#italy looked terrible to be fair

[sky-kiss]

For the prompts: I’ve been thinking non-stop about your professor/barista au and would LOVE to see the date/the aftermath of said date 👀

A/N: Dude, I’m so glad to hear people like this dumb universe. Have a second prompt coming in for the same verse later. 

_____

Raphael x Tav: You Cannot Invite Her to Italy Yet, My Guy

_____

The temperature has dropped low enough to warrant a coat when they leave the restaurant. Tav shoves her hands into her pockets, turning her face up to feel the breeze on her skin. It’s fresh in a way you rarely experience in the city. Her head is pleasantly swimmy off good wine, food, and better company. 

Tav smiles to herself. Raphael lingers on her left. The wine has left a flush of color in his naturally tanned cheeks. She reaches out without thinking to adjust the hang of his scarf. He stiffens momentarily before relaxing, allowing her to smooth nonexistent wrinkles from the lapel of his jacket. “Well, I’d call that a successful first outing.”

“How gratifying to hear. Haarlep would never have let me live it down otherwise.” He holds out his arm. “Come, the night is young.”

“Oooh, a secondary location. I am doing well.” She tucks her hand in the crook of his elbow. 

“Exceeding all expectations, my dear, I assure you.” He sighs, angling down the street. She relaxes, hugging her guide's arm to her chest. Heat radiates through his jacket, much needed. The material smells pleasantly of him, a touch of spicy bleeding into the cherries and musk. A little creepy to go around smelling your date, but she won't apologize. Most men didn’t smell half as nice. Raphael continues, his movements and voice looser. He’s in his element, rarely liquid; it’s charming. “You read, you brew, you’re well-spoken…what more could I ask?” 

Tav snickers. “My, I’m uniquely qualified.” 

He tips her a wink. “Almost as if we were made for one another” 

It’s a terrible line. Raphael is attractive enough to make it work. Tav rolls her eyes, shrugging under his arm and dragging it over her shoulders. If he’s going to make his moves, she'll try hers. The barista winds her arms around his waist. “Look at that. We fit, too.” 

He stiffens, staring at her in a mix of amusement and wonder. It’s too open for the typically confident man. Tav fears she overstepped. Raphael chuckles, bringing her free hand to his lips for a kiss. “Wonders never cease.”

They wander for a while. He angles them towards a park. They talk about books they’ve read and the places they have traveled. Tav has never been to Italy. Raphael spent a decent portion of his childhood on the Mediterranean coast. 

“Do you get back often?” 

“Less than I’d like. But I am always looking for a new excuse to visit.” He glances down at her, eyes glittering. “In the dark heart of winter, Italy, Spain…they seem like a dream.” Raphael purses his lips. A real mischief crosses his face. “If you require a guide one day…” 

Oh, she shouldn’t. It’s the magic of the evening; it’s the chemistry and the company. She can't stop from saying, “I’d like that.”

They walk a little longer. When it comes time to part, Tav lingers by the door, chewing her lip between her teeth. It’s too early in the relationship, but she’s still chasing the high. “You could come up?”

Raphael chuckles. The professor leans over her, curling a finger under her chin, tipping her head up. He brushes his lips across hers, more delicate than she’d like, still tasting the rich cabernet they had with dinner. “Expectation will make such things all the sweeter, pet. Perhaps next time.” He kisses her knuckles and turns to go. 

Tav just stares after him like a love-sick idiot: a little disappointed and a little giddy. 

Before she drifts off to sleep, she sends him a text. Dinner, Saturday. There is a tapas bar near her apartment, and it only seems fair to continue their faux Mediterranean tour. 

She hates that his response makes her blush: he is, as ever, delighted to serve as her guide. 

#bg3 raphael #raphael bg3 #raphael x tav #asks #coffeeshop au #my writing #the other one is smutty lol #five people asked for smut so #stupid fluffy fluffy au

[skitskatdacat63]

2009 Reference Guide to Seb's Hair(Long post w lots of pics):

I would rate these but I love every version of him too much so I cannot pick 🤭, I'll add some commentary though. This took a horrible amount of time but it was also a great excuse to download and show off a truly terrible amnt of Seb pics(I was in tears half the time bcs of cuteness agression)

0. Testing(Jerez)(February 10th-12th):

Honestly such perfect Seb hair, I find this soooo cute!!! His hair is honestly always so perfect at Jerez testing every season. I love the length and style, he looks so incredibly pretty <3

1. Australia(March 26th-29th):

And now he is...bald. I actually kinda love this hair, he's my little kiwi fruit!! But I also can't help but mourn the Jerez hair. I'm just like: why did you feel the need to go bald, Seb??? It makes him look so young!

2. Malaysia(April 2nd-5th):

3. China(April 16th-19th):

I think the highlight of his bald era is how much he embodies the nickname "sunshine." Like the way his hair and eylashes glow in the sun??? Literally sunshine. Also it's cute to see his hair grow more fluffy

4. Bahrain(April 23rd-26th):

The texture differences are so interesting, I think this length looks its best when it's more fluffy like in the top right pic.

5. Spain(May 7th-10th):

It's funny how his hairline does that point in the middle, again: looks better when he looks unkempt

6. Monaco(May 21st-24th):

Weirdly shocked at how much his hair grew in-between Spain and Monaco??? Also I forgot that those fashion pics were from this weekend, and I was jumpscared by his mohawk look. I think he should keep away from hair product hahaha

7. Turkey(June 4th-7th):

Lego hair looking ass. Kidding kidding, just think his hair looks best all natural

8. Silverstone(June 18th-21st):

Lowkey kinda baffling to me how different his hair looks at different stages of the weekend. The podium hair especially is just soooo different, its very cute but yeah idk

9. Germany(July 9th-12th):

I did not realize he cut his hair again during this season?? Seeing these was very surprising to me, I had thought he grew it out for the entire season but I guess not! But I guess if he hadn't gotten a haircut the entire season, he'd probably have his angelic curls of 2010 by the end

10. Hungary(July 23rd-26th):

Kinda love the looks he was serving this weekend, it's just very spikey and cute(also the cunty sunglasses!!

11. Valencia(August 20th-23rd):

12. Belgium(August 27th-30th):

That garage lighting makes his hair look soooo much more yellow rather than his fair blond in the sunlight

13. Italy(September 10th-13th):

This transitional growing period is not my fav, just the way his hair sweeps in is funny

14. Singapore(September 24th-27th):

Looking particularly blond this weekend!! His hair is just very light and pretty

15. Japan(October 1st-4th):

I think most of these are from post-quali and for good reason; I love the way it looks like he has highlights in all the bottom pics

16. Brazil(October 15th-18th):

I love his scruffiness from this weekend!!! The scruffy stubble is sooooooo!!!

17. Abu Dhabi(October 29th-November 1st):

Pretty cute I think but yeah like nothing can really compete with his hair length in 2010 for me so I look at these and I'm like, ooooo growing longer!!

Conclusion: I think it's fun to get to see the process of someone's hair growing out. I've noticed that a lot of men with short hair get very consistent haircuts to keep their hair generally the same length, and I think that's so boring!! I think it's great to grow out your hair for a few months time because you get to see yourself at all the different stages and experiment with all kinds of different looks! So yeah, props to Seb for serving all kinds of looks this season!!

Also it's always interesting to me how much hair length/style and facial hair can change a person's look, but particularly how old/young they look. Like when he shaved his his head, it made him look so young. But in Brazil for example, with the longer hair and scruffy facial hair, he def looks older!

And of course, let me know which you like the best :D My favorite is Jerez <3

#i need a tag for posts like these which is just: #normal posts that catie normally makes in a normal fashion(not deranged) #this is mainly just ref for me #and for people like me who feel the urge to be ultra specific in everything they create #hope this was interesting for people who are not just me!! #i love how I originally foolishy tried to make this in one night. so naive..... #okay anyways posts i wanna make in this same vein: #more seb hair guides obv(guys idk if you knew but im very normal abt his hair) #id like to try and categorize all his 2009 and 2010(and before) helmets since theyre not on his website and i love them a lot #this would take a horrendous amnt of time but id love to try and make a guide of all nando's facial hair(hes had so many wild ones okay) #and then i wanna rate all the rbr race suits bcs i think about them *so often* and i have many thoughts #sebastian vettel #sv5 #f1 #formula 1 #formula one #catie.rambling.txt #we do a little bit of f1 #normal posts that catie normally makes in a normal fashion

[atom-writings]

Summer time! May I ask what the axis (Prussia and Romano) have planned for the beach with their s/o versus the reality of the trip? 😂

Oh, to make this more fun I want this to be a group trip.

Happy Summer! ☀️

hetalia axis on a group beach trip with their s/o

1.1k words ~ gender neutral headcanons

tw: they think ur hot. lol. thats it.

a/n: since this is my last weekend of summer its a perfect time to do this :sobsobsob: sorry anon

Italy

Expectation

There'll be plenty of pretty girls for him to flirt with! And more importantly, one VERY pretty person that he's gonna flirt with the most.

Hopefully, this time, he won't put one foot in the water and immediately shriek about how freezing it is.

He'll spend as much time with you as he does with his friends! Plus, now you can be closer to them! Hooray!

Maybe he'll get a little bit of a workout. He's not a big swimmer, but he'll try his hardest, just to impress you.

Reality

He'll spend a little too much time trying to get Kiku to get out of his shell. If you suggest that maybe he just doesn't want... Feliciano is taking it as a personal challenge.

He doesn't get a lot of swimming done. Just enough to balance out the ice cream he got for the two of you.

He ends up teasing Ludwig a lot about how girls are staring at him-

He usually only gets hit by Romano twice! (To be fair, he was totally asking for it.)

He'll drool over you for an... uncomfortable amount of time. Luckily, he knows how to be subtle. His words are absolutely NOT subtle though!

If no one knew you were dating him before, they will now.

He cannot stop kissing you.

He can't help it, ok? You're just too cute in that swimsuit!

Germany

Expectation

 Everyone will enjoy his homecooked snacks and NOT spend money unnecessarily on some overpriced trash-

 He'll only have to remind you and everyone else to put on sunscreen once, and will actually do so when he tells them to.

Feliciano will not hit his head on the bottom of the pool diving again, and if he does, Ludwig will not be the one who has to drive him to the doctor. Again.

Nothing will go wrong. Okay, something will go wrong, but it'll be something minor... please...

Reality

All of his friends constantly interrupt the two of you and drag you off to do something stupid

He was so careful! But... he still got sunburned on his back.

Halfway through the trip, he's done swimming because he's tired of Romano splashing him in the face when he's trying to get some ACTUAL EXCERCISE-

One of the lifeguards is a stupid teenager and of course, Ludwig is the one who ends up saving some poor kid. (He did not have to volunteer! But you know, “If I didn't, who would?”)

