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distracteddegenerate · 3 years

Text

Carnation

Yuta x Fem!reader

Warnings: period sex, lots of blood mentions, yandere undertones for Yuuta, TW.Dubcon if you squint I just want to be safe lol, unprotected sex, smut

Got super carried away with this one which is why it’s so long lol. I decided to combine the asks since I have got a lot for Yuta. Second anon if you’re uncomfortable with this fic which is understandable lol just shoot me another ask and I can do something else for you.

You lay curled in your bed, the sheets and pillows a mess around you, a fluffy hot water bottle cradled tightly to your front. The side of your body you laid on was beginning to ache from pressure, and you felt flush from heat, but you dared not move. You dreaded the intensifying of the stabbing pains your own body was wretchedly subjecting you to. Of course today would be the heaviest of your period, the day you had scheduled for a study session with Yuta. He was due to come over in about half an hour, and your pains were yet to ease up at all, despite the painkillers you had recently downed. You could cancel, yet, this was the first ever study session you had set up with your handsome friend, and you were loath to cancel it over something that would clear itself up eventually.

You closed your eyes, and pulled the hot water bottle you gripped like a lifeline closer to the source of your suffering.

~~~

*knock knock*

Fuuuuck. Was it that time already? You groggily sat up, releasing your water bottle and in replacement lightly pressing your hand against the throbbing pain that was starting to surge more strongly in the pit of your belly. You gently placed your feet on the ground off the side of your bed, and rose onto the balls of them just as delicately. You began your gloomy shuffle towards the entrance of your room, fixing your ruffled hair into place.

You pulled the door open on yourself slowly, croaking as Yuta’s tired but docile face materialised into view.

“Good evening, (Name)-chan.” Yuta had his hands in his pockets and wore a kindly smile, the only thing betraying his pleasant demeanour being those familiar dark circles dusking the underside of his eyes. Dreary though they appeared, you could swear you saw a specular shimmer dance across his irises when he registered your form.

“Ah good evening to you too, Yuta! Come in and make yourself at home, I have some stuff set up on the coffee table.” You tried your best to look as perfectly in humour as you could, to not draw any attention to your current pain stricken condition. Must have been good enough, as Yuta had nodded in response and was now making his way over to nestle himself onto one of the pillows you had placed next to your make-shift study station.

You yourself was headed to the kitchenette, about to ask what Yuta wanted to drink when a sharp stab erupted from your core. You threw your hand onto a countertop and visibly winced, when you noticed Yuta’s widened eyes had been following you.

“(Name)! Are you okay?!” Yuta’s expression was alarmed, prepared to pounce up from his seating.

“Uh- I er uh- tripped over! Nothing to worry about!” You were blushing slightly, but righted yourself regardless and tried to stand as straight as you could. Yuta seemed slightly confused, and whilst he opened his mouth to speak you interrupted him with a casual “So what would you like to drink?”

“Er.. I’m fine actually, I had something before I left home... actually I think you should come sit down, er, carefully.” He still looked a little concerned. You nodded your head and made your way over to his side. Settling yourself down, you could feel more pain pulsating within you, a low rumble threatening another great stab like you had experienced just. You drew your legs to your chest in an attempt to alleviate it slightly, and picked up your copy of “a comprehensive guide to the relation of curses and the law”; holding it open in front of you.

You could feel Yuta’s gaze still trained on you.

~~~

“So, although the police would have to intervene if someone was hurt or killed in the incident, sorcerers still have the right to- er - (Name)?”

Crap. You were too focused on the waves of torture oscillating in your guts to keep your attention on Yuta explaining the info that went over your head in class to you again. And he noticed. You looked up at him softly, and offered a subdued “sorry.” You didn’t really have energy to maintain your act of being fine anymore. His eyes looked concerned. You turned your head to the floor and fiddled with your hands.

“Hey, (Name).” You heard him shift and alter the positioning of his legs. “Is it that time of the month?”

What?! Who asks that like this?!

You threw your head back up to look at him, your face red and mouth agape. He threw his hands up defensively.

“Sorry, sorry!” He hurriedly turned his gaze into the distance and rubbed the back of his neck. “I just.. I have a little sister, so I’m used to this sort of thing, or at least I know a bit more about it than other guys.” He looked back to you. “It seems like the pains at least are distracting you from your studies, if you need painkillers or something.. I can go get them for you.”

“I er...I already tried that… doesn’t work out that well for me.” Was your meek, barely audible reply. You played with the tassel of the pillow you were sat on. Yuta looked pained on your behalf.

“Y’know… I read online somewhere that there’s always something you can try out failing all else.” He caught your gaze, and held it intently.

It must be too good to be true, how would Yuta know some hidden method that you (as someone who experienced periods) didn’t know about for dealing with the pains?! Your eager look betrayed itself when a switch flicked in your head and your expression turned into one of astonishment. There’s no way he’s gonna suggest…

“Org*sms.”

You’d known Yuta for awhile now, but you had no idea just how… artless he was. Where was his tact?! Your cheeks burned from embarrassment. You felt like your face was about to explode.

Looking at him though, he was practically unfazed! As if you were going about some matter-of-a-fact order of business. What was this situation!

“I-is.. that a joke Yuta?” Your hands were curling into tight balls.

“Of course not, (Name). You look like you’re in so much pain. I just want to help alleviate it.”

What the hell did he mean by that? Like you will just hop up right now and go jerk yourself in the bathroom as casually as using the toilet.. Or.. could he have meant..

You felt Yuta’s hand settle on your thigh, as he leant down further towards you. “I can help you out (Name)-chan.”

You couldn’t deny, you’d always found Yuta handsome, but for things to move along this quickly… and of all times! Surely his level of straight-forwardness defied all social conventions, and yet, it was working. The feel of his hand resting on you, his hungry stare, the way he loomed over you, chest rising and falling intently. You could feel a different kind of ache emanating from your lower parts.

His hand drifted further up your body, coming to stop just below your belly button. “I want to help you… (Name)-chan.” You looked into his dark eyes. They were intense, hungry. You could swear he was salivating.

“B-but Yuta.. I-I’m.. You know! Isn’t that.. Gross? For you?” He shot you a sheepish grin, hiding his eyes in an evasive fashion. His hand travelled downwards once more, snaking up the inside of your loose-fitting shorts and looping his fingers over the sides of your panties. He toyed with them, rolling the cloth over your skin and lightly pulling at them. “I don’t think any part of you is gross, (Name)-chan.” His eyes flicked open again, drawing you back into his intensity. “I think every part of you is beautiful, even.” You could sense his earnestness, and it made your cheeks burn. You went to throw your hands up to them, but he quickly caught them in his. “So, what’s your answer?” He planted a kiss in your palm. “Do you want my help? (Name)-chan.”

Fuck.. the way he looked at you. Those ferocious, hooded eyes. Those calloused hands, usually wrapped around a katana, wrapped around yours right now. The burning you felt between your legs. God yes. God, you wanted it.

The alleviation of pain (and studying) was an afterthought.

~~~

Yuta had returned back to your living space with a towel from the bathroom. What? you didn’t want to get the floor messy. You could see an erection straining tightly against his black pants.

Fuck, you were really gonna do this. He set it down flat on the floor, and invited you to come situate yourself on it.

~~~

After removing his shirt (It was white, after all), Yuta knelt himself down in front of you. He had a certain glint in his eyes, almost conflicting the harmless smile that he also wore, as if he wasn’t about to blissfully pound your bloody c*nt into oblivion. He undid the front buckle of his pants, a bulge emerging, the explicitness of his bare dick concealed by gray underwear. He began palming at the protuberance. You eyed the display curiously, when you had a sudden realisation.

“Y-Yuta, w-what about… protection?” you asked, uneasily.

“Hm? (Name)-chan, you’re on your period, remember? You won’t get pregnant.”

“B-but..”

He cut you off. “I don’t have anything. Trust me.”

You nodded and grunted in acknowledgement. Yuta was always a trustworthy figure for you. Your strong, reliable friend who you could always depend on. He always took care of you, even during skirmishes with curses, arriving at your side before things even had the chance to get particularly hairy.

You watch Yuta as he tilts his keeling body forward, his hands landing on your ankles before travelling upwards, spreading your legs open in the process. You feel yourself blushing once again, tossing your head to the side. You can feel the front of your damp p*nties being touched, jumping in slight surprise at the abrupt action before Yuta starts rubbing at your cl*t through the fabric. He notices your breathing falter.

“Do you like it, (Name)-chan? Do you like how it feels when I rub you there?”

You mumble a small “yes.”

He’s applying more pressure to his administrations now. “Do you want me to take your p*nties off? So I can touch you properly?”

You answer yes again, this time more hastily.

With that, he curls his fingers over the sides of your p*nties, dragging your legs into the air as he twists his body appropriately in order to shimmy the restrictive fabric off of you. He casts them to the side, before pulling your trembling limbs back into their previous position. Once he settled them back down, he kept his hands on your thighs as he drank in the glory of your exposed c*nt quivering before him, the string of your tampon peaking out in a taunting manner.

You heard him cooing at you quietly. “Beautiful.”

You cringed, wondering if he’d still be thinking that when he’s stained with blood. Even so, you couldn’t help but melt under the feeling of his fingertips tracing circles into your inner thighs. The way you felt a thumb flick over your n*ked sex.

“Is your stomach still hurting you?” The sudden question snapped you out of your stupor.

Truth be told, you’d almost completely forgotten about your pains you were so caught up in the moment, but something held you back from saying so. As if Yuta would stop touching you if you let him know the “reason” for the two of you doing this was almost completely resolved. And, you were relishing in the tenderness of his comforting too much for it to stop.

“Y-Yes..”

Yuta bent further over you, his head looming over your core. He sunk down, his face leaning into the space of your skin where your tummy and pelvis met. He planted a light kiss there.

“Well, I’m gonna make you feel better.”

His grip on your thighs tightened as his head lifted, his presence shadowing over you once again as he held himself higher. Your heart pounded. He leaned further on your left thigh and removed his hand from the other, as you felt fingers poking at your aching heat again.

Could you feel… pulling?

You felt a horrible, obscene slick escape you suddenly when Yuta yanked out your tampon. He pinched it limply in fingers, observing it slightly before placing it on the towel you shared.

“Yuta?!” You whelped. It was ironic. The two of you were sharing an intimate moment with each other, almost completely exposed. But this? It felt somewhat... invasive.

You could sense Yuta shrugging. “It needed to come out.” Before you even had a chance to respond, you could feel him caressing your folds. He was circling his thumb over them, the peak of the eclipse swiping over your cl*t. “Don’t worry, (Name)-chan you look beautiful.”

You looked to him, but he didn’t return the gaze. His stare was boring into your most private parts, hungrily eating up the view. The calloused hand still wrapped around your leg was gripping on tightly, as you felt Yuta dip a finger into your sopping c*nt.

“Fuck.. it’s so.. wet.”

Well, that was a given you supposed. But you knew a lot of what was down there was also probably your usual feminine slick, with the way he was making you ache. He continued pumping his finger in and out, the motion becoming deeper and rougher, him gaining confidence in what you were willing to take in. You could feel your muscles strain around it.

“That’s three.”

“Wait, w-what?!”

“Three fingers, (Name)-chan. You’re drenched down here.” You felt him remove his digits, Spreading them out across your lips. You then felt him draw a line across your inner thighs that intersected your p*ssy in the middle. Was he… playing in it? You decided not to question, you were too caught up in a wanton haze, hips bucking upwards, begging for his touch to return to your most sensitive parts.

“Y-yuta..”

He looked at you and smiled sincerely. “-just need to make sure you’re nice and loose for me, (Name)-chan.” Before you could react, plunging fingers speared your weeping c*nt, pumping with violent pace. You yelped and crumpled in on yourself when you felt his fingers curl against your velvety walls, yielding against the pressure. You squirmed underneath him even more when he began spreading them, parting your insides. You hummed, laying your hand over the top of his head, entwining yourself in the strands of his hair.

He shifted into your touch. “God, love this. So fucking beautiful.”

He peered at you from beneath those dark lashes. “You think you’re ready?”

“Hm?”

“For my cock.”

At that, you nodded, releasing your grasp on his hair and trailing your hand down his chest as he straightened himself, looping his fingers over the sides of his boxers, staining it with blood. He tugged them down, his painfully erect dick springing out into open air. You found yourself surprised at the length. Yet, He was focused on you. Pointing at your top half he asked you, “Can you take all of this off?”

You nodded and complied hurriedly.

When you were done Yuta was quick, grabbing your knees to hold you in place, leaning over to plant yet another doting kiss on your body, This time in the space between your bare breasts. You felt him begin to push into you. He managed the entirety of his length, before pulling himself almost all the way out again. You noticed how he looked down, admiring the sheen of your blood now coating his member. He quickly snapped his hips back into you again, and began assuming a steady pace of rutting. Your legs found themselves wrapping around him, your ankles cross sectioning across his taught upper back. You wanted to tell him it felt good, but the most you could manage was a weak moan.

That seemed to set something off within him. He lunged over you, enveloping your entire body with his own. He planted one hand on the towel beneath you, firmly beside your head. The other found itself groping a t*t, clawing over it to pinch your hard nipple, surrounding the ar*ola with petals of red. His pace was raw and piercing, but the slight discomfort you felt was laced with a more intense pleasure.

You heard him groan. “-god.. You feel so good. Fucking you like this.. It’s just so.. primal.” He was lightly scraping his nails against you, tracing trails of scarlet down your body. You understood what he meant by that perfectly. The way he was looking down at you, almost slavering at the lips at your vulnerable form, like some wild animal lost in it’s lust.

The feeling of it, the sounds of it. It was also so expl*cit. Yet so gratifying.

You lost yourself, allowing Yuta to abuse your lower half as he pleased, even matching your hips to his punishing motions. The l*wd squelching noises as he fucked into your excessive wetness, the way he played with your sensitive nipple at the same time, your entire being yearning into his ministrations.

“I-I’ve always dreamt of this, (Name)-chan” You were too lost in a fucked out haze to really respond, humming lightly as you stroked the arm gripping your breast. His pace got even quicker then, rougher. His form that was already entirely draped over yours weighed down on you with even more pressure, the slap of his bucking hips against your buttox resounding loudly. It’s all too much, your legs weak when you cream his c*ck, a wave of release gushing out of you as your heat throbs wildly.

Your limbs go weak as you reel from the org*sm, your walls spasming around Yuta as he continued his bucking.

Yuta’s gaze rests on your dazed expression, his dark eyes settling over you. “You needed my c*ck didn't you?” He moves the hand that was on your bre*st to caress over your face. “Desperately. I know you did.”

You felt Yuta’s pace get rougher, losing it’s steady tempo as he chases closer to his climax. He thrusts into you heartily a final time before his release spills into you, closing his eyes as he rides out his orgasm out slowly and tenderly. He remains inside for sometime after, rubbing your hips with his thumb as he admires the mixture of c*m and blood streaming out of your hole and cascading down his dick.

“Beautiful.”

He looks to your face now, smiling gently.

“So, do you feel better now, (Name)?”

#jjk #yuta okkotsu #yuta okkotsu x reader #jujutsu kaisen #okkotsu yuta x reader #reader x jjk #jjk x reader #dark jjk #period sex #okkotsu yuta #okkotsu yuuta #yuuta okkotsu x reader #okkotsu yuuta x reader #tw.yandere #tw.blood #tw.periods #tw.dubcon #smut #jjk smut

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willow-salix · 3 years

Text

How about I throw out a new chapter?

That'll be nice for a Saturday, right?

Meh, have one anyway.

Here's a snippet:

Selene grabbed a slice of pizza from the box on the table and dropped down onto the couch next to Gordon, uncaring as to the fact that he was barely dressed. When you watched him dive in and out of the pool in his Olympic issue swimming speedos just because he felt like it, you were pretty much desistized to anything.

She took a bite and made a face, it wasn’t the best pizza she’d ever had, not that that would stop her, she started to chew. Tonight was definitely the time for comfort food and pizza, even when bad, is still pretty good.

“Why are you in my flat?” she asked around a mouthful. She chewed some more and swallowed quickly when she saw the look on his face. “Not that I mind you letting yourself in, you know you’re always welcome. But I thought you were with Penny for the whole weekend.”

Gordon shrugged casually, but his eyes flickered towards the discarded pile of clothes on the floor beside the couch. It looked like one of his new suits and really shouldn’t have been treated in such a way. The jacket was scrumpled in a ball and the pants left where they had fallen, the shirt lay tossed over the arm of the couch and the shoes had been kicked off haphazardly, one lying under the table while the other had flown clear across the room to land by the dresser.

“Didn’t feel like it once I got there, I left Penny to her networking and caught a cab back here as I wouldn't have been able to get into the manor.”

Selene scowled, that wasn't like him, he was one of the more social Tracys and, since he was still relatively young, he usually jumped at the chance to spend time off island if he could. A party or a dinner was usually greeted with great enthusiasm. She decided to ignore that for now, he'd tell her in his own time. Years ago she would have pushed him more, but now they all knew her well enough to know that she was there to listen whenever they needed her and would seek her out if they wanted to.

"How was the conference?" she asked instead, swiping his bottle of beer, one of John's he had obviously liberated from the fridge, and taking a sip. "You must have been so excited to be asked to speak."

Again he shrugged. "It was OK, I'm pretty sure they only asked me out of courtesy for Penny and because it looked good to have someone from International Rescue on the schedule. It was pretty boring really."

"Why did you say yes then? It's not like you don't have a good excuse to get out of anything you don't fancy."

"Penny said it would be good for me to start making a name for myself, she's right, I'm not getting any younger-"

Selene snorted at this, Gordon was only 26, he had his whole life ahead of him. Although, if anyone knew that your life could be changed or even snuffed out at any moment, it was Gordon, so she kept quiet.

"She said that I should start thinking about my long term plans. We can't be doing International Rescue full time forever and, while we do have enough money to never have to work, you know we'd all get bored. Everyone else seems to have a backup already, John does his remote lectures and writes his books, and you know that he's always being called on to consult or collaborate with someone for something or another. Virgil has that fancy engineering degree of his, he's always tinkering around with Brains and the things they invent together could keep them busy for years to come. Alan is all fresh and new, he's already making a name for himself online with his team ups with Brandon, and Scott could walk into a job with the air Force or the GDF without even pausing to ask, then there's me, no college education, no specialist subjects-"

"Bullshit," Selene cut in. "A college education isn't for everyone, just because you don't have a piece of paper doesn't mean you aren't smart or an expert in your field. Someone once told me that, because I didn't have that kind of higher education I wasn't as smart as them, that I wasn't capable of making decisions because I didn't have the same knowledge they did. But knowledge is subjective, babe."

Gordon snorted at that, he knew what it was like too, he knew how people would judge him as the dumb brother because he'd chosen a different path than the more academic one the others had taken.

"It's true," she insisted. "Look at John, as much as I adore that man, he's proof that all the book smarts in the world can't always compare to common sense or life experience. You can know all about astrophysics but if you don't know how to interact with people or how to survive in the world then you're fucked either way. You are amazing, you know science and biology and genetics or you wouldn't have made those beautiful fish or done so much for marine conservation and, no matter who you're dating, the Friends of the Ocean yearly conference would not have let you speak if you didn't know your shit."

"I know," he sighed, "but it doesn't always feel that way, you know?"

"Oh, believe me I know," she rolled her eyes and reached for another slice of pizza.

"I guess it's just hard to be surrounded by such high achieving brothers. I look at Penny and I think what is she doing with me? She would be much better suited to someone like Scott, or John, you know."

"I'm pretty sure that Cat and I would have something to say about that. Besides, look at me and John, it's not like anyone would put us two together. On paper we shouldn't work at all, we're far too different. Yet we do. You can't help who you fall in love with."

Gordon's eyes slid sideways to watch her, the tone in her voice telling him that she wasn't just talking about his brother at that moment. There was something there that spoke of past experiences that didn't hold good memories for her.

He frowned, a thought occurring to him, one that he just had to voice.

"Sel, why are you here? You don't have any clients booked, I know because you said that was why Scott had to drop me off, because you weren't heading back for at least a week."

Selene kept quiet, her eyes on her pizza slice. This wasn't like her, she usually needed to be prised off his brother and dragged away kicking and screaming. She liked to spend the majority of her time on the island with them even if John wasn't home.

"Did something happen?" Gordon's voice was quiet, comforting, not pushing her to speak but inviting her to confide in him if she wanted to.

"I just needed some space, some time alone," she finally admitted, still not looking at him as she fiddled with the crust of her pizza.

"Oh, do you need me to go? Sorry, I know I should have asked but I didn't know where else to go and I couldn't really face the questions back home." Trust him to burst in and make himself a nuisance when he wasn't welcome, it seemed to be the story of his life.

"No, you're fine," she assured him, patting his bare knee. "I get it. I don't need space from you, just your idiot brothers."

"Which ones, I have a lot," he grinned, relaxing a little now that they were back on more familiar territory.

"John and Scott."

His eyebrows rose at this. Scott he could understand, but she never needed time away from John, in fact she was always complaining that she didn't get enough.

"I walked out on my husband," she whispered, the slice of pizza hanging limply from her fingers. "He was upset and so was I but I left him, I walked out."

Gordon could not have been more shocked if she had suddenly grown a fishtail and whacked him in the crotch with it.

"Tell me what happened," he said, it wasn't a question, it was a silent demand, showing him to have the same authority that his father had, just in a more laid back package.

She didn't want to talk, she didn't want to drag it all up again now that she had finally calmed down from her breakdown at ten thousand feet. She didn't want to start thinking about it all again, but Gordon was there, all endearing face and big brown eyes that implored her to talk to him, to trust him. Maybe he wouldn't judge her too harshly, maybe he would understand. She risked a glance his way, seeing the firm set to his jaw, letting her know on no uncertain terms that he was not prepared to let this go.

"John punched my ex-fiance in the face and broke his nose," she answered, knowing she had no other choice.

OK, if he had thought her last statement was shocking this little revelation shot it into orbit.

"He…what? John? My brother John?"

"Yep, with the other dumbass tagging along for good measure apparently."

"OK, OK, give me a second to get my head around this, I need to process. My brother, the one that is usually so against violence of any kind, straight up punched your ex?"

Selene nodded.

"Come on, surely you aren't pissed off at him for that? He must have had a good reason for it!"

"Well, Nathaniel isn't a good guy at the best of times..."

"Nathaniel? I don't know about him."

Selene frowned, glancing his way again. Was he being honest with her right now, did he really not know? Surely if Penny knew then she would have told Gordon too?

“Penny didn’t tell you?” she asked, needing to clarify.

“One thing to remember about Penny is that she's very good at keeping secrets and knows how to keep things close to her chest. She only ever tells what she thinks you need to know,” he chuckled lightly but to Selene's ears it lacked his usual humour, sounding a little flat. “So, spill, I’m all ears. You know that a problem shared is, well maybe not a problem halved but at least you won’t be suffering on your own.”

Selene smiled softly, he really was the best boy. She'd admit that if she had to pick someone to open up to and talk to about her problems, Gordon probably wouldn’t be at the top of her list, but in times like these he reminded her of just how awesome he really was. It was easy to forget that he could be serious, it often got lost in the bad jokes and his general enthusiasm for life, but that didn't mean that he wasn't as dependable as the others.

"It's a long story."

"I've got time," he gestured down to his almost naked self and the half eaten pizza. "Not like I'm going anywhere."

Selene paused, did she really want to dredge it all up again? The answer was no, but, whatever Nathaniel did as retaliation, and there was no question that he would, was bound to spill over into all their lives. They would all find out sooner or later, hell, it seemed like half of them knew already, it would be better for it to come from her in her own words.

"We're gonna need more beer,” she sighed, tossing the half eaten pizza slice back in the box.

Read the rest here on Ao3 ➡

#gordon tracy #john tracy #scott tracy #selene tempest #thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds 2015 #thunderbirds fanfiction #paranormalromance #thunderbirdsarego #witch #chapter update

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sillyrabbit81 · 3 years

Text

Her Heavy Cross

Summary: Three years after tragedy hits, Lana she decides to start dating again. She meets Will through a dating app and they begin an online romance. After months of constant requests, Lana relents and agrees to meet and go on an irl date with Will. But is Will who he says he is? Lana is quickly pulled into an intense relationship forcing her to confront her tragic past. Will Lana face it or will she close her heart forever?

Pairing: OMC x OFC

Word Count: approx 3k

Warnings: swearing, angst, implied smut

Authors Note: The story started as a Henry Cavill fanfiction but I changed it to be an original character, but shades of Henry are still there. Hope you enjoy the story and thanks for reading.

