#4 straight years of really bad posts about that guy.

[imdoingjustgr8]

hey

soooo... how have any fellow td fans been coping recently

meme aside, i got """a bit""" of a vent coming below that no one's obligated to read. and if you do, forgive me if it ends up long asf and kind of all over the place. it was 5 in the morning when i began writing and i just want a place to get all my thoughts out or i won't be able to sleep in peace.

so, here it goes:

td suddenly being taken down out of nowhere and confirmed to be canceled, never to come back was a massive bummer and all, but honestly? i've been taking the news of the official td discord server's impending deletion much harder. don't get me wrong, i do feel really damn bad for outlaik, i just find him dropping td much easier to accept than seeing the first and only big dc community i've ever joined, that encouraged me to post so much sonexe art in the first place, hell, even have made a bit of a name for myself in (literally being known as "the sonexe guy") be sent to oblivion along with it.

to think that i initially only played a random goofy-looking sonic.exe roblox game out of sheer boredom, to think that i initially joined the discord to only make player reports and maybe lurk around. but when i discovered the creations channel, i've ended up checking that very channel almost religiously, posted alot of my own silly drawings, and met so many cool, funny people and amazing fellow artists that have inspired me to this day.

i've only been around for 2 (and a half?) years, so to see everything go down to shit so suddenly was really jarring. i tend to be a really sentimental guy, like "i hoard 1000+ pictures of a sand sculpture i just built in multiple angles" levels of sentimental, so the thought of all those fun interactions and discussions, creative takes and suggestions, and amazing art that i couldn't all save becoming inaccessable to look back on, to become completely wiped out soon has been pretty distressing to me. it doesn't help that most of the artists i've followed on there don't seem to have links or have posted on other platforms.

one of my biggest comforting hopes at the moment is that if anyone else from on there i've interacted with happens to see this and recognize me, artist or not, i'd be really happy to give you a follow! and to those who don't, if i might not see you again for awhile or ever, i wish you well and hope you know you're cool asf. like, i seriously feel very lucky and grateful of how nice and unexpectedly crazy-supportive everyone was, especially with my first ever sonexe post. i really mean it when i said you're all what encouraged me to post without fearing massive judgement and made me feel excited to share my silly doodles and ideas. seriously, thank you all.

also, i feel as if this is something that needs to be said, or atleast said more; i hope that people would learn to be more considerate of outlaik's pov on everything. i seriously doubt anyone would have the motivation to continue a project they wanted to move on from long ago in the first place. getting a copyright claim on his ass, having his acc and dev career at risk, still being constantly interrogated about td's return (bc of ppl making shit up) when he's already done all he could was just the final nail in the coffin for him with the game. i respect him wanting to just quickly move on and i do hope he finds successs, possibly pull even more than what he got from td with current and future projects he can fully enjoy. i'd also have to thank him and his game for bringing us all together in the first place.

ok big sappy rant over. idk how to end this gracefully i just rlly want to go to sleep atp lmao. i've been typing for 4 straight hours kill me rn

good mor-night 😪

[shinceltyblewup]

Scratch that if MAXIE could see all of the shit I've ever said about him online he would go into witness protection. No hope for any of us I fear.

[777rare]

• RARE MASTERLIST •

ABOUT ME:

Hello, I'm sam! MY BIRTHDAY IS ON 16TH FEBRUARY 108 BCE.

I'll get straight to the point, I love all things occult, otherworldly, spiritual, deep, poetic and funny. I am an INFP 4w5 type.

I LOVE all things forbidden...sorry not sorry😂jk, I love forbidden knowledge. But wait..isn't that what a bad guy would say...uhh, maybe but I just want to know WHY?...When it comes to anything.

I have been through my spiritual journey for around seven years now and the reason I share my astrological studies here is because there are many people like me who are deeply interested in the art of astrology. I'm grateful for the support I receive everyday and I hope everybody enjoys my posts to the fullest!

❤️‍🔥Now to the completely incomplete masterlist 👍:

ASTROLOGY:

My study: The Ahtkuymas Method

Astrology Observations:

ASTROLOGY OBSERVATIONS PT.1

ASTROLOGY OBSERVATIONS PT.2

ASTROLOGY OBSERVATIONS PT.3

ASTROLOGY OBSERVATIONS PT.4

ASTROLOGY OBSERVATIONS PT.5

ASTROLOGY OBSERVATIONS PT.6

ASTROLOGY OBSERVATIONS PT.7

ASTROLOGY OBSERVATIONS PT.8

ASTROLOGY OBSERVATIONS PT.9

ASTROLOGY OBSERVATIONS PT.10

ASTROLOGY OBSERVATIONS PT.11

ASTROLOGY OBSERVATIONS PT.12

ASTROLOGY OBSERVATIONS PT.13

Specific House Observations:

PLANET DOMINANCE

12TH HOUSE OBSERVATIONS PT.1

12TH HOUSE OBSERVATIONS PT.2

12TH HOUSERS AND FOREIGN LANDS

12TH HOUSERS

A MARS DOMINANT WOMAN

PISCES AND/OR 12TH HOUSE STELLIUM MOOD BOARD PT.1

INSIDE THE MIND OF A 12TH HOUSER

8TH HOUSE SYNASTRY OBSERVATIONS PT.1

8TH HOUSE SYNASTRY OBSERVATIONS PT.2

How MARS 8th house synastry manifests

What goes on in the minds of a couple with 8th house synastry...

Solar Return Chart Observations:

SOLAR RETURN OBSERVATIONS PT.1

SOLAR RETURN OBSERVATIONS PT.2

SOLAR RETURN OBSERVATIONS PT.3

Synastry Chart Observations:

SYNASTRY OBSERVATIONS PT.1 (18+)

SYNASTRY OBSERVATIONS PT.2

Composite Chart Observations:

COMPOSITE OBSERVATIONS PT.1

COMPOSITE OBSERVATIONS PT.2

Persona Charts:

Ascendant Persona Chart

Groom and Briede Persona Chart

.

Astrology and our Human Body:

FACIAL FEATURES IN ASTROLOGY PT.1

FACIAL FEATURES IN ASTROLOGY PT.2

PLANETS AND THE BODY PARTS

Astrology Analysis:

FAME AFTER DEMISE..LEAVING A LEGACY PT.1

FAME AFTER DEMISE..LEAVING A LEGACY PT.2

FAME AFTER DEMISE..LEAVING A LEGACY PT.3

FAME AFTER DEMISE..LEAVING A LEGACY PT.4

Vedic Knowledge and Astrology:

VEDIC ASTROLOGY FOR BEGINNERS

SHORT VEDIC ASTROLOGY NOTES PT.1

SHORT VEDIC ASTROLOGY NOTES PT.2

SHORT VEDIC ASTROLOGY NOTES PT.3

SHORT VEDIC ASTROLOGY NOTES PT.4

SHORT VEDIC ASTROLOGY NOTES PT.5

THE STORY OF RAHU AND KETU

HOW RAHU AND KETU IMPACT THE CHART

HAPPY MAHA SHIVARATRI 2025

RAVANA IN THE RAMAYANA

SHIV TANDAV STOTRAM

HANUMAN CHALISA AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

Others:

When a planet falls in the houses...

When you've got problems with ______ look at _____ house.

Empty houses show what is not a priority in your life.

Venus in the houses...my advice to you

Persona Charts:-

(Still in progress)

Asteroid Persona Charts:-

(Still in progress)

Asks:

SAGITTARIUS MARS CONJUNCT SAG PLUTO IN THE 12TH HOUSE

VERTEX IN 7TH HOUSE SOLAR RETURN CHART

SOLAR RETURN CHART 8TH HOUSE STELLIUM

WHAT ABOUT EMPTY HOUSES?

SIRINE SQUARE PLUTO

A COINCIDENCE REALLY..

Asteroids:

SUNSHINE ASTEROID

MESSALINA IN THE HOUSES

EROS AND YOUR SENSUAL SIDE

COMPILATION OF MANY ASTEROIDS

ALL ABOUT CHIRON

PALMISTRY:

RECEPTIVE AND PROJECTIVE ENERGY

BASICS OF PALMISTRY

SPECIAL SYMBOLS ON THE HAND

TAROT:

Court Cards:

THE SWORDS FAMILY

THE WANDS FAMILY

THE CUPS FAMILY

THE PENTACLES FAMILY

WHY ARE THERE A LOT OF COURT CARDS IN A SPREAD?

THE CONNECTION SPREAD THAT REALLY HELPS

TAROTLOGY AND MY EXPERIENCE WITH THIS

TAROT COLOUR MEANINGS

TAROT 'TABLE OF CARD MEANING'

TAROT PAC READINGS:

Their arousing thoughts about you

How do men view you?

The Universe is calling...

What are they thinking about you?

.

TAROT ASKS:

Angel was the first to ask me a question here

Um, well..she asked about may without giving her details pt.1

Well, she came back with her details to get info about may pt.2

A doubt about the reading offer

Confused with this question...

My favourite ask, still so interesting tbh.

The future spouse meeting question.

An answered, unanswered question.

Free readings doubt.

what does this person bring to the table?

Am I up for tarot exchange?

Other Spiritual Knowledge:

SPIRITUALITY FOR BEGINNERS, PT.1

GRABOVOI CODES

AFFIRMATION for when you feel unloved.

SIGILS AND HOW TO MAKE THEM

ASTRAL PROJECTION FOR BEGINNERS

RED BRICK DUST AND HOW TO MAKE IT

THE MOLDAVITE CRYSTAL

SUN GAZING + SUN AND MOON WATER

BASIC NUMEROLOGY

THE KARMIC NUMBERS

MY RECOMMENDED YT CHANNELS FOR THOSE YEARNING FOR KNOWLEDGE

EVERYTHING RELATED TO SUBLIMINALS

CLEANSING USING SOUND

WRITE _______ NO. FOR BEAUTY

CHEAT CODES FOR MANIFESTATION

EVERYTHING ABOUT SWITCH WORDS

HOW TO USE GRABOVOI OR MANIFESTATION CODES

BASIC GRABOVOI CODES

OUR AURA (Kinds of forms)

COLOUR ENERGY (significance of colours)

A WITCHY TIP

GRABOVOI CODES FOR HEALTH

GRABOVOI CODES FOR LOVE

AFFIRMATIONS FOR YOUR SP

All Things Buddhism:

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE 'Om Mane Padme Hum' MANTRA

GREEN TARA MANTRA

RED TARA MANTRA

All The Reviews:

TAROT EXCHANGE READING

ASTROLOGY 8TH HOUSE STELLIUM (SRC)

Everything Deep And Beautiful:

Why don't you understand...

The note I wrote to myself a day before I turned 18 years of age...

The deepest questions in my head that are still not answered.

Poems For The Drunk...

