#what i thought it was gonna be given the fantastic music

[ganondoodle]

wait i just realized... the mastersword isnt even important enough to warrant zelda doing to such extreme lengths to repair it bc its NOT EVEN REQUIRED FOR DEFEATING GANONDORF

idk about you but the mastersword being not just this weak after all this but also not even required is like ... hurting the whole plot SO bad for all that zelda knew she was basically killing herself by doing the dragon thing ONLY for the mastersword, which isnt even needed to reach the end why do the dragon thing at all??? she could have put it in some other divine place for it to recover (she knew where the springs are, she knew where the krog forest is, heck she even knew where the forgotten temple is BC THEY WERE ALL THERE* and im not going to belive any of them came into existence afterwards), in botw it took 'only' a 100 years to regenerate the damage it took in botws past which, while not as extreme as in totk, was pretty bad! yeah it gets outright broken in totk but like ... really? far over 10 000 years to recover it? through ZELDA? one of the most divine being IN THE FORM of one of the most divine beings aside from the very gods themselves?? whats the use of it being able to regernate if it takes THAT long?? feels easier to forge a new one for that matter?? and the excuse that "it needed to be able to resist miasma" is like .. why tho? yeah ok fine i could do the entire bossfight with JUST the mastersword, but again, its not required! i can do it with anything else!! and its doesnt cleanse miasma either, like the sword did in tp when you could do away the twilight stuff when it got the super glow stuff so its really like ... she did that JUST for the sword? really? the fact that her becoming a dragon is the way to get her back into her time isnt something she could have known and it working out like that makes it feel like a massive fail of the writers bc it makes it feel less like an actual decision she made for good reason and more bc its a decision the writers made bc the writers already knew where it would end, the writers knew shed be turned back in the end no problem so they had her do the dragon thing despite it being pretty senseless from her perspective

(wouldnt it have felt more in character and logical to put the mastersword somwhere safe where it can recover over all those centuries and search for a way to return to her time herself? like in these two games ZELDA feels like the more important thing that the sword, -zeldas prone to sacrifice herself for other- WHY! its better for everyone if you are alive rather than dead! you got to this time by yourself and also somehow not jsut shifted the time but also PLACE bc you sure as hell didnt appear in a cavern in the middle of the land, you have wielded incredible magic before and are a researcher, surely theres some way for you to at least TRY to return on your own?? how cool would it have been to find little markers and spots where clearly she has left you some sort of message, maybe like a way for you to do something that helps her in the past, USE THE WEIRD ASS TIME BUBBLES FROM THE TUTORIAL AGAIN!! send back something she needs to return! go and talk with impa and purah to determine what shes trying to tell you, help her along the way and in the end she makes her triumphant return, having grown and learned with what she did instead of regressing her chaarcter to the big eyed maiden that you get as a reward at the end through unsatisfying bs reasons and hurray she doesnt even remember, perfect little fairytale of no consequences wahoo- im salty about this let me be salty-)

you can absolutely combine a free to explore open world with good story without restricting it by much, like locking the bossfight behind aquiring the mastersword doesnt feel like that big of a change and its not making it a whole lot more linear, most people do it anyway right?

(also a thing im doing in my rewrite of it is locking certain things for some parts, it just makes sense if you are trying to tell a story, but its pretty clear now they werent trying to do that, just throw you into a box of virtual toys, and i think thats just sad)

*yeah actually whats up with the sonau/rauru putting their little nuclear super weapon storage room inTO THE ANCIENT RELICT OF THE FORGOTTEN PAST TEMPLE BEHIND THE BIGGEST STATUE OF HYLIA IN EXISTENCE?? you cant tell me all those ancient ruins (springs, forgotten temple) were made AFTER all of the shitshow that went down in totks past; putting it behind that statue? building it into there feels incredibly disrespectful, maybe it makes more sense if you just see it as the devs wanting to put somethign new there, but if you consider it in universe its just ??? also HOW is any of it in such a good shape??, it looks like they buried sonia there a year ago, the structures look like they just came out of a 3d printer despite supposedly being older than their recorded history??

on that note ... how does the room with the order and location of zeldas tears make sense .. are you telling me someone of the past ran around after dragon zelda recording where her fucking tears went down and what markings it made on the ground and then built a room next to the nuclear weapon storage room with the laughably unceremonial grave of the fucking queen just to put all that into statue form? also none of the geographical things changed in ALL that time?? the castle is drawn on there too so i guess that was super fresh then since it "was built above ganondorf as a symbol of royal blahbla" at least in botw you had the photos on your SHIEKAH stone to recover them once you found the place they were taken in, it felt so organically integrated ..

#ganondoodles talks #zelda #totk #ganondoodles rants #this game drives me nuts (derogatory) #random ramblings ramble #the fact that all the sonau stuff is basically unscathed through all that time is like #that looks less ancient than the shiekah stuff #actually kinda boring #like unpainted blocks of toys #it just all doesnt fit together in my eyes #its gonna bother me forever #you had it all and didnt do anything with it #i love botws world #it had so much potential #never gonna get over the lost potential of it all #this could have been so epic #whenever i hear the trailer music my heart hurts bc i just have to imagine what it would be like #what i thought it was gonna be given the fantastic music #still dream of painting like a trailer for my totk rewrite using the trailer music #but god that aint doable #and would be nuked ofthe internet in an instant lol

[ghostlykeyes]

Hi Keyes! Nice to meet you ❤️ I was wondering if you would accept a request 👉🏻👈🏻

Its my first time asking for requests! So sorry if Im not clear enough of if I forget the rules. Im totally new at this T-T

I had this idea in my mind for a long time and I was wondering if you could consider writing it! Kayn x fem reader headcannons where Kayn falls haaaard for reader cause he found a partner in crime in her. They both like to cause a little trouble here and there, and also he found someone that could drive ever FASTER than him.

Omg Im so in love with him 😮‍💨❤️

Thank you and hope Im not breaking any rules!

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

HEARTSTEEL KAYN/TROUBLEMAKER READER ♡ No TW's ♡ SFW ♡ Nice to meet you, you're so sweet!! Thank you for your fantastic request, I loved writing it! I hope you'll feel free to request more in the future (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

KAYN

Instead of traditional nicknames like "honey" or "babe", Kayn exclusively calls you his little demon. Given your wild side, it's pretty accurate.

All it takes to get Kayn to do something is a dare. He has a hard time turning down dares as is, but if it's coming from you? His partner in crime and chief enabler? Oh, no way in hell he's backing down. Naturally it works for big, bold things: popping a wheelie on the Paranoia MV motorcycles, climbing a water tower, vandalizing a cop car. It also works for small things, too, though. Dare him to get you a glass of water or give you a kiss and he'll roll his eyes, but comply. "Oh, a dare, huh? You know I can't turn those down." He folds to your innocent, cute demands like paper. Just be mindful, though; he knows you're a troublemaker too, and he's not afraid to throw a dare or two of his own your way.

Whenever Ernest is naughty, fingers immediately point at you and Kayn. "He gets it from you two," the rest of Heartsteel claims. Kayn just shrugs. "We're his favorite," he defends (not true—Ezreal is clearly Ernest's favorite, but it's best not to rub that in Kayn's face). "Of course he's gonna take after us." He rubs Ernest's ears, completely ignoring the fact that he just stole food off the counter or shredded K'sante's favorite shoes. "Yeah, you're our little monster, huh?" If you didn't know any better, you might think Kayn is encouraging the dog's troublemaking...

(He is. He totally is. You've literally seen him sneak Ernest a treat after turning one of Sett's plushies into a chew toy.)

Kayn nabbed your phone one time and set the home screen as a picture of his mug shot from the music video. Not to be outdone, you stole his phone and set the home screen as a picture of your mug shot. Kayn has nothing but questions. "Is this real?? The fuck did you do? Why do you look so hot in this..." Of course, you don't tell him if it's real or staged. You can't give away all your secrets so easily, now, can you?

There's a change jar in the Heartsteel apartment kitchen marked "Kayn and (Y/N)'s Bail Fund". At first you thought it was a complete joke, but then you noticed Ezreal drop a twenty in there after Kayn broke a Taco Bell drive-thru window during a night-out. Now you're not so sure. Either way, hopefully you'll never have to use it for that.

Every single time you and Kayn go somewhere, it's a race. You line your cars up at the mouth of the parking garage and then you fucking go. You've raced to McDonald's for lunch, raced him to his rehearsals, you even raced him to a funeral one time. There are no rules except 'get there first', and yes, this little game has resulted in multiple speeding tickets. But whatever what's a small fine compared to an adrenaline rush? They wouldn't put 130 on the speedometer if they didn't want you to do it.

Kayn and you have been permanently banned from a fair handful of establishments. Reasons why include: totaling a go-kart, throwing bowling balls overhead, bribing a ring toss worker to get a gigantic Bulbasaur without playing the game (Sett really, really wanted it). And that's the beginning. Don't even get Yone started on the infamous Laser Tag Incident...

The perfect date for you two is a rage room. Yone got you and Kayn passes for a local rage room for Kayn's birthday one year. Playing frisbee with glass dinner plates? A surprisingly good time. Sure, they may have asked you not to come back after Kayn got a little rowdy with an old radio and an extension cord (you asked him how high he thought he could slingshot the thing and the answer was "pretty fucking far", which of course he had to prove), but it was a good time regardless. Whenever Kayn's feeling extra stressed and you don't want to deal with the fallout around real property damage, you take him to a rage room for the afternoon and smash bottles to your hearts' content.

Kayn never paid much attention to minor scrapes and bruises before meeting you. But, since you're now hopping fences or slipping through open windows together, he's suddenly become attuned to the bumps acquired while daredevilling. He keeps a small container of band-aids in his bag just for you. "I might have some bandages in here," he grumbles whenever you get scraped up. "Dunno if I used 'em all." (Of course he hasn't. They're your band-aids and he wouldn't dream of using one.)

Whenever Kayn just needs to talk, the two of you often sneak into an old building to do it. Getting caught puts your nerves on edge, for sure, but it allows Kayn to pretend he's not anxious about discussing his own feelings or worries. Of course he feels vulnerable, you two are trespassing! That's totally why his palms are sweating and his chest feels tight. It has nothing to do with his deep-seated reluctance to talk about his emotions. If you can tell Kayn's wound up extra tight, offer to sneak into a nearby community pool or abandoned gas station late at night. Under cover of darkness, in the silent hallways of a vacant building, Kayn lets you take a peek under his dark shell.

#heartsteel #heartsteel headcanons #heartsteel kayn #heartsteel x reader #kayn #kayn x reader #kayn/reader #sheida kayn #lovewhatsnotreal

[kittyball23]

Memory (a Trolls fanfic)

Summary: JD, Spruce, and Clay come to terms with their Grandmother Rosiepuff’s fate

A/N: Requested by JoltJackalope on Wattpad :)

__________________________________________

“I can’t believe she’s… gone.”

Spruce said the words slowly, like he was having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that his Grandma had died. John Dory and Clay peered at him with similar looks of disbelief.

“I mean, I guess I can believe it,” Clay spoke up in response, “but just… not the way Branch said it happened…” He thought about how their youngest brother had described it, picturing a Bergen swiping her away to a terrible fate. His stomach churned in an unpleasant manner.

John Dory’s imagination wasn’t too different, and it made him feel guilty. Being the oldest, he had the most memories of their Grandmother. How she’d supported the five of them, encouraged them to follow their dreams and cheered them on as they did so. One particular moment stuck out to John Dory. And, unbeknownst to him, the moment he was thinking of was a significant one in Spruce and Clay’s memories too…

“Let me take you to a better plaaaace,

I’m gonna make you kiss the sky tonight

Yeah if you let me show the waaay,

I’m so excited, to see you excited!”

John Dory just couldn’t seem to quit singing. He was proud of their song - it was catchy, and a hit among everybody in the crowd who’d come to see their band. Singing it twice didn’t seem to be cutting it, but the show had to come to an end. Thankfully, he could rest at ease knowing that he and his brothers would perform again.

While JD was more focused on the performance part of it, Spruce couldn’t help but recall how many girls he’d made faint after they’d caught a glimpse of his exquisitely toned body. Clay on the other hand was a bit sore, having given it his all when it came to the dancing, but he knew it was completely worth the grand applause the audience had given afterwards.

“They loved us!” their younger brother Floyd exclaimed, looking absolutely touched by the prospect of so many Trolls supporting their music as he made his way backstage with the others.

“Of course they loved you, sweetie,” a gentle voice responded. The boys grinned a tad wider when their Grandma approached them, with Baby Branch inside of a little carrier at her front. The youngest BroZone brother was only a couple months old, still not able to join his older bros up on the stage to dance and sing just yet, but it didn’t mean that he couldn’t cheer them on. He clapped his hands enthusiastically and blurbled happily.

“You were ALL wonderful,” Grandma Rosiepuff continued, gently leaning over to caress Floyd’s cheek. He blushed a little and she chuckled fondly. “Do you know why?”

The magenta Trolling looked up at her. “Why?” he asked in a small, curious voice.

“Because each of you is special,” she responded. She looked over at JD first and smiled.

“John Dory, you had a dream and you made it come true. You created an amazing band that you love being a part of.  Just remember that with the right determination, and with your brothers by your side, you CAN achieve anything that your heart desires.”

JD beamed. He liked the sound of that! Grandma was right. His brothers believed in him. And he believed in his brothers. They could accomplish TONS of things if they just continued to work together as a team!

Their Grandma addressed Spruce next. “Spruce, you have a passion burning inside of you unlike anybody else I’ve seen. You'll succeed on what you set your mind to, so long as you never let it burn out."

Spruce smiled at her. “I won’t, Grandma,” he promised.

“Ooo, ooo, me next!” Clay called out, jumping up and down, and raising his hand up in a playful manner.

Rosiepuff giggled. “Clay, being able to make anybody laugh is a fantastic gift. You’re a fun little guy, and I don’t think you’ll have a problem knowing how to keep things real when they matter.”

“Nope, I don’t think so either!” Clay chimed back in reply, living up to his jokey personality and doing a goofy little dance.

Rosiepuff had to laugh again, and then spoke to Floyd. “Floyd. Your talent to write songs is beyond incredible. You don’t have to be afraid to sing or dance in front of a lot of people - you have great friends by your side.” She gestured behind him at John Dory, Spruce, and Clay. “If you ever feel like you’re in trouble, just know that they’ll be there for you. Always.”

Floyd responded by giving his Grandma a hug.

In the baby carrier, Branch giggled.

“And I can’t forget about you, Branch!” Rosiepuff said, nuzzling the top of his rich blue hair. “You, my little boy, are so lucky. You have the best big brothers in the world!”

Branch babbled something babyish that they knew meant he was so grateful for it.

Rosepuff smiled down at him, and then opened up her arms to the others. “Come here, boys!”

John Dory, Spruce, and Clay crowded around to join their Grandma, Floyd, and Branch, all warm and happy in her embrace...

... And feeling nothing like that now.

John Dory sure wished his Grandma could hug him right there and then and provide the comfort he needed. Her hugs always felt like they could cure anything, including the guilt he felt for not upholding to her words.

Just remember that with the right determination, and with your brothers by your side, you CAN achieve anything that your heart desires.

Well, he hadn’t had his brothers by his side, and he hadn’t achieved his goal of having BroZone be together forever.

Spruce hadn’t let his passion die down… in some respects. Of those did not include performing though, which he felt bad for. His Grandmother would’ve perhaps been happy that he was able to start and raise his very own family, but a little sad to see that he didn’t have that desire to get up on a stage and sing anymore like he’d used to. He had tried to bury his boyband days behind him, going as far as to even change his name.