Part 10 Part 12

Part 11

The next few days were monotonous. Most mornings, I would go to the gym. Then I'd head off to work. After work, I'd take Perrin for a walk. We stopped at the dog park a few times to throw the ball. Then I'd go home and read or watch tv. After dinner, I would FaceTime Liam before falling asleep.

Although I missed him terribly, it had been good to have some space. I was able to think about us a bit. Liam was always great on the phone, a gentleman even. Yes, he flirted with me and made inappropriate comments, but they were always in context. I'd be lying if I said I didn't flirt with him back. But it was nice to get to know him better, and I decided I definitely liked him as a person and a lover. He was sweet, sincere, funny and warm, the same as he was when he was Will. He seemed to accept who I was. There were no digs at me, maybe some friendly ribbing, but it seemed he liked me too. We spent a lot of time laughing. We had a similar sense of humour.

He opened up about some of his past relationships, how he felt about them and what went wrong. A lot of the times, he admitted to fault, especially in the early ones. I talked a bit about Andy but kept a lot back. No doubt, he noticed.

Thursday afternoon changed everything.

Liam called me when I was driving home from work at about four-thirty. It broke with our routine. We usually spoke around nine o'clock. I answered the phone, and Liam's voice came through the speakers.

"Hello, Sweetheart. How was your day?"

I smiled at this now familiar greeting. "Really good, Liam. How was yours? Have you finished work already?"

"Yeah, good. I'm supposed to stay for another hour, but I wasn't needed, so I left." Liam paused and said, "Listen, Lana, I have to tell you something."

"Oh, no."

"Yesterday, a parent from your school saw the pictures of us." I went cold. I was 10 minutes from my house, but I pulled over. "She left a message on one of the pictures that you look like a teacher from her kid's school." Oh shit. "Anyway, this morning, you were on duty at the "kiss and drop", whatever that is."

Robotically I said, "it's where the parents drop the kids off at school without getting out of the car." I could see where this is as going.

"Right." He sounded strange but continued. "Well, they took a picture of you, put that side by side with the others. Long story short, Sarah was called to confirm your name."

"Oh, for fucks sake." I was pissed off. "What did she tell them?"

"She said she couldn't confirm or deny."

"In other words, yes, but my boss said, don't say anything."

"That's a bit unfair, Lana. She can't lie to them, or they won't bother calling her when they get a story. They will just run it because they can't trust what she says."

"Fuck this," I said and hung up on Liam.

I slammed my foot down on the accelerator and spun the tires. I had a Toyota Camry SX. It's sort of sporty, but it's not meant to be driven like that, but I was fuming. Liam rang again, but I ignored it. I backed off and slightly and rounded a corner, tires chirping as I went. I fumbled in my bag, driving one-handed until I found and lit a cigarette. As stupid as it was, I drove the rest of the way home like that.

When I got home, I quickly changed into my Draggin jeans, leather jacket and riding boots. I grabbed my helmet, gloves and went for a ride.

I loved being on the bike. Andy was the first guy I'd been with who rode. I remembered the first time he got me on the bike. He hadn't even let the clutch out, and I screamed and jumped off. The second time was better, and I went around the block before I got off. The third time, I was hooked. I loved holding onto his waist as we rode, my chest pressed against his back, my thighs touching his, my hands under his t-shirt. I loved the heavy thrumming of the bike, the wind whistling past. It was exciting, erotic, but also calming. Calming is what I needed.

I was so angry. Not at Liam or Sarah. Or even the bitch who outed me or the others who put my photo out there in the first place. I didn't know who I was angry with. Hollywood? Gossip? Social media? Myself? Maybe I was mad at myself. I deserved it. I'd turned my back on Andy, fucked another guy, and now I'm in a relationship with him, according to public record. Every time someone googles my name, his will come up.

The parents at school will give me looks, and I won't know what they are thinking. Will they be laughing at me? And if it didn't work out, everyone would know. I would have to go through a break up while everyone watched, picked at it, chose sides and commented.

I rode for about an hour up through the Blue Mountains. When I stopped for petrol at Wentworth Falls, my thoughts had settled, and I was thinking clearer. I stopped at a cafe, got a coffee and checked my phone. Liam had called twice more and sent a few messages. Riza had called and texted me.

I checked Riza's first. It was a link to an article, Liam Cross's Secret Aussie Lover. Her text simply said, "Jen just found this. Call me if you need me." I didn't click the link.

I checked Liam's. He said he wants to make sure I'm ok. Then he said he wants to come over and talk to me.

I called Liam. He seemed to answer before it even rang. "Sweetheart. Are you ok?" He sounded a bit frantic.

I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"I knew you'd be upset."

"Upset is one thing. I snapped at you and blamed Sarah. You're right. It's not her fault."

"Lana, don't worry about that. Did you read the article?"

"No."

Liam was quiet a while. Then he said, "Are you ok now?"

"Yeah, I'm ok. I just needed some time to calm down." I let out a short laugh. "I am a redhead after all. I have a temper."

Liam laughed, "Do I have to be worried about being stabbed in my sleep?"

"Nah, being a redhead wouldn't make me do that. I get that part of me from being a Scorpio."

"I don't know whether to be scared or turned on right now."

I smirked, "Why not be both?"

Liam laughed and then got serious. "You sure you're ok? Do you want me to come over? I almost did get in my car when you wouldn't answer."

"Stalker," I teased.

"And that's why I didn't."

"I'm not at home anyway."

"Where are you?"

"I took off on the bike to clear my head. I'm in the mountains right now."

"The mountains?"

"Yeah, the Blue Mountains. Look west tomorrow, and you'll see them."

"I'll do that." Liam paused. "I'm really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow."

"I'm looking forward to seeing you too. Bye, Liam."

"Bye, Sweetheart."

I finished my coffee and rode home.

I texted Riza to let her know I was ok. I played with Perrin. I texted my brother to remind him to pick Perrin up tomorrow afternoon. I ate some dinner before packing my bag for tomorrow and went to bed. It was a long time before I finally fell into a restless sleep.

Liam Cross's Secret Aussie Lover

"Pictures of Liam Cross, 38, with an unknown female were circulating on social media earlier this week, and tongues were set wagging.

"Users were quick to put their detective hats on and tracked down Cross's new flame late yesterday. The woman was identified as Mrs Alana Walker, 30, Sydneysider, and special education teacher. Not much else is known about Mrs Walker other than she was widowed in 2017. Her husband, Andrew Walker, and father Brian Kelly were killed in a horrific Boxing Day crash when his car was destroyed by a truck driver who had a medical incident behind the wheel.

"Sources close to Cross say that he has been elated the past couple of months, and now they know why. They hope for his sake that this relationship will not be plagued by scandal like his previous relationships.

"For now, Cross's camp is remaining tight-lipped on the situation. While they don't deny a relationship, they will not confirm it.

"Cross is currently in Sydney for an adaptation of the widely popular and romantic fantasy epic Beyond the Stones series by C. W. Taylor. He will co-star alongside Australian Myra Roberts with an expected release in the northern hemisphere winter of 2022."

I woke on Friday morning and laid in bed for a while. I should have gone to the gym, but I just couldn't get my body to move. I wanted to chuck a sickie, blow off the whole day, maybe go for a swim, or just watch movies all day. I had an urge to watch Kill Bill for some reason. But I couldn't do that to the kids.

I knew I was just trying to avoid the parents at school. I'm sure most of them know by now. Gossip runs rampant at the school gate. We've all seen Big Little Lies. Probably all the staff knew too. It was one of those days where I wish I could just press fast forward and get to the part where I see Liam again. I didn't want to miss out on that.

In the end, I got up, showered and got ready for work. I tamed my hair, put on my war paint and dressed in black work pants, ballet flats and a pink knitted cardigan.

I started to pack my bag for the weekend, trying to work out what outfits I needed. I had decided what I wanted to wear for dinner tonight, but I didn't know what to wear to bed. Would I even need anything to wear? I blushed at the thought. I packed a basic set of pyjamas. I added jeans and a couple of t-shirts, a hoodie and my Dr Martens. I put some pretty underwear in there too. I didn't have much, just a white lace set which Liam had already seen and two black lace sets. I packed them all.

My phone beeped, and I got a message from Liam. It was a picture of his face all sweaty from working out. He had his tongue sticking out. He had written, I was going to send you a picture of my cock but thought that was a bit vulgar. So I decided to send you a picture of another part of my body that's going to fuck you tonight. Can't wait x.

My whole body grew hot, my stomach filled with butterflies, and I giggled. I started to reply with 'cheeky bastard', but then I had an idea. I sent him a picture of my face with my mouth open in an O shape, and I rested a finger on the corner of my lower lip. I wrote, I was going to send you a picture of my pussy but thought it was a bit obvious. So I sent you a picture of another part of my body that's going to get fucked tonight. X

Within a minute, I got a reply of: Game on, Sweetheart.

Well, if Liam wants to play a game, I can play a game.

I pulled my pyjamas out of my bag and put in a satin shift, pretty much my only sexy bedclothes. I thought about what other sexy photos I could take and packed a few other things. Then I made my lunch and headed off to work.

I rang Riza on the way to work. She asked me about how I was feeling. I told her I was dealing with it, but I said no more about it. I asked Riza about how she and Jen were going, and she said we would meet up soon.

"I miss you," she said.

"Yeah, I miss you too. Talk soon, ok?"

"Yeah, have a good weekend slut! Tell Liam I said hi."

"Suck a dick Riz."

We hung up, and almost immediately, Dave calls.

He doesn't say hello or anything, just launches in with, "Are you dating Liam Cross?" Fuck. "One of Lucy's friends just sent her an article about you and him."

No use denying it then. "Yeah, I am. He's the one I'm spending the weekend with." I braced for his reply.

"Fuck me dead. My fucking little sister is rooting Liam fucking Cross." His voice didn't sound angry. He sounded impressed.

I rolled my eyes. "It's not a big deal. Just don't forget to get Perrin and don't tell Mum."

"Not a big deal? The kids will go crazy when they meet him."

"Dave, we are hardly at the point where we are meeting families."

"Yeah, alright, keep your shirt on."

"I'll come by Sunday arvo to pick Perrin up?"

"Wanna stay for dinner?"

"Yeah, ok. See you then."

I ended the call and got to work not long after that. I went straight to my classroom, trying to avoid everyone. There was one person I couldn't avoid, and that was Marla, my teacher's aide. She was in her late 50s, though, so I thought she would be pretty safe. She didn't mention anything all morning, which was a relief.

At lunchtime, I stayed in the classroom. I told Marla I had some work to do, so she left me alone. I checked my phone and found a message from Liam.

It was a picture of Liam drinking from a bottle of pineapple juice, and it said, Me hydrating for tonight x.

His innuendo made me chuckle, but I had planned for something like this. I took a selfie of myself with a banana in my mouth and sent it with the caption: Presumptive much? Me carbo-loading for tonight.

Liam replied a little later with, I can't decide if I'm winning because my pics are better or if I'm still winning because yours are better.

Marla came back into the classroom about halfway through lunch. She pottered around the room, trying to look busy. She kept looking over at me. I felt myself start to panic. She wasn't acting like that this morning. She must know now. They all must know. I started wondering what everyone was saying about me in the staff room. They had probably sent Marla back to the classroom to see what information they could get out of me. The panic receded, and anger filled the void.

Eventually, I lost my temper. "Have you got something to say, Marla?"

Marla had the good grace to look ashamed. "No. Nothing."

I crossed my arms. "What are they saying?"

Marla sighed, "honestly? They're mostly pretty stoked about it. Happy for you."

I let my arms fall. My vision went a bit blurry. "Really?"

Marla came over and leaned against the table, and rubbed my back. "Oh, Darl, yeah, most of us remember what it was like for you. We just want you to be happy."

I smiled at her, but the tears still came. Marla gave me a tissue. "Thanks, Marla." I sniffed, "ugh, the parents, though. I'm not looking forward to that."

Marla smiled and said, "don't worry about it, Darl. I'll fill in for ya this arvo, and you can do my Wednesday lunch duty. How's that?" I thanked her. Relieved, I hugged her and cleaned myself up.

When school had finished, I made a mad dash to the car park. I knew I was just putting off the inevitable. I'd have to show my face in front of the parents sooner or later, but I decided it was Monday's problem.

I checked my phone before I headed off to Liam's place. He had sent me a shirtless picture of himself with some rope curled up around his shoulder and written, One of my costumes has a rope. It made me think of you. I'm about to leave. See you soon.

Dammit, I couldn't think of a response to that one! I sat and thought about it for ages. I was not about to give in easily. Then it came to me. I got my water bottle and one of my spare undies from my overnight bag. I wet them a bit, put the underwear and water bottle on the bag and took a picture of them both. I wrote. My water bottle leaked in my bag, and my panties got wet. It made me think of you. I'm on my way.

The three circles came up within seconds, and Liam sent, You are in so much trouble, Sweetheart. Park around the back.

And because I can't control my tongue in real life or texts, I wrote back, That's what she said.

I didn't wait for a reply. I just put an audiobook on and drove.

Part 12

#original character #original fiction #romantic story #happy ever after

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harryisntstraight · 5 years

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Bethan, i need your updated version of the larry timeline right now (or as soon as you have the time to do it lmao)

my timeline still stands as follows:

2010-2011: happy as well…..larry……everything is new and exciting and a tad overwhelming but they’re gross and obsessed with eachother and maybe a little bit scared about what exactly this feeling is but it’s mostly all just a joke and a laugh and louis can brush it off as nothing when maybe the touches linger a little bit too long. knows he hasnt felt like this about anyone or at least not any boy before put puts it down to the weird circumstances they’ve found eachother in and the intensity of the whole experience and the fact that harry is just harry and everyone seems to be at least a little bit in love with harry. harry doesnt think too much about anything when it comes to louis bc he’s just too busy lapping up all the attention he gets from him and bathing in it and feeling warm warm warm and it’s not like he can see any reason why that might have to stop and he’s enjoying it too much in the mean time

2012: things start to get more overwhelming and a bit more scary but now there’s not the excitement or the newness to blame it on bc they’ve been living together for ages and it’s harder to pass off a drunken kiss as just that when it was only one pint and louis has been noticing harry staring at his lips since before they even moved in together. and other people notice it too and that starts to become something neither of them really know how to handle. people online talking about them has been happening since day one but it keeps getting louder and its harder to laugh it off when it almost feels like if things were different there might be some truth to it. but there isnt. because louis has a girlfriend and harry has sort of had girlfriends and even though all harry wants to do sometimes is crawl into louis bed he can’t bc eleanor is there and she’s always there these days and its not like he can tell her to go away. maybe one night it all comes to a head when they’re back from tour and are alone together for the first time in too long and maybe they’ve had something to drink and they’re exhausted and stressed and don’t know how to get back to the way they were before. and harry will say something stupid and reach out to touch louis face and then they’re kissing but only for a second before louis is pushing him away and wont look him in the eye. harry shouts at him and its weird bc he never shouts and thats when he knows he has to move out

2013: they dont live together anymore and neither of them know if they’re even really still friends and that might be the worst part because before they were anything else they were best friends. harry has new best friends now and they’re cool and trendy and older and take him to gay bars and talk about things he’s never talked about before and thats when he starts to find himself, or at least think about finding himself. doesnt know if its coincidence that thats when he loses louis. they’re friendly at work, on stage and with the band they can laugh together and crack jokes but neither can remember the last time it was just them by themselves. they’re in eachothers heads a lot, probably too much and sometimes louis will even dream about harry but its always like he’s looking at him through murky water. features a bit distorted and never within touching distance. something stopping him from reaching out. harry will still catch himself staring at louis occasionally but he has other things, other people to keep him occupied for the most part. sometimes he’ll get home at four in the morning to an empty flat and he’ll think about how louis would always want a cup of tea as soon as they got in and how harry was always the one that made it for him. he’ll fall asleep on the sofa with his jeans on to the sound of the kettle clicking as it boils in the kitchen

2014 - 2015: harry grows his hair long and louis thinks it looks ridiculous but wonders how soft it might feel to touch. rolls his eyes at the way harrys always winding it through his fingers. the band are breaking up, and it’s bittersweet. as are most things these days. it was harrys suggestion and first louis was angry and then he was relieved and then he felt guilty and then angry again but now he thinks he’s alright with it. he knows that when it’s over him and harry are over. knows harry won’t text him or call to make plans and knows it would hurt his own pride too much if he tried because harry wouldn’t humour him with a response. so he tries, really tries to make the most of what time they’ve got left together. chats to him backstage, laughs at his jokes in interviews, even goes as far as to say his name on stage once. and at the final show they both know it’s coming, was inevitable really. they go in for the hug and just before it happens harry catches louis shrug at him nonchalantly, like he’s doing harry some kind of massive favour by wrapping his arms around him one last time. harry almost expects to feel something and it catches him off guard when instead it’s just nothing. no aching or longing for a few seconds more and he doesn’t even realise until later it was the first time louis had properly touched him in years. louis does. the smell of harrys aftershave is overwhelming and he can feel the sprinkling of stubble on his jaw brush against his. their knees bang together and louis can feel the hot skin of harrys back through the cotton of his shirt. harry pulls away first and louis wishes everyone else in the arena would fuck off so he could say goodbye properly

2016: harry texts louis ‘Congratulations, hope everything went well. You’re going to be a great dad. - H x’ and louis doesn’t text him back. he opens the message so the notification clears but he doesn’t respond and he doesn’t delete it. just leaves it there. louis doesn’t have harry’s number saved so for once the H sign off actually comes in handy. harry drafted and deleted the text 8 different times before he sent it. contemplated calling but didn’t think he could bear it. he doesn’t get upset when louis doesn’t respond. never really expected him to anyway

2017-2018: harry doesn’t really party that much anymore. has been busy with work and the album and the tour and prefers smaller social gatherings with a couple of friends. but one night he finds himself out in london with old school friends, dipping in and out of clubs in soho. louis parties a lot these days. it makes him feel good and he likes the loud music and new people and how he feels a bit more weightless. the last person he expects to bump into is harry and for a moment he really doesn’t even recognise him. he looks out of place but comfortable with it and without thinking about it louis is calling him over. they chat for a while about nothing important before harry says ‘well it was nice seeing you again’ and louis knows it was a lie. ‘yeah mate, you too’ are their parting words before harry disappears into the sea of people inside a nightclub and louis thinks maybe if this was a few years ago he wouldn’t have let him leave so easily

2019: they don’t think about eachother apart from when they do. and when they do it’s few and far between. maybe harry will open twitter and louis will be trending and he might read some of his tweets. he can close the app and louis will stay tucked inside it, no thoughts of him sneaking out and sticking to harry the way they used to. and for louis, it’s mostly the same. harry is harry and everyones a little bit in love with harry, you weren’t special for that, he tells himself. on the odd occasion he fantasises about the future, about being properly old and seeing harry again. having some kind of heart to heart and apologising for hurting him, for hurting eachother. they were so young back then but he still feels young now, like everything still needs time to sink in before either of them are ready to dig it back up again. for now he’s happy, and harry is happy too. it happened the way it happened and neither of them can change the past. if they were supposed to be friends, they probably still would be. and they would miss eachother more than they do now. there’s always going to be a bit of one in the other, etched into their skin like a white scar that never seems to fade away. and perhaps they like it that way

#me 5 mins ago: no i absolutey cannot write a larry drabble in fact i refuse why would u even ask me that #me now: so here's this #Anonymous

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art-of-slither · 5 years

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Touched by Magic: the day the magic spark re-ignited (Pt. 3)

Four years passed and my life settled into a flat line. Boredom settled in, with bouts of negativity every week. Grades were again average, friends were just ok, I gained a lot of weight, things in my home were uneventful but meh... Old friends noticed something had shifted in me, but as me they accepted that life was hard, things are easier when you are younger, it's a cruel world out there, you can't trust anyone, we have come to this earth to suffer and we are to be rewared in the next life after our deaths.

See, it's hard not arriving at those conclusions when your negativity and that from others takes a toll on you. It's hard not thinking all that when you just don't know any better. The evidence is there, for starters. Or at least what it appears to be the evidence, regardless of actual correlation with causation.

But life has a way of moving things back to where they belonged. I was desperate for answers, I missed the days when stuff was easier and exciting. I missed High School...

I had a small period of summer vacations and I spoke about how I felt with a family friend. I viewed her as a positive and wise presence in my life and thougth “what the heck, I need to try something, anything!”

She told me that I was putting so much attention on the external circumstances. She wanted me to go to church, yes, not because of my homosexuality (which she agreed to keep a secret from my father; until now, my brother was the only one that knew, as I wrote previously) but because I forgot to "fill myself with light".

Now, I knew she was refering to God's presence inside my heart, but something was removed... a feeling, or a faint memory... I was once filled with light, but not because God filled me with it like an external agent, but because that was... that was who I was once.

Filled with light.

Something shifted a little inside me. I needed to fill myself with light. I knew I needed to re-learn how it was done. I was more negative than when I was 13 years old.

So I retraced my steps and thought maybe it was writing stories that helped me achieve that, you know, having an artistic avenue to empower my soul, which I stopped doing as it became next to impossible to find inspiration. I developed chronic writer's block, you see.

I soon found out that was not it. Well, maybe listening to upbeat music would help, and it did a little but I kept accentuating how bad my life got relative to all the happy lyrics.

This I now understand is what happens when you have negative momentum going on. I had trained myself into negativity. I complained about stuff daily, I reviewed the horrible things that happened to me daily, I begrudged the things I thought were stolen frome me somehow, I made myself cry frequently. I was depressed. I took antidepressants for some time but they made me feel zombie-like.

No, I once tasted life, real life. Those pills weren't it. You won't get an argument from me, if you need them, you need them, no shame in that. But I decided to suspend them. There had to be something more to life.

I took therapy right during my first semester at med school, but that didn't worked for me. Oh, sure, we talked about good studying habits and how my dad made me feel, and how lonely I felt and some vague strategies, but that was it. It quickly turned into new avenue for me to complain even more.

But after hearing this family friend, that bit about light, something within me became agitated. I began reading self-help books, as one does. Rhonda Byrne's The Secret did catched my eye, but I read it a year later.

I decided to go to church and maybe find the light there. And there I met and made positive friends. With them, having moments of peace, of just being in the moment, were more frequent. I must have changed frequencies because suddenly I began making new friends inside med school that proved to be a more positive presence for me. Still, no light, at least not how I remembered it. I had fun in church, laying low about my homosexuality and just coming out to someone if I felt safe doing so.

Keep in mind that I never correlated loving life with that magic that permeated it those years back. Now I can see it, but I never understood it back then.

Enter Lynn Grabhorn's book Excuse me, you life is waiting. I don't remember how I found it but I did and suddenly my life made total sense. It didn't change, but it made sense.

And I panicked! Now I knew the light was inside myself, but that was the problem: the light was inside myself, waiting to be rekindled but that was a problem because I was so negative.

Thinks changed for the better, but just enough. I developed a crush on a guy in the church choir. That crush was doomed to fail. He was everything I wanted in a guy: tender, educated, a good listener, nice, smart, he worked hard, and had a good sense of humour. He became a close friend, I knew all about how he was in love with a girl from the church choir. I did what every one does upon learning about the law of attraction and vibrations: I tried attracting a relationship with him. Next day, I found them kissing in a street and I crumbled. I was a mess.

I spiraled downward again, but tried desperately to climb back quickly. So every chance I got I bought new books about the Law of Attraction. The answer is going to be in this new book, or the next one, or the next after that, I told myself, desperately looking for a way to rekindle my light.

Still, in spite of knowing what to do, I continued with my recurrent bouts of whining, self-pity, criticism, sadness, righteous anger, etc, instead of filling myself with what I needed.

I began doing all kinds of meditations. I tried casting spells. I looked into witchcraft. I was desperate. But nothing gave me back my light. I know I was looking in the wrong places, but I was convinced that something had to give me back my magic.

Meditation certainly helped. Abraham-Hicks's Getting Into the Vortex Guided Meditation helped me meditate correctly for the first time in all of my life. It felt amazing, but I was still an anxious mess.

I entered into relationship after relationship, but I couldn't find true love. I ended those relationships instead of wasting someone else´s time. I still felt lonely and hurt. I wanted the choir guy to fall in love with me. I had this arguments with him inside my head. I felt so anxious and desperate.

I decided to change my perspective. Up until now I thought that no one liked me as a potential romantic partner. I repeated patterns: if the guy was gay, I did not felt attracted to them; if they were straight, my hopes were doomed.