Those Born Drunk...like Me 😂:

STUPID POEM PT.1

STUPID POEM PT.2

STUPID POEM PT.3

STUPID POEM PT.4

THE LEFTOUTS [LOL]:

2025 (MY RETURN FROM THE DEAD, JK)

MY SICK ERA

MY BIRTHDAY EXCHANGE READING OFFER 2025

MY TAROT READING OFFER 2022

THE TIME WHEN I NEEDED VOTES

Another 'I'm back' (how many times will I make this I wonder🥲)

[cottonlemonade]

Haunted House

word count: 883 || avg. reading time: 3 mins.

pairing: Sakusa x chubby!Reader

genre: fluff, established relationship

warnings: none

request: watching Nightmare Before Christmas with some caramel popcorn dressed as a witch with Sakusa || fluffy, going to a Haunted House with boyfriend Sakusa

Going to the Halloween Fair was a tradition that no amount of annoyed sighs and fake pleading glances from your boyfriend could derail.

You loved October and marked the occasion in your calendar well in advance.

Under a lot of protest and promises of watching horror movies with him only to pick them apart for their inaccuracies, Sakusa - black mask securely in place - eventually piled into the car with your friends. It wasn‘t as if he didn‘t like them but he liked them a whole lot less when they were loudly singing along to Spooky Scary Skeletons on your way to the fair.

As soon as you made it through the entrance, discussing which you wanted to hit first - the snack stand or seeing if you could persuade Sakusa to rent a couple's costume with you, someone ran towards you and skidded to a halt.

“Y/n! Good that you‘re here! We‘re one person short for the haunted house!“

“Huh!?“ Your eyes widened - during your high school days, you helped out every year with the fair all the way from ticket ripper to face painting. Being a monster in the haunted house was an honor and when you were finally appointed zombie number 4 for the first time, you raced home to call Sakusa with the amazing news.

“I‘m here with someone.“, you frowned apologetically, pulling your boyfriend closer for emphasis. He raised his hand to greet as if necessary.

“Please, we’re desperate! And you don’t have to do it all night. If you could just stall for an hour until the substitute makes it here…”

You met Sakusa’s eyes who tried to read your expression for if you wanted him to play the bad guy and tell you no or if you wanted support. It seemed like the latter.

“One hour isn’t too bad.”, he said in a low tone with a slight shrug, “I’ll just look around what other things we can do and make a list for when you’re done.”

“You sure?”

He nodded.

You got on your tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek and then left with a sad theatrical wave as though taking to the high seas.

Luckily, the costume for your necessary character was very loose to begin with. Playing a classic Japanese ghost, you needed a white flowy dress and a wig of long straight black hair. Minus the wig and unappetizing makeup though, the dress was a lot more fitted on your much chubbier figure. You turned in the dirty mirror in the second corridor of the house, thinking this outfit would definitely not be out of place at a summer garden party, but it was the best you could do under the circumstances. You just had to dial up the creepiness. One by one you made people scream in terror and run panicked to the next room. Proudly, you cleared your throat and went to the break room after half an hour for a quick sip of water - wheezing, screeching, and chasing after guests really took a lot out of a person. As you gulped down the soothingly cold drink you spotted your boyfriend amongst your group of friends, clearly having been dragged to join a round at the haunted house and excitement bubbled in your chest. Sakusa was not easily spooked. The closest to scared you had ever seen him was when he spotted a bug sitting menacingly on your living room coffee table during the summer when the screen door was open.

The most terrifying thing for him about this experience would be getting close to people - you chuckled at the thought and an idea formed in your head. You grabbed a little spray bottle with water from the prop pile on the table and returned to your post.

Most of your friends didn’t recognize you while you made them run for the hills. Your best friend went “hi Y/n”, gave you a high five, and moved on. Before she left she informed you that Sakusa was not far behind.

You pressed yourself with hunched shoulders into the blind spot close to the entering door and waited.

You heard the next guest enter and when he passed you in the half-darkness you identified the black curls and broad tall frame in an instant. The giddiness almost made you dizzy. Sakusa stood still for a moment, most likely letting his eyes adjust before pushing forward. In those precious few seconds, you snuck up behind him and, just like earlier, stood on your tiptoes, bringing your lips close to his ear, spray bottle raised. Channeling all your acting skills you imitated a loud wet sneeze, spritzing a bit of water on his neck at the same time.

If you’d had to guess, you wouldn’t have said that Sakusa’s screams would be this high-pitched. Nor that he jumped so high into the air that he knocked down a plastic spider with his head.

All professionalism left your body and you doubled over, wheezing with laughter. Your boyfriend clutched his chest and breathed heavily on the opposite wall. “Oh you think this is funny?”, he pressed out, making you only snort and cackle even more. “Just you wait!” You yelped in delight as he chased you down the corridor for his revenge.

art: @oknbird on Twitter

a/n: request for @liquidcatt

Thank you so much for the request! This was so much fun to write 🌟 I hope you enjoyed it! 🫶🏻

[kaibutsushidousha]

Thoughts on Kirschtaria?

I love Kirschtaria lots but he isn't exactly easy to talk about. Olympus was 4 years but I still think it's too early for this post. Kirschtaria is the one who knows what the entire Animusphere plot is about. Until his final scenes, where he opens rebellion against the CHALDEAS and tries to unfold his secret plan, he's under constant surveillance by the priestess and pretty much all of his actions and speeches inform of CHALDEAS's (Marisbury's) beliefs rather than his own. A good analysis of Kirschtaria needs to wait until we know what exactly he was involved with.

The post-rebellion parts, where we get to see his past and learn about his ideals, are not easy to talk about either because Kirschtaria is too much of a straightforward hero behind his mage posturing and 5D chess. He's cheerful, accepting, driven to be productive, loves his friends, believes in everyone's inherent potential to be good, and wishes to end inequality above all.

One of the parroted Animusphere beliefs that Kirschtaria showed to genuinely believe in is the idea that humans are unequipped to immediately make the right choice but he puts a positive spin to it making we are experts in fixing mistakes later.

I don't think I can find anything original to say by explaining how his experience with Pino taught him that beauty can come from the least expected places and how much that is reflected in his relationships with Caenis and Beryl, so I guess all I got to close off this with post with is some speculative trivia that never leaves my brain.

I strongly believe Kirschtaria's characterization is the result of Nasu really wanting to write his original version of Jesus but knowing exactly how much of a bad idea it is to portray the central figure of a massively active religion. This is the same guy who made the Buddha into a boss character with no speaking roles and removed Hassan's Allah Akbar chant from every rerelease of Fsn for sensibility reasons. Jesus himself gets referenced as the Messiah sometimes but never by name. Nasu plays safe with this kind of thing.

So instead of Jesus, we have Kirschtaria. Named after the Japanese "kirishito" spelling of Christ, but written with a very unusual romanization because Nasu really wanted the English spelling of the name to contain an anagram of Christ (irscht). Then he put Kirsch through the basic Jesus plot of carrying out a major project to free mankind from its history of sin and enable everyone to do better, with the only life paid as the price being his own. And in true Jesus fashion, this ends with Kirschtaria dying by the side of a huge sinner that he personally pardoned and inspired to be better. And since subtlety is for pussies, we also get a scene where Caenis sees Kirschtaria shirtless and practically straight up says "Dude, you look like one of those Jesus portraits".

I could continue with commentary on how Pino being poor, sickly, and homeless is in line with the standard archetype of characters who appear to receive miracles in the Gospels, or how Nasu's interest in Jesus is tangible again with his next story portraying both Avalon le Faes as prophesized saviors born through special means for the sole purpose of going on a painful journey of pilgrimage fated to culminate on them sacrificing themselves to absolve the people of an ancestral sin but I think it's better not to stretch the idea too much.

[danieyells]

hi there,

thank you so much for all the voicelines you post !! if it’s okay, can i request subaru’s ?

thank you again !

You're welcome! At some point I might go back and put in the ones I leave out because they don't appeal to me as much lol but since i always end up posting 99% of them anyway I think it's enough for most people hahaha. It's all of them now! Sorry for the delay.

I WAS GONNA OMIT ONE OR TWO BECAUSE OF SPOILERS but eh i'll just warm for like. extra spoilers. since after doing more code peeking it wasn't the spoiler i thought it was. SUBARU IS A SWEETIE THOUGH. I also read Subaru's chats which were put in the code recently and. Man this guy needs anxiety meds. I have a small guess as to what his stigma is, but we'll learn in a few days anyway.

Hello: (the first time the game is opened after that character is set as home screen NPC. Only happens once per day, unless the character is switched out and back.)

"I'm very sorry to have kept you waiting. It's wonderful to see you again."

You've Got Mail: (whenever there's something in the inbox, usually Arena rewards)

"It looks like there's a notice for you. I'd be happy to go pick it up for you if you've got your hands full. Oh, forgive me if I'm overstepping."

oh no he's anxious about helping--

Default: (requires no affinity, has no time constraints)

"I really am so lucky to be surrounded by so many kind people like you."

"I never thought I'd get the chance to enjoy the lifestyle of a student until I came to Darkwick. Every day truly is fulfilling here."

it feels like subaru is like. . .the only one who actually enjoys school life here. . .or who really enjoys being here period lmao. . . .

"You think I'm always smiling? Ha ha, I hear that a lot. It just happens when I'm around all of you."

"I may be the captain, but it's just in name. I think Haku is much better suited for the job than me."

"I've been working since I was four, so people often said I was mature for my age. But the truth is, I've still got a lot to learn."

that makes two characters whose parents have essentially been keeping them from normal life and normal childhood for work reasons since they were four year olds. . . .

Affinity 1: (between 5am and 11am)

"I tend to just have hot water for breakfast. I know it would be better for me to eat a proper meal, but it's just so much effort."

DO WE REALLY HAVE TO START WITH "I NEED THE GHOULS TO EAT PROPER FUCKIN MEALS". . . .

Affinity 2: (between 11am and 4pm)

"I'm sorry I'm so late. The campus is so crowded I can never manage to walk in a straight line, so it always takes me longer than I think. Silly, isn't it?"

baby you're hardly the first person i've met with anxiety about crowds. you're fine.

Affinity 3: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"What would I do without Haku's help? Hotarubi would be a mess without him."

Affinity 4: (between 8pm and 5am)

"I wonder if I should apply early to take out any common artifacts I might need for this mission. I'll ask Haku what he thinks..."

Affinity 5: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Ah!  You surprised me there... I just got back from a small errand. Do you need something?"

Affinity 6: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"Ever since I was a child, the performing arts were my only focus. Maybe that's why people always say my mannerisms are so peculiar. It bothers you too, doesn't it?"

poor boy doesn't know how to act if he isn't acting. . .he doesn't know how to exist off-script. . .no wonder he made a deal with a demon. it's probably the first thing he's ever done for himself.

Affinity 7: (between 11am and 4pm)

"I'd like to go to the cafeteria, but the line is always so long. I feel bad taking time to choose while people are waiting behind me. The bar of entry feels a little high."

i am once again suggesting subaru get anxiety meds. hell go to sinnostra and get some weed, i bet they sell that. i hear it can help.

Affinity 8: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"I'm just about to go and meet a friend. I hate to inconvenience you like this, but if it's something urgent, could you speak to Haku about it instead?"

Affinity 9: (between 8pm and 5am)

"What am I going to do? We're supposed to be meeting up in an hour... If I cancel now, they'll hate me..."

Affinity 10: (between 10pm and midnight)

"Whew... I'll walk you back to your house, {PC}. Oh, it's no problem at all, I assure you! I wanted some fresh air anyway."