Everyone stares because god lord that man is shredded to hell and back.

( Someone tries hitting on him and he's so uncomfortable he pretends he doesn't speak English and runs away)

He still has a lovely time, because you're around, and that's all he needs to be happy.

Japan

Expectation

No one will talk to him. No one will look at him. It will not be too hot and he won't have to swim. Please. Please do not make him swim.

Actually, you can talk to and look at him. Maybe Ludwig can. But only that.

Hopefully, he won't be forced to eat terrible beach food. He packed a sandwich. That's enough, right?

All he wants is to sit in the shade with you and read quietly, away from all the noise and heat of the beachfront.

Reality

Feliciano is gonna drag him in the water, and he'll trip. And fall. Into the water. And he'll be all wet for the rest of the day. And he'll hate it. So much.

Barely gets to read his book for multiple reasons.

Halfway through the trip, he's completely wiped out from the heat. You'll probably have to help with sunscreen, too.

Anytime any of you bring him down to the water, he tries to bring up a bunch of random facts to get you to stop.

(”Don't you know there's jellyfish in this country? I do not want to get stung!“ ”THIS IS A LAKE!“)

Kiku is much more suited for an arcade than a beach. He's too much of an old man for it. He's glad you're having fun, though.

Romano

Expectation

You'll pass out from how hot he is

He WON'T give in and eat any of the disgusting, insulting beach food.

He'll be able to completely ignore everyone but you, including the stupid, loud Germans!

The heat won't bother him. He's a Mediterranean country for god's sake, he's used to it being hot!

Hopefully, and he really prayed for this, he'll get a nice tan and not more sunburnt.

Feliciano won't interrupt his peace and relaxation. And if he does, he won't run away as Romano tries to smack him with a rolled-up magazine.

Reality

He ends up getting super insecure about his body in comparison to everyone else (Cough, cough, Ludwig and Gilbert,) and you'll have to coax him to not constantly wear his towel.

Any time not spent bothering others is spent with you while relaxing in a pool floatie.

He's so unused to exercise that he gets hungry and tired almost immediately.

He tries his best to ignore the other beachgoers in favour of you, but he can't stop getting annoyed by everyone else OR subtly flirting with others.

(He's just in a bad mood, he doesn't mean any of it.)

As soon as he sees you, he can't help staring. He just thinks you're so stunning when you're wearing so little...

Prussia

Expectation

He's gonna get so sunburnt that he's in pain for weeks.

You and him are gonna race in the water, and he's gonna WIN!

He'll finally get to show off his rockin' bod without being seen as a douchebag.

Plus, he'll get to see your body too. Even better.

(I'm telling you now, if your stomach spills out of your swimsuit, he's gonna get so attracted to you, he'll get dizzy and have to sit down.)

When (If) girls stare at him for being so hot, he'll get to show off that he's dating YOU, which in his opinion, you're even hotter than him. Then they'll get jealous and stop looking at him! (Not how that works, but whatever.)

Reality

He's gonna get so sunburnt that he's in pain for weeks. This is inevitable.

Gilbert will quickly become pretty bored just swimming, so you and him will build a nice big sand castle (He insists on making one replicating a castle he used to live in.)

He'll sneak up behind Ludwig and grab his ankles, swimming away before he can see him. Just for fun.

He's gonna ask you if you're drowning.  Regardless of what you say, he's picking you up bridal style and carrying you out of the water. Just because he thinks it'd be hot. (”I'm saving you, Liebling! I take kisses in payment-“)

Romano will hate it, but Gilbert definitely will try to force him down a slide if there are any.

#heta tag #hetalia x reader #hetalia imagines #feliciano tag #ludwig tag #kiku tag #gilbert tag #romano tag #aph prussia x reader #hws germany x reader #hws japan x reader #aph japan x reader #hws prussia x reader #aph germany x reader #aph italy x reader #hws italy x reader #aph romano x reader #hws romano x reader #romano vargas x reader

[alittlebitofloveliness]

Cherry headcanons because this girl deserves some love

-Spacey as fuck. Like, this girl lives with her head in the clouds and Marcia and her other friends have just learned to accept it

-High ponytail girly

-Her hands are always FREEZING, even in the summer

-Her mom is chronically ill and often bedridden so Cherry has to spend lot of time looking after her while also looking after her dad (and her older brother whenever he’s home from uni)

-Loves Marcia so much because she’s proven time and time again that she’s a true friend unlike her other soc friends who are very much fair weather friends 

-Got so drunk on mimosas once that she spent the rest of the weekend in bed and viciously hungover

-Worries about Marcia because Marcia is wild and too smart for her own good and Cherry is scared that one of these days she’s just gonna snap and either disappear or do something terrible

-Loves board games but has to trick/bribe/guilt her friends into playing them with her. Her favourite is The Game of Life

-Used to get in trouble a LOT when she was little because she really wanted to get her dad’s attention, but kind of gave up by the time she was in seventh grade because she realised it was futile, and has been a model student ever since

-Is kind of horribly lonely. Between her mom’s illness, her dad’s emotional unavailability, and the fact that her brother (three years older than her and her best friend) is in uni across the country she’s by herself a lot and has to deal with everything alone. Part of the reason she started dating Bob is because he actually gave her attention and she felt like she was actually being listened to for once.

-Was drawn to Ponyboy because even though he had such a loving community around him she could see in him the same sort of loneliness she feels all the time

-Marcia hates Bob and does not try very hard to hide that fact, which stresses Cherry out because ANY kind of conflict stresses her out (she canonically ‘hates fights’ but to me she just comes off as someone who doesn’t know how to handle conflict AT ALL)

-Wants to be a kindergarten teacher when she grows up, but doesn’t want to tell her parents because they expect her to marry well and be a socialite

-Kind of loves hearing about any and all drama her friends- Marcia in particular- are going through because it gives her something to focus on that isn’t her own problems

-Could tell Marcia liked Two-bit a lot more than she ever liked Randy but didn’t bring it up because she knew it wasn’t fair when Marcia would never be allowed to date a greaser

-Loves chocolate chip cookies

-Rarely ever wears lipstick because she claims she can feel the weight of it on her lips. Marcia laughs at her for it but also carries tinted lip balm and lipgloss around just for her (Marcia never leaves the house without lipstick on)

-Speaks fluent French

-Went to Paris on vacation with her family once and has been dying to go back ever since

-LOVES her sting ray so much. Even though her dad isn’t very attentive he still managed to pick the perfect car for her and Cherry loves it more than anything

-Doesn’t like any perfume except a very faint rose scent because anything stronger makes her feel nauseous

-Has an eccentric aunt who lives with her female ‘roommate’ in a huge, airy apartment in Italy, and Cherry spends at least a week each summer there with them. 

#cherry valance #marcia the outsiders #marcia x two bit #bob sheldon #the outsiders #ponyboy curtis #two bit mathews #randy the outsiders #darry curtis #sodapop curtis #johnny cade #dally winston #steve randle

[dispatchvampire]

Radio Free Bucky - Bucky x Fem!OC

Pairing: Bucky x OC (in progress)

Warnings: Fluff, mild angst, casual swearing, smut in later chapters

Series Summary: A bunch of interrelated  of fluffy ficlets about Bucky and Penelope. Strangers in the night, tenuously connected by the past, finding their way together a little at a time.

Chapter Summary: In which Bucky has a birthday and someone unexpected knows about it.

It was his birthday, but he’d kept the proceedings low key. Dinner with Sam and his family, some cake, before retiring to the fixer-upper he’d bought not far from their family homestead so he had a place to stay in Delacroix  that wasn’t the front room couch when he came down. That’s really all he had the mental and emotional space for these days.

The soft patter of rain on the roof and windows droned in the background as he worked on the birdhouse Sarah had asked him to. Sam’s sister was a sweetheart, very unlike her brother, and he had no problem giving in to any and all requests from her and her boys. They did love them some Uncle Bucky. 

A memory of a warm summer afternoon on the bayou made him smile as Chet Baker’s smooth voice crooned about falling in love too easily, just a shade louder than the downpour. As much as Sam gave him shit for it, Bucky liked what he liked, and he wasn’t ashamed. It was good music. 

He’d found this satellite radio station one day online, looking for god knows what now, but it had been a revelation. A whole channel devoted to 40’s music, and it was like the universe was giving him a bit of comfort after kicking the hell out of him for so long. 

The soulful trumpet at the end of the song faded into the gathering shadows in his workshop.

“That was Chet Baker on vocals and trumpet there, and I think that might be my favorite song of his. It’s ten past eight here on the east coast, and this is 40s Junction.” 

Just hearing her voice made Bucky smile. It was warm, knowing, with a spark of humor that made him wonder if her actual smile was as nice as what he pictured in his head. And, to be fair, he’d pictured her a bit.  

This woman, the only female DJ at the station near as he could tell, was a nightly companion as he worked on his projects and unwound at the end of the day. Hearing tiny snippets of her life, and how joyfully she related to the music that was clearly way too old to be current for her, made him feel a little less alone in the world. It was an unusual feeling and he’d started to enjoy it. 

“Now, I know I promised you all I’d get to some Ella Fitzgerald this hour, but…” she trailed off and he turned his head to look at his phone like he expected to see her there, with a mischievous grin. “I wanted to take a moment to share something with you all. Today’s a special day in my family. It’s a tradition my Pawpaw started way back in 1945.

“I’m sure you all have guessed by now that he’s the reason I’m here with you, five nights a week from four to midnight. He was my best friend growing up and I miss him terribly. 

He served in the Army in Italy, with the 107th Infantry Regiment.” Bucky carefully set his work aside as his fingers went numb. 

“You history buffs probably recognize the unit, but for those that don't, that’s Captain America’s outfit, and my grandfather was Gabe Jones, one of the original Howling Commandos. 

“Today is March 10th, the birthday of one of my Pawpaw’s fallen comrades in arms, Bucky Barnes. For years, on this day, he’d raise a glass and tell us about the man who saved his life more than once. A man who gave him a reason to go on, to keep fighting, even when all seemed hopeless. Whose death marked his young life indelibly. You get the picture. 

“He’d raise a glass and ask us to remember the fallen and their families, and to help those still around us carry on. After the Blip, I’m sure a lot of us can relate to those sentiments.” Her sigh held paragraphs he didn’t need a translation for. 

“Anyway, long story short, it feels weird to say that Bucky isn’t dead, as Pawpaw informed us, but I’m celebrating his day just the same. I’d like to think he’s having a good 107th birthday, out there, somewhere. 

“As for me, I raise a glass to him, and all the boys who served.” She paused and he could faintly make out the sounds of ice cubes hitting glass. “And with an extra sip for those who didn’t make it home. Happy Birthday, Sergeant Barnes, wherever you are. Now, here’s Ella, serving up some Black Coffee.” 