Once again, though, I had to stop myself in my tracks and tell myself the truth. It wasn't bad luck, guys did noticed me, they just weren't the guys that I wanted to notice me. So, I relaxed and decided to be open minded and went out to meet some of those guys. I didn't liked them, but tried. I lowered my expectations. I tried having fun. None of them lasted enough and I told myself that was fine. I was just meeting people, nothing more.

Now, you might remember how I mentioned that I met online my future husband in my late teens, the day I declared I was going to meet him, but turned him down because he was two year younger than. Well, he is about to enter this story. Meeting has a lot to do with what I am trying to convey through all the posts in this blog.

#GratitudeMagic #gratitude #Grattitude #Pop culture magick #magick #witchblr #witchcraft #witchlife #Lumos #laws of universe #law of attraction

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hippychick006 · 5 years

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14.18 - Absence Recap

I’m putting this recap under a cut. I’ve tried to cut it down, but nope, I have a lot to say about this episode. It’s highly critical so if you are a fan of Dabbernatural, you most definitely want to keep moving down your dash. Nothing to see here, the show is absolutely wonderful, carry on with your day...

Note, if I talk about Dabb’s writing, I mean him being in overall charge of the quality of writing as show runner, even though another writer might have written the episode I’m criticising. I’m not fully blaming the writers because they have no clear direction with Dabb as showrunner.

Positives are the brother moments, though I definitely felt that Jared and Jensen were struggling a little to find the emotion in this episode – which contrasts with the emotion of episodes like Lebanon where it came more naturally. Rowena is always a positive addition to an episode, and even though I talk about Jack being over utilised in my post, I still love my nougat eating Nephilim. Can we keep him and just send him off to Stanford and have him back for the holidays?

I’m struggling with the show right now. My mind is “helpfully” supplying that we have 22 episodes and counting until there’s no more new Sam and Dean content, and episodes like this, that are so far beneath the - admittedly high - bar set by Kripke are just depressing to watch. I’ve made no secret that Dabb is the worst showrunner to ever happen to Supernatural (I would have said any show, but I mistakenly started to watch Quantico a few weeks ago, so he’s been elevated recently). Even by Dabb’s standards though, this episode is epically bad. And it’s bad for so many reasons.

I had a quick look back at Dabb’s writing to see if he’s perhaps a better writer than a showrunner. IMO, he’s had more misses than hits since joining the show in Season 4. Hits include: Yellow Fever, Dark side of the Moon, Red Meat and Lebanon (though I wouldn’t put Lebanon in the league of the other 3 personally, it was a great Season 14 episode, but stacked up against others, it falls down the list). Misses include 2 failed pilots: Bloodlines and Wayward sisters, plus many others. He’s capable of good writing obviously, I just believe he’s lazy and tries to please the online fandom too much, completely forgetting that fandom is an incredibly small part of the overall viewing audience. He should write for the story first and foremost, only giving the odd nod to fandom, not allowing it to completely overtake – and in my opinion - completely ruin the story being told.

As showrunner, he’s started and dropped many plot lines (several of them running at the same time so you experience whip lash while viewing). He kills characters for shock value and brought long dead characters back for the same reasons. He’s then proceeded to butcher those characters (or ruin their earlier arc) until they are unrecognisable from the characters you loved. He steals plot lines and ruins them, his dialogue includes ridiculous levels of pandering. The show has too much drama, people constantly dying and there’s no fun anymore. When they try to do funny, it just falls flat, because they can’t write comedy in the same way as someone like Ben Edlund.

His biggest missteps though have been the forced pushing of “found family” onto a general audience that was watching the show for the unique bond between the siblings. Making Supernatural about “family” is just making Supernatural the same as every other show out there. The bond between the brothers is actually what made the show unique and special. Now it isn’t any more and the magic it had has been, not lost entirely, but heavily watered down under Dabb’s incompetence.

His other misstep has been too much focus on other characters that are not Sam or Dean. Seriously, I’m one of the people that likes Jack, but he’s had far too much focus this season (almost like they’re making a lame, last ditch attempt to try to get a character worth a spin off for this show). No longer whispers into the void but screams until I’m hoarse: PEOPLE ARE WATCHING FOR SAM AND DEAN YOU DUMBASS HACK, FUCKING WRITE WITH THEM AS THE CENTRE OF YOUR FOCUS AND NOT REDUCE THEM TO PRETTY FURNITURE!

For those of you that might come back with “But J2 want time off…” I acknowledge this, but I’ll come right back and point out that J2 are in the episodes, it’s just not about them and that is the problem, not the time off. As mentioned, I loved Jack in Season 13, now I don’t really care about him because he’s had too much of the story be about him, as if he’s the protagonist of the show and not Sam and Dean.

Anyway, on to the episode.

We recap on Mary badgering Jack and watching it again annoyed me just as much as the episode last week. Definitely slapped in the face with the stupid stick. When someone is out of control, you humour them and give them space. You don’t constantly badger them, making things worse – particularly if you witnessed said being lose control and charbroil to death another human (a very bad, murdery human, but still a human). And I don’t actually blame Mary, it’s simply bad writing, because if you want something to happen to get to the position you want to be in, write it better. Don’t make a character suddenly stupid in order to achieve it. Unfortunately, as I mentioned on another post, Dabb is a very lazy writer. He wants to get to point B and doesn’t care how stupid he makes his characters in order to get there.

Sam and Dean arrive home, immediately calling for ‘mom’ and ‘Jack’. Sam looks longer than Dean who is already sitting down with a beer when Sam returns from searching the bunker. They share a toast to “another miraculous Sam Winchester survival.” Dean: “Gotta say man, if Jack hadn’t have healed you…” Dean trails off and I try not to think of the consequences, particularly with how devastated Dean was during the few seconds he lost Sammy yet again. Dean reflects they’d be “up the creek without that kid.”

Jack’s all right as long as he’s saving Sammy and killing bad guys. Got it.

Dean brings his phone out to try mom’s cell. Sam brings his own phone out, presumably to try Jack. When Dean connects to Mary’s cell, they hear a buzzing and see Mary’s bag with her cell phone and keys on the other end of the map table. Both start to get a little worried.

Sam says he’ll try Jack. We switch to Jack and hear the phone ringing, but he doesn’t answer. He seems to be in shock.

Fast forward an indeterminate time and our boys have tried everyone; Jody, Donna, Charlie, Bobby, Rowena. Nada from most of them, but Rowena is a little more helpful and might have a spell that can track Jack and Mary down. Just as I’m wondering if Castiel was on their list, Dean’s phone rings, Sam looks hopefully at Dean (that it’s either Jack or Mary) but Dean shakes his head. He answers the phone without putting it on speaker and it is indeed Castiel, who got Dean’s message that Nick was trying to raise Lucifer. Dean updates Castiel that “the kid” says he took care of him, and they are just trying to find him and Mary at the moment. Castiel: “Are they together?” Dean: “Yeah.” Castiel: “Alone?” Dean’s got no idea what Castiel is on about, he answers that yes, they are together, alone. Sam is only hearing one side of the conversation and wants to know what Cass is saying. I have no idea why Dean doesn’t put the phone on speaker (I am however 100% certain it has nothing to do with non-existent Destiel), it just seems weird not to put it on speaker as they normally would, and there’s no obvious reason not to do so. Dean knows Castiel is holding something back and says, “If you’ve got something to tell us, now is the time.” Castiel explains about Jack using his powers to kill Felix the snake. “I was gonna tell you but…”

Urgh, how many times must we suffer through this? This is Castiel’s role on the show: try to fix a problem without telling Sam and Dean, because he doesn’t want to worry them. It leads to something bad happening. They find out, Dean is angry and wants no more to do with him, while Sam defends Castiel. Rinse and repeat. It’s manufactured drama and it’s bad writing, because if you are a decent writer, you can get drama within an episode without this. And the thing is, Dabb wrote Red Meat, loads of drama in that episode, none of it manufactured, so he can do it. Baby, Regarding Dean are other examples from recent years. Not a single one of these had manufactured drama, all absolutely fantastic episodes.

Castiel tells Dean he doesn’t think Jack is well. Dean puts the phone down on him. And thousands of anti Cass fans rejoice, and we will enjoy our few seconds of rejoicing even knowing that Sammy will at some point (probably this episode) vouch for Castiel as he has done many times in the past (undeservingly so imo – how many times is Sam going to say ‘it’s Cass’ before he stops getting a free pass and changes his behaviour?)

Dean brings Sam up to speed about Jack, and Sam has an idea for finding him. He uses the “find phone” app to discover Jack is in Nepal. As they watch, Jack suddenly jumps to Lima, Peru. Sam makes the genius (not really) observation that Jack must be flying. They watch as Jack jumps again to Paris, France, and then Madagascar. Dean: “What the hell is he doing?”

It’s night and we hear a flap of wings and Jack slumps onto the ground. He stumbles to get up, then checks his phone, he has 10 missed calls, 7 voicemails, and several missed texts, all from Sam, Dean and Castiel. Interestingly, the most communication is from Dean, but I headcanon that a large part of that is Dean leaving messages: “Where the hell are you, Sammy’s worried sick!”

We see a flashback between Jack and Mary where Mary says what he did was amazing (in dealing with one of the AU angels – can’t remember which one – Zachariah I think, but he was wearing a different meat suit than normal). The flashback ends and we see something appear in the dark behind Jack. It’s Nick, though it’s not Nick. His eyes flash red and I worry for a second that Lucifer is actually back, but no, he’s Jack’s sub-conscious. Taps chin in puzzlement. Where have we seen a similar storyline before, with this exact same character, hmmm?

Nick tells Jack that he can’t come back from killing Mary. Jack: “It was an accident!” Nick: “Okay, tell Sam and Dean that, I’m sure they’ll understand, it’s not like family isn’t everything to them.” Jack zaps Nick, telling him to shut up.

Oh, if only it were that easy, kiddo.

Sam and Dean are driving to somewhere – presumably still tracking Jack’s cell phone signal. Sam tells Dean that Cass is going to meet them there. Dean doesn’t answer. Sam tries to defend Jack, saying that maybe he wasn’t able to stop Nick from raising Lucifer and Lucifer took them both… “and Jack, he must have thought he was helping, you know, being kind.”

Dean (and me, puzzled): What?

Sam: With Felix.

Dean (annoyed): “Really, with the snake?”

Sam: I’m just saying, Dean, I’m trying to understand Jack without a soul

Dean (very annoyed now): We don’t know that he doesn’t have a soul! Okay, I don’t wanna… let’s… let’s not talk about it, all right... let’s just find mom, find Jack and we’ll figure it all out.”

Sam’s tablet indicates they’ve lost Jack’s signal, but they still head to where Jack was last, which is the cabin where Nick was killed. Very dramatic music as they head in there. The music is another thing that has annoyed me this season, it overpowers scenes rather than compliments them, it’s very distracting. Please stop it, because I’m not three years old and can understand perfectly well when I’m supposed to find something dramatic and when I’m not.

Sam looks inside the cabin, while Dean looks outside. Sam therefore is the one to come across Nick’s body. He shouts for Dean who doesn’t hear him (though last week heard him perfectly well from quite a distance). Dean comes across a spot outdoors which is covered in ash. He’s either just lucky he came across it, or he was tracking Jack and Mary’s path. Dean’s an outstanding hunter, let’s go with tracking. Sam soon joins him (also an outstanding hunter) and it’s clear they both seem to believe something bad happened at that spot.

Cass is in the car and he’s arrived at the cabin. He doesn’t go in. We see a flashback to where he was hunting with Mary. Jack having a flashback I understand, but Castiel has no reason to suspect that Mary is dead, only missing at this stage, so why is he having a flashback? Also, as other people have pointed out, this flashback of him hunting with her couldn’t have happened within the timeline. Lazy idiots that can’t keep track of the story! Upshot of their completely fake scene is that Castiel says he’s glad she’s back and that Sam and Dean are happy, “Finally they don’t have to be so alone.” Mary answers: “Castiel, they were never alone.” No, they weren’t Mary, because they always had each other and that’s all either of them needs. Other people are nice to have, but not necessary to eithers continued existence. Whispers: platonic soulmates.

Now, if Dabb meant that line to mean that they were never alone because they had Castiel, I look up the facts. Dean was 30 before Castiel dropped into their lives, he was 37 before Dabb started forcing him into the narrative as “family/brother” when in actual fact between the years of 30-37, he was rarely around, and they only called him when they wanted something. Over the last three years, he hasn’t exactly been a constant in their lives, no matter how much Dabb has tried to shoehorn him in to please the 1%ers at the expense of the general viewing audience and a decent storyline.

Moving on, Castiel finally gets out the car to go inside the cabin.

Sam covers Nick with a blanket. He’s worried. Dean tries to reassure Sam that they don’t know what happened, they don’t know what Nick did, he probably deserved it. Sam somewhat agrees Nick deserved it, but not in that way.

Sam updates Castiel on Nick and a “blast spot” behind the house that looks angelic, only bigger. Dean is turned away during this, giving Castiel the cold shoulder. He does chip in at one point though;

Dean: It might have been Lucifer, Nick was trying to bring him back

Sam: Yeah, but Jack said…

Dean: I don’t care what Jack said! We don’t know what happened, but I swear, if he did something to her, if she is…

Sam sighs and Dean turns to Castiel, “then you’re dead to me.”

Hold on, I need a moment.

“Then you’re dead to me.”

Sam: Dean…

Hold on another moment, while I speak to Sam in private about defending Castiel yet again. This is what I was afraid of, he always defends Castiel and Castiel is not learning anything. He makes the same mistakes over and over because he doesn’t deal with the consequences of his actions. Slaps Sam in the face with a parenting book that helped me enormously during the teenage years.

Dean: “No, he knew, he knew something was wrong with the kid, he knew it and he didn’t tell us. He didn’t even tell us!”

Sam says nothing (good, our little chat worked then).

Castiel: I was scared, I believed in Jack for so long, I... believed that he was good, I knew that he would be good for the world, he was good for us, my faith in him, it never wavered, and then I saw what he did. It wasn’t malice, it wasn’t evil, it was like Jack saw a problem and in his mind he just solved it with that snake…

Dean (angry): the snake? [he’s seriously getting annoyed that everyone keeps bringing up the snake]

Castiel (talking to Dean’s back): What he did wasn’t bad, it was the absence of good and I saw that in him, but we were a family (family mention alert for those of you playing dabbernatural bingo!) and I didn’t want to lose that, so I thought I could... fix it on my own, felt like it was my responsibility, so I left, and I didn’t tell you. If I could go back and just… just talk to him right then and there, I would, but I can’t Dean. I failed you and I failed Jack. And I failed…

Dean (turns around): No, no, Don’t even say it, don’t even say her name!

Dean steps towards Castiel, but Sam steps forward and puts his hand out with a quiet “Dean.”

I’m not sure what I’m supposed to feel during this scene. Sad, I presume? I just feel pissed that we are having to suffer through incredibly bad writing that has Castiel screwing up yet again, by going off on his own, yet again, and I’m going to have to suffer through some more puke inducing dialogue at some stage in the very near future that will have Dean apologising and all will be right with the world. Totally fed up with Castiel being used as nothing more than a plot point, I don’t even like the character, but no one deserves that. Bad, lazy writing that shows he has no purpose to the show and that he no longer fits and hasn’t for a long time.

Sam’s phone rings, it’s Rowena and at least Sam knows how his speakerphone works. Sam’s really upset as he answers. Rowena updates that she’s tried to find Jack, but his energy is too unstable. Sam: “And mom?” We see Rowena close her eyes and not answer. Dean orders: “Say it” and Rowena says, “I don’t know what happened, or where she is, but I can tell you with certainty, Mary Winchester is no longer on this earth”

Dean closes his eyes, we switch to Sam and then Castiel (rolls eyes because getting his reaction is pandering, because sure, let’s not waste footage by focusing on the two that are actually her sons). We get a minute of watching Sam and Dean, and can I just say how brilliant these two are. I mean I have no feelings at all towards Mary, Dabb completely screwed over her character and did nothing to make me care about her in any way, so I don’t feel anything towards her. But I do feel for Sam and Dean here, but only because of Jared and Jensen’s acting in this scene.

Dean’s quiet for a few seconds, then he breaks a chair. Sam flinches as he does with loud noises and someone needs to get my poor baby some help for that PTSD he’s been carrying around for the last few years.

Sam (to Dean): So, what do we do?

This isn’t Sam Winchester, the hunter, this is Sam Winchester, the little brother, looking to his big brother to have some answers, because he’s completely lost.

Dean: What we always do when we lose one of our own, we fight, we fight to bring them back.

Wait, what? Seriously? Are we retconning that narrative now too? I’m starting to suspect that Dabb hates the special bond and his personal mission has been to break it. Kripke we need you back, stat!!!! An untalented petty little man is ruining your legacy!

Sam asks “How… Billie? Dean says Rowena, she’s got the book of the damned and can resurrect Mary. Cass says they don’t even know where your mother is.

Dean (angry): Then go to heaven and find her!

In direct contrast to Mary last week, Sam knows how to deal with someone on edge. He knows when to keep quiet and he does as Dean walks out, telling Sam to tell Rowena that they are on their way.

Rowena is working on something when the boys arrive. But it’s not the boys, its Jack. He admits he killed Mary, but it was an accident. He asks for her help, but Rowena says the magic she uses on herself, only works if it’s prepared in advance (i.e. before death). Jack asks about the book. Rowena says there is a spell, and starts to talk about it, but when Sam and Dean arrive, Jack realises that Rowena has been stalling. Jack disappears with Rowena, just as Sam kicks down the door – which was hot by the way.

Castiel is at the children’s sandpit that leads to heaven. No one is guarding it, he calls for Naomi.

Jack and Rowena appear in the bunker, Jack passes an area on the wood floor which has marks on it. He has a flashback which shows a knife being thrown into the floor. Mary is teaching him knife skills. He keeps dropping the knife, Mary tells him he’s doing well though. Jack says when they get Dean back, Dean is going to kill him (for the holes in the bunker floor). Mary pulls the table over to cover the marks and says, “For what?”

This is a cute moment, and this is another thing I hate about Dabb. The writers are capable of writing characters, they just choose not to do it until they need to go for a cheap moment like Mary dying. It’s just bad writing. If they had done their job properly, all of these would have been real flash backs to real moments and we would all be genuinely sad (or kind of sad, given that Dabb has also ruined the meaning of death).

We see Sam arrive and he hangs back until Jack leaves, which concerns me that he’s avoiding Jack. Also, Bearded!Sam alert – when was this filmed?! He asks Mary how Jack’s training is going. He tells her he feels bad as he doesn’t feel he’s been there for Jack since he’s been so busy looking for Dean. Sam apologises for laying his problems on her. Mary: “No, are you kidding, it’s nice knowing I’m not the only one. [Sam frowns] with parental guilt.” She tells him that parenting is always a struggle, you always feel like you are failing, then you look at them and somehow, they’re amazing, somehow they’re literally… [Mary grabs Sam’s chin because he looked away]… the bravest, kindest, most heroic men on the planet.

Right, as I mentioned a few minutes ago, if this had been a real flashback, and death hadn’t been cheapened by Dabb, I’d have been very upset right about now if this had been the version that Mary had been allowed to develop into. Where tf was this when we were getting the crap we’ve been getting? As it is, I feel nothing – actually not true, I feel very angry at how crap Dabb is and what he’s done to my show.

Actually, the one bit I liked about this, which I mentioned in a separate post, was the flashback that Jack was having led into the flashback that Sam is having, and I like that transition between them.

Anyway, back at Rowena’s and Dean’s still angry. Jack’s got Rowena and the Book of the Damned and they’ve got no way of keeping up with Jack when he’s got wings. Sam’s a good brother and stays quiet, just letting Dean get it off his chest.

Dean is still pissed at Cass and says he should have told them as soon as he saw Jack go all… (no idea what he says here) … on a stupid freaking snake.

Sam is a good brother and stays quiet, just letting Dean get it off his chest.

Sadly no, that’s not what happened. Sam once again defends Castiel, saying it wasn’t just him. That they also knew that Jack was dangerous, they always knew. “You more than anyone, I mean from the very beginning you knew…”

Oh, so we’re going down that route now? The route that has to end with Dean always being right and everyone else being wrong. I thought we’d moved on from that, but okay, no.

Hammering my keyboard, we move on as Sam continues, “But you know we fell for him because he had a good heart, and a good soul… then he didn’t… And that’s on me too, by the way. I mean I’m the one who made the call to bring him back. He didn’t ask for that, I decided for him. And you warned me.”

Dean: You didn’t know, okay… we didn’t know.

Sam: Exactly, we didn’t know, but… he’d become our family (I’m losing count, is this the second or third mention of family in a single episode?)

Sam: You know, after Maggie and the other hunters…died, I just left, just… dumped Jack on Cass and left. I knew, I mean I knew something… was gonna… I just didn’t know it would be this.

I think Sam looks at Dean here, expecting him to explode at him, the same way he did Castiel earlier, but Dean doesn’t. He admits that he did too and it’s a nice moment between them.

Back to Rowena and Jack. Jack’s impatient for the spell. Rowena says the ingredients are simple but need to be compounded precisely. She tells Jack she could have fought him back at her flat. Jack doesn’t ask the obvious question “flat?” which disappoints me. I think she’s starting to get through to Jack, but Nick hallucination appears and he’s as annoying as Lucifer with the constant badgering. He tells Jack that trying to bring Mary back isn’t going to work. Rowena notices there’s something wrong with Jack (looking and talking to something imaginary), but she finishes the spell ingredients. Jack tells Nick to shut up, then asks Rowena if the spell is finished. Rowena tells him it is, but they need the last thing, which is Mary’s body.

Back to Castiel – I’d forgotten about him – he’s still at the sandpit, calling for Naomi. He refuses to go anywhere until he speaks to her. Duma appears and she’s one of my favourite angels after Zachariah, because like him, she tells it how it is, and I appreciate the honesty. Duma tells him that Mary Winchester is happy, she’s in heaven, a “special” heaven. (me: oh fuck, here we go, Dabb will retcon Sam and Dean’s soulmate heaven as a final fuck you to the brother fans). “Mary Winchester is complete. You and the Winchesters may not be, but she is.” (hmmm, not sure about this line).

Jack takes Rowena to Mary’s “body”, which is a pile of ash. She tells him she can’t make it work. Because Rowena can’t help him, Jack shoves her back to her “flat.” I think that’s a little progress over the previous episode since he didn’t flame grill her.

Rowena is pissed, she calls Sam and Dean to tell them they need to stop Jack as she fears he’ll bring something terrible back instead of Mary.

Jack gathers some ash to perform the ritual. He’s part way through when he sees the Impala approach. He uses his powers to stall the car. Unfortunately for him, Sam and Dean are within running distance of the cabin. The spell finishes and Mary’s body is returned, just as Sam and Dean arrive.

Jack looks devastated as he tells them it didn’t work. We hear the flap of wings and he’s disappeared. Dean runs to Mary as Sam approaches more slowly. Dramatic music as Sam kneels down beside Dean. We see Dean’s flashback in the car with Mary and at first I thought it was a poxy flashback compared with everyone else, but then I remember this is Dean’s flashback, this is what made Dean happy, this is what Dean has always wanted, his family (Sam, Mary and John) around him. That’s what his one wish with the pearl was. This is why it annoys me when I read meta that Dean’s arc is to realise he’s sacrificed his life and he’s going to stop doing that (i.e. let Sam die) and go live his happy life with the angel. No, that isn’t who Dean is, Sam has never been an obligation or a job to Dean, Dean’s face shines when he’s taking care of his family, that’s what brings him enjoyment and we see that in this scene with Mary, just having her in his life brings him joy.

I like how Sam is comforting Dean in this scene. This is what siblings do, in that moment Dean needed Sam more than Sam needed Dean and Sam steps up and provides it, even though he too is grieving.

Jack’s on his own, but not for long. Hallucination Nick is by his side, telling him that there’s no going back. Castiel, Sam and Dean will never trust him again. He tells Jack: “You can never trust them.” Which given the dramatic music, is an anvil for an upcoming episode.

Sam’s looking through family pictures when Castiel arrives. He tells Sam that Mary is in heaven and that she’s at peace. Dean arrived at the tail end of the conversation but stays off to the side. Castiel tells them that he saw Mary’s heaven and she’s happy. (I like the 2 dates on the door, someone has already made a joke about Dean and Sam’s doors. Like what on earth was Dean’s door like during Mystery Spot?)