Affinity 11: (between 5am and 11am)

"I have an Anomalous Ecology test coming up. It's such a fascinating subject, I couldn't help but stay up all night studying. Now I'm a little sleep-deprived."

Affinity 12: (between 11am and 4pm)

"I'm going to stretch my legs a little. I might not have a show to practice for right now, but I need to keep putting myself through my paces. I'll get rusty otherwise."

Affinity 13: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"I'm sorry my phone's been making so much noise. I recently downloaded an app by mistake, and it won't stop sending me notifications..."

awww he's also technologically incompetent. . .poor guy was probably raised with such a heavy focus on his career he just. never needed a smartphone. anyone he needed to contact or who needed to contact him was probably always very close by. it sounds like he didn't even properly go to school before going to Darkwick. Somebody please take this boy on a walk. like anywhere. take him to a library. buy him a churro. can sho make churros? this is somebody who's never had any sort of normal social experience and sees how different he is and wishes it weren't the case, unlike Ritsu who assumes everyone else is like him, i think he'd like to have some more Experiences.

Affinity 14: (between 5am and 11am)

"... ...Oh! Hello, {PC}—I didn't even notice you there. My mind was somewhere else."

Affinity 15: (between 5am and 11am)

"Good morning! Sorry? My hair's messy? You're right, it's sticking right up at the front... That's embarrassing. I'll fix it right away."

Affinity 16: (between 11am and 4pm)

"I usually have lunch in the dormitory. I do eat on the terrace with Lyca every now and then, but he seems so busy these days..."

Lyca is one of the members of Obscuary, btw! Seems like he and Subaru are friends.

Affinity 17: (between 10pm and midnight)

"I didn't take you for a night owl, {PC}. Since you're here, I suppose I'll stay up a little longer. You're sure you're okay? You're not sleepy?"

Affinity 18: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Do you visit Sinostra very often, {PC}? I see... Oh, no reason. I was just making conversation. Ha ha."

why do you ask that. . .a certain mafioso captain wouldn't happen to be suspicious of you would he. . .or maybe you owe them money. . .or maybe you used to be part of Sinostra and moved to Hotarubi. . . .

Affinity 19: (between 10pm and midnight)

"It's getting late, {PC}. How about we finish this tomorrow? Thank you for keeping me company all this time."

Affinity 20: (between 5am and 11am)

"Oh, I couldn't ask you to come all the way to my room to wake me up—I'd feel terrible. I do very much appreciate the thought, though."

it's okay buddy jin already makes them do it, one more pit stop won't hurt.

Affinity 21: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Oh, hello, {PC}. Sorry, I was actually just on my way out. I should be back by evening—do you mind if we speak then?"

Affinity 22: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"Lyca has seen my message, so why hasn't he responded to it? I hope nothing bad has happened to him..."

Affinity 23: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Lyca will adapt well to human society, I'm sure of it. I'm so relieved that Darkwick chose to trust him. I can't thank you enough for your help."

he really likes Lyca huh? that is his dog.

Affinity 24: (between 10pm and midnight)

"You can't sleep? Then let me tell you some stories. Legend has it that evil spirits appear once you've told a hundred. Now, what number was I up to..."

BOY IS TRYNA GET YOUR ASS HAUNTED.

Affinity 25(max): (no time constraints)

"I don't want to seem like I'm testing you, I just... I get really anxious sometimes... I'm sorry. I'm being weird, aren't I?"

he's the type to ask 'are you sure you love me? are you sure you wanna be with me?' after you get married and move in together and own a house and have two kids with another on the way. he's the hyper anxious 'i'm sorry we disagreed about our favorite colors do you hate me?' friend(affectionate) I wonder though, is he apologizing for seeming like he's testing you because he's using his stigma to see what you've been up to or something. . .? Probably not lol it's more likely he just keeps asking if you like him

Spring: (March-May) (between 5am and 11am)

"There is no time like spring. Everyone seems more relaxed this time of year. It's reassuring to see."

(between 11am and 4pm)

"I have some sakura mochi. I was just about to prepare some tea to go with it—would you like to join me?"

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"They have no control over whether they bloom, and yet they get made a spectacle of nonetheless... Oh, sorry—I was talking about the cherry blossoms."

(between 8pm and 5am)

"There are many different flowers growing in Hotarubi, but I think the wisteria are my favorites. This is the best time to see them, so you should take a walk around."

Summer: (June-August) (between 5am and 11am)

"Hot today, isn't it? It's always raining in Hotarubi, so it does provide a little escape from the blazing summer sun, but... Ha ha. It is very humid, isn't it?"

(between 11am and 4pm)

"Summer makes me think of the ghost story Yotsuya Kaidan. The scene where Oiwa becomes hysterical, having realized her her face has been disfigured— incredible."

Yotsuya Kaidan is one of the best known japanese ghost stories! It's extremely violent, so read the summary at your discretion. The scene in question has Oiwa shown her reflection by her sister's boss to see that the cream she was given by a woman who was in love with her husband was actually some sort of poison that instantly scarred her face. She grabs a sword and goes to kill her, only for her to accidentally slit her own throat.

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"Hotarubi House holds regular festivals during the summer months. If you need a yukata to wear, I'd be happy to pick one out for you."

(between 8pm and 5am)

"I don't mind scary stories, but when that biwa in the tea room started playing by itself, it did make me jump a little..."

slight spoiler, although you can probably figure it out from this but. . .Zenji is a ghost. Subaru currently can't actually see him or hear his voice. . .only Haku, the pc, and, perhaps not so oddly, Towa can afair. All of his youtube content doesn't have him or his voice in it because he can't be recorded by cameras. So Subaru doesn't realize that the biwa playing on its own is actually Zenji playing the biwa.

Autumn: (September-November) (between 5am and 11am)

"The air has gotten crisper, and the leaves are changing color. I know it's only natural for the seasons to shift, so why does it make my heart ache so much?"

(between 11am and 4pm)

"Oh, these? They're some chestnuts I found. I know—I should give them to Sho. I'm sure he'll be able to make something delicious with them."

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"That's another kuchikiri tea ceremony under my belt. It's an annual tradition where one cuts open a tea jar to reveal the tea that was preserved from the first harvest."

(between 8pm and 5am)

"On long autumn nights when the moon is shining beautifully in the sky, it's hard to resist taking a walk outside. Don't stay out until too late though, {PC}."

Winter: (December-February) (between 5am and 11am)

"...Oh, {PC}. Good morning... I had a hard time getting up today. It must be the cold... Ha ha. Not very captain-like, is it?"

Jin, Taiga, and Ed are all prone to not getting out of bed. and Yuri falls asleep on operating tables when he has down time. Trust me Subaru you are perfectly captain-like.

(between 11am and 4pm)

"Today, I'm going to order ingredients from one of my favorite stores so we can all make negima—tuna and scallion—hot pot together. Please, do join us."

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"It's cold out today. I was just thinking about lighting the fire. Would you like to come and warm up with me?"

oh subaru you don't even know how that sounds

(between 8pm and 5am)

"People say winter makes you want to snuggle up with someone, but I find that a good blanket does a much better job."

i agree that blankets are much easier to manage than people lol. probably warmer too.

His birthday: (February 20th)

"A present? For me? Thank you... I didn't expect you to do anything for my birthday, so I'm a little caught off guard. I really appreciate it."

Your birthday:

"Um... Happy birthday.  I really hope this year will be a wonderful one for you."

New Years: (January 1st)

"Happy New Year. I hope I can depend on your guidance and support again this year."

Valentine's Day: (February 14th)

"Chocolate? Oh, It's Valentine's Day, isn't it? Does that mean these are for me...?"

nah i just wanted you to look at them. YES THEY ARE FOR YOU BBY. why would you be showing him chocolate if it wasn't for him! On any day, not just valentine's day!!

White Day: (March 14th)

"These are for you, {PC}. I put in a special order for monaka from my favorite confectioner in Ginza. They're wafers filled with bean jam—I hope you like them."

April Fool's Day: (April 1st)

"Earlier, Haku told me he was switching houses. It gave me a real shock— I'm very relieved that it wasn't true..."

i bet subaru made the most scared kicked puppy face and started apologizing for being such an awful captain and blamed himself for that haku would go to a different house and haku had to quickly explain it was just a prank for fear that subaru might burst into tears.

Halloween: (October 31st)

"Happy Halloween. I know it's nothing special, but I've prepared some treats for the occasion. Oh... But you're more than welcome to play a trick instead."

please don't trick him. april fool's day was hard enough for him.

Christmas: (December 25th)

"Merry Christmas. We already have our New Year decorations up in Hotarubi, so it has a real east-meets-west atmosphere now. I hope everyone is okay with it..."

Idle: (about 20 seconds without interacting with the game) (below 13 affinity)

"Everyone seems busy at the moment. Maybe I should use this opportunity to tidy the garden..."

(13 affinity and above)

"{PC}? Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I was just worried because you were so quiet..."

Absent: (logging in for the first time in 2 or more days?)

"You're back... I'm so relieved. I was worried I'd done something to make you feel uncomfortable..."

this man shakes like a chihuahua 24/7. like you can taste the anxiety coming off of him. i love him. he's so pathetic(affectionate). i wanna squeeze his hand reassuringly and tell him everything's gonna be okay. i wanna hug him and pat his head. i wanna take him places so he learns more about the world outside of working. i wanna watch him do schoolwork excitedly because he's never really gone to school before and it's a new and exciting experience. i want him to experience the most mundane aspects of life with wonder.

good boy. yeah. get him anxiety meds /nodnod

[dadvans]

reasons u should watch 9-1-1

feast for the whump girlies in the shape of one evan buckley, who simply wants to be loved and inexplicably isn't

like he's literally unloved in a my sister's keeper never let me go kind of way and the fact that it takes 4 seasons to get there is frankly insane

somehow can sensitively dive into things like post partum depression while also doing cursed amulet storylines. that's camp, babey!!!!!

everyone in this show is so bad at their job that it will make you feel better about your own workplace performance

guy complains that it costs LA taxpayers $88k to put a woman through fire academy but then we never think about those LA taxpayers when there's a 9.0 earthquake or a tsunami or a hurricane or a volcanic fissure opening up in the middle of the city (the last one is just where i'm predicting this show is going) (this isn't really a reason but more just an example of the kind of storytelling you have to emotionally prepare yourself for)

angela bassett is in it, even if she is a cop

god cursed the fire chief with magic blood so he can't kill himself and go to his idea of heaven (constantly making dinner for the wife and kids he killed with his alcoholism) (he does get to bang angela bassett though) (you like this dude because he's played by peter krause who could put on a fucking clinic on how to tee-hee dance his way around every red flag in human history)

ghosts are real and there are multiple weird plots based on this premise with shockingly long-term effects!!!!

EVERYONE is gay, even the people who are straight

jennifer love hewitt's studio ghibli sponsored tear ducts and ability to breast beautifully downstairs

two men are full ass raising a child together and they don't know that they've been married for several years now but they've been married for several years

you have never felt real human hunger until you've known the urge to motorboat lou ferrigno jr.

