#Day 164 of hiding from my friends

[anotherferalrat]

I have a proposition for my fellow kaeluckae/whatever we're called enthusiasts

(Ragbros peeps r welcome too as long as we don't fight in the tags/comments/asks/etc bc my idea isn't technicallyyy explicitly romantic but the kaeluc tag is lookin dry af and so that's where we tagging)

But hear me out guys.

An animatic to 'Into the Open Air' from the Brave soundtrack. Or at the very least this is The Kaeluc Song.

Like look, literally every verse is perfect: And yes, I'm going through the whole thing bc this song is actually p short<3

This love, it is a distant star Guiding us home wherever we are

First, all Kaeya's star imagery and also I like to think Diluc came home bc he physically couldn't stay away any longer. I don't care if it isn't canon, this is my delusion and ur all here for the ride<3

This love, it is a burning sun Shining light on the things that we've done

Now this is Diluc's side, what with him being the sun of the two (but not in the soft, cheery sunshine way; in the passionate scalding all-consuming way. Yall know the post). The second line can either reference That Night (if ya wanna be fuckin sad about it) or it can be about their growth, how they eventually realize they're both at fault for the state of their relationship.

I tried to speak to you every day But each word we spoke, the wind blew away

Once again emphasizing how they're not helping their situation. Mainly this made me think of that one event with the letters and then how a lot of their early interactions are just them saying whatever to do the most damage. LIKE BRO THEIR INTERACTION IN VENTI'S STORY QUEST KILLED MEEEE but that's a post for another day. If this were an animatic, the wind part is where I imagine like- Diluc and Kaeya pass each other and one of them turns around but the lineart then like collapses into lines of wind and then it cuts to Venti who looks sad bc 'My children r stupid'.

Could these walls come crumbling down? I want to feel my feet on the ground And leave behind this prison we share Step into the open air

This is them trying to take the first steps towards reconciliation, if they can move on from their past that seems to be hurting the both of them, if they can clear the air so to speak (pun very much intended).

How did we let it come to this? What we've just tasted, we somehow still miss How will it feel when this day is done And can we keep what we've only begun?

Now this is timeskip, like mid-reconciliation. Things are good but there's still an awkward tension between them, like they're walking on eggshells. They want to get past this but they're afraid of hurting each other again and of going back to that place where they were strangers.

And now these walls come crumbling down And I can feel my feet on the ground Can we carry this love that we share? Into the open air

It all comes full circle. It was a hard road. They probably end up fighting several times over the course of it. But they make it. I very much think their official reconciliation moment should happen in the rain bc cyclical narratives go brrr.

This love, it is a burning sun

Back to animatic imaginings cuz I can't think of anything narratively to put here. But I need a shot of them sitting up high to where they're overlooking the winery and then they like lean on each other's shoulders. Or dare I hope for a hug. GODDAMMIT I JUST WANT THEM TO BE AFFECTIONATE-

DO YOU SEE THE VISION?????

[adaywithanotherferalrat]

Guys hyelppp

I'm working on a Kaeluc fic, my first and the longest one I've done to date and I'm about halfway through it

But I nono wannaaaaaa

I want it to exist, I don't want to write it anymoreeeee

Someone should be my writing buddy and bully me into finishing it<3 /j... unless...

[rotbtd-edits]

The characters

Based on my Rotbtd story. The profiles are found on the computer version of my tumblr blog site, but I wanted to have some sort of collective post with them here too, while adding some details. Just because I like profiles 👍

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

The protagonists of Rotbtd

Hiccup

Age: 20 Height: 6'1" (185 cm) Home: Isle of Berk Guardian core: Friendship Likes: Dragons, flying, exploring, inventions and crafting, diplomacy, sketching, crabcakes, sarcasm, learning about dragons Dislikes: Cruelty, betrayal, arguing with dad, dishonesty, restrictions, being told what to do, manipulation, dragon abuse

An adventurous viking and the future Chief from Berk, Hiccup’s dream is to further study the dragons and explore the world. While being hesitant about Guardianhood at first, he’s a natural leader and keeps the team moving through hardships. As innovative technical genius Hiccup relies more on strategies and sometimes his stubborness of wanting to do things his way can even come off as stalling. Hiccup is the Guardian of friendship, symbolised by his bond with his dragon partner Toothless.

Merida

Age: 17-18 Height: 5'4" (164 cm) Home: DunBroch Guardian core: Courage Likes: Archery, horse-riding, adventures, training, sweets, having fun, free days off, story-telling, being a Guardian Dislikes: Nagging, tight clothes, restrictions, customs and traditions, inactivity, being told what to do, her mother's temper

A princess from the kingdom of DunBroch. Out of the four Merida is the first to embrace Guardianhood, seeing it as an escape from her fate at home and her mother’s demands. Wanting to take immediate action she can come off as hotheaded and inconsiderate, but she deeply cares for the well-being of the people and her team. Merida is an excellent archer and a loyal friend, stopping at nothing to help those in need. She’s the Guardian of courage.

Jack

Age: 17-18 Height: 5'8" (175 cm) Home: ??? (Burgess) Guardian core: Fun Likes: Pranks, flying, having fun, facing challenges, snowball fights, honesty, children, having friends and love Dislikes: Mind games, restrictions, friends' suffering, manipulation, being alone, cruelty, the Man in the Moon

Resurrected by the Man in Moon a few years earlier, Jack woke up confused and alone. Due to his distrust at the Man in Moon he also doubts the whole Guardianhood at first. A free spirit, Jack tends to hide his insecurities under jokes but under the bratty behaviour beats the brave heart of a Guardian. Jack possesses ice powers and cannot remember anything but glimpses of his past, making him an enigma. As the Guardian of fun he lightens up the team.

Rapunzel

Age: 18 Height: 5'5" (167 cm) Home: Kingdom of Corona Guardian core: Imagination Likes: Art, house chores, ducklings, adventures, baking, facing challenges, pranks, singing, being able to go outside Dislikes: Being alone, arguments, betrayal, selfishness, boredom, getting confined, dishonesty, wearing shoes

Born with mystical powers, Rapunzel was raised in isolation by her paranoid mother. Spending her days dreaming about the world outside, she’s always harboured love for adventure and embraces the journey. She can appear naive and insecure but in reality is very clever and resourceful. Her positive outlook also helps the team come together, though sometimes she gets frustrated at the bickering group. A great artist, Rapunzel’s the Guardian of imagination.

[vickozone]

The Magnus Archives

-S5 Notes-

<- previous notes

Handwriting translated below:

#161 old memories, tape that Gertrude should have gave them, Jon says “I love you”, they don’t need to eat to live

#162 Gertrude and Gerry bonding, Tim and Sasha talking about a very relevant subject and Jon and Martin are leaving the safe house.

#163 [VIETNAM FLASHBACKS] [BAGPIPES INTENSIFY]

#164 Gross statement about an infection in a town and Helen talking to Jon and Martin like a proud aunt is beautiful. “I knew you crazy kids would make it work!”

#165 “Ceaseless Watcher, turn your gaze upon this wretched thing.” The Stranger statement. Not!Sasha messed up!!

#166 Martin suddenly is on a murder episode and a dude turned into a worm. Helen says “Slay!”

#167 “Yes, Martin, you are my reason.” Sweet bonding and why Gertrude didn’t have anymore assists.

#168 “I’m not going to kill a man just because you’re jealous!” “Why not?” Oh, Martin. Oliver Banks shall live another day and we are crossing The End domain

#169 Let’s willingly run into a burning building, disregarding your boyfriend and getting revenge together! Jude is now dead and Martin was just struggling in the background. He chose revenge over his boyfriend. Interesting. “We’re burning!”

#170 “I’m Martin Blackwood, and I am not lonely anymore!” “Oh… Hello!”

#171 No way I just spent 23 minutes listening to Jon talk about skin flowers in a botanical garden. “That your boyfriend?” “It is, actually.” “Oh.”

#172 Creepy theatre show that made me genuinely uncomfortable with The Web

#173 Where do you think all of the children went? That’s right! The Dark with Callum! Yay!

#174 Simon calling Jon killing him “rude” is hilarious and immediately dipping is iconic. Weird Vast domain with big explosions. Helen loves some good gossip.

#175 The Extinction items, hate for umbrellas, and Martin’s squelchy couch. We’re going to The Hunt next. Oh no.

#176 Adoptive uncle Trevor and Julia are dead. AWESOME HUNT STATEMENT! And we got Basira! :D

#177 ‘Dr. David’ Jon is so hot. This episode has so many trigger warnings. Helen is so silly. Basira is rad, staying with her boys. Won’t let them have a moment tho

#178 More Flesh. Gross processing line and Jon admits that the thing that traumatized him the most was Daisy going to kill him in the woods. Poor babies.

#179 Daisy is shot and killed. Basira is on her own and I have a reason to give Jon a cane.

#180 I have never felt more serene in my life. I can’t even describe it. I was smiling, giggling, and everything feels okay. Salesa and Annabelle are here and I love Salesa’s voice and HE CAN PLAY THE PIANO! Teaholding fluff, om nom nom, this episode is one of my favorites. The I-Spy game <3

#181 They decide to stay at Upton House for a bit longer before leaving. Jon feels his powers again and forgets the whole experience of ignorance. Pity. Seemed like a nice place. I like Salesa.

#182 Anatomy Class student hospital and Breekon asks Jon to kill him. I feel bad for him. :(

#183 “I’m sure I love you.” “I love you too.” THEY SAID IT!! Helen was concerned for them. She’s like a wine aunt who acts motherly to them. Also, Martin’s domain…

#184 Jon made Jordan an entity. That’s a lotta ants! Jon is just… so complicated.

#185 Ouch. Police brutality and wrongful imprisonment are rough subjects. That guy pleading out to Martin HURT. Martin is… somewhere at the end. Alone again, oh, Jonny, I feel horrible.

#186 Martin went from being a joke in Jon’s anger to being one of the most well-developed characters. He is either going to kill himself of Jon. Martin legit talks to himself. Statement made me cry. This better end with them being happy together.

#187 HELEN! D: Aw, man… I liked her. That poor woman. Calm down, Jon! Helen was their friend till the end. Dang it, that was a nail-biter.

#188 We’re in London now! Eyes, man. They’re everywhere. We grieve for Helen a bit. Did I mention EYES?

#189 MEL AND GEORGIE! OMG! They… made a cult and can hide from The Eye. Great.

#190 Fresh take on modern dating! Antichrist plus one! Archivist mocks poems, beloved pet turned monster, and a blind prophet

#191 Jon sleeps with his eyes open. Georgie wants to avenge her cat (I think I’ve seen this film before), mystery can, and Jon and Martin discuss death. Sobbing atm.

#192 Rosie is literally just going with the flow. It’s weird to see someone else’s perspective on things. Jonah’s incantation is awesome and gosh, I love Martin

#193 Elias 'high as a kite' Bouchard’s origins. Jonah’s distorted voice is hot.

#194 THEY HAD AN ARGUMENT D: After a gruesome metamorphosis statement, Jon tried to find Martin to apologize only to find he was taken to HILL TOP FREAKIN ROAD

#195 Just Basira and Jon, catching up and trudging through water. Omg. The Mr. Spider tape.

#196 Earth shattering rip-in-space time crap. Annabelle is wicked cool. Martin keeps getting sucked into things AND THE TAPES!! ASDFEKGLZMV

#197 MARTIN! ANNABELLE! TAPES! THE LIGHTER! INTER-DIMENSIONAL PIT! WE NEED TO DESTROY JONAH AND THE EYE SIMULTANEOUSLY! LES GO!

#198 If your friends jumped off a cliff, would you too? Ew, bones reforming. Chill ep. Silly.

#199 Group agrees on plan after ten minute discussion. Martin consulting Jon while he cries in his arms HURT!! Also, Mel thanks Jon. This is going to end horribly, isn’t it?

#200 Statement ends.

Crying tally: |||| |||| (I cried ten [10] times listening to this stupid podcast)

[obsoleteozymandias]

Hi there! I’d like to ask for a twst match up!

Basics:

Gender-Female, she/her/they

164 cm tall, Virgo but doesn’t act like one, INFP

+I pride myself on being a very dedicated person. If there’s a task delegated to me, I will work my hardest to see it through, even if the end results aren’t perfect. I’m not a leader but still take my responsibilities seriously because I fear disappointment and feel like I always have to prove my worth.

+I’m slow to trust, but generally a good judge of character. I’m the person you turn to if you need to vent or complain about something. Even though I don’t have many friends, the few that I do have I am very attached to. I’m mostly a loner though, perfectly happy this way, and am introverted but not to the point of a hermit.

+Adaptable: I don’t complain much about change, and usually work well with people of different personalities and backgrounds. I go with the flow most of the time.

-I’m a very irrational person. I try, but conventional logic just isn’t my strong point. This sometimes causes other people to see me as odd or stupid/lazy because my way of thinking isn’t the norm.

-I can be absentminded and a klutz. I’m always making mistakes and trying to fix my mistakes. I’ll probably annoy some people by being really forgetful and scatterbrained. I’m always reciting things or writing lists to help me remember.

Despite my own flaws, I’d still say I’m overall a well-rounded person, a jack of all trades. I enjoy learning many different things and having a wide skillset. I adapt easily and can probably fit into most dorms.

