#this is a runner up for best costumes this year

[dollwrites]

𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 ∣ smut ( minors dni ), fem!scientist!reader, noncon, frottage, size kink, lots of cum, all characters featured are aged 18+

𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 ∣ please reblog && leave feedback. not proofread so there’s probably mistakes. thanks for reading < 3

𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 ∣ day one [ pickle + size kink ]

you had been so close to pushing the alarm. so close to alerting the guards, and so close to being saved. your hand still reaches out towards the red button on your desk, but you’re held back too far at this point to hit it, restrained and helpless.

on top of that, you knew if anyone saw how much you were actually enjoying the beast’s containment breach, you’d be fired.

from this angle, you could watch your feet sway back and forth.

your legs dangled.

suspended at least a full foot above the sterile floor, a lopsided ovally shadow danced in tandem against the tiles below your stocking-clad toes. where your black heels had fallen off during the struggle, you have no idea. your shoes are the least of your concerns at the moment. your eyeline, albeit blurry from the crooked positioning of your glasses as you struggled against the beast, traces your own legs, and the runners of ripped pantyhose up your knees and over your thighs. the tears became more prominent, and your stockings more akin to the shreds of a cheap mummy costume hanging off your hips. it made your head spin, seeing how vulnerable and exposed your lower half was. your gray pencil skirt had been pushed up, haphazardly around your belly, and two, massive and clawed hands grip your soft thighs, from underneath, keeping them spread wide for the monstrous cock to rub against your core.

it was much too big to fit inside ( luckily for you, because as you stare at how endowed Pickle actually was, you could imagine the carnage a tool as big and hard as his would wreak on your organs ). Pickle had been frustrated at that— pushing and growling and snarling and trying to bite at the back of your neck when you squirmed to hold you steady so he can force it into your small opening, but your body couldn’t even stretch enough to take the head, so after several grueling moments of trying to cram and push, he settled for grinding against your pussy, instead. his movements were clumsy, driven by instinct and lust, and his hips rocked furiously, his grip on his thighs dragging you along the length of his rigid, powerful sex.

at first you’d fought and pushed and clawed at him to stop, telling him it hurt and that he was a bad, bad boy for doing this, but you couldn’t help that your body started to react. you started to get wet. your cunt started to soak the cock that was trying to slot between your soft, sticky netherlips, though it was much too thick, it managed to spread them, allowing them to kiss the expanse just enough to feel as though this Jurassic man was splitting you apart without actually being inside of you.

amidst your own mewls and groans, you could hear the constant drip-dripping of the primitive man’s thick cum as it beaded at the swollen, purple tip and frosted the many, many inches, emphasizing the bulging veins as it coats them in white, and dribbled on to the floor between his gargantuan feet. there was already a puddle on the floor. he had cum so many times that the release no longer erupted, but seemed to bubble out in a constant stream. either this was normal behavior, to breed and breed until he ran completely dry, or he was simply so pent up after the one hundred and ninety million years of being frozen that he couldn’t stop now even if he wanted to, you couldn’t be sure.

if you hadn’t been the unwilling test subject, you might’ve been interested in studying his mating habits.

“F—fff—uck—!” a breathy croak of complete submission— it was the best you could do when dominated by a man of this stature, a beast of his magnitude. your lab coat hands off your shoulders, your blouse ripped open from the sheer power of his claws, and your breasts flop wildly against the rhythm as your eyelids flutter.

not just Pickle had cum, but you as well, your release gluing itself in sticky webs and a glossy finish to your thighs and his manhood. “I can’t… take it…” you’d started to babble after you reached peak a handful of times, your head rolling around on your shoulders, your small body slumping against his sturdy, broad chest that heaves with excitable, ragged breathing and grunts of pleasure as he jacks his cock off with your body. “I-I’m going… crazy…”

what’s worse, you realized, is that you were only getting slipperier, slicker, and more pliable. if the giant kept this up, it wouldn’t be much longer before he’d force his cock into your poor hole, regardless of the fact that he must know he’d fully and truly break you if he did.

#pickle #Baki pickle #pickle x reader #pickle x you #pickle smut #baki #baki hanma #baki x reader #baki x you #baki smut #baki hanma smut #baki hanma x reader #baki hanma x you

[doobea]

BLLK - Couples Halloween Costumes + HCs

contents: fem!reader, super sfw, established relationships, its literally never too early to celebrate fall and Halloween fight me if I'm wrong characters mentioned: isagi, kunigami, bachira, rin a/n: am i early to make this post? yes. was I just gonna wait till October? no.

isagi

absolutely loves to dress up as one of those cheesy couple memes that were popular years ago. he’s super proud to announce that this Halloween you guys are going as a lamp (you) and a moth (him)!

you two don’t spend this holiday giving out candy or even trick or treating, instead, you guys go on a haunted house tour that features hayrides and a really complicated corn maze. isagi will keep reassuring you that you’ll forever be safe around him but he’ll always be the first one to scream.

to fight off his frightened state, the drive back will consist of a lot of silly car karaoke and you'll spend the remainder of the night holding onto his hands, watching My Neighbor Totoro.

kunigami

since he envisions himself as a hero/role model to kids, he suggests that you guys dress up as superman and wonder woman!

the first half of the day will be spent at a local farm! kunigami will take his time picking pumpkins, obviously trying to find the biggest one, while you’re fetching a bag of apple cider doughnuts and visiting their petting zoo.

a Halloween party is thrown at the end of the day at your shared apartment and he goes all out with the decor. you’re looking at countless store runs buying Halloween-themed plates, napkins, table runners, and those inflatable ghosts! and yes the smoke machine is a necessary purchase.

at the stroke of midnight, he pulls you into the bed with his laptop readied with “The Nightmare Before Christmas” to start pre-gaming for winter.

bachira

he loves Halloween and has already planned the outfit two months in advance - the two of you will go as beast boy and raven from teen titans!

you guys don’t give out candy but go trick or treating instead. he claims that it’s never too old to enjoy things you’ve done as a kid and plus it’s literally free candy!

doesn’t scare the kids but instead offers them piggyback rides and gets into character whenever they ask him to reenact an animal. of course, you’re part of the act too as his trusty sidekick!

adults will stare at you funny for being 'too old' but bachira loves to lie, saying that he’s just a really tall middle schooler. how would they even check that?

rin

Halloween is one of the few holidays that he actually looks forward to and he secretly loves putting in extra effort into his looks to outshine everyone else. that’s why he’s dressing up as edward scissorhands and you’re kim boggs his love interest!

unintentionally scares away the kids that show up at the door! you’ll put him on candy duty and whenever the door opens up there’s a group of screams that follows suit. about 30 mins in and he begs you to switch with him.

tells the best ghost stories. at every party, he's either attached to your hip or quietly sipping his drink in a lone corner but, when it's time to gather people around the fireplace and dim all the lights, it's like rin is in a whole other world as he makes everyone immersed in his way of storytelling.

#blue lock #bllk #bllk x reader #blue lock imagines #blue lock x reader #doobea writing #blue lock headcanons #isagi yoichi #isagi yoichi x reader #bachira meguru #bachira meguru x reader #kunigami rensuke #kunigami rensuke x reader #rin itoshi #itoshi rin #rin itoshi x reader #itoshi rin x reader #only had this idea because i saw halloween decor at my costco and target the other day

[thedaughterofadam]

My S.O. headcanons for the #redactedaudio universe. Because I can and why not. {#NSFW under the cut, Minors Do Not Interact.}

Angel:

- Has thrown a cane {Because of course they broke their leg doing something illegal}, at a police car.

- Baaabe and Angel have been best friends since middle school. As soon as Baaabe knew who Angel was it was immediately our girlfriend to David.

- Has said Davey Wavey with puppy dog eyes to get David to grab things from the top shelf for them. {Immediately was told to never call him that while he was laughing}, Now climbs to the top shelf and mock growls at David when he pulls them off.

---------------------------------------------------++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

- Has been a horrible person to play with one on one with Mario Kart. {David definitely has focused enough to pause the game and immediately fuck their brains out}, but horrible none the less.

- Has made David wear a Devil costume for Halloween because they dress as their pet name an Angel which makes David both horny and laugh.

Baaabe

- Has been in an abusive relationship so makes sure to praise Asher and make him feel like a priority as Asher does for them.

- Wears Asher's gym Shorts while running. {They're a runner and a track star, don't ask why, I just think Gym Babe}

- Is taller than Angel so definitely has thrown David's mate over their shoulder more than once when they did some mischievous activities.

- Baaabe doesn't do puppy dog eyes, they do a cat smile when they want something. Why? {Because they always have a devious plan, Angel's best friend for a reason}

- They prefer warm sweets to cold, I don't make the rules, but they like warm things.

Sweetheart

{They're my favorite, so if you thought I forgot you're wrong.}

- Met both Baaabe and Angel in college, has not been able to escape them since.

- Disappears on top of the fridge so they can scare Asher, has succeeded and got stuck in top of the fridge.

- Has been a dancer their whole life, so them being bendy definitely doesn't make Milo horny, and their practices aren't always timed so perfectly that Milo sees them when he gets home from work. {Wink, Wonk}

- Jumps onto furniture like a cat when they get scared, hissing at the thing that scared them has happened more than once.

- Loves when Milo gets out of the shower, helping him get ready for bed. Because they like that he lets them around when he's vulnerable.

Darlin'

{Also one of my favorites top Three along with Sweetheart}

-Military Dad, divorced parents, friends with the boys for years. Always cries on Gabe's death anniversary because that's the only good Father figure they had.

- Left for college at an Arts school met Quinn when their Dad had basically disowned them for not wanting to stay in Dahlia with him. Hence the Daddy Issues.

- Has called Sam Daddy once by complete accident, it was one of those joking things and immediately got Sam turned on, they both learned things that night.

- Likes to paint on the porch, watching the sun set and rise to relax. Sam has had to pick them up and bring them to bed because they fell asleep painting in the sun.

- Likes when Sam showers with them. They like washing his hair and making sure he relaxes makes them feel at ease.

Freelancer

- Has hidden themselves behind the large stacks of chips at Costco as a child.

- Prefers the blue candy to the red candy at stores.

- Has made Gavin carry them after sex because they like being close to him, and they get princess treatment.

- Dances around the apartment while Gavin cooks, because they like making him laugh as they try to do the Tiktok dances.

- Likes when Gavin's hands are ein their hair, it brings them comfort

Lasko's S.O.

{Let me know if they have a name}

- Prefers tea to Coffee

-Likes cold sweets, definitely eats an ice cream cone during a snow storm.

- Likes to be under all the blankets while sleeping because Lasko is cold and they want all the cuddles.

- Has made Lasko read to them just to distract him with kisses and soft touches.

- Likes seeing Lasko in charge so they watch him do paperwork so they can stare at his RBF without being noticed.

#redacted audio #redacted asmr #redacted sam #redacted milo #redacted asher #redacted david #redactedverse #redacted headcanons

[late-to-the-party-81]

Red Carpet Ready

AN: So when all the pictures and gifs from the Berlinale festival started to come out over the last week a lot of the folk on the BBE server went, shall we say, feral. When this particular gif appeared, @mrs-illyrian-baby, @buckyismybicycle and I started to have thots. Thots about a cool, calm collected movie star Bucky leaving a very wrung out reader melted in the back of the limo as he strode out onto the red carpet. And this was born.

Not beta’d.

Likes are loved, reblogs are golden.

Mood board by me and dividers by @firefly-graphics

Master list 

Summary: You love your job as Bucky’s PA. You love him even more, even if he doesn’t know it. On your way to an awards ceremony he appears more nervous than usual and thanks to a traffic jam you find the best way to get him out of his head.

Relationship: Movie Star Bucky Barnes x PA Fem Reader

Word count: 3k

CW: AU - Modern Day, Anxious Bucky, Pining, Power Imbalance, Explicit Sexual Content (Oral - M receiving, Vaginal fingering), Bucky’s A+ Dirty Talk, Implied future spicy time, effectively PWP.

You lurched in your seat as the limo braked. Luckily it hadn’t been going fast, but it was enough to fracture your concentration. You looked up from your checklist towards the other occupant of the back seat, your boss, the famous movie-star Bucky Barnes.

You’d been his PA for several years now, acting as a go-between him and his manager, getting him booked into hotels under pseudonyms, liaising with his media team and his stylist, fetching coffees and a hundred and one other things. Luckily, he was a lovely man to work for, polite and respectful, but, unfortunately for you, he was absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. You remembered when you first got the job - you’d spent most of your days refusing to actually speak unless necessary, lest you embarrass yourself by letting slip your not safe for work inner thoughts. However, as time had passed you’d not only relaxed, but also been able to get to know the man behind the mask, meaning that you and Bucky now had an easy friendship. It was based on mutual respect and shared memories, and you treasured it intensely. Your friends wondered why you stayed in a job that left you with no real base, flitting around the world for shoots, premieres and interviews. You told them that it suited you. You didn’t tell them that it was because you were in love with your employer.

Bucky looked nervous and ran his hands through his shaggy hair. He didn’t often wear it that long, but he was growing it out for a part, more willing to do that than have to put up with a stifling wig on top of what was bound to be an equally stifling costume. His left knee jiggled,  letting you know his anxiety was on the rise. 

Tonight he was attending an awards ceremony, one in which he’d been nominated for the Best Actor category. That in itself wasn’t that strange, he’d been nominated several times over the last few years, but this time was different, this time there was a high chance he would actually win. Such a thing was utterly deserved in your biassed opinion, but Bucky had been the runner-up so many times before and his nerves were starting to get the better of him. 

Realising you’d been staring at him for too long, you looked back down at your checklist and cleared your throat.

“You’re being seated next to Yelena, as she’s your co-star in the next movie, so at least you’ll be with someone you know.”

Bucky grunted and turned his head to look out of the tinted windows as the lights of L.A. moved passed at a much slower pace than you would have liked. The traffic was to be expected really, the great and good of Hollywood, plus all their fans, out in force for tonight’s event. It would have been more surprising if the roads hadn’t been blocked.

With a sigh you put down your clipboard and reached out to place your hand on Bucky’s knee to grab his attention.

“You’ll be fine, you know,” you soothed. “You’ve got your acceptance speech in your jacket pocket still, haven’t you?” You watched as he patted his hand against his chest, checking for the folded paper housed in the inside pocket of his black jacket and gave you a small nod in confirmation. He wore a navy blue shirt under the black suit and had foregone a tie. In your opinion - and you had a lot of those about Bucky - he looked stunning. 

He was also uncharacteristically quiet.

You wracked your brains, trying to think of a way to get him out of his head. From the corner of your eye you saw him push his finger down the collar of his shirt and give it a tug. You clucked your tongue and rolled your eyes and leant forward in your seat, both hands outstretched towards the offending fabric.

“Let’s just undo that for a moment. We’ve got time, and you’ve got me here to make sure you look presentable.”

He chuckled at that, and your heart soared. Your fingers made quick work of the top two buttons of his shirt and Bucky let out a deep sigh in appreciation.

“Thanks, Doll. Don’t know what I’d do without you.” His voice was rough from staying quiet for so long, his vocal cords stiff.

Your lips turned up at the edges. “I’m sure you would have thought of it yourself, or found another way to get rid of your nerves.”

His eyes, stormy grey-blue, flicked up to yours just then, the intensity of his gaze pinning you in place. There was a feeling, nebulous and just out of reach, that you could almost identify brewing between you. Moments like this had occurred a handful of times over the last few months, coinciding with Bucky getting over his last heartbreak. His previous girlfriend had been… alright - it wasn’t any of your business of course and you definitely hadn’t stalked her socials whatsoever - but it hadn’t surprised you when they’d called it a day.  However, once he’d started to get back on level footing, you’d noticed him watching you more, and you weren’t sure how you felt about that.

First of all, you couldn’t be sure that you weren’t actually imagining it. You’d been in love with him for so long it wouldn’t surprise you if your brain had started to make you hallucinate.

Secondly, even if Bucky was watching you more, it didn’t necessarily mean anything. Maybe he was just making sure you were alright and weren’t being harassed by any of the pricks that tended to inhabit the movie scene. 

However, if it was what your brain was telling you it was, where did that leave you? He was your boss - okay, technically his manager was, but po-tay-to, po-ta-to - and a famous movie star to boot. It was a recipe for disaster if ever there was one, even if your heart, and other parts of you, were begging for it.

“Hmm,” Bucky pondered, amusement peppering his voice. “Other ways to destress. I wonder what you could mean, Doll.”  

You giggled at his unsubtle innuendo and playfully smacked his arm. “Behave, Mr Barnes!”

He laughed back and rolled his eyes. “Now I’m in trouble. You brought out the big guns. Making me turn around and look for my father.”

You continued to laugh, but suddenly the limo breaked again, much harder than last time, and you practically flew out of your front facing seat to land on your knees on the carpeted floor.

“Shit!” Bucky exclaimed, and his hands clamped around the tops of your arms, steadying you. “Are you okay?”