[tomorrowillbeyou]

Thursday 2005 demos

These are some early demos for A City by the Light Divided which were stolen from the band and leaked in September 2005. I haven't seen anyone post about them so I thought I would myself. Below are lyrics and some extra context. I have tried to transcribe the lyrics as best I can but I have pretty bad auditory processing disorder so there will inevitably be some errors. If you spot a mistake, let me know and I will edit the post. The formatting and details of the lyrics are mostly based on the CD booklet.

Blog post

After the demos were leaked, Geoff made this blog post on the Thursday website on September 21 2005:

1 - At This Velocity - Lyrics

Hey friends-

SO… we see that the early demos we did for the record have FINALLY leaked. In this day and age anything and everything that passes through a computer eventually ends up being available to everyone at the click of a button. Many of you know that Thursday is one of the few bands that actually supports file sharing!!! We love the fact that music is available to everyone whenever they need it. We have always told our friends and 'fans' that they should download any of our albums that they can't afford or can't find in stores.

These demos, however, weren't ready for anyone to hear. These songs have all changed substantially since those demos and will probably change between now and the recording. Just to help you guys understand these demos, here's a user's guide: 1. most of these songs don't have names because the lyrics are still being written… a song only really becomes a song for us when we figure out EXACTLY what it's about. 2. One of these songs is actually the reincarnated out-take of a song that we cut from war all the time. 3. Andrew had just joined the band as a full fledged member when we recorded these and his keyboard parts were still sketchy at best. 4. There is one song, however, that is much closer to finished than the other's. It's called "At This Velocity" and it's about a crash landing in an airplane on the other side of the world. This song was started when we were in Australia on tour with the Flaming Lips, the Mars Volta and Poison the Well. The first line of the song is, "We were safe, Now we're paralyzed, Suspended in flight…" We hope you enjoy it.

On a related and timely note, we are very excited to announce that we will be heading into the studio with Dave Fridmann at the beginning of October to start on our new album. His work with the Flaming Lips, Weezer, Mogwai and Sleater Kinney has produced some of the finest albums of the last ten years. Dave is one of the few modern producers really pushing the medium and he's one of the nicest guys in the business. We started preproduction on the sixteen songs we've written. In the short amount of time we've been working with Dave he's already pushing us to new musical and emotional ground.

Anyway, thank you all for the love that you have always shown us. These demos aren't really a good indication so try not to listen to them too much (we don't want you to get used to them this way!!!). We're just happy that all the really great stuff on this album is still a secret!!!

Keep checking the website for updates and tidbits.

thanks and love,

Geoff (and all the Thursday boys)

We were safe

Now we're paralyzed

Suspended in flight

At this speed it makes no difference

Where I start and where you end

Or if you sit in an emergency aisle.

We could be dead

Complete the equation:

Our names are X and N

We have no value

In these calculations:

We're placed on a plane,

Pointed straight down,

Traveling at five hundred feet per second,

Five thousand feet from the ground -- how long will it take us to hit?

How fast will we start the disintegration?

No time left - just keep moving

No time left - just keep moving

How fast will it take us to hit?

How long till we start the disintegration?

2 - Telegraph Avenue Kiss - Lyrics

We could be safe here, forever,

Floating in the clean blue air.

Somewhere between the sun that gives us light and the ground that puts it out.

And we'll kneel in the aisles

Press our hands together, close our eyes, speak these words so softly into the black box

And it goes:

"Mother, father, can you hear this?

I want to thank you for all the sweetness.

I'm not coming home, we're never coming home."

She's the song that you tried to sing

And the note that you couldn't hit

So you locked her up in a music box

Turned the key on all of us

She spins silver strings in the dark

With metal teeth that ring in her heart

When the cover drops

The world just fades away, away, away

From her, waiting, waiting, waiting for her to say:

It doesn't matter what you say,

Doesn't matter what you think you mean,

You know our love's not unconditional.

A book of matches and a cigarette

A love note that you never sent

You can fold it up but you won't forget

You can strike a match but it still might not light

Now I'm the one that's stuck inside the silver cage,

The bird that can't fly away, clip its wings if it sings

Of the way, the way, the way that it hurt

Waiting, waiting, waiting for her to say:

It doesn't matter what you say,

Doesn't matter what you think you mean,

You know our love's not unconditional.

Doesn't matter what you say,

Doesn't matter what you think you mean,

You know our love's not unconditional.

The music box is open

It's spinning with the room

If you're the record playing, I'm the needle in the groove.

Listen to our song:

You're in my heart,

In my hands

In my lungs.

3 - The Other Side of the Crash / Over and Out (Of Control) - Lyrics

We move like a carousel

Streak lights and mirrors in our eyes

It's time to let this go

Can't stop spinning

Around, around, around, around, around, around, around, around, around, around, around

You know our love's not unconditional

Unconditional

Unconditional

You know our love's not unconditional.

Note: This contains a section from Panic On The Streets Of Health Care City, the "reincarnated out-take" mentioned in the blog post. Panic later appeared on Kill The House Lights.

The lights go down, outside (before our cars collide)

The city silhouettes itself (in forty shades of fire)

Do you know where these lies are leading? I'll meet you there.

I'm covering up my eyes

Before they cover up your eyes

And wrap your body all in white,

And we awake in the light of all the lies

This can't be happening

These sirens are for me, yeah

We wake up

Covered in the marks of all these razors

Racing up our veins

We'll live and learn to love again

Open up your eyes and we'll be safe again

From the razor's edge.

And the hospital ward sleeps

Through the surgery

Hiding needles in the drawer

(for emergency)

While upstairs they sleep

In maternity

Fever and the pitch.

It's a brand new day,

Just to be awake,

This is how it feels

To live and learn to love again

Open up your eyes and we'll be safe away

From the razor's edge.

4 - Autumn Leaves Revisited - Lyrics

The I.V. drips, the days drag on

The anesthetic's not wearing off

Adjust the light switch in the hall

Someone has left it on,

And maybe the x-ray screen keeps it from getting dark

The bulb burns out when it gets too hot

Keep crashing this car (over and over)

Keep crashing this car (over and over)

Keep crashing this car (over and over)

I can't keep crashing this car

Still it spins out of control

So hold me close or I might disappear this time

Out of control

We fight currents in the water

When we can't let go of the shore.

We've lost control.

The leaves will fall and so will you

When you do, bury me under them too

Seconds pass, we'll make it through

Eventually we all go home

It won't be long

It won't be long

I live with a girl who’s been waiting

Seven months left till they bring home the baby

He swore he was paying for school

They shipped him over. Now he scatters on the front lines

He swore he would follow his conscience

But done the wrong way follows his orders instead.

When he shoots, he sings this song

But he doesn’t know that she’s been singing it, too.

It won't be long

It won't be long

Until they find a way home

We walk along the wire tied between horizons

You close your eyes like it's nothing at all

Throughout the rise and fall, everything, everything

Changes, I will be here when you die

Did you hear the trumpets play the day your father died?

Did the violins swell those circles under your eyes?

Did you play the part straight like a march?

Or get lost in the beat, thinking and feeling…

Did the drums in the streets make the people dance?

Or fall to their knees from the sound?

Knock the leaves from the trees,

and they fell from the branch?

They looked beautiful

As they hung in the air

Spinning around

Did you float in the air?

Spinning around?

There must be somewhere that cigarettes burn through the night

And the leaves don't abandon their trees to the light

Where the sky's always clear and the summer never ends…

Won't you take me there?

5 - Untitled - Lyrics

The leaves will fall and so will you

When you do, bury me under them too

Seconds pass, we'll make it through

Eventually we all are going home

Note - this didn't end up on ACBTLD, but did make it onto Common Existence as Last Call.

The center cannot hold, the side collapses

Full of broken words, sing the song inside the dark arcade

Color me in city greens

The streets unwinding, spitting flames

Cars around the arteries

We scream and swerve and fall apart.

Everything we love, it falls apart,

And the architect abandons us.

I'll save us from the sky until a feeling burns, you try

It plants a seed of fire that flowers in the corner of your eye

Circular breathing

We'll keep them always moving

Heart attack efficiency,

Erase the figure as it falls.

Everything we love, it falls apart,

And the architect abandons us.

Everything is falling apart.

The city shakes like tired hands

The light divides what darkness mends

Our bodies echo in our plans.

Everything is falling apart.

The wedding starts

The guests appear

The church bells ringing endlessly

The bride and groom are hand in hand

And everything goes as it's planned:

The parents smile,

The priest chokes up,

The organ plays "Amazing Grace"

And underneath the thin white veil

And the people sing:

La la la la, da da da…

Everything is falling apart.

The city shakes like tired hands

The light divides what darkness mends

Our bodies echo in our plans.

[waitlexist]

anyways, so

Mayhaps I made a shipping chart as I procrastinate the goals I made for myself LOL.

— template made by Junnieevee, idk if it’s readable but ANYWAYS. Credit where credit is due.

More info/explained under cut!

Sexuality —

Riddle — I think Riddle has absolutely NO clue what his sexuality is— I’m thinking he probably thought it can only BE two people, a man in a woman, in a relationship at a time. When he gets to NRC and anyone mentions sexuality he probably has questions— then during his first year winter break, probably takes those questions to his mother(it does NOT go well), and shuts up about it until post book 4. THEN and ONLY THEN does he go to Trey(and maybe Cater?). So— he’s still figuring this shit out, ok?

Azul — he is, at the very least, poly-bisexual. but mayhaps more? IDK how to headcannon sexuality Hhdushhsshhd.

Jealousy level —

Riddle — I don’t see Riddle getting very jealous! It would require a LOT of physical affection or lack of affection towards him to get him jealous.

Azul — mf is insecure, need I say more. Not as intense as Luna, though.

Luna — so. I feel like in folklore, fairies can be very possessive, no? LUNA EMBODIES THIS. Riddle and Azul hung out without telling her(the problem is she was not informed, not that they’re hanging out!)? Jealous. Equestrian club? Jealous. Floyd being Floyd? Jealous. Looked at someone else? JEALOUS. It’s her biggest problem, actually. She’s trying to work on it. Trying.

Horny Level —

sooo I avoided this because A. I want all my moots(COUGH KOGANE CAUGH) to be able to see this(if I included it, I’d mark the post as sexual content) and B. IDK IF IM COMFORTABLE OUTING MY FANTASIES 😭 if I ever do, the post will be marked correctly !

Clinginess level —

Riddle — mf is repressed. It takes a while for him to get used to it, but once he does? Behind closed doors, of course— he is oh so close. He’s been starved of touch his ENTIRE life. Like I said— takes a long time for him to not get flustered, though.

Azul — he’s probably a bit clingy at times, but Azul can live with simply seeing his partners in class or passing and really hanging out every few days. And being clingy is WAY too much vulnerability.

Luna — so. Luna’s been deprived of everything. Up until post book 1, she didn’t ever even HAVE friends. None. Zero. No parents(her adoptive ones don’t really count, due to their treatment of her), no nothin’. So she is starved, as much(if not more) than Riddle. But the difference in the two is Luna is NOT afraid to cling onto someone’s arm like a cute little accessory. Whether it be in public or private— she yearns so desperately for affection and she can’t bring herself to hide it. Being close feels so good, and it’s the only time she’s ever GOTTEN to feel so safe and happy. Just let her have this, pretty please with a cherry on top?

Tropes —

Riddle and Azul — I think this is self explanatory !

