection before even getting into dating. So as you can see, I'm very much attached to Buck and Eddie relationship. I'm mostly finding myself a lot in Eddie's character. I do feel a lot of pressure on starting to date someone nowadays. And I'd probably be single for a long time because that's kinda how how people go to date. You meet someone you like and interested to explore the romantic dynamic and that someone is a completely stranger to you so it's kind of scary and stressful.. I'd rather be someone's friend and then lover..
Yes, best friends have a different kind of love than just two friends. That doesn't necessarily mean that it must have a romance subtext or under the surface, especially when it comes to two people of the same gender. And sure, all the things related to buddie are open to interpretations and any ways that people who see it differently are pretty legit.
We can argue about why things are the way they are. I can acknowledge that Eddie is not in the same emotional place as Buck, and it can be taking a long process for him, if at all, to realize his own feelings about himself and Buck. But at the same time, I can say that although it seems like Buck and Eddie communicate in a very healthy way, there's a sense of underground miscommunication that leaves both of them scared to make a move or talk about their deep feelings and observations on their own relationship. Because what they have is great, so why ruin it for a good change, right? And there is lots of evidence that saying buddie are partially soulmates. Having back from each other. Their reactions are when the other one is in a dangerous situation, such as the firetruck, the wall, the shooting, and the lighting strike. The will. The family moments of Buckley-Diaz. Going to each other's home as a safe place. The teasing from surrounding people about them. The jealousy. Their parallels to other couples on the show/
I guess I'm trying to say to the people who are feeling like some people are not very happy about Bucktommy because they are not appreciative of the new queer couple or the very fact that it's B-Buck canon. I understand the need for bi-representations and am happy to see that. It seems very worth the long wait for this. And yet, I want to say, give buddie stans time, including me. Because our feelings are legitimate and matter, too. It may come as rude or not excited about Bucktommy, but I think this is coming from being afraid and uncomfortable with how quickly many people from the fandom are shifting from Buddie to Bucktommy, even if they still believe in Buddie Endgame. Give us time to fall in love with this couple and connect with them. Give us time to warm up for them. Give us time because we have been attached to Buddie for 5 long years. We have been memorizing all of the episodes, plots, and quotes. Writing for 5 years, Buddie fics. Making beautiful gifsets and fan art.
Thank you for reading this if you have reached this far. 🩷
23 notes · View notes
yandereheathen · 6 months
Note
Hellooooooo i just wanted to say i really love Korm so far, its so so gooooooood <3 I would love to see what it looks like when they just go absolutely feral, like if they’re pissed off im curious see what the worst looks like 😈 thank you for listening luv u!!
AHHH MY FIRST ASK <3 I Legit fan girl so hard. I am so happy you like my cutie Korm. I didn't think people would like him this much <3 Here is a little dribble of angory Korm! You were found out: [18+ Yandere Korm OC Fic]
WARNINGS: NSFW (MDI) Knife play, violence, cussing, non-con, dark themes
Your hands shook as you looked up at the message on the phone Korm was holding up to you. It was a plan with your friend. To get you away from this house. You had been so careful. There was no change in your rituals, and you had submitted yourself to all of Korms…new care needs.
I needed to be more careful.
"K-korm, please, I don't know who that is or those messages. I love you, I would never." You tried lying, taking his arm.
He was smiling. You hated it when he did that. It always meant some form of pain would follow for you. You almost laugh thinking about how that smile used to warm your heart now, and it just makes you sick.
"Are you happy, Y/N?"
He lowers the phone, taking your face.
"i-i…am.."
You waver, unable to bring yourself to say what he made you say every night while he raped you while he fucked with not only your body but your whole being. You were so close to breaking that you could feel it.
"No. NO, I AM NOT HAPPY. I HATE YOU. I hate what you make me do. I hate that you lied to me. I hate that your mother and no one else will help me. You are a disgusting, sick, twisted little man. I hope you rot in hell."
You scream at him, the feeling of the last few weeks pouring out of your pain and frustration, and maybe the most prominent piece was his betrayal. It hurt so bad. In a tiny little part of your mind, you did love Korm.
Before he can speak back, you spit in his face.
Then, it was quiet as he blinked down at you. You immediately regret it. "Y/n" He sits up at full height; after this turn, you truly appreciate how big he was when he wasn't pretending. He wipes the spit off with one finger and slowly licks it off, savoring your taste for a moment before he closes his hands around your neck.
"Awww sweet Y/N Cute Y/N Someone just be grumpy from lack of sleep. Thats it. You have been taking such good care of me every night. However, we can't allow little sluts to talk like that to their future husbands, right? Humm?"
You shake your head frantically, crawling his hands around your neck. You try to rasp out pleas to let you go, but his grip is too firm. He moves close to your ear. "Let me get through your thick skull that I might be on the path to rot. However, you will be there with me. My wonderful Caretaker."
He pushes you down on the floor, standing over you, one arm painfully under his boot, the other pressing down on your head.
"You will never leave me Y/N. You were made for me. It is so pathetic watching you try to leave me. So cute. So Weak."
He grinds down on your head painfully. Your ears start ringing as you try vainly to get him off you. "P-please, please, Korm. I am sorry. I am so sorry. It hurts you are hurting me!" You manage to whimper, but as you have learned, this only excites him. How did your sweet, soft best friend turn into this sadistic monster? You didn't realize it was him all along. "Love is Pain Y/N. We will do this until you learn your lesson." He gives your head more pressure just enough to start to see stars before crouching and lifting you by your hair.
"Open" You do so now, crying, your face bruised and red from his boot. He smiles, running his finger around your mouth before playing with your tongue. "So warm. So soft. It's just everything about you, Y/n, so. I n t o x ic i ca ti ng. He whimpers; you see the bulge in his pants, creating a spot of precum from his excitement. Then he spits directly on your tongue, giggling to himself. "Swallow" you do so, almost gagging at the taste of him coating your mouth. "That is a good little one. I taste good, don't I? Savor it, Y/N."
You cry harder now. How could you think about leaving? You know he would find you. It hurt you and anyone who wanted to help you.
He moans at your sobs, kissing them as he pulls you into his lap on the floor. Cooing at you, you knew it was coming before you felt the knife on your back. You sobbed harder as it followed the still-healing scars on your lower back. He lifted you just enough to cut away nothing keeping him from being inside of you before focusing himself in with little to no preparation on your part. You scream out as he ruts inside you, panting as the knife with some sleight of the hand still barely nicks you, and he bounces you on his lap. "F-fuck, that's it. Cry harder, Y/N. Show me how much you love me. You feel so perfect around me now. Dont. I?"