For Clay, it was very rare for a joke to slip past his lips nowadays. Grandma had told him to keep things real when they mattered, though he’d taken it to a much farther level. In fact, his humorous side had almost gone away completely. He no longer chuckled or snickered as often as he used to, and he'd believed that being serious was the way he should continue about his life. But, if he was being truthful, he really did miss that side of him that Grandma said could make anybody laugh. Snubbing it felt like snubbing his Grandmother.

Regardless of their individual reasonings, all three brothers felt as though they'd let her down.

John Dory hadn't realized that the one person he might've wanted to speak to again - aside from the brothers he'd silently hoped he'd make up with one day - was his Grandma. There was so much he wanted to tell her about his adventures out with his caterbus Rhonda, seeing the world.

Spruce would've liked to have told her much about his newfound understanding about relationships, and the true love he'd found with his wife that was so much better than any meaningless fling he'd previously had in his youth.

Clay ached to hear her sweet little laugh again, seeing the smile spread on her face that was because of a joke he'd cracked, and wanting to show her the cool tuck-and-roll trick he'd learned in Putt Putt Village.

A simultaneous sigh heaved from the three brothers.

"I mean, we could see her again one day... right?" Spruce asked.

John Dory didn't understand. "Bro, Branch said she died, though!"

"No, dude, he meant, like, somewhere else," Clay clarified, gesturing an arm up and out, the direction towards the sky.

JD cocked his head, not sure what exactly he was supposed to be looking at, until it came to him. His brothers were talking about a better place, one that was not their world full of troubles and regrets. One where Grandma Rosiepuff was free of her suffering, and where they may go one day when they grew old themselves and passed on.

"Ohhh," he said, nodding once and answering honestly.

"Yes. I think so."

__________________________________________ A/N: I guess this could take place when the brothers are waiting for Branch to return after my oneshot "By Your Side"? (and for that matter, before the oneshot "Reconciled")

#trolls #trolls 3 #trolls band together #branch trolls #john dory #spruce trolls #clay trolls #floyd trolls #brozone #grandma rosiepuff #dreamworks #fanfiction #kittyball writes

[dweemeister]

Instant reactions to the 96th Academy Awards

A rough night for me. But there have been rougher ones before. I imagine most of my comments put me in a very lonely minority, as has been apparent the last few months.

But here goes:

For all intents and purposes, yours truly was on the Killers of the Flower Moon train. An extraordinary crime epic from Scorsese, with astounding craftsmanship and fantastic performance from Lily Gladstone. More than what I previously believed possible, a major studio production went out of its way to make sure that its Indigenous American representation on-screen was as genuine as it could possibly be (still imperfect, as the film acknowledges, but what an effort). And yet, KOTFM goes 0/10. I've never had a favored Best Picture nominee be shut out in such a way before. And I'm not surprised at all by it. It was clear that non-American and non-Canadian audiences didn't get the context to the film (a criticism I understand, given the screenplay) and, in other quarters, folks thought it was too long (I admittedly have a higher tolerance for longer movies) and others have said something akin to the fact that they are getting tired over "racial guilt" movies from America. I'm not in the mood to respond to the last one. I think it deserved better tonight. I particularly think Lily Gladstone deserved better tonight.

Stat upheld: two non-white actresses have never won on the same night in Oscar history. History, in and of itself, was always against Gladstone.

Oppenheimer winning? Fine, I guess. It was my #4 choice of the ten Best Picture nominees. I guess Christopher Nolan was overdue, but I have always been a Nolan skeptic. The film certainly is his most humanistic, and I appreciate that. As for the narrative organization and editing trickery? It mostly serves to take me out of the movie. And I don't think Nolan truly understands what thematic film music can accomplish for his movies. I think RDJ should have had much more competition all season long, but he did not. Most people are gonna say this is the return of the Academy's favorite subgenre... the Great Man Biopic. But in composition and structure, Oppenheimer (and even Maestro) resembles very little of the past Great Man Biopics. It'll be interesting to see how history treats this movie.

I disliked Poor Things. I didn't care for its sense of humor, didn't agree with many folks' opinions that it was a magnum opus of female empowerment. I thought it was incredibly male gaze-y and troublingly sanitized its scenes of sex work. Jerskin Fendrix's score was unlistenable outside the context of the film and distracting within it. But it has four Academy Awards and people love this movie, so my opinion can go to heck?

Well done Da'Vine Joy Randolph for her win as Supporting Actress for The Holdovers. I truly hope this opens up a lot more new opportunities for her going for! Wonderful speech.

And speaking of wonderful speeches, both documentary winners got me very emotional. The Last Repair Shop is on YouTube for American and Canadian viewers, and it's simply wonderful. Perhaps the happiest I was all night long! And then came Mstyslav Chernov's speech after winning for 20 Days in Mariupol. Chernov had, arguably, the speech of the night. And I agree with him. I, too, wish he never had to make his film and that he never won this Oscar. But he did his job to document what happened in Mariupol. And for that he (and the Ukrainians suffering and dying in their war versus Russia) deserves our plaudits and support.

Once more, Hayao Miyazaki cannot be bothered to show up to an awards ceremony. It's hilarious! I would have voted Robot Dreams, but The Boy and the Heron is not a winner to sniff at. Spider-Verse will have one more shot.... whenever the third movie comes out?

Good lord, they selected the worst possible winner in Animated Short with War Is Over!. There's an unwritten rule that the Academy, among the fifteen nominated shorts, must select one which will piss me the hell off. And for the second straight year in Animated Short, they have done exactly that, choosing something akin to a soft drink commercial.

Billie Eilish and Finneas are now the youngest and second-youngest ever to win two Oscars, after Luise Rainer (Best Actress for 1936's The Great Ziegfeld and 1937's The Good Earth). That feels very, very weird. In both cases of this record.

The "I'm Just Ken" performance? Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Like Ken)??? Busby Berkeley choreography? What do the kids say? Inject that straight into my veins? It was wonderful.

And speaking of nods to cinema history, I'm so glad they led off the stunt performers tribute with Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd. :,)

And congratulations to Godzilla Minus One and its Best Visual Effects win! After seventy years, Godzilla is now an Oscar-winning franchise, and its win percentage is 100%! Simply wonderful!

I think the moral of the story is that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has been gradually internationalizing over the last decade. And the results of that were very clear tonight. Does that mean I'm too provincial in my tastes? I don't know. But wins such as Emma Stone's, Anatomy of a Fall, The Boy and the Heron, and Godzilla are demonstrative of that.

I'm glad this season is over. I certainly hope that Killers of the Flower Moon will be looked upon more kindly by history and time, without the bells and whistles of awards campaigning and a fuller understanding of why it was made the way it was.

This month has been fun! But now it's time to see movies again without the lens of awards for a long, long while.

#Oscars #96th Academy Awards #Oppenheimer #Killers of the Flower Moon #Poor Things #The Holdovers #The Last Repair Shop #20 Days in Mariupol #Robot Dreams #The Boy and the Heron #War is Over! #Billie Eilish #Finneas #Godzilla Minus One #Christopher Nolan #Martin Scorsese #Yorgos Lanthimos #Emma Stone #Lily Gladstone #31 Days of Oscar

[pinkorchidsinspring]

Don’t blame me for what you made me do.

Isn’t it fascinating the almost blantantly jaded breathy pointing she does to us -the audience? The same people that make her money? The same people that keep her at the top?

But we all know we don’t keep Taylor at the top. Taylor keeps Taylor at the top. Taylor hides away the deepest most true parts of herself just so she stays on top. Because her team believed the public would demantle her if she comes out. Or if she even admits that any of her songs are about a woman. Let alone more than one.

Taylor has admitted many times that when she writes songs she knows how they’re gonna be preformed, and she can envision the music video while writing them. Taylor knew she was gonna point directly at the fans during the “don’t blame me” performance, at The Eras Tour- the tour of her past eras, experiences, emotions, and obstacles.

Taylor will go down in the history books, not only as one of the few female artists that has made the switch from country to pop, but as an artist that did everything to make her fans happy. Even if it means sacrificing her happiness in the process.

I mean Taylor even wrote a song about it! In one of her most vulnerable “fantastical” (otherwise known as stories about her real life but she can’t say that) eras. It’s all right in front of us. Evermore brought us some of the most sad break up songs of the sister albums, and happiness is one of them.

I see this for what it is

She sees the relationship for what it is.

But now I'm right down in it, all the years I've given

All the years she’s given? Not lost, she chose to give them up.

Is just shit we're dividin' up

All the hiding and effort means nothing now that it’s over.

Showed you all of my hiding spots

All the places away from the public eye where she could be herself without fear.

I was dancing when the music stopped

She thought everything was fine, and that the partner was perfectly okay with her hiding for her reputation.

And in the disbelief, I can't face reinvention

She can’t face the idea that her partner was so done with her hiding that they left. She cannot find it in herself to do what she did from 1989 to Reputation, or from Lover to Folklore. She can’t simply gloss over the pain she’s in, and not explain why. She cannot go from in love to sad, jaded songs again. She can

barely find it in herself to lie again.

I haven't met the new me yet

She hasn’t met the new her, the single her, the out her. She still hasn’t met the her that Miss Americana was supposed to out.

I can't make it go away by making you a villain

She can’t vilify her partner for not wanting to hide anymore. It’s not fair.

I guess it's the price I paid for seven years in Heaven

Happiness was the last song written for evermore, only a week before it’s release on January 7th, 2021. Most likely started in 2020, and finished New Year’s Eve/day. Written in 2020. 2020 - 7 = 2013

Which supermodel did she meet that year?

And I pulled your body into mine

Every goddamn night, now I get fake niceties

She had her for a while, every single day of those 7 years, and then in this break up era of their relationship in 2020, she only gets surface level attention. The “how are you?”, “What’re you doing right now?”. As if Taylor wasn’t sleeping next to her for 7 years.

No one teaches you what to do

When a good man hurts you

Karlie was a truly good one, but once again Taylor uses “man” instead of the truth.

And you know you hurt him, too

Taylor knows that she hurt karlie, and she just reinforces that by using a male pronoun instead of a female pronoun. By hiding instead of telling the truth.

By keeping the fans and her reputation happy whilst sacrificing her love for this person and in tandem sacrificing her own happiness.

My other song analysis’ if you’re interested <3 they’re not as sad promise :)

#im sorry my posts are so long #i have a point to make #thx for reading #taylor swift #gay icons #gaylor swift #blondie #kaylor #tay tay #gaylor #karlie kloss #happiness #evermore #reputation #lover #1989 #2013 #Spotify #I do think they’re together now tho fs #also I’m so sorry to break your soul w this lyric breakdown #lyrics #lyric debunk #eras tour #the eras tour #Pinkorchidsinspringposts

[neon-junkie]

Why can’t this be Love? - Chpt.1

Summary: You've never really fit in, despite trying, despite being on the cheerleading team, despite awkwardly socialising with the popular crowd. It's not for you - these people aren't for you. Yet, you don't know how to escape! Do you continue following a dead end? Or finally break away?

The answer is made for you after your 'date,' a boy on the basketball team, bails on you, and uninvites you from some stupid basketball after party. Whatever, that's fine. But what's not fine is the agonisingly long walk home. Oh, in the dark, late at night!

However, your saviour finds you, and not only does he save you from walking home alone, but the conflicting feelings that you've spent the last few years with.

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Female Cheerleader Reader

Reader Description: Reader is female and uses she/her pronouns. Not much detail is given about her appearance, other than she wears heavy eyeliner, and is clearly an outcast that is trying to fit in.

Word count: 1.8k

Tags: Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Slow burn, Awkward flirting, Drinking, Angst, Comfort, Generic High School Bullying, Denial of feelings, Feelings realisation.

[Chapter 2]  [Read on AO3]

Notes: oh my gooddddd. EDDIE!!! AHHHHHH!!!! hes so fucking cute!!!!!!!! this man has brought me out of my writers block that i've been suffering with for MONTHS.

I haven't written anything for ST before, so sorry if anything is out of character. I also have no fucking clue how American schools work, so I'm going to avoid mentioning it at all costs. The schooling system in the UK is waaaay different!!

This is set a good couple of months before S4 starts. Fic title is inspired by a Van Halen song hehe.

Anyway, enjoy. This is gonna be a series. IDK how long it'll be, but we'll see where this freak takes us!

Chapter 1 - Curbside Collection

Boys.

Stupid boys.

Stupid boys, or specifically, a singular boy, that has bailed on you after tonight's first-of-the-year basketball game.

Really, what did you expect?

"I want to spend tonight with the guys," your date had said. "You can get a ride home with Misty, right?" he asked, referring to your friend - your friend that hadn't even come to tonight's game, considering she isn't into the sport, let alone in with the 'popular crowd.'

Not that you are, either.

Cheerleading is something that your parents pushed on you, back in Middle school, back when they thought their "darling little girl" was somewhat ordinary. Back when you hadn't discovered rock music, Lord of the Rings, and skinny jeans.

But, oh god, you would never show those things to your parents! To them, you're their perfect high grade daughter, who's excelling in her classes, and attends cheerleading training twice a week.

If only they knew.

If only they knew that you were the 'weirdo' of the bunch, the strange girl that is always shoved into the heaviest point of the cheer pyramid, carrying everyone's weight, whilst those on top get all the praise for their "fantastic tricks!"

Regardless, despite your heavy eyeliner and brooding expression, you somehow managed to catch the attention of a boy on the basketball team. It was probably a dare, which would explain why he's bailing on you now, leaving you to walk a few miles home, alone, in the dark...

Fuck!

After zipping up your jacket, you begin your soon-to-be exhausting walk home - a walk that would have been far quicker in your 'dates' car. At least it's not cold tonight; there's a slight chill to the September air, but you'll soon warm up once you get moving, and maybe when you crack open one of the few ciders in your backpack. The ciders that were meant to be saved for tonight's after party, but it seems you're uninvited...

A bottle of cider is pulled from your backpack, and once the chilled bottle comes to rest in the palm of your hand, you suddenly realise that you don't have anything to open it with. Fuck. Can God give you a break already?!

Your mind trails back to a trick you saw a few months ago, where one of the basketball lads opened a bottle using the side of the curb. You wander another street onwards before deciding to attempt that trick, wanting to be out of view of the school, and your classmates, who thankfully live in the opposite direction to you.

One knee meets the gravelled road as you crouch down, bringing the bottle of cider into position. You let out an uneasy sigh as you remember how that guy did it; he used the heel of his hand to crack the cap against the curb, and after a few attempts, the cap popped right off. Of course, he called it "easy," but after your first few attempts, the cap is definitely not budging, and your hand is slowly starting to throb with every hit.

"For fuck’s sake," you curse as you hit it one more time, desperate for the taste of lukewarm cider, a stranger that'll keep you company on your painful walk home.

One more hit, and you let out a grumble as you give up. Your head rolls back to the sky, and whilst still in cheerleader uniform, you let out a soft, "fuck," cursing God (or whatever is up there) for not letting you have a drink on the walk home.

That's when a chuckle catches your attention, and you lock sights with the last person you'd ever expect to interact with.

"Are you trying to open it? Is that what you're trying to do?" Eddie Munson asks with a cheeky smile on his lips. He's leaning against a lamp post, mere meters away from you. His arms are crossed, with one hand fiddling with the ends of his curly hair, almost as if he's nervous, but covering it up.