Riddle and Luna — Luna follows her chaotic heart, Riddle follows his lawful brain. Luna’s an idiot, Riddle has straight A’s. Though they do have things in common— they have a lot of opposites! (mutual betterment… NOM NOM NOM)

Azul and Luna — Luna trying to figure out a mixer and destroying the Mostro Lounge kitchen— Luna sitting there trying to multiple six times eight— Luna asking what the fuck a hyperbole is. Azul, every fucking time, sighs, facepalms, and makes a clearing in his schedule during the week for yet another tutoring session.

First to kiss —

HONESTLY. I have no clue. I think it could be any of them.

Azul would perfectly plan them, Luna would do her own in the heat of the moment, and the same is likely for Riddle, though to a more intense degree than Luna.

Prone to hide their feelings —

OH MY FUCKING SEVENS. ITS A FUCK FEST.

Riddle is a repressed lil’ guy. Azul’s got his vulnerabilities under lock and key. Luna is used to wearing a mask.

ITS SO FUCKING BAD. SO, SO BAD. SO MANY MISUNDERSTANDINGS. SO MYCH MISCOMMUNICATION OH MY SEVENS.

they get couples therapy after NRC + (WHICH IS A PERFECTLY NORMAL AND HEALTHY THING TO DO TVYM.)

First to propose —

FREE FOR ALL.

It could go anyway. Luna is the least likely(she wants to be proposed to like in the movies…), but if made to wait long enough, she will get FED THE FUCK UP and propose. I imagine both Riddle and Azul would be very nervous about doing it. Azul from insecurity, and Riddle because, I mean— “who’d want to marry into my family?”

it probably takes a long, long time for any of them to have the balls.

Wants children —

They don’t! Or, well, they think they don’t. A. Luna is infertile, B. Riddle doesn’t want to become his mother, C. Azul’s working on his business!

and then, flash five or so years into the future— Luna volunteers at an orphanage(survivor’s guilt or smthn idk), and falls in love with one of the orphans. So much so she ALMOST just brings the kid home like ‘sooo, don’t get made, but…’

But she doesn’t! She talks it over. And then the trio all go to the orphanage and oh my Sevens we’re taking this kid home right NOW.

Didn’t know they were dating —

I don’t think. This applies. If to anyone, MAYBE Riddle, simply because he probably doesn’t know what actual relationships look like.

[evermoreparkbadger]

Timestamped responses to Jenny Nicholson's new Patreon ramble about Evermore.

You'll have to be subbed to her Patreon to have any context for these, but Patreon is also pretty bad at sorting and finding comments so I'm reposting it here for a bit more visibility.

4:34 I hadn’t heard of him either, despite the fact that I was a performer during time he was supposedly a manager. This isn’t really surprising, ground-level employees scarcely received communication from or about anything above their department’s management.

6:55 Hi Bob! He was actually a cast member at Evermore for one season. This was after he had already been reporting on Evermore for a while, and AFAIK none of his content even during or after that period was endorsed by the park. I can attest he is as friendly and genuine in person as he is in his videos, and a great guy.

7:07 There were several others during the first few years. After Evermore announced in early 2021 that they were discontinuing all stories, quest, and characters they had done up until that point and changing to a more story-light experience, several of the most dedicated fans and frequent guests stopped engaging with the park, including any who made content about it.

8:32 Yeah. They did reorganize and lay people off several times, but only below a certain point in seniority. Obviously Ken himself and any business partners or investors that had any stake in the company maintained control. Though, if they ever “managed” anything, it was done in a very hands-off way and dictated through several layers of employees.

9:55 This kind of toxic positivity is rampant in Utah. Any type of criticism or discontent towards any leadership, usually rich, straight, white men, is highly frowned upon. Literally, in this case. The people who dare to express negative opinions or challenge the status quo (who are often not rich straight white men) are then viewed as problematic and practically shunned. Anyone who criticizes or challenges is bad, bad people are untrustworthy, therefore their criticisms and opinions are invalid.

10:23 Also strange since he did create a TTRPG company. If anything, I think that would qualify someone as a “nerd” themselves.

10:45 Exactly!

11:12 Ken held strong control over a lot of aspects of the park and the business, but it’s obviously far too big of an operation for one person to micro-manage so much of it. Another example is he wouldn’t let anyone change the Evermore website. It was commonly suggested to use the website as a way to communicate storylines and background information for new guests but it never happened. It’s unclear if Ken outright refused that, or if he didn’t mind the idea but wouldn’t do it himself or let anyone else have access to do it.

13:25 There were times when the food at the park was good. I don’t know if they were only able to have better food by cutting corners, operating without being under code, and then changed once they were under scrutiny (remember when one of the buildings lit on fire?), or if they just cut costs.

17:40 I think [Jenny is] probably right, and I don’t think this was the only time it or something similar happened. There were several times Ken would try to bring new money in, and sometimes people would bite-only to quickly back out after learning how bad the situation was.

18:50 That would require admitting fault or failure from park leadership, and thus would have never happened.

22:50 This aggravates me lol. Changing the official Facebook page name for the park changed all my “worked at” and tagged posts to say “Thecrookedlantern” instead of “Evermore Park” and it looks awful and drives me crazy.

23:30 I’m definitely biased here but I do think that some of the intellectual property that Ross now owns does have some value, or at least at one point had the potential to, but ironically it was all but abandoned after the aforementioned 2021 announcement. The worldbuilding and characters had their moments, and the Evermore Realms card game, while a relatively small project, was reportedly actually profitable for Evermore. There was an entire second set of cards designed and ready to print that never saw the light of day. Furthermore, even though Ross technically owns all the intellectual property from Evermore, he might not even be aware of most of it. Even if he was it probably wasn't properly archived anywhere. He’d have to dig through old employee emails Google Drives to piece it together, if that data even still exists or he has any way to access it, or rehire someone who worked on it to attempt to recreate it.

25:25 An Evermore property only designed to look nice and not actually facilitate people or events there? Consider me shocked. /s

30:00 Beyond the Gates is not the first former employee/fans spiritual successor that has been attempted. I was briefly involved with a group called Mynheras larp that was also the same concept. Their goal was to not have the same problems Evermore had and then almost immediately began falling apart because they were having the same problems Evermore had-at least on the creative side of things. They didn’t have any money. I haven’t worked with Beyond the Gates but there are good and talented people who are involved and I wish them the best.

31:20 I’d like to think most of us are appreciative towards the work [Jenny] did and agree with all the criticism [Jenny] made (and more), and I know several of us are, but it is Utah. I would be disappointed, but not surprised, to find a handful who hold undue resentment towards [Jenny].

39:00 I don’t know anything about this exhibit in particular, but there were so many incredibly talented people who were exploited, burned, and abandoned by Evermore. Several sculptors and creature-creators worked for months to years before the park opened, and then were laid off within months of the park opening. I’m glad to see some of their efforts and creations survived and are being put to some use.

42:30 I’m getting emotional and nostalgic seeing these omg ;_;

44:25 oh I’m so glad you had the opportunity to speak to one of them directly!

44:50 YES. This was actually a part of a big and surprising problem with Evermore’s development and how there was no intellectual property developed (e.g. story and characters) before they had to start building them. I’ll go into this in more depth in my eventual video about my experiences at Evermore if I ever finish it

45:28 yep yep yep

46:20 YEP YEP YEP

47:00 I actually didn’t know a lot of this either and it explains a lot.

47:20 and while I’m sure this all true, a lot of the puppets and creature suits did fall into significant disrepair and were never fixed.

51:20 I never personally saw any of this behavior but I did hear about it from others who I 100% believe.

52:00 My impression is that he’s not evil or malicious per se, but is someone whose ego far surpasses his competence and refuses to acknowledge or accept his failures or shortcomings. When confronted with them, he lashes out.

EDIT: I have since seen his recent Twitter replies. He has gone full alt-right Musk bro. Evermore was something of a haven for a lot of marginalized communities in Utah, not to mention -he has queer children himself-, so him revealing those opinions is a complete betrayal. I try to afford some benefit of doubt where possible, but he’s shown his true colors.

55:00 this is hilarious and I never heard these details before. While, I believe, none of the displays were intended to be specifically religious, several of the antiques were originally religious in nature and several sculptures made for the park were themed similarly. It all felt very classically Catholic or Anglican, which is funny to do in Utah where the population is very religious and conservative but specifically (and proudly) NOT Catholic or Anglican. Mormons. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

56:55 lmao we literally called that building “the barn” the first couple of seasons.

57:55 I was under the impression that the tavern was one of the few that was an original design, but maybe that was just the interior.

59:10 As far as I know, they never attempted to sell liquor on the park premises outside of the premium special events and Vander’s Keep. Corners were cut constantly, but I don’t think they were ever this bold with it. I’m sure he wanted to, but it would be impossible to get away with in Utah. It would stand out so much compared to any other similar attraction in the state, and enough of the population would actually be shocked and offended at the presence of alcohol that some suburban parents with too much time on their hands would report them immediately.

1:00:30 I don’t recall any specific details but there were several liens and lawsuits from contractors who weren’t paid even in the first year Evermore was open.

1:01:40 I’m not an authority on this subject but I don’t actually think this was the case for this building. The upper floor did have “pillars”, but they weren’t put in until several years after the park opened and were clearly fake and not structurally integral. There were antique stone columns in the park (and I once heard they were actually the oldest artifacts on site), but they were across the graveyard from the building around the weird shrine with the antique statue of Saint Apollonia, the Catholic patron saint of dentistry. To be clear, the mausoleum could easily have not been up to code but it wasn’t because there were marble columns in the upper floor. I’m not trying to defend the park by any means, but I’d like to try to keep the facts straight to paint an accurate picture.

1:03:50 These details are also new to me and also not a surprise. Infrastructure throughout the park was very limited. Again, I’m not an expert and don’t know the specifics, but the idea of hosting mid-sized performances and concerts was brought up several times almost immediately when the park opened, and I was told the infrastructure couldn’t support anything like that. Not even electricity for proper lights and sound.

1:04:50 As far as I know this is correct. I’m sure new owners wouldn’t want to inherit all the problems, debts, and negative reputation Evermore Park the company has, but it is sad that the park and the intellectual property have been separated.

1:12:13 I’m getting flashbacks to hbomberguy revealing that Tommy Tallarico wasn’t actually on MTV Cribs

1:16:00 While I’m also not particularly optimistic, this is still a much better outcome than having it all be demolished and bulldozed for condominiums.

1:20:00 This isn’t the first time this has happened in Utah. They seem to be copying a trend of semi-high-profile scavenger hunts that have taken place in the state over the past several years. Unsurprisingly, the winners are always the people who can afford to commit the most time to it (i.e. not working a day job), which aren’t the people that could use the money the most.

1:32:20 Amongst the several, several red flags around Realm Town (and that terrible, terrible name), the one point of optimism I’ll give is that the man in this footage here (he’s not as public as the owners so I won’t name him but for all I know he introduces himself in one of their videos) is the former “Project Director” at Evermore from late 2019 until the layoffs in 2021, and was in a senior creative position for at least a year before that. He was creatively involved in all the storylines and “gameplay” that existed during what is considered to be Evermore’s peak, and experienced firsthand all the traps, shortcomings, frustrations, and challenges in developing and operating Evermore. Him returning to the land formerly-known-as-Evermore is something of a redemption arc, or could be. I would say that because of his direct, firsthand experience that he is one of the more qualified people who could direct this project, but judging by everything you’re pointing out here I worry he is in a similar position under the Foxes as he was under Ken. But I also wonder, because of the new ownership’s apparent cluelessness and aimlessness, if he and/or other people passionate about the park were the ones who encouraged them to purchase the land in the first place.