Hobbies-

Cosplay is the biggest one. I normally don’t put too much effort into my regular appearance, but I spend alot of time putting together costumes, wigs, props, and makeup, and looking my best for photoshoots and cons. I’d love to learn how to sew or make my own costumes one day.

Image editing—mostly related to cosplay above, but I enjoy editing and manipulating pictures and experimenting with all sorts of visual effects and filters just for fun. I like taking selfies and photos on my phone too, just to edit it afterwards.

Also I enjoy medieval history, ancient mythology (particularly Greek and Roman), symphonic metal and alt-rock music, tabletop games, video games (mostly JRPGS, visual novels, and otome games), musical theater, and collecting objects (antique pens and leatherbound journals).

This one, as a stan of a certain character, was very easy. 

== Twisted Wonderland ==>

I match you up with…

Sebek Zigvolt 

Sebek is difficult to say the least. He’s rude, abrasive, and often dismissive of the abilities of others. But he finds solace in you, someone who will listen to him and give him the time of day. 

It shocks him, honestly. He’s used to being dismissed, and though it wouldn’t usually bother him, for some reason the idea of you dismissing him makes his chest hurt. 

He’s most attracted to your dedication and hardworking nature. Sebek isn’t one to give up easily (or ever), and so he’s glad the two of you match eachother in your passion for simply getting shit done. 

He’ll be honest with you about your work quality, but it comes from a place of genuine love and desire to see your best work flourish. 

Whatever you make/do, he’ll brag about it to others, even mentioning it to Lilia and Silver with the same proud smugness that usually accompanies his Malleus rants. 

Sebek may not understand you way of doing things at first, but I fully believe that he could use a change of mindset, and so as he comes to understand and respect you, he’ll begin to see the advantages and reasons why you think the way you do. 

He’ll also watch you go about your hobbies, obviously interested, although trying to hide it. 

Later in the relationship, he no longer hides his fascination with your hobbies and actively learns as much about them as he can. 

Some nights are spent with you gaming and him reading, sharing facts and stories late into the night, just enjoying the presence of one another. 

[dfroza]

Today’s reading from the ancient books of Proverbs and Psalms

for june 12 of 2024 with Proverbs 12 and Psalm 12, accompanied by Psalm 86 for the 86th day of Astronomical Spring, and Psalm 14 for day 164 of the year (with the consummate book of 150 Psalms in its 2nd revolution this year)

[Proverbs 12]

Those who love discipline love knowledge,

but fools hate any kind of correction.

The Eternal prefers those who do good,

but He condemns those who plot evil.

Doing what is wrong keeps everyone off balance and insecure,

but those who do right will never be uprooted.

A dignified wife brings honor to her husband,

but a shameful wife is like decay eating away at his bones.

The thoughts of the right-living tend toward justice,

but the guidance of the wicked is trickery and treachery.

The words of the wicked ambush from the shadows, seeking blood,

but the speech of the honest keeps them free.

The wrongdoers are overthrown—no one is left!

But the house of the right-living remains strong.

A person is commended for expressing insight,

but a perverted heart is despised.

It is better to be overlooked and have a servant

than to be pretentious and have nothing to eat.

Those who are righteous treat their animals humanely,

but the compassion of the wicked is really inhumane.

Whoever works the land will have more than enough food,

but whoever follows empty pursuits lacks sense.

The wicked envy what the evil plunder,

but the root of the right-living produces fruit for all.

A wrongdoer is soon boxed in by his deceitful talk,

but the one who does right escapes from trouble unharmed.

Words spoken wisely result in much good,

and working with your hands pays a large reward.

Fools follow their own directions and think they are right,

but wise people listen intently to advice.

A fool’s anger is quickly evident,

but a clever person knows how to hide his flaws.

A faithful witness speaks the truth,

but a false witness utters lies.

Thoughtless words cut deeply like a thrusting sword,

but the speech of the wise is a healing balm.

Truth spoken will stand forever,

but lies survive only briefly.

Deceit darkens the hearts of those who plot evil,

but advocates of peace have joy.

The right-living are not overcome with calamity,

but wrongdoers have their fill of it.

Lying lips disgust the Eternal,

but those who act faithfully delight Him.

A clever man is careful in revealing what he knows,

but a fool betrays his incompetence.

The hand of the hard workers will one day rule,

and slackers will be forced to labor.

The weight of worry drags us down,

but a good word lightens our day.

Those who live right are good guides to those who follow,

but wrongdoers will steer their friends down the wrong path.

Slackers don’t take time to cook their food,

but hard workers prize everything they have.

Life springs up along the path of integrity,

and death has no place along its course.

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 12 (The Voice)

A note from The Voice translation:

A person in a positive relationship with God stands in a right relationship with His creation. How we treat animals may mirror our souls—not just the pets in our home, but the pets in our neighborhood and the animals in our food supply. One who is truly right with God considers the needs of His creatures.

[Psalm 12]

For the worship leader. A song of David accompanied by the lyre.

Help me, O Eternal One, for I can’t find anyone who follows You.

The faithful have fallen out of sight.

Everyone tells lies through sweet-talking lips

and speaks from a hollow and deceptive heart.

May the Eternal silence all sweet-talking lips,

stop all boasting tongues,

Of those who say, “With our words we will win;

our lips are our own. Who is the master of our souls?”

“I will rise up,” says the Eternal,

“because the poor are being trampled, and the needy groan for My saving help.

I will lift them up to the safety they long for.”

The promises of the Eternal, they are true, they are pure—

like silver refined in a furnace,

purified seven times, they will be without impurity.

You, O Eternal, will be their protector.

You will keep them safe from those around them forever.

All around, those who are wicked parade—proud and arrogant—and people applaud their emptiness.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 12 (The Voice)

[Psalm 86]

A prayer of David.

O Eternal One, lend an ear to my prayer and answer me,

for I am weak and wanting.

Safeguard my soul, for I remain loyal to You.

Save me, Your servant, who trusts in You, my God.

O Lord, please be merciful to me,

as all day long I cry out to You.

Bring joy into the life of Your servant,

for it’s only to You, O Lord, that I offer my soul.

O Lord, You are good and ready to forgive;

Your loyal love flows generously over all who cry out to You.

O Eternal One, lend an ear and hear my prayer;

listen to my pleading voice.

When times of trouble come, I will call to You

because I know You will respond to me.

O Lord, You stand alone among the other gods;

nothing they have done compares to Your wonderful works.

O Lord, all the peoples of earth—every nation You established—

will come to You, bowing low to worship,

and rightly honor Your great name.

For You are great, and Your works are wondrous;

You are the one True God.

O Eternal One, guide me along Your path

so that I will live in Your truth.

Unite my divided heart so that I will fear Your great name.

O Lord, my God! I praise You with all that I am.

I will rightly honor Your great name forever.

For Your loyal love for me is so great it is beyond comparison.

You have rescued my soul from the depths of the grave.

O True God, arrogant people are after me.

A violent gang wants to kill me;

they have no interest in You or Your ways.

But Lord, You are a God full of compassion, generous in grace,

slow to anger, and boundless in loyal love and truth.

Look at me, and grant me Your favor.

Invest Your strength in me, Your servant,

and rescue me, Your handmaiden’s child.

Give me a sign so I may know Your goodness rests on me

and so those who hate me will be red with shame at the sight of it.

For You, O Eternal One, have come to my aid and offered me relief.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 86 (The Voice)

[Psalm 14]

For the worship leader. A song of David.

A wicked and foolish man truly believes there is no God.

They are vile, their sinfulness nauseating to their Creator;

their actions are soiled and repulsive; every deed is depraved;

not one of them does good.

The Eternal leans over from heaven to survey the sons of Adam.

No one is missed, and no one can hide.

He searches to see who understands true wisdom,

who desires to know the True God.

They all turn their backs, walking their own roads;

they are rancid, leaving a trail of rotten footsteps behind them;

not one of them does good,

not even one.

Do the wicked have no clue about what really matters?

They devour my brothers and sisters the way a man eats his dinner.

They ignore the Eternal and don’t call on Him, rejecting His reality and truth.

They shall secretly tremble behind closed doors, hearts beating hard within their chests,

knowing that God always avenges the upright.

You laugh at the counsel of the poor, the needy, the troubled who put their trust in God.

You try to take away their only hope,

but the Eternal is a strong shelter in the heaviest storm.

May a new day, a day of deliverance come for Israel, starting with Zion.

When the Eternal breaks the chains of His oppressed people,

the family of Jacob will rejoice, and Israel will be delighted.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 14 (The Voice)

A note from The Voice translation:

This is a wisdom psalm that grieves over the pervasiveness of sin and its sad effects. It is repeated with minor changes in Psalm 53. Paul refers to this Davidic psalm to explain how all of humanity is tainted by sin (Romans 3:1–12).

[awkwardsonicphotos]

Day 145, Sonic reminisces on past adventures. 

Day 146, Sonic lounges on top of the fridge.

Day 147, My husband put Sonic on the table. He said the fridge was too dangerous for sonic.

Day 148, Put a very small sonic bill on my husband's wallet.

Day 149, Creepy edited sonic picture added to the collection. Meanwhile my husband added the money to his wallet.

Day 150, Put Sonic Jam on the jam jar. Also my husband finally found the picture of Sonic on the money jar.

Day 151, I placed this on our ice cream now too.

Day 152, yesterday was our wedding anniversary marking 5 years! So I put this up. He’s festive!

Day 153, my husband loved the sign, it made him laugh. Now Sonic is contained in the fireplace.

Day 154, Sonic takes a ride on the roomba.

Day 155, sonic goes in the trash.

Day 156, The creature group. My husband finally found the Sonic jam and just started laughing.

Day 157, Snuck this into the hedgehog collection.

Day 158, Sonic learns about real hedgehogs.

Day 159, Bought this sonic set and then trapped him. My husband found Sonic with the book and said, "Aw he's learning."

Day 160, I placed sonic on the corner of the bed and my husband removed him because he said it would give him an anxiety attack during the night.

Day 161, Sonic stocks food for the winter.

Day 162, Sonic tries out the exercise bike.

Day 163, Sonic finally claims the microwave. My husband also finally found some of the new pictures hidden throughout the house and wondered how long they had been there. He also had an old friend visit the other day and he just looked around and said, "I'm not even going to ask."

Day 164, Sonic sneaks upstairs.

Day 165, My husband got scared by sonic on the stairs. Now he's posing by this genesis poster.

Day 166, Hidden.

Day 167, Sonic hijacks my car. My husband just asked why Sonic was hiding.

Day 168, Now Sonic has conquered the other car. My husband found Sonic in the other car and was going to move him to the back seat when he went to drive the car.

Day 169, My husband removed Sonic from the garage. So now this Sonic picture is here to mock us every time we leave the house.

Day 170, Concealed Sonic behind the blinds.

Day 171, My husband put sonic into the basement. So now I added the sonic hat to my hedgehog measuring cup set.

Day 172, Sonic works out on the pull up bar in the basement.

Day 173, Spooky scary Skeletons

Day 174, Now he hides in the coat closet.

Decided to try something.

Day one of adding photos of Sonic in my house until my husband tells me to stop.

[annab-nana]

I posted 9,562 times in 2022

422 posts created (4%)

9,140 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@annab-nana

@nothingbutloveforyou

@cutetomholland

@marveldaily

@castlesrichards

I tagged 4,119 of my posts in 2022

#it’s just me and queue - 1,124 posts

#i love queue 3000 - 954 posts

#recs - 335 posts

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#blurbs - 109 posts

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Longest Tag: 139 characters

#i think i saw where someone blocks people who just like and don’t give any form of feedback and tbh that idea is starting to look real nice

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

if i was a bug - peter parker

summary: peter asks his friends and family what they would do if he was a bug

a/n: here’s a little something since i haven’t posted in a while and can’t seem to finish any fic i start 🥴 also i only looked over this after typing it out so if there’s a typo or something, ignore it but anyway enjoy :)

See the full post

303 notes - Posted July 3, 2022

#4

"I think... I'm in love with (Name)" || "Congrats on being the last one to find out" with eddie!

bahaha yes! here you go my love <3

warnings: dumb eddie, proofread once

❀ masterlist ❀

lately, when eddie was bored, he found himself at the video store. keith was never there but robin and steve were so he'd go there and sit on the floor, chilling behind the counter while robin and steve did their work.

"i'm assuming y/n's busy?" steve called from one side of the store where he put up some of the returned films.

"yeah," eddie responded, a curious tilt to his voice in wonder of how he knew that, "why?"

robin snorted out a laugh. "dude, you are always with her and you only seek out your other friends when she has something else going on."

"she's my best friend, bob." if you were here, you'd giggle at the nickname, and eddie's heart would flutter from the sound. "we're going to spend a lot of time together."

"yeah, robin is my best friend too, but the only reason we spend every day together is because we work together," steve responded from across the way.

"and sometimes i call out so i don't have to hang out with him," robin jeered with a smirk thrown in steve's direction. the boy's jaw dropped dramatically before he muttered a small, "ouch."

"well, y/n and i are different. we actually like each other," eddie shared while fiddling with the rings on his fingers.