Question for Castiel, if Mary is with John, then why is his name not on the door or does he have his own door that interconnects with Mary’s room?

He tells them Mary is with John, that there’s no sorrow or guilt, just joy.

Sam tells Castiel and Dean that Rowena thinks Jack just brought back a shell, a replica, incapable of holding life. Sam asks once again, what are they supposed to do now.

Dean: What we always do.

Sam closes his eyes, he knows what Dean’s talking about.

Now, if I was a shipper, desperate for proving my ship, I’d point out the clear separation between Dean and that of Castiel and Sam in this scene. Sastiel for the win, and once again, you guys totally deserve it.

What they always do turns out to be a lot more accurate this time. They’ve built a funeral pyre to burn the fake body. I don’t understand why Castiel is there, I personally think it was just a moment for Sam and Dean, but Dabb is intent on ruining the show entirely, pushing Castiel into everything, even though he can’t feel a fraction for Mary that Sam and Dean do. He’s just awkwardly standing there.

Sam steps up to put a picture on the pyre. We get some more flashbacks of Mary again and I’m feeling… well I’m still feeling absolutely nothing but anger at Dabb to be honest.

Castiel looks at Dean and makes a move to go to him, but Sam puts his arm out, very clearly “You go near my brother and I’ll kill you.” Not really, but he does stop Castiel and tries to smile in reassurance, kind of “give him time.”

Dean is once again kind of standing on his own in this scene, with Castiel and Sam slightly off to the side.

That’s it. That’s the end of this episode!

I wish!

Because we go back to the bunker and the camera glides over the table and MW initials have been added to that of Sam and Dean, and seriously fuck you Dabb. Fuck you for taking everything that was amazing and special about the unique bond between the brothers and what those initials mean, and crapping all over it. Others disagree, but that’s fine.

Onwards to the next episode where I think Sam will have to choose between Dean and Jack. Kind of like Season 4, where he was forced to choose between Dean and Ruby, even though he wanted both. Maybe he’ll get both this time around and Jack won’t be evil?

I’ll finish with this line from Dean to Sam in next weeks promo: “We need to stop Jack... but here’s the deal, we’ve both got to sign off on it.”

#spn spoilers #14.18 #absence #episode recap #and rant #anti dabb #spn critical

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cwartsyswritingblog · 5 years

Text

Cute. (A Hazbin Hotel Fanfic with Alastor and Baxter, again)

Alastor peeked around the door to Baxter’s room. He didn’t have a key. He didn’t need one and he didn’t need Baxter’s permission to enter. He knew he was more than welcome here.

To his delight, his lover was in. He was sitting with his feet up on his sofa reading a book. Alastor immediately sat beside him. His arms wrapping around Baxter’s waist. His head resting on his shoulder.

Baxter didn’t look his way but Alastor did see him smile. He reached straight for the sweet spot behind Alastor’s ear that made him melt when touched and gave it a good scratch. Alastor instantly settled and curled up on Baxter’s lap with a huge smile on his face.

That went on for a while. Baxter, still reading, kept the book upright and occasionally turned the pages with one hand and kept scratching Alastor’s ear with the other. The receiver of said head scratch in total bliss. At least he was, until he started to feel something that utterly confused him.

Alastor was dissatisfied with something. But with what? He was struggling to find an answer. It definitely wasn’t the head scratch, Baxter could keep that up all day. Certainly, the affection he was receiving was most satisfactory. But what wasn’t? Could it be how little they had spoken? It occurred to him that he and Baxter hadn’t spoken a single word to each other the whole time Alastor had been here. He looked at Baxter. His eyes were still on the book. Observant of only the words on the page. He hadn’t even looked at him in the whole time he had been here. Not once.

Now Alastor knew what was dissatisfying. It wasn’t like Baxter was ignoring him, far from it, but Alastor just wanted him to look at him. He wanted him to put the book down and look at him. Talk to him. Engage with him in a nice conversation. He wanted his attention and sought about how he was going to get it.

Getting Baxter’s attention was easy as pie. A simple kiss on the cheek would have done. But while Alastor planned on leaving lots of kisses on Baxter’s cheeks, he knew he could be more creative than that. Just then he noticed the light hanging above his head. The light belonged to Baxter and it was a part of his illicium. But it was much more fun to call that his little fishing rod. After looking it up, he discovered the light was called an esca. A pretty name for a pretty light. He focused on it until it blurred spreading a golden glow across his vision. So pretty.

It gave him an idea.

He rolled over onto his back and very gently tapped the light so that it swung slowly back and forth. He felt Baxter pause for a moment. Alastor looked up at him in anticipation but then Baxter just went back to reading.

Disappointed but not deterred, he kept at it.

Tap tap tap, it took a few good tries before he succeeded.

Baxter set his book aside and finally looked at him, smiling.

“What are you doing?” He asked playfully.

Alastor put on his best charming smile and just as playfully continued to paw at Baxter’s delightful esca.

Baxter chuckled. “Come here, Cheshire Kitten.” he laughed, tugging him upwards.

Eager to comply, Alastor sat upright and scooted back onto Baxter’s lap. If this cat thing was making Baxter laugh and smile then he’d play it up for all it was worth. He bumped his head lightly against Baxter’s chin the way he had seen Mimzy’s cats do when they showed affection which made Baxter laugh even more.

He cupped Alastor’s face in his hands and asked in a playful tone of sarcasm, “Is it just me? Or are you after my attention?”

Alastor nodded. Making a point to put the book out of Baxter’s reach before draping his arms around him.

“Honestly. I’ve never had a partner demand so much.” Baxter tutted. But it was obvious from the way he looked at Alastor, the way he said it and the way he was caressing his cheeks with both hands that he didn’t mind at all.

“You’re exes didn’t know what they were missing.” Alastor purred, lavishing the affection.

“If you say so,” Baxter said, “That might be why they are my exes and you are very, very, very unlikely to end up joining them.”

Alastor pouted. “Very, very, very unlikely? Not impossible?”

“Well, you might get fed up with me.” Baxter sweetly bantered back.

“That is never going to happen.” Alastor said so seriously that it made Baxter giggle like he was flattered.

“As if I’d be foolish enough to give up all this.” Alastor said placing his hands on him. Baxter huffed. Maybe he thought he was going to trace his hands over his body. But he kept them on his face.

At that, Baxter smiled warmer than Alastor had seen him smile all day and Alastor caressed his cheeks, stroked the precious little fins on his face and ran his fingers through his hair.

The feel of it instantly told him that Baxter had not used any gel or hair mousse today. Hooray for that. Alastor hated the stuff. They completely masked the lovely smell and feel of Baxter’s natural hair. It really was a crime to let Baxter use either of them.

Wait a minute. If Baxter wasn’t using gel or mousse, that could only mean one thing.

“Alastor. Don’t.” Baxter said firmly. He knew his partner all to well. He knew exactly what his partner was thinking before he even reached for his hair tie.

It was no use, Alastor couldn’t resist. He would never be able to resist.

“Alastor.” Baxter warned.

Yoink! Poof!

Strands of hair went flying in every direction from Baxter’s head in an explosion of such force it made Baxter’s hat fall off. It bounced off the arm of the sofa before falling to the floor. Neither Alastor or Baxter noticed it. Instead, they looked at each other. Baxter had this ridiculously cute expression that was somewhere between a pout and a glare. Then he closed his eyes, exhaled slowly, and visually decided he was above this petty nonsense. He gave Alastor a disinterested but very unamused look. Alastor couldn’t hide that he was pleased with what he had done. He sat back and admired the sight he tragically didn’t often get to see. This insanely voluminous, unruly, imperfect and therefore in every way perfect, flyaway mess was Baxter’s natural hair.

“Why must you do this?” Baxter deadpanned.

“Because it’s adorable.” Alastor chuckled while gently pulling a strand down flat and taking joy in letting it go and watching it spring back into place.

He’d never forget the first time he saw Baxter’s true hair. It was sometime after they had stopped merely interacting with each other when necessary, or when Alastor felt like picking on Baxter, or when Baxter felt like getting revenge against Alastor for being such a nuisance, and gave each other a chance. Alastor was in Baxter’s room, not quite so welcome at this time, pestering Baxter for entertainment as usual. Just as he was considering listening to Baxter’s fifth or sixth demand for him to get out, it occurred to him that he had never seen Baxter with his hair down. Baxter’s defensive grab for his hair tie and desperate attempts to evade him only made Alastor determined to see it, And when he wrestled the hair tie out of Baxter’s grip and hair and saw it, he couldn’t help but laugh. That was when he discovered Baxter’s cheeks glowed, literally glowed, when he blushed. He was yelling at Alastor when his cheeks shone the same lovely colour as his cute freckles, maybe just a shade darker. It instantly became Alastor’s new favourite colour. He was too shy and afraid to tell Baxter at the time, but his blushing face was the most adorable thing Alastor had ever seen. Instead, he just assured Baxter that he liked the way his hair looked and insisted he shouldn’t be embarrassed by it. And no, he wasn’t just saying that to humour him. He really meant it.

Of course, he was being honest back then but only partially. A lot of things had changed since then. For one they were together now. And now that they were together, it was only right that Baxter knew the whole truth. He told Baxter what he had really thought that night.

"I know that.” Baxter said smiling, “You told me during our first week as a couple. You’ve told me this quite a few times actually.”

He turned his face away from Alastor as he said this. Averting eye contact but still smiling. Then Alastor saw it. The faint glimmer of blue across Baxter’s cheeks.

Alastor let out an ecstatic gasp when he saw it. He could see Baxter blush every day for the rest of eternity and it would never be any less wonderful than seeing it for the first time.

“What?” Baxter asked, somehow still surprised at this point.

“I think you know what.” Alastor beamed before going in for a kiss attack.

“What are you doing?” Baxter laughed trying to dodge Alastor’s lips, “Stop it. You’re making me blush.”

“That’s the idea.” Alastor hummed, kissing Baxter on every part of his face he could reach until Baxter was truly glowing. His cheeks shone like jewels. Beautiful.

“I have to capture this.” Alastor announced spontaneously pulling out his phone and snapping a picture of Baxter and his glowing cheeks.

Baxter quickly tried to cover his face with his hands. Too late.

“Don’t post it online.” Baxter squeaked, blushing even more at the very thought of anyone else seeing him like this.

“I won’t.” Alastor assured. Lies. The first chance he got, this was going straight on his Instagram page. Which was really just a virtual shrine to his beloved little fishy. He couldn’t wait to caption it.

His photographic masterpiece taken, Alastor turned his attention back to where it should be. On Baxter. He caressed Baxter’s cheek, smoothing his thumb over the glow, and spoke his mind the moment it had the thought he never hesitated to share.

“You are so beautiful.” He told his beloved, looking him straight in the eye. The way he always made sure to do when he made him a promise. “You really are."

Baxter leaned as closely into Alastor’s touch as he could.

"I know you think so.” he said positively. Or at least, tried to say it positively. But it sounded false and he didn’t look Alastor in the eye.

“I know so.” Alastor insisted.

Baxter didn’t respond and Alastor couldn’t help but sigh at that. Sadly, Baxter didn’t know he was beautiful. He didn’t even think it. Alastor knew that Baxter didn’t really like the way he looked at all. There were many parts of the body he was in that he straight up hated. Saying they looked absolutely stupid. He said that it was no wonder no one took him seriously because he looked so ridiculous.

Well, Alastor was having none of that. He told Baxter every day what he thought of all these features he was so insecure about. Determined to make him feel better about them. Maybe one day, Baxter would even like them as much as Alastor did.

“Darl, you know I love the way you look.” He persisted putting his arms around his lover, “I don’t care what you say, you do not look ridiculous. Ridiculously cute, yes. But not ridiculous.”

Baxter let out a small chuckle before he embraced Alastor as well.

“I love everything about you.” Alastor whispered to the person he loved more than anything in existence like it was a secret. Now that was ridiculous because he would shout it to the world.

“No, you don’t!” Baxter giggled, “You don’t love how cranky, closed off and secretive I can be.”

“Alright smartass, you’ve pointed out you have flaws like every other human being. Well done.” Alastor joked back before getting serious,“But all the good things about you outweigh the bad things by a ton.”

“Well, my love. You will be pleased to know that I can say the exact same thing about you.” Baxter said, tightening his embrace and planting several sweet lingering kisses on Alastor’s cheek. “I love you so.”

“I love you too.” Alastor said right back, returning Baxter’s soft squeeze, “And you really are ridiculously cute.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Baxter said in a positive tone that sounded genuine this time. Alastor was sure he was smiling.

“You’d better.” He grinned before he resumed the kiss attack he’d launched earlier.

He had better believe he was cute because Baxter was cute. His eyes were cute. His smile was cute. His freckles were cute. His hair was cute. His little built-in fishing rod was cute and good god, his blush was cute. Everything about him was cute and much more. He was charming, he was attractive, he was handsome and indeed he was beautiful. And Alastor didn’t care what he had done to end up here, Baxter was beautiful on the inside too.

#hazbin hotel #alastor #baxter #fanfic

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chocolatemillkk · 6 years

Text

Kid Brother III

Finally gotten it up, I rewrote this so many times but I'm enjoying building up the story :) Part I

Friday was not going as planned. For starters, I woke up late and had to rush to work which meant I was late for my meeting and barely signed on the client I had been trying to recruit for the last two weeks. Just barely. When Joe texts me in the afternoon, my mood is automatically uplifted.

"We on for tonight?"

"Most definitely on," I text back.

"What you smiling at?" Kendall, my assistant asks.

"Nothing, just a friend," I say casually.

"Ooh," she sits on my desk. "A boyfriend?"

"Ugh no," I turn towards my laptop so she doesn't see me blush. "Just an old friend-he's invited me out and lord knows I need to unwind after this morning's shit show."

"Do I know him?" Kendall was really good at her job. Otherwise, she was too nosy.

"Joe, his sister's been around a couple times." I roll my eyes to myself.

"Oh my gosh your Youtuber friends?" She moves in closer as if I'm gonna drop their contact info into her lap. "He's a cutie! Totally dateable."

"What are we chatting about," my friend Shannon slides a coffee to me.

"Oh you're an angel," I give her a gracious smile-she was intentionally saving me. We both talked shite about Kendall on more than one occas.

"Have you met Y/N's Youtube friends?"

Shannon glances at me and I stifle a laugh, "Love, give it a rest. She isn't going to introduce you to Joe and you aren't going to have his babies."

"I didn't say that!" Kendall exclaims.

"You really didn't have to." Kendall rolls her eyes and goes back to her station. "Thanks for swooping in."

"Now you owe me, next time Charles starts chatting me up in the photocopy room you're claiming a girl emergency." I shudder, "I would do that regardless."

I rush home after work and heat up leftovers while finishing up my work. Joe said to meet him at a pub not too far away. He extended the invite but all my friends had partners they would rather spend their Fridays with. I only retouch my makeup and switch my lipstick for something more sultry. slip into a black halter dress and tease my hair towards the front.

"See you soon," I text Joe at 8 after making it to the station. He sends me back a heart and my own skips a beat.

Not cool, I scold myself. He's Zoe's younger brother and I really had to hook up with someone tonight so I could get over this weird flame I held for him. I didn't wanna be that girl but the truth was he had a plethora of girls his age and he never showed any sign he could be into me. Plus it would complicate things.

The tube doesn't take long and I reach the bar soon after. "Y/N, is that you?" Joe asks sarcastically as he spots me before I do in the dim lights. "I'm seeing a mirage boys, that can't be Y/N!"

"Oh stop it," I lean in to give Joe a hug.

"These are my mates, you've met Caspar and Byron when you dropped by the house that one time?"

"Hey," I wave at the two boys. Byron I definitely remembered, he was cute but I knew that all of Joe's friends were younger than him.

"Josh and Conor are getting drinks-that's Jack and that's Mikey."

"A lot of names," I laugh. "But I should remember them all."

"Joe you didn't even give us her name," the one with the beer-Mikey says.

"I'm Y/N," I say not waiting for Joe.

"Lovely to meet you Y/N," I could tell Mikey was trying to be smooth and maybe he did have something going for him but once again, too young.

"You getting a drink right? I'm paying on this honorable night," Joe jokes.

"I can get my own!" I say.

"Alright boys," a voice directly behind me yells out. "First round is on me."

I recognise Conor because I actually listened to his music but the boy with him makes me freeze.

"Josh?" I ask.

The tall ginger glances at me and is about to look away but he stops. "Y/N?"

"Oh my god!" Josh puts his drinks down and bends down to give me a hug. This was so unreal.

"You two know each other?" Joe sounds suspicious and I blush as I realise we would have to explain how. I was ready to lie but Josh forges ahead with the story.

"Yeah! We went out on a couple dates-"

"You two dated?" Caspar interrupts.

"Wait," I turn to Josh after the realisation hits me. "You told me you were 27!"

"Did I?" Josh's face turns a deep shade of pink as all the boys around us start to rile us up.

"Oh my god how old are you?!" I could not believe this.

"He's 24," Joe tells me. My jaw drops, I slept with someone four years younger than me?

"Josh!" I hit him with my clutch and he lets out a nervous laugh.

"I'm sorry! Honestly I didn't think it was a big deal! It's not like you got back to me!"

"Oh course it's-oh my god you're four years younger than me Josh!?"

"It's not like the two of you slept together it's just a few dates," Joe tries to diffuse the situation but we both go very silent.

"Oh my god," Conor bumps his shoulder into Josh. "Did our son here sleep with a woman?"

"I am right here!" I glare at Conor, mortified. This was the worst first impression I have ever had. I look to Joe, realising how awkward this must be but his jaw is clenched shut and he's looking at Josh who's looking back at him with a nervous expression.

"Let's talk," I grab Josh's arm, maybe a little too aggressively as he yelps

"Y/N honestly I didn't think it was a big deal! I was gonna tell you on our next date." Josh explains.

"Josh I feel like a cougar sleeping with somebody four years younger!"

"It was only twice," Josh mumbles. "And you didn't even get back to me so what's the big deal?"

"Oh gods," I grab his shoulder. "I just realised-I'm still angry at you-but I'm sorry I genuinely was not ghosting you!"

"What?" Josh asks confused.

"After our last date? When you left my place right, I dropped my phone in my sink and it was bad! I have a really demanding job and I couldn't get all my new contacts. I tried to find you online but I guess I misspelt your name or something cuz I never found you!"

"Surely I've been on Joe's Instagram," Josh says.

"I haven't updated that in ages, I'm too busy! Gods what a small world!"

"Boys!" Josh yells to his friends. "Remember that girl I was hung up over I said she probably ghosted me because she didn't like gingers?"

"Is that her?" Jack catches on.

"Yeah! But she damaged her phone, with my number on it," Josh repeats my story smugly and I look on in disbelief.

"You thought I ghosted you because you were ginger? I'm not that shallow!"

"Hey it's happened before," he shrugs.

"Wait Y/N," Joe says. "Is he the guy you were going on about after you got your new phone?"

"See!" I look at Josh. "Yes! I was upset I had lost your number!"

"Wait all those things you said were about Josh?" Joe repeats.

"Ooh la la what things?" Josh mocks which makes me laugh. I forgot how easily he made me do that.

"Yeah but he's 24," I try to remind myself too.

"So what?" Some of the boys ask.

"Age is just a number," Caspar pipes in.

"I guess," I say, not wanting to argue.

"So would you still be going out with him if you didn't lose his number?" Mikey asks.

I think about it, "I dunno,." I shrug.

"Oh mate," Mikey shoves Josh a little too hard and he spills over onto Joe who spills his drink on the floor.

"Josh what the fuck!" Joe errupts.

"Mikey how many times do I have to tell you to stop pushing so bloody aggressively?" Like dominos Josh turns his anger to Mikey.

"It's not my fault you're so scrawny mate," Mikey looks unbothered but his face flushes. This was getting awkward.

"Joe let's grab that drink," I call out.

"I think I'm alright," Joe is aggressively dabbing napkins on his trainers and he doesn't even look at me. I glance up and see Conor and Jack exchange a glance. Josh looks upset and I make eye contact with Caspar. He gives me an apologetic look and I huff.

"Well so much for a night out," I storm past the crowd and head for the entrance. As I make it to the streets somebody grabs my arm. Thinking it would be Joe, I turn around, prepared to give him an earful because the truth was tonight was embarassing and taking his anger out at me in front of his friends was just humiliating.

Instead, my gaze looks up to Josh who looks at me with shining eyes. He moves closer to me and my breath catches. "Just stay for a few drinks."

I look into his eyes, he was a great guy but after my last serious relationship with a younger guy who was manipulative by making me feel sleazy for dating someone younger, I promised myself I would never do that again. That's why I refused to give in to any romantic feelings with Joe. But Joe, then Josh-made my rule feel pointless.

"Oh," a familiar voice cuts the moment short and I look to see Joe hovering near the entrance. "Sorry," I've known Joe long enough see he's upset.

"Joe," I call him as he turns away. "I'll be back in in a mo'," I give Josh a smile and he steps back into the club, not making eye contact with Joe. Joe, on the other hand, looked like he could kill him.

"What's up Joseph?"

Joe combs his hair away from his face and shoves his hands in his pockets. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to snap at you."

"I wish you hadn't but that's alright-I think we've had worse fights than that." I joke about some of our childhood arguments. "I'm sorry too. I honestly had no idea Josh was your friend or I wouldn't have gone out on a date with him in the first place," I promise.

"It was bound to happen, all my friends are bloody better looking than me so it makes sense," Joe's attempt at humour falls flat as his expression gets stormy.

"I really hope you don't actually believe that," I say. "I mean he's way younger than me so I don't think there's anything between us-"

"Y/N you need to get over that experience." Joe interrupts. "Look at Zoe and Alfie."

"They're different, they work!" I try to defend myself but Joe's not having it. "So what are you trying to say? You want me to go out with Josh?"

I don't know why I asked that. I wanted Joe to say no even though rationally, I knew that would never happen. My weird crush on Joe was not reciprocated and dating him would mean if anything went wrong things would get awkward. Especially since Zoe was my best friend.

"You can do whatever with Josh," Joe mumbles. "That's between you two. I'm just saying don't write off all guys because they're younger." The sentence is charged with a weird vibe and I watch Joe as he says it. He stares intensely at me, like he's trying to say something else as he speaks but I can't read him. I kiss his cheek thanks, Josh and I were adults. If we wanted to have some fun, it shouldn't matter. I really did need to get over my age phobia-but not when it came to Joe. That remained in place.

Joe grabs my hand before I go in. I watch his throat bob up and down as he swallows. "I just want you to be happy," he says. His serious tone is so uncharacteristic that I step back towards him.

"I try." I say truthfully. "Recently that's been harder to find though." I joke but it falls flat. Joe's hand still holds mine and he brushes his thumb over my knuckles. I feel a stirring in the pit of my stomach so I detach myself from Joe. Immediately, Joe grabs my hand again and pulls me in, placing a kiss on my forehead. I close my eyes, allowing the small moment of intimacy before stepping back once more.

"I'll see you soon? Maybe we can make up for today, tomorrow?" Joe asks as he walks backwards into the street.

"Sounds good," I avoid eye contact. I wave goodbye and head back inside where Josh already has a drink waiting for me.

#joe sugg imagine #joe sugg imagines #joe sugg #thatcherjoe imagines #thatcherjoe #thatcherjoe imagine #youtube imagines #youtube #josh pieters #josh pieters imagine #fic #kidbrother

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charlieharry1 · 4 years

Text

An a-z manual to influencer advertising

9 Instances out of ten, the objective of influencer advertising and marketing or a blogger outreach marketing campaign is for logo cognizance functions. Groups will method individuals with a longtime Digital Marketing Companies Birmingham following, either on social media or out within the blogosphere, and ask them to submit content material approximately their product or service. You’ll regularly hear of bloggers agreeing to try this in alternate for ‘freebies’ (generally the product being promoted) or they may request charge. As with digital marketing in preferred, influencer marketing and blogger outreach is a charming one as it’s constantly evolving and reinventing itself. With this in mind, i’ve determined to put in writing an a-z guide of all matters influencer advertising and blogger outreach. It includes useful equipment, hints and hints to apply at the same time as doing it. Oh, and i’ve even thrown in some traditional* film/tv rates for good measure.