1:50:40 Meh. If they didn’t know what they were getting into when they purchased the land then you’re just educating them about it now. Anyone reasonable would be grateful for it, but maybe it’s unrealistic to expect that anyone who owns these projects to be reasonable.

1:52:10 Oh! There it is! The card game. I am forever bitter about it because the characters I played weren’t included in the initial set that was printed but were going to be in the finished but unpublished second set. Someone who had connections to its development very generously leaked the art to me and it’s amazing and I don’t know if I can even legally share it.

I moved states after my last season at Evermore in August 2023, so I don’t have too much more insight into Realm Town or any other ongoing developments. What small relevance I’ve had here is quickly diminishing haha. I mentioned in another comment that I’m working on a video describing my experiences at Evermore. I say this not to self-promote, but hopefully by making myself accountable to some other people I might be encouraged enough to actually finish it. Big thanks yet again to Jenny for her earnest and thorough approach to this fascinating topic (and to all the topics she covers on her channel) that means a lot, or meant a lot, to several passionate and talented people and for encouraging large-scale creative endeavors to meet their potential by offering helpful and specific criticisms and ideas.

[batboyblog]

I feel like some people can't be/refuse to be educated, or they're deliberately being obtuse because they're trolls, psyops, or they just fell for the trolls and psyops. But its still good to point out where they're wrong and to give actual, you know, facts, for the benefit of other people reading who might actually be reachable.

yeah, I mean I usually ignore them because usually its bad faith and when a post is getting hundreds even thousands of notes in a day you just can't keep up with the 10-20-ish people who say something, particularly if its in the tags because thats just hard or fighting in the replies which always feels weird

But I was in a bad mood and in general seeing the same either bad faith or straight up don't know comment over and over and over again is very annoying

the "lol Joe Biden didn't do anything about Student loans!" one is pretty annoying since Biden has forgiven well over 100 BILLION dollars worth of student loan debt, so like he has done a lot on student loan debt. I'm not a big deal but I remember I did one of my "what Biden did this week" posts and it had the student loan debt forgiveness for people who got defrauded by the Art Institutes, and a few people added their stories of being defrauded and being in debt to AI for years and the one that'll stay with me was an older guy who went to try to get a new degree to get a job in a different field kinda late in the game, his 50s or 60s and of course didn't get the jobs he hoped for because scam college and saying how he thought he'd die in debt and it was all gone, all forgiven. So just like people flippantly dismissing a very real life changing thing is very annoying

there are a few other very common annoying ones "why didn't he do this when he controlled congress before!" well he was busy passing the biggest climate change bill any government on earth has ever done, investing in our Infrastructure for the first time since before Reagan was President (Reagan 😒) listen Biden passed 4 of the biggest most transformationally progressive bills the US has seen since LBJ

American Rescue Plan

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

CHIPS and Science Act

Inflation Reduction Act

on top of which he passed the first gun control law out of congress in 30 years, and other things, like the Respect for Marriage Act to protect gay marriage, or making Juneteenth a federal holiday (the first new federal holiday since MLK day in 1983)

SO! thats why he didn't do the things he wants to do in his next term he was busy doing equally (and in the case of climate change more important) things and thats why we should all be hopeful if Joe Biden is President with a Democratic Congress he'll get most if not ALL the things on his agenda done, because he's fucking good at this, we haven't had a President this good at pushing bills through Congress and using every switch and lever of the federal government to make major progressive change since LBJ or FDR, I guess his big mistake was naming it something boring like "Inflation Reduction Act" and not something sexy like "New Deal" or "Great Society"

sorry to go off on a tare there, but its just frustrating to see 40 (out of tens of thousands really) posts saying the same dumb shit and having no real way to respond

[sparklingmineraltequila]

American Wasteland

Note: Finally posting this. I know the time frames are slightly off but this my fic so fuck it, I'm already taking enough liberties. Here we go: 2002

Warnings: language, violence, mentions of suicide, drug use, underage drinking, sex work, and overdose, references to misogynistic talk

The fabric of society is slowing falling apart; rotting at the seams, curling inwards trapping all of its inhabitants under that thick, oppressive old order. Rust sees it all around him: a place that eats it young alive. Nothing is sacred in this decaying edge of the world, an unmoving yet precarious balance between false hope and falling into total abyss. Little girls dancing in food-stained polyester dresses, pretty ribbons in their hands, unbrushed hair stuck to the sweat on the back of their necks, as if they were safe. Teenage girls with a taste for blood and bottles of rum getting warm between their legs, tucked beneath the skirt they cut with their momma's kitchen scissors. They graduate from watching their parents pass out, saliva shiny in the corner of their mouths, to their own little pills, sucked and wiped on those tanned, freckled arms. That or the even cheaper shit that turns all smells to burnt plastic and those rancid magnolias, left to rot on the baking sidewalk. They think the rush makes them free. Hell, so did Rust for a while. But you fly high and you crash hard. That effervescence doesn't make 'em free, Rust knows. It makes them prey.

Laurie sometimes makes him forget that shit, the really fucked up parts that he's been accumulating at a steady rate now. It's almost easy: sat at a normal table, 4 chairs, 2 placemats, some casserole whose recipe Laurie's trying out steaming between them. The conversation flows pretty easy, too. How's work? The food any good? New patients, old patients, bad patients, good patients. Rust's gotten used to the veneer, barely notices the thinning veil of acrimony that he's started performing it with. He doesn't get comfortable; he knows exactly what he has and that he's gonna lose it all. Just like Sophia, just like Claire, just like Cassandra. He sees them, sometimes; delicate, quick moments of nostalgia that make bile rise and the cigarette filter crush under his hard pinch. A little girl's giggle, the smell of coffee on cotton, a click of a heeled boot on asphalt. Rust had found himself staring at Lori while she had been getting ready for bed and, when she scraped her hair up, had inadvertently hoped for her to pull out two strands, just like Cassandra used to do. He'd left the bed and the room after that despite Lori's calls; self-hatred threatening to boil over. Another churn of bile, another crushed filter.

Talking to Marty about it is been futile; the guy doesn't give much of a fuck about anything else except maintaining the rapidly dissolving facade of the family man, that he's played with such trepidatious dedication these past few years. Rust can tell: the barely restrained leers at the bartender's tits, the slow protrusion of his gut (product of those empty bottles clinking when the trash gets taken out), a general frustration at Rust, Maggie, his kids, his weight, his house and himself. Rust knows it's all closing in on him. For a brief moment in time, he thought that Dora Lange would be some sort of catharsis; salve on the wide gaping wound that the horror of existence and his obsoletion in the face of it. It didn't. Straight after the block-lettered newspaper titles and Jameson secretly poured into coffee mugs and meaty hands slapping his back in grudging congratulations and grainy pictures that sold heroism and pity all wrapped into one palatable breakfast news story, it was straight back into the meat thresher of depravity of humanity. Endless cases and assists are what takes up his time; forced to stare straight into that wide, gaping mouth of what nurtures the endless piles of crime scene photos and his desk and walls. It's never over, though. Nothing is ever over. Rust knew that; he didn't need that meth-head telling him about the Yellow King, simpering to make a deal in that little voice they always end up putting on. A child's voice, evidence of an adult who was raised by children, himself. Rust doesn't have it in him to find much sympathy for them: no use crying like a child after you pull the trigger like a man.

All that for him to slit his wrists with the edge of a coke can that god knows who gave him. The blood now solidifying onto that squalid floor and the closest thing Rust has had to free himself from the calcification that these past few years has brought him: slumped against a peeling prison wall. The animal in him feels restless, hungry. This goddamn loop he's stuck him is about to hit him like a freight train and all these detectives can talk about is bureaucratic shit and insipid excuses for how the fuck this man, who 's reading level was not much further than a fifth grader, managed to smuggle that fucking can past the wardens. Marty watches the scene with a detachment, almost annoyed at yet another inconvenience in his life,

'Rust-'

Rust turns round to the two detectives: one edging on aggressive defensiveness and the other looking like he might shit himself at the way Rust's looking at them,

'No, you tell me how the fuck this happens. Who was he on the phone to?'

'His lawyer,' the first detective says, with an demeanour far too close to exasperation for Rust's liking.

'Well, then, get the fuckin' lawyer in.'

That gets Marty's attention. Probably dreading the beaurocratic shitstorm and prospect of spending another hour without air-conditioning or proper ventilation, Rust thinks.

'Rust, is really this all that necessary? Who knows the shit goin' through the guy's head.'

Rust ignores him,

'Call the fuckin' lawyer.'

'Yeah, yeah, she's on her way,' one of the detectives placates as his college mutters,

'To fuck us in the ass,' which earns him a huff of laughter from Marty.

5 cigarettes, three biting remarks towards Marty and about half an hour later, Rust feels his blood congeal to sludge under his wrists. A gelid nausea runs through him, one he hasn't felt since he heard the breaks scream and the bones crunch. He was sure he'd be dead before ever seeing her, again; another ghost in that catalogue of the women who haunted him. A memory, a goddamn trauma that he can't exorcise out of himself.

Cassandra falters, momentarily; Rust would've missed it if it hadn't seen that fear in her eyes, so many times before. That fear and how she'd always had the ability to stare at it before reaching over, looking for the next bigger, badder toy. Rust sees her eyes take him in: how he's slightly broader, the tan that she'd once complimented now deepening the lines of his face, his hair shorter, scruffier.

'Nice button-up,' Cassandra huffs, looking at Rust.

He stares back. She's changed, too. Though, at one time she seemed this immutable, immovable force; taking up space in his life and head, drinking his beers, leaving her razors in shower. She may have switched out the stripper sets for a pencil skirt but that sensuality that she was forced to adopt remains; Rust wonders if it's still out of necessity or just for fun, nowadays. Her hair is still long, tousled by the humidity but neater, styled in a way consider either vain or impractical by Laurie. Cassandra never denied being vain. Ignoring her looks, from where she comes from, isn't humble, it's stupid. Against his better judgement, he checks her left hand: no wedding band. Cassandra notices his gaze's momentary falter and Rust swears that she almost smirks; triumphant that, after all these years, some of that sordid carnality that she managed to pull from him, in the first place, remains.

'You two know each other,' Marty asks, half curious and half disappointed that Rust has some prior 'claim' on the young lawyer in the padded bra before he can slide in a crass or sleazy joke. Rust doesn't dwell on the thought too long, not if he wants to maintain increasingly fraying peace with Marty. Frustrated, maybe? Rust sure as hell is: both of them sinking into a lethargy of deluded complacency as deep and dark as the bayous that surround them.

'A long time ago, now,' Rust says, holding Cassandra's gaze.

Marty stares at Rust a moment longer before turning back to he two detectives, ready to acquiesce any agitation regarding paperwork.