Eddie is, from what you've seen, a strange guy. And you don't just mean because he likes rock music, and plays D&D. Oh, no, there's something about this man that isn't quite right. Trauma? Perhaps? Shit, maybe you two have something in common.

You've never interacted, minus a brief interaction a few days ago. Your 'date' had shot him a degrading comment after passing him in the halls, and Eddie had responded with a laugh, and a comment that had you almost in tears.

"Your jeans are always so tight, Munson. No wonder your dick's so small, it must be suffocating in there," your date had sneered. A weak comment, but whatever, you just wanted to get to your next lesson, but someone was eager for a fight. It must have been his hormones acting up, or just boys being boys.

Eddie, despite being on his own, a lone wolf without the company of his misfits, had chuckled as he chalked up his reply. "Oh, he's just fine. He's a little sore right now," Eddie replied.

Your date raised his brow, and Eddie continued his comeback. "I mean, fucking your mom is a tiring chore, but someone has to do it, right? Which is why I'm able to fit in these tight jeans."

You couldn't help but laugh. A 'your mom' joke? Classic.

Your date shot you a disgusted glance, and hey, maybe that's the reason why he ditched you tonight. Maybe it's been sitting on his mind this whole time - his beloved cheerleader had giggled at a joke that the freak Munson has cast. How sensitive!

Coming back to the present, you let out a defeated, "yeah."

Eddie chuckles once more, although you know he's not laughing at you, but rather, with you. "I'm surprised your boyfriend isn't here to thirst your quench," Eddie comments with a shrug.

"Boyfriend," you scoff under your breath. "He's never been my boyfriend, especially not now."

Eddie looks genuinely sympathetic, and bridges the space between you two with a few lanky strides. "I take it you really need that drink then, huh?"

A nod is all you need. No puppy dog eyes, no heart-warming story. Eddie takes the bottle from your grasp, and pops the cap off by using one of his chunky rings, rather than the curb. He smiles as you take a large gulp, instantly feeling a buzz throughout your body, despite it being no more than 4% alcohol.

Placing the bottle down on the curb, you swing your backpack over your shoulder once more, and say, "here," as you pull out another cider, and offer it to Eddie.

"Are you sure?" Eddie questions, only to be taken back as you shove the cider into his hands.

He pops the cap off his own cider, and grins before taking a gulp. "Here," Eddie repeats as he offers you his hand, pulling you up from your awkward gremlin pose, now with an open bottle of cider in your hand. Your backpack is slung over your shoulders, and a small gust of wind follows the movement, dancing along the hemline of your skirt - a minor movement, but you're certain Eddie's eyes trailed down there before meeting yours.

"So..." Eddie groans. "Do I dare ask where your 'not boyfriend' is?"

"Probably at the after party. I dunno," you shrug.

Eddie's thumb reassuringly rubs over the back of your knuckles, and only then do both of you realise that your hand is still in his. You both break away, begrudgingly, but hey, maybe it's for the best? The freak holding hands with the weirdo cheerleader is a rumour that'd spread like hot fire around the school, and you don't fancy dealing with the backlash.

"Woah, hang on," Eddie nervously laughs as he raises his spare hand. "You mean, you've been uninvited to the after party? Or are you refusing to attend?"

"Your first assumption was right," you shrug, and take a swig from your drink. "Well, I think I was?"

Eddie remains quiet, but raises both brows with a gesture that silently reads, 'go on.'

After grumbling, you begin explaining. "I don't know what happened. Tonight was normal, or as normal as it can be. I was cheering, and he was playing basketball, but as soon as the game was over, he approached me, and said that he wanted to spend tonight with his friends..."

Eddie nods softly, listening to you ramble, using him like a therapist, still standing on your lonesome on the side of the road.

"...His friends were in the background, and they were... laughing. I just accepted it and left. When I went to change out of my uniform, the other girls were also laughing, so I didn't bother changing. I just grabbed my bag and left."

Your eyes focus on the floor as you let out a sigh, your shoulders slumping as disappointment takes over, and there's faint tears brewing in the corner of your eyes. Despite not being able to see Eddie's expression, you can feel sympathy radiating from him, and in a wild daydream, you'd throw yourself into his arms in hopes of finding comfort.

Little do you know, Eddie would happily comfort you.

"So..." Eddie heavily exhales, bringing your attention back to him. "Let me walk you home, then."

Your expression softens, no longer casting an imaginary scowl at your ex-not-boyfriend. Eddie Munson, the freak, has not only helped you open your cider, and listened to your therapy worthy rant, but also wants to walk you home?!

Obviously, you're going to accept his kind gesture. Being a woman has waaaaay too many flaws, and walking home alone is one of the main ones. Having Eddie there almost eliminates that target, even if Eddie is lanky, and only fights using the roll of a dice.

However, what is going to come of this if someone sees you two? A cheerleader and a freak, walking home together, joint ciders in hand. Fuck, both of you are going to get it in the neck, and probably from the same bunch of people. Social circles aren't meant to cross, especially opposite ones, but you've never really fit into the 'popular' squad.

"You're more than welcome to say 'no,'" Eddie sheepishly comments, his eyes trailing from yours to focus on his cider instead.

Shit. You moron! You haven't even responded!

"No. I mean, yes! I'd love for you to walk me home, but do you live this way? I don't want you going out of your way to-"

"-Yeah," Eddie cuts you off. "Sure, I live this way," he shrugs.

Ugh, he's lying!! However, you don't fancy rejecting his offer - not only is it a bonus to walk home with someone, but he's also so... interesting. Entreating. Perhaps even... cute? With that curly, untamed hair, and his lanky frame that reminds you of a baby deer attempting to walk for the first time.

"Come on, Princess," Eddie says with a light laugh as he takes a few strides forwards, practically bouncing on his heels with excitement. "Let's get you home!"

Taglist: @bubblegumcat229​, @buckys2thicc​

If you would like to join the taglist, then please drop me a message!!

#strangerwriting #stranger things #why cant this be love #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #female reader #f!reader #fem reader #stranger things 4 #stranger things s4

[shannonallaround]

Knuckles Show Thoughts

This is just an overview but here we go. Spoilers ahead.

Parts were a fun experience. I cringed so much during this show though

Really liked all the ex-GUN bad guys 😈

Genuinely enjoyed the first two episodes for the most part—particularly the evil humans trying to get Knuckles, and Knuckles' interactions with the other Wachowskis.

We didn't get enough of the Wachowskis 🥲🥲🥲

Pachacamac—WHAT THE HECK. I mean it was funny in principle, but also so weird??? I didn't know how to feel about that. I'm just gonna say that Knuckles was meditating and that's what he experienced, and Wade's vision was a fever dream. Wades bowling alley vision was so cringe.

I loved Wade's mission-impossible vision of himself that was hilarious and awesome 😂 Honestly that whole episode was just fun and cool.

KNUCKLES GLIDING WAS COOL

The writing quality REALLY dropped in the third and fourth episodes. They felt like filler and much more amateur in terms of acting direction and pacing. It felt like the human actors were asked to improv, but they were given way too little direction within which to improv, and then their stuff wasn't cut or edited through enough afterwards. The pacing was very off as a result, especially in the third one.

Genuinely hated Wade's sister for the entirety of the 3rd episode. However, I think a lot of her character's despicableness was again a symptom of too much improv and not enough thinking through her character's behavior in advance by the writers.

I totally thought Wade's sister was gonna end up having lied about her position in the FBI, or was gonna end up being a janitor there or something, because she wanted to impress her family and suffers from the same self-doubt Wade does. I think that actually would have been way cooler for her character growth.

The one part I truly loved in the 3rd episode was the Jewish folk music during the epic fight around the candles! :D That was by far the best part of the episode.

Wade's mom really grew on me by the end. I like her a lot.

Overall I enjoyed the last two episodes. THE BAD GUY LORE WAS SO INTERESTING. It was really cool worldbuilding! I wish we could have gotten more of that. The bad guys talking to each other about their motivations relating to GUN was one of the neatest parts of the series and it lasted for about 5 minutes.

I really liked hating Wade's dad (as I was supposed to). I was very suspicious of him from the beginning and honestly did not want him to have a redemption arc, and I was not disappointed. Westley my beloved he was fantastic.

LOVED how Knuckles secretly knew about the bad guys' plan to have Wade betray him through using Wade having him use his earpods that was so genius and made me happy

The rings becoming an endless loop void thing was cool.

Knuckles' fire abilities were not nearly as cool to me as they probably were supposed to be. I get they were a reference, but it changes things a lot in this universe lore-wise and I'm not sure I like that.

The ending was kinda cool, but it felt very rushed. Wish we could have seen that cool battle mec for longer, and that guy could have been a direct opponent for longer. And Knuckles passing out was angsty and dramatic! But it felt like that moment deserved a lot more time.

KNUCKLES' ARC WAS NOT FINISHED. Whyyyyyy did we not get a scene at the end where Maddie, Sonic, and Tails are frantically looking for Knuckles and they're super worried about him?? Knuckles should have come back to them all freaking out that they can't find him anywhere and it's been like THREE DAYS, and he goes up to Maddie and humbly explains to her where he's been (helping Wade) and that he's sorry he's left, but that he realized that he had somewhere to return to. That he has a home. That the Wachowskis are his new home. And he is sorry; he will go back to being grounded. And there should have been a sweet sibling moment and momma moment between them all where they hug or something ahhhh. Again, WHY did we not get this??? I must write a scene to fix it.

More about the previous point because I'm not done. In the first Sonic film, the climax of Sonic's arc was when Tom said "he was my friend", but the actual completion of that arc was when Tom and Maddie invited him to live with them and be their kid. With Knuckles, we only got the climax of his arc (Wade saying he had a home) and not the conclusion (returning to his family and home). We were cheated!

WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO THE GUY KICKED ONTO THE MUSHROOM PLANET IN EP. 1?

#overall verdict was that PARTS were fun… but I’m not gonna consider it canon because there was way too much weird and not enough resolution #knuckles tv show #knuckles show #knuckles series #knuckles tv show spoilers #spoilers #sonic movie #sonic wachowski #knuckles wachowski #sonic scu

[quill-pen]

A Christmas Confession pt. 2 (Married!ScroogeXReader)

Yeah, y'all are gonna have to let me know how you feel about the song in this one. I've debated on whether to stick some musical numbers in the fic to kind of keep up the atmosphere from the movie that this is a world where people will just randomly break out in song and it's just a normal Tuesday, but I don't know. Musical numbers are really not meant to be in writing like that. Songs, sure--Tolkien comes to mind--but not musical numbers. It's just so hard to make them flow well. Ugh. I don't know. Let me know what you think.

Pairing: Ebenezer Scrooge x F!Reader

Warnings: ANGST--oh, we got ANGST--the ANGSTIEST of ANGST. AND pining--more pining. AND SO. MUCH. CRYING. Seriously, this bitch is dehydrated after this. What else we got? Love confessions, forceful kisses, kisseskisseskisses (seriously, how are these people breathing?) some innuendo, face-smushing and nuzzling, some self-deprecation, Ebenezer being an absolute sweetheart of a husband, RO-FREAKING-MANCE, Prudence being called a "dumb mutt" (it's said lovingly, and with context, it's valid), AAAAAANNNNNNDDDDDD... a song and dance number (seriously, this one is a warning--I am not a dancer nor am I convinced song and dance numbers should be in writing like this)

Summary: With children put away, the adults will play! Or at least some adults will. Other adults--mainly Ebenezer and you--still discover just how much you mean to each other.

A/N: As promised--PRUDENCE!!!

Part 1

When you and Ebenezer had finally made sure all the children were tucked snug in bed and had come back to the sitting room, the Cratchits and Huffmans were in the middle of a rousing game of Snap! and hardly seemed to notice your return.  Even old Prudence was trying to get in on the game, squeezing in between Harry and Hela as she watched on, panting heavily and wagging her tail with her tongue lolling in a giant Mastiff grin.  

“I thought we’d just put the children to bed,” you remarked to Ebenezer with a wry smirk.  Really, the adults were being almost as loud and rowdy with the game as the children had been throughout the night!  Everyone was certainly in excitable spirits this evening! 

The man chuckled and shrugged.  “I suppose when the cat’s away,” he said, arms crossed over his chest as he reclined against the wall.  His slate-blue eyes focused on the game, and he seemed to be enjoying it quietly from afar just as much as he would have if he actually participated in it.  He did so seem to enjoy just taking in things at this time of the year, just reveling in the sights and sounds and sensations of it all, as if he were experiencing them all for only the first time.  You supposed, in a way, he was, considering everything he’d told you about his past up until the last couple of years.  How he’d changed from a miserable, cantankerous, stingy, covetous old miser into the cheerful, charming, kind, generous, all-around lovely, and wonderful man you knew now, you still didn’t understand.  When you’d pressed him for details on it, he’d simply told you it was all too fantastical to believe--that he still didn’t believe it himself sometimes.  Oh, well, it didn’t really matter the reason (although you did have a burning curiosity as to why he credited your late father for being the catalyst of it all).  Whatever it was you were just happy it had happened because you quite liked this Ebenezer.  Your Ebenezer.

My Ebenezer… the thought lingered in your mind in a heady way.  He wasn’t yours--not truly.  If he was really yours you would be sleeping in the same bed instead of separate rooms; sharing kisses and secret whispers and other things that married couples shared.  If he was really yours there would have been something more than a signed sheet of paper and a ring that bound the two of you together, something primal and absolute in nature--God-given.  But there wasn’t, as much as you craved for there to be.  Even so, you couldn’t help but think of him as yours anyway, because it hurt too much to live in the reality of your situation all the time; the fantasy of thinking him yours helped keep the edge off.

Speaking of fantasies, you were half in the middle of one now, staring at him.  It was the first chance you’d had all evening to truly get a good look at the man what with all the running about after children and making your Christmas hostess debut.  Salt-and-pepper hair brushed, slicked, and sculpted back, Ebenezer was dressed in his finest attire: a matching deep blue tailcoat and cravat over a brilliant green, swirling jacquard waistcoat, and pristine white starch-collared shirt; crisply ironed dark green trousers; and black shoes polished to an absolute sheen.  All of it tailored to him perfectly (Particularly the trousers, you thought).  He looked sharp and clean and festive and--as far as you were concerned--like the most handsome man in all of England: a Yuletide Adonis.  But as fine as he looked in all his holiday attire, you found your mind wandering.  And wondering.  Wondering… just what Ebenezer might look like… without that coat… that waistcoat… that cravat… that shirt… and those trousers.  With his perfect coiffure, all teased up and flyaway.  On second thought, maybe it would be nice to leave the cravat--might make for good leverage.  You could have chastised yourself: Such sinful, unladylike places for a woman’s mind to go!  Oh, you were starting to feel warm….

“I win!”

You snapped out of your desirous thoughts with a start, gaze flying away from Ebenezer (who seemed to have not caught you staring, thank Heaven) to your guests.  Harry was currently bouncing up and down, laughing and swinging his arms in the air in triumph.  As if she had been teamed with him, Prudence was jumping around with him, her deep bark resounding enthusiastically around the room.  

Laughing heartily, Ebenezer finally made his way into the room and over to his nephew.  “I say, good show, everyone!” he exclaimed, clapping the younger man on the back.  “What shall we play next?  The night is very young!”

“Oh, might we play blind man’s bluff?” Hela piped up excitedly.  “It’s my favorite!”

“All right, why not?” Ebenezer said.  “But I feel I must warn you, I am very good at Blind Man’s Bluff.”