He thrusts in at those last two words. You hide your face in his shoulder, a sniveling mess, and he breeds into you the knife, sending little pangs of pain with unwelcome pleasure.
That's when you realized.
You were already rotting in hell. With him By your side.
"I love you forever. My little Caretaker."
54 notes · View notes
Note
conservationist au already!? you write so fast dang (what are your secrets) (also it's okay if you want to keep them secret) (mostly i am excite for frog)
here she is! frog au! lol [ao3]
//
to see us blossom (while the green spreads like wings)
//
only our feet have been here, that i'm aware of. it's wild and remote and beautiful as can be. i just want to be quiet and love it. let it sink in. i'll be leaving the planet, sometime. and i'll miss it.
— dr. bruce means
//
'dr. silva,' diego bursts into your office, his hair fluffed and messy, 'i found someone for the expedition!'
'did you... run here?'
'yeah, from the lab.' he gulps a breath. 'i got excited.'
it's fucking awesome that diego, your favorite grad student, is coming on this expedition, but it's becoming a huge pain in the ass to plan — you try your hardest not to feel guilty about why, but it is mostly because of you — and is starting to feel more and more impossible by the day. you don't want to get your hopes up: you don't have that much funding, and it's starting to seem a little bit impossible logistically, even with dr. superion's help. but you'll humor him: 'so who are we taking with us?'
he waits a breath, practically bursting at the seams. 'beatrice zhang.'
'the photographer?'
'she's an experienced climber! you follow her on instagram, right?'
you have gratuitously followed beatrice zhang on instagram for the last four years — for her photography, because it is some of the most beautiful and thoughtful you've ever seen, regardless of the subject matter, but also for the occasional photo of herself, surfing or climbing or behind the camera, particularly delightful if it features her arms in a tank — but diego doesn't need to know that part. 'yes, her work is wonderful for lots of conservationist efforts.' diplomatic, you think, mentally patting yourself on the back.
'and she's hot.'
'i didn't say that.'
diego rolls his eyes.
'anyway, how would we even get her to come with us?'
diego grins. 'i emailed her.'
'what?'
he takes out his phone and shows you her instagram, which, indeed, does have an ‘email’ button, which, obviously, you've never paid attention to before. 'she hasn't responded yet, or her team or whatever, i guess, but i only sent it ten minutes ago. and it went to a legit address and hasn't bounced back, so, i just figured, why not?'
even though, last year, you had had a successful time in guyana, finding and recording a few new species, there are a lot of why not's, really: your GA probably shouldn’t be making these choices without consulting you first, but you don’t really care about that so much as your mobility is more limited than ever lately. the weather probably won't hold so who the fuck knows if it'll even be possible to reach to spot at all. and, plus, it's for a frog. one tiny frog, that may or may not exist — (you're sure it does) — in the middle of a jungle on the top of a tepui that's never been climbed. it's... a little crazy, when you think through it now, way crazier than it had seemed when you wrote the grant for funding last year. most people, even world renowned war-turned-wildlife photographers with insane biceps — especially them, probably — aren't interested in a project like this.
'well, the least that will happen is she doesn't respond,' you figure; you don't believe in any religion and life had dealt you quite the shitty hand for a long time, so if there's any balancing it out, maybe this will be a strike in the good column for you. so, 'yeah, you're right. why not?'
/
it's two days later when your phone vibrates about seven times; you roll over in... some girl's bed? okay, solid night, then, and when you look over at her, she's beautiful and fast asleep. you remember your fifth shot of tequila and vaguely how great riding her dick had been; you find your phone graciously plugged into a charger on the nightstand on your side of the bed, and when you go to the bathroom you see condoms in the small trash can — so, all in all, a success. your back is sore but not terrible and you groan when you see it's only six am, but there's texts from diego and you have a policy not to ignore those, no matter how stupid they occasionally can be.
these are unequivocally not stupid, though, because they start with dr. silva! and then ava!!!!! ava! and devolve into some emojis and then omg oh my god and finally check your email, which is really the only helpful part of that — but they're not stupid because when you do check your email, you see a forwarded message from diego first. it's a cordial reply to the email he had sent to beatrice zhang, from her, it seems, asking politely to be put in touch with the lead biologist on the expedition if possible. which, you remember with the tiniest bit of a happy jolt, is you. you open the newest email, which is, in fact, connecting you and beatrice. she’s already responded, and it’s kind of wild because, from the three short sentences asking if you could set up a video chat to talk more about the expedition or, if she happened to be close to where you were in the world, even meet near your office or lab for coffee, she sounds, well, at least interested. you don't think someone like her — someone who has photographed war, and famine, and wildfires, and, miraculously last year, a snow leopard and her cub — would even respond to something she didn't care at all about.
holy shit, you text diego. you need a cup of coffee, or, like, maybe three cups of coffee, and a breakfast sandwich before you can respond to that email, so you decide to get a move on. plus, it feels unhinged to respond to it from your phone, so you need to go home anyway. you should also maybe definitely shower, you think, as you look at yourself in the mirror: your makeup is a little smudged and your hair is an unrepentant mess. still hot though, you think when you quietly find your clothes and put your bra on, a deep teal that makes your boobs look awesome. thankfully, you were just in high-waisted, loose jeans and a cropped sweater last night, so after you wash your face and get dressed, it's not really giving walk of shame — walk of pride, thank you very much.
you google maps where you are and, thankfully, it's a nice enough morning and a short enough distance that you can walk to your favorite cafe and then to your apartment without having to call an uber. you grab your cane from where you'd left it propped up by the wall near the bed, and then, because you're definitely not an asshole, gently shake your, well, one night stand's shoulder. her eyes are green, and you do remember that much.
'i gotta go do some work, sorry.'
she nods. 'right. doctor.'
well, maybe you're a little bit of an asshole, but it's not your fault that people think you're a very important neurosurgeon or something. you are very important in cataloguing biodiversity, so you just roll with it. 'thanks for a great time.'
she nods with a soft smile, and it's nice to kiss her, gently, goodbye.
/
'wait, you're meeting with her? here?'
'yes,' you say, mostly annoyed at camila's vaguely unhinged energy. 'she's close by train, so it's better to meet in person.'
'oh my god,' camila says. she's one of your best friends and probably the smartest, most tech-savvy person you know. when you figured out how helpful it would be to have someone operate drones for you on this expedition, you hadn't even bothered to ask anyone else.
'don't you know her?'
'well, sure,' camila confirms. 'i did some drone work for her a few months ago in the bahamas when she was photographing sharks. but, like, she's amazing, ava.'
'well, hopefully she'll say yes.'
'you'll have to charm her.'