'You were his lawyer?' Rust asks, nodding his head towards the cell where a mop sits, caked in blood and bleach.

Cassandra nods,

'Elijah Boudreaux,' she survives the cell: the stench of piss and those walls with the paint curling off,

'Probably did himself a favour. Was his third time in here and worst conviction, yet. But after a few possession convictions, armed robbery is usually the indication that shit's about to escalate.'

Almost 10 years later and she still possess that cynicism baked into girls, and now women, like her. Rust can't blame her. Shit, he envies it himself; the complacency it must take to finally be able to surrender to that syrupy darkness. To leave the perverts and the abusers and the fools and the comfortable to continue this carnage that they mask as a circus. Eat their food and dink their liquor, then go fuck or shoot up. Anything to turn that burning needle of pain in their chest into a wide, achey numbness. Rust gets it; hell, he does it. Drugs and liquor less nowadays, he keeps it to Camels, cough syrup and maybe the occasional downer. Laurie helps with that too and he hates that he sometimes sees her as another piece of the veil he needs to stay sane or functioning how Marty and the precinct want him. Rust knows she's a great woman, far better than anything he deserves.

Rust grunts,

'You were the last person who spoke to him.'

Cassandra narrows her eyes, picking up on the accusatory tone,

'Yeah, he was pretty shaken up. Said some pig smacked him around a couple times.'

Rust lets out a gelid huff of laughter, his face twisting into a sardonic smile before a sneer,

'That boy was runnin' his mouth on some very heavy shit. Heavier than you know.'

Cassandra arches her eyebrow; a LSPD badge and state issued gun induce no more docility in her than when it was some Taurus and brass knuckles.

'You were never one for that macho-bullshit, though. But, then again, I don't know you, anymore,' she says, her eyes taking in Rust's pressed button up and clean shaven face . Rust doesn't react to her comment; he knows she wants to hurt his feelings. She still feels wronged by him and ,now the confirmation that he could do the whole 'Americana' role-play of a man with a steady income and licence for his firearm rubs, makes the salt fizz in the wound a little deeper. Rust can see it in Cassandra's eyes: the same abandonment of her daddy spending time in the bar or bedroom with women who weren't her. The only time he deemed necessary to delegate towards Cassandra being a very different form of outlet for his anger. Rust isn't forgiving but he knows why Cassandra has to hurt him.

Marty eventually finishes with the base jokes that bitch about prying wives or complaints about the Ragin' Cajuns' last game, and turns his attention whatever leverage he can get on the situation; eyeing Cassandra up likes she's the first rush of blood that he's had to his dick in weeks.

'So, you know Rust here?' Marty asks, almost salivating at the bit, as Cassandra escorts them out, to the car park.

'Uh, yeah. Long while back, now,' Cassandra replies. Rust can see her adjusting to the facility of these people in using his real name; a privilege she was never afforded.

'Long while back, huh?' Marty huffs, that dopey grin adorning his face at Cassandra's precocious answer, 'You must've been, what, 18?'

Yeah, I bet you'd love to tell the entire bullpen so you can all jack-off to that story, Rust thinks as he replies,

'20.'

'And now you are?' Marty draws out the last syllable.

'28.'

Marty looks at Rust, as they walk towards their car, alone in this side of the lot. Rust can see the wheels turning, for one.

'So, you met when he was Crash?' Marty asks in a simperingly paternal tone of concern, as if this revelation isn't just another juicy detail that he's going to offload after some bottles of Lone Star, his colleagues' whoops and dick palming just spurring him on. The more sordid the better, Rust knows, so they can go home to their cream of wheat wives to think about desperate trailer park girls who, unlike their wives, will let them do whatever they want to her.

'He ain't ever been anything but Crash, to me,' Cassandra deadpans, shutting both of them down. There it is again, Rust knows. He gives Marty a terse jerk of his head and Marty sighs, but goes along with it. Rust almost pities how pliable his is, these days. He turns back to Cassandra, met with those deep, dark eyes with he fell into many a times, during mescaline hallucinations.

'We need to talk about this shit.'

'About us?' she arches a delicately plucked brow.

'Still up to your old tricks of playin' dumb?' Rust asks, lighting up before meeting her eyes,

'No, about him. Elijah.'

'Why? He's dead. We do the paper work and then clean this shit up, and we all get back to pretending to save the other lost causes,' Cassandra says, acerbically. Rust notes that, even after all these years of curated pretences, she's never been truly able to mask that rage. Where she's from, they bake it into their kids; fuck 'em up so good that it sticks with them like the cavities they get from being in diapers, drinking cola out of baby bottles.

'You ever see yourself in them, Cass?' Rust doesn't care if he's being cruel.

'Shut the fuck up, you asshole. You didn't know shit then and you don't know shit, now.'

'I ain't interested into psychoanalysing what I already know,' Rust ignores Cassandra's eye roll, 'I'm interested in that Boudreaux and what you can tell me about him.'

Cassandra stares at Rust a moment longer before nodding,

'Fine. I got time tomorrow night,' she writes her number on her legal pad before ripping it off, 'I don't care where, as long as it's a bar and you're buying.'

She holds Rust's gaze as he takes the folded yellow slip,

'One last question, is that button-up like Nordstrom or-'

Rust tugs the paper away, unsure whether the joke is an olive branch or just more of her biting power-play,

'You clean up good, Cass,' he says, making his way to the passenger's side, sliding in without so much as a glance in her direction. As he throws the butt out of the window. Marty starts the ignition and turns to Rust,

'What's her name, again?' he asks with that shit-eating grin.

'Cassandra.'

'Cassandra?' Marty snorts, 'The fuck type of name is that?'

When Rust gets home, it's dark. The inside of Laurie's house smell coffee and potpourri, there are pictures on the wall and a couch with beaded pillows. Rust stares at the walls, those smooth, cool white walls. That empty space being the only part of Laurie's house that remind him of the delusion that he's allowing himself to play. Rust knows that that is all it is: delusion, coping mechanisms. All so that he could forget what has been happening to these women and girls. And that he'll never be able to save them, just like he couldn't save Sophia and just like he couldn't protect Cassandra. Rust thinks about her now, as Laurie hears the slow click of the lock as he shuts the door; calling from her study. Rust makes his way puts makes his way deeper into the house; still replaying the sound of those heels on that hot asphalt all these years later. Cassandra: legs long and tanned and sprinkled with insect bites and bruises, all denim cutoffs or small sundresses, an ease to her sex appeal, that of a girl who knew how to play a woman.

He used to be scared of her sometimes. That has long since dissipated

[bueckers-sturniolo]

i have literally been begging for someone to write a paige fic based on “Slut!” by TS like the parts that’s like “if i’m all dressed up, they might as well be looking at us” where reader is famous and gets like hated on for being a “slut” 💁‍♀️💁‍♀️

“slut!”

paige bueckers x female!reader

a/n: hi guys!!! sorry it took me so long to edit this and actually post it. i don’t have much to say but THANK YOU FOR THE LOVE ON THE ALCHEMY!!! i promise part 2 is coming soon!!! ps: this may suck a little but i wrote it in an hour and a half so im sorry!!! also, this hasnt been proofread bc its 6 am and i havent slept! hope u somewhat enjoy!!! love uuuu!

warnings: naur, just swearing :)

word count: somewhere around 1k-ish

-

got love-struck, went straight to my head. got lovesick all over my bed. love to think you’ll never forget. we’ll pray the price, i guess.

you had been dating paige for 5 months, now. she was the best person you had ever met, and an even better lover than you could have ever imagined. but, being in the public eye isn’t necessarily ideal, especially when you’re queer. paige was a basketball player at uconn, and you had been famous for a few years. you had been famous before you knew paige, and even before paige was famous. it’s awesome, and you love it. the lifestyle can be very rewarding and enjoyable.

but, being ‘famous’ comes with its faults. as most things do. over the years, you had developed this sort of…. title. this title being that you are some kind of insane serial-dater. it was pretty ridiculous. of course, paige loved you for you, and didn’t really give a fuck as to what people had to say about you. but, it’s still obviously hurtful, and paige gets that.

present day, the epsy’s were coming up. this is something that meant a lot to your girlfriend. and, quite frankly, you’d do anything to make her happy.

until that thing was going as her date (or +1) to the epsy’s. not that you didn’t want to, not that it was because you were gay. but, because you knew how much this could mess with both of your careers. you didn’t really care about your own, cause people are gonna talk about you regardless, but paige’s social presence made it hard to just come out and do whatever you guys want.

“i mean, i’d just really want you there. we can like…. coincide outfits ‘n shit.” paige says, looking over at you, eating a bite of her cereal.

“yeah, p. i understand.” you say, sighing. you look down at your hands, acting like you were paying attention to anything to distract her (and yourself) from the fact that you really just do not know how it would go, and that fact is stressful in itself.

“baby, if you don’t want to go, it’s fine. im just saying it would be cool.” she says, and you meet her eyes again.

you know she’s right. it would be really fuckin’ cool. but like, at the same time, you really didn’t want to have to receive all of the texts from your publisher of news articles with pictures of you and paige where they essentially just put your name in bold letters then talk about how much of a slut you are for dating 4 people in your approximate 5 years of being famous.

yes, it may seem like a lot. but, also, most of these relationships only lasted a few months. you never necessarily wanted them to go public, but, they almost always did. that’s why you and paige took extra precautions.

obviously, one day, you wanted to tell people about you and paige. but, you wanted it to be when you guys had atleast made it past the new relationship stage.

but, if im all dressed up, they might as well be lookin’ at us. and if they call me a ‘slut,’ you know, it might be worth it for once. and if im gonna be drunk, i might as well be drunk in love.

you couldn’t help but give in. there was exactly a week before the epsy’s, and even though you’d kept telling paige you really didn’t think going was a good idea, you felt so bad for saying it that you randomly changed your mind.

“p, come here.” you say, calling from the couch in your living room. she walked in the room, hands on her hips, sleeves rolled up. she was loading the dishwasher for you, as the ‘gentleman’ she was (in a world of boys, (s)he’s a gentleman.)

“yes, baby? what’s wrong?” she says, walking toward you and sitting down, resting an arm on the back of the couch behind your head. “i wanna go with you, p. ill go with you to the awards.” as you say this, you fiddle with the hem of her basketball shorts.

“you wanna go with me? seriously?” she perks up. her whole face immediately lights up. this was the reason you were doing it. that reaction right there.“yes, love. i want to go with you.” she grabs your chin, pulling your face closer to her and gently pressing a kiss to your temple.

“you know, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to. i know you don’t want to read about all of the stupid shit men online say about you. they don’t even know you and it’s so infuriating that they think they can talk about my baby like that. my sweet, sweet girl...” she rubs your side, kissing your temple gently a few more times while babbling a few more sweet names in your ear.