Bucky’s gasp when the music kicked back in told him that at some point he’d lost air, and even though he was breaking currently, the lump in his throat was throttling him slowly. Of all the things… so many thoughts in his head, fragments of memories, imaginings. Abandoning his workbench entirely, he shuffled across the room to toss himself down onto the couch in the now mostly-dark. 

He could see Gabe’s face in his mind like it was yesterday. Easy smile, quick wit, brilliant mind. Gabriel Jones had been a good man, and it warmed Bucky’s heart to know he’d gone on to come home, have a family, and that he kept the joy in his life. 

The tender affection in her voice when she spoke of her grandfather said more than any words could ever. That was the true measure of a man, the love of those left behind.

There was a voice in his head, one that sounded annoyingly like Dr. Rainor’s, whispering that he was well-remembered by those he’d left behind too, and that meant something. To them, to the world. It was a voice quickly snuffed out by the knowledge that while that may have been true at the time, a whole encyclopedia of lifetimes had transpired between then and now, and his worthiness of that sentiment, no matter how well-intended, well… it was more worn than not. 

Still, it warmed his heart a little to know that he was thought of fondly, and by his DJ-crush of all people, even if it was a strange coincidence. How could it not? He may have still been getting used to this time, but having that moment, that connection no matter how brief, felt like a much-needed hug in a world that has offered him precious little in the way of comfort. 

For a second, he could just close his eyes in the gathering darkness and let the music and rain rhythm wash over him, like a baptism of time, washing him clean once more. For a second, he could just… be. And it was enough

#fanfiction #avengers fanfic #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes #avengers fanfiction #bucky fanfic #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes imagine #bucky fluff #bucky imagine #james buchanan barnes #james buchanan bucky barnes #james bucky buchanan barnes

[uglierdaikon]

I've decided this is going to be a tradition now so here's

My favorite books I read in 2023

(in no particular order)

"Siren Queen" by Nghi Vo

this book is so fucking cool. I said this list is in no particular order but this is without a doubt my favorite book I read this year. This book takes place in a fantasy version of Hollywood in roughly the 1920s-1940s. It has everything: deals with shady nonhuman creatures, fantasy violence, old Hollywood glamour, lesbians. What else do you need? Genuinely the most unique worldbuilding for a fantasy story I've ever seen. Please, if you only take one recommendation from me ever, take this one. The audiobook SLAPS also.

"The Empress of Salt and Fortune" by Nghi Vo

Shoutout to Nghi Vo because I genuinely didn't even realize both of these books were by the same author. Queen. Anyways. So you know how the movie Titanic is told through the lens of people hearing the story from Rose as an old woman? Similar set up but also not similar at all. A sort of nun/monk person on a mission of historical and anthropological chronicling comes to the long abandoned residence where a recently deceased empress once lived in exile. There, they meet the empress' personal maid. As the main character (I can't remember the name off the top of my head, sorry) goes through and archives artifacts from the home, they get to hear stories of the empress' early life in their kingdom as well as her time in exile leading up to her rise to power. I'm not selling this well but it's REALLY good and a very quick read.

"And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie

She's the queen of mystery for a fucking reason!!! This was apparently the year of Nghi Vo and Agatha Christie because Queen Agatha was the other author that just dominated my reading list. Anyways, the set up of this is that 10 people are lured to a mansion on a remote island and start getting killed off. I had a lot of fun trying to figure out who among them was The Killer (even though I ultimately failed to get it right).

"I'm Glad My Mom Died" by Jennette McCurdy

Look. Reading and loving this book in the year 2023 is not a unique experience. This book is a tough read in that a lot of really terrible things have happened to her, but I (like everyone else who's read it) need to give her a lot of props for her skill, frankness, and humor about writing this book, as well as just her strength for getting through all that. Go Jennette!

"Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver

Reading and loving Demon Copperhead in 2023 is ALSO not a unique experience. It won awards for a reason. But I liked it so it goes on the list This is a modern take on David Copperfield that follows a boy from the Appalachians as he grows up in the foster system (and through the opioid crisis). I know that sounds bleak, but he's a character that you really wanna follow and root for, even at his lowest. It's a LONG book, but well worth every page in my opinion.

"The Monster of Florence" by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi

One of the authors got kicked out of Italy for writing this book! Doesn't that already catch your interest???

Anyways, this is a nonfiction book. Half of it chronicles the twists and turns in the investigation of the still-unsolved Monster of Florence serial killer case (which is. Horrifying. To give fair warning). But it also delves into the corruption and mismanagement of the Florence police department, culminating in a frame job intended to make the authors keep their mouths shut about this case. It's definitely a creepy case, so if you don't have much of a stomach for true crime I'd skip this one, but I could not put this book down (figuratively - I listened to the audiobook, lol). I went on runs solely so that I would have more time to listen to it some days.

That concludes this list of 2023 book recommendations. Hope y'all enjoyed! See you again this time next year.

#book recommendations #favorite books 2023 #long post

[kaerichan-yatta]

y'know what? shush. i've been in an extreme lee mood

Yellow car, closed!

(Modern AU!Venti & G/N!Reader, platonic)

Summary: In italy there's this game where when you see a yellow car, you hit someone's shoulder and you say "yellow car, closed!" to specify that you're the one who saw it first and you can't be hit anymore. But, what if you hit your best friend's shoulder with your...foot? Oh, Venti for sure knows how to play.

Enjoy!

Ah, wasn't it just so nice to lay down and relax in the park.

Just you two, you and your best friend, Venti, sitting on a blanket and enjoying your time off school. Both of your shoes distractedly left in front of you, along with your backpacks.

The silence, just the sound of the cars passing by, maybe a group of kids far behind you, playing on the slide or the swing.

Then, you saw it coming. From afar, a yellow car.

Oh, it was the perfect opportunity to remember Venti how bad he hit your shoulder the last time he saw a yellow car before you.

You looked at him to see if he was paying attention to the road. Pff. His head was in the clouds.

Just one problem. You were a little bit too far for your fist to reach his shoulder. You'd make too much noise if you tried to move closer.

Oh, but your foot could. Everything was fair, as long as your target was hit...right? Of course it was fair!

So, as soon as the car was in full sight, you hit him with a push, helping yourself with your toes to effectively make it feel like a punch, or a kick in this case.

"Yellow car, closed!"

"Ah!" you had probably startled him, because he immediately whirled around and grabbed whatever had hit him.

"Hah! Got you! Who's the fastest one now huh?"

You gave Venti a moment to recover from the little scare you gave him. Man, what a terrible decision.

"Oh, for sure you're the fastest..."

It was in that exact moment that you wondered why he hadn't let go of your foot yet. And that you realized why, too.

"But rules are rules, right?"

Ah, another time where your mind convinced itself that everything was fair? No, that couldn't be possible.

"W-what do you mean?" you gently tugged at your now trapped ankle. No, oh no.

You saw Venti smirking. Oh. No.

"You must hit someone with your fist, not with you foot"

Within seconds, you found yourself squealing as soon as familiar fingers started scribbling along your foot.

"Wahaha-wahahahait! Vehehenti! Nooohoho!"

"Wait for what?" his fingers travelled up to your toes, and there, you lost it. "You broke the rules, now you get punishment!"

"I- I thought kihihicks wehehere valid! Plehehehease- nohohot theheHEHERE! AH- VEHEHENTI!"

At this point, when Venti started to tickle your toes and your heel at the same time, you couldn't even form full sentences.

"Well, maybe you should revise the rules a little bit, hehe. What if we do it now, mhh?~"

Your eyes snapped open and your hands flailed to stop him as you realized what he meant. And most of all, you got scared when he took off your sock. Ah, no, not that!

"First, you spot a yellow car" he scratched under your big toe, already sending you hysterics.

"Then, you select your target" he did the same with your second toe.

"V-VEHEHENTI! I knohohow how to plahahahay!" you begged, hoping to convince him.

"No you don't! Anyways, after that, you keep in mind that you have to hit your target with your fist, and not with anything else"

The fact that he made this whole sentence while he tickled your third toe made you want to kick his face, gosh, it tickled so bad!

"Then, you hit your target, possibly not strong enough to hurt them"

Well, at least he remembered the time he accidentally hit you a little bit too rough.

But for sure that didn't compensate with the tickle you were receiving.

"And finally, you scream -yellow car, closed!-" at that point, another yellow car passed, and not only he tickled your pinky toe, not only he reached out to hit your shoulder, but he also took advantage of it switched to tickle your neck.

"So, have you learnt the rules now?"

"Y-yehehes! Yes- now stohohohop! Plehehease!"

He chuckled as tears of joy pinched the corners of your eyes.

"Alright, alright, I trust you you'll remember the rules, hehe~"

"Next time I see a yellow car...I'm so going yo get you back for this..."

"Oh please, I don't break rules every now and then like a certain someone!~"

You glared at him playfully when he stuck his tongue out at you. "You-! Oh, that's it, come here!"

And you both knew that between yellow cars and tickle fights, your afternoon wasn't going to end soon.

#kaeri writing #tickle #genshin impact tickle #ler!venti #implied lee!venti #lee!reader #implied ler!reader #<3

[highliqhts]

🎬  just  announced,  rowan delaney has  been  cast  as rikki chadwick  in  the  upcoming  h2o: just add water  reboot.  the  twenty3  year  old  is  trending  as  people  are  debating  if  the  scouring the local thrift stores for the cutest knitted tops, giving their manager serious heart palpitations by going on instagram live rants about how big corporations are ruining the planet at 2am, being weirdly good at tiktok dance challenges, trying to cook for people despite being terrible at it and being completely unable to keep a phone screen protected without cracks   that  they  are  known  for  is  enough  to  make  them  as  good  as  original.  a  quick  google  search  shows  that  their  fans  call  them  free-spirited,  but  internet  trolls  think  they’re  more  brash.  i  guess  their  newest  interview  for  variety  where  they  talk  about  how they almost had an accident trying to swim with a mermaid’s tail as a child  will  let  people  to  know  them  better. 

hii, besties !! <33 i am daisy and genuinely so excited to be here ?? fair warning that it's been ... probably about a year since i last tumblr group rped, so i might be a bit rusty but this one brought me back from my retirement. this is rowan, who is a brand new muse of mine aka they're definitely still a work in progress but i'd absolutely love to plot with everyone and figure out all the missing pieces !! anyway, hope u enjoy, mwuah !

basics.

name:  rowan delaney.

nicknames:  ro.

gender:  demi woman

pronouns:  she/they.

age:  23.

date of birth:  january 23rd 2001.

astrological sign:  aquarius.

place of birth: brisbane, australia.

nationality: australian.

ethnicity: mauritian, italian.

occupation:  actress.