You shook your head to clear it and looked up, ready to confirm that you were, when your mouth went dry. Bucky loomed over you and his thick thighs bracketed you where you were kneeling on the floor of the limo between his legs. In the space of a breath his eyes, his expression morphed from one of concern to something darker, and more primal. When you heard him mutter “Fuck” under his breath, you knew that your brain had not been deceiving you over the past months. 

Bucky wanted you.

And although your mouth was still dry, your panties were having the opposite problem.

His gaze, dark and dangerous, pinned you in place, like a butterfly on a collectors board. You made no attempt to get up - you didn’t think you’d be able to even if you did want to - and that decision told Bucky everything he needed to know. Gone was the nervous wreck of a few minutes ago and in his place was a lust filled, domineering man. A hunter with his prey in sight.

He let go of you with his left hand and trailed his knuckles down your cheek. You couldn’t help it when your eyes fluttered closed at the sensation.

“I think I’m still a bit stressed, Doll. You got any ideas on how you can personally assist me with that?”

You nodded and swallowed thickly, your hands coming up to grip his suit clad thighs. You felt them tense under your grip and images of you straddling one, rubbing your slick core against the toned muscle filled your head, making your moan. He let out a deep chuckle that vibrated through his whole body.

“I’d love to know what images you’ve conjured in your head, sweetheart, and maybe I’ll persuade you to tell me later on, but we don’t have much time.” He popped open the four buttons on his jacket, revealing to you the tenting in his suit pants. 

You shouldn’t be doing this, but you couldn’t stop yourself. You knew what was in there. Had been on set with him enough times in various states of dress and undress - even though you always tried to avert your eyes - to be fairly well informed, but this was the closest you’d ever been. Like a moth to a flame, your hands slid up his legs until they were gripping his hips. You looked up at him again, and he just stared back, expectantly. 

Fuck. You’d never been so turned on in your life, and he hadn’t even touched you. 

Carefully you unbuckled his belt, but your hands still brushed over his clothed erection which twitched under your accidental touch. You pulled down his zipper and Bucky shifted himself so that you could peel his pants part way down his thighs.

There was a dark, damp spot on his grey boxer briefs and they clung to his body, outlining the shape and size of him. You licked your lips without thinking, and drew the lower one in between your teeth.

Were you really about to suck Bucky’s cock in the back of the limo? You were glad that the privacy screen had gone up straight away, to give you time to get Bucky ready for the red carpet, although the you of twenty minutes ago had in no way envisioned this scenario ever happening outside of your private imaginings.

Bucky took hold of your right hand and laid it over his bulge and you couldn’t help but give him a gentle squeeze through his briefs. He inhaled sharply through his nose and his eyes fluttered briefly, before they were back on you, somehow darker than before. You felt emboldened, the fact you held power over his desire making you dizzy, and you let go of him so you could pull down the waistband of his underwear and get your first, up close look at Bucky’s cock.

For a moment you were worried your arousal would spill over your panties and leave a wet spot on the carpet between your knees as you took him in with your gaze. He was everything you’d ever imagined from your brief glances and you barely hesitated before you wrapped your hand around the firm warmth of him and took his tip between your lips. 

You were aware of several things at once - the clean, musky scent and taste of him, as well as the salacious noise that left his lips at your first, tentative caress. You also heard a thud and cast your eyes upwards to see that Bucky had let his head fall back against the privacy screen. You should have been worried about what the driver may be thinking, but in reality, you didn’t care. All that mattered was Bucky.

You explored him with your fingers, lips and tongue, revelling in the groans, grunts and whispered mumblings that fell from his lips. His right hand still held your upper arm, but his left came up to gently cup the back of your head, not forcing you down, but just adding another connection between the two of you.

You bobbed your head and took him as deep as you could, your throat swallowing around his length until spots appeared in front of your eyes and you had to draw back.

“Jeez, Doll. Fuck! How did I not see what was right under my nose for all those years? Coulda been doing this sooner. Coulda had you writhing in my bed, creaming on me like you’re probably creaming those panties of yours right now.”

You hummed your agreement and tongued his slit, before tracing down his frenulum and around the underside of his head.

“Whatever happens this evening, you’re mine tonight. Gonna treat you right, Doll. Gonna fuck you until you don’t know your own name any more, only mine. And if I win? Shit. Might need an extra day and night in the hotel. God. I’m close, sweetheart. You gonna swallow it all? Can’t spill a drop on my suit. Can’t have me go out there with cum on my pants.”

You swallowed him down deep again, flattening your tongue against the ridgid length of him, and reached down with your hand to massage his tightening balls. Bucky’s hips started to jerk, so taken over by his desires that he was unable to hold back from fucking your mouth, at least a little bit.

“That’s it. Take it. Take it. Such a good girl. Every drop. Every. Fucking. Drop.” He came with a guttural groan, his cum filling your mouth as you struggled to swallow it. Even when his orgasm finally stopped, you continued to lick and kiss his cock as it softened, intending to clean it as best you could. In the end, Bucky had to ease you away, and you realised you were probably overstimulating him. He didn’t leave you disappointed for long, though. Easily manhandling you back onto your seat, it was then his turn to kneel in front of you.

“Fucking perfect, sweetheart.” His hands skimmed up your thighs, sliding under your, entirely sensible, black shift dress. The thumb of his right hand brushed over the front of your panties and your throbbing clit, making you whine and twitch.

“You are soaked,” he drawled. “Good fucking girl.”

Bucky leaned into your space and his lips captured yours in a searing kiss, his tongue demanding immediate entry and no-doubt tasting himself as he did so. At the same time, the fingers of his right hand slipped under your panties, and slid through your sodden folds. His kiss swallowed your cries as he toyed with your clit, the sensation almost bordering on too much. 

Then he slid a finger inside you.

You felt Bucky smile into the kiss at your reaction, your pussy clenching down on his intrusion.

“Such a greedy pussy,” he muttered before adding a second. “I got you, Doll. Can’t wait to get my cock in you.”

Your only response was another moan and another clench around his invading digits. When he changed the angle of his fingers, you ripped your lips from his as you threw your head back.

“There it is. Look at me, sweetheart. Want you to look at me when you come.” Bucky’s voice was deep and commanding and you wouldn’t have been able to disobey him, even if you’d had the presence of mind to do so. You meet his gaze from under heavy lids as his fingers and thumb continued to drive you upwards assisted by Bucky’s voice which only ever spoken to you like this in your deepest fantasies.

“That’s it, Doll. Need you to come for me. Need to know how hard you’re gonna strangle my cock later. Need to know how beautiful you look when you come. Gonna be smelling your pussy on my fingers all evening. Hell, if I win I’ll hold that statue with this hand and get you all over it. Fuck! Do it now, sweetheart. Come now.”

Your whole body spasmed as you came, your hands gripping Bucky’s right forearm to hold him still. Up was down and down was up as the world span before your eyes at the intensity of your orgasm. Eventually though, reality had to set back in and Bucky pulled his hand from the clutch of your body.

“Bucky!” You keened, your body still sensitive, but protesting at emptiness nonetheless.

“Later, Doll,” he placated at your disappointed whine. “I meant it. This isn’t over by a long shot. I’ll see you after the ceremony. I’m ready for that red carpet now and it’s all thanks to you.” He sucked on his fingers, grinning as he did so then leaned forward and dropped a soft, almost chaste kiss to your lips.

You blinked owlishly at him, your brain still trying to process what had just happened while you clit pulsed between your folds. Bucky smiled, pulling your dress down before putting his own clothes to rights, including the top buttons of his shirt. The limo jerked to a halt a few moments later, but this time it wasn’t due to a traffic jam, but because it had pulled up right by the venue.

With a much more relaxed demeanor that when the limo had set off, Bucky alighted when the driver opened his door. It wasn’t until you watched back the footage, much later in his hotel room, that you could see that Bucky was re-buttoning his jacket as he walked up the red-carpet, a smug look plastered onto his face. Most people thought the expression was related to his nomination, but you knew better.

What you did agree with the general public on though, was the delight on Bucky’s face when his name was read out as the winner of the leading actor category. You were watching from the sides, having ridden in the limo around to the back of the venue, having used the few extra minutes to put your scrambled brain back together. You stood with the other PAs, managers and media secretaries of the main nominees, all of you with your fingers crossed. 

But while everyone else in the hall whistled and cheered when Bucky made his way to the stage for his acceptance speech, you were on your phone, quickly altering his hotel booking to include an extra night. He had promised after all.

Tag list: @christywrites, @alexakeyloveloki, @wolfsmom1, @doasyoudesireandlive, @sonatabee-blog, @goldylions, @galactusdevourerofworlds, @apenny4thots, @crayongirl-linz, @km-ffluv, @wheezy-stucky, @kmc1989

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes smut

[evanesdust]

and you are the only one, my everything

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski Characters: Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale Additional Tags: POV Alternating, Alternate Universe - College/University, Mutual Pining, Minor Stiles Stilinski/Original Male Character(s), First Kiss, Childhood Friends, Friends to Lovers, Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known, Spark Stiles Stilinski, Jock Derek Hale, Possessive Behavior, Jealous Derek Hale, what happens at midnight

summary:

Stiles is gay and in love with his best friend, Derek. Derek is straight. He thought Stiles was, too, but then he walks in on Stiles with a guy and—holy shit!—maybe he's not so straight after all.

October

Stiles gasps. It's like a bucket of ice water is dumped over his head, and his whole body freezes as he stares at Derek over Zac's shoulder.

Oh shit.

Of all the times he thought about how he would come out to Derek, having Derek walk in on him getting fucked in the bathroom at a Halloween party definitely wasn't one of them.

When Zac moans, Derek's eyes flash crimson, and his expression hardens.

Stiles's surroundings come into focus without the fog of lust clouding his brain. The sink faucet digs into his back, and he pushes Zac away, his fingers tingling and palms growing warm as he uses his Spark for a little extra boost. He feels bad when Zac stumbles, almost falling to his ass since his pants are around his ankles.

"What the fuck!" Zac exclaims, his blue eyes turning beta gold for the briefest moment. But then Zac must catch Derek's reflection in the mirror because his eyes go wide, and he bares his neck in submission.

Derek finally moves. He turns suddenly and is gone in a flash, like the Road Runner from Looney Tunes—complete with a dust cloud in his wake. Stiles swears there are burn marks on the carpet.

"Fuck. Shit." Stiles scrambles to pull his jeans up, almost tripping in his haste to follow. "Derek, wait!"

Zac yells after him, but Stiles will have to apologize later. He has to find Derek and explain. He has to make sure this doesn't change things between them because Derek's been his best friend for almost his entire life.

They met in elementary school. Stiles was five when the Hale family moved in next door. Their parents thought Stiles and Cora Hale would be instant friends since they were the same age, but it was her eight-year-old brother that Stiles was drawn to.

Stiles took to Derek immediately, following him everywhere like a lost puppy. Which was hilarious, considering Derek enjoyed running around outside, and Stiles abhorred the sun and sweat in general. But before long, they were inseparable. Pretty soon, they were having weekly sleepovers and walking to and from school together. The rest kind of fell into place.

Derek helping him with homework.

Tormenting Laura and Cora.

Traipsing through the preserve and sharing anything and everything they could think of.

They were best friends.

"Are," Stiles mutters, curling in on himself as he pushes through the party. Whether it’s the expression on his face or his Spark casting a protective aura around him, everyone seems to give him a wide berth.

His name is called out a couple of times, and at first, he worries it’s Zac chasing after him, but he doesn’t stop to check. Not when he can’t get the look on Derek’s face out of his head.

There was definitely shock, but it was mixed with something else.

Was it disgust?

The frigid October air slaps him in the face as he barrels through the front door, but he doesn’t let that stop him. He shoves his hands in his pockets and walks briskly through the crowded streets. Laughter and music spill from every frat house he passes as he heads downtown toward their apartment. People hang off each other, singing off-key to whatever music they hear. Some are in costumes, while others are fully shifted into foxes, wolves, and other supernatural creatures.

Stiles is pretty sure there was a wererabbit at the party.

Sigh. The party.

Stiles had been having fun earlier. He didn't have a care in the world as he drank and danced. That's the only reason he let Zac drag him out of the living room into the bathroom. It was stupid, though. Not only because, of course, Derek would go looking for him but because Zac was Derek's teammate. Stiles hopes this doesn't make things awkward during football practice or games.

“Incoming!” someone yells, and Stiles barely has a chance to throw his hands up to catch the person stumbling into him. Even without a supernatural sniffer, the scent of booze permeates his senses.

The person gives him a lopsided grin and slurred, “Thanks, man!” before wobbling back to his group of friends. He turns back to Stiles and points. “That guy is awesome!”

Stiles would laugh, but how can anyone be happy when his heart feels as if it's about to explode?

Their apartment is only a ten-minute walk from the frat house, it's the longest ten minutes of Stiles's life as he glares at everyone having fun. This is worse than when he came out to his dad this past summer. Then again, he only came out because his dad caught him coming out of Jungle, the local gay club.

Stiles could have written it off and placed all the blame on Jackson. It wasn't far from the truth. They'd only been there because Jackson dragged him along to spy on Danny, but he couldn't throw his friend under the bus. So he clasped his hands together and said, 'Well, dad, there's a conversation that we—'

But his dad cut him off, stating, 'You're not gay,' with such finality that the contents of Stiles's stomach threatened to spill.

What if Derek has the same reaction?

No.

No, Stiles isn't ready for Derek to know yet. He wants more time—needs more time—especially after his dad's initial reaction.

Stiles and Derek have always been closer than most, never hesitating to cuddle or share a bed. But what if this changes things? What if Derek pushes him away?

What if Derek hates him?

Stiles isn't sure he can handle that.

Not when Derek's his whole world. His safe space and happy place. Derek's been for Stiles, standing by him—with him—through all the good times and comforting him through the bad.

He was there when Stiles won the science fair three years in a row.

When Stiles got his driver's license.

When Stiles finally made the lacrosse team.

When Stiles's mom died.

When Stiles's dad damn near drank himself to death.

Derek was the one who helped Stiles build the Collector's Series Millenium Falcon Lego set his dad paid an obscene amount of money for.

The one who read both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to Stiles when he was younger.

The one who watched every single Star Wars film with him, tossing popcorn back like there was nowhere else he'd rather be.

It's no wonder Stiles is in love with him.

Stiles lets out a humorless laugh, the little puff of breath warming his face. His feelings for Derek aren't something he consciously thinks about, considering nothing will ever come of it.

"Tale as old as time." The classic story of a gay guy falling for his straight best friend.

By the time Stiles gets to his building, he's sure he's either going to throw up or shit himself. Maybe both at the same time because why not? It'd be the perfect way to cap off the night.

As he rides the elevator to his floor, it's tempting to mask his scent, knowing he smells like Zac and sex—and probably anxiety, sadness, and longing. But the few times he's done it, Derek's gotten all rawr, and 'Don't do that!' as if it's a personal affront not to be able to smell his mood.

Besides, since Stiles figured out all the fun he could have with his dick, he's been told on more than one occasion that he smells perpetually horny.

Plus, Derek already saw him with Zac, so it's a moot point.

The elevator dings, its doors whooshing open as if they're delivering him to his doom.

Wow, dramatic much? Stiles rolls his eyes, annoyed with himself. But his fingers shake as he tries to insert his key into the lock once, twice, three times before it finally slips in. He pushes the door open, hating how his heart lodges in his throat and the way his stomach plummets as if he were on a roller coaster.

With the exception of the soft snick of the door closing behind him, everything's quiet when Stiles enters. He takes a second to compose himself, hanging his keys on the hook and flicking his wrist to lock the door.

At first, Stiles doesn't see Derek anywhere. The lights in the living room are on, but the rest of the apartment is dark. There's no sound down the hall from their rooms, and Derek's door is wide open with the light off. Part of him is relieved; the part that says ignoring his problems until they go away is the best idea in the history of ideas. But mostly, he panics.

Did Derek even come home? And if he didn't, why? Where did he go?

Most importantly, would he come back?

But then he sees movement in the kitchen—a shadow, shifting in the dark. Stiles would recognize that shadow anywhere from all the nights Derek would climb through his bedroom window.

"Hey," Stiles says, turning on the lights with a wave of his hand.

Derek leans against the counter with his ankles crossed, staring at the ground, all casual-like, as if he doesn't have a care in the world. But Stiles can see the tension in his shoulders. Can see the tiny twitches of his fingers that hang loosely at his sides.

And then Derek lifts his head, meeting Stiles's gaze.

Stiles can't read the expression on his face, which is disconcerting. He's always been able to tell what Derek's thinking with just one glance or quirk of an eyebrow.

It's unnerving, unsettling, and every other word for troubling that Derek's so quiet. It might be expected if there was anyone other than Stiles present, but with him, Derek's actually very talkative. You just have to earn his words.

Did Stiles lose that?