“And I call that a bluff,” Ethel snickered good-naturedly.

Ebenezer gave her a comically pained expression, clutching dramatically at his chest.  “Woman, you wound me!”  That started the whole group to guffaw.  

“All right,” you called out.  “Blind man’s bluff it is.  But we need to make a bit more room in here; I don’t want to be calling the ambulance on Christmas Eve because somebody split their head open tripping over a footstool.”  With hands on your hips, you pointed a look at beloved but altogether clumsy Harry.

“What?” Harry asked innocently.

“Right then,” Ethel said.  “We’ll let the gentlemen move the furniture.  Ladies, why don’t we help ourselves to some refreshments while we’ve the time?  I don’t know about you young maids, but I’m goin’ to need a little somethin’ to boost my energy afore we go scamperin’ about.”

“I am rather peckish,” Hela agreed.

You, Ethel, and Hela all made your way out of the sitting room to be out of the men’s way as they worked and went into the dining room where the snack foods and drink still graced the table, and would grace it for the rest of the night.  A little Christmas Eve buffet.  You remember how the cook had looked at you when you’d told her that’s what you wanted like you were insane.  (“It’s just not how things are done in England, Ma’am.”)  But in the end, it looked like it was working out.  Certainly, nobody seemed to be complaining.

You were just serving yourself up some wassail when Ethel sidled up to you.  “And just where has your mind been tonight, bud?” she asked, her tone teasing.  

You looked at her in genuine confusion.  “I’m sorry?”

The older woman smirked knowingly, an eyebrow raised.  “I saw you,” she said pointedly.  “Standin’ there, gawkin’ and gappin’ like a lovestruck schoolgirl at Ebenezer all decked out in his togs tonight.”  A sinful glimmer sparked in her blue eyes and her smile turned wicked.  “But I’m willin’ to bet it wasn’t him in his togs you was daydreamin’ about was it?”

Your face immediately flushed a bright, crimson red, only made redder by the fact that Hela giggled.  Oh, you were feeling hot again, but this time not in a good way.  “You both saw me?” you squeaked out, positively mortified.

“Of course, we saw!” Hela laughed with a beaming grin.

“We women who’s been in love before always notice when another woman’s in love.”

“In love,” you repeated with a dry chuckle.  “Is that was this is?  Yes, of course, it is, when all I can think about, all I can see, all I can hear, smell, taste, breathe, feel and hope to want and have is that devilishly wonderful man.”  You instinctively twisted your wedding ring and looked down at it.  The golden band housed both yours and Ebenezer’s birthstones as well as the stone of the month you married; hidden inside the circle, nestled against your skin would be the beautifully scripted words ‘Come what may’--a reminder that, whatever happened in this marriage of convenience with regards to your future where your uncle and inheritance were concerned, you and Ebenezer would both be in it.  Together.  A friend supporting a friend.

The delicate little ring sat so perfectly on your ring finger, so simple yet so fine and elegant and beautiful in its simplicity--just like you liked it.  Just like Ebenezer knew you liked it.  You still couldn’t believe the man had gotten it so perfectly right without even consulting you.  Yes, you’d been friends for a while by that point, and he’d known you quite well; but designing a wedding ring without the input of the woman it was intended for was always a gamble, even one so low maintenance as you.  But somehow Ebenezer had just known.  He always seemed to just know with you.  About everything.  Unfortunately, that only made your unreciprocated feelings for him all the deeper and more painful.

You felt tears prick at your eyes and you tried to blink them back.  “I thought love was supposed to be wonderful,” you trembled, looking at both women in desperation.  “So why am I hurting so much?”

You must have sounded even more pathetic than you thought, because the next thing you knew, Hela was sweeping you up into a big, tight hug and murmuring comforting things into your ear.  You just clutched at her, looking for any sort of contact to empty the heartache into.

“I feel crazy,” you admitted after Hela let you go.  “I mean it--I feel like an absolute mad woman.  I’m married to the man, he’s a long way off from dead, I know there's no other woman, we are best of friends, he cares a great deal for me and takes care of me--even spoils me--adores my siblings like his own, we aren’t fighting--in fact, we’re quite happy in our lives together--and, in the end, our marriage will lead to my gaining my inheritance and finally being out from under my uncle’s thumb.  But even with all that, I feel utterly miserable.”

“And why do you think that is?” Ethel prodded gently, a motherly hand on yours.  

You shook your head, tears still stinging your eyes.  “Because… I love him,” you answered softly.  “I love him more than life itself.  But he… he doesn’t feel the same way about me.”

Much to your shock, horror, and chagrin, the two women burst into uproarious laughter.  

“Oh, my poor, poor child!” Ethel gasped, wiping her eyes.  “I didn’t know you were blind!”

“What?” you asked incredulously.  You didn’t much relish the concept of being laughed at.

“Can you really not see it, Y/N?” Hela asked.  “Truly?”

“See what, pray?”

“Ebenezer!” Ethel cut back in, giving you that sly smile again.  "He's positively besotted with you, lovey!"

You blinked at the Cratchit woman, trying to see if she was having you on. "Ha-ha–no. I think not."

"You think not?" Ethel said. "Why?"  It was a challenge.

"Why do you think he is?" you challenged back.

"I have functioning senses, pet."

"Pardon me?"

“We've all seen the way he looks at you, Y/N,” Hela offered, wrapping a sisterly arm around your shoulders. "As if you're the only woman in existence."

“And the way he smiles at you or whenever your name comes up," Ethel continued, “like your the source of all joy itself!”

Hela went on: “No one could miss how he speaks to you.”

“In all the time since he changed, I’ve never heard him call anyone ‘Sweetness’ except for you,” Ethel declared.  "Not even your Millie!"

“That’s simply because of our friendship,” you insisted. 

“Is it?” Ethel pressed, ever bullheaded.  “Only because of your friendship?”

You scowled a bit at the woman.  “I don’t think I need to remind you that Ebenezer’s and my friendship runs a bit more deeply than most,” you firmly stated, “as well as a bit… unconventionally.”

“You don’t say!” Ethel gasped sarcastically.

“But it does not mean that we are in love with each other,” you continued on, scowl deepening.  “Yes, while I’ve come to love Ebenezer because of it, it seems quite clear to me that he continues to see me as nothing more than a friend.”

“Oh, it seems quite clear to her,” Ethel pointed out, giving Hela a pointed look while jutting a thumb at you.  The Indian woman tittered.

You rolled your eyes in complete exasperation.  “That’s it,” you deadpanned, throwing back the last bit of your punch and walking away.  “I’ve had enough of being laughed at for one evening.”

“Can’t help you much, if you wish to think yourself unloved, sweet,” Ethel called after you.  “Just keep in mind what we said!”

You stormed out of the dining room and through the hall back towards the sitting room, slowing down when you heard the jolly singing of Christmas carols accompanied by Prudence’s howling.  Creeping to the door of the sitting room, you quietly and carefully peeked inside.  The men had moved the more trip-hazardous pieces of furniture while leaving the bigger pieces in place to serve as barriers for the game.  Now, they were simply having a jolly old time singing, Harry dancing around with Prudence by the front paws.  All their voices were raised high in song, but Ebenezer’s rose above them all, rich and full and beautiful and full of emotion as always.  Again your heart contracted in love pains for the man who was your husband, yet not your husband.  Why?  Why did he have to be just so. Damn.  Perfect?!  Any sort of flaw would have helped to dull the hurt, but here he was, apparently completely without faults!  Oh, why did this have to happen to you?!

Pulling back behind the door, you sidled away until you could press your back up against the wall.  And there you stayed, listening to your husband-in-name-only and friends singing, your aching heart thudding in your chest to the point you felt your entire being vibrating from it.  Again you began to twist the ring on your finger.  Again you looked at it, this time pulling it off your finger to gaze closely at the script inside.  Could ‘Come what may’, possibly mean something more than your and Ebenezer’s friendship?  Could Ethel and Hela be right?   Could Ebenezer be hiding feelings of love from you, just as you were hiding yours from him?

You wondered….

No.  Ebenezer didn’t hide things from you.  He was above that.  And he had to know you felt something for him because, again, with you, he always knew.  So if he felt something for you in turn, why would he not come out and say it instead of hiding it? What would be the point if he knew you felt the same?  That could only mean he was trying to spare you from being hurt, by pretending as though he realized nothing about your feelings.  By acting like a close friend would normally act.  He was trying to make it easier for you–the rejection.  In reality, he was just making it that much harder.  

With a heavy sigh, you slipped your ring back on.  The little weight it provided was both sad and comforting at the same time.  You pushed off the wall and moved towards the windows, using them as a mirror as you checked yourself over.  You tidied your hair, straightened your dress, and took deep, long breaths to try and calm yourself.  It was Christmas Eve and tomorrow was Christmas.  You had company--most of which were children–and tomorrow you would have more.  You weren’t going to turn into a blubbering mess over things that couldn’t be helped--that wouldn’t be a good hostess.

“Ah-ha, Y/N!”

You turned from the window and smiled at Bob and Harry.  “Ready?” you asked them.

“Yes!”  Harry exclaimed.  “All ready for the game!”

“I’ll go let Hela and Ethel know,” you said.

“No, we’ll go,” Bob said.  “We want to get something to eat and drink before we start anyway.  You go help Ebenezer with the blindfold--he’s to be the first blind man.”  With that, the two of the hurried off down the hall.

Your stomach dropped out.  You and Ebenezer alone?  You helping him tie a blindfold on?  Presumably, having to be fairly close to him in order to do so--particularly his face?!  Oh, this was not a good situation for you right now--not good at all!

All at once, the cause of your dilemma came walking out of the sitting room, Prudence clicking loyally along at his heels.  Ebenezer was scowling now, fiddling with this cravat, trying to work it loose.  “Damn… bloody… tie,” he muttered.

You couldn’t help the smile that curled your lips or the little giggle that escaped you.  The sight tickled you so; watching him do battle with his own necktie.  And his expressive eyes and brows were almost comically grouchy.

Ebenezer then directed his scowl at you, but there was a definite playful twinkle in his eye.  “And just what might you find so funny?” he demanded.

You smirked at him.  “You,” you admitted.  “You’ll strangle yourself if you’re not careful.”

“And you find that funny, do you?”

“No.  But the way you’re wrestling that tie as if it owes you money, I do.”

“Well, perhaps instead of laughing at my predicament, you would be so kind as to find it within yourself to help me.”  The man was smirking himself now.

You stopped laughing at that.  Immediately you were right back to where you had been, realizing you were going to be close to Ebenezer--very close--and panicking over it.  “Uh-Y-yes,” you stammered, swallowing hard.  Your mouth felt so dry.  “O-Of course.”  Slowly you approached him, feeling as if you were in a daze.  Did he notice?  Oh, please God, don’t let him notice!  Please don’t let him realize the state I’m in!

Ebenezer, now smiling pleasantly as ever, loomed before you. Like a tree. A great, attractive, charming spruce tree of a man.  You came to a stop directly in front of him. He towered over you, the top of your head just reaching his chin. That beautiful, strong, sculpted chin….

Suddenly that chin was coming closer as he bowed down a bit for you to reach his cravat.  "Is that better?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you," you murmured tonelessly.  You reached up and took hold of the cravat and began working your fingers through the knot.  You tried to focus solely on that. Not the fact that you were so close to Ebenezer you could feel his body heat. So close you swore you could hear his heartbeat.  You tried to forget the fact of how close his face was to yours–just a bit above and angled towards you–his warm breath caressing your skin. You tried to ignore that you could feel his eyes on you, tried to ignore that you could smell a mixture of his cologne and his natural scent.  Mother of God, what a heavenly smell!  A man's smell!  Ebenezer's smell.   You fought against the urge to go weak in the knees. Good God, why am I so feeble?

"You look absolutely lovely."

You froze, his silky cravat nearly untied and threaded between your fingers.  Eyes wide, you snapped your face up to his, heart leaping into your throat.  E/c stared into slate blue.

Ebenezer looked just as surprised as you as if he hadn't intended to say that.  But he had, and there was no backing out now.  "I-I don't believe I told you that this evening," he went on, trying to explain the sudden statement.  "And… well… y-you look lovely, Y/N. Very lovely indeed." He cleared his throat and tore his gaze from yours, lips pulling together in a thin line.  His cheeks and ears were tinged the slightest shade of pink. 

"Oh," you said, a bit dazedly. Your eyes fell back to the cravat. "Thank you."  You finished your work and smoothly slipped the tie from his neck, the smooth, body-warmed material seeming to slither into your hand.  You know, technically, you're undressing him, the concept slipped out of the dark, wicked crevice of your mind before you could stop it.  You felt yourself flush all over from both horrified embarrassment and–God help you–flaming desire.  Without a doubt you were your own worst enemy in this!

"Not that you don't normally look lovely," Ebenezer suddenly continued on from his previous statements. His voice was rushed, his tone jittery.  His eyes darted to look everywhere but at you.  "You always look lovely–there is no question of that! It is just that you look particularly lovely this evening. And… well…" he cleared his throat again and forced himself to look at you, "... you look lovely."

A corner of your mouth twitched into a slight smile, Ebenezer's sweet, nervous charm working its way through the veil of panic.  The man could be positively adorable sometimes. "Thank you, Ebenezer," you repeated, your voice sounding more like you this time.

Evidently, your smile and tone were noticeable, because Ebenezer's own lips quirked into a soft smile as well, the nervousness fading from his eyes.  He remained blushing though; that only made him more endearing in your view.

There came an annoyed huff from somewhere around both your legs.  And then-

“Whoa-oof!”

You froze, eyes wide in alarm at the predicament you suddenly found yourself in:  Ebenezer had just quite literally toppled into you!  Your hands were pressed flat to his chest as they’d shot up and out to try and stop his fall, and his hands had come to find purchase on your low waist as he’d instinctively reached out to find something to grab onto a save him from falling on his face.  Speaking of face, his face was against yours, his angular nose slipped right in aside yours, pressing into your cheek.  Your lips just barely ghosted against each other, startled pants of breath mixing together and warming your faces (though that definitely wasn’t the only reason your face was so hot).  You stared pop-eyed directly into each other's eyes.  To top it all off, you were just ever so slightly bent over backward with Ebenezer bowed over you as if the man were taking you into a dip.  And you stayed like that.  For how long, you didn’t know, but you both just stayed, unsure of what to do, or how to react.

A little whine caused you both to look away from each other (though only your eyes moved) and down to see Prudence sitting there between you.  Her loveable brown eyes seemed to sparkle as she looked between you and Ebenezer, her lolling Mastiff grin as wide as ever.  Ridiculous to think it as it was considering she was a dog, you knew immediately that Prudence had done this on purpose.  After all, you’d come to the conclusion a while ago that the dog wasn’t exactly an ordinary dog.  And due to all of that, you had even less of an idea of how to react to this.

“Prudence…” Ebenezer growled warningly, his brow furrowing against yours.

His lips brushed a bit more firmly against yours as he spoke, his growl vibrating his firm chest beneath your palms.  The reaction in you to these sensations was immediate and startling: your breath hitching into a small gasp; a warm mist floating into your mind that blocked out every other thing except the man before you; a great heat flushed throughout your body, warming you to the very center of your being, leaving you feeling lightheaded; your already hammering heart sped up to a flutter; your stomach lurched and twisted and twined in sickeningly beautiful ways; your eyes fluttered to half-mast.  You felt like you could die, cry, and fly all at once, and Ebenezer hadn’t even kissed you yet.  Without thinking, you curled your splayed fingers into the lapels of his coat and gently tugged at him.