'i'm very good at charming hot women.'
camila rolls her eyes.
'i'm also very good at charming people to go find frogs with me.'
she waits for a beat and then relents. 'well, i suppose that's true.'
'come on,' you say, 'help me make a slide deck. i feel like she'd think that's sexy or something.'
'you're ridiculous.'
'it'll work, i'm telling you.'
/
beatrice zhang in soft wool pants and closed-toed birkenstocks and a crewneck sweater sitting ramrod straight at the decent cafe just off campus near your office is, quite honestly, not a sight you'd ever expected to see, but it is kind of a miracle. or, at least that's what it had felt like, when she had emailed that she was, actually, a few hours away by train and wouldn't mind a day trip to meet in person. you're glad that you wore your best professor outfit today, flared navy slacks that make your ass look divine, and a crisp white button up that you tucked in tight and rolled up at the sleeves, a camel peacoat and expensive loafers that dr. salvius had gotten you when you passed your dissertation two years ago. you usually wear... well, not this — you reserve this for conferences and presentations — but, if looking professional helps beatrice sign onto this project, so be it.
and, well, maybe it's not strictly professional to undo another button as you had walked to the cafe, and, like, you don't actually know if beatrice is gay or not, but you spot her and smile and wave and her eyes get big for a moment, and you’re afraid you’ve got it all wrong: you’re small and young and pretty and, sometimes, people think that disqualifies you from being smart. but then her eyes rake over you and linger, for just a moment, on your chest, so you're probably right. if this helps too, so be it.
you wave and she stands very formally; she clearly recognizes you, which makes you feel a small thrill of satisfaction. 'hey, glad you found it okay.'
'i've had much more difficult locations to navigate before, although the freshman can be a bit scary.'
it's deadpan, so it takes you a split second, but then you laugh and offer your hand. 'i'm dr. silva.' you want to roll your eyes at your title, which you normally feel quite proud of, all of a sudden. 'ava, any pronouns.'
'dr. silva,' she says anyway, and shakes your hand firmly. 'it's a pleasure. i'm beatrice, she/her.'
only after do you sit, a little sprawled, and prop your cane up on the table, does she sit too, and then looks down at the menu. 'do you recommend anything? i haven't had lunch yet.'
'well, if you're like, uh... —' falling prey to diet culture, you think, but you don't know beatrice at all, so — 'wanting a vegetable forward option, their salads and quinoa bowls are okay.'
she wrinkles her nose. you hide a smile in the collar of your coat.
'but their kimchi fried chicken sandwich is my favorite.'
'and the slaw?'
'well, i'm a fries girl.'
she smiles over the top of her menu, just slightly.
'but my friend likes the slaw, and i trust her.'
she nods and sets her menu down, her wrists resting on the edge of the table, her hands clasped. a practical smart watch, no wedding band. her full attention is on you and it makes you feel a little breathless.
you're saved from saying something incredibly dumb — you're very, very smart, and you're actually very good at flirting, but beatrice zhang is hot as hell and a certified badass and you also really want her to be, like, your colleague — when your server comes to your table. you both order, and you get the fried chicken sandwich too, even though you already ate lunch an hour ago — diego's always happy to eat your leftovers out of the fridge in the lab anyway.
you're not saved from saying something marginally dumb, though, because beatrice kindly thanks your server and hands over her menu and then looks at you again, fully focused.
'i like your hair,’ you say, instead of, well, anything else. you want to groan and slam your head down into the table, or something, because beatrice's brows knit together and she brings one hand to run through her floppy middle part, short in the back and on the sides, pushing it out of her eyes.
'oh,' she says, softly and definitely confused. 'thank you.'
you're sure you're blushing. 'sorry, i just, like, the last time you posted — you had long hair.'
it's mortifying, the moment you say it, because you can mentally calculate the last time beatrice posted a picture of herself on her instagram, and it was definitely over a year ago.
she also seems to realize this, because her confusion turns to a smug little smile that could probably eat you alive. you'd definitely let it.
'i read about the last species of frog you discovered, when the article came out.'
that was also over a year ago, and you laugh, tension releasing from your shoulders. 'so that’s how you knew what i looked like.’
‘sure.’
to be fair, the article did include a picture of you, muddy and sweaty and overjoyed, holding a tiny frog in the palm of your hand, but, ‘did you google me?’
‘i only take on projects, at this point, that i find interesting.’
‘so you think i’m interesting.’
she raises a brow, a scar that also wasn’t there over a year ago running an inch above it and then straight through, cleanly healed but not faded yet, stopping right on the top of her cheek — thankfully your brain didn't comment on that, even though it's kind of hot too. ‘i think that fact that you've already identified six new species of frog two years into an assistant professorship is interesting.’
'so that's a yes.' you grin. ‘want me to tell you about the project, then?'
she thanks your server when he brings her water and your lemonade of the day, and a coffee, and then leans forward in her seat. ‘yes,' she says. 'i do.’
you tell her about it as coherently as you can: you're sure there's a brand new species of frog — maybe more than one, if you're lucky — on the top of a land mass deep in the forest in guyana. you've secured enough funding to make it happen; bare bones, but still. you have diego and yasmine, your grad students, and michael, another assistant professor in your apartment who's helped you on expeditions before, mostly by carrying a bunch of shit. you've gotten camila — who beatrice is also very excited to work with again — to sign on to do tech work for you. dr. superion and dr. salvius are helping from here.
'so, anyway, i need you to climb the tepui.'
beatrice sits back when you're done, flicks through a few slides on your laptop that you'd handed to her with pictures of the jungle, the cliff face, the budget outlines and logistics and equipment you anticipate you'll need.
'do you know a lot about climbing?'
it's kind — to not assume that you don't; to not expect you to either. you shake your head no.
'i'm an alpinist, for the most part,' she says, 'which means that i climb, well —' she pauses.
'no need to be modest for me.'
she offers a small smile. 'i've climbed eight of the ten tallest mountains in the world.'
hot, you think, but you take a deep breath instead and say, 'that's impressive.' nailed it.
'yes, well.' she blushes. 'thank you. but this kind of climbing is traditional climbing — big wall climbing.'
'oh.' you frown. 'so, you can't do it?'
'i can,' she says, 'and i'd like to. i think i know enough of biology to be marginally helpful, and i can certainly photograph the expedition.'
your heart soars, warming your whole body, and you take a bite of your lukewarm sandwich to hide your smile.
'but i'll need a team. i'm confident that i'll be able to get up the wall, but i'm not experienced enough at this kind of climbing to lead on all of these passes.'
'we might not have the funds to pay much, if you bring on more people.'
she shakes her head. 'i have access to plenty of discretionary funds, so that shouldn't be a problem.'