He steps closer, the floor creaking under his feet. Derek tracks his steps, but the silence is deafening. His expression changes, though. Derek watches him as if Stiles were a scared animal just waiting for an opportunity to bolt. It doesn't make any sense because, between them, Stiles is ready for Derek to run.

It makes Stiles antsy, so he starts fidgeting—first, picking at his nails, then shifting his weight from foot to foot while scratching his jaw in a nervous tic. When he starts pacing, Derek grabs him, gently pulling him to a stop. They stare at each other for a moment before Stiles glances away, tugging at the strings of his hoodie.

Derek covers his hands, then guides him to the living room and sits on the couch, manhandling Stiles to his lap.

"You have personal space issues," Stiles says, finally breaking the silence. When Derek still doesn't say anything, he lets out a nervous laugh. Sitting on Derek's lap is too awkward, so he tries to get up but accidentally elbows Derek in the stomach.

Derek grunts. "For Christ's sake, it's like holding a hostile little puppet."

"Oh my God, you're only like an inch taller than me." Stiles can't help but roll his eyes. Part of him still wants to get up. He's scared of Derek pushing him away, except Derek's not. So instead, he maneuvers himself to laying between Derek's legs on the couch—his back to Derek's chest. It's not the first time they've laid this way. He just hopes it won't be the last. "Is this better, you behemoth?"

Derek huffs a laugh and rubs his cheek against the side of Stiles's head. "It's always better with you here."

Stiles's heart trips over itself. That's a good thing, right? It has to be. Except, Derek's words are followed by more silence, and Stiles can't take it anymore. Usually, he's the first person to ignore his problems until they go away. But this is Derek. So, in a small voice that comes out shakier than he'd like, he asks, "Are…are we okay?"

"Why wouldn't we be okay?" Derek's voice is a little strangled.

Stiles shrugs, trying for nonchalance, but really it feels like there's a fist clenched around his heart. He knows the devastating loss of a loved one, but he's not sure he'd survive losing Derek.

Still, he swallows down the lump in his throat. "Because of what you saw."

It's a few tense seconds before Derek answers. "Is that why you didn't tell me? Because you thought I'd…I don't know, stop being friends with you or something?"

Stiles shrugs again, his heart damn near beating out of his chest. "I mean, it happens, right? Friendships end, parents disown their children…"

Derek's arms tighten around him. "Did something happen with your dad?"

"No. Not really. I mean, he caught me out at Jungle this summer and made a stupid comment, but then we talked later."

His dad gave him a patented Stilinski hug, apologizing for his initial reaction, and told him that he loved him. He, like everyone else, assumed Stiles was straight. Which was fair considering Stiles's legendary crush on Lydia Martin.

'Does Derek know?' his dad asked when Stiles finally pulled away.

Stiles's silence was enough for his dad to scrub a hand down his face. Somehow, Stiles knew his dad was wondering how he never saw it before. 'You love him, don't you?'

The silence that followed hung heavy in the air. 'Kiddo…you should tell him.'

'But what if—'

Before Stiles could finish his thought, his dad pulled him into another hug. 'Your friendship with Derek is special. He might not feel the same, but he'll always be your friend.'

Yeah. Friend.

Derek trails his fingers over Stiles's arm with a feather-like touch, drawing his attention. "You're my best friend, Stiles. You know me. I'm always going to be here for you. I love you. It doesn't matter who you love, as long as you're happy. Well, unless they're a dick. You're the best person I've ever known, so they have to deserve you."

Stiles closes his eyes to stave off the impending tears.

Derek still loves him and isn't horrified by him. Stiles should've trusted him. He should have known that Derek wouldn't push him away. Not Derek, who's always had his back.

Who growled at Jackson for stealing Stiles's crayons, even though Stiles broke Jackson's first.

Who tackled Theo for making fun of Stiles wearing Derek's football jersey at school.

Who never cared about the looks they got whenever they held hands or cuddled, or when Stiles would plaster himself to Derek's back like a koala.

Fuck, the past few years probably would've been a hell of a lot less stressful if he'd just told Derek.

"I love you too," Stiles says quietly. Though, he can't help but wonder how Derek would feel if he knew Stiles was in love with him.

"I hate that you've struggled alone with this. You could have confided in me. I would've told you that there was nothing wrong with being gay or bi or pan or—"

"Gay," Stiles interrupts. "I-I'm gay."

Derek presses a kiss to the side of his head before nosing the side of his neck. Derek's always loved his scent, saying it helped calm him. "I will always love and support you, Stiles. No matter what."

Stiles nods as he finally relaxes into Derek's arms, his traitorous heart skipping a beat. Emotions are so confusing sometimes with how he can feel two opposite things at the same time. How he can understand something but still be broken by it.

Derek loves him, but he's also straight, so Stiles knows that Derek will never be in love with him.

November

The late November air is crisp, fall finally making itself known, but sweat trickles down Derek's temples as he runs down the field. Even as he tracks the ball flying toward him, dodging Jackson and Boyd as they try to tackle him, all he can think about is telling Stiles his good news.

The whistle blows, and Derek realizes he missed the catch.

"Hale! Get your ass in here!" Coach Finstock yells.

Derek hangs his head low as he jogs to the sidelines, chastising himself for not paying attention. "Sorry, coach."

Finstock blows his whistle again as soon as Derek's close. "Don't 'sorry, coach' me, Hale."

Derek's pretty sure Finstock would yank him closer by the ear if he wasn't wearing a helmet. "Yes, sir."

"You know...part of me wants to ask," Finstock says, crossing his arms. "The other part says knowing will be more disturbing than anything I could ever imagine."

His eyes flit over to the bleachers, and Derek clenches his jaw, knowing exactly what he’s looking at. Or rather, who he’s looking at, to be more accurate.

"Coach, I—" Derek begins, but Finstock interrupts.

"There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Now you stick to that, and everything else is cream cheese."

"Uh...yes, sir? That seems like very good advice." Derek tries not to think about it too hard. Honestly, Finstock never really makes sense.

"Eh, what am I saying? It doesn't matter how you play the game, it's whether you win or lose. And even that doesn't make all that much difference." Finstock blows the whistle again, making Derek cringe. "Now get outta here, Hale."

In lieu of heading to the locker room, Derek runs up the bleachers to where Stiles sits. Where Stiles always sits when Derek has practice. It makes him insanely happy to have Stiles here, even if Stiles usually has his head in a book, either studying or doing homework.

Once he's in front of Stiles, Derek takes off his helmet and shakes his sweaty head over Stiles, making him curse.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Stiles asks, his eyes narrowed in a death glare.

God, he's so adorable sometimes. All the time, really.

Derek should probably be scared, considering the things Stiles can do thanks to his Spark, but Stiles would never hurt him. At least not intentionally. There was that one time when Stiles accidentally hurled a lamp at his head, but in his defense, Derek had startled him.

"Yeah," Derek says, beaming down at him. He sets his helmet down and plucks the book from Stiles's hands. As he skims the back cover, he says, "I got some good news and wanted to share with someone special…but you'll do."

Stiles flips him off, standing up to swipe the book back.

Derek holds it over his head, reading the title: Bite me! (You know I like it) by Fae Quin. "Huh. Sounds kinky."

"Give it back," Stiles demands, his pretty pink lips drawn in a tight line.

Derek grins, leaning down and whispering in Stiles's ear. "Ask me nicely."

He doesn't miss the full-body shudder or the way Stiles's scent turns spicy. But he ignores it because he was taught that it's impolite to point these things out. Just because he's a werewolf doesn't give him the right to use his enhanced abilities to essentially invade someone's privacy.

Plus, it's Stiles. He almost always smells aroused.

So, being the good friend he is, Derek hands the book back.

"You're such a dick. Why am I friends with you again?" Stiles asks, setting the book down on the bleachers.

Derek snorts. "You're the one who ran up to me and declared us best friends."

"I was five." Stiles rolls his eyes, but the corner of his lip quirks like he's fighting a smile. "I didn't know any better."

"You wound me," Derek deadpans.

Finally, Stiles smiles and, God, it's the most beautiful thing. It lights up his entire face and makes his eyes sparkle. "Alright, alright. Now, what's this good news you were talking about?"

"I talked to Professor Deucalion. I got an A on my exam!"

Derek nearly stumbles back when Stiles leaps into his arms, but he manages to catch him with one arm.

"That's fucking amazing! I knew you could do it!"

The air around them warms as Stiles's Spark radiates his happiness. It's almost like spring with the sun shining down on them, making everything a little brighter. He spins Stiles around in a circle, probably looking ridiculous with Stiles doing a little cheer, but then someone calls out, "Get a room!" and just like that, Derek's good mood disappears.

He hadn’t even realized Coach called an end to practice.

Derek puts Stiles down and clears his throat, taking a step back. It's not the first time the guys have given him shit about Stiles. They affectionately call Stiles his boyfriend, which Derek never bothers to correct because who gives a shit? But the past few weeks have been awkward as fuck.

His mind is a jumbled mess, filled with confusion because he's never even looked at a guy before, but now his mind is all Stiles Stiles Stiles.

Stiles blushes, and usually, it's something Derek loves, but now all it does is remind him of seeing Stiles all flushed, mouth dropped open in apparent ecstasy as Zac pounded into him. Fucking Zac. Derek grimaces because he's never had a problem with the guy before, but now all he wants to do is punch something whenever he sees him.

It's a good thing they're on the same line; otherwise, Derek's not sure he could stop himself from tackling Zac just a little too hard during practice.

Stiles sighs, then reaches down for his bag, shoving his things inside.

Derek frowns. "Where are you going?" He's still got to shower, so Stiles has a few minutes before they need to go.

"I, uh, I forgot I have a tutoring session to get to."

Even without using his supernatural hearing, Derek knows that's a lie. "But I thought we'd head home. I've had a pork roast slow cooking all day. It should be done by the time we get there."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. Just save me a plate or something."

"Seriously?" Derek crosses his arms, frowning down at Stiles. They always have dinner together. "But I want to know more about your book. It looks interesting."

Stiles raises a brow, the book clutched close to his chest as he adjusts his bag over his shoulder. "It's about a guy who finds out about supernatural creatures and falls in love with this guy who turns out to be a vampire."

"Tell me more." Derek's proud of the way Stiles has been more open lately. It's like a weight was lifted off his shoulders, though Derek hates that he never noticed it before. Still, sometimes it feels like Stiles is still hiding something. He can't really begrudge him of that, considering he's been hiding some things as well. Like the fact that he can't seem to stop replaying the night he walked in on Stiles with Zac. Except, instead of Zac pounding into Stiles, it's Derek pounding into him.

"You want me to tell you about the gay vampire romance I'm reading?"

Derek crosses his arms over his chest, one brow raised at the disbelief in Stiles's voice. "Yup. Laura made me read Twilight so why not?"

Stiles stares at him for what feels like forever before hitching his bag higher on his shoulder and glancing away. "Maybe later."

As much as Derek doesn't want to, he lets Stiles pass without calling him out.

It's late. Derek and Stiles spent the day in Beacon Hills for Thanksgiving, but now Derek's ready to go home. He's incredibly horny and needs the privacy of his room to rub one out.

Somehow, Stiles made something as innocent as drinking from a bottle look downright pornographic. Inappropriate thoughts about Stiles's lips wrapped around his cock led to some uncomfortable stares in Derek's direction.

While he's grateful they're at least out of his parent's house, they're still not heading home because Stiles wants to stay the night at his dad's—going so far as to tell Derek he could go ahead and drive home after dropping him off.

"Well, when are you planning on coming home?" Derek has practice on Saturday, so he needs to be back in time for that.

"Tomorrow."

Derek sighs. It's only a three-hour trip, so it really wouldn't be that bad to come back and pick Stiles up tomorrow. Of course, he could also just stay the night with Stiles.

"Then I'll stay too."

"What? No, why?"

Derek turns his head, raising a brow at Stiles. "Well, how else are you getting home?"

"I'll just catch a ride with Jackson. He's going back tomorrow too."

Fuck. That.

As soon as he pulls up in front of the Sheriff's house, Stiles is out of the Camaro, calling out a goodbye before Derek even shuts it off.

When the engine cuts out and Derek opens his door, Stiles glances back at him. "Uh...what are you doing?"

"I told you I was staying too." The duh is implied. Derek rounds the hood but then stops when he realizes— "Unless you don't want me to."

What if that's it? What if Stiles really doesn't want him to stay?

Derek's fine with that. Of course, he is. They're close, maybe a little codependent, but if Stiles wants space, then Derek will give it to him.

"Shit." Derek rubs a hand down his face and turns to get back in the car. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assu—"

"Stay."

Just that one word makes him sigh in relief.

"Are you sure?"

Stiles rolls his eyes and stomps over, taking Derek's hand and dragging him inside. "Don't be stupid. I always want you here."

Derek grins as he follows.

When they get to Stiles's room, Stiles lets go of his hand and Derek immediately misses the warmth.

"I'm just gonna take a quick shower," Stiles says, grabbing some clothes before stalking off to the bathroom.

The shower starts and Derek kicks off his shoes, takes off his jacket, and undresses down to his boxer briefs before lying back in Stiles's bed. It's only a twin size, so it's a bit small for two full-grown adults, but they'll make do. It wouldn't be the first time they've cuddled in bed.

He tucks one arm behind his head while the other rests on his stomach, staring at the faded stars on Stiles's ceiling. The memory of them sticking the glow-in-the-dark stars up there makes him smile. Stiles was ten and Derek had just celebrated his thirteenth birthday. Because of their age difference and Derek's werewolf genetics, he was significantly taller than Stiles. So instead of using a ladder, Derek hoisted Stiles to his shoulders. He held Stiles's legs as Stiles painstakingly placed each star exactly where he wanted.

A muffled groan from the bathroom draws his attention, and Derek sits up, ready to charge through the door in case Stiles is hurt or something. But then that groan turns into a familiar whimper, and Derek's cock jumps in his boxer briefs. He knows that sound after living together for months.

Stiles is jerking off.

It's never affected him before, not really. But now all he can see is Stiles's head thrown back, his face flushed, and eyes glazed over with lust.

The porn Derek watches doesn't even get him worked up like this. And it's not even listening to Stiles's soft, strangled groans or the sound of skin-on-skin as he strokes himself that does it. It's the fact that it's Stiles.

And yes, Derek's been watching a lot of porn lately, trying to figure out if his confusion is about guys in general or just Stiles.

He felt ridiculous at first. Porn never really did anything for him before, and gay porn was the same. That is until a guy popped up on the screen that kind of looked like Stiles with his messy hair and mole-speckled skin. Then it was an instant boner as his cock took notice.

Not even his past girlfriends turned him on as much as watching the Stiles look-a-like cry out in pleasure. But sex had never been that important to him. In fact, the only people he'd ever been attracted to in that way were Paige and Jennifer.

He'd dated Paige in high school; she was his longest relationship. It was…fine. She was pretty and snarky and didn't put up with Derek's bullshit. She reminded him a lot of Stiles, actually.

Then there was Jennifer. He met her during his first year at university. Their relationship fizzled rather quickly, but there had been something about her that drew him in. Maybe it was how expressive she was when she talked, her hands always moving, telling their own story.

Shit.

Kind of like Stiles.

Now that he's thinking about it, both Paige and Jennifer were basically female versions of Stiles—at least in looks and mannerisms.

His family often joked that he had a type.

Hell, even a few hookups looked like Stiles. And then after, Derek always went home and cuddled with Stiles.

Fuck.

Derek lets out a strangled laugh as his mind spins and things click into place.

Stiles. It always comes back to Stiles.

Even the guys on the team even give him shit about their relationship. Over the past three years, Derek always went home whenever he could just to see Stiles. And now they live together. Derek never even asked Stiles if that's what he wanted. Maybe Stiles had wanted to live in the dorms with the other freshmen. Instead, Derek had gotten an apartment just for them, no questions asked.

It probably isn't healthy to be joined at the hip, but Derek doesn't care. He loves Stiles, loves being around him. And it's not like they don't or can't spend time apart. There were the three years when Stiles was still in high school and Derek was at university. And with football, sometimes Derek's away games are overnight stays, leaving Stiles at the apartment alone.

Sometimes, Stiles hangs out with the people he's met since school started while Derek stays home.

Sometimes, Derek's out with Boyd or Isaac while Stiles stays home.

Sometimes, they take separate trips to Beacon Hills because—contrary to popular belief—they can function without the other.

But mostly, they prefer to hang out together, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Right?

And, sure, they're more touchy-feely than anyone Derek's ever seen. It's not something he'd paid attention to before. But now Derek notices how often they cuddle. He notices that whenever Stiles is near, he has to touch him in some way—usually pressing up against him or placing a hand on the small of his back.

That's definitely not something most friends do, not even close ones.

They eat dinner together, clean up after each other, and are all around very…domestic.

Holy shit. Derek's basically in a relationship with Stiles.

The only thing missing is sex.