Read Also:- Google can crawl or index your 410 Page anytime

*disclaimer – my definition of traditional is doubtlessly situation to discuss…

a- deal with the right human beings

First of all, it’s crucial which you set out understanding precisely what you want to attain from your outreach campaign and who you want to purpose hearth at. Of path, it is going with out saying, you’re targeting bloggers/influencers and their fans. However, for a miles extra granular knowledge of your target audience, it’s clever to spend time carefully gaining knowledge of, analyzing and familiarising yourself with influencers applicable to your enterprise. Find out what sort of content they produce and the matters their followers are interested by and engage with. Create content material off the again of this and bloggers could be biting your hand off to proportion it. De niro meme.

one way to ensure which you’re contacting the proper people is to apply a tool which include buzzsumo. We’re large fans here at sitevisibility and agree with it ought to be a staple tool for your outreach armoury. No longer handiest does it allow you to easily discover effective influencers, you could also narrow down and filter your influencer search by means of topic of information or vicinity should you need to. It’s feasible to see what content material bloggers are sharing, how regularly they accomplish that and which domain names they share making the technique of finding out whether or not someone is well worth achieving out to is a lot quicker and less complicated. If they’ve written about similar products or appear to be they’ve accomplished this form of merchandising before, then they’ll probable be open to doing it once more. Alternative gear which are additionally worth checking out encompass traackr, tomoson, upfluence and ninja outreach. Taken meme

*note: may additionally, or won't, be the real quote from taken. C – creative, concise & compelling issue lines

spending a long time drafting an outreach electronic mail best to fall flat at the primary hurdle (i. E. Recipients really starting it) is not anything short of disheartening. That is wherein the artwork of making compelling difficulty strains surely comes into its very own. Becoming something in this little bit of space which piques human beings’s hobby can be hard, however no longer impossible. Here are some of my top recommendations for e-mail concern lines and growing your open quotes:

lead them to non-public

prey on people’s fear of missing out (fomo)

rouse their curiosity

Channel your inner ricky gervais and show a feel of humour. In the end, who doesn’t revel in a giggle? (i know i’m actually greater inclined to open an email if the challenge line is witty or amusing). Use words that mean urgency such as…properly…’urgent’. They’re confirmed to increase electronic mail open charges. One e mail difficulty line that we enjoyed together here at sitevisibility become from boiler room, a web tune broadcasting platform. Rather than send out a commonplace electronic mail to their listing concerning adjustments to gdpr, like most corporations did, their issue line was as follows:

With cambridge analytica recently inside the news for the facebook statistics scandal (in essence, private records harvested from more than 50 million fb profiles with out permission was used to goal us voters with personalised political commercials based on their psychological profile) boiler room capitalised on the public interest surrounding this, with the aid of cheekily suggesting they were merging with them. As a result, we wanted to discover what turned into happening! Truely that couldn’t be!? Once we opened the email, however, the textual content within it turned into this:

boiler room electronic mail content material

a amazing instance of ways an intriguing situation line and thinking outdoor the field can assist to increase open quotes. Have any subject strains stuck your attention lately? Why not comment beneath along with your preferred?

*top tip: a simple ‘whats up’ in the challenge line in all likelihood isn’t going to cut it. D – do the hard paintings for them

Influencers are busy humans. The ones, they’re off jet placing here, there and anywhere and documenting it all online. They’ve even updated their instagram bio as ‘influencer’. Can it get any greater reputable than that? I jest however, in all seriousness, folks who’ve reach making it their complete-time job, and manage to maintain it, accomplish that for a reason. They work difficult. Even bloggers who aren’t so a hit, in the experience that it offers them with an income, will nonetheless probable be driven for time. Much like you and that i, they’ll be juggling their ardour undertaking alongside more than one roles inclusive of employee, mum or dad, husband or spouse. Try and make matters as clean as feasible for both and store them valuable time. As an instance, do you have got the appropriate pictures to aid your content? Provide the influencer with them. Possibly you have a few ideas for how they could position your product/emblem to their followers? Get them excited through making recommendations. Bear in mind, they in all likelihood get hold of a ton of very comparable emails on a day by day foundation. Peddle away on their behalf and you’ll gain the rewards. E – email monitoring It’s all well and good thinking you’ve created the ideal e-mail to ship to the ideal influencers, but e-mail monitoring will monitor whether or not or no longer this truly the case. Here at sitevisibility, we use a device known as yesware to hold tabs on what’s occurred once we’ve pressed send. Email open fees, hyperlink clicks and attachment opens are simply some of the beneficial insights discovered with this device, permitting you to check whether the messages you’re sending out are getting any engagement. In case your emails aren’t even being opened, email tracking will spotlight this. In which case, you’ll need to go back to the drafting board and send out alternative versions of your message – and swot up on point c above! F – follow up, follow up & observe up once more

Patience and perseverance is key to blogger outreach. In a perfect international, all of us to your outreach list would respond immediately however that’s no longer practical. As noted previously, bloggers and influencers are busy humans and you’ll be competing with others for their valuable inbox space. In case you don’t listen again first time round, allow some days to pass and attempt again. When doing so, however, don’t simply in reality regurgitate the same statistics. As a substitute, upload something new and of fee. It could nicely be that the individual concerned didn’t right away pick out along with your emblem or assume it'd be of interest to their fans, but this added records would possibly serve to convince them otherwise. The stats additionally endorse that observe up emails are profitable. In keeping with yesware, you have got a 21% chance of having a reply to your second e mail if the primary goes unanswered. Think of it this way – every email sent is some other opportunity for them to examine and reply and makes your logo that rather more acquainted. Simply be careful no longer to overdo it. Nobody like receiving 10 observe up emails all pronouncing the identical factor! Terminator meme similar to raymond, every body loves them. Manufacturers, bloggers, influencers and their fans – giveaways are normally beneficial to all events. No longer simplest are they a praise for modern-day followers, it can also help to win over new fanatics for influencers and, if performed well, incentivise their followers to follow you (have i said observe an excessive amount of?). In essence, manufacturers will run competitions in collaboration with influencers to growth their following and enjoy better engagement prices with their posts. You’ve possibly visible this in practice as it’s a common way to get people attractive with a brand. Word the under* – an instagram put up from tv persona megan mckenna who, at present, has 2. 1 million fans. In a collaboration with easilocks, a hair extension emblem, she requested her followers to love their instagram page to doubtlessly win some of their products. I have to mention, i’m a sucker for those varieties of giveaways myself. I comply with the instagram debts of a ways too many towie, geordie shore and love island contestants to mention (i understand, i've debateable taste). They don’t half of love a charcoal toothpaste giveaway! While operating with influencers, reflect onconsideration on what you may provide that fits in with their audience. Offer it as a giveaway and you’ll see an growth in new followers, engagement along with your posts and emblem recognition. Megan mckenna publish

*A public apology: sorry this isn’t a meme. H – honesty & hashtags

h is for honesty. Formerly, inside influencer advertising and marketing, people with big followings haven’t continually been so transparent with regards to disclosing whether or not they were being paid to promote a product or in the event that they had been definitely endorsing some thing for the pure ardour and sheer love of a product. Inside the u. S., the ftc (federal alternate commission) goals to defend customers from this. They’ve lately cracked down on on-line influencers being secretive or dishonest with their followers. Now, they claim, the best ftc compliant hashtags are: #backed or #advert. The competition & markets authority and advertising standards authority (asa) play an equivalent position inside the uk . They too have started out to put into effect patron protection law. Again, united kingdom legal guidelines kingdom that on line influencers are obliged to apply the hashtag ‘advert’ once they have been paid for a social submit. In addition to the usage of hashtags to specify when your posts are subsidized or commercials, they are additionally crucial to blogger outreach as you may discover who’s already creating content material approximately your logo and attain out to them. You may do this manually or you can additionally use social listening gear which include, hootsuite, buzzsumo and tweetdeck that allows you to assist you to tap into famous on line conversations. I – in house vs organisation

maximum corporations tussle with the query of whether they should outsource their marketing to an employer or if it should stay in house. Undeniably, there are professionals and cons associated with both. Undertaking influencer outreach in house, obviously, way you’ll have a more in-depth connection to the logo and valuable insider information. But, and that i may be barely biased here, an organisation can offer many other blessings. This consists of a group who come ready with a wealth of revel in and an expansive skillset, now not simplest in outreach, but in digital advertising in preferred. Plus, an out of doors group can manage the whole method and are updated on the fine industry gear. The problem of insider expertise may be conquer to an volume as long as you as a client are open and impending with speaking records. If you do determine to paintings with an organization, make certain you place out a very clear quick from the begin. Decide what desires or results you’re looking to gain through outreach. This can assist your company to be more powerful with what they put together and the way they behavior and record on the outreach for you. J – jargon

Enterprise slang, buzzwords, lingo, anything you want to call it – rein it in. You want your outreach e-mail to be simple, powerful and to the point. Coming from a journalism background, i in my opinion want to method outreach emails as an editor would newspaper articles. Cut any words from your e-mail that aren’t vital or fail to add any meaning to what you’re attempting to say. Replace buzzwords with easy terms or just pass over them altogether. Word – it could be suitable to apply jargon on activities in which it could help to show your credentials and knowledge in a place. On this example, certainly check the state of affairs and carefully remember what you watched will work excellent. Mr t meme

Friendly reminder: don’t be a fool. K – kim kardashian

no matter your private perspectives, there’s no denying that kim kardashian and her siblings have an incredible platform and reach. At present, she has 114 million instagram fans and its alleged that she fees an eyewatering £250k for a unmarried sponsored submit! Merchandise she promotes range from nutrients and hair merchandise to, extra controversially considering her young enchantment, weight loss plan products. Manufacturers promoted via kim ok commonly benefit most important traction in income from a collaboration with the arena’s maximum famous woman. Nevertheless, in spite of being blanketed in this listing, authoritative influencers don’t constantly must be celebrities. They could absolutely be everyday people who've tapped right into a sure area of interest or enterprise. Once you’ve discovered relevant influencers to outreach to, you’ll need to do your research. Are maximum of their follower’s unsolicited mail bills or are they seemingly legit? How do their fans interact with them? Do they get precise responses to stay video on insta or facebook? Running this out can help you make a decision if you need to paintings with them and, higher yet, how you can achieve this. Watch out, simply due to the fact someone has masses of followers, it doesn’t mean that they're actual. Spam fans are commonplace, or frequently human beings have constructed up a following by using following a massive amount of people themselves. Therefore, it’s critical to do your homework and observe the engagements they get with their posts. Kim kardashian instagram submit

l – large scale

as with all advertising efforts, it’s essential to be sensible about what you can obtain given your budget. Many organizations make the error of diving in head first and throwing all their coins at a large-scale outreach marketing campaign, assuming that this is the great approach. With out a through or nicely concept out approach in region, but, this can see organizations element with masses of cash unnecessarily. For small enterprise, start-usaor entrepreneurs, with regards to outreach, its commonly nice to start out small after which branch out if vital. Certainly, concentrated on macro influencers with big followings may be futile. Those who have collected massive followings have a tendency to be at the top of their discipline and receive an income to mirror that. Normally, they only accomplice up with huge, worldwide manufacturers. Even though budget isn’t an issue, it’s really worth considering that as macro influencers have such large followings, this additionally means their following will be more diluted, and promotion of your product received’t be as centered. Micro influencers, however, are a whole lot greater handy and much less high-priced due to their smaller following. Their smaller following may even paintings on your advantage, with followers probable to be noticeably targeted. It’s also an awful lot simpler for these influencers to interact with their constrained target audience, as they’re now not beaten through tens of millions of followers. In the end, collaborating with a small influencer may be simply as useful as running with a big influencer. The principle component to think about is how engaged the target market are and whether or not the influencer is interacting with them. M – me mail

permit’s face it, we’ve all been there. You start a conversation with a person best for them to move on and on about themselves without once asking you any questions. It’s human nature to need people to be interested in us and attentive to our wishes in a verbal exchange. The identical logic can be applied to outreach emails. Don’t start your outreach by way of rambling on approximately your self. Get directly to the factor and let the influencer or blogger recognize what’s in it for them. Certainly, it’s time to scrap email and make it all about me-mail. Always recollect your message from the position of the blogger who will in all likelihood be wondering, ‘what can you do for me’? Make it a bit less ‘i’ and a bit greater ‘you’. Conversation is a mutual exchange, make it balanced and attention on them in place of yourself. Previous studies have discovered the primary reasons influencers are happy to work with manufacturers include the subsequent:

– increased reach, helping them to expand their audience

– extended possibility to create excellent content for their audience

– greater assist available to form their image

– perks (loose discounts, samples)

– new studies (journeys, activities)

i. E. – they respond to what you can do for them! Make it extremely clear from the outset what you can offer the blogger. N – now not now

if a blogger or influencer responds in your electronic mail with a ‘no’, undergo the following in mind – it doesn’t constantly imply just that. It may surely suggest ‘no longer at this moment in time’. Preserve enticing and constructing a relationship with that individual. Take a look at in on them once in a while, ship them hyperlinks to things that may be of hobby to them and their followers. Like and touch upon their posts. On occasion the blogger simply needs time to mull over your idea or wants a concrete cause to sell your product. Of course, if a person has made it abundantly clear they’re no longer involved whatsoever in what you’re imparting then, pretty frankly, you shouldn’t continue to waste it slow. However, just due to the fact a person hasn’t obliged together with your request, that doesn’t mean a entire and abrupt end to that line of verbal exchange. In case you were to do this offline, you’d be taken into consideration rude! Outreach is all about playing the long sport and constructing relationships. O – natural valley

natural valley, the organic food products, has validated these days that influencer advertising isn’t all approximately instagram (as many human beings assume). Their latest advertising and marketing marketing campaign has visible them embark on a collaboration with culinary influencers on youtube, with the intention of drawing interest to their new ghee product. It features 10 cooking influencers getting their meals ‘ghee-lished’. Foodies will realise set up youtubers together with donal skehan, kent rollins, momma cherri, billy parisi, darius williams and alyssa gagarin. Take a look at out their unique influencer advertising marketing campaign. When it comes to your outreach marketing campaign, reflect onconsideration on the platform that’ll paintings quality for you. Are you going to get higher effects from an instagram post or a youtube video? Investigate what your competitors are doing. If you’re unsure then you can always run checks on a small scale and monitor the results. P – politeness

the 3 p’s – politeness, professionalism & character! As in all walks of life, a easy please and thank you in no way goes amiss and may from time to time make a real distinction to your outreach efforts. That being said, ensure you strike the right balance, as being absolutely formal and stuffy received’t constantly be suitable. It’s feasible to remain expert but also to reveal a few persona. Think about it a little like you will a task interview. It’s all properly and right preparing the precise solutions however sometimes an agency is looking to see that your personality can be a very good fit for the relaxation in their employees. Ultimately, a balanced judgement based on who you’re outreaching to and what the concern remember is should tell the way you compose your outreach e-mail. It shouldn’t be too tough to head wrong here as outreach is essentially all about human connections, with human beings responding quality to a aggregate of all 3 of the above. Napoleon dynamite meme

lesson of the day: don’t call anyone a fats lard. Q – high-quality over quantity

with outreach, a while is higher utilised tailoring, honing and refining emails to a choose few in place of sending out a wellknown batch e-mail to masses of human beings. As noted previously, bloggers and influencers are receiving thrilling requests of their inbox daily. Why should they take day out of their day to respond to you in case your e mail is familiar and mundane? It’s flawlessly satisfactory to apply templates to your restrained pattern, simply ensure that the ones templates have an added private flavour. If you craft some thing that is greater customized and relatable, then probabilities are you received’t end up within the junk mail folder and could get greater beneficial responses. Admittedly, on occasion it could be a numbers recreation and the latter can paintings on your favour. However, pleasant typically trumps quantity. R – relationships

build, expand and nurture them. Do not forget your courting with a blogger as you would another colleague. You wouldn’t clearly walk up for your workmate first thing on a monday morning and call for something from them. Now not with out, a minimum of, exchanging a few small communicate or asking how their weekend changed into first. Right here are a few of my pinnacle hints for constructing and keeping your courting with bloggers:

often interact with their social media posts to get on their radar, show them you’re paying attention and construct their believe – however don’t overdo it. Link to, and point out, their posts on your personal blog content material. Utilise the three p’s on the subject of any communication (see above)! Many organizations undertaking outreach burn their bridges before they’ve even shaped a courting, as they hound bloggers frequently and absence fundamental manners. S – forestall with the patronising

you could have examine some place else that it’s vital to personalise your emails. That is in reality very true. But, don’t just reel off the three maximum latest weblog posts an influencer has written as evidence of your interest and information. A number of humans make this mistake, regularly without analyzing the influencers paintings in element. Attempt to locate something genuine and proper to supplement a blogger or influencer approximately. It can be so obvious if a person is surely keen on something they do or if they’re really going through the motions for the sake of it. A moderate appreciation is excellent however don’t suck up – it’s obvious and type of cringey. T – believe

these days’s clients are tough to promote to. They’re savvier and less willing to buy into difficult-sell advertising. So, who're they paying attention to? The solution: their peers and different clients. On-line believe is a huge issue and it interprets into lots of pounds. Assume amazon and tripadvisor evaluations – they introduce the target market to a more sincere supply and put off the limitations of traditional advertising. Inside the same vein, trust have to additionally be exercised with the influencer or blogger – as tempting as it could be to want to take creative manipulate over what they produce. Permit them to make the piece their own and function it in a manner so one can appeal to their fans or readers. Of route, there are exceptions to this, and it doesn’t hurt to fact test, however soliciting for edit after edit will get tedious and test the connection. It’s ok to influence the content however don’t manipulate it. Audiences and clients don’t want blatant advertising and marketing but authenticity. Influencers know their target audience better and what works to bring about excessive engagement, so consider them. U – use linkedin

at a very primary level, linkedin is a superb (not to mention unfastened) platform you have to be the usage of for your outreach and influencer marketing. Yet, it's far frequently underutilised. It has an incredible search function, which may be modified and refined, that will help you find influencers relevant on your emblem. Admittedly, it's far truly constrained in the sense that you will simplest be able to directly contact the ones you've got 1st and second diploma relationships with. But, it's far still possible to construct relationships and network via linkedin. Linkedin organizations gives one of the most effective methods to try this. In case you want to attain out to a person who is a distant contact, or you've got 0 mutual contacts at all, don't forget joining any companies they're in. Also make certain your profile is public and seen to them while travelling their profile. This way, they’ll be more aware about your logo whilst it ultimately involves making touch thru different approach. Like, and percentage their posts and message them with insightful comments or comments. Equally, attending blogger meetups offline is a precious use of a while and need to now not be underestimated as a way of expanding your community. You can discover it worthwhile upgrading to a linkedin top rate account, as it affords you with greater alternatives to refine your influencer search. V – vlogging

We’re in an era of video – fb stay, instagram testimonies, snapchat, you name it, people an increasing number of love to devour their content material in this way. In no way is that to mention that written content material is not of significance, but instead video can act as an outstanding addition to your influencer marketing campaign. In contrast to a easy social publish, video content commonly makes a speciality of how a vlogger includes a product/provider into their everyday lifestyles. This form of content material additionally tends to be extra insightful and much less filtered than the written phrase, which adds an detail of accept as true with and authority and may have a extremely tremendous impact on your emblem. If you intend to paintings with vloggers, you should first decide what you need to get out of it. Are you looking for sponsored brand ambassadors to post movies approximately your product across all their social channels? As an alternative, if finances is a problem, a seeding marketing campaign can be of greater interest. This works by gifting a vlogger together with your product inside the hope they’ll create content material approximately it. In assessment to a paid brand ambassador, but, you’ll have restrained manipulate over the message they positioned out. They will well be given the present however no longer submit approximately it as they don’t experience the product is a good fit for his or her audience! Being clean from the outset will affect your approach and the vloggers you outreach to. An excellent way to get your ft moist with vlogging, is to actually talk over with present bloggers you work with and spot which of them have a dominant youtube presence. W– write visitor posts

When you’ve determined applicable bloggers to outreach to and fashioned relationships with them, writing a guest submit on their blog can prove treasured. If supplied with a guest publish opportunity, no longer only will you be able to function your self in the front of the influencers target audience, it’s also a chance to set up your self as an industry expert. Take care right here, even though. There may be a very exceptional line, anything openly salesy might be off setting for an target market interested by authenticity. It’s now not an possibility totally free marketing. Rather, write approximately the same subjects as the influencer, making sure it is applicable and of excessive pleasant. Commonly, you will get hold of a by means of-line on your submit in which you will be capable of insert a one-way link to your web page. On this example growing a particular touchdown page, customised for audiences who come to your web site from this post, is quality practice. X– x element

within the phrases of thierry henry, now and again matters need that ‘va va voom’. That delivered wow. That x-aspect. Good enough i’ll stop now however, seriously, wondering outdoor the box can actually increase your outreach a game from accurate to brilliant and noteworthy. It'd even be that you don’t use e mail as your important approach of shooting a blogger or influencers interest! Get creative and ship them some thing unusual, and then request they touch you. It’s a one-of-a-kind method to mention the least but it'll clearly make you stand other than your competitors. Permit me to provide an example. Say you’re a chocolate or candy logo, you may ship a blogger a clear field containing your objects and offer them with a quiz or puzzle with the purpose of unlocking it to retrieve further data (and, of route, the chocolates). Once the blogger has opened the container, make your touch details genuinely to be had and offer a few reasons for why they should accomplish that. Warning: very predictable meme usage in advance

Live with me on this one! Yoga practitioners are often calm, comfortable and most significantly, bendy. Influencer advertising isn't like different advertising and marketing procedures in which doing x definitively consequences in y. You’re operating with folks that can also have appreciably different ideas and input into how you could make the relationship paintings. Be bendy to your outlook, be given outside involvement and be inclined to mix matters up to peer what works and what doesn’t. Z – zero attempt

phew – we made it! Z brings us to zero effort. Your elevator pitch to bloggers and influencers need to, ideally, be a easy and rapid procedure. Most influencers may have devoted pages on their website which information precisely how they like to be contacted. Ensure, a minimum of, you examine those! If you pretty clearly haven’t observed those simple commands to apprehend the bloggers alternatives, it interprets as making 0 attempt. Zero attempt, manner 0 responses. Anchor guy meme

This final meme has absolutely no relevance, however i desired to shut on a high! So there you have it, my a-z guide to Digital Marketing Agencies in Oxford influencer advertising and marketing and blogger outreach. What do you suspect? Is there whatever i’ve missed? Do you have any pinnacle tips to be triumphant? Experience loose to ship me a mail with your thoughts or go away us a remark beneath.

#Digital Marketing Company Birmingham

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deeperforme · 7 years

Text

Tips for Going to Hypnocons for People Who Are Almost Exactly Like Me

I have been to 4 NEEHUs, 1 Entranced, 1 Charmed, a Deepmind Darkwood, 3 Fetish Fleamarkets, 2 London Hypnosis workshops, and a number of one-off hypno things in Europe. (I bet my colleagues at work would be surprised to hear this!). Most of them I went to unpartnered, all as a shy introvert.

I'm not good at going to hypnocons. But I'm better than I was. So here are my tips, customized for me and people like me. So not stuff that I hope came naturally to me, like "be polite and don't treat people like objects", and also not stuff that is literally impossible for me, like "don't compare yourself to other people." But maybe you need to be told a whole different set of things. Also, I don't necessarily have great insight into what I'm doing right, or what I'm doing wrong. But I hope these help anyway!

Emotional and physiological chaos is normal. FOMO, envy, social anxiety, jealousy, disappointment, having to see exes, having to see people who creeped on you. If you think everyone else is having a perfect time and you're the only one in distress, you are very wrong. Also, they will lie about it, by omission, in their blog posts afterwards (I do!) so for god's sake don't compare yourself to that. Physiologically, I've caught a cold for so many of these cons, and sleep deprivation, travel stress, sugar crashes and other things will give your body a nonsexy pounding. And folks with disabilities or chronic illnesses have even more to deal with. There's no way to avoid some chaos, so just know that you can make wonderful memories in the midst of chaos! ALL IS NOT LOST. And take it easy on people, eh?

There's a role for the new person. The hypno community is incredibly cliquey. It's a natural consequence of hypno being a very rare kink, and one that requires a huge amount of trust. It takes years to build that trust. So be patient with yourself. If you do any pickup play with new people at all on your first con - and you're not a young woman - you're doing very well. But if you're positive, genuinely interested in people, and obviously eager to learn, people will be extremely kind.

Learning to ask while not being gross is everything. There are many, many great guides to this online, as well as cautionary tales about what not to do, so all I'll say here is look at it all as practice; be as bold as you are respectful; amazing things can happen just by asking in the right place at the right time; and as the great wristbands at Charmed said, "Ask first. Respect the answer."