'that's hot.' well, you tried.
she laughs, thank god. 'i just wanted to make sure that you and your team are okay with me bringing other people on.'
'as long as they aren't, like, shitty, you know. racist, homophobic, ableist. all that stuff.'
she nods, very seriously. 'i can assure you that, while one of my climbing partners is inclined to be an asshole, it's always done with respect toward important identities. she's more annoying than anything. and my other partner is the best person i know.'
'well, other than me, now.'
you can tell beatrice is torn between smiling and rolling her eyes; she does a bit of both. 'and, as far as logistics go, i could easily provide a helicopter to get us in as far as possible. less of a hike.'
it's impossible that beatrice didn't see your cane. 'i have adaptive equipment for myself. i can do the hike.'
but her brows knit together. 'yes, i assumed so: you're leading the expedition. i just meant, for my team at least, the fewer miles we have to bring photography and climbing gear in a jungle, the better. it's heavy, and then we have to do a major climb.'
'oh.' you bite your bottom lip. 'that makes sense. sorry, people suck sometimes.'
'i imagine so.' she looks at you very sincerely. 'i'm sorry.'
you wave her off. 'thanks. it is what it is, though.'
beatrice doesn't try to argue, although you can tell that maybe she wants to. 'anyway, whatever you think will help your team, and whatever will help mine, that falls outside of your grant funds, i can cover.'
'that's — are you sure?'
she nods. 'quite.'
'where did you get these discretionary funds?' you can't help asking.
'a bad man,' she says, leaning forward and whispering dramatically. it makes you laugh.
'ooh, did you kill him? warlord?'
'alas, no. my father, and he's already dead.'
'ah.' you snap your fingers. 'well, if another opportunity comes up, you just let me know. i have tons of lethal neurotoxins in my lab. i'm always down to... you know — murder —' you whisper — 'a billionaire. long haul ethics, you know?'
she nods very solemnly, fighting a smile. 'i'll keep that under advisement.'
you fight the urge to ask her for a drink, and you definitely stare at her mouth a little too long, but then you get it together and offer your hand. 'well, partners?'
she shakes it, hers strong and rough with callouses. the thought sends a little shiver up your spine, but you valiantly ignore it. 'partners.'
/
beatrice invites you, after a few days of emailing back and forth to create an updated budget and logistics plan, to meet at a climbing gym. it's to meet her other two team members first. before you all get together with your main crew for dinner afterward. she'd given you their names, headshots, and very formal bios, which you had kind of loved: lilith, who, according to beatrice's bio, will be the lead climber. when you google her, you find out that she's, like, a world champion big wall climber, so that bodes well. and then mary, another photographer and world class marksman — I know this isn't particularly relevant, beatrice had included as a footnote, but it is quite impressive — and avid climber too.
you're hopeful about it all, and you're hopeful that tonight maybe she just wants to see you alone, and to have you watch her climb. there's, like, a two percent chance you'll physically be able to climb, really, but that's fine. she'd texted you about it, far less formal than her perfectly punctuated emails, so that's a good sign. and she'd posted a recent picture someone took of her — a candid, petting the trunk of an elephant peacefully — on her instagram too. maybe that was scheduled — beatrice seems like the kind of person who would schedule instagram posts — but a girl can hope, you know? you liked it one hour and fourteen minutes after she posted, from the lab's social media account and not your personal one, so you figure you've handled this all perfectly. you're great, beatrice is a colleague, and you've got this.
you're stressed about what to wear to a climbing gym and then to get dinner afterward, although there's probably a locker room or something, but it's fine. you're hot in anything. (or nothing. not that the night is going to go there.) you settle on tight leggings you wear to the gym and a sports bra, a cropped jacket on over. it's, like, cute and femme, but also practical. you brush on some mascara and put part of your hair into a little bun so it won't fall into your eyes, and you pack a spare change of clothes in a canvas tote — slacks and a nice bra and a t-shirt that hugs your body perfectly along with a pair of platform converse and an army-green overshirt — in case everyone else changes before going to dinner.
you grab your cane and head out the door.
/
if you fall to your death, it's definitely not going to be because of your back or legs. it's going to be because beatrice is in loose pants that seem comfortable for climbing and a tight racerback tank, and when you walk in, she's hanging by one arm on a short wall, just chilling out there, before she seems to decide what she wants to do. she brings her legs up to find footholds and then she's almost upside down, holding onto the wall with both hands calmly and moving so fluidly — a leg stretching out, her chalked fingers grasping onto a tiny hold. there's a delicate tattoo along her right forearm, all linework, and there are scars all over her left shoulder, running down to her elbow from what you can see: some are jagged and some are clean, neat, like surgical incisions. they don't seem to be limiting her progress at all, because she moves over the outhanging ledge easily and then to the top before just letting go and calmly rolling to her feet after she lands without a sound.
the — very hot — woman, lilith, you know from the headshot, sitting on the floor next to the wall, legs outstretched, leaning back on her palms set flat on the ground behind, and looking impossibly graceful while doing it, groans.
'getting stuck that long on a soft V8? come on, beatrice.'
beatrice, to her credit, just shrugs.
'shoulder?' the other woman asks.
'it's fine,' beatrice says. 'just getting back into the groove of your tiny walls.'
'oh, ha ha.'
'8091 meters will really change your perspective. you should try it sometime.'
'no thanks, i'll stick to my world records, thank you very much.'
they seem like they might physically fight, but then they both start laughing. weird, but you fuck with it.
beatrice turns, her hands on her hips, and, like, whew, god fucking bless, and then waves with a smile when she sees you. she walks over. 'hello ava.'
'hey,' you say, suddenly feeling a little awkward: you have not a single idea what you're doing. 'that was pretty impressive.'
'it was not,' the lilith says.
beatrice heads toward her anyway, and you follow. 'you can ignore her most of the time,' she says. 'dr. silva, this is lilith. lilith, dr. silva.'
'just ava.' you look at beatrice with a raised brow. 'please.'
lilith lazily salutes. 'ava, then. our illustrious leader, i hear. beatrice is making me lead a 1000 foot first ascent for a frog?'
'i'm not making you do anything,' beatrice says, and lilith grumbles like a teenager. it's funny, and you decide that you like her then and there, even if she scares you a little. she scares you a little more when she gracefully gets to her feet. she's tall and imposing, with a sharp face and long hair braided back, more wiry than beatrice's bigger muscles, but — you're sure — just as strong.
she offers her hand, which you shake. 'in my defense,' you say, 'it is a very cool frog. we can even name it after you, if you want.'
this seems to amuse her, because there's a hint of a smile on her face.  'i do like first ascents anyway.'