sexual & romantic orientation:  pansexual, panromantic.

character.

positive traits:  free-spirited, accepting, spontaneous, passionate, independent, loyal.

negative traits:  brash, aloof, stubborn, fickle.

likes:  the beach, having conversations about things that actually matter, finding that piece while thrifting, traveling, chai latte, pistacchios, surfing.

dislikes:  small talk, people who don't care about the environment / animals, authority figures, rules that don't make sense to her, fake niceties.

biography.

if there ever were two people who absolutely should be parents it's rowan's moms. their lovestory is one for the ages, as they had met in the australian wilderness, ciara an italian backpacking tourist and lauren the australian who saved her from some kind of poisonous snake ( or if you believe lauren a totally non-threatening, non-poisonous snake but she would only contest it if ciara isn't around ). what followed is neatly documented in the photo albums rowan grew up looking through, their mothers on their travels through the entire country, lauren having joined ciara for ' protection purposes '. one thing led to another and the two of them fell in love, something that was completely unthinkable, both with the distance and with ciara’s very catholic and conservative family back in italy. there were simply too many obstacles, it couldn’t work out, right ? with heavy hearts they said goodbye after almost an entire year spent constantly by each other’s sides. that is until, due to a sudden storm, ciara’s flight didn’t take off, leading them to have yet another conversation … after all, wasn’t this fate telling them not to part ? in the end ciara never left australia to go back to living in italy, instead taking the leap and staying in australia with the woman she excitedly calls the ‘ love of her life ‘ even to this day. 

rowan was the last puzzle piece to their perfect little family, in addition to the two dogs, one cat and the stray duck all living with them as well. nobody really knows how the duck ended up there. they do know how rowan did though, after years of careful consideration she was about the most wished for child you could possibly imagine. and so she grew up, surrounded by love and support. that being said, for a while it wasn’t easy for rowan to cope with the harsher realities of life outside their little house. while at the delaney’s family home it was alright to express yourself and your feelings however you wanted, the outside world was less accepting of that. therefore school wasn't easy for her during the first years. rowan was a bit of an outsider during those years, spending most of their free time at home with the pets and their mothers. it wasn’t until she grew up some more that she found friends who would accept her as she was. 

once those years came around however, her life was better than ever before. alongside their friends they spent a lot of time exploring the beaches and city around them. their mothers, being the free-spirited and encouraging women they were, mostly encouraged them in this, paying for their first surfing lessons right alongside the first acting classes. initially they had only signed up for those because a friend of theirs had. surprisingly enough though, rowan soon figured out that acting was something they were not only rather good at but also loved to do. though ciara would later say she never thought it to be all that surprising, with how much rowan had always loved listening to and sharing stories. especially during those younger, more lonely days, where it was mostly books keeping her company. the last years of high school were spent acting in local theater productions, having bonfires at the beach and surfing with their friends. 

life was good for rowan during those times as she started considering what to do after school. it was at the beginning of her last year in high school when she saw an open audition for neighbors and decided to simply shoot her shot. never in a million years did they think this would actually lead them anywhere,that was until they got callback after callback, eventually sitting down to do chemistry reads. they were seventeen, a month into their final year when they got the official offer. sitting down with their parents, they debated. how would she finish school, when filming would take place in melbourne ?  was it even feasible ? could she move there on her own ? in the end they found a solution that had her living with a friend of the family in melbourne during filming, studying with a tutor when she was there and still attending school whenever she was in brisbane. it was a stressful year and it’s safe to say their final grades were not much to be proud of but they did it, they graduated. afterwards she was lucky enough for her minor role to stay permanent, gaining some importance in the show’s plotline, leading to her being able to continue to stay on the crew and work in melbourne. 

they kept their very first television role on neigbors for about 3-4 years, before finally saying their goodbye to the australian soap. due to the relative prominence of the show in australian television, they had earned a decent level of exposure through it. in australia, this would have definitely lent itself to quickly gaining further job opportunities and she definitely debated this with her moms for quite some time. in the end it was them that pushed her to aim higher, to try her luck in the us and move to los angeles at 21. the move was probably the hardest thing ro has done to this day, leaving was tearful not only because they’d miss their family but also because they’d miss their home and they were fully aware they might just be leaving for nothing. for the past two years ro has mostly been getting very small appearances for an episode or three in multiple tv projects ( imagine patient on grey’s or a lost plotline in riverdale or smth, i’ll have to figure the exact projects out ). only recently did she get her first real breakthrough when she was cast as rikki in the reboot of h20: just add water, an australian classic ! they’re about to start filming season 1 and it’s safe to say that ro couldn’t be more excited, having been an avid viewer of the show as a kid.

tl;dr: basically she's born to two very loving lesbians whom i gave an unneccessarily sweet backstory. she grew up in australia, loves the oceans and animals and always had the loving support of her family. she started acting at 17 and moved to the us to further follow that career at 21. h2o is her first lead role.

headcanons.

rowan sometimes refers to the pets that were in the house while they grew up as if they were their siblings, which can be confusing to some people 

ro’s style is very much sort of boho inspired, she loves cute knitted pieces and wide flowy pants and dresses or jeans shorts as well as sporting the most pieced together yet somehow strangely working assortment of jewelry 

she has a decently active social media presence, which is mostly used for an unpredictable mixture of silly on set tiktok challenges or passionate calls for action, mostly for environmental protection 

they’re very much a beach and oceans enthusiast and they WILL shut you down for leaving any kind of trash on the beach but also for supporting environmentally damaging companies 

ro has a decent amount of houseplants at home and tries to keep them alive so desperately ?  but honestly, they’re really not a natural at it. 

she loves doing her nails herself, including cute and intricate nail designs 

when they were 19 and at a party they got a tiny tattoo of an octopus done on the left side of her hip

#↪ 𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒚 ━ about. #2000s.intro #this got longer than expected ??? sry to anyone reading rip #but pls still love my bby !!

[blubushie]

Do you have any random headcanons for Jesse you'd be willing to share? She's super fun and I'd love to know more about her :]

A few!

Jesse can barely read. Is she dyslexic, ADHD, or just a bad reader? No clue, but leaning toward mild dyslexic who just gets very frustrated very easily. Everyone just thought she was dumb and didn't learn well, including her teachers who gave her passing grades with the goal of one day having one of their alumni make it to the MLB. No one finds out she actually has a learning disability until halfway through the story and it's not who you think it'd be (or maybe it is). Figuring it out unironically changes her life.

In complete denial about being bisexual. Still points out hot chicks for Mundy and then gets joke-mad at him for looking. He does the same thing, but only for chicks because blokes actually do make him jealous.

Craig Donovan was a great baseball player and for a little while he was her first crush. He ruined it, obviously. He ended up still being her first crush but in an entirely different context.

She talks in her sleep. The only one who is aware of this is Mundy. She also gets very handsy in her sleep. Wakey wakey hands off snakey. Mundy doesn't mind because he's arguably worse.

Has a sock monkey named Joe that her dad made for her before she was born. Originally she named it Poopy Joe after the monkey died but then she grew up and "just couldn't take the Poopy part seriously" so now it's just Joe. It was 2 years at BLU before she stopped sleeping with it every night but she still pulls it out from under the bed when she has a nightmare.

HATES SNAKES. No one knows why. She doesn't know why. That said she loves lizards. Her world is turned upside-down with the discovery of legless lizards.

Absolutely terrible cook to the point Mundy had to teach her to make fried eggs. Still uses too much salt but Mundy eats Vegemite so he's not whinging.

Stays levelheaded except when family is involved. See: Cindy and Craig Donovan, Cindy and Pete & Greg, Charles and Claw, etc. Will take a lot of shit about herself. Her family? Talk shit, get hit.

Charles killed an American Army General after Dom and Eddie were killed and no one knows. Jesse found out the morning before the Italy Incident and hasn't told a soul.

Cindy Knows. Fair go on what this means.

Was born 2 months premature with lungs that weren't fully developed. If she'd been only a week or two earlier she wouldn't have survived. Charles immediately gave up smoking because he was worried just the smell of smoke on his clothes would affect her. He remained clean for 10 months until the day he left in which he immediately bought a king size pack of cigarettes and chainsmoked the entire pack in one night out of stress.

On a similar note: after coming home from a three-week stay in NICU, the ONLY THING that could get baby Jesse to sleep was her father singing to her in Welsh. It was one particular lullaby (Suo Gahn) and despite Charles teaching it to Cindy, Jesse wouldn't sleep for her. At exactly 2am every night she'd wake up with a cat's cry and Charles would have to take her out of her bonnet, go into the lounge room, and fall asleep in his chair with her across his chest. This is the only way she could sleep for 10 months until Charles left. No one in the Evans household got any sleep for 3 months after Charles left. It had gotten to the point everyone in the household was waking up five minutes before she started to cry and waiting in the kitchen for the wailing. Mass panic the first night she didn't cry.

Coughed a lot as a baby due to underdeveloped lungs. Charles lost his 18-month-old-sister when he was 5 to whooping cough so this coughing scared him absolutely shitless.

Childhood asthmatic. She's grown out of it but any semblance of choking scares the shit out of her. Still rarely has attacks brought on solely by stress. Was intubated by Suki so many times in her first year at BLU that she now has zero gag reflex to physical stimulus. Still gags at gross tastes. Hasn't had an attack in 3 years, still keeps an inhaler just in case.

Can't count past 100. Not dumb, she just gets distracted and loses her place.

Windows XP shutdown sound when restrained. Really though, she has the sheep response to restraint. Pin her arms to her side and hug her and she calms down immediately.

Antithesis to Jeremy in parental relationships. Jeremy has not forgiven Spy in the slightest and feels he has to prove himself before he'll ever call him "dad." Jesse has forgiven Charles, doesn't care about the cold shoulder, and is just desperate to have a father after going so long without one. Neither of them approach Dad's Home in a healthy way.

Still has nightmares about Sniper. On that note...

As much as she insists Sniper and Mundy are the same person, she completely backtracks on that both as a coping mechanism and because of how Mundy reacts at the reminder that he WAS probably in his right mind when he did what he did.

Devout Irish Catholic so long as you don't remind her that murder is a sin.

Gets misty-eyed whenever she hears the song Brandy. There are no restrictions for alcohol on base EXCEPT in the case of brandy, for which there's an unspoken agreement to never bring on base. Jesse's mother was an alcoholic. These things are all related.

Has such a high metabolism that she completely shuts down when unable to move around. The kind of person who's switching positions every half-hour at least. Most of her time captive was spent sleeping due to this.

Zero booksmarts. Incredible streetsmarts. She outclasses Mundy in some categories when it comes to reading people.

Dom was always kind of an arsehole to her and a part of her was glad when she found out he was drafted because it meant she wouldn't have to be around him. She wouldn't admit this on her deathbed. Still loves him, though.