The greatness of your con is decided long before you hit the registration desk. The upside to my pitiful addiction to hypnotumblr is that I could put faces to tumblr names at the con. "Ah yes! I have enjoyed your pornography! And your curation of animated gif pornography!" This time was very aware that most people - flying in from everywhere from Vancouver Island to Manchester, England - are beginning and maintaining their relationships online between cons. At the moment the thing is Skype, Dischord and Snapchat groups, in addition to tumblr and fetlife. You don’t actually have to do any of that, but it helps – see, cliquyness, trust. And preparation in general: I half-assed Charmed and NEEHU this year, since I only decided to go to each at the last minute, and as a result they were a little flat (except for the presence of @khatsha at Charmed!) Actually read the schedule, make plans with people you know, check out other people's wishlists and make plans with them, give yourself missions or sidequests.

Think about how to help other people have a great con. It's a great way to take your mind off yourself and how you're doing, and to be visible in the best possible way. If people are bored, have something for them to participate in. If something needs to get done, be the one to do it. I know two people who brought their cars just to ferry people around at two different cons, and made tons of friends, including sexy friends. Teaching or demoing for a class is best of course, but if not, volunteer, bring treats, join in activities. Get involved in every way you can.

Figure out who's sleeping with who. For "sleeping with" substitute hypnotizing, playing with, or living with in a polycule in a creaky old mansion. And also, who used to be sleeping with who, who wants to be sleeping with who, who wishes they were still sleeping with who (don’t go around creepily asking these things of course). Otherwise much public behaviour will be baffling.

Figure out who's assaulted or creeped on who. For the same reason.

Make your interests specific and public. I learned this from @khatsha, who asked for, and got, two incredibly intricate gender-bending interrogation scenes at her second ever hypnocon. She also wants to be hypnotized to be a raccoon, and I have no doubt, some day that will happen. (Maybe I’ll do it on our anniversary) At Entranced Dreamelf carried around an adorable decorated printout of her wishlist, and I believe she checked off every one. And one of those things was copied off my published wishlist, and I got to do it with her! It's paradoxical, but being specific can be much more attractive than just wanting "any type of hypnosis with anyone". As long as you're unattached to any outcome, and sharing your fantasies rather imposing them, only good things can result.

Ask people what classes to go to. Some classes are way better than others, and it connects you with folks at least twice, once when you ask and once when you tell them how great it was.

Take a break before you absolutely have to. No class is unmissable, and recharging is often the most important thing you could be doing.

You don't have to bring it style-wise, but it pays off if you do. A nice thing about hypno cons is that you can totally wear jeans and a t-shirt and it's never a big deal. But ever since I got turned away at a Dublin kink club for not having a dungeon outfit, I've been determined to level up. I've been slowly collecting party clothes that are progress towards my vision of Hypnowave. (the coming overwhelming trendiness of erotic hypnosis, in music, fashion, art and pop culture, that we will ride until it spectacularly burns out and becomes a dated joke even faster than Vaporwave) Not only did I get a lot of compliments at Entranced, but everyone wanted to grope my shiny fuzzy blazer. If you are saying, I can't find or afford party clothes, that blazer was $80 on Amazon. Last argument: I've noticed that on average the women are making more of an effort. If you have ambitions to trance with women who are in pretty corsets and great boots, shouldn't you rise to the occasion?

Reject control, embrace chance and happenstance. Think of it as an improvisation, and say yes as often as you safely can. Many of the best memories will come from totally spontaneous group occurrences, often nothing to do with hypnosis. I remember being on an elevator at Charmed that was very full and someone started groaning sexually about how very full it was, and other people took it up, until we all orgasmed together as the doors opened on the con floor. A real “you had to be there“ moment I see as I type this, but I was there! On the flipside, plans fall through, unforeseen stuff comes up. Nothing is a sure thing.

Listen to emotions like curiousity, enthusiasm, affection, and lust.

Ignore emotions like lust for status, or desire for approval or acceptance.

Take a buffer day or three if you possibly can. See: above point about emotional and physiological chaos. I had to go back to work the day after Entranced, and it was horrible.

Stay in the game. Don't bail. You might find yourself deep in your head, and ready to throw a pity party for yourself lasting till the end of the con. But things can turn around so fast! And even if they don't, there will still be many beautiful little moments, of friendship and humour and sexiness and "this could only happen at a hypno con". You can be ready for these moments if you keep your eyes open and your head up.

PS As I drafted this, two people have beat me to the punch with excellent advice sparked by Entranced 2017, and I highly recommend reading those too! Dommestic and dommesticpet

#hypnocons #entrancedcon #original content

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castawxayaway · 7 years

Text

haze

thanks to the anon who requested fluff, you ask and I deliver.

enjoy!

oh and I posted yesterday that after sunday I won’t be writing til July due to exams coming up very soon and lots of deadlines. so if you have a request please ask now rather than wait etc :)

Life often throws challenges at you, some come in the form of accidents, money, relationships etc. But for me, mine came in the form of my flatmate skipping out on me leaving just about enough rent for the next two months and a letter or to be more accurate a note- 'off with Jamie to New Zealand, hope this'll do, nice knowing ya x'

That was it. After just under two years of being room mates, sure we weren't that close but I thought we had a substantial room mate vibe going on. Jamie's not a bad guy, she could do a lot worse. On the plus side I won't have to listen to them going at it like wired rabbits at 1-3 nearly every morning.

Unsure what to do I collapse down on the sofa and ring the one person who knows what to do in any form of situation: my trusted mum. After half an hour of comments on how she never liked my ex roommate and how I could do better than her (which felt as if I had told her I’d gone through a breakup) I was well advised to put an advert up. The following afternoon having only been awake half an hour, since I had the luxury of not being disturbed all night I embraced the quiet, rather than moans I sat down in front of my laptop and began to write my advert.

Roughly four hours later I received multiple responses, most of which were men asking to film ‘entertainment’ videos online- to which I gladly declined. I continued to search through the responses for a while until I finally found one who actually filled the form out in full, giving serious answers. Smiling at the sight of the description I immediately typed out a reply, asking to meet them tomorrow. Once I had sent it I relaxed into the sofa, only to glance around and see how much of a pigsty the place had become.

The next day the flat was spotless, I had sprayed far too much febreze to maintain consciousness but it didn’t matter, first impressions were what mattered the most. A light knock motioned that he was here, the time to put the face to the description and name. Opening the door I had a prepared smile, but as I saw him it faltered. How can a man have all of these qualities, and handsome? Somehow he managed it, effortlessly.

Tortoise rimmed glasses perched on the end of his nose, distorting those bright blue eyes, the colour I’d think back to as summer growing up with a touch of the unknown. He lowered his head as he pulled out a scrap of paper, muttering my name in a question. We both remained quiet as I welcomed him in, his eyes observing the open space through the doorway separating two ways to the bedrooms and bathroom.

We sat down, opposite each other separated by my glass table, neatly organised piles of books and marble coasters. The continuous silence between us was unnerving and being the one in charge I spoke up, asking a series of questions to which he answered honestly and with a good sense of humour. It was going well, until I could hear my Mum’s most requested question blurt out of my mouth, “So are you in a relationship?” The confused blind look he wore in his eyes at my question, he didn’t respond, instead just remained flustered. “I like knowing in advance so I can purchase noise cancelling headphones.”

His response was what sold it, the reason he now lives in the room opposite mine approximately 56 steps away. He leant forward, resting his elbows on his thighs, “If I ever do, I’ll buy you them myself.”

“Dan?!” Yelling from my room I sit upside down, a pair of heavy feet approach me and I hear an exasperated sigh.

In front of me he knelt down, raising an eyebrow. “Why am I not even surprised.” He joked and joined me, the two of us sitting upside down in silence. “Everything alright?” Turning my head to look at him I chuckled at the sight of his hair hanging down, just brushing the floor like a mop.

“I’m not sure what to do about tonight.” Groaning I sit back up, letting the blood rush away from my head. Within a second Dan sits opposite me, clearly comfortable amongst my assortment of cushions.

Closing his eyes he stayed quiet as the dizziness passed him by. “Well for starters you’re coming out with me and the guys.” He nudged me with a goofy grin, his eyes reflecting joy.

“But I’m so tired, I didn’t get in until 4 last night.” I exclaim and collapse down into my soft pillows.

Lying there staring at the artex I feel a change in weight, Dan lies next to me and pokes my nose. “It’ll be a few hours, some drinks.” He tries to convince me. “I mean, what’s the worst that could happen.”

If I knew what would go down, I’m not entirely sure if I’d thank him for convincing me or punch him or making me join him. Probably both.

“Fine I’ll go.” He punches the air in success and rolls off of the bed, nearing the door. “But just a few drinks, okay?” I yell as he hovers in the doorway, waving me off and leaving me to get ready.

Walking down to the bar the faint sound of music brought back fond memories. The first time all of our friends met, all of us bonding and getting drunk together. I remember vaguely stroking Kyles beard and wanting to plait it, unfortunately that never happened. “Like old times, isn’t it?” I speak up as I wrap my arms around his, resting my head on his shoulder as we walk.

“Yeah, it is isn’t it?” He glances down to me and smiles, the same smile he wore when I first met him. The same smile he gives me whenever I wake up and wander into the main space, stagger towards the kitchen.

As the two of us walk inside immediately we hear cheers, turning to our left Kyle stands on a table in a half empty bar clearly pissed before we had a chance to join. “If it isn’t the love birds.” He slurs his words as Woody tries to force him down with little luck.

Will walks over to us, offering to buy a round which we gladly accept, I mean it’s just one drink right? Wrong, it was several.

Unable to stand without support me and Kyle continued to laugh at the most stupid things, Dan was in a different booth as he was in a marginally better state than I was. “So you know, like you two.” He raised his eyebrows to me to which I just stared at.

Taking a swig of my drink I shook it off, “You know we’re just friends, always have been.” I flap my hands about in front of his face. “He is not my lobster.” Doing the same action as best as I can that Phoebe did he just chuckles, lowering my hands on my behalf.

“But you two are like a couple without admitting or having sex. You’re the emotional stuff without the active stuff.” I shook my head as he tried to convince me otherwise. Looking over to Dan he was facing me, that smile on his face amongst the two day stubble which I secretly prefered.

As he turned away and his attention went back to a friend the smile disappeared, “Ah.” Kyle muttered in my ear. “Now you see the smile?” Chuckling I began to gather my senses, “And the penny drops?”

“Has he always done that?” I exclaim louder than intended and he nods in response. “Right then.” Flipping my hair out of my face I go to stand up and walk over, but as I go to stand a sudden realisation hits me as I’m land on my ass. I haven’t stood up in an hour and drank too much.

As I sat staring up Kyle remained in full laughter whilst I saw a pair of beaten up converse in front of me. “Come on you.” He muttered helping me up.

Resting my hands on his shoulders his relaxed at my waist. As I stared at him I could see how blue his eyes were under the off lights, how they quickly moved analysing mine. “Are we going home now?” I yawn loudly.

“I think that’s wise.” He laughs lightly and helps me out. Waving back to Kyle he just points at us, then does the lobster making me smile.

Walking home the bitter air bites at my exposed skin, shivering I can feel the effects of the booze wear off slightly. The two of us walk in silence as Dan keeps his arm around my waist, hugging me close even though it isn’t necessary.

Reaching our front door he fiddles with the keys and the door creaks, swinging open. As I stumble in after him I silently dance around, kicking my shoes off and releasing the few clips holding my hair up. Dan watches with a smile on his face as I dance along to the echos of my giggles, holding a hand out I nod whilst he shakes his head. “I’m not taking no for an answer tonight, Smith.” Reaching out I grab his hand but he pulls me close to him.

The mood instantly changes. I can hear a soft piano playing as I bore into his eyes, the rippling innocence amongst the care. “I’d be lost without you.” He mutters as I blink, then rest my head in the crook of his neck. The faint smell of the aftershave I got him as a Christmas present as his stubble scratches my jawline.

“I’d be homeless. Or worse, living with my parents again.” I joke resulting in a light laugh to sound, his shoulders rising and falling gently.

Lifting my head up my eyes lock with his, the two of us pause. The piano begins to fade, the faint melody rising. Glancing between his eyes and lips neither of us stop, my lips meet his as if it were meant to be.

Groaning I struggle to open my eyes or move, as I try to lift my arm I can feel something stopping it, preventing me from moving. That’s it, game over I thought to myself as I try and recall the events of last night. Everything is too hazy, I remember falling on my arse and sitting with Kyle; besides that, nothing.

Taking my time I allow my eyes to adjust to the early morning light and gentle breeze scoping through the window. Looking down I can feel my eyes going wide, an arm. An arm which I see everyday, bare. My heart begins to beat faster as I try and remain calm, failing to do so. Turning as gently as I can spooning me is Dan.

Unsure how to comprehend I lift the covers up, we are clothed thank god. Sighing in relief I can feel how tight he is hugging me, even when he is fast asleep. I take the time to focus on his sleepy face, how everything relaxes including his smile. A slight frown developing. His forehead remains hidden due to his hair hanging down in strands, unable to stop myself I lift them up, brushing them back.

His eyes flutter open and I freeze. In seconds I fathom every outcome possible, ranging from him storming out to regretting whatever happened. He wraps his arms around me, a sleepy grin evident. “Mornin’” He mutters as a yawn escapes his lips.

“Dan, what happened last night.” I quietly ask as I relax in his arms, inches away from his face.

Eyes scanning mine his face drops, “You don’t remember do you?” His arms retract, leaving me feeling cold.

“Did I make a fool of myself or something?” Concern laces my words yet he shakes his head. “We, did we do anything.” Stumbling over my thoughts and processing them his eyes flash at mine before returning to focus on the grey fabric.

“We kissed. Then I helped you get into bed. About half an hour later you kept calling me, demanding I keep you company til you fall asleep.” He stated with little emotion and continued to avoid my gaze.

Blinking I could hear myself, feel myself stumble in here. I vaguely recall dancing to nothing, his gentle lips on mine and then it becoming more heated, the passion rising. “We kissed.” I stated, a smile forming.

“Do, do you, regret it?” He murmurs, fiddling with the sheets to distract himself.

Moving closer into his arms I lift his chin up, “Not a single bit.” Kissing him lightly warmth radiates through me. Pulling away he half smiles, too tired to put too much effort into it. “Well maybe getting drunk, I feel like crap.” I mutter and curl back up into his arms, wondering if I’ll ever wake up from this dream.

#not sure about the ending #but I did like it #good ol fluffy pieces #fluff #bastille #dan smith #dan smith imagines #dan smith imagine #dan smith fluff #bastille imagines #imagines #imagine #preference #preferences #bastille imagine #writing

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emma-what-son · 7 years

Text

Emma Watson: I've always said, 'forget the engagement ring, build me a library!'

From Independent.ie March 2017: She's playing "a Disney princess gone rogue", but after the backlash to that photo shoot, actress Emma Watson is walking a carefully plotted line between art and politics. Here, our reporter meets the guarded Beauty and the Beast star.

"Dan brought such a tenderness and dry humour to Beast, which made him all the more relatable," she gushes. He responds with an equally fawning: "Emma's chief motivation was being able to tell the kind of messages that are pertinent across generations. Not just about wearing Belle's yellow dress."

The largely sycophantic back and forth continues with words on Emma's immeasurable kindness and Dan's boundless generosity. There are tales of Steven's "hair-raising" adventures on stilts to achieve Beast's height, and Emma comparing her singing to legendary off-key chanteuse Florence Foster Jenkins, played by Meryl Streep in last year's eponymous biopic. How watching Katharine Hepburn screwball comedies provided huge inspiration for their characters.

Altogether, it's a perfect puff exercise in promotional Hollywood chit-chat orchestrated by Watson's team of rigid representatives.

Before today's audience with the former Harry Potter graduate, journalists had to sign a clause-filled contract. The immovable interview terms demanded no personal questions of any kind; no questions about her background; no mention of La La Land (Watson reportedly turned down Emma Stone's Oscar-winning role). Basically nothing beyond the fairy tale.

There were no such conditions for talking to former Downton Abbey star Stevens.

Now, "no personal questions" is a frequent request delivered by the movie PR folk but usually comes as a verbal, quiet warning not to venture down the path of messy divorce or criminal activity.

A binding contract this inflexible, however, is something else entirely - something I have never encountered before.

'Brand Watson' is a carefully master- minded machine: one which boasts nearly 50million social media followers. Unfortunately for the 26-year-old star, a grey area exists between her unrelenting, admirable crusade for gender equality and her acting career.

In playing Belle in the €150million live-action revamp of the childhood classic, Watson has intentionally blended her politics with her art. The feminist campaigner has become a Disney princess. Which, in promotional discussion, invariably forces her to reveal herself, just a little.

"Innately at the centre of Beauty and the Beast was this heroine who went against the crowd, marched to the beat of her own drum," Watson tells me. "Fearlessly independent-minded, defiant. Nothing around her is affirming her choices. She's incredibly curious and learned and does things her own way. And I connected with her sense of defiance. She's a Disney princess gone rogue.

"I watched a lot of films as a young woman that I felt gave me less choices and constricted me, as opposed to making me feel that the world was limitless and possibilities were endless. And I also knew how important Belle is as a symbol because of how important she was to me as a young girl. She was my idol - my own personal heroine - so I know how important it was to get it right."

Getting Belle right in 2017 is indeed important, lest it jeopardise the work that Watson has done - and the reputation she has built as an intellectual and feminist crusader - previously.

Her public campaign for equality began with an impassioned address in front of the UN in the summer of 2014, heralding the HeForShe campaign, which calls for men to advocate for gender equality. In speaking out, the actor became both a symbol and a target. And her words and actions are now microscopically scrutinised as a result. For example, that same year, her criticism of fellow feminist Beyoncé's music videos for the Lemonade album - which Watson said in an interview exhibited a "very male voyeuristic experience" - was met with overwhelming backlash. Those quotes were resurrected this month when Watson's own shoot for Vanity Fair featured a photo (below) of her with her breasts partly exposed.

In the furore that followed, Watson was forced to defend the photograph. "It just always reveals to me how many misconceptions and what a misunderstanding there is about what feminism is," she said in an interview with news agency Reuters.

"Feminism is about giving women choice. Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women. It's about freedom; it's about liberation; it's about equality. I really don't know what my t**s have to do with it. It's very confusing." It's left Watson wedged firmly between a rock and a hard place. And today, when I push her on that difficult position (and much to the horror of her stern publicist), she delivers an uncharacteristically human response.

"To be that public about my opinions and feelings, you can't say something like that and not walk the walk. If you're going to do that, well, I have to live by this. And taking a stance on things doesn't make life easier - it definitely makes things more complicated."

She pauses for thought, perhaps sensing a vulnerability to her words that she then attempts to counter. "You know, the battles I fought and I fight make what I do feel much more worthwhile and it gives me much more of a sense of purpose. And I'm glad that I get actively involved. But it's not easy. Ultimately, I follow my heart because that's all I can do."

There's no doubting that Beauty and the Beast is a passion project for Watson. Directed by Bill Condon - the man behind Dreamgirls and Chicago - the lavish epic is a beautiful spectacle, largely modelled on the 1992 classic, the first animation to receive a Best Picture Oscar nomination. Alongside Stevens and a starry cast including Ewan McGregor as Lumière, Emma Thompson as Mrs Potts and Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, Watson shimmers as Belle, the wayward outsider, stifled by her insular village surrounds.

When she stumbles on the Beast's castle where her father, played by Kevin Kline, is imprisoned, she sacrifices herself and takes his place. She soon learns that Beast and his servants are cursed by a spell which can only be broken by true love.

"It's literally your childhood fantasy," Watson explains, in her signature clipped tones. "I watched that film with a sense of wonderment probably a thousand times, much to the annoyance of my parents. And to actually be in that dress, riding Philippe [the horse], to be wandering around that beautiful castle set, it was amazing. I also felt an immense responsibility. While it was me playing the role, there's a huge pressure because Belle - she's an archetype, she's a symbol, she's every girl. If I do my job well, she belongs to everyone, not just to me."

Watson claims that much modernisation was needed to bring the new version up to date. "The original was released in 1992; now it's 2017: things have moved on a lot from then. I think the film would fall flat if they didn't speak to the times we're in now."

Director Bill Condon says Watson (who today is clad in a monochrome bustier and trousers by Carmen March, one of the many ethically sourced outfits worn for the Beauty promotional tour and documented on her new Instagram page, @the_press_tour) was at the heart of Belle's feminist reinvention.

"She was involved in everything having to do with Belle's environment and costumes. She was so meticulous in the meaning of every costume change, about wearing the appropriate boots and about the dress she wears in the village having pockets.

"Also, Belle was as much an inventor as her father, which was hinted at in the animation. Here we have her doing her own calculations. Emma suggested we could do more with her alone in her own specific world, which led to a washing machine in a well. That was all Emma."

Belle's love of literature is something Watson was also keen to play up. And small wonder, since she founded an online feminist book club, Our Shared Shelf, which boasts nearly 175,000 members. "When Belle enters Beast's library, that's not just her dream - that's mine," Watson says. "I love how she swings along on those wheelie ladders, climbing these elevated storeys of books. And, you know, I've always said, stuff the engagement ring! Just build me a really big library."

For both Stevens and Watson, Beauty and the Beast marks an opportunity to finally eclipse their signature roles in Downton and Harry Potter, respectively. Do they relish that thought?

Her publicist's nostrils flare slightly, while Watson shyly squirms in her seat. Stevens, however, gratefully responds.

"It's certainly not a burden," he says. "Downton changed my life and I know [Harry Potter] changed Emma's. The privilege of that and to carry forward with roles like this adds to the canon."

"And Emma?" I ask. She hesitates slightly. It's a perplexing display for a question so tame. "I think that I just feel really lucky. For me, Belle was my childhood heroine; [the film] came out two days after I was born. And then, in my early teens, it was about idolising Hermione. So to be given the chance to play my two childhood idols is probably a very unique and rare experience for an actress.

"And I think," she continues, "I think I came out of this with more confidence, with more skills. And more belief in myself. Because when I came off Potter and decided to go to university, that wasn't a career decision the people I worked with were pleased about. But I kind of… I try to stay true to whatever whisper I'm getting from myself and I hope that will see me through. That's all I can do really. Otherwise, if I don't listen to myself, I'd feel a bit lost in it all."

Difficult to imagine Emma Watson, the twentysomething movie mogul and ambassador for human rights, feeling lost. And given the rigorous conditions attached to today's interview, one could easily question whether these humble claims are just part of the act.

Meeting the star today, however, it seems that, under the shiny veneer and terse brand control, lies a grounded spirit and decent human being trying to do some good. Hopefully, she'll stay the course as a campaigner and not become a total princess.

#interview

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artificialqueens · 7 years

Text

Dina’s Fun Aunt Holiday Bonus Part 2 (Trixya) – Ellen Thwoorp

Summary – Their first day at the resort is a rollercoaster. There’s ups and downs but they come out of it wobbly but happy. Katya makes friends, some she wants, some she doesn’t. But no matter what happens shes happy to end the night with Trixie.

A/N: I’m sorry this is late but I thought I’d finished it, reread it and hated it so it’s had some work done. I hope you enjoy it. Did somebody say 1/3 smut? Because that is factually accurate.

“Have you seen Katya?” Svetlana asked, her jaw set as Dina hung on her arm.

“No, are you guys heading to unpack?” Trixie asked, giving the mother a sympathetic look.

“Yes do you want us to wait for you? Only Dina’s tired and we want to get her to the room.”

“No that’s fine, I’ll go find Katya.” She said with a smiled, picking up her and Katya’s bags and trailing their suitcase behind her. Where on Earth had the other woman gotten to? They’d been at the resort barely half an hour and she’d already disappeared.

She turned a corner and finally spotted her girlfriend sat on a bench with an old man. The pair could not look more contrasting in appearance. While Katya somehow managed to clash with everything with her bright red shorts and crazy sunglasses, the man could not look more ordinary. His white hair, contrasting starkly against his dark skin, was mostly covered by a dull brown hat, matching the tanned brown colour of his jacket. He had his hand rested on a walking stick, an old looking book and a worn duffle bag sat beside him on the bench. Katya was speaking animatedly while the man watched in amusement. Trixie approached, it was quite common for Katya to suddenly strike up friendships with random people, yet this was the most surprising victim of Katya’s madness.

“Trixie.” Katya cried when she spotted her, waving her over enthusiastically. Trixie came to stand beside her, dropping the bags. “What did I tell you Stephen, isn’t she beautiful?” Katya grinned, pulling Trixie into her lap. The teacher let out a surprised laugh as Katya wrapped arms around her.