“i know, p. but, i also know i don’t owe anyone shit, and if i want to go out in public with you, i shouldnt be scared. i mean- it’s just…. like, i don’t want to keep hiding us because of the fact that people always have some stupid shit to say. you know, if they call me a whore or if they call me a slut, it might be worth it. it may just be worth it this once.” she smiles ear to ear as you say this. seconds after this, she tackles you onto the couch, pecking all over your face as she tickles your sides.

half asleep, takin’ your time in the tangerine neon lights. this is luxury. you’re not saying you’re in love with me, but, you’re goin’ to. half awake, takin’ your chance, it’s a big mistake. i said, ‘it might blow up in your pretty face.’ im not sayin’ do it anyway, but you’re going to.

the night finally arrives. you guys are both getting your hair done. paige is wearing a lilac suit, and she looks ridiculously attractive. you were wearing a white dress with lilac heels, to coincide with her.

you guys get to the carpet, and it feels so surreal. you guys are finally out together and it’s just fucking insane. she does a few interviews, and they even ask you for your own pictures (even though you’re not an athlete)

the awards themselves are good, paige presents and even changes suits. she looks fuckin’ phenomenal.

but, then the after-party comes. the lights are tangerine and kinda dim, everyone’s drunk, and some people are even outside in a swimming pool. (???)

you had been to award shows yourself, but this was so cool. paige grabs you guys drinks throughout the night, careful not to get too wasted, but enough to get a little tipsy. by the end of the afterparty, so many pictures of you guys had been taken you felt like it was kinda too hard to hide your relationship from the world anymore.

while this wasn’t the main goal of tonight whatsoever, paige decided it was time to make your relationship social media official. she thought you deserved to be loved out loud, and honestly she couldn’t give any less of a fuck who said what. you loved her. she loved you. that’s all that mattered.

@paigebueckers

liked by kamoreaarnold and others

paigebueckers: Cats out of the bag I guess 🐈👜

view all 2,405 comments

kamoreaarnold: Photo creds on slide 3

> paigebueckers: @kamoraarnold Best photographer 🙌

yourusername: wow she’s cute who is that

> paigebueckers: @/yourusername Idiot

>> yourusername: @/paigebueckers 😁

Load more…

[milklovesbyler]

HOW AND WHY AND WHEN DID THE BYLER REALISATION HIT ME - RANT

okay this is long so skip to S4 section for the more interesting stuff/when i found out about byler!

hii okay my first post on this blog! im still pretty new to tumblr but learned that u can have multiple blogs and my mind is blown. i also have an art blog i post on once a millenia @milkymetari !

Ive been a stranger things fan since 2019 when i was 13!

So i started watching stranger things in 2019 after season 3 had came out and the series peaked my interest, ive always been a fan of scifi stuff and oh boy stranger things is so cool and (mostly) well written!

When i say i LOVED mileven im not kidding, I WAS OBSESSED. On the outside theyre a picture perfect cute teenage couple, and my idealisation of that (and cmon guys eleven is like the coolest character ever) and els badassness and powers, i loved mileven.

I mean as a concept their relationship is really cute if we read it as that but yeah i do NOT ship them anymore like that 😭

Yeah i remember myself sometimes wondering about the weird things in their relationship (the way they dont share almost any interests, only kiss and mikes weird actions) but i think due to heteronormativity (toxic ships are wayy too normalized also in lgbt media) and how poorly usually female characters (but in this case mike lmao) and their relationships are written in media so i guess i had just grown to try not to care, and yeah i was just 13.

So honestly i didnt see/know byler back then AT ALL! I grew up as a semi homophobic kid because thats what i was taught, but around the time i started watching ST i grew as a person a lot and i realised maybe my ass isnt as straight as i thought ☠️ Honestly wish i did know about byler since i think seeing mikes struggles (and wills) wouldve helped me a lot! 💔

I didnt think too deeply about any media i consumed at that age, and i was already used to just not care about bad writing so i thought flaws in mileven were normal writing mistakes etc. Or how the byler fight was clearly more intense than the mileven break up 😭😭

But again i did not catch onto it.

ST 4 in 2022!!

So the year is 2022 and i excitesly watch season 4 part 1. I usually try to avoid spoilers etc on the internet so i kept myself away from st tiktok and other platforms. After i finished it i saw like a shit ton of edits of all the characters and speculation about the last 2 eps.. THEN somewhere around that time it happened, i stumbled upon byler.

okay first, i need to talk about mileven a bit, the first few episodes it was sweet, but it was obvious el was lying and unhappy, i was hoping that mike would grow and learn to be a better boyfriend and theyd end up back together.

so about byler, first i thought it was like any other ship as usual and i wasnt as blind to homoerotic chemistry anymore so it wasnt anything new or surpricing.

well, what was surpricing was HOW FUCKING BLIND I HAD BEEN TO HOW MIKE AND WILL ACTED

i mean i was confused while watching part 1 for the first time but closeness between the two was nothing unusual, and mike lashing out on will had already happened in s3 too, but yeah i was so flabbergasted and embarrased how i hadnt noticed 😭 like girl, the lip staring, yearning gazes and awkward conversations

down the rabbit hole i went and hehe😈 i got my bestie into it too and she was like omg ur so right we both agree they are endgame bbecause like theres so much evidence its not a coincidence.

ill probably make a separate post on some of the genious thoughts we had about mileven and byler in 2022 lol

i hope someone read this all, thank you <3

[petrssecrethideout]

"Bro, do you wanna hear about something crazy?"

"I mean sure, go ahead,"

"Alright, so I was just relaxing, scrolling TikTok,"

"Already a bad idea."

"I know, I got beef with that fuckin' algorithm let me tell you. I follow a couple of bodybuilders, post a couple of gym vids and suddenly my For you page is filled with the biggest assholes alive. Anyway, I'm scrolling, and I see this guy, he's doing that whole 'alpha top dog' thing even though he's not that big."

"Okay wait pause, how big is not that big?"

"I don't know, I have more muscle in my arms than he has in his whole body, real gym influencer type."

"Alright, for anyone listening to the pod at home, I should probably just say that this guy could be anywhere from 150-300 pounds from Dale's description of him, okay? He's not good at judging what normal guys look like anymore."

"Yeah, okay, you got me. Anyway, this guy keeps going on about his great advice, so I stick around to hear it. You wanna know what he said? 'Stop Cumming, its killing your natural testosterone' What kind of bullshit is that!?"

"I mean that is a big part of the current fitness world, these guys will say anything to get more followers, and a lot of their followers are so desperate for progress that they'll take whatever advice they're given."

"It's a shame, because he's also wrong! I tried that whole 'No Nut Whatever' and its been the only time in these last 5 years that I've plateaued."

"... Really?"

"Yeah! If I'm not cranking a load out every day I can kiss any potential gains goodbye."

"Wait,"

"Like after my workouts, when I got a huge pump going, I just have to crank one out, like what good workout would it be if I didn't"

"Dale c'mon,"

"And its not like I can just hit up a guy on Grindr and go to town every time I need to, there aren't enough guys on Grindr for that."

"Uggggh dude, we are never getting a sponsor with you talking like this."

"What, so all the straight alpha dudebros can talk about semen retnetion and get a ton of followers, but I get censored for talking about jacking off and getting tons of ass?"

"Yeah, we will."

"Well then, listeners, go subscribe to the patreon so that I can talk about my actual tips for growing, and so that you can help Mark get bigger. I'm telling you, I'm gonna make this boy huge with your help. Audio listeners make sure to check the videos so you can see this boy get huge. Now bro, help me out here. You don't want those Tiktok gymfluencers to win do you? How often are you jerkin off?"

"Oh god I can't believe I'm answering this... A couple of times a week maybe?"

"A week? That's fucking crazy. My average is like 4-5 times a day. More if I'm really feeling horny. If I'm being honest I jerked off a few weeks ago on the pod, like I forgot to before I came here. One of the comments mentioned something about my grunting that episode."

"Jesus christ dude, how do you even manage that?"

"Well, you gotta work up to it. I couldn't do that starting out, but once I started growing I was so horny I had to do something about it. I think that's what these guys don't get. You gotta get those balls working, give them a reason to keep making that sweet testosterone. How are you supposed to do that if you aren't jacking it? Honestly dude, I feel like I gotta prove these guys wrong now."

"What, you're gonna be a cum warrior?"

"Hell yeah man, I'm gonna be fighting the war on jerking it, on the side of jerking it!"

[el-moscorrofio-y-el-mercachifle]

Besides my obvious annoyance with the new season because of the horrible character understanding from the writers and their ADMITTED goal to change Gaitán's ending, there are other aggravating issues with it:

1. The pacing:

This new novela knows it's in a rush, but we can tell, too. The first episode seems to attack the viewer with so many different new facts and characters and issues. It straight up starts with: Roberto's funeral, Armando and Betty separated and having been so for years now, Armando's presidency in the gutter again, lots of economic issues within the company again, Mila gone for years and her distance with Betty, a new guy that Marcela is suspiciously protective of and planning together to get revenge, Daniel being dead for going to jail from illegal business practices, etc. And all of this in the span of 1 episode. It just hits you with so much that it doesn't even give you the chance to get to know the characters. We haven't seen most of them in over twenty years, and some of them never, so we basically don't know them anymore! It's going so direclty and straight to the point that it feels more like a badly written fanfiction.

2. Lack of builup for tension

Jesus, there is very, very little tension here for the big things that matter. [SPOILER] In one episode we find out that Ecomoda is in bad shape, and just a few ones later, Armando is turning himself in. We don't see him slowly driving himself insane with his moral dilemma, we don't see him desperately trying everything to fix it, we don't even see him turning himself in! Just one episode ends with him saying he was turning himself in, and the next one starts with Armando's mugshot. That's it. No tension at all

3. Bad editing

One of the things that I loved about the old novela were their transitions. The first episodes were amazing with this: while Betty was looking at the magazine of the collection launch and giving her opinions and commentary, we were seeing the pictures of it and then we're taken to the moment the picture was taken. While Gutierrez, Armando and Roberto are talking about Betty and why Gutierrez discarded her, Roberto asks "why would a candidate so well prepared and qualified only want to be a secretary?" And then we see Betty going "because I'm tired of looking for a job!"

Those kind of transitions were incredible, I loved them so much. Now in this new series it just cuts abruptly to something totally different.

4. Inappropriate setting

They really, really tried to make everything seem so modern, and in their effort, they ended up making it so plastic and fake. The office doesn't look like an office at all, but rather a gallery or the lobby of an exotic hotel. The desks almost seem out of place. Sure, it's a fashion business, but it's just so fake looking. Most offices, even modern ones, still look like offices. This one just doesn't feel like it, and that really takes me out of the story.

Finally, and just as a little pet peeve that, objectively, idek if it should count but I'll include nonetheless because I'll forget to make a separete post about it: the robot and the hacking. It's just so cringy and cheap. Are robots like that even in the market fr? AI robots that follow you around and are in the shape of a sewing mannequin? And the whole hacking thing... ugh. As I said it's a personal pet peeve but I always find it cringy when they make these super high-tech knowing characters that can hack on everything and we see on the screen the codes and all of that. I found both of these elements so tacky and unnecessary lmao why not just hide cameras?? Nooo, let's make Daniel wannabe a finance and hacking genius lmao ((this part isn't part of the list I just wanted to vent because my hubby and I died of cringe watching one episode last night where Mila's AI Moving Robot Sewing Mannequin told her someone was hacking into the cameras and Ignacio is cyber-fighting to hide and we see a split screen of him and another of what he's seeing through the cameras and eventually he just closes the lid lmao)) ((anyway little rant over sorry))