"don't we know it?" robin spoke in her true sarcastic tone and that combined with steve's laughter had eddie looking up at her from where he sat on the floor to her perched on the chair in front of the computer. there was an underlying hint to her words that eddie wanted to know.

"what do you mean by that?"

"why so defensive about it, munson?" steve inquired with a playfully quirked brow when he came back over to the counter.

"i didn't mean it in a bad way. it's actually cute how much you two like each other." eddie couldn't fight the warmth that swirled within him at robin's words. she thought you guys were cute.

"i do. i like her a lot. i think i- no," he paused, "i won't say that."

but robin was too intrigued now to let it slide. she had turned completely around in her chair and both she and steve had their full attention on eddie.

"no, no, no," she prefaced, "go on."

"i think... i'm in love with y/n," eddie spoke in awe as if this was news to him as much as it was to everyone else. or so he thought.

steve jokingly scoffed, then said, "congrats on being the last one to find out."

"you know?"

"it wasn't like you two tried to hide it," robin added.

"two? as in you think she likes me too?" eddie questioned hopefully. that would make things a lot easier if you felt the same way.

"think?" steve was dumbfounded. he thought it was clear as day that you both were very much into each other. there were several occasions where he thought you two finally gave in, only to find out you guys were still very much friends and very much dumb. "i pretty much know for a fact she does."

"well, damn it, harrington. why did you say anything sooner?" eddie rushed to stand and hopped over the counter quicker than robin or steve could comprehend.

"wait!" robin called, causing the metalhead to turn fast enough to get whiplash, "where are you going?"

eddie flashed them his signature smile. "to go get my girl."

See the full post

314 notes - Posted October 14, 2022

#3

under my skin - eddie munson

See the full post

350 notes - Posted September 23, 2022

#2

what lies underneath - rafe cameron

See the full post

370 notes - Posted July 27, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

🐚 leaning over to help the other with homework + peter parker (maybe a college au?)

you got it bestie :)

warnings: flustered!college!peter, peter goes dumb at the slimmest sight of boobs

❀ masterlist ❀

"are you getting negative twenty-three? i keep getting negative twenty-three but the website says that's wrong," the curly-haired brunet questioned exasperatedly, very much getting fed up with either his or the website's mistake. it had to be the website though, right? he'd worked out the problem on a couple sheets of paper at least three times and still, he was getting negative twenty-three.

you looked up and pushed aside your laptop where you were doing your own math homework. college-level calculus was no joke, but thankfully, you sat next to peter on the first day, bringing you a new friend to share your confusion and to help each other figure this shit out. it didn't hurt that he was adorable when he was slightly frustrated too.

"let me see," you requested as you reached out for his work. he handed you the two sheets of paper that were littered front and back with his poorly-scribbled calculations. his handwriting was subpar typically, but when he was working out math problems, it was even more difficult to read.

after some time of struggling to interpret his work, you finally got through it. to you, it all appeared to be correct. you put his papers to the side and lifted yourself out of your seat to lean against the table to be closer to peter or more so, his laptop.

you were sitting straight across from him and were now leaning in front of him. you had your weight supported on your left arm, your forearm flat on the tabletop while your right arm stretched out to turn his laptop around, but peter wasn't focused on the math problem anymore. his eyes were on your chest.

you wore a button-up sweater that was a little low cut, but for your modesty and some more warmth, you threw a cami on underneath. your cleavage was covered fairly well by the tanktop when you were sitting up straight, but when you were leaning forward, there wasn't much left to the imagination for peter.

he didn't mean to look down. he would never ever disrespect you in any way. but once his line of sight went south, it was hard for him to pull it up. it was like his eyes were magnetically forced down toward your chest which made it way more difficult to move them away. he was so honed in that he didn't hear you calling him an idiot.

you hadn't noticed where his focus was initially, but when he hadn't commented on your name-calling, you knew something was up when you didn't get a response or even a small pout.

"peter?" you called him by his preferred name and dipped your head down a fuzz to get a better look at him. the way his eyes snapped up to yours and widened in addition to how a rosy pink shade dusted over his cheeks and nose, it all told you what you needed to know and a smirk grew on your lips.

"is something distracting you, peter?" you asked tauntingly, leaning forward even more and bringing in your right arm to push your breasts together to make them even more noticeable. the boy before you visibly gulped and you knew him well enough to know what came next: the nervous rambling.

"wha- no, i- i'm good, never better actually. uh, did you, um, figure out what i d-did wrong?" he stammered, focusing extra hard on maintaining eye contact with you so his eyes wouldn't drift elsewhere.

"for starters, you practically undressed me with your eyes without asking me on a proper date first, but as for the math problem, you forgot that dr. hightower said to make sure you put in the negative sign, not the subtraction symbol because this website won't take that and will mark your answer as incorrect," you explained with a grin, loving to tease him.

"oh."

"yeah," you muttered before sitting back in your seat. you two got back to your work in a comfortable silence that lasted all of maybe thirty seconds before peter spoke again.

"hypothetically speaking," he started, pulling your attention away from your laptop screen, "if i were to ask you on a date, would you say yes?"

your smile returned shortly and you leaned against the table, shifting forward a bit just to tease him. "theoretically, it would depend on what you were thinking of doing on this purely suppositional date."

"i was thinking we could go try that new indian place near campus two buildings down from the coffee bean," peter stated before adding, "strictly notional, of course."

"of course," you agreed before pretending to ponder his 'hypothetical' request, "i'd have to say yes i would think."

"y/n, would you like to go out with me to the new indian place near the coffee bean this friday night?" peter inquired, still visibly nervous but not nearly as bad as before.

"are we still speaking in theory or are you being literal?"

"as literal as i've ever been," he responded, a hopeful grin tugging at his lips.

"then, it's a literal date."

See the full post

846 notes - Posted September 12, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[dahbeez]

1. "You're such a dork."

2. "Get over here, you doof."

3. "Cheeky."

4. "You're so needy."

5. "Kiss me again."

6. "You're so adorable!"

7. "Look at you... goodness, you're so cute!"

8. "I'm just so happy!"

9. "I can't stop smiling."

10. "I like that you make me laugh so much that my cheeks hurt."

11. "You are being extra sweet today."

12. "Oh, look at you!"

13. "Your eyes are so pretty."

14. "I'm really happy that you're here with me."

15. "Thank you for staying with me."

16. "I don't think I've ever loved someone this much before."

17. "I feel like I'm in the clouds when I'm with you."

18. "You're like my hero/heroine."

19. "I'm gonna tickle you if you don't come over here."

20. "My, oh my. You are such a beautiful creature."

@drink-it-write-it​

21. "Go with me?" "As long as you hold my hand."

22. "Is there a reason you're blushing like that?"

23. "Have you seen my hoodie?" "Nooooo..." "You're wearing it, aren't you?"

24. "OH you're jealous!"

25. "Can we stay like this forever?"

26. "Please just kiss me already."

27. "I think you might be my soulmate."

28. "Sleep over? Please?"

29. "Are we on a date right now?"

30. "I think I'm in love with you."

31. "Are you flirting with me?" "You finally noticed?"

32. "Am I your lockscreen?" "You weren't supposed to see that."

33. "I wish we could live together already."

34. "They're so cute when they're asleep."

35. "I just wanted to let you know that I think you're beautiful."

36. "Quit touching me, your feet are cold!"

37. "Sharing is caring, now give me the hoodie!"

38. "Give me attention."

39. "You met me yesterday." "Yes, and I would die for you. Next question."

40. "She's hiding behind the sofa."

41. "Did you just hiss at me?"

@wishiwasanavenger-archive​

42. "Have you kissed anyone before?"

43. "Can I kiss you?"

44. "You're not hurting me, you're not heavy. I've got you, love.” 

45. "I look at them and I just... it's like when the Grinch's heart grows three sizes."

46. "I don't... I've never... been in a relationship before and I'm going to make mistakes... I just need you to tell me. I need you to talk to me."

47. "You didn't tell me your friend was cute! Now what am I going to do?"

48. "You give me a reason to be better, to do better."

49. "God, you are so fucking cute."

50. "I love you, but I need you to go away because you're really bloody distracting and I have to pass this test tomorrow."

51. "Oh no... they're cute."

52. "I can't talk to cute people, okay? I don't know how to flirt!"

53. "God, I love your face."

54. "Don't look at me, I'm a mess!" "I love it when you're a mess!"

55. "Please do your homework for me...? Just one time." ... "I said one time, y'know... you didn't have to start studying. Not that I'm not proud or anything."

56. "I'm already home."

57. "Your comfort and happiness is more important to me than some stupid dinner."

58. "Stop moving! I'm going to have to start counting all over again!"

59. "I just thought that since you weren't feeling too good, this would help."

60. "I'm not kissing you in the rain! We'll catch our death!"

61. "Would it help if I stayed?"

62. "I apologise sincerely if my beautiful/handsome face has kept you up all night."

63. "God, you're pretty."

64. "Calm down, it's just a chocolate bar!"

65. "Please, tell me you brought a toothbrush?"

66. "You take the bed, you need it more than me."

67. "You're so warm!"

68. "You're freezing, Jesus!"

69. "You always look beautiful."

70. "Your hands are so small!"

71. "Sometimes I just want to cuddle, okay? Is that so bad?"

72. "Now I know where half my wardrobe went."

73. "Here, let me just–" 

74. "You're really special to me."

75. "That tickles!"

76. "We only have one room left for the night..."

77. "Naps are life, okay?"

78. "I don't think I could love you anymore than I already do."

79. "I had the weirdest dream..."

80. "I got you a trophy, it's only plastic, but it's for being the best human I know."

81. "Someone keeps leaving love notes in my locker and I don't know if I should find it endearing or creepy..."

82. "I love your voice."

83. "Put me down! I can walk!"

84. "Can... can you come over?"

85. "You're the best."

86. "Can you please stop biting your lip, it's distracting."

87. "I thought you liked love songs!"

88. "I know you're not a fan of Valentine's day... I just thought that maybe I could change your mind..."

89. "You're my favourite know-it-all."

90. "That was the least romantic proposal in the entire history of proposals."

91. "I never knew you were a romantic at heart."

92. "I made it. For you. I know it's not the best, but..."

93. "Let me carry that."

94. "How do you know my favourite drink?" "I'm observant."

95. "We've known each other's for years and I don't think we've ever had a proper conversation."

96. "You're the clumsiest person I know, how did you survive past childhood?"

97. "It's always time for a milkshake."

98. "You know, humming the James Bond theme tune defeats the point of sneaking."

99. "I think your cat wants to kill me."

100. "Where have all my jumpers gone?"

101. "I don't get paid enough for this shit."

102. "Oh my God, I love you."

103. "I told you to bring a jacket."

@writings-of-a-hufflepuff​

104. "Is that my shirt?" "You mean our shirt?"

105. "It's you, it always has been."

106. "You're everything I could've wanted and more."

107. "Kiss me."

108. "Home stopped being a place when you entered my life."

109. "You should probably go home." "But I'm already home."

110. "You're an idiot." "But you love me."

111. "I'd do anything for you."

112. "You took all the pillows so I'm using you as one."

113. "Stop moving and let me braid your hair."

114. "I'm so proud of you."

115. "You are my family."

116. "I'm right here."

117. "Can you just please hold me?"

118. "I'm pretty sure they're my soulmate."

119. "This reminded me of you."

120. "Your hair is really soft."

121. "Are you blushing?"

122. "Can I stay here tonight?"

123. "Because I love you."

124. "Make a wish!"

125. "I love seeing you smile."

126. "You're just a softie."

127. "You are crushing me right now."

128. "Darling I love you and all, but please step out of the kitchen."

129. "Take my hand. Just trust me."

130. "You're the only thing that matters."

131. "Did you know that you talk in your sleep?"

132. "Hey, look at me. Focus on me, alright?"

133. "Why can't I get you out of my head?"

134. "Don't let go."

135. "Stay."

@blisfvll​

136. "You smell really nice."

137. "If you steal the blanket, I'm going to put my cold feet on you."

138. "You're comfy."

139. "But I want to hear you sing."

140. "Don't get up – I'll do it."

141. "Care to give me a back scratch?"

142. "Your bed head is really cute."

143. "How about a kiss?"

144. "Uh oh, I know that look. What do you want?"

145. "Are you really flirting with me right now?"

146. "I like the way your hand fits in mine."

147. "You have something in your hair, umm... do you want me to get it out?"

148. "It's nice that your voice is the first thing I heard today."

149. "This movie is really scary, but you're into it so I'm trying not to cover my face the whole time but– WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?"

150. "Wait, don't pull away... not yet."

151. "Half the time I get too embarrassed to say anything."

152. "No, it's fine. I can wait until you're done talking to them."

153. "No, like... it's just, I can't believe you're actually wearing my clothes."

154. "I've been trying to get ready for like an hour and an half because I know you're going to look so good and I need to try and match up."

155. "I wanted to say 'I love you' for the first time without stuttering, but that failed."

156. "We could order pizza and just stay like this all day."

157. "It's not a double date. We're just third and fourth wheeling."

158. "I remember practicing how to ask you out in the mirror..."

@marauder-exe​

159. "It's not funny!"

160. "That wasn't suppose to happen."

161. "Hurry back."

