#I loved the quote it made me very 😎😎😎

[tea-tuesday]

this is the first time using a hobonichi weeks and i'm really enjoying it!! many a thoughts below......

i bought my 2025 hobonichi weeks planner a few weeks before it started so i decided to experiment with layouts and styles in the back for the last few weeks of 2024. you can really see the evolution from the week of Oct 28 to the week of Nov 18, e.g., how i went from one highlighter color (purple) to a whole system that i'll be carrying into 2025 :))) the colors i chose for the week of Nov 11 were so ugly that no one will be seeing that lolol. one issue is that i still don't know what to do with the empty page on the right side. i did a reflection on nyc one week but i'm not always in a reflective mode (i also do reflections on my life in my vent journal). i tried the alastair method but it usually takes me multiple weeks to complete a task. it was still helpful to see what i eventually need to do so i think the right side will be a very fluid system that changes based on my needs week-to-week. for now, i've been keeping an ongoing "interest log" and writing down quotes and poems that speak to me that week. i might implement a mini habit tracker too since i'm not great at maintaining my daily habits

my "aesthetic" goal for 2025 is for my planner to look as used and loved as possible! i'm not much of an artist nor a memory keeper (i have my 5-year planner for memory keeping) and i don't like keeping receipts but i made a better effort at preserving cute stickers and things from cafés and bookstores and other places (but only if i think they look good hahah). i also want my stickers and washi tape to look cohesive but it's a little hard for me because i operate on vibes (both artistically and generally) and never took any art classes or anything so idk if anything will look as "aesthetically pleasing" as i want it to. the only thing that saves me is my neat handwriting. but! my ultimate goal is to not be so hard on myself about how my planner looks since it's meant to be a functional tool. i do think i'm doing a good job on keeping it true to myself and my life 😎

anyway that was my ted talk and thank you if you made it this far!! qs for anyone who wants to answer: what is your 2025 lineup? are there any things you're bringing into 2025? what's your planner philosophy? i'd love to know !

[foursaints]

“I don’t care what [Barty] says, Dumbledore’s not stupid”: On Barty as Machiavel

i think we're all forgetting the moment where harry explicitly draws a parallel between barty & remus and i wrote the world’s longest post about it 

under a close reading, moody!barty operates in a manner that is SO distinct from canon!moody, and i think it’s made especially apparent in the way he interacts with students & the virtues he emphasizes in his lessons. even when disguised, barty has a machiavellian tendency that comes through consistently in several different moments. 

i think this quote is a weaker example, but “very tactful” is NOT something that would be used to describe canon!moody under any circumstances. c!moody’s lack of social tact is a known characteristic, and barty uses his tactless reputation to get away with his machinations (see: the dustbin excuse, breaking into snape’s office, even the ferret to an extent).

on the other hand, BARTY is clever and subtle and manipulative, and we see this coming through in how he handles neville. the biggest difference between him and c!moody is the way that barty!moody tends to openly value or praise Cleverness & Craftiness above more moody-ish virtues like bravery, loyalty, or Taking Care of His Students’ Safety… but i think the most interesting part of all this is the way that harry reacts to it.

the hp books notoriously do this clumsy thing where the morality is starkly Black/White (as ursula leguin rightfully criticized). but seemingly arbitrary categories like “gryffindor” or “slytherin” are also conflated with this strict Good/Evil dichotomy. which results in these random-ass traits like “brave 😎🦁” and “cunning 💀🐍” also taking on moral associations within the world of the text (jkr has also done this with physical traits & racial stereotypes, which is vile) 

but an overarching theme in hp is harry grappling with this dumbass in-world black/white morality & unlearning part of it (ex: snape, the epilogue w albus severus about slytherin). but i think it’s sooo interesting that one of the few characters (aside from snape & dumbledore) to demonstrate & valorize a machiavellian tendency AND be admired for it (by harry) is LITERALLY barty jr. 

like! barty’s tact is not a good thing in-canon! he uses his tact to get away with murder & torture & elaborate terrorist plots (he’s part of a group of death eaters described as having "managed to talk their way out of azkaban” p. 527) but i looove that the same trait which allows him to do all sorts of Dastardly Evil is cast as positive and remus-like in this moment. obviously i don’t think jkr was doing of this on purpose, but i love how these little things are unintentionally more compelling than whatever the hell she was trying to do with snape. and it goes deeper!!

this moment is especially telling of barty’s character, to me. subbing out the names, “I don’t care what [Barty] says… Dumbledore’s not stupid” is a CRAZY line. 

it’s lowkey THE barty!moody thesis in comparison to c!moody: nothing we’ve seen from c!moody would even remotely suggest that he’d EVER imply that dumbledore is stupid. (c!moody adopts the “it’s imperative that we blindly trust dd’s mysterious plans” attitude that most of the adults in harry’s life take, that hermione re-emphasizes here). but barty’s attitude is something that harry heavily fucks with in this moment!! 