Her relationship with Tommie is more strained than I let on and the truth about how she feels about him is first hinted at in one paragraph of chapter 11. They're the kind of siblings that get along better when they're apart. This comes to a head when she goes back to New York for a week.

On that note: Charles spills the beans. That's the only context you're getting. Feel free to hypothesise in the replies/reblogs.

#blu whos #learnin the blus

[dragonmuse]

aliassmith asked about today's AO3 posting if I ever wrote about Izzy getting hit by the car for his original concussion. I hadn't, but now I have!

Eddy had been waiting for the reckoning. It came faster than she had wagered on, mostly because Lucius returned to work faster than she expected. Then again, how many days would Izzy really tolerate being kept at home? Two was probably the best anyone could hope for. 

It was after closing. Everyone milling around, sorting themselves into whatever configuration felt comfortable that night. Stede was already sitting beside Oluwande, the two of them clearly discussing a number of some kind by the way Oluwande was gesturing. 

Lucius was still behind the bar. In his place of power. When Eddy emerged from the dressing room, he said nothing, just pointed to an empty barstool while maintaining the kind of eye contact that bored into a person’s soul. Eddy used to think that was an unteachable skill, but Lucius seemed to have picked it up somewhere along his way.  

Some deep rebellious part of them wanted to walk away to prove that they could. To remind Lucius that he didn’t have any power over them. But in a way he did. The same power that she held over him, if friendship could be said to be such a thing. So Eddy slid into the barstool. 

“How is he?” She asked. 

“Better,”  Lucius set a shot of tequila in front of them both. They shot them back in sync. “Still has a beast of headache, but he went into work today.” 

“Good.” 

“How does someone get hit by a car and not remember?” He asked, apparently not content to beat around the bush. 

“Because he clocked his head on cobblestone, if I had to take a guess. Not being able to retain it?  Probably some jedi mind trick of trauma,” Eddy sighed. “It was a bad fucking day.” 

“Tell me about it,” Lucius practically growled then winced and deliberately relaxed. “Please.” 

“We were...” Eddy did some quick math, reaching back in their memory, “mm. Iz was twenty-one, I think. Yeah, had to be it because he had the spade already, but not the swallow.” 

“That’s one way to tell time,” Lucius groaned. “Okay, so you’re both still enfant terribles, that tracks.” 

“We were on a job. Some tiny old town in Italy with these narrow streets. Me, him and Hornigold. The old man still went out in person back then,” they could feel the old irritable feeling at him rising just at the memory. “Got easier when he’d stay back. Anyway, the deal that the client was brokering went bad fast. I gave the guy over to Izzy to get out of there and covered his back.” 

“Did you guys ever have a job that went right?” Lucius looked like he was considering more tequila, Eddy pushed the bottle a little further down the bar. 

“You only hear about the bad ones because they’re the ones that leave the marks,” she corrected. “Anyway, Iz got the guy out of there, into the car and the car takes off, leaves Iz there cause the clients an idiot. Hornigold and I lay down cover fire. Then we took off before the authorities showed up. These fucking narrow ass streets...” 

They could remember the smell of the place, recent rain on stone, gunpowder on their hands and yeast from a bakery. 

“Caught up with Iz and then we were bolting. One of the other guys followed us. Couldn’t shoot with so many people around, so it’s a foot race, don’t even know where to. Hornigold just picked a direction and we had to follow.” 

Izzy had been cursing quietly, a litany of hate under his breath and Eddy had matched her pace to it. In complete agreement, but too close to Hornigold to do the same.  

“And then I thought I saw the guy. That he’d circled around to the top of the street. His hand went into his coat,” fuck her heart had stopped.  “And I made a decision. Got in front of Izzy, pushed him really. He’d stepped in front of me a fair amount by then. Seemed like it was my turn. He wasn’t even supposed to be there.  But he wasn’t expecting it, you know?” 

“Eddy,” Lucius said slowly. “Did you push him in front of a car trying to take a bullet for him?” 

“Yeah,” they sighed. “Stupid, huh?” 

Lucius dropped his head into his hands, “How did either of you make it into your forties? Truly a miracle.” 

“In fairness, it wasn’t a big car or going that fast.  Would’ve been okay if he hadn’t hit the ground head first probably. Wasn’t time to figure out if anything was broken. Just got him to his feet then took off. Headed right to the airport as it turned out.” 

“He flew with a concussion,” Lucius said flatly. “No one noticed?”

“He was on autopilot until we got on the plane, moving enough to convince everyone he was okay,,” she explained. “Then he fell asleep on my shoulder and I....honestly, I think I disassociated cause I don’t remember shit after that either. That happened back then sometimes.” 

“Eddy-” 

“I know,” she smiled at him tightly. “What you need to understand is that I was fucking terrified of Hornigold back then. Thought I wasn't scared of anything, least of all the old man,  but deep down?  I knew what he could do to me. To us. And he said no doctors until we got back. So no doctors.” 

“Fuck, okay. So he never got seen?” Lucius gritted out, clearly trying to retain calm. 

“I got him this underground doc that we had an understanding with. He was okay, said Izzy would be all right, just keep an eye on him which was easier said than done. He kept trying to work and it was fucking eerie as hell. Like he’d died and no one told his body.”

“And you just…let him?” 

“Yeah, Luc,” Eddy let him glare at him, “I did. Just like he let me get back to things when I was beat down. It was how we dealt with shit. He wouldn’t have thanked me for doing less. Even if it did etch-a-sketch him. Even a week later, someone on the crew tried to make fun of him for being whacked out and he had no idea what they were talking about. Hornigold blew me off when I raised it. Said he’d remember eventually.” 

Lucius nodded, like that lined up with something in his head. Eddy waited for whatever judgment he was looking to level. The story had been sort of funny once. Trotted out only when Izzy himself wasn’t around because he always got a little vague in the face when she mentioned it which had given her an uncomfortable twist in the gut. Now, it was like bullet fragments spit into the sink. No longer even a little funny, just metallic and nauseating. 

“Did you ever try to tell him what happened?” 

“I’d mention the hit by a car thing, he’d get confused and change the subject. So no. Not in so many words.” 

“Can I?” Lucius asked and it was almost…tender? Like Eddy was the one that had been hit. 

“Yeah. You should.” 

“Just to be clear,” Luicus reached across the bar and touched a single finger to the top of her hand, the lightest touch. “What I’m going to tell him is that he got hurt because you tried to help him.” 

“Tell him whatever you want,” she said as if nothing could bother her. Why should it? It was done. 

Lucius didn’t say anything else, just let her slip off the barstool and zero in on Stede. He glanced up at her, then frowned, 

“All right, honey?” 

“Just thinking some ugly thoughts,” she smiled tightly. “Can I sit with you?” 

Stede only nodded, then pushed his chair out so she could drape herself onto his lap. He knew how to hold her by now, how to anchor her against him, so she didn’t start slipping down the slope of his thighs. He knew how to bear the catch of her fingers on his shoulder, digging in a little too hard. And knew to go on talking to Oluwande, his voice a song in her ear. 

A day or so later, her phone pinged. 

Izzy: the reason your right index finger doesn’t extend straight was because I stepped on it standing over you during the McKat raid. You passed out. I splinted it. Never did tell you that. Even? 

Eddy flexed her hand. She had woken up from that disaster with more bruises than skin and it hadn’t occurred to her that she hadn’t busted finger punching a guy in the face the wrong way. Izzy had barely left her alone for a week. She couldn’t prove it, but she was almost certain that he was stealthily sleeping at her apartment, there when she got up and not gone when she went to sleep.  He had fresh clothes every day and no obvious stash of them there though, so plausible deniability.

Eddy: even. How’s the skull? 

Izzy: like fucking bees got in.  

Eddy: hope they at least make brain honey 

Izzy: my fucking luck i’ll be allergic

#leda house and the kraken verse #ficlet #poison me a little #eddy teach bonnet #izzy hands #lucius black

[noco7]

NO BECAUSE YOU'RE RIGHT: Sierra didn't have character development, like, at all. It kinda made sense: abusers often don't change.

I feel like the whole Cody-Sierra sub-plot could have been an amazing opportunity to show us something really mature about consent, trauma (remember Cody is supposed to be a child-neglect victim which btw explains some behaviours of his) and victim-blaming.

The actual thing wasn't only rushed and as we say in Italy "written with the asshole", it was straight up offensive. As a SA victim myself I felt MOCKED.

It's so sad, I wonder what happened to Cody by the way, like. We saw him naked in the shower on Sierra's phone in All Stars so it means she not only knows where he lives but also stalks him. Such a terrible ending for a character like him. :[

I agree completely, anon. Also I have a habit of making really long posts, so here's a read more link:

I really really agree about it being C*derra being an amazing chance to write about serious issues, and could even act as a guide to recognizing abusive relationships, and how to help someone you know get out of them. Also could say smth about the nature of parasocial relationships. In my fantasy rewrite of TD, C*derra starts as a relationship that goes sour. It begins with Cody in a bad place , for several reasons, and he latches onto his fan, Sierra, for comfort. Things seem to be going smoothly, until he realizes that Sierra is a terrible abusive person. And there's a lot of victim blaming and manipulation, a lot of guilt-tripping, but he learns to raise his standards and escape the relationship. So in essence, the flipside of what happened in canon.

To me, it's really hard to advocate for platonic C*derra. I understand that others love the idea, but it's really hard for me to look past her actions. I'm not a survivor, but imagining a friend of mine going through what Cody went through, and then them calling me and saying "well she made me a birthday cake, so I've forgiven her for everything and we are BEST friends now." I don't know. It seems terrible. I don't think Cody should have to do anything with Sierra other than leave, and honestly for Sierra to grow as a person, I also think she needs to take herself away from Cody until she is ready to act healthy to him. I don't think they should grow together - like, what, is Cody supposed to be like "yeah she grabbed me today, BUT she didn't kiss me! Woo! Baby steps!" ??? There is no reason for Cody to be there for Sierra's character growth - and for me, the real sign of character growth would be Sierra admitting her presence was unhealthy and removing herself. And not in a "let me die," situation, but a "let me go to therapy first," situation. To be fair to TD, it is a kid's show and maybe they couldn't talk about topics like consent and trauma. I know some kid's shows talk about that, like She Ra, but TD was before that, and also it had a completely different focus. Still, given that, perhaps they shouldn't have introduced a stalker to the show in the first place, when they couldn't deal with her properly.

It could be even considered irresponsible, considering it could trigger real Survivors, or give the entirely wrong message. I've actually seen real people say they used to think Sierra did nothing wrong.

At the very least, I don't think they should have rushed the best friends angle as they did. Yes, there were times Sierra was nice to Cody, but they weren't really differentiated from how she normally acted. She always compliments Cody, so for her to praise him with Duncan is nothing out of the ordinary. And neither is the birthday cake. It's like they didn't know Sierra was going to end up being friends with him until that episode. It's weird.