162. "I can't take you seriously."

163. "Problem solved."

164. "That was embarrassing."

165. "It's freezing in here."

@love-me-a-good-prompt​

166. "I love you, baby."

167. "Hey, cutie."

168. "I promise to love you for the rest of my life."

169. "You're my world."

170. "I don't care if you're sick, catching a cold from kissing you is worth it."

171. "You are so perfect."

172. "Marry me?"

173. "You're the best part of me."

174. "Stay here with me. For the rest of our lives."

175. "I'm speechless, you're so beautiful!"

176. "Come here, I need to hug you."

177. "When everything's wrong, it's you that makes it right."

178. "You're the one."

@raggedy-dxctor​

179. "Well, it's the thought that counts." "Wait, no, don't take my kisses away from me!"

180. "Oh, you've started stealing my socks now?"

181. "You owe me a kiss."

182. "How did you get in here?"

183. "That's not even fair."

184. "You promised me a cookie!"

185. "Ew, that is so sappy, I might vomit."

186. "You're not very intimidating."

187. "That was, by far, the stupidest thing you've ever done."

188. "Why don't you take a picture? It'll last longer."

189. "Why the hell is there glitter everywhere?"

@whcczes​

190. "I'll feel much better if you let me walk you home."

191. "Apparently, all our friends have a bet going that we end up together."

192. "You make me feel alive. For the first time ever, I feel like I can breathe."

@moanlightlust​

193. "It's two in the morning and you want to cuddle?"

194. "You shine so bright it's intimidating. I love it."

195. "I'm here."

196. "What's your name again? Sorry, I just got that super weird feeling that we only see in movies, you know? Like, the whole world stopped turning and all I could see was you."

197. "I was born to be yours."

198. "Isn't it a bit too cliché?"

199. "So, you're just kissing strangers for no apparent reasons?"

200. "You'll always be my favourite person."

201. "You're making it weird, stop making it weird."

202. "There's nothing I love more than running back into your arms."

203. "I'm yours. Forever."

204. "You always know how to cheer me up."

205. "I... I lost the ring."

206. "Will you be mine?"

207. "Darling, you look perfect tonight."

208. "You saved my life."

209. "Don't give me that look. No... NO! I said no puppy dog eyes! You know I can't resist them! Argh, fine!"

210. "I missed you and your bad puns and even your horrible cooking and the way you fit perfectly against my body when we cuddle. I just really missed you."

211. "We're a team, remember?"

212. "There's no place I'd rather be than by your side."

213. "Your smile brightens the whole room."

214. "I kinda adopted a puppy behind your back... don't be mad! Look at those cute fluffy paws!"

215. "You're burning up. Guess I need to activate my nurse mode."

216. "I love you. As in more than friends, more than best friends and more than super extra best friends."

217. "I love you just the way you are."

218. "We need to kick his ass, no questions asked. You in?"

219. "Hot chocolate and cuddles? Kisses?"

220. "You make me feel pretty."

221. "You'll always be my best girl."

222. "Never hide yourself from me."

223. "Babe! There's no toilet paper!"

224. "I'll never give up on you."

225. "Do you feel that shirt? That's boyfriend material."

226. "That prank went so wrong."

227. "Care to dance, my love?"

228. "AH! You're stuck with me!"

229. "You're too good to me."

230. "Is it that time of the month?"

231. "Can I braid your hair?"

232. "It's okay to have doubts, as long as you don't let them overwhelm you."

233. "Come here! I can't stand to be so far away from you!"

234. "I got you."

235. "I wanna fall asleep next to you every night and wake up every morning with you by my side."

236. "Stop, I need to finish this!"

237. "I just wanna binge watch The Office, but it's not the same without you."

238. "Because I care about you!"

239. "I just wanted to impress you."

240. "I love you even though your breath stinks right now."

241. "Did you just puke on me?"

242. "We should get drunk and do stupid things."

243. "I always know what you're thinking about, babe. You're like an open book!"

244. "Could you sing to me?"

245. "I, uh, could you... could you play with my hair, please?"

246. "Nooooo, don't leave! I'm cold!"

247. "I think you're suffering from a lack of vitamin me."

248. "A mistletoe? Really?"

249. "Will you join me, love?"

250. "I have feelings for you."

251. "You are the reason."

252. "Take my hand, I wanna show you something..."

253. "You have a lovely name."

254. "You're my everything."

255. "You do know a lot about my blushing schedule."

@voilawind​

[allavengedromance]

A compilation of interactions between Jon and Helen from beginning to end because they had the best dynamic

Transcript under the cut

[MAG 47]

[CLICK] [SOUND OF PEN SCRATCHING AGAINST PAPER IN SHARP, FRUSTRATED MOVEMENTS]

ARCHIVIST

Statement of Helen Richardson, regarding, uh… how would you describe it?

[PEN SCRATCHING CONTINUES]

ARCHIVIST

…Miss Richardson?

[PEN SCRATCHING CONTINUES]

HELEN

– uh, what?

[PEN SCRATCHING CONTINUES]

ARCHIVIST

Your experience, how would you summarize it?

[PEN SCRATCHING CONTINUES]

HELEN

Um, well, I’ve been, I’ve been trying to draw you a map, but, it doesn’t, it doesn’t work.

[PEN SCRATCHING CONTINUES; HELEN CAN NOW BE HEARD BREATHING HARD AS THE ARCHIVIST SPEAKS]

ARCHIVIST

– Right. Statement of Helen Richardson, regarding a new door in the house she was selling. Statement recorded direct from subject, 2nd October, 2016. Statement begins.

[MAG 101]

HELEN

Do you want to come in?

ARCHIVIST

Wh… Helen? H-Helen Richardson? But… But y– Michael…

HELEN

Michael isn’t me. Not now.

ARCHIVIST

What happened?

HELEN

He got… distracted. Let feelings that shouldn’t have been his overwhelm me.

Lost my way.

ARCHIVIST

And now? Y-__you’re__ Helen?

[MAG 115]

[KNOCK, KNOCK]

[Calls] Come i–

[KNOCK, KNOCK]

[More sombrely] Come in.

[A NEW DOOR CREAKS OPEN]

[Sharply] What do you want?

HELEN

Not sure. To talk.

ARCHIVIST

You’re keeping her face, then.

HELEN

I am Helen.

ARCHIVIST

Don’t pretend to be people I know. Knew.

HELEN

I’m not pretending.

ARCHIVIST

You’re not Helen Richardson.

[MAG 115]

HELEN

Before, talking to you made Helen feel better.

ARCHIVIST

You’re not that Helen!

HELEN

I just want… I just want to feel better.

ARCHIVIST

…

I don’t believe you.

HELEN

You don’t?

ARCHIVIST

Wh-what? Why should I believe… a-a-any of this? You’ve told me over and over that you’re… what was the phrase? The ‘throat of delusion’? All of this is –

HELEN

I have never told you a lie, Archivist. I wouldn’t dare. I, I just thought you might understand.

ARCHIVIST

Uh… How could I possibly…

HELEN

We’re both changing, Archivist. I had hoped, that together –

ARCHIVIST

[Furious] Get out.

[MAG 131]

[MELANIE SIGHS, KNOCKS ON THE DOOR] MELANIE

She’s been helping us.

ARCHIVIST

[Sharply] It has never helped anyone. Not without a cost.

[THE DOOR CREAKS OPEN] HELEN

If I am an “it”, Archivist, then what does that make you?

[THE DOOR CREAKS CLOSED] MELANIE

Hi, Helen.

ARCHIVIST

[Coldly] I have been told you can help.

HELEN

I have been trying to. But the last time you were very rude to me.

ARCHIVIST

You’re still wearing her face.

HELEN

Not this again. I’m not “wearing” anything, Archivist. I am at least as much ‘Helen Richardson’ as you are the ‘Jonathan Sims’ that first joined this Institute.

[MAG 143]

ARCHIVIST

Why are you here?

HELEN

I told you! I’ve decided to help. I thought you might like a way home?

ARCHIVIST

Another door?

HELEN

If you want it. (short pause) How was it?

ARCHIVIST

Hm?

HELEN

Looking upon the Dark.

ARCHIVIST

I thought I was going to die.

HELEN

You seem to think that a lot.

[MAG 152]

HELEN

(“delicately” hinting) Although – some of us are always lost, in a sense.

ARCHIVIST

Wait, are you saying you can navigate it?

HELEN

Not exactly, but my door has been part of these tunnels for some time now.

ARCHIVIST

Wh – (frustrated sputtering) – what’s it hiding, wh-what’s in the middle?

HELEN

(suppressed laughter) A delightful surprise…!

[HE SIGHS. SHE LAUGHS, OVERLAPPING HIM AND HERSELF, SEEMINGLY OUT OF SEVERAL THROATS AT ONCE, AND WITH A DRAINED, SLEEPY QUALITY TO IT WHEN SHE FINDS THAT SHE HAS LAUGHED TOO LONG, AND MUST STOP TO INHALE. HER LAUGHTER, IN SHORT, NOW SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE MICHAEL’S. THE ARCHIVIST SIGHS AGAIN, RESIGNED TO HER.]

[MAG 152]

HELEN

Hungry, are we?

ARCHIVIST

(angrily) That’s not –

– I haven’t done anything –

HELEN

– yet.

ARCHIVIST

(roughly) I feel like if I don’t… I might die. Fade away into nothing.

HELEN

…

Do you… Know that?

ARCHIVIST

No. But I… (frustrated noise) I can’t die. They need me.

HELEN

Come on, John, no excuses.

[HE SIGHS AS SHE SPEAKS.]

They don’t need your protection.

[MAG 152]

HELEN

Helen was like you, at first.

[HE CAN BE HEARD INHALING UNHAPPILY IN THE BACKGROUND.]

She felt such guilt over taking people. Until one day she realized she wasn’t going to stop doing it. So she chose to stop feeling guilty.

ARCHIVIST

Fine. I get it.

[MAG 157]

[CLICK] [HEAVY KNOCKING ON A DOOR. IT SWINGS OPEN.] ARCHIVIST

Helen.

HELEN

Jonathan.

ARCHIVIST

I need – you said before you knew the tunnels, right? That you’d been a… part of them?

HELEN

Not my exact words, but close enough.

ARCHIVIST

I need to know what’s in there. What’s at the center? (urgently) I-it’s important, Martin – I need to know.

HELEN

(cheerfully) That’s a shame, because I’m afraid I’m not going to tell you!

ARCHIVIST

(aghast) What? Why not?

HELEN

Because I have a good enough sense of what’s going on to know that it will be much more fun without my involvement! (begins laughing)

ARCHIVIST

What? You – you said you were going to help!

HELEN

I am.

ARCHIVIST

I don’t have time for this.

[164]

HELEN

Remember? And please – my name is Helen.

ARCHIVIST

Like you said, I can know everything now, including how much of a lie that really is.

HELEN

Don’t mistake complication for falsehood, dear Archivist. And remember, that knowledge is not the same thing as understanding!

ARCHIVIST

What do you want.

HELEN

To say hello! And check up on the happy couple.

[She laughs again.]

[166]

ARCHIVIST

Hello, Helen.

HELEN

Oh, hello! In a better mood, are we?

(lower, teasing) Feeling more secure now you’ve learned how to kill?

[As she speaks, a shimmery, high-pitched sound starts to layer over the background.] ARCHIVIST

(inhale) Something like that.

MARTIN

Will you tell me how he did it?

ARCHIVIST

Martin…

MARTIN

He just keeps going all vague about it.

HELEN

Oh, goodness. You see what you’ve done to the poor boy, John? He’s coming to me for clear answers.

[She snorts, and it turns into her trademark laugh.]

ARCHIVIST

Shut up.

[177]

HELEN

Oh, John? Not to sound like a squeaky hinge, but do try to lighten up. Don’t get me wrong, the brooding thing’s a good look on you, but it is starting to get a bit tired. Especially now you’ve got someone else to do the intense, driven thing. I think you might need to get a new schtick.

ARCHIVIST

[Sarcastic] Thank you for the feedback. I’ll try to bear it in mind.

[183]

ARCHIVIST

What we want doesn’t matter much these days.

[HELEN MAKES A RASPBERRY NOISE]

HELEN

Oh nonsense. What we want is the only thing that matters these days. And Basira wanted to join Daisy.

ARCHIVIST

She made her choice.

HELEN

With your assistance.

ARCHIVIST

It was still her choice.

HELEN

[Sighing] What a waste.

ARCHIVIST

No.

It wasn’t.

[MAG 187]

HELEN

You really don’t like me, do you?

ARCHIVIST

No.

HELEN

And you never have.

ARCHIVIST

Not really.

HELEN

Even though I saved you from Michael.

ARCHIVIST

You were Michael.

HELEN

Argh. I’m The Distortion, as was Michael, but I am not him, and never have been. Surely you know all this by now, what with your shiny new eye powers?

ARCHIVIST

It’s not about what I know. It’s about what I feel.

HELEN

[Disparagingly] Oh, what do you feel?

ARCHIVIST

I liked Helen.

HELEN

I am Helen.

ARCHIVIST

The real one.

HELEN

…

Helen-Classic.

ARCHIVIST

Sure.