As if on cue, a soft moan comes from the bathroom, and Derek rubs his cock. He can't help but wonder who Stiles is thinking about. His dick goes soft because what if Stiles is thinking of Zac? Of that night in the bathroom and whatever other nights they were able to sneak away.

Was that the first night they hooked up?

Are they dating? Is it a friends-with-benefits thing?

Derek drags a hand down his face. He really is a horrible friend for not asking Stiles more about this. For essentially ignoring everything after they talked that night. But it was clear the conversation made Stiles uncomfortable. Hell, Derek was kind of uncomfortable, too, because the idea of someone else's hands on Stiles made him sick.

It should have been him with Stiles, not Zac. Stiles is his.

Oh.

Oh.

Holy shit, he's attracted to Stiles. But, more than that, he's pretty sure he's in love with him.

Looking back on it, Derek feels like an idiot. Of course, he's in love with Stiles. It's so simple but also scary because what if Stiles doesn't feel the same way?

Just because Stiles is gay doesn't mean he's attracted to Derek. Especially if Zac's his type, with his dirty blond hair and pale blue eyes.

He's also short.

Okay, maybe not that short. Like Stiles, Zac's probably only an inch or two shorter than Derek. He's just being salty now.

No. Actually, that sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach is dread. Derek’s scared.

There’s a lot that he can handle, but the idea of Stiles rejecting him? He’s not sure he could take it. His future has always involved Stiles, and this could change things.

It might not change the bond they have, but it could make their relationship awkward. More awkward than it already is.

Part of him wishes he could go back to before he found out Stiles was gay. After all, isn't the healthiest way to deal with uncertainty and confusion to squash it deep down and pretend it doesn't exist?

Christ. Derek definitely spends too much time with Stiles if his first idea is to run away from his problems.

Derek's thoughts are interrupted when the shower cuts off.

Stiles comes back into the room a few minutes later, stilling when he notices that Derek's still awake. His hair is damp, standing in spikes from running a towel over it. There's a flush to his skin that could be from his orgasm or the hot shower.

It's awkward for a moment. Stiles is probably wondering if Derek could hear him, but then Stiles crosses the room and slides into bed. He faces the doorway, and that just won't do, so Derek loops an arm around his stomach and drags Stiles back against him.

"I'm not a toy you can manhandle, you know," Stiles says, though Derek can hear the smile in his voice.

Instead of answering, Derek closes his eyes and drags his nose along the back of Stiles's neck. He smells like Irish Spring, but there's also the lingering scent of his arousal.

Derek lets out a pleased rumble-purr and buries his face in the crook of Stiles's neck as he wraps himself around Stiles like a protective blanket.

No matter what, at least he has this.

December

Stiles tosses his keys on the kitchen counter and roots through the pantry, looking for something to eat. His last class ran a little late, and he's starving. It's his day to cook, but he needs something now, or else he'll be on the warpath, and it's better for everyone if he isn't hangry.

His phone chimes with an incoming text—Zac reminding him of a party his frat is hosting.

Stiles chews on his bottom lip as he debates whether to go or not. It'd be nice to hang out with some friends before the holiday break and let loose from all the stress of finals.

But a quiet night in with Derek is almost always preferable.

As if on cue, Derek steps into the kitchen. His hair is wet, and the towel slung low on his hips leaves little to the imagination as far as his assets go.

Stiles swallows thickly as he stares at Derek's drool-worthy naked chest.

Fuck. Do not pop a boner. Do not pop a boner.

It's seriously so unfair that Derek's so fucking hot. And straight. And far too damn comfortable with Stiles that he gives zero fucks about walking around half-naked.

All. The. Time.

Doesn't he realize that he's a walking wet dream? Stiles's, to be specific. Doesn't he realize that he's the star in every single one of Stiles's very vivid fantasies?

Probably not, because Derek's one of the most humble guys Stiles knows. He might know he's attractive, but he doesn't realize the sheer power of his smile. It brings out his dimples, and Stiles would commit murder for them.

Also, his abs. Rock-hard, solid muscle that Stiles wants to lick.

Stiles does his best not to perve on Derek, though. But he's not a saint and—fuck—Stiles can't help but wonder what it would feel like to rub himself against Derek's body. It's bad enough that he knows how it feels to have Derek wrapped around him like a blanket.

"Who's that?" Derek asks, walking behind him to grab an apple from the counter. He takes a big bite; the crunch is loud in the quiet apartment.

"Oh, uh, it's Zac. There's a party at the frat, so he was wondering if I was gonna go."

"And are you?"

Stiles shrugs, ignoring the hard edge of Derek's voice. It gets like that whenever Zac is mentioned lately. "I don't know. Maybe. You wanna come with?"

"Why don't we stay in and watch a movie?"

Stiles wants to retort, 'Why don't you put on a shirt?' but he manages to bite it back. It would raise unnecessary questions that Stiles absolutely does not want to answer.

"You're hungry, right? We can order in," Derek continues.

"I don't know. We're gonna be leaving for break soon. Might be fun to hit up one last party." Stiles opens the fridge and leans in, letting the frigid temperature cool him down. Seriously, are their towels shrinking? And does Derek have to tie it so low on his hips?

All it would take is for Stiles to flick his wrist or snap his fingers and that towel is gone.

It's so unfair.

Especially because now he's horny.

"Actually, you know what?" Stiles slams the fridge shut and stands up straight but then startles because—holy shit!—when did Derek get that close? "Jesus-fucking-Christ, Derek! I'm buying you a damn bell for Christmas!"

Derek's breath ghosts over his skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

Fuck.

Stiles shivers. His cock twitches and his hole clenches, wanting to be filled.

"What were you going to say?" Derek's voice is a lot huskier than it usually is.

Or maybe it's wishful thinking on his part.

Yeah, Stiles definitely needs to get laid.

"I-I," Stiles clears his throat and steps to the side, putting some distance between them. He hates that he's probably blushing if the heat creeping up his neck to his cheeks is anything to go by. "I think I'm gonna go to the party. Y-Yeah. I-I'm gonna do…that. The party."

Derek raises a brow and fuck if that doesn't infuriate and turn him on. The bastard.

"Alright. Just give me a few to get ready."

Wait. What?

"What?"

Derek leans close, making Stiles gasp because it almost seems like Derek's going to kiss him or something, but then Derek reaches past him to toss the apple core into the trash. "I said just give me a few minutes to get dressed, and then we can go."

"You're…coming with me?"

Derek crosses his arms over his broad chest, making his pecs pop out. He asks something, but Stiles doesn't hear it. In fact, he's two-point-five seconds away from dropping to his knees and embarrassing himself.

"Stiles?"

He blinks at Derek in confusion. "Huh, what?"

"I asked if that was okay."

"O…kay?" Stiles asks, because what were they talking about again?

Derek huffs in amusement and grips Stiles's arms, ensuring Stiles looks him right in the eyes. "Is it alright if I come to the party with you?"

An unreadable expression crosses Derek's face at that moment as if he's just realized something. He lets go of Stiles and takes a step back. "I mean, if you don't want me to, it's fine." Then his voice goes quiet, almost vulnerable. "You're probably meeting up with…him. It's...okay. You know you don't have to hide that from me, right?"

What?

Derek wants to talk to him about…guys?

"That wouldn't make you uncomfortable?"

"I mean, I know we don't usually talk about that stuff, but you can. It doesn't have to be…awkward."

Uh, yes. Yes, it would be extremely awkward. So thank God that it's not something they've ever really talked about before because while, yes, Stiles knows that Derek has dated and hooked up with girls, he'd rather live in ignorant bliss.

A sour expression crosses Derek's face, like he just bit into a grapefruit, so Stiles puts him out of his misery.

"Er, I'd rather not talk about that. With you. You're my best friend, but maybe some things…"

"Right. Okay." Derek looks one part relieved but also disappointed. "And, actually, you know what? Forget about the party. I shouldn't have asked."

Crap.

Sure, hooking up with Zac was one of the reasons Stiles had considered going to the party, but Stiles would be damned if he ever made Derek feel like he wasn't wanted. Bros before…other bros that might potentially suck your dick and all that, right?

Before Derek can take another step back, Stiles grabs his arm. "I'm just gonna take a quick shower first, alright? Just gimme fifteen minutes."

Derek gives him a smile so small that Stiles has to squint to see it. Still, it's breathtaking.

"Knowing you, it'll be more like thirty," Derek says.

And just like that, the tension's gone.

"Oh, fuck you, dude."

They're out the door forty minutes later, finally heading to the party. Stiles is surprised that Derek doesn't give him shit for it, but Derek's hands are shoved in his pockets, and there's a sour expression on his face.

Stiles wants to call him out on his crappy mood and how he doesn't have to go to the party, but Derek's a big boy. In fact, he'd insisted, so instead of letting Derek's mood bring him down, Stiles skips ahead of him. He turns to Derek with a smile plastered on his face. "Did you know that every C in Pacific Ocean is pronounced differently?"

Derek huffs out an annoyed breath. Even with a scowl, he's beautiful.

Stiles hates how weird things have been between them lately. They still cuddle and stuff, but Derek's been more growly and possessive.

Don't get him wrong, Stiles likes it. But at the same time, he knows this is just how Derek is. Though, this is maybe a bit more…extreme than usual.

Still, it's not as if Derek actually wants him or anything. Derek's straight, after all.

But.

Then there are moments like earlier in the kitchen. Or times when he catches Derek watching him a little more intently, and Stiles can't help but wonder.

What if?

What if Derek felt the same?

Stiles shivers, and it's not from the cold. The idea of Derek wanting him is ridiculous, but still. Being the first man Derek ever touched and tasted—the first man Derek ever fucked—sends a jolt of arousal through his veins.

Warmth envelops him as Derek wraps his leather jacket around his shoulders. Stiles would protest that he's not cold, but then he'd have to give Derek's jacket back. Right now, if he closes his eyes, maybe he can pretend that things are different between them.

Besides, with how close they are—Derek's arm slung around his waist, so Stiles is pressed against him—they could be mistaken for a couple. It's happened before.

They get to the frat house, and at first, Derek doesn't let him go. Stiles blushes as people glance at them, but it's nothing they haven't seen before. Derek's usually touching him in some way.

But then Zac calls out his name. "Stiles!"

Zac brushes the hair back from his eyes, sweeping it to the side as he eyes Derek warily. "Hey, man."

"Zac," is all Derek says before dropping his arm. But then gently grips the back of Stiles's neck, bringing him close to whisper in his ear. "I'm gonna grab a drink. You want anything?"

Stiles turns his head, swallowing thickly at how close Derek is. "I, uh, I—"

"I've got him," Zac says, holding a cup out for Stiles.

Derek grabs it, taking a sip. Stiles would protest because Derek can't possibly think that Zac would drug him or something. Still, he supposes a person can never be too careful.

Zac scowls, seemingly understanding why Derek took his drink. "I wouldn't do that."

"Then you have no problem with me checking," Derek says, a brow raised in challenge. "He's mine. My pack. And I'll protect him from anyone. Got it?"

Zac throws his hands up with a heavy sigh, but he relents.

Then Derek hands Stiles the drink, nodding that it's fine, and Zac glances at Stiles. "Wanna dance?"

"Hell yeah." Stiles chugs his drink, needing the buzz to chase away the awkwardness before shrugging off Derek's jacket. He hands it back to him and follows Zac to the living room, where music pumps through the speakers.

The main lights are off, but there are party lights, casting the room in an eerie glow of pinks, purples, and blues that swoop along the walls.

Stiles gets lost in the music, arms flailing as he bounces to the rhythmic thumping of the bass.

Zac flirts with him, dancing close, but Stiles notices Derek glaring at them from across the room. He feels guilty, like he's betraying Derek by paying attention to another guy, even though he shouldn't. It's not as if he and Derek are dating—even though he wishes they were.

He's unsure how much time passes as he drinks and dances the night away, but then Zac palms his ass and kisses him.

After a moment, Zac breaks the kiss, dragging his lips to Stiles's ear. "Stay tonight? My roommate left early, so we'll have the room to ourselves."

Before Stiles can turn him down—because as much fun as he has with Zac, it's not fair to lead him on like this—Derek's there, sliding his arms around Stiles and pulling him back against him.

Stiles laughs as he spins in Derek's arms. "I swear to God, I'm not kidding about that bell!"

"Buy me whatever you want, baby. You know I'll wear it." Derek holds up his wrist, showing Stiles the friendship bracelet he still wears. Stiles made it for Derek when he was maybe seven? Honestly, it's been so long that he doesn't even remember.

"You're a dork," Stiles says fondly. He gasps when Derek's arm snakes around his waist and practically encourages Stiles to grind against him as they move to the beat of the music.

"Is this okay?" Derek asks. For all that they do, they've never done this.

Well, except for school dances. Derek never hesitated to pull Stiles in his arms during a slow song.

But the grinding? Yeah, that's new.

It makes Stiles giddy. Or maybe it's the alcohol, but Derek's so close and smells so good.

Stiles smirks as he dusts his knuckles over Derek's stomach.

There's a hitch in Derek's breath that shouldn't be audible over the music, but at this moment, the world is narrowed to just the two of them.

Filled with a sense of false confidence, Stiles slips his hands under Derek's shirt, pressing his palms against the hard ridges of Derek's abs. Derek might only be an inch taller than Stiles, but it feels like Derek towers over him as Stiles cranes his neck to look up at him. Derek's eyes flare with…something. Stiles would say it's interest, but he refuses to read into things. Even as they breathe together.

Even as Derek leans down, dragging his nose along Stiles's jaw.

Stiles's breathing grows ragged the closer Derek's lips get to his, but then someone knocks into them. Derek lets him go in favor of helping the person get to their feet.

Instead of pulling Stiles against him again once they stumble off, Derek shoves his hands in his pockets and clears his throat. He won't meet Stiles's eyes, and by the look on his face, it's clear he regrets what they were just doing.

And just like that, the moment is broken, and the high from having such a good time is gone.

"I wanna go home," Stiles says, wrapping his arms around himself. He let himself get too lost in his head and the idea that Derek could want him, too, and now it’s as if his entire being is an open wound.

His skin prickles as he imagines everybody staring at him.

Do they know how much Stiles wants Derek? How much he wanted that kiss?

Do they see the way Derek won’t even look at him?

It’s like an anvil dropping into the pit of his stomach as his anxiety rises, making him stone-cold sober.

Without giving Derek a second glance, he shuffles past everyone on the makeshift dance floor, needing air.

He can't be here anymore.

Stiles steps out onto the porch, gulping in the cold night air. He takes a few deep breaths, trying his best to push away the lump in his throat.

After a few more shuddering breaths, the tightness in his chest slowly releases. But then Derek’s there, a familiar warmth at his back, and Stiles hates the way it simultaneously brings him misery and comforts him.

"Stiles, I—"

"No." Stiles shakes his head. He’s too tired to hear whatever excuse Derek intends to give him—that he was drunk or was too caught up in the moment. "I just want to go home and sleep."

Derek doesn't protest as he leads Stiles from the party and back to their apartment, walking close beside him, their arms brushing every so often.

Still, Stiles has never felt more lonely.

New Year's Eve

Stupid Zac.

Seriously, if Stiles and Zac were serious, then Stiles should have told Derek because having Zac show up at his parent's house for the New Year's Eve party is like a sucker punch to the gut.

Though…Stiles seems a little shocked by Zac's arrival, too.

Still, it doesn't stop Stiles from laughing and joking with him. From flirting.

On one hand, Derek's happy for Stiles. It really is a relief to know Stiles isn't hiding this part of himself anymore. On the other hand, Derek absolutely hates it. Hates that someone else is on the other end of one of Stiles's smiles.

But Derek can't look away.

Instead, he seethes with jealousy as he watches Zac and Stiles. They'd make a cute couple, even Derek can tell that they look good together.

But just last week, Derek and Stiles almost kissed.

They. Almost. Kissed.

And Derek wanted it so bad.

But then someone bumped into them, and when he looked back at Stiles, his cheeks were flushed and his pupils dilated. The scent of alcohol hung heavy in the air, and Derek couldn't be sure Stiles realized it was him he was about to kiss. Hell, Stiles had already kissed Zac just moments before.

If Derek were a better person, he'd walk away. Stiles is clearly happy, and who cares that it's not with Derek? But Derek isn't a better person, so he stays. He watches and growls every time Zac touches Stiles. Every time Stiles smiles at him.

He wants to march over, throw Stiles over his shoulder, and take him upstairs away from prying eyes. He wants to rub himself all over Stiles, mark every inch of his lithe body so everyone knows that Stiles is his.

But he doesn't.

Because Derek loves Stiles too much to turn him into a possession. So instead, he takes a deep breath and plasters a smile on his face even though his heart is breaking.

The closer it gets to midnight, though, the more aggravated he gets. The thought of watching Stiles kiss Zac becomes unbearable, so he pushes away from the wall and stalks upstairs to his room, slamming his bedroom door shut like a sullen teenager.