'see,' you say, 'that's the spirit.'
'ava,' beatrice says, 'no pressure, but i thought you might find it fun to try climbing. only if you'd like.'
'i'm, uh —' you gesture a little clumsily with your cane, the tips of your ears turning red. 'not sure that i can?'
'mary is an adaptive climbing instructor,' beatrice says, gesturing over to the taller wall with ropes connected through pulleys at the top, where a strong Black woman with perfectly neat braids and a dark outfit on is sorting through a few harnesses on the ground. 'but if you'd rather not climb, lilith and i are just finishing up. we can show you a few things we've been practicing in anticipation for the route, and then change and go to dinner.'
beatrice doesn't say either choice with any more or less merit, or worth, or importance: they're choices, and they're yours, and they won't affect how much she trusts you or believes in the expedition. lilith is checking her phone, uninterested at this point, and you decide, as you always have, to try.
'yeah, sure. i have no idea what adaptive climbing is, though.'
beatrice smiles and lilith stays on her phone, texting. 'that's fine. i have no idea about ninety percent of what you study.'
'i find that hard to believe. you're a wildlife photographer.'
she hums, softly touching your elbow and then walking toward mary. 'conservationist photography, sure. but i'm not a biologist.'
you make a note that beatrice doesn't really like wildlife photographer as a job title, although she was polite enough to not outright tell you so. 'well, i'm not a climber, so, quid pro quo?'
'ah, but you will be after tonight,' mary says, standing with a smile and offering her hand. 'dr. silva, right?'
'just ava,' you tell her, endeared by the fact that beatrice had probably been very formally saying dr. silva to her team this entire time. you shake mary's hand as firmly as you can and feel immediately a little more relaxed with the confident, easy way she holds her shoulders, her kind smile, her bright eyes.
'beatrice and i go way back,' she says. 'this project of yours sounds amazing. i was excited when she asked if i wanted in.'
'of course i'd ask,' beatrice says, bumping mary in the shoulder, who rolls her eyes fondly.
'well, beatrice said you were promised an adaptive climbing lesson.'
'if you're still in,' beatrice says, 'mary can show you the ropes.' she laughs at herself. 'literally.'
mary groans, but you're delighted. 'well, don't leave me hanging.'
'no. not another bad pun aficionado. please.'
beatrice grins and you sling an arm over her slightly sweaty and delightfully strong shoulders. she stiffens a little, and mary looks to her for a moment, and you're worried you've overstepped, and fast. but then beatrice relaxes.
you step back and gesture between the two of you happily. 'is this our thing now?'
'if trading terrible puns is wrong, then i don't want to be right.'
mary groans. 'not sure why i agreed to this trip after all.'
'we can name a frog after you, if you want,' you offer.
mary perks up. 'really?'
'yeah,' you say, 'sure. i've already named one after myself and given five others the dumbest, gayest names i could think of.'
'i'm back in, then.'
you laugh. 'well, let's rock and try not to roll.'
mary sighs, but beatrice's muffled laugh into your shoulder is way worth it.
/
Hi Ava, I'll be in town today to get some equipment squared away. I was wondering if maybe you'd like to have dinner if you're free. No shop talk, unless you want
you read and reread the text. you'd gone over shitty — expected, but still shitty — test results from an mri at your neurologist's earlier today, and, even though your team seemed to gel the other night, and all of your logistics are much less daunting now that beatrice has covered some of them financially, you had planned to stay home in your favorite boxers and most comfortable hoodie and wallow with a mediocre bottle of wine and good pizza and great reality tv.
but — hey, that sounds sweet. any places in mind?
beatrice texts back almost immediately. I don't know the area too well. You can pick, if you'd like
like, you're colleagues. you're about to be in one of the most remote parts of the world together in five days, with just a handful of other people, for weeks, maybe longer. you're the leader of the expedition but beatrice is, in important ways, a leader too. she's smart and beautiful and handsome and focused. if it's a date, incredible; if it's not, you still want to know her, you still want to spend time in her gentle warmth.
any food allergies/hatred?
she responds, No, I'm pretty adventurous
still, no clarity, but you set a place and time — one of your favorite tapas restaurants with a great little bar and, if it gets late enough, a good dance floor — and then set about getting ready. you eat a banana and take ibuprofen, which hopefully will help you be able to dance without much pain, and then get as pretty as you deem not desperate for a normal dinner with a colleague to be. which, it's you, so you're still very, very pretty, including one of your very best cleavage tanks. you finish your eyeliner perfectly and blow yourself a little kiss in the mirror. for good luck, or whatever. it's science.
/
'i got tired of it,' beatrice says. 'war photography is...' she pauses, and shakes her head, like she doesn't quite know what to tell you. you're totally sure she's not telling the truth, not really, but you know not to push, to spook her away. 'i could leave,' she settles on. 'as much as i hate the west, as much as i hate american and european, especially british, foreign policy, and its destruction of the world — i got to take pictures, and leave. at first, i thought it was something important i could do, to record the truth. political inherently, anti-imperialist, without being in politics. but, i was in occupied palestine, and, then, after —' she clears her throat, brings her fingers up to ghost over the scar through her brow — 'after. i couldn't do it. they're wars because of my history — our collective history — but they weren't my wars. they aren’t my wars. i can’t photograph them, at least right now. because i got to leave.'
you're horrified that she might start to cry — which isn't horrifying, not at all, you cry all the time, but you're supposed to be having a nice meal with your colleague and you had asked what you thought was an innocuous question about how she got into her more recent conservationist work, but clearly, not innocuous. you're starting to think, with a kind of clarity you very rarely have about anyone, that nothing about beatrice herself is innocuous. even her collarless button down and loose pants cuffed at the ankles — and the way all of her clothes, ever practical, drape with a tailored casualness on her small, strong frame — her easy hair that’s always actually perfectly trimmed and styled, the pattern of callouses on her hands: everything about her is intentioned. she means what she says. she means what she does. she means who she is.
'i started studying frogs with my mom,' you offer. it's true, and you mean who you are too.
she takes a sip of her water and nods in what you can tell is a quiet relief.
'my family is from manaus. my mom wasn't a scientist or anything, she was a bank teller, but when i was little, we'd go out often. she loved the rainforest, so, you know, i loved the rainforest.'
beatrice smiles gently. 'that sounds beautiful.'
you stare down at a croqueta and tear a small piece of it off, let the old ache fill your chest. 'she died, when i was seven.'
'oh,' beatrice says, 'i —'
'— it was a long time ago,' you say.