HELEN

But that doesn’t make any sense. You barely met her. You had half an hour together, and she spent most of that ranting about mazes! She was positively delirious with paranoia!

ARCHIVIST

True. But as you’ll recall, I was pretty paranoid myself at that point.

[MAG 187]

ARCHIVIST

I got you rattled.

HELEN

I’m not scared of you.

ARCHIVIST

Helen… Was that… a lie?

HELEN

[Too quickly] No!

ARCHIVIST

A lie. A genuine untruth. Like a little bit of loose thread, flitting in the breeze.

HELEN

Fine. You can go.

[SHIFTING, AND A NEW DOOR OPENS]

There’s the door. Just go!

ARCHIVIST

Ceaseless Watcher!

HELEN

No!

[THROUGH THE INCANTATION, THE HARSH BUZZ OF STATIC MINGLES WITH CREAKING WOODWORK AND CRUMBLING CRICK]

ARCHIVIST

See this lie, this golden strand of falsehood. Take it in your gaze and pull it, follow through its curves and twists and knots as it unravels all before you.

HELEN (BACKGROUND)

No. No! No! No, Archivist! Stop! John, it’s me, it’s Helen. It’s me. I’ve always been your friend. Don’t do this to me. I have always helped you. I have always helped you and lent you doors. Think of all that I have done for you. If you do this, everyone inside me is dead!

ARCHIVIST

Unweave it now, its fear and its falsehood, its hidden teeth and the ones it wears so proudly.

HELEN (BACKGROUND)

You’re no different – You are no different from me! You can’t save anyone!

ARCHIVIST

Take all that it is and all that it has. It is yours!

HELEN

No! NOOOOOO!

[HELEN’S VOICE IS STRETCHED AND VANISHED] [EXTENDED SOUNDS OF DISTORTED DEMOLITION]

[MAG 47]

HELEN

Finally, [suppressing tears] after the latest bout of nightmares, I decided to come to you and tell you my story. Maybe you can make some sense of this.

ARCHIVIST

…Perhaps. Leave it with us. We’ll… do some digging and see what we can find.

HELEN

[tearful] You believe me, then?

ARCHIVIST

I… yes. Yes, I think I do.

[sleepymarmot]

Opinion: MAG 187 doesn’t invalidate Helen’s more sympathetic moments

It is possible to interpret the episode as retconning everything the Distortion has ever said and done into a manipulation targeted at Jon, which would undo the character’s complexity and make them revolve entirely around the protagonist. The key for this interpretation seems to lie in the following exchange: 

ARCHIVIST You worked to hurt us and help us, all with the same smile, until we can barely tell one from the other. Keeping us off-balance, constantly second-guessing our own opinions of you. Never quite crossing a line we could never forgive, but never putting yourself on the line either. And when one face finally stopped smiling, you just changed the face.

HELEN Fine. So if that’s all true… why? Why would I do any of that? What’s my actual motive?

ARCHIVIST I don’t think you even have one. It’s just what you are.

But I don’t think most of what was said here is new information.

Let’s go back to season 3. Here’s how the newborn Helen Distortion explains her identity:

HELEN Michael isn’t me. Not now.

ARCHIVIST What happened?

HELEN He got… distracted. Let feelings that shouldn’t have been his overwhelm me. Lost my way.

In other words, the Distortion’s modus operandi is a long, long game of cat and mouse (see also: MAG 146 Threshold). Michael got sidetracked by his (or Michael Shelley’s) revenge against the Archivist(s) and decided to actually kill the mouse. But it was unnatural for the Distortion, so it shook off the troublesome identity, and Helen was both an instrument to get rid of Michael and a continuation of what was started by him and worked so well.

ARCHIVIST A-are you still going to kill me?

HELEN No. That was Michael’s desire, not mine.

The Distortion doesn’t want to send the Archivist into its corridors. Why would it, when it’s so rewarding to misdirect and mess with him in other ways?

Now, for episode 115.

HELEN I… I’m not… I’m not entirely sure. I’m… having trouble. I don’t think I was meant to be Helen.

ARCHIVIST I’m – I don’t understand.

HELEN Neither do I. Michael was… pulling away. His anger was interfering. I don’t, I don’t think I have a choice but to be Helen. Self is difficult.

ARCHIVIST Michael, he, uh, he, he wasn’t meant to be you either, though, was he?

HELEN No.

There’s an internal conflict between Helen and the Distortion -- just like there was between Michael and the Distortion. I don’t think the new episode invalidates or undoes that. On the contrary: it restated that Michael strayed from the Distortion’s purpose, which means Helen could have done the same.

HELEN Something happened when I became ‘Helen’. She wasn’t right, she wasn’t ready.

ARCHIVIST I don’t…

HELEN Before, talking to you made Helen feel better.

ARCHIVIST You’re not that Helen!

HELEN I just want… I just want to feel better.

Helen was supposed to be a meal that replenished the Distortion’s energy. But it seems that the food was not as fully digested as the Distortion would prefer, and tried to bite back.

ARCHIVIST Wh-what? Why should I believe… a-a-any of this? You’ve told me over and over that you’re… what was the phrase? The ‘throat of delusion’? All of this is –

HELEN I have never told you a lie, Archivist. I wouldn’t dare. I, I just thought you might understand.

ARCHIVIST Uh… How could I possibly…

HELEN We’re both changing, Archivist. I had hoped, that together –

The Distortion has never lied (and now we know why). The Distortion has truly changed. Its new face genuinely wanted Jon’s company, just like the previous face had wanted him dead. But both faces interact with Jon in a way that leaves him confused and upset, because such is their nature.

In MAG 131, Helen insists that her identity is not a mask but a new but inseparable part of herself. As we now know, she is not lying: 

ARCHIVIST

You’re still wearing her face.

HELEN

Not this again. I’m not “wearing” anything, Archivist. I am at least as much ‘Helen Richardson’ as you are the ‘Jonathan Sims’ that first joined this Institute. Things change. People change. It happens.

We get a double confirmation that Helen is different from the Distortion’s previous incarnations in MAG 146, in the words of both Helen and her victim:

This wasn’t like before; there was no playfulness here, none of that malicious joy that I had always felt coming off it. Now there was just a cold hunger, a deep anger, as though I had no right to just stand there looking at it. The street was silent, but I could feel it screaming at me to open it.

HELEN (all business) Oh, well; the son, I was pursuing long before I was even Michael. And technically, I didn’t eat the old man. He passed away from terror long before I got a chance to open properly.

ARCHIVIST His son Marcus – he – he was fine when I read his father’s statement two years ago, but now, suddenly, I can’t get through to him.

HELEN No. I imagine not. I decided it was time to finish that game a few months ago.

ARCHIVIST You – Why?

HELEN Not sure. I suppose Helen didn’t have quite the same attachment to him as a project. I’m not quite as much for decades-long campaigns of subtle terror these days.

ARCHIVIST (soft) That’s horrible.

HELEN Is it? We do what we need to do when it comes to feeding, don’t we? (pointed) Don’t we, Archivist?

Helen Distortion doesn’t derive joy from terrorizing people for months or years with doors. That’s just food now. Now she gets the same joy from messing with people with the help of her humanlike appearance and personality.

An often-quoted line from MAG 152:

HELEN Even if it were capable of doing so, what possible reason would the Eye have to change how you feel, when it makes no difference to your actions? Helen was like you, at first. She felt such guilt over taking people. Until one day she realized she wasn’t going to stop doing it. So she chose to stop feeling guilty.

Again, the new episode confirms two things: 1) Helen wasn’t lying. 2) Helen was telling this to Jon to make him doubt his loyalties. And again, this is not new information! She laughs at his misery and confusion very openly!

Episode 157. Jon gets a shocking reminder that Helen is Just Here To Troll:

HELEN Because I have a good enough sense of what’s going on to know that it will be much more fun without my involvement! (begins laughing)

...

ARCHIVIST Just tell me what’s going on. Please.

HELEN (gleefully) Bad things, Archivist. Really bad things.

MAG 164, Helen’s first appearance in s5. There’s so much going on, let’s try to list at least some of it: she congratulates jonmartin on their relationship, immediately tries to play them against each other, cheerfully deflects all blame onto Jon and also Georgie and Melanie, admits to betrayal, announces she wants to be friends “again”, then expresses pity that Jon isn’t hostile to her enough. Absolutely everything she does is about creating relationship chaos.

MAG 166, second encounter with Helen post-Change, and she is delighted to see disagreement between Jon and Martin unprompted by her:

MARTIN Yeah, I, I, I think we should go for it, get our murder on!

ARCHIVIST (disbelief) Sorry, what?

HELEN (surprised delight) Yes, Martin!

In MAG 177, she moves the focus of ridiculously blatant manipulation and provocation onto Basira, and also doesn’t bother to hide she enjoys scaring her “friends”:

HELEN Not interrupting anything, Am I?

MARTIN Christ, Helen, you scared the life out of me.

HELEN [Insincere] Sorry, darling.

And finally, MAG 183. By now, everyone in the scene is aware that she’s here just to get a rise out of our heroes and metaphorically eat popcorn.

MARTIN Look. Listen, I’m getting really sick of all thi–

ARCHIVIST Leave it, Martin. She’s just trying to get under your skin.

MARTIN Yeah? Well, she’s really good at it!

HELEN Aww. Thanks, sweetie. But to be honest, I’m mainly just here to see which path you choose.

Which brings us to MAG 187. We already know that Helen isn’t Jon and Martin’s “friend” as in “ally” -- she hangs out with them to provoke strong responses and sow chaos. The plot twist is that she’s not just doing it for fun, like a human would -- it is her way of avatar feeding.

The Distortion has always been a trickster. I am glad that they died this way, instead of becoming either an over-the-top villain or a reluctant hero -- before the plot could corner them into becoming one. And as Jon said, the reason Helen had to die was not her trickster nature, but the side she picked on the “Eyepocalipse: keep or cancel?” issue. 

The reveal in 187 does not contradict the information we had before, and so it doesn’t retcon or undo the complexity or character development that the Distortion had. The fact that the Distortion fed on Jon (and others’) reaction to them does not mean that they never had any motivations or thoughts beyond that. Jon says it himself: “keeping us off-balance” is not the Distortion’s motivation, it’s “who they are”, it’s the natural, instinctive way they conduct themselves. We have learned that the Distortion's behavior was Eldritch Trolling instead of Regular Trolling, that's all.

[amysteryspot]

Minutes to Midnight - Writing Prompts

146. "Wake in a sweat again. Another day's been laid to waste, in my disgrace. Stuck in my head again, feels like I'll never leave this place, there's no escape. I'm my own worst enemy."

147. "I've given up, I'm sick of feeling. Is there nothing you can say? Take this all away, I'm suffocating. Tell me what the fuck is wrong with me."

148. "I don't know what to take. Thought I was focused but I'm scared, I'm not prepared. I hyperventilate, looking for help somehow, somewhere and no one cares."

149. "I dreamed I was missing, you were so scared, but no one would listen 'cause no one else cared. After my dreaming, I woke with this fear: what am I leaving when I'm done here?"

150. "So, if you're asking me, I want you to know. When my time comes, forget the wrong that I've done, help me leave behind some reasons to be missed. And don't resent me, and when you're feeling empty, keep me in your memory, leave out all the rest. Leave out all the rest."

151. "Don't be afraid, I've taken my beating, I've shared what I made. I'm strong on the surface, not all the way through. I've never been perfect, but neither have you."

152. "Forgetting all the hurt inside, you've learned to hide so well. Pretending someone else can come and save me from myself. I can't be who you are."

155. "Truth is, you can stop and stare. Bled myself out and no one cares."

156. "Dug the trench out, laid down there, with a shovel up out of reach, somewhere."

157. "I bleed it out, digging deeper just to throw it away"

158. "I've opened up these scars, I'll make you face this! I've pulled myself so far, I'll make you face this now!"

159. "I close both locks below the window. I close both blinds and turn away. Sometimes solutions aren't so simple, sometimes goodbye's the only way."

160. "And the shadow of the day will embrace the world in grey, and the sun will set for you."

161. "In cards and flowers on your window, your friends all plead for you to stay. Sometimes beginnings aren't so simple, sometimes goodbye's the only way."

162. "In this farewell, there's no blood, there's no alibi. 'Cause I've drawn regret from the truth of a thousand lies. So let mercy come and wash away what I've done. I'll face myself to cross out what I've become. Erase myself, and let go of what I've done."

163. "Put to rest what you thought of me, while I clean this slate with the hands of uncertainty."

164. "For what I've done, I start again and whatever pain may come. Today this ends, I'm forgiving what I've done."

165. "Fuck that, I wanna see some fists pumping. Risk something, take back what's yours. Say something that you know they might attack you for, 'cause I'm sick of being treated like I have before. Like it's stupid standing for what I'm standing for. Like this war's really just a different brand of war. Like it doesn't cater to rich and abandon poor. Like they understand you in the back of the jet, when you can't put gas in your tank. These fuckers are laughing their way to the bank and cashing the check asking you to have compassion and have some respect."

166. "Do you see the soldiers that are out, today? They brush the dust from bulletproof vests away. It's ironic, at times like this you'd pray."