The solution would be to slow down her character development until it's an actual ARC. Or as most people in the fandom do - change her actions so they aren't that extreme in the first place. I'm not really a fan of that last option, because Sierra is kinda defined by how extreme she is, and I personally think an abusive antagonist makes for a better story then a mildly annoying girl, but. I understand why others wouldn't. But that's why I write Sierra like I do.

I'm very sorry you had to go through that, and that you had to watch WT and see it happen. Dealing with a topic respectfully is something you should do, not just because it's better writing, but because it's the moral thing to do when you're writing a CHILDREN'S CARTOON.

As for what happened to Cody after WT, I believe that his friendship with Sierra didn't last long, and she proved herself to still be as possesive as she once was. That's what happens in my fic, and that's whats backed up with the weird shower photo. However, extra clips reveal that after her elimination in All Stars, Sierra lands back into Area 51, with all the Cody aliens. Perhaps she stays there, and Cody is effectively free.

Also, I have to admit that as a Cody stan, that guy's arc with Gwen also had problems. Cody's still not Sierra level creep, but it's hard to argue that he's learned from his own actions in Island, considering how he acts in WT. And personally, and this is my hot take for this post - I'm not even sure his character developed during Island.

#tdwt #td askbox #if you want to read about cody confronting his behaviours #and developing into a better person #read my fic #and if you want to read a noco fic where sierra is taken seriously #read my fic x 2 #i cant say my fic is perfect #or that it handles it perfectly #but it handles it a fuckton better than canon did #oh well #im also really into daylight horror #and c*derra rlly fits that bill #it takes place on reality tv #they're both in a group of people that could stop whats happening #but noone does #cody despite being on a plane full of people #is effectively isolated by his own teammates #who make him apologize to his stalker #good going guys #this is why i dont by the team amazon secretly cares for cody idea either #nah they care about the MONEY bro #you could study how codys issues of past neglect and current isolation led to his predicament #this is also not meant to victim blame #just pointing out how he was uniquely vulnerable

[hmspogueobx]

Sunshine and Pine

Chapter One: The Mastered Art of Charm 

Beams of sunlight dance with shadow, the trees swaying in the wind. The pattern of it drifts across my eyelids. The longer I lay here, eyes closed to the bright light, the deeper I sink into my own mind. So much has happened. To be fair, a whole lot of it has been good. But that's not where my mind wants to linger. A pair of bright red eyes have burrowed themselves into the depth of my subconscious and they're all I see anytime my thoughts wander. Those same eyes had once been a comfort to me. Many years ago... when they had been blue. Not the horror show that was haunting me now.

Once my dad had had time to process everything I'd told him - You know, long lost mom is actually alive and has been living in a medevil sewer somewhere in butt-fuck no where Italy, as a professional hypnotizer for dracula and his army - he'd asked me if she still seemed like herself, looked like herself. One of the hardest things I've ever done to this point was tell him no. She seemed like her old self had been swallowed whole by power. Like she'd been forced to do terrible things to make it this far. It wasn't until she'd pulled me aside in the field that day that I'd seen anything but a high ranking member of the vampire dictators club. She'd been lost to the vampire world, and sucked into Aro's cult. I refused to tell him about the bloodbath that was her eyes though. Those I saved as my own form of internal torture.

I've been mentally staring into those eyes for so long that I'm startled when I hear the grass shifting next to me, until the familiar scent of Paul eases its way into my very nerves, effectively wiping my mind clean of my mom. It's all pine, faint campfire and something manly that's just Paul.

The comfort of Paul's scent demands happier thoughts, and a whole new parade of memories come front and center. Laying on my bed in my aunt's house, talking about nothing with Leah. Baking muffins the size of a small child with Emily. The pack of furry teeangers I call my family, inhaling those muffins like they hadn't eaten in weeks. Laying on a blanket in the forest with the love of my life, surrounded by the protection of the trees and the warmth of his arms. A place we frequented a lot in the time since we'd imprinted on eachother. Where we're laying right now.

The back of Paul's hand is on my face, sweeping the hair away and coaxing me out of my head.

"Hey beautiful, did you fall asleep?" the soft whisper of Paul's deep voice pulling my eyes open.

"Oh yeah. I have totally mastered the art form of turning off one's brain and drifting off into a peaceful sleep." I mumble, turning to him with a smirk.

"I'm so glad to hear it. You've mastered sass, sarcasm, and now this too. You truly are amazing." His mouth is slightly turned up in the corner, betraying the steadiness of his voice.

"Anything in particular on your mind?"

"Just the usual. Demon eyes... That feeling of being pulled away from you." I confess.

Paul wiggles his arm under my head and pulls me onto his chest. My favorite place to be. Wrapped up in the warm, strong arms of my love. After a moment of silence Paul's voice breaks into the air.

"Nothing will ever be strong enough to pull you away from me, you hear me? I will never let you go." The pure conviction in his voice has me shifting in his arms to look up at him. The fire in his eyes knocks the breath from my lungs. I can't help myself from pushing up the last few centimeters to close the distance between us, my lips meeting his in a hungry kiss.

It doesn't take long for it to turn into something heavier, needier. Flipping my leg up over his hips, breaking the kiss only to move down his jaw to the spot on his neck that turns him feral. "You're a real smoother talker, Lahote." I whisper, letting my tongue run over his racing pulse.

"I warned you, I can't control this charm. I'm just a natural ladies ma—" his breath catches, as I effectively cut him off with a nip to that spot.

I shift my hips in Paul's lap and the growl that rumbles up his throat sets all my nerves on fire. He sits straight up, me still in his lap and pulls away to rest his forehead on mine.

He pulls back to look me in the eye, silently searching for consent to continue. With a frantic nod of my head I try and pull him back in, but his hand on my throat stops me. Not squeezing, just holding, keeping me exactly where he wants me.

"Uh-uh honey, you know that's not how this works. I wanna hear that pretty little voice of yours. Tell me what you want." He demands, voice husky with want.

I let out a whimper that makes Paul twitch. "I want you baby. In every dirty way my mind can think of."

Paul's eyes go impossibly dark at my words. He flips me over with a smirk. "Well where should we start then hey?"

And we spend the rest of the morning in the middle of the forest, learning just how dirty my mind can be. Until the rain pulls us out of our beautiful bubble.

#paul lahote #paul lahote x oc #paul lahote fluff #twilight #werewolves

[acrossthewavesoftime]

Oh my, that was absolutely worth the wait. What a great chapter! And finally George made a move – he deserves Caroline and Caroline deserves him. The two of them are just too cute when they finally admit that they have feelings for each other, society be dammed. And do not get me wrong, I am happy that George got his promotion, he really deserved it after his little stunt at Trafalgar … but does he really have to go back to sea right now? He and Caroline just found each other and I have this bad feeling that Ernest still thinks he has a chance with Caroline. He was totally disgraced by Amelia’s letter and outed as the little devil he is … but I fear that that will not stop him. And what is the deal with this lovely elderly gent from Plön?

Anyway, I will wait in patience for what comes next. :-)

You really, really made it hard for me! Anyways, apologies it took so long, but was lange währt wird endlich gut, nicht wahr?

Anyway, it took me some time to figure out how this whole thing is even possible, and accidentally ended up mapping out the entire plot of a novel I’ll never write. I hope you’ll enjoy it and a fair warning, long read ahead. Warning: contains Stuart and Hanoverian family politics, naval officers and scheming siblings:

The Plot:

The Act of Settlement exists, but it is not acted upon; designed to consolidate a brittle Protestant succession suffering from a distinct lack of heirs, it is, surprisingly enough, not presently required as against all odds, Queen Anne’s sickly only surviving child William Henry, Duke of Gloucester, lives and succeeds his mother to the throne.

This of course does not go down well with the new Elector of Hannover, Georg Ludwig, who inherited the rights to the crown from his mum, Sophia. Georg Ludwig kind of wanted to be king, actually. He hates England, he hates going abroad, but he sure likes a sparkling crown, fancy new robes, and being a Very Important Person.

The cherry on top of the Hanoverian frustration is when the sickly king even fathers an heir, making it nigh improbable that an Elector of Hannover will ever sit on the throne of Great Britain. However, only time will tell if William, Prince of Wales, will succeed William IV. Riding accidents, accidental food poisoning or a beastly case of the smallpox can happen, you know?

Alas, it doesn’t.

So, all that is left for the House of Hannover to do is sit and bide their time (and secretly pray for the demise of William V).

Born into a dull life in provincial Germany and a bickering family, young Georg August Friedrich, Kurprinz von Hannover, simply feels like he doesn’t belong, and longingly looks across the sea to Britain, where everything is more worldly, fashionable and exciting. His undereducated, boring and terribly frumpy family simply annoy him, and since he has been banned from the courts of Berlin and Vienna on account of several unspecified incidents (one of which however is said to have involved a drunk pet ostrich in a full set of plate armour, though this is subject to much conjecture by historians), there is not much to do for him really, but to occasionally travel to Italy to get drunk on better wines and sleep with prettier women than are available in Hannover. One regrettable time, having always favoured women a tad older than him, he woke up next to a certain Charlotte Stuart. Tipsy on expensive champagne and merrily lamenting their fate, they had half a mind to elope together and conquer that blasted throne, the only problem being that they could not agree on who would be whose consort, a heated argument they took to the bedroom. But shh, this is all top secret, and most biographies of King George I (spoiler! J) omit this anecdote.

To his eternal chagrin, his father the Elector, called “Bauer Georg” by his people for his delightful pastoral folksiness and interest in other people’s pigsties, taking heed from his forbears after Elector Ernst August and Electress Sophie lost four sons to the wars of the tumultuous 17th century, insists Georg will stay at home and learn how to govern what little there is to govern in Hannover, while his brothers Friedrich, Wilhelm, Eduard, Ernst August, August Friedrich and Adolph Friedrich get, by the grace of their royal relations abroad, to join the Prussian or British military services and have terrific, gentlemanly adventures. He’d much rather be royal canon fodder, too, than ever have to read and be examined on another book about crop farming ever again.

And what a life is this for a prince who has found his first grey hair and is pestered about not having produced an heir yet? No, Georg cannot do this anymore. He has to leave this life behind! Screw Hannover!

Tired of watching life pass him by, measuring Age Progressing by the increase in his waistline and the cousin his parents have invited to stay at their court (and whom Georg is 100% sure his mum pays a little pocket money to cosy up to him in order to report back on him to her), Georg decides he will do what a (reasonably) young man has to do, and follow his heart: He shall to Britain! And to the sea! The vast, empty horizons will soothe his tortured soul, yet encaged at Herrenhausen palace— and those uniforms are simply too fetching to resist!