It knocks the contents of his wall-mounted shelf over, including the wooden wolf Stiles got him for his tenth birthday. Apparently, Stiles had seen it when he was out with his mom and had to get it for Derek. He'd begged his mom to let him use his savings since he'd already spent his entire allowance on a video game Derek had wanted.

His wide, pleading eyes must have worked because Stiles presented it to him in a little gift bag with a proud smile on his face.

Derek picks it up and examines the battered toy, a symbol of their friendship. He cradles it close, wishing it could give him some kind of answer.

There's a tap on his door, but before he has a chance to ask who it is, the door flies open and Stiles charges in like a raging bull. The air around him is damn near electrified thanks to his Spark.

With a scowl on his pretty face and his arms crossed, he just looks at Derek.

Nothing is said for the longest time, so Derek sits in his desk chair.

Then it starts. Stiles's jaw tics and his fingers twitch. He shuffles from foot to foot for a few moments before the pacing begins. There's annoyance written in every line of his long, lean body.

Even angry, Stiles is so beautiful.

Stiles opens his mouth several times, like he's about to say something but then changes his mind. It feels like forever before Stiles finally says, "What the hell is your problem?"

The words hit Derek square in the chest, knocking the wind out of him as if Stiles reeled back and hurled them at him like a weapon.

Derek squares his shoulders, but what is he supposed to say?

That his problem is he's never felt this all-consuming kind of…want for someone before?

Sure, Stiles has always been there, but never with the possibility of more, and now it's all Derek can think about. It's like once he realized that he was in love with Stiles, that was it for him. He hasn't even bothered checking out other girls—or guys, for that matter—knowing he would only ever compare them to Stiles.

And against Stiles, there is no contest.

But while Derek's been trying to figure out a way to tell his best friend that he's in love with him, Stiles has been out there, giving Zac those lazy, crooked smiles.

Those are Derek's smiles!

They're not for family or friends. And certainly not for Zac.

"Derek, I am so serious right now." Stiles stands with his hands on his hips, his head and shoulders hunched in defeat.

"I'm in love with you," Derek whispers, his voice hoarse with the strain of forcing himself to say the words.

This changes everything.

Derek stares at Stiles, waiting for him to say something and wishing he could take it back because Stiles is quiet.

Stiles is never quiet, so this can't possibly be good.

"What did you just say?" Stiles's voice comes out rough. He points an accusatory finger at Derek, getting right in his face.

Derek leans back in his chair when Stiles jabs that finger into his chest. "Ow."

But not even his lame exclamation of pain stamps down the ire in Stiles's eyes. "What…the fuck…did you just say to me?"

Derek reaches up, hating how his fingers shake as he covers Stiles's hand, moving it over his heart.

"I said," he closes his eyes, steeling himself for a moment before opening them again, "that I'm in love with you."

Stiles lets out a strangled laugh before narrowing his eyes. It's odd being on this side of Stiles's anger. "But you're straight!"

"I thought I was," Derek says quietly. "But then I saw you with Zac and I…" He never realized things could be different between them. That they could be more.

"You what? Do you feel threatened by him? Do you think you're going to lose me or something? Because I'm not going anywhere, Derek." Stiles's hard glare softens to something like understanding and he sighs. "You're my best friend and that's never going to change. You're the most important person in my life. I love you."

And somehow, Derek knows that it's not a platonic love. Not when Stiles's voice breaks, when it sounds like a plead for Derek to understand.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"And possibly lose you? No way." Stiles shakes his head as he straightens, backing away and resuming his pacing. "I'd rather be your friend than nothing at all."

He sounds beaten, despondent and dejected, as if he's finally coming to terms with something.

And that just won't do.

"But I love you!" Derek implores, standing. The chair rolls back, colliding with his desk with a hard thud. "Even before this, I have always loved you. You wouldn't have lost me."

Stiles laughs; it's a wet sound, like he's got something stuck in his throat. "It would have been different. Things would have changed. You'd have looked at me differently, knowing how I felt. I know you, Derek. You'd have done something stupid like force yourself into a relationship with me because you'd have wanted to make me happy."

"No, I wouldn't!" Derek might be willing to do anything for Stiles, but if his feelings weren't genuine, he'd never hurt Stiles by staying in a sham of a relationship. "I know how I feel about you. Sure, I might have only realized it after seeing you with Zac, but that's only because I didn't know things could be different between us! Hell, if you'd told me before, maybe I would have realized my feelings sooner."

He pushes Stiles back a little as he takes a deep breath. "Do you know that I've never even thought about seriously settling down with anyone? My parents have asked me a few times. Even my friends ask me. But do you know what I always say? I have you. I don't need anyone else. I've never needed anyone the way I need you."

Maybe he should say something about the fact that they're practically dating already, but Stiles interrupts his train of thought.

"What if you only think you're in love with me? What if you're just confused? Hell, Derek, you freaked out last week when we were about to kiss! That's pretty fucking tell—"

Derek cuts off his rambling by backing him up against the door and kissing him.

Stiles tastes like orange juice, amaretto, and lime. His lips are soft and plump, and just a flick of his tongue makes Derek groan—his entire body igniting as anticipation fills his veins.

Nothing has ever felt so right, like this is exactly where he’s supposed to be.

It’s not long before the kiss goes from sweet to molten.

Stiles moans as Derek presses impossibly close, his whole body trembling with the need to have every inch of himself covering Stiles’s body.

Derek cups the back of Stiles’s head to deepen the kiss—a kiss he never knew could be so hot. So consuming.

It's rough and hot and raw and makes Derek insanely hard.

Stiles holds his waist. His fingers digging into Derek’s hips as if he’s scared Derek will pull away.

But then he moves, just a tiny thrust of his hips and…well, hello there.

Stiles is hard too.

Derek’s never felt a dick against his own. It should freak him out, but this is Stiles, so instead of tensing up, it just turns him on even more. To know that he did that, and all with a kiss.

Stiles pulls away, his head thunking back against the door. His lips are spit-slick, red and swollen, and his hair is in disarray from Derek’s fingers.

"Derek," Stiles says in a low, gruff whisper that sends an electrical pulse down Derek’s spine. Or maybe it's Stiles's Spark, warming him as Stiles's hands trail over his back.

Derek pants, pressing their forehead together.

Stiles's breath puffs over his face for a few moments before he gets his breathing under control.

Derek gently cradles Stiles's face, kissing him—softly this time.

Stiles melts into him, hands sliding up Derek's biceps, shoulders, and neck until they slip into his hair. He pulls back and gazes at Derek with something close to awe in his expression.

"Stiles…" Derek takes a deep breath. "The only reason I didn't kiss you that night was because we were both drinking. And, if I'm being honest, I didn't think you wanted me like that. You told me you were gay, but you never said anything else. You didn't act any different with me. You still flirted with Zac. How was I supposed to know how you felt? It'd be pretty fucking conceited to think that just because you were gay, you were into me."

"God, you're an idiot. I thought you were straight, Derek." There's silence for a moment before Stiles continues, "Is this real? I feel like I'm dreaming."

Derek brushes his thumbs over Stiles's cheeks, smiling softly when Stiles gently grips his wrists, like he's making sure Derek won't let him go. "It's real. I love you. I'm in love with you."

He'll never be able to stress that enough. Never be able to explain his bone-deep yearning for Stiles. The ache in his chest that is Stiles.

There's yelling through the door as people downstairs start counting down to midnight.

"Ten…nine…eight…"

Stiles whispers, "Say it again."

"Six…five…"

"I love you, Stiles."

"Two…one!"

As the clock strikes midnight, Derek swears the room gets brighter, the warmth of Stiles's Spark surrounding them.

Derek kisses him again.

And again and again, until everything else fades away, and it's just them, lost in the moment, in love, for the first time and forever.

Epilogue - Two(ish) Years Later

Derek swallows thickly as they reach the end of the dock.

Stiles makes a pleased sound, staring out at the lake. The sun bathes him in gold as he tilts his head back, soaking up its rays. "Mmm…I'm glad we came here."

Usually, they only come to his family's cabin during the summer, but it's always a family event, and Derek wants this moment to be just them.

Stiles looks at him, a soft smile on his face. "Remember when we were younger and we'd write messages in bottles and toss 'em into the lake?"

"As a matter of fact…" Derek does remember that. How Stiles insisted on it after reading the Nicholas Sparks book. And, of course, Derek went along with it. Though, their messages were usually wishes for themselves or each other instead of others. Like the one he has today.

He pulls a bottle from the picnic basket he prepared.

"Is that…?" Stiles snorts as realization dawns on him. "You're such a romantic. So what's the message?"

"I wanna be with you," Derek whispers into his ear before kissing his cheek. "And if you start singing Mandy Moore, I'll throw you in the water instead of this bottle."

Derek's hands are steady as he holds out the bottle for Stiles. Under the folded sheet with his wish is an engagement ring. "Here. Hold this. I brought you a bottle and some paper to write your own."

Knowing Stiles, he'll shake the bottle, wonder what the clinking sound is, and find the ring.

Unfortunately, as Derek grabs the paper and another bottle, Stiles rears his arm back and throws Derek's bottle into the lake. It hits the water with a splash disappearing under the water but thankfully comes back up a second later.

Derek pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. He should have known this would happen. He really, really should have known.

He reaches behind himself, yanking his shirt over his head as he kicks off his shoes and socks. Then he unbuttons his pants.

"Uh…not that I'm complaining or anything," Stiles says, damn near eye-fucking Derek as he steps out of his pants, leaving him clad in only his black boxer briefs, "but why are you getting naked?"

"You weren't supposed to throw the bottle."

"But…" Stiles frowns. "That's the tradition."

"Yeah, but not that one."

"We put the message in the bottle," Stiles exclaims, arms flailing, "and then we throw the bottle in the lake!" 

"Yeah, well, that one has your engagement ring in it."

Stiles's mouth opens and closes like a fish gasping for air.

Derek shakes his head, huffing a laugh that's amusement mixed with a bit of exasperation. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Love me forever?" Stiles says, looking a little sheepish, but the fresh scent of spring fills Derek's senses. The grass behind them looks a little greener, the sky a little more blue as Stiles's happiness radiates all around them.

"Always." Derek cups the back of Stiles's head and kisses his forehead before diving off the dock.

When he comes up to get his bearings, Stiles yells, "I love you!" but his voice has a teasing lilt, so Derek flips him off before looking around for the bottle. The sun glints off the glass not too far in the distance since the current's not too bad.

Derek's back on the deck within five minutes, down on one knee in front of Stiles.

"Will you marry me?" he asks, shaking the water from his hair.

Stiles's eyes shine with tears as he nods, practically tackling Derek to the ground and almost knocking the ring out of his hand. "Yes!"

Derek slips the ring on Stiles's finger before standing. He cups Stiles's face, kissing him deeply.

"I love you," he breathes against Stiles's lips, happier than he ever thought possible.

"I love you, too." Stiles smiles, the sun illuminating the tiny gold specks in his eyes. "Forever."

#sterek #sterek fic #sterek fanart #holy shit i wrote something

[sanstropfremir]

ok nana unsubtly kicked me in the ass about this and i realized they were mostly done anyways so here we go! only four months late!

best stylings 2023 - first half

runners' up

rising - triples

there are two good stages with funky athletic wear, but it wasn't enough to bump it up to the overall category. mcountdown 230216, the show 230221

abyss - woodz

didn't promote it which is a shame, but the variety in the costuming for the different versions of himself is well done and it's a beautifully shot bottle mv.

moody - superkind

you got a fake member you gotta make it spooky!!! he's not real that's inherently spooky!!! anyways this is what i wanted them to do right off the bat some i'm glad they finally got my psychic memo.

golden hour - mark

absolutely fucking crazy. fantastic imagery. i think i talked about it earlier in the year but it's such a stupid and hilarious idea to make a whole diss track mv about a several year old meme and then actually make it strange and weird art. obsessed with it still.

sos - kang daniel

i'm also including the wasteland music sequence here because holy shit when this dropped i lost my mind. i'm always surprised by what kang daniel does bc i can never predict it, which over the last few years i'm coming to enjoy. and i absolutely did not expect him to produce basically an entire wild west mad max movie with equal the production value???? literally how did he do this. how. and then everyone paid it dirt??? it's an amazing mv and one of my faves of the year, the only reason it's not bumped up categories is bc although the styling was actually one of the only times tactical gear has been thematically relevant to a cb, its been so overused that it has no punch anymore, which makes me sad bc the tactical gear was good! and a good choice! and i feel bad saying it has no punch bc it should have!

small talk - kim sungkyu

we love when sungkyu acknowledges that he's annoying and a loser. all these outfits were so losercore. i loved this deviation from form for him; he's normally king wailer supreme, but he does smooth upbeat rock very well and it's a nice contrast with the capital y yearning that's in the bsides. it's only here bc he didn't promote much and i'm mad at him for putting dancing in the mv and then not dancing in any of the stages. mcountdown 230629, music core 230708, inkigayo 230709

ay-yo - nct 127

this is just here for taeyong's urchin outfit. well i'm a bit of liar it is actually a really fun early 00s inspired mv, but we all know the urchin outfit stole the show.

stamp on it - got the beat

i will hear NO slander against got the beat in this house, this was a great mv i love hot women planning a heist.

tricky house - xikers

FANTASTIC debut. does a really great job of establishing a character for them as a group and it's got such unique flavour. kq has made great use of their ateez money and also the lessons that they learned with ateez. i'm excited to see where xikers goes in the future, and since i'm writing this section from the future i can say that i do like where they've gone with full confidence. the only reason it didn't make the top list is bc the styling is kinda average for this era of kpop.

best overall

rose blossom - h1 key

i was aware of h1key before this but they hadn't really grabbed me, but damn this cb was so good. the mv is a nice mix of story and dance sections. plus a surreal section in the middle! and by virtue of being like the first cb of the year, they got the jump on this alt girl look that would be the dominating look for ggs this year. and i do think first did it best in this case, all the looks are smart with good group synergy and and a lot of creativity; when you do this type of alt-y punky style it's important that there's a diy element to it, which a lot of groups fail to grasp bc stylists are obsessed with luxury branding. h1key manages to avoid that mostly by being flops, but i'd like to believe its also bc their creative team cared about capturing the true spirit of the style.

stages: music bank 230106, mcountdown 230202, music bank 230203, mcountdown 230119, inkigayo 230108

tic tac - 8turn

honestly i was kinda ready to not like these guys since mnh shat the bed with chungha, but then i remembered that the mnh creative team is very good at their jobs, so here we are. this is one of the few debuts/cbs this year where every single stage was a hit and it was very hard to narrow down to just a few for here; lots of good emphasis on shape and colour and accent pieces with repeated motifs, which was a big part of the fashion in the 00s that they are remixing here. very strong debut especially for so early in the year and i'm looking forward to more.

stages: show champion 230208, mcountdown 230202, music bank 230203, show champion 230222, music core 230211, mcountdown 230223, music core 230225, inkigayo 230226

bonus: this absolutely hysterical 4minute cover (they even got the name bucket hats! not in the stage, but they had them in photos)

sweet juice - purple kiss

i'm not normally a fan of wes anderson or wes anderson inspired aesthetics because i find them too twee and perfect, but this wasn't too direct in it's inspirations and definitely had the spooky purki flavour. i really liked the uniformity of the costuming, both literally using uniform motifs and using the same fabrics; i really do miss the days when kpop costumes were design to actually be costumes with the group image in mind.

stages: mcountdown 230216, inkigayo 230219, music core 230225, music bank 230224, inkigayo 230226, music core 230304, inkigayo 230305

sour & sweet - bambam

bambam again proving that he's one of the few idols that knows his shit in terms of interesting styling. also if anyone knows where he filmed the mv/performance vid please tell me i need to know bc its so beautiful.

stages: mcountdown 230330, music bank 230331, inkigayo 230402, music bank 230407, music core 230408, inkigayo 230409,

bsides: music bank 230331, inkigayo 230409,

macarena - blitzers

i'm so so so glad blitzers got a bit more attention this year bc they deserve it and macarena was so good. perfect culmination of their goofy ass talents and the unusual creativity of their performance + creative directors. i'm even linking the mv teaser here bc its so goofy and offbeat and different. honestly i'd recommend watching as many of the stages as you can find bc they do different intros every time and it's very funny, but unfortunately tumblr has a link limit so i can't link them all.

stages: show champion 230426, music bank 230428, music core 230429, inkigayo 230430, inkigayo 230514, music core 230527

bouncy - ateez

yea yea yea nobody is surprised so sue me. this was a crazy followup to halazia and proved that ateez can deftly switch between serious dramatic performance and comedic but no less dramatic. i'm very happy to see how much work has been going into the main ateez mvs in the last year because it has very clear and striking direction that fits both their performance style and their creative ambition, as well as their growth as a group. also yea i'm not immune to neon cowboy shit.

stages: inkigayo 230618, music bank 230616, the show 230620, mcountdown 230622, music bank 230623, mcountdown 230629, music core 230701, inkigayo 230702

kick it 4 now - tnx

tnx had an absolutely banging 2023 and although kick it 4 now is has superior and more comprehensive production, love or die is also a very good cb, and both of them together have shown that they have a really good grasp on the genre of teen listlessness, from two different directions. kick it 4 now has been i think the most successful cb to actually capture the feel of first gen, and the creative team did a lot of extra work in order to pull that off. from all the graphic design to the goofy lil 90s style music show promos, to the styling, they had a clear goal and achieved it. i think it will be quite difficult for any other group to pull it off this thoroughly.

stages: music bank 230609 (the giant lyrics!!!), music core 230610, show champion 230614 (more giant lyrics!!), music core 230617, mcountdown 230622

shooting star + left right - xg

we all already know that left right was my most listened song this year, but the fact that the mv was b movie sci fi star trek themed? it's like simon made everything about this specifically for me thank you. xg blew everyone out of the water this year on every front; music, styling, choreography, you name it. i said i wanted groups to commit to their bits and i got it. they were completely unafraid to actually commit to the y2k nostalgia AND to harajuku styling; a lot of groups have weakly pawed at it but always back away due to the fact that harajuku and y2k are not actually 'pretty' fashion trends, which leaves their attempts half assed with no real understanding of why and how those trends happened. xg came saw and conquered the current trend in a way that only a japanese gg can do. my only annoyance is that they tone down the stylings when they promote on music shows, and i know why they do it, so it's not an annoyance at them, it's an annoyance at everyone else.

stages: shooting star - mcountdown 230202, con-tour 230217, the show 230221, inkigayo 230212, inkigayo 230205, con-tour 230224

left right - the show 230228, show champion 230222

circle - onew

absolute masterpiece. album of the year in every way. it's a profoundly beautiful unpacking of grief and the sadness that comes with acknowledging that things change, and the way that in that change life and humanity and story is eternal. a circle. the theatre imagery combined with the 60s style children's tv show use their similar but contrasting forms to illustrate the same point: something can be eternal and fleeting at the same time, and that heightens its value rather than diminishing it. the promo campaign was so thought out as well, i love the integration of the theatre imagery into the highlight medley and i highly recommend you watch it if you haven't. one of the best cbs from a solo artist in years.

stages: mcountdown 230309, music core 230311, music bank 230317, inkigayo 230319

--

ignore the fact this was almost five months late even though i started writing in like. november. i'm busy ok. it's planting season and i have to send so much post. the choreos post is the next most finished so that will probably be out before the styling second half one.