“You were right, indeed.” The man spoke, his thick East Londonaccent taking Trixie by surprise. “Miss Mattel, nice to meet you. Dr Stephen Parkhurst at your service.” He said holding his hand out to her.

“Trixie Mattel, it’s a pleasure.” She replied, shaking his hand with a smile.

“Stephen was an army doctor in World War Two and he’s been travelling the world to find his extended family on his mother’s side.”

“Thank you for your service.”

“It’s fascinating, he used to work as a mechanic and he was just telling me all about the inner workings of a tank!” Katya continued excitedly. The doctor looked at her with a smile. Trixie grinned, only Katya would come up to a veteran in a shirt with the ‘what does the fox say?’ meme on it and sunglasses in the shape of pineapples and be able to talk to him about tanks without batting an eyelid. The older man seems fondly surprised by the woman rather than confused or weirded out. Trixie liked that. She hated it when people treated her like she was actually crazy or too much. She was mad sure, but she didn’t like the idea of her being ostracised for it.

“Wow, you’ve lived quite a life.” Trixie commented, catching the man’s eye knowingly.

“And I hope to continue to do so.” The old man laughed.

“Svetlana suggested we go eat at seven after unpacking." Trixie said, turning to look at her girlfriend.

"Ah, we better go unpack.” Katya sighed as Trixie stood. “I’ll see you soon Stephen, don’t think you’re finished with me yet. I want to hear all your stories.”

“I best find my room too.” Stephen said, clapping his hands together.

“Are you heading our way?” The Doctor nodded. “You don’t need any help do you?” Trixie asked, holding out a hand as the man leant on his stick to stand.

“No thank you Trixie, you are very kind.” He said appreciatively as Katya picked up all their bags and suitcase. Trixie went to take one of them off her but she waved her off, motioning for them to go in front of her. “Katya told me a lot about you. She mentioned that you are teaching your children all sorts about the history of the world. How many do you two have?” Stephen asked as they began to make their way inside.

“Oh, none ourselves I’m a teacher. We’re here with our- um Katya’s niece.” Trixie laughed, blinking in surprise at her own mistake. When had Dina become her niece too?

“Ah, she’d be a good mum that one. Mad as a box of frogs if it’s not impertinent for me to say so." He said in a low voice so Katya couldn’t hear him, jerking his head behind them.

"No, I totally know what you mean."

"Reminds me rather of my wife, god rest her soul. She was wild like her. You’re the sane one aren’t you?”

“I’d hope so.” Trixie smiled.

“Well it has been lovely meeting you both, I’m just down there.” The old man smiled as they came to a split in the corridor. “Good afternoon ladies.” He said, touching the edge of his hat as he made his way down the hallway.

……………

“That waiter is flirting with you.” Trixie grumbled as she seasoned the pasta dish she’d ordered. Katya rolled her eyes.

“No he isn’t. He’s just being nice. You’re just afraid he’ll like Contact too.” Katya snorted, nudging the other woman with her foot. Svetlana laughed. Trixie had been very happy to find out the Svetlana hadn’t been impressed by Contact either.

“Nope, I’m pretty sure it’s just the two of you that like that film.” Trixie insisted, looking at the other couple for back up. Peter laughed, shrugging with a kind of fondness. People did that a lot around Katya. People often had no idea what she was saying but they knew they liked her so they’d just laugh and shrug fondly.

“You’re just jealous because wait staff always like me.”

“It’s true though. Have you noticed that not only does she know half the waiters and waitresses in the area but they all love her?” Svetlana nodded as she sipped her drink, casting a fond look at Katya.

“I always tip twenty percent. More if they were very good.” Katya said matter-of-factly, eating a forkful of ravioli. Trixie snorted as Katya suddenly realised she’d overfilled her mouth. Katya turned to her with a face akin to that of a hamster hiding its food and gave her a tight smile.

“You mean if they tell jokes.” Trixie corrected because when Katya meant good she meant funny. Someone could rob her in the street and if they told a knock knock joke and made a pun while they took all her money she’d give them a five star Yelp review and tell the story fondly for years.

“Have you heard of that restaurant where the wait staff are paid to be mean to you?” Peter asked, leading to a lengthy conversation on just how mean is too mean and the Monty Python argument clinic sketch.

……………..

“That’s a really cool necklace.” The waiter said to Katya as he began to pile their empty plates so he could carry them away. Katya grinned, putting a hand to the necklace Trixie had bought her online. It was made up several small hands and doll arms, each was holing a little book. Each book had the title of a famous piece of gothic literature on. Trixie had known she’d like the necklace the second she saw it and bought it immediately.

“Thank you. It was a gift.” Katy beamed. Trixie chuckled, resting her cheek on her palm. She remembered how excited Katya had been when she opened it.

“A pretty necklace for a pretty girl. He must be really nice to buy you all that stuff.” The waiter laughed, placing their cutlery on top of the plates.

“Who?” Katya asked with a frown.

“Your boyfriend.”

“I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Oh, interesting. Can I get you guys anything else?” He grinned, pulling out his notebook and pen.

“Can we get a chocolate sundae, a sticky toffee pudding and the cheesecake?” Svetlana ordered, watching him scribble the words down with a small frown. Katya rolled her eyes, no doubt her sister thought flirting in the work place unprofessional.

“Cool. I’ll be right back with your desserts.” The waiter said with a clap of his hands, taking their places away.

“Told you he was flirting with you.” Trixie grumbled, sitting back in her seat and taking a drink of her wine.

“So what?” Katya shrugged.

“So maybe tell him you’re not interested. I’m right here, Katya.” Trixie frowned indignantly. How could she not understand? “How would you feel if someone was brazenly flirting with me in front of you?”

“It wouldn’t bother me.” Katya replied with a laugh. Her jovial manner only fuelled Trixie’s annoyance.

“That food was really good wasn’t it Sv-“ Peter interjected hoping to curb the argument.

“Oh, it wouldn’t bother you?”

“No because I trust you not to cheat on me with the fucking waiter.” Katya said exasperatedly, throwing her hands up in the air and falling back into her seat.

“Katya!” Svetlana reprimanded, jerking her head towards Dina who was hardly paying attention as she tried to get her doll’s hair to stand up.

“Sorry, fudging. Don’t say that word Dina, its bad.” The Russian amended quickly before turning back to the conversation.

“It’s not about trust, you know it isn’t. Don’t even go there.” Trixie said softly, unable to even look at Katya. The day had been so long and tiring she couldn’t help but be a bit irritable. Part of her brain knew she was probably being a bit unreasonable and quick to anger. Katya often said a tired Trixie was a trying Trixie, which annoyed Trixie both because it was stupid and because it was true.

“Look, it’s none of his business Trix. Let’s just enjoy our food.” Katya sighed, trying to resolve the argument before they actually became seriously angry at each other.

“I can’t enjoy my food when a guy is just flirting with my girlfriend. He should know that you’re mine.”

“Stop being so possessive, it’s not a cute look on you.” Katya snapped, any humour gone from her voice as she looked at Trixie with a serious expression. Her tone was low and flat as she looked at Trixie with hard eyes. It wasn’t often Trixie saw her girlfriend look like that, but she knew it was a very bad sign. Trixie blinked before looking away, taking a sip of her wine. There was an awkwardly long pause where no one spoke.

“I’m sorry.” Trixie said quietly, breaking the silence. “I’m tired. I shouldn’t have-” She tried to explain rubbing her eyes. It had been such a long day and this guy had hit a little close to home. There was always a part of her that was possessive of Katya but that was only because she was afraid of losing her. She was afraid someone else would notice how amazing she was and take her away from her.

“No, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking about it from your perspective.” Katya assured her, taking Trixie’s hand in her own and kissing the back of it. They’d talked about this sort of thing briefly before. Katya sometime forgot that Trixie didn’t see everything the way she did. She knew Trixie was sometimes a little insecure in the stability of their relationship. She was a product of her upbringing. She’d told Katya that when she was young if she didn’t hold onto something or fight for it she’d lose it to her sister or parents. “I forgive you.”

“I forgive you too.” Trixie breathed in relief, looking at Katya with bright eyes. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Now cake.” Katya said cheerily as she spotted the waiter heading over to them with two dishes and a tall glass.

“Cake.” Svetlana agreed, glad the conflict was over. She found herself surprised how quickly the pair had made up. She knew relationships were difficult sometimes. Peter and herself had had their fair share of spats too.

“Ok, I have one sundae.” The waiter smiled, placing the sundae in front of Dina as instructed. “One sticky toffee pudding.” He placed the pudding in front of Peter when he raised his hand. “And a slice of cheesecake.” He said finally, looking at the other occupants. Katya nodded.

“Can we have two spoons? My girlfriend likes to say she doesn’t want any but she always does.” Katya asked brightly, waving the hand that was still joined in Trixie’s. He gave their joined hands an odd look as he placed the cake down in front of them.

“Sure.” The waiter replied, his smile not reaching his eyes as he looked between them. He nodded and left to fetch them a spoon.

“Happy?”

“Yeah. I didn’t know I was getting cheesecake too.” Trixie joked, squeezing Katya’s hand as she nudged her with her shoulder. Svetlana and Peter chuckled.

“Oh please, ‘didn’t know’. When was the last time I had a dessert to myself?” Katya snorted, drawing a line down the middle of the slice before cutting it with her spoon.

“You must be special, I’ve never seen Katya share her desserts before.” Svetlana laughed as the waiter came and carelessly handed them another spoon.

……………

“Ok, so Trix and I were stood there in the middle of the mall, covered in ice cream with this Jack Russell eying us up. The baby was crying and clown statue’s head was rolling into one of posh restaurants, we still had no idea what happened to my shoe and this old lady comes over to us and says…” Katya reminisced, turning to Trixie for her to fill in the role of the old lady.

“If this goes viral on the Youtubes, don’t let the fame change you.” Trixie quoted in a poor New Yorker accent. Everyone around the table laughed. Katya shook her head. She wasn’t sure how or why so many mad things happened to them but at least they had fun.

“We looked for the footage but I guess no one caught it on film because we never found it.” Katya laughed, wishing there was footage of the escapades. The waiter came by and place the bill beside Katya on the table. Katya reached for the bill but Trixie stopped her.

“No you don’t, I’ll pay.” Trixie said firmly, picking up the small dish and placing it down in front of her.

“Oh, you don’t need to.” Peter argued as Trixie reached for her handbag.

“Please, you’ve brought me on holiday with you. It’s the least I can do.” Trixie insisted, smiling kindly at the pair. She could pay for every meal they ate here and she doubted she’d have paid them back for the plane tickets.

“We just wanted someone to babysit, Katya.” Svetlana chuckled.

“Hey.” Katya cried in mock outrage, turning to help Dina wipe the chocolate from her face. Trixie laughed picking up the bill.

Katya was so busy helping Dina wipe her face it took her a moment to notice Trixie had suddenly gone quiet.

“Is it more than you expected, kotenok?”

“I’m going to bed.” Trixie’s voice was a little wobbly as she pulled notes from her bag and placed them down on the dish. “Don’t tip him.” She added before standing and walking out of the restaurant.

“What’s wrong with her?” Svetlana asked as Katya picked up the bill to read it. She watched as her sister sighed, putting her hands over her eyes. Svetlana reached out to take the bill from her sister.

“Don’t Lana, don’t read it.” Katya begged as the other woman took it from her.

It read: ‘You could do better, Foxy. Call me when you change your mind, I’ll show you what you’re missing.’ Followed by his phone number and a winky face.

“Oh my God.”

“What does it say?” Dina asked, looking up from her toys as they navigated the table as though it was some kind of assault course.

“Nothing sweetie, adult business. Play your game.” Svetlana assured the child, lowering her voice when she spoke again. “How can he write that?! I’m getting the manager.”

“No, Lana. This-” Katya sighed. “This sort of thing has happened to us before. Sometimes it’s best to just ignore it.”

“Does this stuff happen to you often?”

“Sometimes. The world is full of creeps.” Katya said sadly, looking in the direction Trixie went worriedly. “Look, I’m going to go check on Trixie. It’s probably best just to leave it, Lana. You have to pick your battles.” She stood, pulling her jacket from the back of the chair. “Definitely don’t tip him though.” She added before leaving.

Svetlana scowled as the waiter watched Katya leave the room, still in disbelief as she watched her gave him the finger. She looked at her husband. They sat there having a conversation with their eyes for a few minutes.

Peter raised his hand to the waiter, waving him over. He walked over calmly, smiling at them as though nothing had happened.

“Do this again and we’ll see you manager knows about it.” Svetlana said in the sternest tone she could. The kind she used when Dina was really really naughty.

“And don’t think we won’t. Don’t serve us again.” Peter added, standing and picking up his daughter who was half asleep at the table, Barbie and Pterodactyl in hand.

…………….

Trixie sighed as she looked out at the view from their balcony. She hated that people like that always managed to get to her. Katya was much more used to it than her, having been in more openly gay relationships than Trixie. She always told her just to ‘ignore it’, ‘don’t let it get you’, ‘people are stupid’. While she understood Katya hatred for confrontation, she always wanted to shout. She wanted to scream because it wasn’t fair. Someone shouldn’t be allowed to write something like that. To look them in the eye and be so rude.

She let out a yelp of surprise as someone grabbed her suddenly from behind. A calming breath left her lungs when she saw familiar fingers lace across her stomach.

“Hello my darling.”

“Hi.” Trixie sighed, letting her head rest against Katya’s as it appeared at her shoulder. She fought the laugh that bubbled up her throat as she realised Katya must be on her tiptoes to achieve this position.

“Don’t let it get to you, kotenok.” Katya said softly, kissing her cheek and squeezing her tightly.

“I’m not.” Trixie lied, turning to face her girlfriend.

“Trixie. I know it’s shitty and I probably should have done something about it sooner.”

“No, don’t you apologise for anything that just happened.” The teacher said sternly, rubbing her hand on Katya’s back soothingly.

“Ok.” Katya nodded, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “Don’t let him ruin it for you, its lovely here.”

She supposed it did seem very nice here, despite the douche who’d served them. The food had been delicious, most of the staff very friendly and the view was absolutely stunning. The rooms were also very nicely laid out and decorated. She and Katya their own room next door to Svetlana and Peters, the two rooms joined by a long balcony. Dina had her own little room attached to her parent’s room, which Trixie was very thankful for. Katya had told her that she normally shared a room with the girl and part of her had feared that would be the case this year too.

“Guess what?” Katya said suddenly, pulling Trixie from her thoughts

“What?”

“I’m a Lebanon.” The Russian grinned as Trixie laughed. “Guess what else?”

“What?” Trixie asked fondly.

“I love you.”

“I love you too. You and your stupid t-shirt.” Trixie snorted, poking the fox as it danced across her boobs. Katya giggled.

“Wait until you see what I’m wearing underneath." Katya said flirtily, swaying the other woman slightly.

"Will I need therapy afterwards?” The teacher quipped, casting a quick look to the sliding doors of the room next to theirs as the lights came on.

“Yes. Your brain will short circuit from sexiness.” Katya replied as Trixie pushed her gently back into their room. She slid the door behind them.

“I bought us something. A twenty seven weeks and three days anniversary present.” Katya said, rummaging in their suitcase. Warmth spread in Trixie chest as she realised Katya counted the days they had been together.

“Tah-dah.” She said holding up a box with a flourish. Trixie sat down on their bed with a curious expression.

“Bend over boyfriend?” Trixie read, taking the box from the other woman as Katya closed the curtains to the balcony.

“Ignore what it says on the box. Straight people and all that jazz.”

“Double ended-oh.” The blonde began to read before suddenly realising just what she was holding. Katya came to kneel behind her, arms draped over the other woman’s shoulders.

“Yeah so, that bit goes in whoever is wearing it and they can fuck the other person with that end.” Katya explained into her ear, pointing at the picture on the back of the box. “No harness.”

“Doesn’t it fall out?”

“Not if you’ve got a good pelvic floor or you’re wearing underwear.” Katya said with a half shrug, resting her cheek against Trixie’s. “Hey I did a bunch of research, read loads of reviews. This is good quality.”

“Was it expensive? Because you’re always complaining about my strap on but there’s really nothing wrong with it.”

“The colour of the harness clashes and it makes my butt look weird.” The Russian complained. “Anyway we haven’t even gotten to the best part.” Katya added excitedly, leaning forward to press the button on the controller. Nothing happened.

“Batteries would be an idea, sweet.”

“Shit yeah.” The Russian cursed, digging back into their suitcase on the end of the bed. Trixie chuckled as she finally found some batteries, tearing into the packet with her teeth. Trixie shuffled a little as she worked her dress over her head, the bed creaking slightly. And yet somehow Katya seemed not to notice as she opened the paper instructions trying to figure out where the batteries went.

Katya let out a soft gasp as Trixie pushed her long hair aside and began to kiss her neck. Trixie’s hands slid around her stomach, sliding up to give her breasts a squeeze.

“I’m trying to concentrate.” Katya sighed in feigned annoyance, leaning back against Trixie despite her words.

“Am I distracting you?” Trixie asked innocently, running her nails gently over the tops of Katya’s thighs. Katya finally managed to place the batteries in the right way around.

“You always distract me.” The Russian said matter-of-factly, clicking the battery cover into place. She let out a triumphant sound, turning to give Trixie a quick kiss. Trixie caught her lips, coaxing her into a longer, deeper kiss. Katya slid her tongue into her lover’s mouth as Trixie’s hand crept inside her t-shirt, the fabric dragging up as she slid her hand higher. She smiled into the kiss at the feel of lace.

“Have you been wearing nice underwear all day?” Trixie asked, pulling Katya to lay on top of her. The Russian followed whilst clumsily trying to work her way out of her t-shirt.

“No.” Katya laughed. “I changed before dinner.”

“Anticipating something were you?” Trixie asked coyly as she helped Katya out of her t-shirt.

“Well, I was hoping to score with the waiter but…” Trixie suddenly went quiet, her face lost its humour as she began to carelessly fold Katya’s t-shirt. “Sorry, it’s too soon to joke about that isn’t it?” Katya said apologetically, looking at Trixie with an anxious expression. Trixie looked away, jaw set with annoyance.

“Hey, Trixie.” Katya called after a moment, shifting a little from her place half on top of her. Trixie rolled her eyes still not looking. “Trixie.”

“What?” She sighed, turning to look at her.

“Who am I?” Katya asked from behind her hair. She’d parted her hair at the crown of her head so it fell down to cover her face. She had Trixie’s sunglasses on over her hair. Katya made garbled chirpy noises in a poor impression of Cousin Itt.

“Oh my god.” The teacher snorted, pushing the other woman’s shoulder as she couldn’t help but laugh. She remembered the first time she’d said Katya looked like Cousin Itt. She’d just come out of the shower and was towel drying her hair, leaving it in a state Trixie could hardly believe, covering her whole face. She’d laughed for such a long time at the confused, naked and faceless Katya before letting her in on the joke.

“You’re such an idiot.” She said fondly, parting the hair beneath Katya’s nose to kiss her. The other woman smiled into the kiss, evidently pleased with herself. Katya never liked to see Trixie unhappy, she’d never considered just how far she’d go just to make the woman laugh but doing stupid stuff seemed to work pretty well so far.

“I love you.” Katya grinned as came to straddle Trixie. “I love you.” She said a little louder, enjoying the crinkled that appeared at the corners of Trixie’s eyes. The teacher laughed. “I l-“ Katya began to shout, hands on either side of her mouth before Trixie shushed her through her own giggles.

“Shut up.” She giggled, pulling the other woman down to the bed.

“Make me.” Katya replied challengingly, sliding a hand around to grope her girlfriend’s ass languidly. Trixie rolled her eyes, leaning down to kiss her. Katya caught her lips eagerly, deepening the kiss as her hands slid to the hooks of Trixie’s bra. The blonde pulled away to pull it off, letting it slip down her arms and casting it onto the floor.

“You packed lube right?” Trixie checked as Katya looked her up and down with hungry eyes.

“Yeah, it’s in the red bag.”

“I’m going to grab it. You best be naked when I get back.” Trixie smirked, chuckling as Katya let out a yelp of laughter as she lightly ran her fingers down the inside of Katya’s thigh. She got off the bed, shedding her underwear as she did so. Katya laughed as she threatened to throw her underwear at her when she wolf whistled.

By the time she returned with the lube Katya was completely naked, a finger already inside herself while her other hand squeezed her breast. She looked up at Trixie through her eyelashes, making soft mewling sounds as she touched herself.

“You’re so bad.” Trixie breathed, coming to sit between her legs. Katya bit her lip and moaned as she added another finger. Trixie could remember the morning they’d discovered that Trixie liked to watch Katya touch herself. They’d had one of their more laid back dates, dinner and television and it had been great. That night Katya had been insatiably horny but it had been Trixie’s time of the month so they hadn’t done anything. The next morning Trixie had woken to the sound of cut off gasps and soft moans.

Katya had at first been worried Trixie would be mad at her or something not wanting to bring up what she wanted because she knew Trixie felt shitty. Annoyance barely made a fleeting visit in her brain when she first saw her. And so now it often worked its way into their foreplay, if Katya really wanted to drive her mad.

“Here, beautiful.” Trixie said breathlessly, holding the lube out to her lover. Katya presented her fingers for Trixie to squirt the lube into. Trixie sighed in content, resting her cheek on Katya’s raised knee as she watched her slid her fingers back in. She pressed a kiss to the inside of her knee as she watched.

“You want me to do you too?” Katya gasped, breath heavy as Trixie licked her finger and pressed it against her clit, rubbing very gently.

“And how are you going to do me?” Trixie chuckled. “Or am I doing you?”

“I want to fuck you so bad.” Her voice was hoarse as she removed the fingers from inside herself to beckon Trixie closer.

“That can be arranged.” Trixie nodded, sighing as Katya’s slick fingers brushed against her. The Russian slid her clever index finger inside her, shortly followed by her middle finger. Trixie moaned, Katya was always so good at this. She soon found herself becoming inpatient with the slow movements. “I can take another.”

“Someone sounds impatient.” Katya smirked, pushing a third finger inside her. Trixie groaned, letting out a desperate sound as Katya lightly touched her clit with a pressure light enough to feel but not hard enough to satisfy. After a moment of this torture she moved away.

“You wouldn’t be so smug if you could see yourself right now, missy.” Trixie countered, taking the toy from beside them and covering it in lube. Katya snorted. “You ready for this?” Katya nodded.

After the slightly awkward moment of trying to figure out how best to use the toy they ended up with the toy inside her, supported by her underwear. It was a little odd looking although Trixie supposed so were strapons with harnesses. She cast a look to the vibration controls tucked at Katya’s side thoughtfully.

Deciding to leave that for now, Trixie reached forward and gave the toy an experimental tug, noting the way Katya’s breath hitched. “Does that feel good?”

“Yeah.” Katya nodded, seemingly equally impressed.

“How about this?” Trixie asked as she slid forward and pressed herself against the toy, grinding against it. Katya hummed, hands sliding up to rest on Trixie’s hips as they moved. The other woman grinned, raising her hips so that she could sink down onto the toy.

“Wait.” Katya said suddenly, putting a hand on Trixie’s stomach to stop her. “Pick a wall.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I’d like to try it against the wall. I find the idea…” Katya trailed off, shrugging one shoulder as she fidgeted slightly, rolling some of the bedsheet between her fingers. Trixie raised an eyebrow as she slid back down to perch on Katya’s thighs.

“Is this a kink?” She asked curiously, it’s not that she didn’t want to or anything. Katya was always more adventurous in the bedroom, whereas Trixie tended to be perfectly content with the things they already did without wanting to try new things. She certainly wasn’t complaining, the new stuff often ended up being either the most amazing experience or the most meh experience, in which case they didn’t bother again.

“I don’t know, maybe.” Katya shrugged, trailing a finger up Trixie’s stomach and towards her breast, looking up at her from under her eyelashes. Trixie fought the urge to roll her eyes, stage one of Katya’s unbeatable guide to getting her way.

“Alright.” She said with a laugh, Katya had been pulling out all the stops. She had to end it before the sweet talking came along. She enjoyed the sweet talking but she was more interested in other things at the moment.

“Really?” Katya said in surprise, evidently expecting to have to convince Trixie it would be more worthwhile than just riding her to completion. Trixie nodded. “Pick a wall.” Katya repeated, eyes alight with excitement.