'sometimes that doesn't make it hurt any less.'
it's permission, to feel how you need to. most people accept when you tell them that and move on in relief, unwilling or unable to give you the space. but beatrice sits steadily. 'i broke my back, during the car accident we were in; we were visiting spain and, well. i had to relearn to walk. it took a really long time, and the orphanage i grew up in wasn't big on good physical therapy or really any care, so i taught myself what i could outside of school, got into university, got good medical care for the first time, like, ever. and i started studying biology. i went back to the rainforest as soon as i could, as a research assistant, and guyana was ... it's mind-blowing, bea.'
she weighs it all in contemplative silence for a moment, trying to decide what you need; what relief she can give. ‘i can't wait to see. i've always wanted to go.'
it is relief, what you feel, to be so immediately seen and understood. 'well, it's not just anyone i'd want to bring to the rainforest. my mom's favorites were always frogs, so —' you shrug, suddenly a little at a loss.
'so here we are, about to go find another.'
you pop the croqueta into your mouth, feel the dull pain in your chest dissipate when you realize you're close enough to beatrice's face to see her freckles. 'i have spinal stenosis, from the accident. it's progressing pretty fast, even with the best medical team, tech, surgeries, all that.'
she nods, like she understands what you mean without making you have to say it. it's a gift, bigger than she probably knows.
'i really want to find that fucking frog.'
'well,' she says, and lifts her glass, 'to finding our frog.'
'you know, it's bad luck to toast with water.'
she frowns. 'i don't usually drink.'
'you're very... controlled.'
she waits a beat and then grins. 'okay, one beer.'
'fuck yeah!'
'one, ava.'
'mhm. whatever you say, bea.'
/
'i have to take the train back,' beatrice argues — or, at least, tries to argue, because her eyes drift down to your boobs when you take your sweater off. success.
'you can just stay at my place. i have a mediocre ikea couch.'
'i can't let you sleep on your own couch.'
you laugh. 'oh, you definitely get the couch. i need all the good mattress support i can get before i sleep in a tent for a month.'
she smiles, gently and a little sad, but then the moment passes, a kind of grace. 'fine.'
'really?'
the set of her shoulders is looser but still sure, still so, so certain. 'yes.'
'hell yeah!' she laughs. 'shots?'
beatrice pulls a face but you order lemon drops anyway, mostly because vodka seems neutral and they're a good shot for people who don't drink often, sweet and tangy and fun. beatrice sniffs hers first — bold move, big mistake most of the time — but then nods in approval.
'to our frog,' you say, and she clinks her glass with yours. you touch it to the bartop and she follows suit, and then take it as smoothly as you can. it's an easy drink, so you don't have any problems, and she swallows without too much of a grimace. 'okay?'
'it's not bad,' she says, and your whole body hums, probably because of the two margaritas you had with dinner and this shot now, but also because there are freckles stretching across her cheeks and gold flecks in her brown eyes and if you let yourself look closely a tiny split on her lip, probably from the dry, cool air recently.
you shake yourself out of... whatever that was, and you order two more shots; she takes hers without hesitation this time, laughing when you spill a little down your cheek. she reaches a hand and wipes with her strong hand, tender, over the corner of your mouth, down to your jaw, and then clears her throat, takes her hand back quickly, although you want to ask for her to stay. but instead, 'come on, bea,' you say, 'let's dance!'
she only groans in a show of protest for posterity, you're sure, because she's very strong and you're very small and when you tug on her wrists she follows you easily.
you love to dance; you have always loved to dance: what little you remember of your mom is full of green, the rainforest and the wall of your living room. she would push back all the furniture to the edges, just the two of you in a small apartment, where you slept in the same bed and ate fruit from the trees outside. she would put on britney spears and jump around with you; she would put on stevie nicks and hold you in her arms, swaying around. she was full of light, from what you remember, always ready to read to you, in portugese and in english; to help you with your math and your handwriting. she cut your food for you and bought you new shoes when yours wore through the soles. she had been a good mom in the way good moms are: happy to hold your hand, to rub her nose against yours, to let you eat the batter off the spoon. you don't remember much, not before the accident, but it had been easy, and beautiful — the mist and orchids and green, all around.
beatrice is a little stiff until you start jumping around, fully out of time with the music, just to make her laugh. and she does, a smile lighting up her whole face. her body is graceful like this too, like it's always somehow known exactly how to move. you wonder, fleetingly between songs, what she was like as a child, if she was as sure and smart and kind as she is now. someone crowds into her space from behind and then you're not thinking of anything other than the tickle of her hair against your cheek as she presses into you, the lilt of her laugh into your ear, the hard muscles of her shoulders and the soft, small swell of her hips when you bring your palms to rest there. you're drunk and she's beautiful, and you've kissed lots of beautiful people when you've been drunk. but she closes her eyes and sways to the beat and it's like the rest of the world falls away. it's like there's only you and beatrice and the cloud forest, above anything else that has harmed and will harm again. there's her gold skin and scars and tattoos hidden under her shirt, the healed slices down your spine, the air between your bodies: sweaty, sticky with spilled drinks, thumping bass, everyone else in this bar. there's only the two of you, and it's a little like you've been punched in the gut: you're falling in love with her. it's easy, right now, to put a name to it all, when you can look at her jaw without reproach.
she opens her eyes and looks at you, a smile on her face, and leans in your direction. it's easy, to bring your hand to touch where you had been staring, to say, 'bea,' as she laughs into your neck, says, 'this is so fun, thank you.' it's hard to not kiss her, but she's ... extraordinary, and you don't want your first kiss to be in the middle of a mid-at-best dance floor after a few shots. you want it to be somewhere beautiful. somewhere you already know; somewhere you're certain she'll love.
'let's go home,' you say, because you had done another round somewhere between songs and she's slightly unsteady on her feet. she nods into your neck and you take her hand.
/
you walk back to your apartment with her, one arm looped through hers — 'very gallant,' you'd said when she'd offered, and even in the dim light from the moon and streetlamps you had seen her blush — and your other hand using your cane. she had found it for you, tucked behind where you had been sitting at the bar; she hadn't asked anything about why you didn't use it when you were dancing, or why you need it now. you know so many good people and you organize a lot with some of your other friends who work with the disability center at the university, but there is some kind of a revelation about being seen so wholly.
but maybe you're also just a little drunk, because she sways a bit as you walk and her accent is lilting, tender, her hair messy in her eyes. it's probably as soft as it looks; you had lost your hair tie somewhere between shots two and three and you tuck yours behind your ear. you have so many questions you want to ask her but you hold them in because she looks up at the moon and the stars and it's enough, to be here with her. to know her laugh, now, and the way she has hurt too.
it's enough to just walk.