167. "My brother had a book he would hold with pride. A little red cover with a broken spine, on the back, he hand-wrote a quote inside: "When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die". Meanwhile, the leader just talks away, stuttering and mumbling for nightly news to replay. The rest of the world watching, at the end of the day, both scared and angry, like, "What did he say?"."

168. "With hands held high into a sky so blue, as the ocean opens up to swallow you."

169. "Are you lost in your lies? Do you tell yourself I don't realize your crusade's a disguise. Replaced freedom with fear, you trade money for lives. I'm aware of what you've done."

170. "No, no more sorrow. I've paid for your mistakes. Your time is borrowed. Your time has come to be replaced."

171. "I see pain, I see need. I see liars and thieves abuse power with greed. I had hope, I believed, but I'm beginning to think that I've been deceived. You will pay for what you've done."

172. "Your time has come to be replaced. Your time has come to be erased."

173. "My insides all turned to ash, so slow, and blew away as I collapsed, so cold. A black wind took them away from sight, and held the darkness over day, that night. And the clouds above move closer, looking so dissatisfied, but the heartless wind kept blowing, blowing."

174. "I used to be my own protection, but not now. 'Cause my path has lost direction, somehow. A black wind took you away from sight, and held the darkness over day, that night. And the clouds above move closer, looking so dissatisfied. And the ground below grew colder, as they put you down inside, but the heartless wind kept blowing, blowing."

175. "So now, you're gone and I was wrong. I never knew what it was like to be alone."

176. "Let me apologize to begin with. Let me apologize for what I'm about to say, but trying to be genuine was harder than it seemed, and somehow, I got caught up in between."

177. "Let me apologize to begin with. Let me apologize for what I'm about to say, but trying to be someone else was harder than it seemed, and somehow, I got caught up in between my pride and my promise. Between my lies and how the truth gets in the way, the things I want to say to you get lost before they come. The only thing that's worse than one is none."

178. "But trying to regain your trust was harder than it seemed, and somehow, I got caught up in between."

179. "And I cannot explain to you, in anything I say or do or plan. Fear is not afraid of you, guilt's a language you can understand. I cannot explain to you, in anything I say or do. I hope the actions speak the words they can."

180. "Telling me to go, but hands beg me to stay. Your lips say that you love, your eyes say that you hate."

181. "There's truth in your lies, doubt in your faith. What you build, you lay to waste."

182. "There's truth in your lies, doubt in your faith. All I've got's what you didn't take."

183. "So I, I won't be the one, be the one to leave this in pieces. And you, you will be alone. Alone with all your secrets and regrets."

184. "You promise me the sky, then toss me like a stone. You wrap me in your arms, then chill me to the bone."

185. "Don't want to reach for me, do you? I mean nothing to you. The little things give you away."

186. "All you've ever wanted was someone to truly look up to you, and six feet underwater, I do."

187. "Standing alone with no direction, how did I fall so far behind? Why am I searching for perfection, knowing it's something I won't find?"

188. "In my fear and flaws I let myself down, again. All because I run 'til the silence splits me open. I run 'til it puts me underground, 'til I have no breath and no roads left but one."

189. "When did I lose my sense of purpose? Can I regain what's lost inside? Why do I feel like I deserve this? Why does my pain look like my pride?"

190. "I run and the silence splits me open. I run and it puts me underground, but there's no regret and no roads left to run."

191. "In this desert, in darkness, lying with the gun across his chest, pretending he's heartless, as the fire flashes in the sky."

192. "He was fragile and frozen when the bullet took away his friend, and now he's somehow more broken."

193. "He's pulling his weapon to his side, loading it full of his goodbyes, holding an enemy across the line."

194. "Sweating and shaking, lying with her hands across her chest, she wakes with her cravings, as the fire flashes in her eye."

195. "She was fragile and frozen when the needle took away her friend, but now she's somehow more broken."

196. "She's pulling her weapon to her side, loading it full of her goodbyes, holding an enemy across the line."

197. "With every battle he's chosing, with every fight he's losing, his enemy's not far behind."

198. "With every promise she's broken, with every lie she's spoken, her enemy's not far behind."

◄ METEORA | LINKIN PARK MASTERLIST | A THOUSAND SUNS ►

[unfortunatelyilikebnha]

Oh boy that post I reblogged about Todoroki and Iida understanding memes & pretending not to got me INSPIRED so here r some Izukrew groupchat/meme headcanons:

Everyone thinks the bakusquad chat is crazy and while they’re right, the izukrew chat is just as wild

They have probably planned acts of vigilanteism in here I mean what?

The chat has definitely made at least 164 different plans to kill End**v*r, just in case. They aren’t gonna actually use them they’re just a precaution & a way to vent (probably. End**v*r better watch what he does tho). Someone in the squad had a bad day? Make a plan to kill End**v*r, you’ll feel better. Todoroki doesn’t always contribute, & they always ask him before they make a new plan to make sure he’s still okay with it, but he appreciates the support & knowing that his friends love him and have his back

[Achey Breaky 🅱️ones]: Hey Todoroki, can we make a plan to kill your dad? [Elsa But Better]: ya sure go wild [Running in the 90s]: Can Uraraka float the bastard into the sun? Discuss. [You’ll Float Too]: ive never tried to make anything go that high but for todoroki definitely!! [Elsa But Better]: ...thank you” [Kermit With A Gun]: (flamingdumpster.jpg) it is He go wild Ochako

Uraraka talks in the chat the most, followed by Todoroki (if sending memes counts as talking), Midoriya, Iida, and finally Tsuyu who lurks a lot but doesn’t respond as often as the others

They have a “days since Midoriya last injured himself” counter that they update daily. The record was 15 days. The average is 3.

They change each other’s nicknames often. They have free reign as long as it’s not too mean, and chat rules say they have to keep whatever their name was changed to for at least a week. Sometimes they match names/ have a theme. Sometimes they bring their name changes over to the main chat too.

There is a designated “Iida Appreciation Day” when the chat is especially nice to and appreciative of Iida that happens in the chat every few weeks because they realize that they as a class are a Lot to deal with & even tho Iida is way more chill in the chat with his close friends than he can be in the main class chat they know he still feels responsible for them & does a lot for them. Iida does not know about Iida Appreciation Day (but when he finds out he is super touched & maybe cries a little bit)

Todoroki is king of the really weird, really abstract memes. The rest of the squad has no idea how he finds them & is kinda too afraid to ask

He also has a reaction image for everything and like,,, he just HAS them he doesn’t look them up, which the rest of the squad realizes cause he replies way too fast to have looked it up on the internet. They are in awe of his power

Besides the izukrew gc, only one person knows that Todoroki memes, and that’s Kaminari, because Todoroki likes to t-pose & do other meme things while Kaminari is looking at him & then as soon as anyone else is about to see what he’s doing he immediately stops. Kaminari is going crazy because nobody will believe him that stoic Todoroki, who has the greatest deadpan expression ever, memes. “Todoroki? Are you sure? Kaminari maybe you’re sick, he doesn’t know memes remember? We yelled ‘this b*tch empty’ in front of him yesterday and he just stared blankly at us.” “BUT MINA I SWEAR I SAW HIM DAB!” Ashido and Sero tried to catch him doing it but gave up after a while, stating that nobody is that good at hiding their meme knowledge. The rest of the izukrew knows obviously but feign confusion because 1) it’s funny and 2) Todoroki is genuinely having fun. When Todoroki eventually reveals to the rest of the class that he can meme, he apologizes for pranking a very vindicated Kaminari.

Iida likes those memes that combine several memes. He sends reaction images that are just memes without text bc he knows his friends will understand exactly what he’s talking about

He’s also king of photoshop & totally uses those skills for evil - he’s rly good at putting Lucky Luciano into pictures, making his friends break into a cold sweat as he sends a picture to the chat that is seemingly the exact same as the one the last person sent. Since they’re so competitive they have an ongoing competition to see who can find him first (Iida keeps the score. Right now Tsuyu is winning, but the ranks change often)

He, like Todoroki, pretends not to know memes, but takes it a little further & pretends not to know teen slang either so he can misuse it in front of people & laugh at his classmates cringing (Iida: Seatbelts are important. As Ashido might say, they are “totes yeet, yo!” Ashido: //crying// IIDA NO! Iida: Does that not mean that it is very important? Ashido: //crying louder// NO!!!). Some classmates attempt to “teach” him but he “just does not get it”. Again the izukrew pretends not to know because it’s funny.

Uraraka is queen of wholesome memes. She has so many “I love my friends” memes & always has cute images ready to send in case anyone is sad or stressed. Everyone in the chat would die for her no questions asked (she will use this to her advantage one day probably).

She also really likes spongebob memes and uses them often. Her favorite is the one where spongebob is wearing those pink frilly glasses

While she is queen of wholesome memes, she’s not afraid to tease anyone & often sends smug/teasing reaction images. Nobody is safe, especially if they tease her first, & if there’s a competition in the chat she goes all in. When she wins anything it’s like “[You’ll Float Too]: (dignitylaugh.gif) whats this? it seems i have won our little competition...” (But then immediately after she sends her first victory message she’s like “lmao jk good game”)

Midoriya sends links to random ass YouTube videos to the chat at 3 am. Sometimes the videos aren’t even memes they’re all might documentaries or something he thought was interesting or thought one of his friends might think was interesting or videos someone made about how they trained their quirk that he thinks might help someone but sometimes they’re completely nonsensical. It’s like a roulette wheel every time someone clicks a link Midoriya sent. Sometimes the chat makes bets about the contents of the video before anyone opens it. Most of the time they’re all wrong.

He doesn’t rlly have a favorite style of meme, but he always has a million specific variations of whatever meme is popular at the time and all past popular memes. His phone camera is like a meme record. He’s rlly good at finding vine comps with good but not rlly well known vines.

He also infodumps in the chat sometimes bc they let him & he is really grateful that his friends are actually interested in what he has to say

Tsuyu sends memes that roast the sh*t out of everyone in the chat. When one of her friends is doing smth stupid she totally calls them out in the form of memes (she’s really good at finding those tiktoks that feel like they are roasting you specifically). She’s a comedic timing genius and knows just when to send things (& because she doesn’t use the chat as much that makes it even funnier). She also is, rather predictably, fond of frog memes

She also loves making those alignment chart type memes (& the ones with like the triangles or the four quadrants) & makes them for/about her friends & classmates often. She is scarily good at reading people and hits the nail on the head 99% of the time. Sometimes she sends them to the main class chat too and the rest of the class is like ?!?!?!?!?!?!

Because she’s a big sister, she often sends reminders to the chat to take care of bthemselves (Iida does this a lot too, but sometimes she has to remind him because he’s so caught up in caring about others he forgets to care about himself. Actually everyone in this chat is guilty of that including Tsuyu smh). Since the others make sure she takes care of herself in return, she’s really grateful for her friends

Bonus hcs:

Aoyama, once he is added to the chat, become the expert at sending selfies of himself looking directly at the camera while a member of the chat is distracted in the background, not seeing him. The chat makes it a game to try and spot Aoyama before he can get a picture, but Aoyama always wins. When asked how he can escape the detection of even those who are always on edge/have been trained to notice every little movement, he just smiles and says “it’s a secret~!”

Shinsou, who eventually replaces M*n*t* in 1A bc this is my city & grape boy is gross, does a thing called “insomniac hours” where he will send a random question to the chat at like 3 am & Midoriya, who is almost always awake then (or sometimes Todoroki Tsuyu or Uraraka if they’re up, and very very occasionally Iida), will give him a super detailed answer. Sometimes during the day the chat plays a version of this where Shinsou asks an obviously nonsensical question and the rest of the chat has to come up with long, nonsensical answers & then votes on the best ones. Many inside jokes were borne from this game.

[edengarden]

Hi! May I have a romantic heaven box BNHA matchup, please? :)

I'm Flo, a 19 years old bisexual girl.

Appearance: I'm 164 cm(~5'3) tall, with slim, kinda athletic body. I have medium long brown hair and same coloured deer-eyes(probably most attractive part on me), I also wear eyesglasses. I have thin mouth unfortunately. Also, I have a tiny little scar above my right eyebrow(I opened our car's door on my head years ago lolol), it's barely visible. I'm vain and always dress like a lady: so dresses and skirts, I have a classy, elegant or cute style, depends on my daily outfit. I wear light makeup, but not all the time.