#is there even anyone left who wants to read these lmao. i mean other than nana since she was creeping my 2022 styling posts #kinda miss the pandemic days when we were all stuck on the internet but also no i do not #i'm trimming down on how much i do for these posts also since i dont have time to sift through all my saved links #just know there's a lot of one offs etc that are sitting in a mega playlist on my youtube. #im just focussing on the ones that made the biggest impact with me bc there's just so much its actually kinda crazy #text #kpop styling #what else did i even tag these as i dont even remember its been so long #kpop analysis #end of year posts #best of 2023

[sdhqsecrets]

halloween costume contest ‘27 →  orion, halley, stella & elara macmillan-bones for best platonic couples/group costume

well aren't you pretty in pink? a family that costumes together stays winning it seems. you all committed to the theme, which is no surprise given your track record. but we've got to say that the production value of this year's costume was a vast improvement to last year's. congrats on your win, barbies and ken !!

2nd place - Augusta, Magnolia & Willow Picquery

3rd place - Frederick Hayes, Vera McKinnon, Freya MacDougal & Damien Launier

the rest of the runner ups are below !!

Alastair & Charlotte Watson

April & Isla Marchant

Axel Wolffe & Mason Jones

Cameron Coleman & Ciara Garcia

Iris Lestrange & Lyra Malfoy

James Ashcroft & Frank Longbottom II

Lucy Weasley & Nate Wood

Maeve Finch & Trinity Trelawney

Merle Rappaport & Piper Wilkinson

Octavia Coleman & Erin McCormack

Rory Goldstein & Evangeline Pickering

Tristan & Betty Connolly

#orion macmillan bones #stella macmillan bones #halley macmillan bones #elara macmillan bones #halloween #halloween 27

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Breaking Down the Comics: Fighting the dead.

Moon Knight, Issue 21: The Master of Night Earth / Murder by Moonlight

It's officially spooky time and have I got a Moon Knight comic double feature cross over event for you! 

The first one features Brother Voodoo! A lot of you probably have no idea who that is. I used to sit in that boat too. (Marvel is not good at keeping up with their characters until they think they can suddenly make them popular or make money off them). 

In fact, Brother Voodoo was once Sorcerer Supreme many years ago when Strange 'retired'. (See 'Search for the Sorcerer Supreme'. A good event that I really enjoyed in which all of Marvel's magical characters got featured). 

Firstly, look at that beautiful cover! I’m a sucker for black and white and rough style drawings. 

Alright! 

So we open up in a port in Haiti. Moon Knight's fighting some gun runners when suddenly a specter appears to join the fight. 

The thugs all run! 

"It is him! The disciple of Papa Jambo!! Brother Voodoo! His spirit has come to fill our hearts with fire!" 

(Moon Knight is no newbie when it comes to Voodoo. He's faced down things like this before in a previous issue.) 

"Well, whatever you are, pal, you sure put the Kibosh on these thugs. They're runnin' faster'n a clock at happy hour!" 

If that isn't Jake talking I'll eat my hat. 

The ghost inhabits one of the running goons and forces the goon to turn and take a stab at Moon Knight. 

Moon Knight socks it to him and accidentally knocks the goon and ghost off the pier and into an escaping speed boat. 

I think the funniest thing here is that the comic now points out that Moon Knight has a two way mic in his cowl that connects to Frenchie. How often do you think Frenchie sits up there just listening to it all? 

While Moon Knight is no Spider-man, he does often talk to 'himself' or have a snippy running commentary. 

"Guess ya heard my prize winnin' monologue, Frenchie. The birds've flown, so you might as well bring down the chopper to pick up--Huh? Drums!" 

That's right. The sound of drums fill the air and a man appears in a wall of flames. 

I think my favorite thing is how much Moon Knight recognizes his poor luck and when things go weird. 

Moon Knight has certainly seen his fair share of mystical and weird things so he takes it in stride, of course. 

"Who in blazes are you?!" 

As meetings go, this is pretty tame. Considering every time Moon Knight meets someone they end up fighting (with one notable exception coming up in another issue). 

We get a brief review on who they are. Jericho Drum is Brother Voodoo! 

Moon Knight introduces himself, "I'm a lot of things at a lot of different times, Pal, most of 'em based in New York, but before New York, ONE of those things was a mercenary, a soldier for hire. Y'see, I've fought a lot of fights under a lot of flags and identities... But I've probably enjoyed my free agent mercenary experience the most." 

An interesting introduction. I take a strong feeling of Jake earlier with the accent and speech patterns. (Not to mention use of the word Kibosh, which is actually not Yiddish, but Irish slang that is often mistaken as yiddish!) Yet, Jake doesn't like to leave New York. He'd rather stay where he is comfortable and has the upper hand. 

Here, with the instant description as his old days as a Merc that enjoyed the fight so much that he still does it, one might get the impression it's Marc. 

BUT... 

"You might say that's what I'm doin' now--What I'm the very best at, and doin' it by way of my identity as a costumed clown. And though I got money to burn--I don't mind pickin' up a little extra cash." 

"Then you were paid to come here to Haiti?" 

"You might say that, too." 

Marc picks up his old job with resistance. He has never been one to jump in the saddle and go out hunting for money. Not anymore. 

But there's more: 

"I did my homework before acceptin' the assignment, if THAT'S what you mean. Enough to know Im on the side of the angels." 

One gets the feeling that Marc is doing what he does best with the prodding of something he needs to do. Perhaps co-fronting with Jake as a sort of protector. Letting Jake run things to keep his spirits up and prevent him from crashing and burning like he did in Israel. 

An early sign, perhaps, that they are struggling but learning to work together. 

Anyways, back to the story! 

Brother Voodoo explains that Haiti has suffered many coup d'etats and there is a current terrorist attempt to take over. He is head of security here and he offers to pay Moon Knight handsomely if he agrees to help stop the latest attempted overthrow. 

Brother Voodoo warns him of “Houngans, the lord of the crossroads and demons, master of night earth, night forests, and zuvembies and voodoo.” 

Moon Knight first scoffs at the notion of REAL voodoo but then takes pause not to scoff at such things when he saw this man become a sort of ghost first hand. 

"The spirit you saw was my slain brother, Daniel." (See Brother Voodoo backstory to find out more! But basically his brother was killed and now acts as a spirit at his side that can inhabit people to help the cause). 

Let's back up a moment. Houngans, also known as Oungan in real life Haitian, is a male priest in Haitian Vodou. A powerful man that can work with the spirits. 

Moon Knight sends Frenchie off with his chopper to dispose of the stolen munitions they recovered. Meanwhile, Brother Voodoo and he take a boat down the river to track down the escaped speedboat. 

Daniel, the spirit brother, has inhabited one of the thugs still and will help guide them to the safehouse. 

On the way there, they encounter Zombies on gators! 

I’m going to add this informally to my check list of animals Moon Knight has fought. Zombie gators and Zombie snakes. That’s a new one there, Moon Knight buddy. 

Brother Voodoo and Moon Knight put up a fight, but it's hard to kill what's already dead. 

Just when it seems to be a lost fight, the zombies suddenly start to retreat! 

It would seem that the grand leader doesn't yet have full control of the undead. 

The zombies head down one direction and Daniel's spirit went down the other. Frenchie shows up and Moon Knight head off to fight the terrorists while Brother Voodoo sets out to track down the zombies. 

Marc and Frenchie find a fortress deep in the swamp. Meanwhile, Brother Voodoo comes across a waterfall that comes out just on the other side of the fortress! 

Moon Knight attempts to glide in to save him from the waterfall but Voodoo refuses and goes over the edge. 

I just want to say how much I ADORE this art right now. It’s the formless features of the face hidden in darkness with the eyes. Old Moon Knight cowl was just amazing and O dig classic costume. LOOK AT IT. 

Moon Knight is surrounded by thugs with guns and thinks it might be the end when drums start up again! 

Brother Voodoo appears and the ghost of his brother returns while the thugs make a run for it. 

The art of surprise is over, but they decide to use stealth to sneak in. 

And we all know how Moon Knight does with stealth... 

Do I have a crash through the window counter? I really should have started one of those... 

He’s such a drama king. 

Anyways, if Moon Knight is asking for five minutes alone with a guy, it isn't going to go well for that guy. 

Moon Knight confronts the smartly dressed man and demands the rest of his money. 

(Does everyone owe him money? Marc what the hell you been doing?) 

The man gives Moon Knight the owed money then tells him that Brother Voodoo has joined the terrorists and needs to be taken out. 

"No dice, Giscard. I've been paid in full to stop the terrorists, and that's just what I'm gonna do... Startin' with you, the stinkin' leader of the terrorists!" 

The man hired Moon Knight to stop terrorists, which were a few sacrificial goons, in order to look good to the government leaders. Meanwhile, he was staging the coup while pretending to be stopping it! 

Honestly, Marc should have caught wind of this earlier. I'm sure he's been in charge of MANY coups and run with plenty of warmongers. 

He hits a trap button and Moon Knight is shot with a poison dart! 

Moon Knight awakens to find himself staring down the villain, now dressed in a new outfit. 

"You see, Moon Knight, I play three roles...You have seen me in two of them- as the Government security chief and as the leader of the revolutionary forces seeking to topple that government. But now, you see me in my third and most important role- the Grand Bois, leader of the unholy trinity, lord of the crossroads and demons...The Master of the Night earth and night forests!" 

He gives a long convoluted speech explaining how he will soon gain control over death once the full moon has fully risen. 

Once he has full control over death he will raise his zombie army to take over Haiti. 

During his speech, Moon Knight has slipped his restraints. 

Zombies show up again and so does Brother Voodoo. 

They fight the zombies and try to shatter the large mcguffin that is helping to control them. 

Moon Knight calls in Frenchie with the big guns and he uses the chopper's gunfire to break the mcguffin and send the Zombies back to their graves. 

The goons show up and turn on the villain, deciding they are tired of the zombies. Turns out they weren't too happy to see their ancestors turned into zombies. 

He offers his pay to Brother Voodoo, seeing how the money came from Haiti’s treasury in the first place. 

Let’s give away this bread. 

What an interesting crossover. 

The implication of Marc working as a Merc again under the guise of Moon Knight, accepting money, to stop a coup. There's a lot going on there. He doesn't need the money. It's just more to toss onto Steven's pile. And I'm Sure Steven would not be thrilled to have to deal with more laundered and ill-be-gotten cash. 

And then there's the whole feel that this is NOT Marc, but Jake. But also Marc. Like a combination of the two. Like Marc felt he needed to help a government that he probably at one point help over throw and put into chaos... But he needed someone to oversee him. To do some hand holding to prevent him from reverting to old tactics, flashbacks, or guilt. 

Maybe I'm putting too much into it, but after the issues that preceded this one, maybe Marc isn't ready to settle in yet but also is trying to do some good as a Merc but as Moon Knight.

It was also interesting to hear him talk about his other identities and actually refer to Steven as "the other guy".

And there was also a nice counter to the villain being three roles: Government rich guy, Leader of a coup, and then the religious zealot.

Counter that with Steven, Marc, and Jake in their own roles.

Generally when there are cross over issues, it's an effort to get people interested in the other character enough to go look into their comics and start reading those too. So there really is a general light version of both characters without a lot of weight or back story. They don't want to off put people just tuning in with a lot of lore and things you should know.

So the skirting of the Marc vs. his identity as the merc without guilt issue is avoided here. This issue is for Brother Voodoo.

(And you know what? Those tactics work because I got into Moon Knight because of a Moon Knight cross over issues and went "Who the fuck is this guy?!")

-

BONUS ISSUE! "MURDER BY MOONLIGHT" by Alan Zelenetz. 

Oh boy you guys. This is a Khonshu story! 

"Under the timeless gaze of the ancient Egytpain god, More than Marc Spector have known the power of Khonshu.... TALES OF KHONSHU"

We open up on a full moon and a city in distress. An officer has been shot killed and the perp is on the loose! 

A man named Herb Russell runs through the botanical gardens. The narration paints him as ruthless and a man that won't stand to loose. 

Tired of running, he turns to find he's landed at the Brooklyn Museum "where a late evening lecture series is still in progress." 

"Hey, if I can cool it a couple of hours in there, then I just leave with the crowd like a respectable citizen - ha!- when it opens in the morning, and no worries." 

He sneaks into the museum and into the night lecture being conducted by a famed Egyptologist "Dr. Richard Mark". 

He lectures on the benefits of X-rays for examining mummies without having to disturb them or dishonor them. 

He explains that he plans to radiograph some more things before the exhibit opens in the morning. 

Hmmm... I sense foreshadowing. 

Meanwhile, upstairs, Herb Russell is sneaking through the Egyptian exhibit. 

"I'll bet this stuff must be worth a lotta dough. I oughta swipe somethin' before I leave." 

Ah yes…. The Khonshu statue. ……Wait. How did it get there? It’s supposed to be in the desert waiting for Marc to raise him from the dead. That’s the cloak that Marc streals to make as his own cape. What’s he doing in a museum in Brooklyn? 

He's so judgy.

This will end well. 

The night guard takes a look around and deems no one there then leaves. 

Now, Russell tries to leave the sarcophagus only to find the lid stuck! 

' "What is the punishment of the sinner?" Reads the heiroglypic proverb painted along the mummy case... "Evil shall pursue him and the soul which sins shall die." ' 

Come morning, we seed the Egyptologist prepping for the exhibit and taking radiographs. 

Let’s pretend that maybe there are in fact multiple Khonshu statues. There was, after all, a moon cult back in the day when Ra fell out of favor and people decided Khonshu was the way to go. So there may have been more than one statue or temple. So Marc dies at one, takes that statue home. There is another in the museum. Maybe one in London too because London has half of Egypt. 

Anyways, Khonshu has always been a judgy dick. Also what a way to go. Spooky, right? 

Zombies and scary stories of suffocating in coffins under the judgy gaze of a moon god…. What a way to kick off the spooky season! (this comic came out in July of 1982). 

What do you guys think? What about the sudden change in Marc’s behavior in the first part? What about the duplicate statues all over? 