“I think that’s the sexiest thing you’ve ever said to me.” Trixie deadpanned, making Katya giggle. “I’ll go with this one since nobody is on the other side of it.” Trixie said, pointing to the wall to her left as she stood.

“The bathroom genie might disagree.” Katya mused, quickly catching up with the other woman and backing her up towards the wall.

“This is weird dirty talk.” Trixie snorted as her back hit the wall softly.

“Oh hush, you love it.”

“Nope I love you, that’s different.” Trixie said, running a hand through Katya’s hair trying to avoid the tangles. The Russian smiled, leaning forwards to kiss her softly.

“You’re going to love this. Ready?” Katya checked, looking very confident in her own abilities. Trixie supposed that confidence was in many ways not unfounded.

“Go on then, wow me.” Trixie sighed in false exasperation. Katya nodded, shoulder squaring as she seemed to take it as a challenge. She stepped forward, closing any space that may have been between them, and kissed Trixie with more vigour than the other woman had been expecting. The teacher sighed into the kiss, putting her arms around Katya’s neck as she took hold of Trixie’s leg and pulled it up.

She let out a surprised moan as Katya pushed up into her. She wasn’t sure what it was about the position that made it feel so different, no doubt it was the angle. Part of her also cursed Katya for being right because this was already better than her old strapon.

Katya began to fuck her, grinding her hips to deliver slow yet purpose filled thrusts. Her breath would stutter each time she moved, leaving her breathless. Trixie let her head fall back against the wall as she looked at Katya with half hooded eyes. She slid her hand down from Katya’s neck to cup her breast.

“Seeing you…” She began before being cut off by a gasp as Katya stepped a little closer, shifting her position for a better angle. The Russian looked up, her cheeks flushed red and her eyes dark. “…Enjoy it.” She choked out through moans as she rolled Katya’s nipple between her fingers. “It’s super hot-ah.” Katya smirked, thrusting harder and faster as her hand gripped Trixie’s leg tightly.

Trixie’s chest heaved as she held onto Katya’s shoulders for dear life. Katya caught her lips but found she couldn’t maintain the kiss for long due to the need to breath. She settled for ghosting heavy breaths over Trixie’s neck, occasionally sucking on her soft skin, no doubt bruising it. Trixie’s toes curled in pleasure as Katya kissed the spot on her neck that always sent a jolt up her spine.

“Oh god you’re going to make me-”

“Hold on.” Katya huffed out, reaching for the controller at her side. The pair almost tumbled as Trixie nearly doubled over at the first feel of vibrations against her. Katya grunted as she managed to maintain her near brutal pace.

It didn’t take long after the vibrations began. Trixie had begun chanting a mantra of 'fuck me, yes, fuck me, oh’ and Katya was happily doing just that.

Katya bit down on Trixie’s shoulder to muffle her shout as she came, her legs shaking from the stimulation. Trixie pulled Katya’s face to her, kissing her thoroughly. She was quite impressed the woman was still going despite having evidently just experienced as fairly powerful orgasm.

“Just a little mor-Ah.” She began, hoping to reassure Katya that she was almost there. The Russian pushed into her roughly, pressing the vibrations right up against her. She drowned her cry in Katya’s mouth, her whole body shuddering and tensing as she came. She let out a rather strangled sigh before slumping forward against her lover.

Next thing she knew they were on the floor with the loudest commotion she had ever heard. Katya’s legs had given out due to the sudden extra weight and lengthy exertion, leading them to both plummet to the wooden hotel floor. But as if the situation wasn’t bad enough, Katya had reached out to grab something to stop her fall and had managed to pull the bed sheet, sending their suitcase and the contents clattering to the ground.

“You ok?” Trixie asked as Katya groaned. Trixie was sure she was going to get bruises forming on her knees and elbows thanks to that endeavour. You couldn’t get her to regret it if you tried though.

“That wasn’t part of my plan.” Katya said through heavy breaths, pulling the no longer vibrating strapon from inside her and dropping it down beside them before laying back against the ground. With that she turned her face to look at Trixie, catching her eye. There was barely a second of silence before the two burst into giggles.

“Only us.” Trixie snorted, as she settled next to her, momentarily thankful neither of them had hit their faces when they fell. “Would you say that’s the best sex we’ve had?” Trixie wondered, putting her head on Katya’s shoulder.

"Mmm. Everytime is the best time, although if I had to choose it would have to be the first time.” She replied, looking up at the ceiling with a smile. Her breath was heavy and her eyes were bright. Trixie always loved seeing her like that. “You remember that?”

“Of course I do.” Trixie rolled her eyes as Katya shifted, her forearm now beneath Trixie’s head as she loomed over the other woman with a grin.

“That first time I ate you out.” The Russian breathed, pushing her leg between Trixie’s. “You looked so good, all flushed and breathy. Just like you look now.”

“Are you trying to turn me on again?” Trixie tried to laughed, but the words came out croaked. Katya looked at her innocently as she dropping to press an open mouthed kiss to Trixie’s nipple, tongue running along the exposed bud.

“I wonder if you could-” Katya’s victorious look morphed into one of mild horror when a knocking sound came from the balcony window. “Oh my god.” She hissed, turning to catch Trixie’s eye. She hauled herself up, pulling Trixie with her. Trixie then had to catch her as she legs hadn’t quite recovered.

“Katya? Trixie?” Svetlana called from outside. The pair had never moved so fast in their lives, half miming and half whispering to each other as they pulled on any clothes they could find.

“One second.” Katya called, hopping as she hurriedly tried to pull on pair of Trixie’s shorts that were clearly too big for her. Trixie couldn’t see to help as she was in the process of battling with the first dress she had laid her hands on. Once she’d pulled it on she rushed over to where they’d been laid. Trixie kicked the strapon into the bathroom and shut the door with a nod to Katya who looked put upon. Katya pointed at Trixie before pointing at herself and shaking her head.

“Your sister.” Trixie argued so quietly it seemed more as though she was simply miming the words. Katya put her hands up

“Has to like you, she can give me shit.” She argued, point an accusatory finger.

“Open the door.”

“You do it.”

“For God’s sake.” Trixies sighed, walking over to the door, dragging Katya by the loose waist of her shorts as she did so. Before Katya could complain or argued, she opened the door.

“Hey, Lana. What’s up?” Katya said, trying to lean casually against the door frame.

“Erm, we heard a crash. I wanted to make sure you were ok.” Her older sister replied, looking a cross between concerned and suspicious.

“Katya was doing yoga and she kicked the suitcase off the bed.” Trixie lied, running her hand through her no doubt very messy hair.

“Oh right. Are you guys going out?”

“No why?” The pair asked in unison.

“It’s just you’ve got changed.”

“These are our bedclothes.” Katya supplied, seemingly deciding it was her turn to come up with a lie. Trixie could have kicked her.

“You wear sequins to bed, Trixie?”

“There is no place or time where sequins aren’t appropriate, not even to bed.” Trixie replied as confidently as she could, not quite able to believe the words leaving her mouth.

“What did you do to your arm?” She asked, pointing down to the spot on Trixie’s forearms where Katya had accidentally scratched her as they’d fallen.

“Who do you think you are asking all these questions? Sherlock Holmes?” Katya cried suddenly, eyes wide. Trixie shook her head, Katya was such an awful liar, it was painful to watch. She made a mental note never to let Katya take over in impromptu lying situations, she couldn’t handle the pressure. Trixie would have thought she’d have been quite good at it given how creative she was but nope.

“You’re acting weird and I- oh.”

“What?” Trixie asked quickly.

“I can’t believe I fell for that cockamamy story.” Svetlana snorted. “You were doing something I don’t want to know about in detail and you like fell out of bed or something, didn’t you?”

“Huh?” Katya asked, trying to look confused. Trixie contemplated just going inside and going to bed. The charade was pointless at this point.

“Goodnight you two, try not to wear too many sequins to bed.” The older woman huffed a laugh before turning and heading back into her room.

“How’d she figure us out?” Katya blinked, shutting the sliding door behind her.

“I don’t know, I mean with your lying skills, maybe she is Sherlock Holmes.” Trixie said sarcastically, pulling the sequin dress over her head.

“You have thought we’d have noticed the moustache.” Katya mused, evidently electing to ignore Trixie’s jibe.

“Did Sherlock Holmes have a moustache?” Trixie asked, looking mournfully down at their clothes strewn across the floor.

“I’m not sure, want to sort this it tomorrow?” Katya hummed, appearing beside her.

“What the 'tash debate or the suitcase?” Trixie snorted, letting her head fall to Katya’s shoulder as the other woman slung an arm around her.

"Let’s go to bed.“

#katya zamolodchikova #trixie mattel #trixya #fluff #mild angst #au #lesbian au #cisgirl au #parent/teacher au #ellen thwoorp #tw mentions of homophobia #rpdr fanfiction #submission #DFA

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aion-rsa · 4 years

Text

Host Explained: How it was Made, Easter Eggs and all Your Questions Answered

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Massive spoilers for Shudder original HOST to follow.

Productions are shut down, movie theatres are barely open, we’re fast running out of new things to watch. Then Rob Savage and his talented team of mates make Host in 12 weeks and all bets are off.

This is the new horror phenomenon from Shudder, a film based entirely around a Zoom call where a group of friends do an online seance and accidentally invite something terrifying into their houses. It runs at a brief 56 minutes but manages to pack that runtime with character development, humour and proper pee-your-pants scares. And don’t just expect creepy things in the background – by the final act, which Savage refers to as “the freak out”, the movie employs full on stunt work, prosthetics and major shocks, all of which were done socially distanced. It really is an extraordinary piece of work which has unsurprisingly taken horror audiences by storm.

It’s also a film full of hints, easter eggs, references and ambiguities. We sat with Savage – via Zoom, of course – for an incredibly spoilery breakdown of Host and how it was made.

It’s been over a week now since Host was released – how has this time been? It must be weird launching your film on lockdown?

Rob Savage: It’s really weird. And it’s really weird because I made the movie basically sitting around in my flat, in my dressing gown. And we released the movie with me sitting around in my flat and in my dressing gown. And the response has happened with me… sat in my dressing gown. So it doesn’t quite feel real. I know everyone says that, but because there hasn’t been a premiere, there hasn’t been some sort of big launch where you can see 100 faces smiling back at you, it kind of just feels like I’m basically just sitting on my laptop like everyone has been for the past six months. So there’s a weird disconnect to the whole thing, but it’s obviously lovely. It’s amazing. It’s amazing that it exploded beyond just the horror community because we made it for horror fans. We wanted to get it out on Shudder and we wanted to give horror fans something fun to watch while they were locked down. But it’s lovely that it’s entered the mainstream a little bit.

I understand this was a project commissioned by Shudder?

RS: Yeah. We had a few people bidding on it. I made a stupid prank video that went a little bit viral and off the back of that, we had a few different companies come to us and this was at the height of lockdown. This was right in the peak and nobody could make anything, everyone was totally grounded.

So are we talking about May, April?

RS: Yeah. God, time has lost all meaning. But I guess it was May, maybe end of April. We had all of these different companies come to us. But that approach was much more typical to a larger production. They were saying, “We want to get this out really fast. We’ll try and get it out in six months.” And it’s like, “No, no, no, no, this needs to be in a matter of weeks. This needs to be something that mirrors back what’s going on right now and what people are living through right now.”

Shudder totally got on board with that. And we basically didn’t have a script. We didn’t really have a concept beyond a bunch of friends doing an online seance. Something scary is going to happen, we’ll figure it out, and you’ve just got to trust us. And to their credit, they came on board and they left us to figure it out.

Haley Bishop in her stunt gear

It’s microbudget but one of the things I loved about it is that it doesn’t look like that. I expected creepy things in the background but then towards the end, there’s actual proper stunt work, which is amazing. I’d like to hear a bit about the decision to do that?

RS: One of the reasons we wanted to go so big at the end is because we knew that people would have very low expectations going in. On paper, it sounds really shit, “Zoom, horror movie.” If I was to read that headline, I’d be like, “Fuck off.” And the fact that we made it under lockdown conditions, I think is always going to be at the forefront of people’s minds. One thing you’re always looking to do when you’re making a movie, especially a horror movie, is to make the audience feel that they’re without a roadmap, that they don’t know what the next turn is going to be. From the beginning, when we blocked it out, we separated it into three acts.

The first act was the seance. The second act was the haunting. And the third act was the freak out. We really wanted it to feel like by about half an hour in, the audience felt like they knew all our tricks. Then we wanted to show them something that was like, “No, you haven’t seen anything yet.” We really wanted to push that final act and make it a roller coaster.

How did you do those big stunt set pieces – how much VFX was used?

RS: With the stunts there’s obviously VFX clean up and stuff, but it’s all pretty much what you see is what we did. So Teddy really got his face set on fire. Jinny really got picked up in the air and thrown into the swimming pool. Everything is 95% done in-camera with a little VFX cleanup to help it out. We started out by writing a list of all the cool things that we could do because of the people we know, the friends that we’ve worked with in the industry.

We had this amazing moment at the very beginning of the process where we were talking about the fact that we have to shoot it remotely as being this big, negative that we are having to constantly fight against. And then, we had this revelatory moment where we’re like, “Oh, but actually it means that we can work with anyone because anyone who’s got an internet connection can suddenly be on our crew.” So we wrote a big list of people who we knew who were just sitting around twiddling their thumbs. We had pyrotechnic experts. There’s an amazing house full of stunt performers who live with a stunt coordinator, which means that legally, without breaking lockdown, we could do all these amazing stunts. Teddy, as well as being an amazing actor, is also a fully qualified stunt performer who’s done burn work before, so we could get him on board and we could set his face on fire.

It was really out of necessity that we came up with all these ideas. Then, we retrofitted the scare scenes to what we knew we could achieve.

Pool levitation rig

That’s brilliant. So the scene with Jinny over the pool, how did that work? How was she lifted?

RS: She’s on a wire, it picks her up. She chokes in midair and then there’s a remote control, like quick release, that lets her go, drops her into the water.

The picnic table at Emma’s death scene was obviously a real picnic table. It’s not a real Emma, though?

RS: Yes, that’s the same. That’s actually Jinny doing that fall. Jinny’s a qualified stunt person as well. We got those both on the same night, she went through a table and then she got hoisted in the air and dropped in a swimming pool. The way that we did that, it was actually the same system. So she was on a rope that dropped her down onto the table from this massive height and just stopped her. Just bungeed her a few inches off the ground. Even though she breaks the table which we loosened like in the old kung fu movies, we weakened it at all the important bits so it broke. She landed with that heavy kind of thump, but she didn’t actually go with all her weight and we didn’t actually break her neck.

That’s incredible.

RS: It was all done with the same rig on the same night. That bit of Emma’s garden is actually – if you were to pan the camera a meter over to the side, you’d see the swimming pool because we shot that in the same location.

James Swanton is your demon….

RS: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He filmed all those bits at his parents’ house.

I was wondering if he was ever in the same room as anyone…

RS: No, a lot of the stunts and the scares, it’s just hidden cuts. You go from Teddy’s house and he’s got the torch and the torch dips off-screen for a moment. So you’ve got a black screen and then the torch comes up and suddenly you’re in James Swanton’s house and it’s his mum shooting as he walks up the stairs and we see his face jumping out between the banisters. So it’s all just really lo-fi, little techniques like that. One of the biggest effects moments I guess is the moment where you see James, the demon, underneath Teddy’s pool table because we actually shot that against a green screen in James’s house and added him in to Teddy’s pool table. I think there’s the most VFX going on in that shot. The rest of them are pretty much all done in location.

You also worked with Dan Martin on prosthetics, but remotely, how did that work?

RS: He was great. I’ve worked with Dan a bunch of times and he was one of the first people on our list of awesome people who could probably do something cool for us. I messaged him and we figured that the best way probably was to send little prosthetic pieces to Caroline along with a kind of tutorial video, that Dan very kindly made, explaining how to attach it. So Caroline had a few test pieces that she applied first using this video. Then she had the real pieces that she applied on the day. So Dan basically just came on a Zoom call and took her through inch by inch how to apply the makeup, how to blend it in, how much blood to apply, where to apply it.

Actor Caroline Ward does SFX prep with SFX Artist Dan Martin, Director Rob Savage and Producer Douglas Cox

We had Caroline with a little cushion just out of sight so she didn’t completely brain herself on the laptop. She’d start with a little bit of blood running from her nose and she’d wack her head a couple of times. Then Dan would say, “Great, let’s do a broken nose now.” Then we’d add a little bit, and we’d crack her nose. Then she’d slam a couple more times and slowly we’d build it up until her face was all torn to shreds. Caroline was loving it. All the blood is basically corn syrup. So she was high as a kite by the end of it.

The whole Zoom background is brilliant because it does work like that, of course. You’ll come in and out of shot depending on where you’re sitting.

RS: Yeah. It’s a distance thing. That was one of the first scares we came up with that we wanted somebody to fly through the kind of threshold of the fake Zoom background. Again, that was just her. We set up her camera on her bed, covered her face in blood, and just had her “Superman” at the camera a bunch of times. Then, we stitched it together in VFX.

There are lots of moments and Easter eggs and things off-screen that people have alluded to. And certainly, I think I’ve seen you or possibly Jed [Shepard] allude to something that happens in the first three minutes?

RS: Yeah. So there’s something, I don’t want to spoil it totally… You should be looking around the moment where Jemma first joins, there’s a little… it’s less of a scare, it’s not a demon sighting or anything like that, but it’s a little clue as to what’s really going on. Yeah, that’s what I’ll say.

Post-seance, there’re a lot of moments where we’ve got scary things happening in the background or the demon lurking, which is little-blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments where James will pop up. But really the first half, we basically give the audience everything they need to decipher what happens next. In the first five minutes, there’s clues to where the demon comes from, how everyone’s going to die, how the demon’s going to get summoned. Every single time we introduce a character, they’ve got a little clue as to what their fate’s going to be.

One of the big questions is about Seylan and what actually happens to her. There’s a key moment where something comes out of the corner just before she is cut off – to me it looks like something jumping out but it’s a very quick moment. What should we take from this?

RS: The idea is, it’s something bursting out. It’s something bursting out and knocking things flying in that moment. I know what I think when I’m watching it, but there’s no real right answer. In one take I got her to play it one way, and in another take I got her to play it another. But this idea of whether it’s actually Seylan who’s on the phone when they call… Our Terminator 2 moment.

What’s on the screen is a mixture of those two different takes. One where I got it to play it very much from the point of view of she has become the host of something and she’s possessed by something and she’s giving them the wrong information – because if you look at it, it’s only after they reengage with the spirit in the house, and they ask for further communication, that the shit really starts going down and they to get picked off. So Seylan doesn’t really do a whole heap of good there, which there’s a reading of that she’s helping the demon along.

Was the ambiguity important to you?

RS: With a lot of this, the creepiness is in the not knowing. It’s not like we filmed it and had a definitive answer in mind, but we filmed it knowing that we wanted to create a sense of ambiguity there because that’s what keeps you up at night.

Jemma Moore in Host

Jemma’s story, although she says it’s not true is weirdly specific. And then there’s all this hanging iconography, Jinny’s neck, and the noose in Teddy’s place…

RS: Exactly. When me and Jemma were working on how that scene would go, she actually made the decision to base the memory on somebody from her real life, who is still alive, but that’s why there’s that kind of weird specificity to it. And I mean, the way that we always thought about it is that it’s a ‘tulpa’ movie.

A tulpa is a ghost or a demon that is summoned by groupthink. So the idea is that if you’re all imagining the same person in your mind, they can manifest, even though they were never really alive and they were never really dead. The idea is that Jemma, by creating so vividly this person, that all of the group see in their head while they’re in this kind of weirdly connected state, allows the demon to come through and the demon starts to manifest using these images that Jemma has evoked. It’s kind of the demon’s way of mocking them or kind of toying with them. As the movie goes through, you start to see more and more of the demon in its real form. It becomes less Jack and more demonic. And then, the final shot, you see frames of a transformation happening where the recognizable figure of Jack starts to turn into something a bit more uncanny and demonic.

So in that sense, when Seylan explains the rules and she talks about how it’s a mask then everybody sees it and thinks of it in that way. And then, of course, we have mask iconography.

RS: Yeah. It’s all about that idea of groupthink. They’re in a collective nightmare by that point. The more that they lean into that, the more it starts to manifest.

Was that consciously a reference point or an allegory for what’s going on in the world?

RS: No, not really. We were really keen to not make it a pandemic movie. It’s a lockdown movie, not a pandemic movie. It’s really about the specifics of being isolated and going stir-crazy and the appearance of being connected, but actually being isolated. That was the main thing we wanted to tap into is it can feel like you’re hanging out in a group and your friends are there, but ultimately you’re on your own. And that’s the horror that we wanted to play out when things start happening, they’re all going through their own individual nightmares and everyone else is just a passenger.

The girls were friends already, right?

RS: We’re all just really good friends. They’re the same people who are in the initial prank video that I did. We were pretty much just hanging out on Zoom anyway, doing Zoom happy hours. And we just basically started pressing record and went from there.

There’s so much brilliant character development done without exposition, which is just really clever. How tightly scripted was it, and how much were they allowed to play?

RS: We gave them parameters for those early scenes. But there was never a conventional script. We had a 10-page outline with certain beats that they needed to hit. I spoke to all the different actors individually and talked about what they might want to bring to the table. I gave them sample lines of dialog that they could play around with, but we never did a full scripted rehearsal.

A lot of the actors didn’t know certain topics that were going to get brought up. It was more just prompts that I knew would be fun. So like the astral plane drinking game, that’s a line in the outline, but I didn’t know how they’d implement that and I didn’t tell Seylan that they were going to start drinking on the word astral plane. So the way that it came up felt kind of very natural and the way that the girls all kind of eyeball each other whenever the word is said is really fun. That’s all just happening for real.

You have mentioned that at points you’re referencing and homaging other movies – obviously there’s quite a bit of Paranormal Activity, what else can we look out for?

RS: Yeah. There’s a lot of Paranormal Activity, and I’m a big found footage guy and I love Paranormal Activity and all of those. Even though we made this in quite a condensed time period, there’s actually a lot more time you get to spend on these kinds of things when you’re filming remotely because you’re not waiting around for the lights to be set up or hair and makeup or any of these things. It means you can really tinker and you can put in these kinds of Easter eggy things, which we had a lot of fun with. I mean, there’s some really big obvious homages, like the final scene with the camera flash is on one end of the scale, we’re referencing the first Saw movie. On a slightly more highbrow end of the scale, we’re referencing Wait Until Dark, which is a movie we love.

The bit with Emma throwing the sheet over the ghost is us giving a nod – it’s sort of the first Conjuring movie, but that wasn’t actually what we had in mind. It was this movie called Satan’s Slaves, which is great. It’s on Shudder. It’s an Indonesian horror movie by this filmmaker, Joko Anwar. It’s really scary. He’s basically the next James Wan. And there’s a great fucking scare with a bed sheet, we were homaging that. Another movie that I love that I wanted to get a reference in for was Alice, Sweet Alice, which is a slasher movie from the ’70s. The mask that floats on the dispossessed demon is a direct reference to Alice, Sweet Alice. The participant ID is the date that Ghostwatch was released, which is a big reference.

Then, the password is DMK, which is from the movie Night of the Comet, which is a movie we love as well. Lake Mungo is a big one that we referenced. The Polaroid picture with the glimpse of Jack was a reference… or not reference, but just we wanted to kind of evoke that same creepiness of that kind of fuzzy, am I seeing what I think I’m seeing, kind of quality that Lake Mungo evokes.

So the obvious question is what’s next? What can we be looking out for? Are you likely to make anything else in lockdown?

RS: Oh, yeah definitely. Because of the success of Host, there’s been a huge interest in doing more. We’ve got lots of ideas that I don’t think people are going to quite expect. The last thing we want to do is try and just repeat Host because it’s such a specific thing, and we did it without any intention of it blowing up like this. So I think if we came at it now with all this expectation, I think it would probably just suck. So we’ve got a really fucking cool follow-up that we want to do that’s in a similar space. That’s going to really take people by surprise.

If Shudder wants us to, we’ve got plenty more of these ideas. And I want to keep making stuff until the world reopens again. It’s so much fun being able to make it… It’s a much more creative process than doing the normal film or TV series, doing it this way in such a condensed time. You can spend years and years developing something that never goes anywhere, but to have a movie conceived and out there in 12 weeks is a dream. So I’d love to do more of them.

Host is available to watch on Shudder now.

The post Host Explained: How it was Made, Easter Eggs and all Your Questions Answered appeared first on Den of Geek.

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