The man’s eyes came back to yours and immediately melted into softness upon finding your half-lidded gaze.  Whether he realized what he was doing or not, his grip on your waist tightened ever so slightly.  That caused you to quietly whimper, which in turn caused him to pull you closer.  His hair coif draped down and tickled the side of your face.  His heart--his wonderfully good heart--beat out a strong, steady rhythm against your palm.

Your eyes slipped closed in reverie at the deepening touch.  “Ebenezer…” the whisper of his name escaped your lips before you realized it.

“Y/N,” he returned, voice husky and rumbling even as it was quiet in tone.  He gently pulled you even closer, angling his face so that his lips pressed and slid against your mouth and cheek--not in a kiss just yet, but a sort of nuzzle, flat and flush and warm.  And it felt completely divine: soft and smooth as velvet against your sensitive skin.  Except for his muttonchops, which left a delightfully ticklish twinge behind as the hair brushed against you.  Lightning sparked along your nerves.

You opened your eyes just a bit to look up beneath your lashes to see that his eyes were now closed, looking to be in as much of a trance as you.  God above, he looked heavenly; felt heavenly too.  You felt the slightest hint of pursed, pillowy lips on your cheek, again not kissing yet, just caressing your flesh.  The man was working his way up to it and, by God, you were going to let him!  His process was going too well to interrupt him now--magic was happening!

Slowly Ebenezer pull you into him and straightened the two of you up, his face still pressed to yours, lips against your cheek, your temple, your brow.  He slid them languidly down the bridge of your nose before lifting them off your skin.  The tip of his nose still nudging yours, he opened his eyes and met gaze again.  You’d never seen those slate-blue beauties so liquidy before, the black centers expanded and endless.  The tall man said nothing, but merely let his gaze drift from your eyes down to your mouth and back again, silently asking permission.

God, you wanted to give it!  You wanted nothing more than for him to sweep you into his strong, warm arms and claim your lips and mouth for his own.  You longed to feel him, taste him--longed for it more than you longed for breath.  (If he could have been your breath, that would have been a godsend.)  But… you didn’t give permission.  You couldn’t bring yourself to.  Because you didn’t know for sure what all of this was, what it meant, what it could possibly mean and lead to.  What you did know was if you did give permission, if you let him kiss you, you would be committing an irrevocable act by giving your heart wholly to this man.  He practically had it already, and that was painful enough; but if he took the whole thing and it came to pass that this… display was nothing more than an excess of Christmas cheer mixed with good food and drink you would be shattered beyond repair.  And it would have been better to die than be a walking husk.

Your heart throbbing with love and want and hurt, you forced yourself to turn your face from his.  “Don’t.”

“Y/N?”

Good God, the softness in his voice, his obvious confusion as to why you were pulling away when you so clearly wanted it--it stabbed you right in the gut.  But you had to turn him away.  You had to stop this--to try and protect yourself at least a little bit.  You let him go, pushing away from him.  “Please, don’t.”

He gently reached for you, looking hurt.  “Y/N, please.”

You jerked back from his touch.  “Don’t!”  The tears back in your eyes and spilling down your cheeks this time, you rushed across the hall to the front doors.  I’m dying!  You were sure you were dying--your chest felt like it was going to cave in and you couldn’t breathe because of it.  You felt so incredibly hot like you were being roasted alive.  Air--I need air!   

Throwing open the door, you burst out into the frigid London night and practically stumbled down the stairs.  When you reached the cobblestones your legs gave out from under you and you collapsed into a snowdrift with a muted fwoomp!, the fluffy snow fwooshing up around your skirts to create your own, personal flurry.  You gasped.  Then you retched and coughed, your stomach heaving violently.  Nothing came up, but you retched again and continued to dry heave and gasp for air.  God in Heaven, you felt like hell!  But you could feel the crisp, coldness of the air and snow around you now, and that loosened the tightness in your chest so you could breathe again.  When you weren’t trying to gag up your innards, that is.

“Y/N!” Ebenezer’s horrified voice reached your ears.  Both it and Prudence’s bark sounded muffled through the ringing din in your head, but you heard them all the same, and you felt Ebenezer’s presence come to kneel beside you in the snow.  A warm cloak was draped over your shuddering shoulders.  “Love, are you all right?!”  A hand pressed to your forehead; a wet, black nose sniffed you over in investigation.  “Mother of God, you’re burning up!  We need to get you to the hospital!”   He made to stand, but you grabbed his hand, keeping him with you. 

“I’m all right,” you croaked, eyes on the ground as you still tried to wrestle your breath back.  

He wrenched out of your grip and brought both his hands to hold your shoulders.  “You are clearly not all right!” he insisted, giving you a little shake for emphasis.  “You’re ill, my dear--violently ill!  You could be suffering from cholera--or maybe scarlet fever with as red as you are--or something worse!”

Your head was starting to clear out, the ringing fading away.  You managed to look up at the panicking man and give him a feeble glare.  “Ebenezer, I’m fine,” you said as insistently as you could.  “I’m not ill.”  A whining Prudence pressed her cold nose against your cheek, her gentle eyes worried.  You turned to her, wrapping your arms around her neck and burying your face in her warm ruff.  “You dumb mutt,” you muttered meekly.  “You put me in this position.”

“Well, there must be something wrong,” Ebenezer continued, standing upright in indignance, “because I don’t believe you would be having this violent a reaction to simply not wanting to kiss me.” 

You pulled your face from the Mastiff’s fur and looked up at the man to see his face flushed.  Whether it was from his panic over you,  his anger at your denial of medical aid, or the fact that he had just admitted he’d meant to kiss you, you didn’t know.  Your eyes slipped from his to Prudence again, focusing on her soft, golden-brown fur as you stroked it.  “No,” you agreed softly.  “This didn’t happen because I don’t want to kiss you.”  You stopped petting Prudence and grasped at the cloak, pulling it closer and tighter.  Biting your lip, you squeezed your eyes shut, trying to hold back the absolute storm of tears that you knew was coming.  It had all been building for so long; now everything was about to break loose and turn what should have been the happiest and most beautiful night of the year into an utter disaster.  And all because you just couldn’t keep your emotions in check.  Damn it all, you were so pathetic! 

A choked sob escaped you and you buried your face in the velvetiness of the cloak. 

Once again, Ebenezer was kneeling back at your side, his arms coming around you and pulling you to his chest.  He gently tried to hush you.  “Shhh,” he whispered against your ear.  “Hush now, Darling--I have you.  It’s all right.”

“It’s not all right!” you spat bitterly, face still hidden in the cloak.

“Then tell me, Y/N--tell me so that I might make it right.”  His long, large fingers combed over your hair as he pressed a tender kiss to your hairline.  “Please, tell me, Sweetness.”  He dared to slip a finger beneath your chin and lift your head just enough so he could meet your eyes, which he did so beseechingly.  “Please.”

You stared at him through silent tears for a moment, so many things swirling around inside you that you didn’t know where to start on what to say.  How could you possibly tell him when there was so much?  “How do you not know?” the question finally squeaked out of your throat.  Your vision swam as tears welled up in your eyes, ready to overflow in a torrent.  “When you always seem to just know when it comes to me… how could you not know, Ebenezer?  You knew with my ring; you knew with my wedding dress; you’ve known with every single thing you’ve ever gotten me or done for me or said to me.  H-How can you possibly not know… about this?  How can you not see what you’re doing to me?”

Ebenezer looked both baffled and fearful.  “How can I not know what, Y/N?” he asked urgently.  “What am I doing to you?”

You closed your eyes tight and swallowed hard, tears burning down your cheeks.  God, help me.  “It’s not that I didn’t want to kiss you, Ebenezer,” you started slowly, your voice raspy.  You dared to open your eyes and look at him again.  “I did want to.  I do want to.  God above, ever since you proposed I’ve wanted nothing but to kiss you every day so damn badly it hurts!  Kiss you and…” you felt your cheeks burn in a way that had nothing to do with your tears, “... and more.”  

Ebenezer remained silent, all his attention on you as if he were hanging on to every word falling from your lips.  Well, I least he was going to let you get it out, and not cut you off in the middle with his rejection.  There would be some catharsis in that at least.  

“I-I know it’s… unladylike to say such things.  But I’m not a Lady. … So I suppose the only reason I haven’t said or done anything before now is entirely due to cowardice.”  You took a deep breath and pulled your gaze from the man’s and looked down at your hands as they fiddled with a loose thread at the hem of the cloak.  You knew you wouldn’t be able to look him in the eye when you finally confessed your secret.  You wouldn’t be able to handle the sight of rejection before the word of it came.  “The truth is… I love you, Ebenezer Scrooge.  I love you and I’ve been in love with you for a long while--though I can’t rightly say when it happened; I know it was before we married. … I think even before you proposed.”  You just dared flicker your gaze up to see the man still knelt there, his expression completely stunned.

“The point is, I love you,” you rushed on, looking down again.  “I love you and I don’t want an annulment after I’ve gained my inheritance.  In fact, I don’t ever want to leave or be without you, Ebenezer.  You make my world better just by being a part of it.  Being around you makes me indescribably happy.  Hearing your voice, seeing your smile, listening to your laugh, touching your hand, feeling your arm around me, having you look at me--you are all I could have ever asked for or wanted in life!  Ebenezer, I love you and I want you--all of you, now and forever--as my friend, as my lover, as my husband, fully and truly in every possible sense of the word.  There could never be another for me.  And I know I can hardly hope to dream that you would feel the same way for me and that we could have something more than what we do, and I know that I will probably ruin what we do have by saying these things now--but it simply hurts too much to keep silent any longer!  So if I’ve ruined our friendship now, I’m sorry but-” 

You were suddenly wrenched up off the cobbles and cut off by a pair of lips smashing into yours.  Ebenezer clutched you flush to him, his arm around your waist, holding you with a grip so tight it was like he was afraid you might try to run or fly away from him.  He had one hand tangled into your hair at the back of your head, holding you in place as he angled his face to kiss you as deeply as he could, his nose digging into your cheek.  The kiss was full of tears--both his and yours--searing, and desperate, his hold crushing and painful; and it all felt completely amazing!  It was all you could do to hold onto the man to stay upright and not melt away into a puddle of ecstatic mush.  In that moment you became completely his; his name branded on you very soul.

When he finally broke the kiss, your nose hurt from being smushed into his cheek, your ribs hurt from being crushed to his chest, and you were sure your lips were going to be swollen from the force he’d used, but you didn’t care.  All you cared about was what you had just felt in that kiss, and what you had felt was everything you’d just emptied out of the very depths of your soul being reciprocated back to you.  “Ebenezer…” you breathed against his lips.

“I love you,” the man whispered back, voice cracking with emotion.  Tears trickled from eyes full of sheer passion, devotion, and joy as he gazed almost worshipfully at you from beneath incredibly long, dark lashes.  “God be praised--I love you, Y/N.  More than any words could ever describe.”

“I love-”  You were cut off again by another passionate kiss and you just as eagerly gave into it as the first time, wrapping your arms around Ebenezer’s neck to pull him down closer.  This kiss didn’t hurt quite as much, but it burned just as hotly.  Lights were dancing behind your eyes  as your heart raced, you stomach filled to the brim with thousand of butterflies  His lips felt so perfect, so soft and smooth, burning and soothing at the same time as they caressed yours.  Every once in a while his teeth would nip at your lips, or his tongue would graze ever so slightly against you until at last you pulled him in deeper, opening your mouth for him to explore.  You explored his in turn, groaning at the taste of him as he did with you.   You’d been kissed before, but you’d never experienced anything like this.  It was like Ebenezer’s kisses were made only for you--like his lips and mouth and tongue were made only for you--like he was made only for you.

Several long, blissful seconds ticked by as the two of you stood in each other’s embrace, lips and tongues tangled together, dancing, caressing, molding your mouths into a most perfect union accompanied by a chorus of quiet gasps, moans, and growls.  Had anyone walked by, they would have thought the two of you positively indecent, but neither you nor Ebenezer would have cared.  You wouldn’t have even noticed anybody else.  As far as the two of you were concerned, there weren’t any other people in the entire world; even sweet old Prudence was left quite forgotten bounding and bouncing for joy around you.  There were just the two of you, your love, and the snow falling gently around you.  It was absolutely magical!

When the two of you finally parted again, you were both left panting and flushed.  Slipping your arms down from his neck and around his back, you nuzzled into the steel-haired man’s chest, the softest and happiest of smiles pulling up your swollen lips.  You sighed dreamily: “Oh, Ebenezer….”   His scent filled your nostrils, making your head swim even more than it already was.  You were weightless, floating--absolutely floating.  And you never wanted to stop.

“Y/N,” Ebenezer murmured.  He pressed gentle kisses to your head, his arms wrapped securely around you with hands gently caressing your back, shoulders, and arms.  Adoration for you and only you seeped out of every pore in the man’s body, making you feel as warm and toasty as though were you snuggled up under a thick blanket before the hearth rather than out in the middle of a snowy winter night.  “I never thought I would be able to feel this way about anyone ever again,” he whispered almost to himself.  He closed his eyes and nuzzled into your hair with a gentle smile, inhaling deep and long as though he wished to fill his lungs with your scent just as yours were filled with his.  He chuckled softly, chest rumbling beneath your head.  “Yet here I am, so utterly, impossibly, hopelessly in love with you, I fear I may either die on the spot or soar up and through the heavens forever after hearing that you feel the same way.”

With a giggle, you lifted your face to his again.  “Well, please don’t die,” you gently teased, lifting a hand up to brush a stray hair from his face.  “But you can only go soaring so long as you take me with you.”  You trailed delicate fingers around his left ear, down his cheek, and over his lips

The man leaned into your touch, kissing your fingertips.  “You’ll have to steady me,” he told you.  “I’m afraid I’m not much good at soaring.”  He said it like he actually knew that to be a fact.

“Of course, I’ll steady you,” you assured him, reaching your other hand up now as well to hold his face between them.  You gave him a smile filled with all the love and devotion you had for him.  “I will always steady you, Ebenezer--so long as you guide me.”

“Of course, I’ll guide you,” Ebenezer declared.  He reached up to stroke a callused thumb along your right cheekbone, wiping away what remained of your tears.  “Wherever I go, I will be sure that you are there by my side, step for step--my life partner, my steadying hand…” if it were possible, the look in the man’s slate-blue eyes became softer, “... my wife.”

Your stomach did somersaults; your heart swelled to the point you felt it would burst from your chest and rise into the night sky like a hot air balloon.  ‘Wife’: Ebenezer had called you his wife!  The word brought a fresh wave of tears to your eyes and a lump formed in your throat.  “Truly?” you whispered, almost afraid this was all too good to be true.

As if sensing your fear, Ebenezer cupped your cheek in his large palm and bowed his face to yours, his nose touching yours as he gazed into your eyes with sincerity.  “Truly,” he answered.  “I promise you--with all my heart and soul, Mrs. Scrooge.”

‘Mrs. Scrooge’....  A squeaky cry, escaped you as the tears began to fall again.  You pressed a trembling hand over your quivering lips.

Looking concerned, Ebenezer hugged you closer to him.  “Darling?”

You shook your head, dismissing his worry.  “I’m fine,” you stated, voice muffled in your palm.  “I’m fine, Ebenezer, truly, it’s just… that’s the first time I’ve been called ‘Mrs. Scrooge’ since we married and… and to hear it coming from you is… I…” you dropped off into a fit of unintelligible sobs, unable to find the right words or the ability to say them even if you had.  This….  This was everything you could have ever hoped for and never thought you would have!