#Moon Knight #Moon Knight comics #Analyzing the comics #Marc Spector #Jake Lockley #Steven Grant #Khonshu #Love that 1980s slang #Khonshu has always been a judgy bitch #Brother Voodoo

[reel-drone]

If Joshua Picked the Oscars

Best Picture of The Year : Tár

For notable

Direction: Todd Field

Writing: Todd Field

Performance(s): Cate Blanchett, Nina Hoss, & Noémie Merlant

Cinematography: Florian Hoffmeister

Editing: Monika Willi

Best Director

WINNER: Moneyboys by C. B. Yi

RUNNERS-UP:

Charlotte Wells for Aftersun

Kristoffer Borgli for Sick of Myself

Jerzy Skolimowski for EO 

Luca Guadagnino for Bones and All

Best Actor

WINNER: Eden Dambrine in Close

RUNNER UPs

Colin Farrell in After Yang

Cosmo Jarvis in It Is In Us All

Kai Ko in Moneyboys

Paul Mescal in Aftersun

Best Actress

WINNER: Kristine Thorpe in Sick of Myself

RUNNERS-UP

Kayije Kagame in Saint Omer

Guslagie Malanda in Saint Omer

Françoise Lebrun in Vortex

Mia Goth in Pearl

Best Original Screenplay

WINNER: Charlotte Wells for Aftersun

RUNNERS-UP:

Kristoffer Borgli for Sick of Myself

Saul Williams for Neptune Frost

C.B. Yi for Moneyboys

Laura Paredes & Laura Citarella for Trenque Lauquen

Best Adapted Screenplay

WINNER: David Kajganich for Bones and All

RUNNERS-UP:

Jerzy Skolimowski and Ewa Piaskowska for EO

Andrew Litvack, Léa Mysius, and Claire Denis for Stars at Noon

Kogonada for After Yang

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Best Score

WINNER: Athena by Benoit Heitz (GENER8ION)

Best Song of 2022 (Featured in a Movie) 

WINNER: Stars at Noon by Tindersticks

Best Editing of 2022

WINNER: After Yang (dir. Kogonada)

RUNNER UPS

Bret Morgen for Moonage Daydream

Blair McClendon for Aftersun

Paul Rogers for Everything Everywhere All At Once

Agnieszka Glińska for EO

Best Cinematography of 2022

WINNER (TIE): Athena (by Matias Boucard) and EO (by Michal Dymek)

RUNNERS-UP:

Joyland (by Joe Saade)

Moneyboys (by Jean-Louis Uialard)

Close  (By Frank van den Eeden)

Neptune Frost (by Anisia Uzeyman)

Best Sound of 2022

WINNER: Kyle Edward Ball for Skinamarink 

Best Short Live Action Film

WINNER: Tremor by Rudolf Fitzgerald-Leonard

RUNNER UP: Starfuckers by Antonio Marziale

Best Short Documentary Film 

WINNER: Will You Look At Me? by Huang Shuli

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

WINNER: Justin H. Min (in After Yang)

RUNNERS-UP:

Bai Yufan (in Moneyboys)

Sami Slimane (in Athena) 

Gustav De Waele (in Close)

Pablo Schils in Tori & Lokita

Best Actress in a Supporting Role 

WINNER: Alina Khan (in Joyland) 

RUNNERS-UP:

Hong Chau (in The Whale)

Charlbi Dean Kriek (in Triangle of Sadness)

Dolly De Leon (in Triangle of Sadness)

Stephanie Hsu in Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Documentary of The Year

WINNER: Moonage Daydream

RUNNERS-UP

All The Beauty and the Bloodshed

The Fire Within

Best Costume and Production Design

WINNER: Neptune Frost

Best Horror Film

WINNER: Terrifier 2

RUNNERS-UP

Skinamarink

Pearl

You Won’t Be Alone

The Outwaters

[thegeneralreturns]

IF I ABSOLUTELY HAD TO RANK THEM: The Academy Award nominees for Best Picture

10. Maestro - With its dialogue gaudily written in a style reminiscent of the Golden Age of Hollywood--keeping all of the cadence and none of the wit--kudos must be given to co-writer, co-producer, director and star Bradley Cooper for making a movie about the first great American conductor of classical music that's utterly fucking excruciating to listen to. And as an actor, he doesn't find a character here, getting lost in an impression and hiding behind prosthesis. He did give one of the best performances of 2023, but it wasn't as Leonard Bernstein, it was as Rocket Raccoon. Though I will say this film is impeccably made, and even though he can't make a connection himself, he did a great job in setting up Carey Mulligan to succeed. She gives one of her best performances as Bernstein's long-suffering wife. Bradley Cooper is a wonderful director, and he's a pretty good actor once he gets out of his own way. But could someone who loves him please tell him to step away from the typewriter?

9. The Holdovers - Da Vine Joy Randolph is the front-runner for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. And she deserves it, as the rest of The Holdovers can't keep up with her. Alexander Payne's early-seventies boarding school pastiche is all artifice and cliche (most of the time agreeably so, I'll admit), but when Randolph's school cook starts emotionally cratering in a very real, visceral, uncomfortable way, the movie seems to wake up... only to lull itself back to sleep once the camera is off of her. I have often said that one can only review the movie one is given, but, well, I'd have paid the premium price to go see the movie about Da Vine Joy Randolph's Mary. As it stands, I'm glad I caught The Holdovers on Peacock.

8. Poor Things - If Tim Burton suffered from a permanent hard-on, this is the movie he would make. Yorgos Lanthimos' feminist, socialist riff on the Frankenstein story has a lot of ideas and a ton of jokes that land, only for him to vanish up the prolapsed asshole of his own technique. It feels as though we're assaulted on the quarter-hour with iris shots and fish-eye lenses that seem to serve no other purpose than to inform the audience that this film is capital D Directed. I recommend this movie, don't get me wrong. It's smart, it's hilarious, the sets and costumes are impeccable, and Emma Stone gives an all-time belter of a performance. But it's really frustrating to have all this in the hands of a director that's the equivalent of an eight-year-old who wants us to watch him do cannonballs in the pool.

7. American Fiction - Cord Jefferson's American Fiction was sold as a biting satire of the inherent racial prejudices of the American literary industrial complex, from publishers looking for authenticity to the heaps of plaudits delivered by guilty white readers who want to bear witness to black misery without being told how much they suck for that. But I gotta tell ya, I think Jefferson could have gone farther. He could have been a little bit more vicious, went for blood, because what we're left with a satire that doesn't really seem to be mad at anyone. But the human drama and comedy that exists apart from that? That works wonderfully. Jefferson populated his film with real, loveable people that any audience would want to spend more time with. It's only surprising that Sterling K. Brown got nominated for an Oscar if you haven't seen the movie yet. And Jeffrey Wright's transformation into America's brainy, slightly depressed uncle continues apace.

6. Barbie - It was a cultural juggernaut that made all the money in the world, and spawned enough thinkpieces to choke a team of Clydesdales. Did its admittedly lofty ambitions jibe with its tone and approach? Not always. But did its jokes land? Yes, Barbie was the funniest movie of 2023. But I don't think I can say what hasn't already been said... Except America Ferrera was really good. I'm serious, I saw people get all butthurt about her Best Supporting Actress nomination, but these people couldn't reason their way out of a wet paper bag that was open already. And this isn't even about that monologue, either. Ferrera provided an oasis of plausibility in the middle of all this neon pink madness. Never once does she wink at the camera, or dive in and join the scenery chewing. She's funny, but funny in a real way that provides much needed counterweight to the musical numbers and jokes about Skipper dolls with expanding boobs. If it weren't for America Ferrera's work, Barbie would have been caricatures bouncing off of one another, and any weight this movie has is a testament to her skill. She was given a truly thankless task... Or it would have been, if she didn't get that nomination. Good for her.

5. The Zone of Interest - One does not explain Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest, one can only experience it. A man and his family settle down into their new house, only the man is the commandant at Auschwitz, and the twentieth century's greatest evil is happening just beyond the garden wall. We never venture into the camp itself, we never see what goes on, but for one-hundred-and-five minutes, we hear it. This family idyll is constantly underscored by gunshots, screaming, barking dogs, and the ever-present drone of the crematorium. This is one of the most unsettling experiences I've ever had watching a movie... the first time around. I don't think it would work dramatically for a second viewing. For as much mileage as Glazer gets out of his approach, it's still a gimmick. Not a cheap gimmick, mind you. It's a free-range gourmet gimmick from a place that's hard to pronounce, but a gimmick nonetheless.

4. Anatomy of a Fall - I don't know whether to ding Justine Triet's plug for the website didshedoit.com before even the studio's logo at the beginning, or to commend her for it. It tells us what kind of movie we're in for. A man falls from the balcony of his French chalet, and it's determined that it was either suicide, or he was pushed by his wife, and we spend the next two-and-a-half hours going through interrogations, investigations, re-enactments, and a full-blown trial trying to get to the bottom of a question that we were told at the beginning, through the mention of that website, that we weren't getting an answer to. It's only arrogance if Triet can't pull it off, and she very much does, presenting us with information in a way that leads us to question how we got to our conclusions. I'm usually resistant to movies that try to get us into a dialogue with ourselves, but the answers I got from... uh... me, were quite enlightening. I think it's odd that the Palme D'Or went to a simple courtroom movie, but as far as simple courtroom movies go, it's the best I've seen in decades.

3. Oppenheimer - Those who claim that Oppenheimer glorifies the life of the father of the atomic bomb quite frankly haven't seen it. I have never seen a biopic that holds its subject in such lively, blistering contempt as this one does. Cillian Murphy's J. Robert Oppenheimer is a man blundering towards a scientific breakthrough that will irrevocably worsen the world, and the only one who can't see it is him. Christopher Nolan's usual icy disregard for the people at the center of his narrative mazes comes off, in this case, as a kind of deadpan disapproval of a man who, brilliant though he may be, just can't see the train coming. Geniuses are still just men, only their mistakes are an entire magnitude larger, and virtually unfixable.

2. Past Lives - What a wonderful movie this is. A boy and a girl in Korea separate after her parents emigrate to America, only for them to reconnect decades later in New York, after she's married someone else. But the held breaths and things left unsaid aren't just romantic, but encompass the entirety of both their lives. It's not just about lost love, but lost opportunity, and being a stranger to themselves had one other thing gone different. Boy loses girl, and the realm of possibility winnows down to one for both of them. More than what these people say to each other in Celeste Song's marvelous debut, but what they don't say. What they can't admit to themselves. What they think the other can't take. Past Lives is quiet and delicate, but boy is it powerful.

And the Best Picture of the Best Pictures is...

Killers of the Flower Moon - This is a master working at the height of his powers. This is a top-shelf effort from the greatest filmmaker the United States has ever produced, depicting in minute detail the slow-motion genocide of the Osage people for oil money in the 1920s. At the center of this is Leonardo DiCaprio's Ernest Burkhart; a dimwit roped into this evil by his charismatic uncle, played by Robert DeNiro. It is through the lens of Burkhart that most of this story unfolds; a man whose grief and good intentions and convictions melt away once someone stronger and wealthier than he is tells him to do something that violates them. Now, there are some who recoil at this approach, preferring instead to center more on Ernest's Osage wife Mollie (played in a performance for the ages by Lily Gladstone). And I want it known that I'm sympathetic to this view. The movie they want may very well have been a great one, and it may very well have been better than this one (Hey, anything's possible), but it wouldn't have been this movie, which I wouldn't trade for anything. Mollie Burkart is the kind of character that would be the hero in another film, but Martin Scorsese doesn't make movies about heroes. He makes movies about weakness and failure. Hell, his movie about Jesus centered on a hypothetical moment of temptation. If Ernest Burkart hadn't existed, Scorsese would have had to invent him.

#oscars 2024 #maestro #the holdovers #poor things #american fiction #barbie #the zone of interest #anatomy of a fall #oppenheimer #past lives #killers of the flower moon

[lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks]

found an old folder of OC art for a comic series I never made

this bitch be THICC

thank you 16 year old Lula for putting the date on all the art in here so now I know that I filled this entire thing in less than two years

the concept was about the personal lives and interactions of the Minions and Side Kicks of a small group of heroes and villains (who you never actually see)

the focus was on their interpersonal relationships, with very little attention on the actual battles

there was also a whole worldbuilding aspect with this military drug that gave the superheroes their powers, but the creator of the drug went rogue and started selling it on the black market, which is what causes the supervillains to rise

diluted versions of the drug with more minimal effects start hitting the streets and drawing the attention of teenagers who take it in the hopes of getting cool superpowers, at best they're harmless mutations of some sort (one minor character gained the ability to unhinge his jaw like a snake), and at worst it's something debilitating that affects their daily lives

none of the main cast have any abilities, the Side Kicks are part of a controversial government training program and won't be allowed to take the serum until they've graduated from the Side Kick program and become fully fledged Heroes in their own right

the Minions have been promised the non-diluted drug in return for their service, but of course they never actually deliver on that promise (except one who was actually the daughter of the villain and ended up inheriting her father's abilities via genetics, it was supposed to be a big plot twist because no one ever knew they could be passed down, since her father was one of the successful early trial runners before she was born, she was the first child conceived by someone who had taken the drug)

there's a mystical, immortal, omnipotent being that gives information to whoever can track him down in exchange for puzzles and toys, he was a schizophrenic homeless boy who was kidnapped and experimented on, he was the very first successful (and unwilling) recipient of the drug trials, but he escaped and was never recaptured thanks to his teleportation powers, he is incredibly powerful and also completely unstable, his omnipotent abilities combined with his schizophrenia make him unable to tell which voices in his head are telling the truth and which are lying

the two main characters were childhood best friends who are surprised to find themselves facing each other in battle, they meet up in secret and maintain a friendship while pretending to fight each other on the job

so much of this folder is just artwork of the 8 main characters hanging out together, playing with costume designs, experimenting with art styles

but in this whole thing there are only a small handful of actual comics, all of them being isolated encounters between characters with no real plot

I had a lot of ideas for character concepts and worldbuilding, but very little idea on how to pull it together into a cohesive story, I would keep getting sidetracked with new minor characters with their own side plots, or background worldbuilding info

so I spent over a year building and building and building this idea and then eventually it just fizzled out and I never touched it again, kind of a shame tbh, some of these ideas still kinda slap (definitely a few things in here that did not age well though yeesh, 16 year old Lula had some real shady views and opinions she had yet to grow out of)

this was a fun romp down memory lane though, maybe I should do a redraw or two, could be fun ~

#lula's thoughts #M.A.S.K. #ocs #original concept #let me know if you actually wanna see any of the art

[thecrownnetflixuk]

Princess Diana is The Crown’s Jewel for 2023 Emmy Voters

Elizabeth Debicki became the second person from The Crown to be nominated for playing Princess Diana, following in the equally regal footsteps of Emma Corrin. Although this time around, Debicki is in the running for Supporting Actress in a Drama rather than lead.

Adding to this success, Adriano Goldman notched up a second nomination for Cinematography, recognised for his work in the episode ‘Mou Mou.’ Robert Sterne was again nominated for Casting.

Amy Roberts (and team) styled their way to a nomination for Outstanding Period Costumes. Cate Hall and Emilie Yong Mills were similarly recognised for their outstanding work in Hairstyling.

Season 5 received another Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series, meaning that every season of The Crown (to date!) has now been nominated for best Drama, with Season 4 reigning triumphant.

Win or lose, 6 (more!) nominations is a real crowning achievement. Congratulations to show runner Peter Morgan, and all those who make The Crown!

The 2023 Emmy awards ceremony is slated to take place on 18th September, but may well be delayed by the writers strike, especially with a possible SAG-AFTRA strike also looming.

The final Season of The Crown completed filming back in April 2023 (before the strike) and will stream on Netflix later this year.

#the crown #6 emmy nominations #elizabeth debicki #princess diana #emmys #writers strike #gifs #news #awards

[anamoli]

Selecting Materials for Talanah Cosplay

Between the two cosplays I'll be working on this year, the materials in Talanah's outfit are - unconventional. Aloy's Shield-Weaver outfit is pretty straightforward: there's lots of leather bits, some leather fringe, some rope every now and then, a quilted chest piece, and the armor pieces which will be 3D printed. All in neutral/common colors. Nothing out of the ordinary. Besides the lights, but I'll save that for another post.

Talanah on the other hand, has a little bit more texture going on. And a lot more color. The 3D pieces for the armor and how they'll be assembled seems straightforward enough, but the fabric for the rest of the cosplay isn't. The main textures I've pulled are categorized in the following:

Lightweight, textured fabric with some type of iridescent/shimmery threads

Leather pieces and straps in various shapes/sizes

Burlap fabric that is embroidered with gold thread

The colors identified for this cosplay are:

Burgundy: used in Texture 1 and Texture 2

Turquoise: used in Texture 1 and Texture 2

Gold: used in Texture 1 and Texture 3

Now, if I wasn't planning on actually climbing in this cosplay, sourcing materials wouldn't be an issue. But because I am going to climb, I can't get anything that would tear easily or catch on the rocks. Therefore, the sourced material needs to meet the following requirements in order of most to least importance:

Durability: needs to survive the wear and tear of climbing

Color: needs to match the colors in the cosplay

Shimmer: for materials that require it, needs to have some reflectivity

Texture: for materials that require it, needs to have some depth

I have ordered sample swatches of the materials that I think meet as many of these requirements as possible. I'll be making another post of the final selection as well as links to those materials.