Personality: Ambiverted, Virgo with Leo ascendant and Pisces moon. Slytherpuff. Needless to say, these already represent how confusingly dual my personality is. My behaviour constatntly changes, depending on who I am with: I try to sell myself, being two-faced, wearing a mask(sometimes I appear to be talkative, other times full-stoic), but to people I really do love, I'm quite blunt. Most of the time I'm caring and relatively kind person(but can be an asshole&harsh if tired emotionally). Highly critical, opinionated and rational-thinker, and I usually analyze everything: movies, books, other people, myself. HATE small talk, I always want to talk about some deep shit, sharing my opinions, thougts(only if you ask for it). Enjoy debating. Also, I'm the REALLY clumsy, like clumsy af and I have an invincible talent in getting myself into the most embarrassing, cringe situations. Hate appearing to be weak or crying in front of others(I never do), and generally I can get melancolic and depressed easily. I don't really trust even my loved ones, I always hide my deepest emotional(or whatever) issues, I just can't stand the fact being emotionally vulnerable. Also, I bottle up feelings well. But I can be soft sometimes which suprises people. One of my best friends said, I am suprising, always doing something unpredicted. Additionally, I stress over something all the time. About my humour, it's kinda ironic, dark, morbid, troll-ish; roasting, teasing people 24/7. Don't worry, despite my sometimes serious act, I can be a total dumb idiot. Selfish, vain, lazy,  snobbish hahah. Quite liberal, and I almost never judge people, I mind my own buisness. When I can talk about something I love or just sharing my opinion, I am passionate and be ready for a LONG rambling. Oh, I love alcohol and going out with friends, also I smoke those occassions. Plus, I have god-like hands, everyone told me that I could earn money bc of my massaging skills(I just know by instict how to touch people lol). Oh, and I daydream and zone out a lot. I love going out and drink alcohol with my friends(and sometimes somoke too), the drunken me can be a real asshole, but also hugs out of the blue, I get softer. Oh, and I curse fucking much, I have a disgustingly flithy mouth, bc of my rather innocent appearance and behavior ppl are suprised how much is... cruse.

Relationship: I don't really have a 'type' but I get bored easily: I takes a lot for me to really like in long-term a person, so I fall easier for complex and charismatic ones(but like I said, I can fall for other personalities too!!). I'm a quite difficult person to be with and to love, so I'm suprisingly flexible in a relationship. Only thing I need and without it wouldn't work at all: DEEP CONVOS AND SOME INTELLECT. Also, I have a quite roasting-bullying type humour, so my lover should understand and being able to handle that. Anyways, I'm not much of a PDA person(but I don't mid handholding, short hugs etc. if my partner really want to), and not romantic at all(also cannot flirt hehe), and for a long time I can be bit distant. Love language is words of affirmation&quality time, and if I have to express my feelings I'm best with acts of service. I love cuddling, ppl are suprised when I initiate hugs but tbh I love physical affection. I'm probably more likely the 'friend' lover. I need a lot, lot, lot alone time.

Hobbies/Likes: classical literature, theatre, politics, hiking, sightseeing, mysteries, reading about disappearances(crimes), trying out new things, yoga, running, horse riding, table tennis, listening to music, cats, thunderstorms, rainy days, cider, tequila

Music taste: Oh man, MIXED. I listen to literally everything except techno, it depends on my mood honestly. But if I had to say something, I think indie, alternative rock, electronic and psychedelic songs are the closest to me, but I've grown to listen more and more rap. Most of the songs are depressive as fuck, I mean I can be at my happiest, but I'd still listen some dark shit. But still, I enjoy pop(2000s pop at parties FUCK YEAH), jazz. Also, some occassions all my ears and mind need is some good ol' classical music. Some faves: Tame Impala, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack Stauber, Fink and some Hungarian bands that no one knows unfortunately. :(

Sorry if I was too long and more sorry if I've already requested before(my brain just rots lol), then just ignore me, hehe~♡

Did you,,, did you just copy paste like 3/4 of who I am

Man when I was reading your persona I was going “RinRinRinRinRinRin-“ but I decided against it UwU

ALL IN ALL you honestly sound like my type of person?? Like deadass I’d wanna befriend you. Fuck them small talks tell me what you think of the expansion of the universe and let’s talk about what if drugs are illegal bc they make us perceive true reality-

I’m going to match you up with... Shindo!

This one is a Battle of Wits, I swear. You didn’t trust him a single bit when the two of you first met, no one even thought you’d ever become friends. Shindo could practically see the gears turning in your head and quite frankly he was impressed?? You’re a highly intelligent individual who was able to keep your guard up and seclude yourself from others while not appearing TOO unapproachable? Boy was whipped and he didn’t even realize it. While others thought you were sort of cold and pragmatic, he thought you were the most well-balanced human in the world.

You guys 100% had an enemies to lovers thing going on, but it was slightly different. YOU started off completely uninterested in him, but while he made you think the feeling was mutual, I think Shindo found himself gravitating towards you. You can bet he secretly celebrated every little victory and step forward he made with you. Boy did NOT let up.

I seriously think he’s entertaining enough for you to keep interest in him. Shindo is as two-faced as you are (if not more), and he WILL change his behaviour within a second to keep your interest (somehow no one noticed his habit of doing that when he was crushing on you?? SUSPICIOUS). Also not a big fan of small talk; if he’s interested in you, he wants to know how you tick. He wants to know what you enjoy, what you like and what you dislike. And when you tell him while trying to still keep an emotional distance from him, he takes it as a challenge. No, he doesn’t think your relationship is a game, but he does think it’s highly entertaining and interesting.

When you start softening up to him, he won’t even grow bored. He’s worked so hard to get close to you and it finally pays off and he’s so happy??

But he won’t ever initiate PDA, just because he too has an image to uphold lmao if others don’t personally know you they’d never know y’all are falling for each other.

Songs!!

- One of My Turns, Pink Floyd (“don’t look so frightened this is just a passing phase one of my bad days” just hits different for the two of you?? I’m not saying your relationship is toxic bc it really isn’t but the VIBE is there)

- Do I Wanna Know?, Arctic Monkeys

- Dollar Days, David Bowie

- You Give Love A Bad Name, Bon Jovi

[notthatiwilleverwriteit]

thanks for ur as always deepful analyses and answers ! another ask for u : im soo afraid in the next chapter momo will be homophobic towards ht !! I mean except Zzx who seems at ease with his sexuality, the other boys all seem kind of homophobic. Jy called ht repulsive bc he called him pretty while he was a guy, Ht is very agressive in his advances (which i linked to toxic virility which entails homophobia) ; then both of them changed for the better bc of their feelings for another man. 1/?

Good evening, dear anon-san!

“thanks for ur as always deepful analyses and answers !”

I’m glad you’ve enjoyed them! Every time people send me questions it always makes me happy and to be honest, a bit taken aback because I’m just a little old me. But I’m glad my answers have had such a positive reception and given people food for thought. And it’s always a pleasant surprise when people feel like they can come to my ask box with their interpretations and strike up a conversation.

Homophobia is a very complex topic, and I wondered where I should start to unravel this ask. But soon I realized before I can even begin that I have to take a moment to sort out my own feelings. Whenever people say the boys in 19 Days are abusive or homophobic for whatever reason I tend to get ticked off. It’s a knee-jerk reaction, often sparked by my own bias, but something that can very easily cloud my answer and make it unfair for you. Exchanging interpretations and perspectives requires a level of objectivity and the ability to rise above your own bias. I can’t dismiss something just because it uncomfortably pokes my nerve. Instead, I should take a step back, try and see things from another point of view, and find some common ground.

I’m not saying I had to struggle to agree with you on anything but your ask certainly reminded me of how challenging yet rewarding it is to actually listen to an interpretation that differs from my own and try to objectively look at the story from that point of view. It hurts your brain at first but is surprisingly freeing in the end.

Because you addressed so many things in your ask, I will tie my answer together under the theme of homophobia and give it some structure that way. This will be my great 19 Days - homophobia edition. \(^v^)/

Sexual orientation and environment

Let’s start with the biggest context you brought up in your ask: social and cultural environment. I’m not familiar enough with Chinese culture to have anything definite to say about its attitude towards LGBT people. Of course, I’ve heard of the discrimination and even blatant hate by their government but I don’t have any idea about how ordinary, modern-day Chinese people view others with different sexual orientations. Not to mention, it’s always risky to take fictional works as an accurate representation of the milieu in which they’re set.

But I do think that 19 Days discusses homophobia in societies, though on a more general level. As Jian Yi has come to realize his feelings towards Zhan Zheng Xi, we’ve also gotten glimpses of his struggles. They’re surrounded by other kids in school, and from the very early chapters it’s been implied two guys being that close together or comfortable with that level of skinship turns people’s heads (ch. 53, 54, 55, and 57):

Of course, those panels also poke fun at the stereotype of girls being interested in cute guys being cute together. The girls stare, take pictures, and even smile knowingly. This bothered ZZX because it put him in awkward situations and created misunderstandings that would be embarrassing to correct. And the more he would try to deny and correct them, the more he would probably end up looking suspicious. But the bottom line is, he was increasingly conscious of the weird looks and attention JY’s antics were attracting and didn’t want people to get the wrong picture of his friendship with JY. All of that could give us some hints on how two boys being close might be viewed by their peers, but it should also be kept in mind that those kinds of “gay panic” moments are a big part of the humor you find in 19 Days.

Having a crush on someone of the same gender gets more serious tones after JY kissed ZZX (ch. 142)

The secret was finally out in the open. JY had carried his feelings in his heart for a long time. He had wanted to confess them so many times and often hidden them behind jokes and antics. Perhaps every time he had jumped to hug ZZX he had caught a whiff of his scent and enjoyed the feeling of him in his arms. But to take the definite last step of confessing and lifting that curtain had always terrified him. And who wouldn’t have been scared? Not only would you have to come out but also risk losing your childhood best friend. It could be JY had even thought of never telling ZZX about his feelings because it could go horribly wrong.

For a while, things are somewhat put on pause after the first reveal which I found very realistic. JY wasn’t flat-out rejected but ZZX most definitely needed a moment to sort out his own feelings. He pestered JY to be straight with him (pun not intended...) and made it clear it would be safe for JY to rely on him and free himself of the burden. Despite that JY was still very unsure if his confession won’t result in ZZX abandoning him because “gay” is abnormal and disgusting (ch. 164):

Even when JY finally confessed he was expecting to be rejected in disgust (ch. 209):

But he had sort of reached the point of just finally getting it all out even if ZZX wouldn’t return his feelings. Even if it meant they wouldn’t be friends anymore. At least he had said it. He had heartbreakingly little faith that their kind of relationship wouldn’t be completely doomed. Thank god he had fallen for someone like ZZX. I don’t think I’ve never been as grateful for a character like him before.

A tangible example of how Zhanyi and their environment collided was Xiao Hui’s character (ch. 158):

When she called JY a disgusting gay, it was the first time he was facing that kind of homophobia. Though her actions were frustrating, I think Xiao Hui’s character was a good addition to Zhanyi. At first, she lashed out both because she was hurt and publicly humiliated but also no doubt because she had internalized the idea that heterosexuality was the norm and anything else was abnormal and wrong. Later on, she had had time to lick her wounds and calm down (ch. 258):

She still has a crush on ZZX but even though she probably realizes she doesn’t have a chance she still wants a clear rejection from ZZX. It still hurts and stings but doesn’t upset her as much. It could even be she’s a little happy for them. I think Xiao Hui’s character is a good example that people are capable of changing and reflecting when they’re given a chance. And no one should be forever held accountable and punished for the mistakes they made and have since bettered themselves.

In a broader sense, I think Zhanyi also discusses what kind of future a same-sex couple could have in society (ch. 268):

That drawing on the wall is my favorite Zhanyi moment. As cute as ZZX drawing him and JY together was, it also carries some bittersweet undertones. The original drawing represents the norm: a boy and a girl in love but if there are no skirts involved, it’s a whole other story. To be open about their relationship would most probably never be an option for JY and ZZX. Something as simple as holding hands in public would take courage and threaten to complicate other aspects of their lives (school, work, family). They don’t have the same privilege as straight people to openly and safely share their feelings and have that universal experience.

Your ask was mainly about Mo Guan Shan and He Tian, but I wanted to take a moment to talk about their environment since you also referred to it. And the easiest way for that seemed to be to talk about the progress of Zhanyi. As you suggested, it does seem the society in which all of the characters live is very much heteronormative which puts pressure on the characters to fit in. And if they fail that, they will face homophobia and most probably feel the need to hide their true selves. Case in point, Zhanyi.

Boys being boys

As much as I know that phrase is deemed Problematic™ these days, I think it fits the dynamics of the boys of 19 Days. They mess with each other, and all of that is typical humor for the comic. Personally, I’ve never taken any of their teasing and good-natured bullying seriously because it’s how 15-year-old boys are around each other.

However, I just finished talking about the environment under which influences and discourses the boys have grown up. I don’t feel like I can ignore what I had just been saying and brush it off as “oh well, they’re just boys” if they’ve always been surrounded by certain attitudes. Does that mean the boys have also internalized those attitudes towards gay people despite having feelings for someone of the same sex? Does that make them a representation of toxic masculinity and internalized homophobia?

In all honesty, I’m struggling to answer those questions. On one hand, I do agree that society’s norms of what is masculine put a lot of pressure on boys when growing up. You have to act, talk, dress, and be in a certain way to be accepted, and it doesn’t take a lot for kids to internalize those ideas. And as you said, acting or looking gay (not to mention, actually being one) is probably the worst a young boy could be. Being gay is often linked to everything a proper man shouldn’t be: sissy, effeminate, sensitive, weak, submissive, on the bottom. The list goes on and on.

On the other hand, do I think you can see that in the four main boys of 19 Days? I suppose it’s possible if that’s the direction you want to take. If you look at anything through those lenses, you can probably find toxic masculinity everywhere. Do I think HT, MGS, JY and ZZX are homophobic because they possibly showcase traits of toxic masculinity? I guess. I don’t know. I see where that interpretation comes from, but some part of my brain never manages to make the full connection between those two. I’m constantly having a feeling that my way of thinking differs from your interpretation but I can’t properly validate or argue my opinions.