With a warm, rumbling chuckle, Ebenezer cradled the back of your head in his palm and kissed your furrowed brow.  “I know, Sweetness,” he soothed.  “I know.  Believe me--it feels the same to say it.”  Smiling, he bowed his head until his lips were right by your ear and whispered rather huskily and with emphasis, “Mrs. Scrooge.”

Whatever last hold you had on yourself, with that it dissipated.  Completely overcome with emotion, you threw your arms around your husband’s neck, tangled your hands in his hair, and all but yanked him down to your lips for another kiss, a wet and sobbing mess as you were.  He didn’t seem to mind the mess you were and kissed you very eagerly back, hands groping at your shoulders and the small of your back

When you parted, you pressed your face into the crook of your husband’s neck, sobbing away the last of your happy tears in privacy.  You were so happy--so terribly, terribly overjoyed!  You hadn’t known happiness such as this existed.  Surely this is what it must have felt like to enter into Heaven. Maybe you were in Heaven.  Maybe both you and Ebenezer had perished from the cold and were now in Heaven together.  For all eternity.  You swore you could hear a heavenly orchestra playing right now, hauntingly beautiful, tender music ringing through the Christmas Eve night, riding on the gentle breeze with the snowflakes.  You were so overcome with joy, you swore you could sing to it, mad as it sounded.

Apparently, you weren't the only one:

“Never knew I could feel like this…” Ebenezer’s voice lifted in song softly beside your ear, “... like I’ve never seen the sky before.”  He pulled out of your embrace and took a step back, eyes cast heavenward and reaching a hand up as though to touch the velvet blackness above. After a second he looked back at you with an adoring smile and reached out to stroke and hold your left cheek.  You nuzzled into his palm, bringing a hand up to hold his hand closer.  The man crooned on: “Want to vanish inside your kiss.  Every day I love you more and more.”  Slipping your hand into his hand, he pulled you into him again and pressed your palm to his chest.  “Listen to my heart--can you hear it sing?  Telling me to give you-” he spun away from you, eyes wide and shining, arms stretched out as he turned in a circle encompassing your surroundings,”-everything!  Seasons may change--winter to spring.”  His arms slowly fell and he turned back to you, stepping up to bring you close in his arms again, gaze gentle once more.  “But I love you…” he gazed deeply into your eyes, “... until the end of time.” 

There seemed to be a swell in the music on the air, and Ebenezer moved with it, sweeping you up into a graceful, sweeping waltz around the yard and into the street, singing on: “Come what may….  Come what may….  I will love you… until my dying day.”  The music in the air seemed to quieten and Ebenezer paused in the waltz, simply relishing in the experience of holding you--his wife, the woman he loved--close.  He pressed his forehead to yours and you both closed your eyes, enjoying each other’s presence.

That stirring deep inside your soul had grown stronger and more noticeable with each passing moment.  Now it had finally gained enough power to break free, rising up out of your throat in melody: “Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place.”  You shifted closer to your husband, and stretched a leg out behind you and around in a circle, daintily skimming the toe of your shoe over the surface of the snow.  “Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace.”  You reached up and cradled Ebenezer’s sculpted jaw in your hands and gazed lovingly at him.  “Suddenly my life doesn’t seem such a waste--it all revolves around you….”

Smiling, Ebenezer swept you up into dance again, and you both continued on, harmonizing with each other: “And there’s no mountain too high-” your husband hoisted you up with one arm onto his hip as you braced one hand on his shoulder and your knees on his thigh, second hand raised skyward, “-no river too wide!”  You dropped down and spun out from Ebenezer until your arms were stretched to the max and you were held together just by the tips of your fingers.  Then you stepped closer together and looped your arms together as you faced one way and he the other, ever gazing into one another’s eyes, carouseling around.  “Sing out this song and I’ll be there by your side!”  Ebenezer grabbed your hand and you twirled around him in a large arc, he acting as the anchor.  “Storm clouds may gather--stars may collide…” you spun back into him and he caught you in both arms, dipping you low before bringing you back up to hold again and sing, “... but I love you-” 

You lovingly traced your thumb across Ebenezer’s lips, “-I love you…”

“-until the end-” “... until the end of-” “-of time.”

Your husband carried you off into the sweeping waltz again as the music in your souls swelled anew.  “Come what may….  Come what may….  I will love you… until my dying day!”  Ebenezer hoisted you up with one arm again, both of you facing opposite directions again as he spun you, one of your arms braced across his shoulders for support the other trailing through the air, making snowflakes swirl.  “Come what may….  Come what may….  I will love you…” 

You slowly slipped back down into the circle of your man’s arms, wrapping your arms around his neck and nuzzling your nose against his, basking in the lovelight of his gaze.  “Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place….” 

The music swelled to a crescendo and Ebenezer scooped you up into the air one final time.  His arms wrapped around your thighs as he spun and gazed up into your face, your hands braced on his broad shoulders yet again.  “Come what may…!  Oh, come what may…!  Oh!  I will love you… until my dying… day!”

You collapsed into Ebenezer with another kiss, your arms tight around his neck, his tight around your waist and back as he held you up.  

The sound of applause startled you apart: You looked over your husband’s head as he shifted around to look.  A scorching hot blush burned your face red.  You had an audience: the Cratchits, the Huffmans, and all of the staff that hadn’t taken the night off you offered were standing there at the top step of the entrance.  And they were cheering!  Some of the more tenderhearted of the bunch were even dabbing at their eyes with hankies.  (Harry, however, was in an all-out bawl, hunched over Hela’s shoulder as she patted his back while he wept tears of joy.)  Previously forgotten Prudence was bounding around you and Ebenezer, barking and grinning away, her tail fanning the air such as it never had before

“Oh, bloody hell….” Ebenezer muttered his face as crimson as yours (which really was a rather lovely shade on him, honestly).  He squeezed you closer as you hid your face in his neck and scowled at the others for their intrusion.   

The others really didn’t seem to care.  It was impossible to be scared of the old Scrooge Scowl when the man was red as a cooked lobster and had just been caught singing and dancing a love song with his young wife in the snow.

“Well, it’s about bloomin’ time!” Ethel exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air in an emphatic manner.  “What did I tell ya?  “Only because of our friendship” my arse.  Now come back inside, you waltzin’ lovebirds, afore you catch your deaths of cold!”

With that, your audience all began to retreat back inside, leaving the two of you to pull yourselves together.

Ebenezer slowly set you back on your own feet, but his arms remained around you, a warm hand rubbing comforting circles between your shoulder blades.  “Are you all right, my love?”

Your face still hidden in his chest, you began to shake with laughter.  “I’m more than all right,” you answered, pulling your face from its hiding place to meet your husband’s attentive gaze.  “Much, much more than all right.”

The man’s eyes sparkled with happiness at that declaration, his mouth pulling into a beaming smile.  “I take it you’re happy then?”

You nodded.  “So terribly happy, I could burst.”

“Excellent.  I intend on trying my level best to keep you that way.”

If it had been at all possible for your already overflowing heart to swell more, it would have.  A gentle prick stung the corner of your eyes, but your tear ducts had just about cried themselves out for the night.  Reaching up, you ran your hands through Ebenezer’s soft hair before twining your fingers into the thick, silver locks at the back of his head.  You noted the way he quietly moaned (in fact almost purred) in contentment as you did this.  That would be a handy detail about your husband to keep in mind--very handy indeed….  “I love you, Ebenezer Scrooge.”

His arms tightened around you.  “And I love you, Y/N Scrooge.  Until the end of time.”  Unexpectedly he swooped you up into his arms bridal style, making you squeal before pressing his lips to your smiling mouth once more, growling into your mouth as you gave an experimental tug on his hair.  Then he carried you across the cobblestones, up the steps, and through the doors of the house--your house, together.  A true and very much in love married couple at last.  It was going to be the greatest and happiest of all Christmases.

#scrooge 2022 #ebenezer scrooge x you #ebenezer scrooge #ebenezer scrooge x reader #song and dance numbers are not meant to be in writing like this--why did I attempt it? #married couple #romance #seriously--SO MUCH ANGST #why can't i have a love like this? #it may be too fanciful #THIS BISH IS LOOOOOOONNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG #netflix scrooge #luke evans could sing me to sleep--i swear #husband scrooge #hopelessly in love scrooge #crying scrooge #singing scrooge #dancing scrooge #we got everything but the smut here #Youtube

[moonchild-in-blue]

Hello!! 8D I'm new to the Sleep Token fandom; I saw like 2 concert videos on my TikTok feed yesterday morning and proceeded to complete the fastest casual to full blown fan speedrun of my life in a single day XD And I don't really have anyone I can yell about them to, not even the person who originally introduced me to their music, so :P I'm still working my way through listening to their full discography, but I wanted to say a MAJOR part of how fast I got into them I feel is because of the Wembley show from this past weekend?? It says so much about Vessel that he handled the whole thing the way that he did, and the more footage I see from that specific show the more my heart is FULL for this man <3 That on top of the cool and intriguing lore, AMAZING aesthetics, and of course the music (which I was already into before but even moreso now XD), and it was a RECIPE for a hyperfixation :3 I also wanted to say as a newbie that I love the new masks?? Especially Vessel's; the red edgings are SO cool and put even more emphasis on his TEETH :P His whole look is Iconic (though I wonder if that cloak must be heavy to wear??), I love that the other members of the band are developing their own distinctive looks too?? And it's super cool to see how their look evolves as they become more and more successful, just from what I've seen so far <3 I also just REALLY love how more and more music artists are embracing the innately religious experience that comes with a live concert?? As you can probably tell I'm a Swiftie so I had the same thought about the Eras tour XD but also with other punk-rock/metal artists like Ghost :P So calling their shows a "Ritual" or a "Worship" is metal as hell, I think :3 Plus just as a somewhat personal note, lately I've been running out of podcast episodes that I feel comfortable falling asleep to, and I already want Vessel's voice just PUMPED DIRECTLY INTO MY VEINS, so the natural progression I think is using ST to fall asleep to as well?? Which I mean, given their lore and everything, worshipping the eldritch god of sleep, feels appropriate XD Last thing -- so far my fave song of theirs is The Love You Want, I can't stop listening to it :3 I originally got into them through The Summoning, of course, and now I also love Alkaline cause it was in one of the videos I mentioned XD I started downloading more and more individual songs that I saw mentioned by name on here until I just caved and basically downloaded their entire discography, it was gonna happen anyway at this rate XD But I'd love to know what your faves are, too!! <3 (and bless you for reading this long-ass message from a total stranger lol XD)

Hello there! Wow, that's quite the achievement!! I totally understand though, once you get sucked into their tar trap (hehe) it's pretty much impossible to leave (not that I have ever wanted to).

Welcome to the family!! I hope you enjoy your stay here - there are warm beverages and snacks on the table, take as much as you want and get cosy. 💙🍵🍪 You are more than welcome to scream about our beloved cryptics - we shall all join you, like a pack of feral wolves howling at the moon Sleep 🐺🌕

I have recently gotten an ask from another lovely new member of this weird little community, and did an introductory post of sorts. I will link it here - it's a nice read, and there is a very good post linked there with some more background on the band - how did they start, album evolution, some important lore info, etc etc, by our lovely local archivist and knowledge keeper hehe. It's an incredibly thorough and comprehensive read - 100% reccomend!

So, about Wembley. Yeah, I think we're all still collectively recovering from it. There was A LOT of expection for it, being their last Ritual of the year, and the biggest headline to date, and even more things happening (New masks, iii's return, and of course Vessel's unfortunate situation). Vessel, the band and choir, and every single crew member involved did a fantastic, admirable job under the circumstances.

I won't dwell too much on it, as I've already shared my thoughts on another post, as so did many others, but yes - the fact that Vessel chose to perform at all given his condition, and somewhat stil managed to blow everyone away, is nothing short of an indicative of how sweet and beautiful, and loving that man is. I have nothing but respect for him and the guys - it must've been pretty hard on them as well to perform in such sad circumstances. The show was incredible, and my heart is still so so full with it 💙

The masks are pretty amazing!! I'm personally still attached to the old black ones, and in mourning of iii's victorian child look, but I do loooove the new costumes (they got me feeling some type of way, but I won't be weird here. Just Thinking Things)! Very yummy 😚 The new Choir outfits are INCREDIBLE aaaaaa (you will see me fangirl about them a lot).

Vessel's mask in not new per-se - he's had this one since May or June I believe (around the time TMBTE came out). His mask (and shoulder piece) is AMAZING, I am so in love with it still. It was done by Hysteria Machine - the same artists who did the new Espera (my lovely choir ladies) masks (debuted in the first German Ritual of December). His cloak is actually super lightweight, and the shirtless look helps to keep him cool during his adorable zoomies hehe (not sure about the fur on the back - but he seems to be okay with it, for the ~aesthetic~. My love is a nerd lol)

Yeah, the religious vibes are definitely there, even if just for the lore. I'm not a fan of neither Taylor Swift nor Ghost, so I can't really comment on that, but concerts to have a very transcedent feel to it. "Worship" is kind of a tagline for the band and fans, while Rituals are the actual shows!

I have lost count to how many night's I've fallen asleep to Vessel's voice lmao. As someone with severe insomnia issues, their music is nothing short of divine. 💙

I too was a victim of The Summoning - I suppose it really worked! TLYW funnily enough was my least favourite from that album during the first 2 or 3 listens. Then I watched the live performance for it and OMG. Now it occupies a very special place in my heart - even more after iii's brief absence!

My favourite song is Atlantic - it will forever and always have my heart. Very closely followed by Chokehold / The Apparition / Drag Me Under. Special kiss with tongue to Fields of Elation and Jaws (among others)! Do not sleep (hehe) on their eps/singles!!!! They are fenomenal!!! I always reccomend you listen to the albums in full, at least at first, to really get the full experience. But of course, you do you hun!

If you like the lore aspect of the band, I'd definitely recommend you scroll through the ST lore tag. There are so many amazing posts with lyric analysis, lore headcanons, among others. Also thought the fanart tag!!! The amount of talent and care in this fandom is insane. Everyone is so kind and loving and sweet here - I'm sure you'll have a good time! Don't be shy, go full unhinged if you so wish, and feel free to drop by anytime with any thoughts, questions, or anything else 💙

#fellas we got one more!! the cult is growing hehehe #(it feels so weird to be on this side of the fandom now. 6 months ago I was the one making questions and discovering st) #(and now I get to help?? Wack. Spreading Sleep's message as intended - Vessel where's my kiss) #darya answers #sleep token

[bloodpen-to-paper]

Review Blurbs: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

General Thoughts:

-From what I've seen the animation had like "how are the animators not in a psych ward" insane levels of attention to detail so go look into that cause there's always some new amazing tidbit of info circulating about the movie-making process

-Music score was fantastic, it always did well setting the atmosphere of the scenes and bringing you into the moment (my favorite sequences was Gwen's intro and the Mumbattan segments)

-I'm obsessed with how they choreographed the fight styles, especially for Gwen and Pavitr who had very stylized movements (Gwen's is based off ballet and Pavitr fights using Kalaripayattu)

-I liked how Miles' theme song (What's Up Danger) felt a bit more fitting. In ITSV, Miles was very new to everything and questioning if the hero lifestyle was what he wanted. Now, not only was he so committed to doing things his way that he derailed the entire Spider Society with success, but we also meet Earth-42 Miles who is seemingly very fearsome. To the Spider Society, potentially to the entire multiverse even, they face a danger in the form of Miles Morales.