/
it hadn't actually taken too much convincing — after you unlocked the door and gave her some choices in pajamas, soft sleep shorts and a big cotton crew her eventual choices, and gotten her a glass of water and a few cheddar crackers — to get her to agree to sleep in your bed with you. perhaps it had been because your couch is ... an unknown number of years old — 'listen, bea, phd students make, like, no money, and it was twenty bucks on craigslist three years go' — or maybe, maybe, it's because she just wants to.
you settle in first, listen to her brush her teeth with a spare toothbrush you'd given her, and wash her face with your facewash — that she had frowned at, accidentally rude but pretty funny and, like, fair, you got it from the drug store on the corner and you're sure she has a whole understated fancy little routine when she's not out in the field — and then wash her hands after going to the bathroom. you love sex, so you sleep with people often. you've had a boyfriend before, that you cared about deeply, so there's some parts of intimacy that are familiar to you, of course. but this, beatrice carefully climbing into bed next to you, with her freckles and her eyelashes and the pink of her lips, is different: you're not going to kiss her, not right now. you're not going to reach out and put your palm on her jaw like you want to, or feel the warm skin of her ribs, the goosebumps that would inevitably rise there if you raked your nails across the ridges. you're not going to because, you know, somewhere elemental in you, that you want to know her, and love her, for a long time. you want to take her to the rainforest.
'where's your favorite place in the world?' you ask instead, whisper it into the dark, the soft outline of her face.
she's turned toward you, her hands tucked carefully under her chin; it makes her look younger. 'tibet. the himalayas.'
'makes sense. you and your big mountains.'
'what's the last mountain you... summited?'
'annapurna. it's the tenth tallest in the world.' she pauses, considering. 'are we playing twenty questions?'
her eyelids are drooping. 'i don't think you're going to be awake for twenty questions.'
she laughs softly. 'i want to ask you one, though.'
'hmm. sure. two to four questions, then.'
'do you... uh, well, okay. do you like women?'
it's so awkward, so out of place for someone so sure, that you have to fight the urge to burst out in laughter. but it's also soft, and nervous, her eyes wide. it makes you feel sixteen again, full of possibility. 'yeah, bea. i'm bi. i love women.'
she nods, tucks her hands even tighter under her chin, lets a big relieved breath out. 'cool.'
'yeah?'
'mhm. i'm a lesbian, if you didn't know.'
you want to say you're the gayest looking person i've ever met but you refrain. for the romance of it all. 'good to know.'
she tries hard to wink and fails miserably. you let yourself, just once, just for a moment, reach out and run your hand through her hair. she leans into your touch, relaxes under it, before you fold yourself back onto your side of the bed. 'you have one more question.'
'so do you.'
'okay. hmm. favorite ice cream flavor?'
she laughs. 'that's what you want to know.'
you nod. 'it's very important information.'
'okay.' she thinks hard about it, genuinely. 'mint chocolate chip?'
'that's so boring, jeez.'
'oh, i'm sorry. simple combinations of dynamic tastes is probably too sophisticated for you to understand.'
'okay, ratatouille.'
she tries, a valiant effort, to not crack a smile, but she eventually does. 'okay, my turn. favorite color?'
you let your eyes fall closed and imagine it all, the sharp thorns and the torrential rain and the chirp of the neon blue frog you'd found last time. you think about taking her there. 'green, of course,' you tell her, a promise, a future in the clouds. 'green.'
196 notes · View notes
cjstheshethey · 8 months
Text
I really wanna talk about Blue Beetle and why it's so important to me. SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT!
Ever since this movie was announced, I was excited because I have familiarized myself with the character of Jaime Reyes for over a decade now. My sister introduced to me to the character when we had our late night Young Justice marathons during a vacation in Mexico back in 2013. Eventually, we got to season 2, where Jaime was introduced. I remember when he would speak Spanish, I would say "Hey he speaks Spanish like us!" And sometimes my non-English speaking cousins would join us watching the show, and when he spoke Spanish, they were able to understand him. As time went on I kinda forgot about DC for a while since I was gaining other interests until Young Justice came back for its 3rd and 4th seasons(This is also your subtle sign that if you haven't watched Young Justice you should do that). Naturally, Jaime is still one of my favorite characters in the show. While I was still in my Young Justice hyperfixation, It was announced that a Blue Beetle movie was happening and even had some concept art shown. Me being the superhero loving Mexican nerd that I am, I was already hyped, and we hadn't even gotten a trailer yet. Then, on April 3rd of this year, the first trailer came out, and I was so excited. DC has been one of my special interests since literally as long as I can remember no joke one of the first shows I ever remember seeing was the original Teen Titans and so combine one of my special interests with one of the most important parts of my identity(my ethnicity) and an excuse to go to the movies? I was stoked. And so I finally saw it a couple of days ago, and I LOVED it. From the family dynamic to the music choices(La Chona in the beginning where Rudy was introduced was the most Mexican introduction ever and I love it.) and even a few references to Mexican culture I didn't expect, Blue Beetle was everything to me. Finally a movie centered around a Mexican family that wasn't afraid to go into topics like immigration and straight up racism towards Mexicans and those topics not taking up the whole story while also not stereotyping any of these characters and treating them like real people. These guys did their research, and it showed. During the part where Jaime comes back to Earth and starts saying something in Spanish, he's saying a prayer. I used to say that particular prayer a lot back when I was a kid, which is a good thing they added that in there because it makes relatable to someone like me. I really wanna make note of one of my favorite scenes from the movie. So after Jaime gets the Scarab and it attaches itself to him, he tries to find a way to get it off him. Once they go to Ted Kords' hidden lab and find out he can't get rid of it safely, he angerly walks out. His uncle Rudy follows him up to the roof. Rudy asks if Jaimes ok and Jaime apologizes for yelling at Rudy. Rudy then starts giving a really good talk about the family and how resilient they are. Then he says this. "I mean, look at your old man. He brought me here from Sonora....when I was 10." No joke, just ask @alextric-overload(Hey dude 😁) and my other friends who came with me, I legitimately gasped in that theater. Why? Because that's where my family is from. Never before did I ever imagine Sonora would even be mentioned in any media let alone a big screen superhero movie but I am so glad it was and I've said it before and I'll say it again: Never in my life have I felt so seen and so represented. The moment those credits rolled, I legit said word for word, "This! This is how you do representation. MORE. OF. THIS. PLEASE." This is why representation is so important because if we continue to make movies like this, more people like me can see themselves in media and feel the way I did. REPRESENTATION MATTERS! So please go support this movie if you haven't already, it's so worth it!