When his brother Ernst comes to visit home on shore leave from the Navy, one night, Georg steals away in Ernst’s (admittedly rather tight-fitting) uniform and is discovered by cousin Caroline, whom he has long since suspected to be his mother’s obedient creature. To his surprise however, Caroline, rather than rousing the entire house, agrees to help Georg with the cover-up and, waking Ernst, explains to him what’s going on, telling him that finally, the way is clear for him! Has he not always lived in the shadow of his older brothers, particularly the heir to the electorate? Now is the time to step into the sun! Caroline advises Ernst to pose as Georg, just like Georg is posing as Ernst. The Elector, who is stark raving mad, at least in intervals (this is what they called porphyria back in the day), won’t notice! And Electress Charlotte will know better than to make a big stink, since that would set all Europe abuzz, and potentially endanger the family.

For a time, all goes well. Georg has a rather adventurous journey to England after his belongings were stolen along the way (dancing-masters and Latin tutors don’t teach street-smarts, after all), and ends up lost and stranded in northern Germany, where a kindly man with a thick French accent picks him up in his carriage and drives him to a red brick country house in Wittmoldt near the small town of Plön, where he feeds him and provides him with a change of clean clothes. Realising that he will either be taken hostage by someone opportunistic or alternatively taken for a lunatic if he claims to be the eldest son of the Elector of Hannover, Georg decides to claim to be but the son of an impoverished family of the lesser nobility, who by the good grace of an important connexion in England have managed to buy him a commission in the Navy. The man and his family, a rather gallant son, two charming daughters and a warm-hearted wife, implore him to stay a few days and recuperate. Georg thinks the Frenchman and his family are aiding him as much as they do on account of his profession to avenge their loss of their home once he joins the Navy, but in truth, the Marquis de La Fayette and his wife, ex-courtiers, know a royal when they see one, and sensing that Georg and his fighting-spirit might provide a welcome addition in the fight against Bonaparte, help him by buying a passage from Hamburg to England for him.

Our aspiring hero thanks his noble patrons profusely before at last safely reaching the shores of his dreams, where, once aboard ship, he alas finds himself in a Hornblower-esque Hell in the beginning, yet quickly adapts to naval life. From his ship, the new lieutenant writes to Caroline every week, thanking her for her help. In a return letter, she reveals to him that she could not deny him the freedom she yearns for herself but shall never obtain, being a woman and worse, a princess, and kindly keeps him updated on the family the runaway prince suddenly realises he loves dearly after all.

Meanwhile, Ernst has gotten a taste for power. He secretly hopes Georg will never come back, because this is fun! This is what he is truly good at! He enjoys the administrative stuff, the paperwork— and the idea that one day, he will be the Elector, and maybe even King of England, if that damned asthmatic Stuart will have the good grace to kick the bucket before fathering an heir.

He is finally appreciated, people jubilantly call out to him when they see him— it is only a pity that this is happening under the name of the older brother he begins to care less and less for the more he falls in love with his new role as crown prince.

A few years pass by, and Georg, now Captain, participates in the Battle of Trafalgar, where his extreme personal bravery is noted when his ship, HMS Cerberus, intercepted the French Redoutable before she could get within firing range of HMS Victory, probably saving the flagship, and the life of Britain’s greatest naval hero, Horatio Nelson. Ernst, or rather, Georg, is a celebrated hero to the British who loudly cry for Captain Prince Ernst of Hanover to be named the prospective successor to the crown rather than his dull older brother, Prince Georg, who sits on his fat German arse and does nothing all day while his younger brother is so valiantly defending the freedom of Europe from the Corsican tyrant.

In a letter to Caroline, Georg confesses that he thinks the jig is up and the charade must end; alas, Ernst is not of the same opinion. He is fine being Prince Regent of Hannover now that the Elector has descended into such a deep state of madness that he can no longer govern his territories, and although the British toast to his name, he is not sure if a secret trading back places is even possible.

To Georg’s great misfortune, Ernst, who, since her counsel has proven so valuable to him, has taken a liking to Caroline as his chief advisor, tries to keep him from returning home. In the meantime, he proposes to Caroline, whom he thinks is his most loyal friend, but Caroline, despite knowing the mocking jibes directed at spinsters, refuses him.

A frustrated Ernst, who however thinks himself secure on his preliminary throne, takes a few weeks off to let off some steam in Venice— time Georg, informed by Caroline, uses to return home. Of course, the return of Britain’s favourite naval hero to his native land does not go unnoticed, and Ernst hurries back home only to barge into a semi-secret meeting of George and Caroline in which George who has matured in the face of battle and bloodshed, upon seeing Caroline for the first time in many years, falls to his knees and confesses his love for her, more specifically how he fell in love with her through her letters.

Ernst, hurt and betrayed, is raging— Georg is going to take everything from him! The country, the woman he loves and who has so cruelly cheated him by not discouraging George’s confession— he wants his brother dead.

Luckily for Georg and Caroline, their sister Amelia, the youngest of the Hanoverian bunch and So Over It All and sympathising with Caroline, decides to step in and publishes an anonymous letter in the local newspaper claiming to be “a person of import and close connexion to the Electoral family”. In it, she claims that “Georg” is jealous of “Ernst”, the heroic naval officer and has proposed a duel, to be had in the park at Herrenhausen at daybreak on a fixed date a week from the publication date.

Naturally, the inhabitants of Hannover, and the British delegation at court, are up in arms, and on “Ernst”’s, i.e. Georg’s side. Cracking under the public pressure, Ernst unfortunately admits in an epic shouting match with the British ambassador that he wants to be rid of his brother.

Georg meanwhile, having cultivated a sense of responsibility and duty during his years in the Navy, decides to make a public appearance and end the charade, offering a document in which he cedes his right to the succession of the Electorate, provided his remaining brothers will accept Ernst as his successor and he be allowed safe passage to England, where he intends to live with Caroline upon a meagre pension and his pay as a naval officer. Naturally, his brothers refuse to sign the document and although he is well-loved in Britain, there still is the issue that Georg is not an officer, but has impersonated one, so matters come to a standstill for a time before a cheering British public makes it politick for William V to confer upon George (this is what he calls himself now) the rank of captain in his own name.

Facing an uncertain future, with the disgraced Ernst seething at home in Hannover and George longing for some peace and quiet to meditate about his life on a starry night upon a peaceful ocean, he bids adieu to Caroline to set sail once again and follow his true calling, with a storm brewing on the horizon of European politics, and that at home: for the seething Ernst is not done yet, and attempts to hurt him by seducing Caroline in his absence, who remains absolutely impervious to his platitudes and flattery.

Escaping Ernst’s wrath becomes a lot trickier once Caroline discovers she is pregnant, and in George’s absence gives birth to a daughter, Charlotte. Fearing Ernst, she keeps the pregnancy a secret even from George, as their letters might be intercepted and read; Charlotte, raised for the first year of her life by a nurse in a village a few miles from Hannover, is to become the apple of her father’s eye.

In the end, George returns from the war, marries Caroline, becomes King of Great Britain (his nickname being the “Sailor King”) when William V, last of the Stuarts, dies and helps Ernst obtain the title of King of Hannover as a gesture of goodwill and reconciliation.

His old benefactor La Fayette receives the Order of the Garter, and Amelia a country house in England, where, before her tragic early death from tuberculosis, she is frequently visited by a certain Charles FitzRoy.

Baby Charlotte is legitimised and doted on by both her parents, who shower her with love and affection and provide her with the most stable home life of any British royal to date. The Princess succeeds her father in his titles upon his death.

This is where fiction reverts back to actual history, and we enter the Charlottian Age, named after the long-living Queen whose reign was marked by significant leaps and bounds in technology and science, as well as the largest expansion of the British Empire. But that you know already.

And here, the snippet from the story:

Georg returns home for the first time and surprises Caroline in the garden:

“Caroline?” the gentleman breathed. His face was tanned by the sun, rather unfashionably so, and his coat of blue bleached by the same; perhaps it was not the sun in the sky which had so affected his appearance, but the brightness which seemed to inhabit his heart, for he beamed at her as if before him stood Lady Jersey or another of those fashionable ladies one read of in English magazines. “Georg?”, she replied in disbelief, as much at his leaner, more muscular appearance as at the fact that his radiant smile was clearly bestowed upon her— unwed, of little stature, plump, and aging, as her aunt’s courtiers never tired of reminding her.

All ceremony was lost when Georg, tired of her surprised silence, took her unceremoniously around the waist and lifted her up until her slippers no longer touched the ground. “Fie!” she laughed, and put an admonishing finger to his chest. “You perfect beast! Are those the manners of an English gentleman? You are creasing my muslin, and you will know what your mother’s ladies shall suppose if I were to return from my walk with my gown disordered.”

“They might suppose you were swept off your feet by a sailor,” he jested, which brought a great confusion on in her mind, for she could not say if his teasing was yet as brotherly as she had always supposed his sentiments for her were, judged by his dear letters which had been her chief delight; or if he meant something else by the way in which he took her hand and kissed it before offering her his arm. “Will you not shew me the way? I scarcely remember the garden, it must have been much altered in my absence,” noted he. She gratefully continued the conversation at his suggestion, for struck by surprise as she still was, her tongue was utterly tied, and her wit quite addled by the recent confusion. “Gladly. But might I be permitted to say that you are much altered, also?” He stopped: they were stood near the little bower in which she had bid him adieu, dressed in his brother’s clothes; it seemed to her like it was only yesterday when the aging fop had disappeared to seek for a foolhardy adventure at sea. Never should she have believed that he indeed would go, and not return within the hour when his feet would hurt from carrying his excess of blubber; she had let him go for she had had some measure of compassion for him, not because she had believed in the success of his designs— and yet, there he was, freshly returned from the war. His features, though somewhat weathered, had aged rather favourably, and when he smiled, he was almost to be considered handsome.

“I am not altered,” laughed he, “and you must get me inside unseen speedily, I remind you. For you cannot think that I shall have the family see me in that—” he tugged at his coat and made a face. “Look at the lace— all rusted in the salt air— no, it shall not do. And you must change also, my dear: a feather headdress, and the pearls— you had pearls when last we met, I hope you did not lose them at cards?”

She shook her head. “Excellent. You must promise me to wear them.”