-This movie was Gwen's movie, full stop. Her and Miles shared the spotlight, she wasn't just a side character this time. I haven't seen people talk about this as much and they should cause Gwen's story was so beautifully crafted and that intro/final scene were some of the best parallel sequences I've ever seen in a movie. Her story and even the storytelling in the music and her "starting a band" were so well done, people have been doing analyses on the music change in the intro vs the final scene and how the music correlates to Gwen's personal growth and just ugh. More Gwen appreciation please (this isn't even getting into the trans allegory literally there was so much to her story so pay tf attention please and thank you)

-Adding on, part of the reason I loved the above point was also cause not only is ITSV's main female character given a big spotlight to shine in, but it served an important narrative purpose of giving the movie a hopeful and satisfying ending, because right now Miles' story is in its sort of Rising/Climax stage. The final act of Miles Morales' story has only just begun, and the movie set it up so damn well cause I know me and everyone alive are dying to know what's gonna happen next with him and Earth-42 Miles. Gwen's arc wrapped up and gave us hope as Miles' story was taking a dark turn, and that hope is what's gonna lead us forward until its his turn to shine in the light once again.

-Loved the new characters, I enjoyed Miguel having layers to his methodology and morals (some people pointed out possible reasons for him acting as aggressive as he did and it makes a lot of sense, but at the time it was just like "why tf is Miguel slamming Miles into a train and screaming at him for not wanting his dad to die papi chill💀")

-Jessica is underrated and I love how they did her character. She's very responsible and definitely has a tough love approach, but she's very human. I laughed out loud when she said she wasn't bothered by being pregnant in this line of work cause the guy she screwed was hot like she is so fucking real omg. Jessica also had a similar attitude to Miguel, but she has a personal connection with Gwen that I think grounds her more. I wish we had more of her mentorship towards Gwen and I hope to see it in the next movie (maybe even a baby reveal👀)

-I don't think anyone mentioned it but Spider-Byte always looked a bit different/off in all her frames and I'm like 99% sure that's cause they used a different animation style to give her that glitched/cyber punk effect which is just so damn cool

-Honestly all the female characters deserve more recognition, fandom still has a huge male bias and it shows cause Gwen, Jessica, Spider-Byte and Lila deserve way more love

-Hobie was without a doubt my favorite character this movie. He's a real punk and I cannot be grateful enough cause I am fucking done with people who ain't actually punk using it as an aesthetic, he's here to show how its done (others have made plenty of observations on him so go check those out cause they're very good)

-Not much to say about Pavitr personally but I adore his character design, definitely my favorite next to Gwen's (he also taught me that chai tea does not exist and is in fact just "tea tea" I'M SORRY I DIDN'T KNOW I'M SOUTH AMERICAN NOT SOUTH ASIAN😭)

-I'm surprised by how engaging Spider-Verse continues to make their villains. Doc Ock was fantastic, and this time around The Spot was a great subversion of expectations. He's silly and from the trailer release to the beginning of the movie, you think he's a joke character to set the mood. Then he starts to become actually sinister and you're sitting there thinking "the movie literally called me out for this and I still managed to fall into expectations". Very good job making a villain character not only feel like a threat, but by doing so in an unexpected way that really rips the rug out from under you. I want to study the story writers' minds like I'm being tested on it

-The return of the OGs was so nice, I wasn't as invested in Into the Spider-Verse admittedly but I felt it when Peni made a reappearance to tell Miles his dad had to die. Shit hit me in the soul (I'm also obsessed with Noir so very happy to see them both back)

-I saw people saying that Spider-Verse was copaganda and I'd like to withhold any definitive stances until Beyond comes out, but it definitely felt like they were holding back when it came to criticisms of Gwen's dad. Remember, it could very well be that the writer's behind Hobie "hate the AM and PM"/wears blue fucking laces Brown were told by higher-ups to cool it or the movie wouldn't get released so don't immediately go after them, learn from the writer's strike to use critical thinking and wait for more info. Hopefully they can address that more after audience reviews come in so we'll see.

-All the scenes where Miles would almost reveal he's Spider-Man to his parents/did reveal it had me stressed lmao, they did a great job making the audience feel the weight and tension of the moment

-The ending was the hypest shit like it was so good I couldn't even be mad about the cliffhanger I was just in awe

-I actually thought towards the end that they might do a two-parter but then I was like "nahhhhh they wouldn't" and then they did that. We very much entered a "final stage" towards the end so I'm wondering how the creators will space it out and what they'll do for the next movie. Either way I am "beyond" hyped

Criticisms:

I only have like two criticisms cause this movie was pretty fucking good, but its never bad to look at what even a masterpiece like Spider-Verse could do better so future projects can take note. Having said that:

-I understand it was for authenticity's sake, but the live-action segments were a bit jarring after being in animation for so long. I would've animated those segments as well or done some form of 3D so it blended in. Every other character was animated so it felt weird when suddenly Andrew Garfield and Donald Glover were on screen (even Tom Holland's spidey was animated). A minor nitpick, but I can respect the boldness in really committing to the meta-mindfuckery of the multiverse

-Gwiles as a ship was never really my thing, so you can understand my surprise when I felt like they actually kinda improved on it since the first movie ("boy has crush on girl because she's pretty and a girl and we're supposed to root for it" is my least favorite trope [*cough cough* cause its what straight dudes like *cough cough*] so its no surprise when Gwiles in ITSV did absolutely nothing for me). Having said that, the movie pushed a tad too hard for it imo. Pavitr was the classic "shipper" character made to push the ship forward and make it super obvious to the audience that its what the movie wants you to root for, and I and many people are not about that. If you need to tell your audience to support a romance then you're not doing it right.

-As sort of an add-on to the above, I think Hobie and Gwen were hinted as having dated during Gwen's time working under Miguel? Which like... why? Literally why. It made no sense and did nothing for the characters or their relationship, they could easily just be friends and nothing would change. This plot point was also never mentioned again after its initial reveal (from Pavitr to cause "drama" for Miles I think) and quite literally nothing came of it. No drama (thank fuck cause that was not what I or anyone went to this movie for), no development, nothing. It was just thrown in and never used. So uh... yeah, don't do that. Thanks.

Final Thoughts:

Across the Spider-Verse was definitely a step-up from the first movie, I was far more engaged and I found very little to criticize from it. Animation, music score, characters, all 10/10, and above all, its action sequences kicked ass and restored the good name of the superhero genre. Watch this movie, and I highly recommend doing so in theaters because it is a perfect example of how movies are not just entertainment, but an experience to remember.

#let me know any cool details you liked #honest to god cannot remember the last movie I saw where the pacing hit so well for me #obsessed with this franchise and I will be so annoying when Beyond drops #review blurbs #spiderman: across the spiderverse #across the spiderverse #across the spiderverse spoilers #atsp #atsp spoilers #miles morales #gwen stacy #miguel o'hara #jessica drew #pavitr prabhakar #hobie brown #margo kess

[absolutebl]

Cutie Pie Review - It’s All About the Chemistry

quick pitch 

Cutie Pie 

(Thailand, Feb-May on YouTube) 

8/10

Main Tropes: arranged marriage, age gap, secret identity, cohabitation, rich kid problems, he’s in engineering

It was a real pleasure to see Zee again (Why R U?) and his new love interest is very well cast. MaxNat turned in their usual consummate side dish action, (origin Why R U? also Y-Destiny & Close Friend) and it’s always fun to see Perth (My Engineer) and the other guest cameos. 

With very high production values at at first I thought they were gunning for Korea, but I’m got a real Japanese feel from this one, Thai style of course but there is definitely a lot of visual referencing live action yaoi. Also the music and sound were pretty darn good.

It took me a few episodes to accept the absurd conceit of this show and its quirky characters and motivation as ALSO EXTREMELY traditionally yaoi and very lifestyle D/s. After that I just rolled with it. I realized that if this had come from Japan I would have given it a pass immediately. Why be tough on it just because it comes from Thailand?  So, about half way through I liked it A LOT more. 

The chronic miscommunication: 

Really tested my patience at the end tho. 

THAI LANGUAGE CORNER

Why Ai'Hia was so funny in Cutie Pie 

A Mini Essay on My Love of LianKuea in Cutie Pie (and ZeeNunew's performances)

Honestly I just love LianKuea's dynamic, it's so D/s but also so classic yaoi seme/uke. The way Lian smiles when his Nu does something cute is so damn sweet. He’s practically the definition of a caring Dom. Killing Kuea (and us) with stern softness. Zee did a fantastic job with this character. That said NuNew also managed to give us an appealing uke with gumption and a crush and a failure to understand self actualization who we liked.

But let's be honest here, the actors chemistry is REALLY good.

(After Semantic Error, I'm beginning to develop theories about same-sex actor age gaps and the chemistry development quality that results. But I need to gather more data first.)

Look, there is something about the way Zee looks as his acting partners. His eyes are very doting, no mater the line delivery or any other aspects of the scene. He's been given these fierce stern roles to play in Fighter and Lian but he always seems to manage to temper his characters with fondness.

I like doting affection on screen.

I also like to see a seme actually sexually intersted in his uke, otherwise the archetype comes off as more inclined to ownership and less about desire. To be frank, Zee is also good at transmitting the "I want to bone" thing.

Since a seme character is aggressive and obsessive and intrusive he has to be tempered by some sort of softness to appeal to a modern audience. Add in authentic feeling sexual interest and the seme character MUST be gentled by the actor's performance, or we end up with a H4 situation. And Zee manages to transmit all that with just eye work. It's great to watch.

But NuNew did a wonderful job too. Kuea was clearly interested and willing and game. There’s no sign of the Blushing Maiden with this uke. Thank fuck, could we PLEASE kill that archetype?

As much as I love a Daddy who wants his boy, a boy who needs his Daddy is about a billion times better. And genuine sexual interest from the uke character is still far too rare in BL.

In this regard, Cutie Pie was a breath of fresh air.

What can I say?

They love each other, they just idiots

is a favorite of mine.

But...

They WANT each other, they just idiots?

Yeah. That one is gonna get me EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

The other pairs were good too! 

MaxNat serve us high heat while smiling the whole time. Which was kinda charming and basically their signature. These two just seem to have fun together. It’s nice. 

Language note on Yi’s confession: Diao’s nickname khondiao means “only” or a”lone” in Thai? So when Yi confesses, he’s using world play when he says “I love you only”. More here.  

However, I gotta say my favorite kiss of this show (and it was VERY kissy), was actually Syn and Nuea. Adorable. I wish we had gotten more of these two. 

Cutie Pie ended very navel gaze maudlin and sappy for my taste. The absurd proposal back-and-forth thing was kinda par for the course with Lian and Kuea  and their miscommunication antics, but I was bored by it. 

This show went from absurd to appealing to annoying and then back to absurd again - but always sappy and nicely high heat for what ultimate seemed to be an equal marriage propaganda piece. Which I’m fine with, but Taiwan’s Faded did it better in 20 minutes back in 2017. 

Nevertheless, on the strength of the chemistry of all three couples, the odd but very old fashioned romance tropes, and clear high rewatchability this one is getting a 8/10. Watch this one for the pretty, give it a pass on depth.

(source)

#bl series #thai bl #bl series review #bl review #Cutie Pie #cutie pie the series #cutie pie review #zee pruk #nunew chawarin #MaxNat

[wfagamerants]

So I finally saw the Mario movie, so of course I am not gonna miss my chance to do a good ol’ write-up about my thoughts. Spoilers btw.

I am just fresh from seeing it, so this is very early impressions speaking, but on the whole, I am very happy. A Mario movie on the big screen is something I wanted to experience as early as I can think back and yeah, it did not disappoint.

Above all else, the movie succeeds where it needed to succeed most.

It’s a Mario movie and very proud to be a Mario movie. it doesn’t rely on a ‘’Oooooh, Mario is in our world’’ kind of gimmick or anything. It looks like Mario, it sounds like Mario and it plays out like a Mario film and I mean all that in the best ways possible.

The movie is pure eye candy and while seeing so much of it’s setpieces from trailers already caught me off-guard, there was still more than enough to see. Brooklyn and the way it was made to fit with Mario’s current aesthetic was a major highlight there.

The characters look great, it’s full of detail, really, nothing to complain about there.

Music is a delight too, any time I recognized one of the game themes, which was a lot of times, made me grin. The licensed songs do clash with that, but are ultimately inoffensive. I get when people hate it, but for me, it’s just there.

I watched the movie in german, so I can’t comment on the english cast at large, but I liked them from the trailers and the german cast absolutely delivered too, with Luigi and DK being particular highlights.

Speaking of DK, everything around him and his series was fantastic to see. I always want to see the Marioverse be more connected and seeing a taste of that on the big-screen makes me more than a little giddy.

All that is good stuff and the many references to spot are going to make this an incredible movie to rewatch and discover new details, but there is one issue that I do think may make this movie a more difficult sell for people not super into Mario.

The beginning in Brooklyn is my favorite part of the movie for how it establishes Mario and Luigi, their relationship and struggles with both their business and earning the approval of others around them (being someone in the know and nostalgic about the old backstory adds extra points obviously). It takes time to show them actually at a job, gives Foreman Spike and Pauline small parts to give that fuzzy feeling of familiarity and all around serves as a great introduction. It’s nothing deep but it does a lot to elevate the Bros as characters in a way that suits the medium.

Once the Mushroom Kingdom comes in though, a lot of that starts to take a backseat to jumping from location to location. It’s an absolute joyride, but it does leave a lot of concepts without the room they need.

The flashback Luigi has while captive is great and earned, given Luigi’s timid nature and Mario being so protective of him have already been well established, but it doesn’t really go beyond that scene until the climax. It works, but at least an extra scene where Luigi laments being a scaredy cat would have given his one big moment some more pathos.

Similarly Peach’s backstory, while simple, does create intrigue and a new dimension to her care for the Toads, but it’s only brought up once and stops being a factor afterwards. It honestly feels like an entire sub-plot got cut there.

There is more stuff like that and it is an aspect where the movie feels a bit insecure about itself. It’s clear the shadow of the live action movie was looming over the movie’s production and through that, it feels they were afraid of focusing too long on something less fan–service. 

I still enjoy what we got, like Mario and DK’s dynamic is amazing even without an extended talk about their dads, it’s just stuff they could have done a little more of, because the movie otherwise does blatantly bank on your existing familiarity with the cast and world to carry things. It works for me, but I can understand a lot more now why critics who have not much clue about Mario, were less impressed.

On that note, the characters also really landed for me. Luigi did get thrown under the bus though. He’s great when he is on-screen and his moment of glory intensely cathartic, but he really does not get to do much and his dynamic with Mario does not have much time to shine. 

Similarly Lumalee is a big question mark for me. He’s amusing, but there is no context as to how Bowser got him. I really did expect some kind of Galaxy tease that just never happens and due to how little time the prisoners get, Lumalee really ends up just being a vehicle for macabre jokes.

I do also wish Peach was allowed to be a liiiittle more flawed, like I am totally on-board with her being more experienced because of her background growing up in the Mushroom Kingdom and always root for the SMB2 team to be the default hero team whenever possible. That I am all cool with, I just feel they overcompensated a little, because aside from being caught by King Bob-omb’s explosion, I struggle to think of a single mistake she made the entire movie, while everyone else bumbles at some point. Not a big deal, she ended up far more endearing than I expected, I just feel they could have made it more balanced than constant hypercompetence. 