Perhaps taking a look at the examples you mentioned might help. You talked about JY being homophobic when this was his response to HT calling him good looking (ch. 108):

I can’t exactly deny that panel couldn’t be taken as toxic masculinity. I might even agree with you on that. I wouldn’t probably go as far as saying JY was being homophobic but it does seem like his masculinity was threatened or questioned in that situation. Interestingly, I’ve seen that phrase pop up a lot in yaoi/shounen-ai comics. Characters who are in a gay relationship don’t often feel comfortable with guys complimenting them - or even the guy they’re in love with. I’ve always wondered that. Does that mean there’s a level of self-denial in those characters or is it just a cultural thing? Does it embarrass them?

In general, I think all of that has to do with their age, and another good example of that would be ZZX and JY’s reaction to HT messing with MGS (ch. 289 and 298):

I’ve seen people calling those moments homophobic as well and can’t really agree with them. I would say those reactions have more to do with teenage boys being awkward and embarrassed. HT putting the moves on MGS in front of them is embarrassing and something they don’t wish to see. I mean, I wouldn’t want to see my friends constantly acting like that around me either. Seeing public displays of affection embarrasses me and makes me awkward as hell. (Though, I don’t know if that’s just a Finnish thing...)

In short, I see a lot of how the boys act around each other just natural to how teenage boys are. They mess with each other and standing up for yourself in that sense (for example, getting revenge, being physical, or returning the verbal teasing) is important and typical. That’s how I see JY’s words in the example you mentioned: he felt like HT was messing with him and shot back. All of that could, of course, be seen as internalized toxic masculinity, but I don’t think it’s quite as blatant as people sometimes make it out to be. I’ve always taken it as boys just being boys and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

What comes to HT being pushy and overbearing, I don’t see that being connected to toxic masculinity and making him homophobic because of that. It feels a bit of a stretch and shakey. Instead, I actually think HT is quite comfortable with both of his own feelings for MGS and the idea of same-sex relationships in general (ch. 187):

The little heart-to-hearts JY and HT occasionally have also show us that despite often making fun of each other, they can take it more seriously when needed. JY would have never asked about having feelings for another male if he couldn’t trust HT wouldn’t make fun of him.

The case of Mo Guan Shan

You talked a lot about MGS, so I thought I’d take a closer look at his character separately. You made some interesting points I’ve also been thinking about and was glad they popped up in your ask.

Since we’ve talked about toxic masculinity so far, let’s continue on that. You mentioned that MGS is prone to homophobia because he’s had to act tough. Upholding a certain kind of image is essential in gangs. Being weak and submissive - aka gay, as I talked about above - isn’t an option in that line of work.

I agree with you on all of that. Why MGS is so uncomfortable with HT being physical with him is at least partly because he can’t come across as someone who can be taken advantage of (ch. 250):

If he can be physically overpowered and made vulnerable, it means he can be submitted. In the masculine world, physical strength seems to be the final and ultimate law that settles all the disputes at the latest. And if you lose in that you’re on the bottom or at least lower on the hierarchy. Now, multiply that mentality by a lot to fit it in the world of teenage gangs and the borderline criminal underworld. So, yes, I would most definitely say MGS doesn’t want himself to be put in that situation. Much less anyone finding out about it.

Then again, the story has kind of revisited that idea when HT “joined” MGS’s gang and his underlings started seeing HT around more. And they seem somewhere between intimidated by HT and impressed their boss has managed to make someone like HT call him “brother”. That fits the same mentality of strength, but I can’t honestly see Buzzcut or other members of the gang giving MGS a hard time even if they found out about HT’s affections. Chances are, they would be even more impressed, bless them.

Overall, I think MGS lashing out (or being homophobic) is mostly due to him not trusting HT and HT slowly but surely wearing him out and making him see his own prejudice against people like HT. Yelling out insults has been the easiest way to fight HT’s affections, although it’s not proven very successful. It’s also important to remember MGS is fairly inexperienced when it comes to love and romantic affection (ch. 222):

He’s always been rejected and discriminated by his peers and over the years, he’s started to mirror that behavior and push people away. Having crushes (let alone having a girlfriend) has never really been a concern for him. And it’s not like he’s had time for something like romance anyway because working has taken so much of his time. In this regard, MGS isn’t that mature or experienced and tends to get uncomfortable and lash out very quickly.

I’ve already talked about the note and what kind of role I think it will have (if it will be addressed at all). And I’m not really worried about MGS saying something homophobic to HT. I think we’re way past of him being like “I don’t speak to a homo” at this point already. He’s been aware of HT’s affections for a good while by now and even tentatively warmed up to some of it (for example, the aquarium date and the studs). (Even though, I think it’s still too early to talk about MGS being in love with HT.)

MGS has come a long way, and I might even say he’s gained some sexuality-related maturity on the way. Slowly but surely, he’s become comfortable with having HT around, and if after all this development he would say something like that, it would be a pretty big step backward. Of course, that doesn’t mean he can’t throw insults and lash out but let’s not forget we’re talking about a purebred tsundere here. That’s always going to happen with him.

And while we’re keeping it real, it’s not like HT would pay any mind to those insults. After MGS asked for the studs, I think HT’s resolve has only strengthened.

I hope this answer makes some sense, to me it feels like a bit of a mess of this and that. A lof of “I can’t deny that but still...” You really threw some hard questions and challenged my thinking a lot. Thank you!

[maxtothemax]

Hawk Annotations

It’s been some days since Hawk came out so I figured I’d post my stupid annotations on here. Putting it all under a cut because, obviously, there are so many spoilers, and I had a lot to say.

Started reading: 7/6/20

The 10th Maximum Ride book

It just came out today and I just got it in the mail so let’s see what this dumpster fire is all about.

2 – well! the world building is already bad

3 – I do sorta like the narrative voice though

8 – there’s so much swearing. wonder whether she’s allowed to say fuck though

she says “feck”???

11 – how is there an even remotely functional government like 15-20 years post-apocalypse

13 – why’d she wait the extra half hour?

15 – “my kids” I’m going to assume this is more of a flock situation than a teen mom situation?

19 – so much exposition :/

23 – I’m really not invested in any of this. Ugh, and I have 400 pages to go… [well, okay, it was more like 375. My hardcover copy was long.]

26 – for someone who doesn’t care about her parents, Hawk sure does bring them up a lot

37 – oh, that’s probably Fang, isn’t it

39 – is that a fucking smiley face? [It actually had J in the narration. What??]

40 – “Anytime I heard the word ‘experiment,’ my ears perked right up” okay just call me out like that I guess

43 – that would make sense

46 – black lab coat? [the future of lab fashion?]

67 – hmm this is weird, I don’t like it

69 – she didn’t really seem like she was into that

72 – …but apparently she was?

77 – I WAS RIGHT

78 – well that escalated quickly

82 – I don’t know how to feel about this

84 – WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED???

85 – has Max been in solitary for 10 years? What the fuck?? [It wasn’t solitary confinement, actually, just regular prison.]

87 – none of this world building makes any sense

101 – this is incredibly poorly written. Barely even follows the rules of reality

102 – It’s also very dark, edgy, “Life sucks deal with it” flavored and I’m not a fan

General note: this is reminding me of Witch & Wizard in all the worst ways. Especially page 105. [It’s been brought to my attention that Gabrielle Charbonnet also co-authored at least one book in that series, so that’s probably why.]

106 – Why does McCallum sound exactly like Trump? [The most shocking part of reading this book was finding out that Jimmy Patterson apparently disapproves of Trump.]

108 – so we’re not ignoring the “he was like a brother to me” thing?

109 – JP has torn this series apart so thoroughly. I hate him.

116 – Fuck this. You killed her after giving her maybe 2 minutes of page time. There’s nothing meaningful about that!! Nothing!!

119 – oH SHIT OKAY

121 – that didn’t make it any better, actually

Everything feels so pointless here

I don’t even want to read this but it’ll bug me if I don’t :/

127 – At least this book is better about describing characters

129 – HOW COULD HE POSSIBLY TELL?? Isn’t Ridley enough to prove it?

Side note: will we ever find out who Rose is?

130 – multiple sets of what now?

133 – HOW DO THEY FOLD TWICE???? [Their wings! Fold twice! How the FUCK does that work??]

138 – I’m sorry what

141 – Okay yeah McCallum is definitely a Trump stand in

145 – that’s not gonna happen

147 – I know Jeb is dead but I would be totally unsurprised if McCallum turned out to be Jeb. [Spoiler alert: he isn’t. Evidently Jeb’s still dead. Good for him.]

148 – Okay that line was actually good [the line was: “I’m Maximum Ride, you son of a bitch!”]

149 – Max ALMOST said fuck. Very nearly.

[God just let her say fuck, she deserves it the most]

153 – well this is fucked

154 – you’re not allowed to judge anyone’s names, you named yourself Hawk

160 – It doesn’t even really feel like the flock is older. Except Nudge, probably b/c she keeps calling Hawk “sweetie”

163 – why is Freak capitalized?

164 – “We try to keep the body count low. Part of our personal growth.” I’M SCREAMING NUDGE IS SO FUNNY

173 – OH SHIT

181 – Crismins? Did they change the word for Christmas?

183 – As usual, Nudge is the only one here who I respect

190 – Nudge would be an amazing mom

I’m actually so happy about Nudge’s characterization so far, I love her. Nudge stan for life.

[In the original series: Nudge who? I don’t know her.

In Hawk: Nudge is everyone’s favorite person.]

193 – “You want a wing! Find yourself a goddamn brain first!” that’s so fucking good actually

203 – Are you fucking kidding me

205 – OH GOD DAMMIT

209 – savage

215 – this just in: horses aren’t real

Hey also where the fuck’s Angel? Did she finally start a cult or something?

221 – “he’d put his dad wings on” that’s… quite a phrase

When did Fang become such a hardass? [Edit: actually he was focused on rescuing Max so I guess that’s justified.]

225 – “eyeless Rain” are we doing the blind mentioning thing again? Really? [JP has a bad habit of traumatically removing characters’ vision and then always bringing up that they’re blind as though that’s their only character trait, and I for one think he should be banned from writing for that alone.]

234 – well that escalated quickly

237 – way to avoid describing Gazzy or Iggy’s wings lol

246 – seeing Max call Fang “my love” is very uncomfortable

247 – Okay, that’s cute. [Cutest scene in the whole book, actually.]

257 – Nudge does have curly hair!!! See!!! [@ Narae Lee: take some fucking notes.]

259 – Gazzy’s environmentally friendly bombs. He should make a business.

269 – “forking”? Excuse me sir this is [definitely] not the Good Place I’m sure you can just say fuck

271 – Oh god I don’t want to think about how old the flock is now

HAWK HAS TATTOOS??

272 – These Ride girls are really prone to fainting I guess. Real convenient for transitions between scenes.

278 – I’m still so pissed that the flock was separated for ten years. Not even in a heartbreaking way—it just feels like there was no point to it

Also: how did they find out what happened to Rose? [Also: why use a random character you just made up instead of characters we already know? Hello? Wasn’t Fang’s gang still around post-apocalypse? Weren’t they all friends by then?]

283 – Oh god, is it Angel?

284 – YEP! And holy shit did Total have a kid or something?

285 – Okay so I was this close with the cult leader thing

287 – TOTAL’S ALIVE??? and remarried?? where is he? [I still want some fucking answers, James.]

295 – what the fuck is with the spelling here? Did Angel really just say “staaaahp”?? [As in “stop” but the 2010 internet way of saying it.]

Did she just say “LOL” out loud??

301 – this feels like when you’re in the car with a friend while they’re having an argument with their parents…

This all feels so pointless. The whole first series was about building a better world, and things somehow only got worse.

306 – wow it really doesn’t take much to set Hawk off

307 – you know what, Max is right

The fact that it’s been 10+ years and the flock still has to save the world is really dissatisfying. [It’s passed off as a “it’s what we do” sort of thing, but that shouldn’t be their fucking lifelong job.]

315 – Breaking news: Hawk is introduced to the concept of daddy issues

320 – wait when did Ridley get here??

323 – why are there so many mentions of wearing ponchos to hide their wings? [There have to be better ways]

333 – this was the only major spoiler I got but even though I had warning I’m still mad about it

355 – “Could that could be sky?” has to be the worst mistype I’ve seen in here

365 – Okay this is super uncomfortable

370 – “200 km per hour” I don’t know the metric system but I’m guessing that’s not accurate [it’s 125-ish mph so… I don’t know enough about flying speeds for this, okay, that’s the author’s job]

375 – How would Hawk know what a geocache is?

378 – so she’s just leaving him to die?

381 – okay, zero foreshadowing on that one

396 – so Pietro lived

397 – so actually everyone lived except for Clete :/

399 – “More Epilogue”??

Finished: 7/7/20

I… have no idea what to say about this one. It was a lot. Some parts were decent, others were boring, and it didn’t really feel like a “new generation” book, just an excuse to show the old flock as adults.

I was pleasantly surprised with Nudge’s characterization, and I really liked the “drop the Phoenix” scene, but that’s pretty much all I liked.

[Additional note: the book had no plot. Zero. Like… there was an attempt, but it didn’t really come together.]