The remainder of this post is a record of my research as well as my reasonings for selecting particular materials to get sample swatches.

Material 1: Lightweight, textured, and shimmery

Despite working at a custom costume shop, I'm not all that familiar with all the different types of fabrics out there. We mostly dealt with lycra and sequins (stuff that's easy to dance in and is shiny), so I had to consult Google for some guidance. This website was a wonderful resource!

The silk hammered/crushed satin I've found are absolutely perfect for the look of the cosplay:

However, they all fail the first criteria: durability. Despite how great they would look for the cosplay, it would only function as a show piece and would tear so hard if I attempted climbing in them. (Also, the fabric is like $85-$135 per yard, so perhaps it isn't that great of a loss)

The runner ups for each color are below:

Burgundy

What I'm aiming vs what I've found:

A metallic wavy brocade on polyester/lurex that would be quite durable and looks to have excellent shimmer and texture. The color seems to be a little darker than what I need, but that will be determined once the sample swatch arrives. $49.99/yd

A metallic crinkled brocade on lurex/polyester that would also be quite durable, looks to have great shimmer, and the color match is decent. The texture pattern is a bit small, but the crinkle might make up for it. $39.99/yd

A polyester/cotton tweed weave with loops for texture that is an excellent color match. However, the loops may catch on rocks, and the weave pattern doesn't seem to shine. $19.80/yd

Turquoise

What I'm aiming vs what I've found:

A metallic brocade on Thai silk that is a little too blue and wouldn't be super durable, but the shimmer and texture are spot on. I thought it would be really cool if this cosplay used Thai silk since Talanah seems to be of Asian descent, but I'm not sure if it's the best match overall. $5.99/yd

A silk jacquard with fantastic shimmer and texture, but also a little too blue and might not be very durable. $36.61/yd

A metallic brocade on polyester/lurex that would be very durable but fails on color for being too green. Shimmer is there but texture is very distracting. $44.99/yd

Gold

What I'm aiming vs what I've found:

A metallic velvet on cotton/rayon with wonderful color, shine, and durability. There is no texture, but since it's the sash and is mostly covered up anyway, I'm okay with it. Additionally, having the sash textured may detract from the textures from the other two colors. $35.99/yd

A silk brocade with Indian floral zari motifs that is a great color match, texture, and shine. It may not be so durable, but again, since a lot of the sash is covered, it may not contact rock very often. $5.95/meter

Fabrics that made the final cut for swatch samples:

Burgundy: I've ordered swatches for 1 and 2. The fabrics seem to have excellent color, texture, and shine. Since they both have smooth finishes, it should be durable enough to climb in.

Turquoise: I wasn't actually too happy with anything I've found, so I ended up getting a swatch from the group of perfect-looking fabrics. My reasoning is that I think the shirt is fairly protected by the burlap sash, embroidery, chest sling, AND leather pieces. The chances of the silk contacting rock are quite low and I'd be happy to splurge a bit on the fabric. $85/yd

Gold: Since I only found 2 decent fabrics, I ended up getting swatches of both. Depending on how all the fabrics look together, I'll decide on which fits the overall look better.

Material 2: Leather Pieces and Straps

No, I'm not going to purchase real leather (I'm already going to drop $85 on a single yard of fabric). The next best thing is using faux leather or making my own out of suedecloth and foam per this wonderful tutorial here:

I'm aware that many cosplayers can do some amazing stuff with EVA foam and paint, but I don't like painting and sitting at my computer comparing colors online is a lot easier. At this point, I'll need to match the color of the swatches I purchased. I'm doing my best to match things by the images the seller took, but I'll do a final comparison of everything once all the swatches arrive.

Burgundy

Faux leather (F) and suede-cloth (S) options:

F1: a little too brown, but very close. Great texture. $17.99/yd

F2: a little too purple, but it's serviceable. $45.37 for 6 yds

S1: perfect color. $11.25/yd

S2: too red. Only sold by the bolt.

Turquoise

Faux leather (F) and suede-cloth (S) options:

F1: great color and perfect texture! $4.40 for a 9"x12" sheet

S1: color is spot on. $52.61/yd

S2: a tad bit on the green side. $21.99/yd

Deciding on whether to go with faux leather vs suede-cloth comes down to cost and time savings, as well as determining what the cosplay calls for. Purchasing 1 yard of the burgundy faux leather and maybe 4 sheets of the turquoise faux leather comes out to ~$36; whereas getting 1yd x 2yd, 4mm craft foam to glue to the suede-cloth is already $39.

In terms of time savings, there are only 3 leather pieces that are required in burgundy and 25 leather pieces (+2 for the pants) that are required in turquoise. I'd much rather cut the pieces and call it a day - instead of gluing down suede to foam and then cutting them out. Since there aren't any ridiculously large pieces that are required to be all in one piece, it makes sense to just go with the faux leather.

Material 3: Burlap and Gold Thread Embroidery

Thankfully burlap is a really easy material to find in the right color to match the gold sash ($15.98/yd):

As for the rope trim that is on nearly every single article of clothing, a quick measurement on the 3D model of the character revealed that there is ~0.25" space for them and there are 3 distinct trims.

The trim that just looks like a bunch of individual threads sort of exists, but only as something called a flat gimp or soutache braid (which means there's a second row running against it). I'm not going to bother with ensuring the braids are completely perfect, so I'll say that having 3 separate trims is good enough.

To achieve the 0.25" width, I'll use the following trims and some gold embroidery thread to attach it to all the pieces:

0.7mm gilt twist rope trim

3 mm gilt twist rope trim

3 mm braided rope trim

Technically I could run a very thin zig-zag stitch on the edges of the pieces with the embroidery thread, but that sounds like a nightmare to the machine (and by extension to me), so I'd say that's all the materials I'll need for this section!

Final Remarks

There are a couple more items that will be required for the cosplay such as: brown faux leather for the forearm and calf bracers, armor straps, and the headdress strap; filament and resin to print the armor pieces; some type of gold wire to connect the armor pieces; clasps; elastic; the usual basic sewing supplies. However, since those items are easily attainable, I didn't want to cover them here.

It was definitely a process to do the research for the specific materials, but it'll be well worth it in the end product!

Total projected cost of materials including materials not covered in this post: ~$400

#cosplay #horizon zero dawn #horizon forbidden west #talanah khane padish #carja blazon master #this is going to be a lot of money #thanks engineering job for funding my hobbies #proj-2023-00 #proj-research

[jedivoodoochile]

🦇Maila Nurmi 🦇

(December 11, 1922 - RIP January 10, 2008)

The original glamour ghoul herself, "Vampira", of late night 1950s television, was actually born Maila Syrjäniemi (later changed to the easier surname Nurmi) on December 11, 1922 in Petsamo, Finland. Her uncle was the multiple Olympic medal runner Paavo Nurmi. Maila arrived in the United States with her family as a baby and lived a rather nomadic existence at first as her father was a writer who lectured on temperance.

It was director Howard Hawks, of all people, who discovered Maila while she was performing in Mike Todd's Grand Guignol midnight show "Spook Scandals". Hawks escorted the lovely blonde beauty to Hollywood with the hopes of grooming her into the next Lauren Bacall. Cast in the film version of the Russian novel "Dreadful Hollow", the project was put on hold so many times that Maila walked out of her contract in frustration. She became a cheesecake model and an Earl Carroll dancer for several years in his revues, sharing a chorus line at one time with future burlesque stripper Lili St. Cyr.

Married at the time to child actor-turned-screenwriter Dean Riesner, she came up with the idea of "Vampira" at a masquerade contest where she based her costume on Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoons. Heavily painted up with long fingernails, a mane of raven-colored hair, and slim-waisted black attire, the Morticia gimmick won the best costume award that night... and more. She caught the attention of local television and was placed under contract to Channel 7 in Hollywood to see if she could encourage late night viewers to stay up and watch its regular programming of cheapjack horror schlock. The macabre madam was a genuine hit (for one season, at least, in 1954-55), adding a sexy nuance and silly double entendres to her campy horror set.

She earned an Emmy Award nomination in 1954 for "Most Outstanding Female Personality". Fan clubs sprouted up all over the world. She appeared in "Life", "TV Guide" and "Newsweek" magazine articles, and could be seen around and about town and in Las Vegas judging contests and making variety special appearances. Songs were written about the "Queen of Horror". She even appeared with arms outstretched and ghoulishly attired in the worst cinematic failure of all time, Edward D. Wood Jr.'s Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957), as Bela Lugosi's zombie-like mate, for which she is infamously associated. Lugosi actually was a huge fan of hers and had always wanted to work with her. Wood shot some footage of her years later as a tribute to Lugosi (he died in 1956 during filming) and added it before the film's release.

By the late 1950s, Maila's extended "15 minutes" of fame was over. With her career at stake (pun intended), she stretched things out with haphazard appearances in abysmal movies [The Beat Generation (1959); Sex Kittens Go to College (1960)] before closing the lid permanently on "Vampira". In later years, Maila divorced her writer/husband and became passionately involved in animal protection rights. A painter on the sly, she created some "Vampira" portraits that became a collector's item. Living very modestly in Southern California, she appeared in a small gag cameo in the film I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998). Malia Nurmi died at age 85 of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 2008.

#maila nurmi #vampira

[sanstropfremir]

best choreos of 2023!

not gonna lie, this year was a rough one for choreos. like with the actual music itself, this year was profoundly complacent and very few choreographies were truly inspired and willing to do something original. i was actually afraid for a bit that i was not even gonna be able to fill out a top ten list, much less having any runners' up. so here's a list of runners' up:

new dayz - trendz

spotlight - yunho

wormhole - n.ssign

neverland - nine.i

baggy jeans - nct u

koong - xikers

vuja de - yunho

bouncy - ateez

journey - woodz

and my favourites:

circle - onew

i have a bit of a love hate relationship with the circle choreo bc on one hand i LOVE it, the imagery and idea is beautiful i think it's one of the few choreos this year that actually embodies what the song and the cb were trying to say. but on the other hand, as a contemporary dance enjoyer it is.........let down by the fact that kpop is a predominantly hiphop based genre and the backup dancers are not up to snuff for this type of choreo. kaspar did a pretty good job choreographing it but hiphop and contemp/modern are notoriously hard styles to slide between for dancers, and i really think they should have actually got a modern choreographer and a modern troupe. it would have significantly upped the quality and given the stages that extra gut punch.

grl gvng - xg

honestly you really could sub in any xg choreo from this year here bc they were all stellar, but the commitment of grl gvng clinched it for me. the costuming, the makeup, the style of movement all tell such a clear story that i would have included it on my list regardless of what the album was, but the transition from hesonoo to xgene to grl gvng is fucking UNREAL. it's so refreshing to see a gg actually commit to a concept that isn't pretty bubbly straightness and to not compromise on it regardless of how much people bitch, right down to the choreo. there's something immensely satisfying about seeing a choreo about how these girls are alien cyborgs and have it actually LOOK like they are alien cyborgs, the intentional clunkiness and 'offputting' movements and all. i've been begging for an actual real concept like this for years and finally. finally it has been delivered.

chrome arts - onlyoneof

its not a choreo list by me if there isn't an ooo one, and once again they came right out of the gate at the beginning of the year with something batshit insane. the knee walk move is crazy. i love it 10/10.

killer - key

unlike a lot of the other entries on this list, i don't think killer has as concise of a concept other than "the 80s", but the great thing about it is that you absolutely can successfully pull off a more abstract concept if you do it well. this is such a strong choreo with good images and composition, plus a lot of 80s references in the moves themselves, and sometimes that's all you need if you put the right care into it. this is actually one of the few choreos that i've seen that correctly capture the feel of an mj choreo from the 80s, which seems to be a real challenge for a lot of idols. i will say that i think it would have made more sense to me if this had been a repack to bad love, bc it has the same vein of nostalgia vibes and a very similar feel in the shapes of the choreo, but really they're all part of his retro series so it's not a substantive complaint.

the rizzness - taemin

don't speak to me don't look at me i'm literally never recovering from this in my entire life. i cannot fucking believe he made me say with full conviction that ""the rizzness"" is one of the best taemin bsides but also of fucking course he did. this is black rose but eviler (complimentary). it's so interesting to see how versatile taemin's style is and where his true strengths lie. obviously his title track choreos are perfectly tailored to his body and his abilities and they are all unreal choreos on their own. but there's something about the way that he carries himself when he does more hiphop based choreo that has such a natural power to it. it's so clear that this is the style that he started learning dance in and especially now that he's become much more settled in his body since he got back from the military, it's so obvious how much love he has for this song and this way of movement that i don't think any of his title tracks will stack up in the same to it in my eyes.

don't call me - dkz nine to six

insane. insane insane insane. i love everything about this. it's weird its creative it had very clear imagery that supports the song, it says fuck capitalism, what more could you possibly want. honestly one of the best choreos of the last couple years. i'm also gonna include nod here too bc it was the bside they promoted and it has crazy choreo also, and highly recommend ppl listen to digital love, the other bside. very strong release from dkz this year despite all the shit they went through.

--

here's hoping 2024 is better!

#kpop dance #end of year posts #best of 2023 #i will be thinking about the baggy jeans dance practice on the stadium stage for the rest of my goddamn LIFE thats a LEGACY!!! #i feel kind of conflicted putting both journey and circle on here bc they are very similar in a lot of ways #i actually think journey is a better choreo in terms of meshing with the dancers strengths #but i admire the ideas of the circle choreo more #text #spoiler alert: 2024 has not been better thus far😔

[shytastemakerthing]

Hi there! Could I possibly request a (romantic) matchup for Twisted Wonderland and Obey Me? If doing two is too much than I’m fine with just one of them.

I’m 25 year old Virgo. (So of course obviously only legal characters.) I’m very girly and feminine. I enjoy shopping, makeup, music, cosplay and some games from time to time. My favorite colors are pink and purple. I prefer pastel shades over any other shades. I’m shy at first but once you get to know me I’m overall nice and bubbly. I’m short and overall petite only being 5’ sadly. I enjoy history greatly. My taste in music is along the lines of Ariana Grande, blackbear and Melanie Martinez. I love cutesy stuff whether it be an accessory or clothing item or plushie etc. I play Genshin. If you couldn’t tell I’m a pretty cutesy person overall. I love doing crazy fun makeup. Why be basic like everyone else? Hmm I think that might be enough. Well I mean I hope it is. Thanks 💖💖

A/N: My very first request! Thank you so much😭! I certainly hope that this is alright. This will be your Twisted Wonderland match-up and I will do the Obey Me match up on an additional post! I had so many ideas for this and possibilities to choose from but I could only pick one! Runner ups would be Rook, Lilia, and Idia. Sorry it's not super long, I'm still trying to get used to this! Hopefully, you're Obey Me match up will be much better!

Also! This is my forst time actually writing and placing something here in this format so hopefully it's alright! It may take me a few tries to get used to!😊

I match you with........

Vil Schoenheit

• This brought so much to the table with everything that you stated above yourself and personally, I think that this man would be all for it. I mean, shopping? I can see this man taking you on only the best types of shopping dates!

• Anybody hear dorm room make-up dates and sessions? Because they are in full swing! This man is a model, actor, an icon of beauty. You need it? He has it. He knows what compliments you the best based on a variety of things, all the way down to how you styles your hair for the day. This also applies to skincare. Not so late night skin care routine, Vil is very adamant about his sleep, yours as well. As we know, last of proper rest is a nightmare on the skin.

• Okay, not only is Vil a beautu icon, he is also a fashion icon. In a way, I can see him getting the concept of cosplay. After all, the dedication? The sheer art of it!? Not to mention the vast amount if variety that there is to choose from? He will definitely be helping you out. Makeup? He's got the best lined up so you can nail the look flawlessly. Costume? You can bet he is certainly helping you out. From top tier fabrics to make the costume if you're making it by hand, or if you're shopping for the costume, he is helping you search for top tier quality.

• I think he would find pastels quite interesting. They're a delicate form of colors and not everyone can quite pull them off? But you? You've got the look, he has the connections. End of story. Pastels aren't overly bold, but they aren't completely subtle. To him, they're perfect for you!

• Okay, we all know this man is fairly tall, even without the heels. Either way, Vil is going to be taller than you are. But it certainly adds to the appeal. I mean, we've all seen Epel. Looks are deceiving in a variety of ways. But while he is adorable with a more gremlin like personality, you're both short, and yourr adorable in the process. You don't even have to try, it's just natural to you, and Vil loves it.

• This is self explanatory, Rook is y'alls biggest supporter. His beautiful queen with someone just as beautiful, inside and out?

• Overall, this man loves you. Fron your personality, how you carry yourself, these small dates that you both have whether it be shopping to just evening sit downs doing the nightly skin care routine. He loves the way your eyes shine upon seeing anything related to cute. He wonders, how in the Seven did he find himself lucky enough to call you his own?

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