The rest of the cast I have no complaints about. Mario is precisely what I want a more distinctly characterized take on him to be. All my praises regarding Toad still apply, Spike is great for what he gets, DK rules, Cranky is fine for what this version of him is meant to be, Kamek has good moments and Bowser is a hilarious incel that also caught me off-guard with how surprisingly evil he could be.

All that good stuff easily wins the day and made me genuinely love my time with the movie. A sequel really does need to address the pacing problems and let the characters breathe more, but I do think the movie is a slam dunk in what it wants to archive. 

This 100% is a movie for people that would get excited to see the Koopa General become a Blue Shell or see the Bros while invincible, put the smack down on Bowser and his army.

I am absolutely in this camp and as far as I am concerned, it’s a fan joyride, made by people that clearly respect the source material and I am happy I took on said ride.

I do wish the Plumber Rap used the same german lyrics as in the Super Show dub, but nobody’s perfect.

#Super Mario

[kookies2000]

Just wanted to remind everyone that I am still working on my Trolls 2 Rascim Alagory essay. At this point, I think I'm gonna make a video because there is too much to just write. So I gotta freshen up on my drawing skills. But here is a list of films I'm gonna talk about that also handle rascim for kids. In the order of how well they handled the topic. Worst to best.

5. Z.O.M.B.I.Es by Disney. They are Zombies who killed humans. Then, one zombie disguises himself to look human, and the werewolves rely on Addi, a human, to give them back their land that the humans took. When the monsters, who have killed humans and go crazy, are supposed to represent the none whites, yeah. I don't like the thought of being represented as a monster who relys on humans to give them back what they took in the first place. The film is a guilty pleasure film of mine, though.

4. Zootopia by Disney. None whites are supposed to be predators who were savage and killed prey. Prey is supposed to be the suppressors. Again, I don't like the idea of me being seen as naturally savage and my people killing the suppressors because it's in our instincts. Also, the predators were the suppressors in some moments, which makes it confusing as to who are the suppressed and who are the suppressors. But I still adore this film to bits and it's one of my favorite films. Just not the best rascim alagory.

3. Elemental by Pixar. This is one of the best rascim alagory films for kids I've seen. Did everything perfect and beautiful! Love how they managed to make a story about interracial couples in a grand and accurate way. *Chefs kiss* BUT! I have an issue with the other elements having a good reason to fear fire. Fire just naturally kills other elements on accident. The tree that didn't get near Emebers parents? He had dry leaves and didn't want to die. Good reason. Sure, you can say that's the whole "we touched" moments are supposed to represent. That fire can be around other elements without being a danger. And fire being a danger was just a false stereotype. It could work if Emeber hadn't accidentally killed her boyfriend. Giving a good reason for other elements to fear fire. But that's just a nip pick, really. What REALLY bugs me, the term "fireball". Gale calls Emeber a fire ball to which Emeber takes a massive offense to. So I'm gonna assume she called her a slur. And then they never revisit that moment. Instead, they laugh it off. Gale said that she could get worked up during a good game, to which Ember agrees. I would not let that slide. If someone who's none Latino called me a slur simply because they were in the moment of a good game, I would be fuming mad. And then Gale calls her fireball again like a nickname. That's my only issue, though. Elemental is absolutely beautiful and a MUST SEE!!!

2. Cats Don't Dance by Warner Brothers. Beautiful, perfect, gorgeous, good music, stunning, loved it. Showed how hard none whites had it in Hollywood. Just no words. Watch this film. It's underrated as hell. My only nip pick, none whites are represented as animals, but it's literally JUST a tiny nip pick that you can't even see it. And I fully understand why they chose animals. It's for kids and kids love animals. You can easily humanize these characters, and nothing will change.

1. Of course! Trolls 2 by Dreamworks. Best racism alagory I've seen for children. Absolutely beautiful message, gorgeous animation, give whoever was in charge of casting a massive raise and a kiss and a hug and my soul to them. They did a fantastic job. As did everyone else involved in the film. Talked about colonizing, erasing history for their own benefits, differences do matter, so don't be color blind, and cultural differences and appropriation. Respecting and listening to others' opinions. Especially if it involves their culture. The only complaint is that the film is too short and should've been given more time. Also, a big one. They didn't make none whites a different species as the suppressors. They are Trolls no matter what with different cultures.

But yeah, back to writing that *checks* f$@%#!!!! 20 thousand word essay!!! Gotta delete some stuff, dam it.

#Z.O.M.B.I.E.S #zombies #zootopia #Disney #elemental #pixar #cats dont dance #warner bros #dreamworks trolls #trolls #trolls dreamworks #dreamwork #racism #kids movies

[mushroom-jack]

I MADE A PLAYLIST

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4LiugeS4QsLgJVEpz8Q9cO?si=QLszdBs2RYaSqXK1tkLKLw

please check it out and lmk what you think!!

Linked again here for accessibility

What you’ve done here is given me an 11hr 8m playlist, so I’m not gonna go through and review it song by song like I usually would /silly. Here’s some general thoughts just from looking through it though, and I may give it a more in depth listen at a later date!

- lots of Taylor Swift. No judgement from me, I’m just not familiar with her music.

- Actually loads of these songs/artists I don’t really recognize so you’re gonna have to wait for me to actually listen to some of those (if I do ever get around to it)

- Hozier, generally speaking, is spot on. I write tompercy to Hozier all the time. Francesca Hozier is especially spot on.

- the tonal dissonance going between viva la vida Coldplay to who is she I monster is HILARIOUS

- all the things she said tatu is also a hilarious song to be on this playlist but I’ll take it

- the crane wives <3 tongues and teeth is on my ASOR playlist as well!

- SPIDERVERSE SONGS???????????

- TCHAIKOVSKY SWAN LAKE???????????

- SOMEONE GETS HURT FROM MEAN GIRLS

- glass animals the other side of paradise and take a slice. I’ll take those vibes

- fallout boy. I’ll take those too

- GILDED LILY HELL YEA!!!!!!!!!!!! Gilded Lily is like one of the Percy songs to me

- therefore I am Billie Eilish actually works as a Tom song I never thought about that

I hope you really had fun making it!!! I’ll definitely give it a proper listen at a later date, I just can’t commit to doing it now or I’d never answer the ask, so you just get these initial thoughts for now.

I also have an ASOR playlist, which can be found here

And I HEAVILY recommend my friend @silveritecrow’s ASOR playlists, which are for Tom and Percy respectively. They’re super fantastic, and I love the interpretations of these two characters that they showcase :)

#tompercy #a study of resonance #asks

[babycharmander]

Gonna try to write out my thoughts on the Mario Movie. I'm at work as I'm writing the start of this and it's been a few hours since I've watched the film, but I'll try to remember what I can.

If you haven't seen my previous post and just want to know if you should see it or not, here's my opinion on that: If you're a Mario fan, absolutely go see it, but go in expecting a wild and fun love-letter to the games... and do not expect anything character-wise. Like, take any expectations you have for character moments and anything remotely emotional and turn it down to almost nothing. Also, stay for ALL of the credits.

(SPOILERS AHOY from this point onward!)

So, yeah, if you couldn't guess, I went into this with far too high expectations. Granted, I don't feel like they were all unreasonable ones...?

I just wanted to see the characters interacting. The humor was fun, the game references were fantastic, but whenever we did get a moment of characters just talking, it's breezed by as rapidly as possible to keep the plot moving. There's the tiniest of moments, but they never felt like enough.

Which isn't to say the characters are portrayed badly--they're not! They're fantastic! Rather than pulling the expected "these two siblings squabble and disagree and finally make amends in the end," Mario and Luigi are already great brothers to each other, and I liked that--it was refreshing! But I wanted to see more of their relationship, and... really, more of Luigi in general.

Peach was great, and she was GIVEN A BACKSTORY! I didn't expect that at all! It wasn't fully explained, but it's there! And it... doesn't really come up again. I mean, probably to set up for something in the inevitable sequel, but still! Also, she and Mario weren't swept up into an immediate romance! There's a brief moment when Mario is like "woah" when he first sees her, and throughout the film other characters like Donkey Kong and Bowser expect them to try to get together, but it doesn't happen! I liked that!

Bowser steals the show! DK, for as much as I hate Seth Rogan, was great, and his rivalry with Mario was fun!

BUT NONE OF THAT IS EXPLORED!!

They had so much to work with and they just... didn't.

Also, my fears were confirmed: Yoshi was entirely absent from the film. This was probably to focus on the other characters so they didn't have too many to juggle at a time, but... That one shot in the trailer? Where we see the herd of Yoshis? Yeah, that's it. That's the whole scene--that blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment.

Except for the end credits sequence.

If you stay until the very end, you're treated to a zoom-in on the wreckage of Bowser's Keep, and within the wreckage, a Yoshi egg starts to hatch. The screen goes black, and you hear Yoshi saying his name.

This implies a sequel, which means we'll obviously see him in the next film, but this doesn't help my anxieties much. I wondered before how Yoshi, should he appear in the film, would be handled. The last thing I wanted was for him to just be a glorified steed or pet, and we... still have no answer. In fact, we now have more questions (and for me, more anxieties)--was Yoshi trapped in that egg, as in Super Mario World, or is he a baby?? Will he actually talk? Will he be sentient and an actual character, or a glorified pet?? Goodness knows.

I know from all of this it sounds like I hated the movie, but I didn't. I had a good time watching it. (...Well, mostly--on a very personal note, oh gosh, okay, it's Illumination--I should have expected the pop music. It's fine. It's not a big deal. But I was not read for the inclusion of a certain song that immediately blasted me with negative emotions. That was not a fun experience, but at least it was short.) I cheered over seeing Mario and Luigi swinging Bowser by his tail, at hearing part of the DK Rap, at seeing Diddy Kong and Pauline and the many other background cameos. I adored the soundtrack and will be looking for a way to buy it ASAP (...if it's available, but knowing Nintendo...) There was a lot to like!

I'm just... flabbergasted at how little was done with the characters. I hate that I'm saying this, but in terms of character development, this is one of the most shallow movies I've ever seen that wasn't completely garbage quality. It would be one thing if the rest of the movie sucked, if it was an obvious cash grab, but it... wasn't. There was so much care put into the world and animation and music, in the references to the games, even obscure ones! So much love went into this, and I just can't understand what happened to the story.

Even if the plot were the same, they could have done so much more with these characters. Why didn't they?

I had this really terrible thought, and I could be entirely wrong, but... I'm remembering that the movie was delayed for four months, and also that Miyamoto was heavily involved in the making of the film. I'm wondering if like... maybe there was more character-focused moments, but he had them cut? The movie really did feel very weirdly cut, jumping from scene to scene rapidly with no room to breathe--I really wonder if there were more character moments there that Miyamoto demanded to be cut from the film due to whatever weird logic he goes by these days. This is the guy who's been ripping the plot from the Mario RPGs for the past... long while, because...??? Goodness knows at this point.

I dunno. I'm going to be seeing the movie in theaters again, though--maybe if I go into it knowing what to expect, I'll feel less bad about it.

Thanks for listening to my rambling, and if you've seen the movie, go ahead and respond to any of my thoughts here. I'm just trying to work this out in my head.

#yoshi #mario #mario movie #mario movie spoilers

[pyroshrooms]

A little drabble I just wrote and thought I should share :))

Not sure how to format this but I’m just gonna put it all under the cut and hope for the best lol. Enjoy <3

------------------------

“Why am I here?” he would ask. 

The eyes would stare, rapt attention never once leaving him. 

“We missed you.” They whispered, words unanimous and demanding. “Your story hasn’t ended yet.”

He glared from where he sat, painfully aware of the way the store looked uncanny to a set. The register felt fake, manufactured. The lines of cigarettes behind him looked like a poster. Isles of shitty artificial snacks faded into the darkness of the unlit audience. 

Soon the house lights would flicker back on and the audience would filter out of the far doors. He knew they would, he’s watched them do it before. He watched the emotions that had previously consumed them all fade into insignificance. Apathy bled from the empty seats as he stood on the stage, frozen in his act, waiting for them to return so he may live. 

For now, the audience sat in anticipation. 

He’s disappointed them before, what’s a second time?

“It is over. I ended it,” he snapped out. “Go home.”

They didn’t speak, they simply watched. 

And oh if that wasn’t the worst part. The silent, unending attention. Once he loved it, he had basked in the eyes that would follow his every move. Once it made him feel important. The silence had begun to unnerve him though. He began to question them. Was he still entertaining? Was he doing it right? Were they real?

Because if they had nothing to say, then why, pray tell, were they here? Were they ever actually here? No one else seemed to think so. His brother had looked at him with worried judgment, his friends had given him the courtesy of looking around, asking “Who are you talking to?”, his father had looked at him knowingly for all the wrong reasons. They thought he was simply paranoid, maybe a tad egotistical, fantastical for ever thinking of himself as a performer. He could point to the crowd, have them yell in outrage at his actions, he could have them jump from their seats with a flick of his hand and nothing would happen. 

Nothing would happen.

When the story’s climax came, he had stared at the bright stage lights and listened to the intake of breath from the crowd. The music had crescendoed until it screeched to a stop. The symphony around him paused for his last breath, only to continue in an enthusiastic frenzy. Because it was never truly his, the symphony, he was theirs. 

The creeping and sharp notes of the violin had been a welcome sound when he breathed again. For a moment he hadn’t seen the eyes, only his brother and the sun. 

But it wasn’t the sun, only the lights swinging up so he was back in the spotlight, center stage. And his narrative of thirteen years had barely been eleven months to them. Because none of it was truly his own to remember. He had been nothing but a doll made to dance under the eyes of thousands. 

It wasn’t like that anymore. He had left. The sun was his own for once and his movements went unwatched. Or, they did. 

“Go home,” he repeated. 

They watched. 

“Go. Get out.”

He was standing now, hands pressed to the (fake fake fake) counter. He didn’t dare meet their gaze, as if not seeing them would make them disappear.

They never did. Even when the desolate walls of a ravine had made it impossible for him to see them. 

“I’m not giving you what you want. It’s over, let me go.”

They whined at that, finally giving him a response. 

“But we don’t want to. We miss you.”

“No,” he shook his head, “You don’t miss me. You’re just bored.”

Because that’s all he was ever good for isn’t it? He was just some easy entertainment to them. A shiny toy they could watch destroy itself. Maybe that’s what they all were to these people. Or had it just been him?

They didn’t say anything this time, still gripping their seats and waiting, as if to say “Are you going to do it again? Will you break for us? Will you preach on your little soapbox to an audience of deaf ears?”

And he wouldn’t, not again. After everything he gave them, he wouldn’t give them this. This home, this solace, this respite that he crafted for himself, he would never give it to them. He had written the final line of his story and he refused to continue it. There would be no part 2 (don’t you mean part 3? Didn’t you already get your intermission? Your Act 2?) because the story was over. 

So he sat again, picked back up his book, and took a breath. The air was stale. 

They muttered amongst themselves, confused. It made him smile. 

Maybe they won’t leave, maybe they would find him no matter the narrative he spun or ran from. But it truly didn’t matter anymore; because he wouldn’t ever give them what they wanted. He would never again monologue as a white light blinded him. Never again would he plead for a response, or play a part. This was his. 

So there was no symphony, not even a sunrise. There was just a store and a man. No one in particular. 

#in case it isn't clear this is post-cwilbur finale #i have no idea what i was doing but the vibe overtook me and i just went for it #c!wilbur #my writing #dsmp #dream smp #fanfiction #pyro writes