“But why?”, she replied and made him stop in his brisk step. “Am I not—”

He shook his head abruptly, understanding her meaning perfectly. “Goodness, no, never— I just remember how fine you looked— how vastly well they complimented your complexion.” His cheeks blushed crimson, as if having fallen victim to too much rouge, and he averted her eyes as in silence, they returned to the palace. I hope you liked it! :D

#asks welcome but please don't expect something as long as this haha #ask #ask game #ask reply #nordleuchten #prinny #george iv #caroline von braunschweig-wolfenbüttel #charlotte princess of wales #princess amelia #ernest augustus king of hannover #george iii #charlotte stuart #william duke of gloucester #alternate timeline #writing #historical fiction #royal navy #18th century #19th century #marquis de lafayette #r writes

[no-gays-in-russia]

ESC 2023 pre-rehearsal top 37

Places 37-26

37. Ireland: I defended this as long as I could but I just can’t anymore lol. I will always defend this winning Eurosong because honestly they gave the best performance that night, so I think it is fair they won. But the song itself, while not the worst, just gets incredibly repetitive and annoying after a while of listening to it, with cheesy and unoriginal lyrics.

36. Israel: I’m just not a fan of girly bops, so it’s not surprising that I don’t like this. I’m a little sad though because at first it sounded like something I could actually get behind, but it just gets worse and worse the more it goes on lol. I love the instrumental beginning, and the verses too are actually quite mysterious and interesting. The song really loses me at the chorus and EVERYTHING ELSE most of all. Towards the end it gets crazy chaotic and the ending is weird and abrupt.

35. Belgium: thought this would never elevate itself from last place, this is progress! Gustaph definitely seems like a great, really nice guy, so that helps lol. He’s a really good singer and performer too and puts a lot into his song. I was really mad at the song originally because Chèrine didn’t win (lmao we were all so petty for no reason) but honestly it’s not even bad- it’s just not my style. But I can’t lie I’ve been jamming to it every now and then...

34. San Marino: no it genuinely hurts my heart to put them here because y’all can believe me or not but I actually know these dudes lol. Two of them teach at my music school and the singer is a student of my singing teacher. I know the guitarist personally because he’s played guitar for me a bunch of times and has also recorded and produced some Eurovision covers I did. So when they won in San Marino I was SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP. And I do have to say they are as far as I know super nice cool and talented guys. But I’m sorry, I really don’t like the song lol. It’s not awful, but it’s very repetitive, the singer sounds constantly pitchy (I swear our singing teacher is amazing pretty sure this is his fault lol) and the bridge with the high note is so... what? Part of me wants them to qualify because that’d be so cool but part of me just doesn’t want this song in the final... Let’s see what they do with the staging (I have some tea but I have been told not to spill it so I will stay quiet lol)

33. Romania: I relatively enjoyed the song at first, I like this bluesy vibe and his raspy voice, but listening to it more and more it’s started sounding quite annoying and weird. The lyrics are really random. He’s super talented for his age though!

32. Poland: BEJBAH. Okay look, the studio version actually is not THAT awful- it’s not my kind of thing, but the quality is fine and it’s somehow catchy. That live performance though... Oof. 

31. Italy: seems like we came back to our old bland ballad ways after the blessing that was Zitti e Buoni... again, not the worst song but so unoriginal, bland and just plain boring. I like the bridge and love his vocals though. The pre-chorus is also quite cool.

30. United Kingdom: I had it last when it first came out, but it’s honestly been growing on me. Once again, not a fan of girl bops, but this one is quite solid and catchy. For some reason this gives me hispanic vibes? Either way it’s enjoyable and the lyrics are also somehow cool.

29. Azerbaijan: similarly to Ireland, I was a huge defender of it originally but it’s been growing off me. First of all, twins make me uncomfortable lol. I’m talking identical twins that sing together- they have the same voice and it sounds like one guy’s voice being reduplicated, it’s weird and doesn’t sound good to me. But besides that they have nice voices, and the concept for the structure at least is good. The lyrics are really plain and meaningless, and factually the song ends up being repetitive and annoying.

28. The Netherlands: has been growing on me a lot honestly! At first I just found it terribly boring, but now I see that there’s a peculiar sweet sadness to it which somehow sets it apart. The lyrics are pretty, and their vocals in the studio version are good- it’s a shame they’ve been not so great live, because with a good live performance, this could really have potential. 

27. Malta: this is really catchy and fun, as well as the lyrics, but it’s a bit repetitive and just... I don’t know, feels empty and a bit meaningless? It’s fun, but not much else.

26. Ukraine: honestly, one of my biggest growers this ESC season. Similarly to Gustaph, back when Tvorchi won their NF I was mad that Jerry Heil or Krut hadn’t won, and unfairly projected that onto the song. As time went by I managed to clear my head of that; also the revamp has really elevated the song imo. Now I really enjoy listening to it, it’s dark, catchy and peculiar, with good structure too. I love the verse in Ukrainian and the instrumental at the end is gorgeous. 

#eurovision #eurovision song contest #esc #eurovision 2023 #eurovision song contest 2023 #esc 2023

[ticiie]

week 25: training camp scare: "that looked really bad"

prompt from the off-season winter sport challenge

pairing: Justin Murisier/Mauro Caviezel, Marco Odermatt/Gino Caviezel (implied)

characters: Justin Murisier, Mauro Caviezel, Gino Caviezel, Marco Odermatt, Semyel Bissig

length: 1040 words

The rock face stretched into the cloudless sky, impressive from afar and something on the verge of terrifying up close. There were two blotches standing out in the sea of dark grey, Justin in blue and Gino in orange, both of them tiny compared to the masses of the crag. Hannes had considered it a good team bonding event to take them all climbing and it had indeed been all fun and games until Gino had announced he wanted to try the red route, which signed the most difficult one, at least once before packing up. Justin then had turned things more exciting by suggesting a race to the top to see who was faster. Given the fact that neither of them had a lot of experience in this sport, Marco was rather worried. Still, Hannes and Renzo hadn’t wanted to stop the two. If all, they were impressed by their ambition. Standing at the foot of this monstrous wall with nothing else to do than to watch them certainly didn’t help Marco’s nerves. 

“Gino must’ve gotten training in Italy or he would’ve backed out, wouldn’t he?”, Semyel asked. He was standing next to Marco and had the camera his phone fixed on the competition, to have solid prove of the winner in case it would turn into a close call. 

“Don’t know”, Marco mumbled absentmindedly. He was chewing on the inside of his cheek, hands hidden in his pockets so the others wouldn’t see the obvious signs of his nervousness. 

In the wall, Justin looked up. His current position gave him the chance to catch a breath while the sharp edges of the rock were cutting in his hands. He caught Gino’s gaze who was resting himself a few meters above Justin. 

“Are you getting tired, old man?”, he asked. Justin wanted to show him the finger but then he heard something crack and the next thing he knew was that he was falling. Justin had gone through more injuries and potential traumatic experiences than he had ever intended to. But this second right now, where he could actually see the wall coming closer and his brain switched to autopilot and made him stretch out his feet to prevent crashing against it was by far the worst in his life. Only when he could feel his body being still again, Justin dared to look around. He had only dropped by half a pitch; Gino was still secured where he had been before and the ground was still far below. Justins heart was pumping in his chest and he was breathing heavily. That could’ve ended a lot worse, he thought to himself. 

“Are you hurt?” 

“No, everything okay!” 

“Alright, let’s get down before we get ourselves killed.” 

Justin protested. “You go down, I want to finish this!” He reached for the next edge and had caught up with Gino in no time again. Once they were on the same level, Gino eyed him from head to toe to make sure Justin really hadn’t hurt himself. 

“You really think you can keep going?” 

“Yes! Now get moving before I need to listen to you complaining about how it wasn’t a fair finish!” 

--

Justins phone rang the same second as they all climbed out of the minivan that had brought them back to the hotel. He let himself fall behind the others so they wouldn’t immediately know who he was talking to. Although, it probably was terribly obvious thanks to the huge smile that was urging itself on his face. 

“What are you still doing up?”, he asked while kicking a pebble around on the parking lot. Mauro scoffed gave him a humourless laugh in return. 

“You really think I'm able to sleep after something like that? It looked really bad, are you okay?” It took Justin a second to understand what Mauro was talking about exactly. 

“You mean the climbing? It was nothing, don’t worry.” 

“Did you hit your head? That was not nothing, you could’ve hurt yourself, people have died doing something so risky, are you out of your mind-” 

“Mauro, calm down! I’m okay, I promise.” 

The line fell silent and Justin hated the feeling that spread inside of him. A mixture of missing Mauro and guilt about worrying him. He sat on the curb that separated the parking lot and the street. Mauro sighed. 

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking about the risks.” 

“It’s just that I don’t want to see you injured again.” 

Half a planet stood between them, yet Justin had no troubles picturing Mauro in a similar position as himself, at the kitchen table perhaps or maybe on the balcony, overlooking the starlit lake and the valley. “Wait, how come you even know about it?”, Justin eventually asked after they had talked about the nothings of the day. 

“Semyel sent me a video. And don’t you dare to give Gino a head start, I only called you first because...well, the obvious.” 

“Oh, you mean-” Mauro interrupted Justin before he got to finish the innuendo. 

“No, we’re not doing that right now. I need to scream at Gino first.” 

“Alright, but once you’re done with that, reckon you can call me back?” 

“Mhm, we’ll see. Don’t get your hopes up. That idiot can be glad there’s a literal ocean keeping me from kicking his stupid ass.” 

Justin failed in supressing his laughter and on the other side, Mauro was smiling to himself as well. It felt real and honest and the weight of the day was pulled off his shoulders when hearing Justin’s laugh. They kept on talking for a little longer, until Justin noticed Marco in the doorframe of the entry, gesturing Justin to hurry so they all could start with eating. 

“I gotta go”, he said. “Don’t kill Gino or it’ll be up to me to comfort Marco.” 

“Nothing anyone wants to do. Tell all of them I say hi, besides Gino.” 

“Will do. I miss you.” 

“I miss you too.” 

They hung up and Justin paced back to the hotel. For no money in the world would he have wanted to be Gino right now and he figured that warning Marco about what was about to happen would be the least he could do. 

#osws fandom challenge #osws #rpf #ski alpin #justin murisier #mauro caviezel #marco odermatt #gino caviezel #ginodi #shoutout to wunderlichkind #fanfic

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

One thing I have to say about FFH is that Italy in fact has horrible hotels 🙃 we went with my school to Venice and Gardaland in 2016 I think and we were staying in 3 star hotel which looked and smelled like it's falling apart. I've been to Italy multiple times after that and every time the hotel was terrible (can't talk about 5 star hotels though) so I did find the hotel in Italy pretty realistic lol. I agree though. Literally everyone except white Americans are stereotyped to extreme in any Hollywood films. Sometimes to a point where you can't enjoy it anymore

haha yeah, Italy has its fair share of bad hotels 😂

It's always stereotypes and pretty bad so-called representation when they should be treating them (us) just like everyone else. And these people live in states that are usually crowded with folks from all over the world so it makes no sense to me. Again, this has an easy fix: just hire people who have lived a little and are capable of writing for everyone not just their tiny bubble.