83 notes · View notes
sirfrogsworth · 6 months
Text
Review of Blue Eye Samurai on Netflix
Tumblr media
There are some spoiler-ish things below, but I think most of it is in the trailer, so I don't think I will ruin anything. I'll warn you during the most spoilery section, though the show makes the "twist" pretty obvious from the beginning.
Premise
Blue Eye Samurai is a Kill Bill-style revenge tale that takes place in 17th century Japan. The samurai is half white/half Japanese. The show states that no white folks were allowed in the country back then, so the samurai tries to conceal blue eyes with some sweet BluBlocker™ orange glasses. The Samurai is displeased to have white heritage and decides to try and kill all the "white devils" hiding in Japan.
Will some reactionaries complain there is a show all about someone trying to murder white people? I have no idea. But they're all bad white people, so I'm hoping it won't become a thing.
My Hot Takes
A few episodes meandered a bit, but I enjoyed the series as a whole quite a bit. If nothing else, the sword fights were epic and bloody. I would have watched it for that alone. And there is some gorgeous art direction where they really take advantage of the 2D styled, 3D animation. Plus, Japan is just really pretty. There is also a puppet show that was brilliantly mixed in with the story and the way they animated it was next level awesome.
They fell into cliche a few times. I think they were trying to do homages and tributes but ended up in Derivative Land and some of them felt a bit cringe.
They used "Battle Without Honor Or Humanity" which is that rousing instrumental song from Kill Bill and it was way too on the nose. Like, yes, this show is obviously a 1600s version of Kill Bill, but you're not supposed to make it that obvious.
Also, there was a Metallica song that equally made me roll my eyes and think, "That is badass" so I give them a pass on that one.
And there were a few sections where it felt like you were watching someone else play a video game. I don't know how else to describe it. As if the narrative melted away and suddenly a bunch of Prince of Persia obstacles appeared.
That said, the story was enjoyable, the actors were great, the characters were interesting, the animation was solid, and the fight choreography was top notch.
The nice thing about animation is you don't have to do any jump cuts during the action, so you get to really *see* the fights develop. Thankfully they didn't make use of a lot of impossible-in-real-life camera moves, so it all felt very grounded. As if these fights could actually be filmed in live-action. I suspect they may have even used motion capture or closely adhered to reference footage. Most of the non-fantastical choreography felt like something a stunt performer could actually do. They even had some legit Japanese samurai-style sword fighting moves before it got to the "John Wick with a katana" part of the show.
Back in the day, samurai duels were more akin to jousting than fencing and usually only lasted one or two moves. It can be pretty exciting as long as you build tension and anticipation. But if every sword fight in the show was like that, it would probably get boring. But it was still nice to see it toward the beginning.
So the quality was a bit roller coaster-y at times, but I think it was a solid first season. And I am really hopeful they get a chance to smooth things out in a second. But it is Netflix, soooooo...
As far as content warnings, there is a lot of blood and sex and nudity. Women are very subjegated and some of those depictions are rough. There are some brutal torture scenes. And I think there is implied rape, but it isn't made super clear.
The nudity was surprisingly balanced which felt refreshing. So get ready for boobies and floppy cartoon peens. All the genitals get screen time.
Quick aside about erotic scenes...
There has been recent discourse about nudity and sexy time in media. My biggest issue has always been that men's bodies are rarely shown aside from the patoot. It is never balanced and I always felt uncomfortable with that arrangement. I know movies are a bit stuck because the MPAA has decided dicks in a sexual context are an automatic NC-17. But even in newer HBO-type content where they do show penises, they are usually prosthetics. Hyper real fake dicks on top of real dicks that probably cost tens of thousands of dollars to develop and apply.
Like, the folks with boobs don't get expensive prosthetics. Only the most famous actresses can opt for a body double. For years, if an actress wasn't willing to get naked they would just say, "Well, I guess we'll just have to find another actress."
And now if a guy doesn't want to get naked, apparently the response is, "Don't worry, we'll raise Stan Winston from the dead so he can make you a perfect megadick."
Tumblr media
Women are usually asked to do the brunt of the nudity and I have long felt that wasn't fair and it was exploitative whether intentional or not.
I just think if you are going to ask actors to be vulnerable, everyone should do it or no one should do it.
I also think we need to see more normal non-porn genitals. Like, you can't brag about your progressive all-inclusive nudity if you slap a giant fake wang on every time.
/end tangent
And now, the spoilery part...
The big twist, which is really only a big twist for a character in the show and not the audience, is that the Blue Eye Samurai was born a girl. To avoid capture and death they essentially hid in a different gender identity. And I'm trying to decide if this is a trans story or not.
Sometimes it felt like the show was bluntly saying, "She's a girl. See, she has boobs and no penis. And we make a big deal about her getting caught naked. It's like Mulan!"
But then the show kinda/sorta implies that while identifying as a man was a tactic at first, the Blue Eye Samurai came to feel much more comfortable as a man most of the time and only revealed their feminine attributes to a select few. They also had a binding scene which felt like intentional trans imagery.
Since there wasn't the same concept of trans-ness in 1600s Japan as we understand it in modern times, I'm having trouble determining if this is just an homage to Mulan that wasn't thought very deeply about, or if this is allegory exploring a trans identity.
It is unclear if the identity was chosen purely out of necessity or if there was more to it.
Was it like... they tried on a coat because it was cold, but then they really liked how it fit and made it an essential part of their wardrobe?
Or was it just pure pragmatism? If they don't wear the coat they will die from exposure.
I'm worried they wanted to stay close to that line where they could say it wasn't a trans story if that ended up being more convenient. I don't know. I'm fine with allegory and I really enjoyed how they did it with Nimona, but this felt more deliberately ambiguous and it frustrated me a bit. It would be nice if we could just have blatant trans stories that didn't need to hide in ambiguity to avoid controversy. But maybe there were more obvious things I missed and my confusion is unwarranted.
I also think an argument could be made for ol' Blue Eye being genderfluid. Actually genderfluid would make a lot of sense. Their masculine side is the stoic warrior and their feminine side is their vulnerability, love, and humanity—reserved only for those most trusted. And when the two blend and they are a warrior woman they get super horny. So the entire spectrum is there.
I'm sure there will be a long complicated video essay analyzing this gender dynamic.
/end of spoilery section
In any case, I think if you liked Kill Bill, this might be a show that interests you. It has much less cultural appropriation and blatant stereotyping. No Pussy Wagon, but there is a cool horse. And they did use an all East Asian voice cast, so that representation was cool. And the co-showrunner was Japanese, and I think that influence definitely made a difference.
I give Blue Eye Samurai 7.5 Froggies out of 10.
41 notes · View notes