that’s all i really have to say about The Implications or whatever. but i want to call more attention to moments in canon where barty’s tendencies shine through his disguise because (unlike most marauders characters) his personality is really fleshed-out. especially this aspect of it. my silly 

i. "mind works the right way, granger"

barty speaking about dumbledore like he’s stupid (💀) is enjoyable for several reasons up to & including how big-dicked it is of him, but most importantly i think it’s symptomatic of an overarching theme of his character. in GOF, barty has a tendency to take stock of the people around him, according to what appears to be a really concrete & consistent set of internal values: he values cleverness matched with a certain degree of ruthlessness. 

this bit with hermione is fun. there are about ~6-7 other instances where he praises cleverness, but that’s not really a unique or noteworthy thing to value? but the phrasing in this quote is my favorite. i know that it’s in reference to the skillset required of an auror, but the phrasing of “mind works the right way” can be applied to so much of barty’s character if you reach hard. i love that barty’s language almost casts the mind as something rote & mechanical which can function right or wrong. 

but anyway it only becomes interesting when placed in context of THIS earlier interaction: 

there are endless ways barty could have gone about guiding harry to use his firebolt here, so his specific phrasing holds a lot of weight to me. (keep in mind: he’s prompting harry to feel that he came up with the firebolt/accio idea, but this whole plan was concocted by barty himself much earlier. he’s on the “convince harry to do my broomstick dragon thing” step of his overarching scheme) 

in a sense, by “inspiring” harry to do what HE already independently decided was best, he’s sort of… giving away his own reasoning, a little? the italicized emphasis on enabling oneself to “get what you need” feels… unnecessary, in context? i love that THAT is where emphasis slips into his voice because it betrays his values. 

barty’s Revenge Scheme is insanely fucking convoluted, but at every stage i think that logic is there. in his villain monologue where he rehashes the deranged level of micro-managing he was doing to get harry to resurrect voldemort, at every individual step he was following his own advice. to barty, sometimes murder is just the Simplest Spell to Get What He Needs. 

according his own advice, barty sees the clearest path between two points, and generally has 0 ethical qualms about closing that distance by the Simplest means possible. he later confirms this by describing harry’s morality introducing complications as “contend[ing] with [his] stupidity” (676) 

ii. “good boy,” growled [barty]. “i can make good use of this…”

the scene where barty acquires the marauders map is CRAZYY.. for a moment, barty is so excited & taken aback that we see a few of his genuine reactions. i love that absolutely nothing manages to faze him EXCEPT genuine delighted shock over an interesting new tool he can implement in his schemes. (sidenote: he probably recognized the marauders’ nicknames, which is so funny)

that fact that we have a canonical barty crouch jr “good boy” makes me claw at the walls. anyway. i feel that i don’t need to explain how “i can make good use of this… this might be exactly what i’ve been looking for” supports characterization of barty as a scheming little machiavel because it’s pretty much explicitly stated right there. 

but this quote stands out for his genuine preoccupation with it. from the instant that barty sees the map, his eyes don’t leave it— his eye “whizzed over [it’s] surface” (491), he questions harry about how his name appeared when he searched snape’s office (”’Crouch,’ he said. ‘You’re— you’re sure, Potter?’” (491))— all while harry is sinking into a trick staircase & getting concerned that moody is ignoring him.

“penetrating glare” ← top barty rights! 

the image of him getting new information, questioning harry about it tactfully, and then spending A FULL MINUTE silently integrating it, is one of my favorite instances of him in the book… it’s like you can hear the gears in his head whirring. i like that we can see this type of assessment that he does extends to other people, when he turns it on harry and “size[s] him up”. 

AND ALL OF THIS IS WITHOUT EVEN GETTING INTO WHAT HIS LESSONS WERE LIKE

this post is long enough as it is! but all that’s left to say is that barty will always be at his most interesting when you pay attention to canon… there’s another longpost that could be written about barty!moody’s differences in disposition. the jokes he cracks, his relative lightness, and the sheer number of times he was openly like “FUCK the law i do what i want” (while literally masquerading as a literal wizard cop) are so intriguing. but that’s for another time 

[naturallyteal]

Good Omens fic recommendation my “best of September”:

Find the Light by @klikandtuna

“Find the light

But the light finds you

The shadows slide off, no dusk, no dew

Can mar the glory of what you’ve become

Preserved in amber, born anew

From pondwater

Pondwater”

(quote from the song lyrics in this fanfic)

(My fanart for this fanfic based on the painting “Bachschleuse” by Johann Wilhelm Schirmer, 1827-28, Kunstpalast Düsseldorf, Germany. It’s very symbolic. 😎)

In the ever flooding ocean of stories, there are some that stand out, that I think about days or weeks later, that touch me more than others. Once a month, I make a post about one of those:

This story takes the reader on a journey of hurt and comfort, trauma and healing, fear and courage. Instead of the summary, I’d like to quote the beginning, that told me right from the start that this was going to make a rewarding read:

~

He stood at the window, full in the afternoon sunshine that angled in between the curtains—velvet, once the color of a fine Zinfandel but now somewhat faded on the outer side, with a few trailing threads at the hem that brushed over the floorboards. Every year, Michael would suggest replacing them; every year, he would pretend to consider it. But he loved those worn old curtains. He reached out as he stood there, closing a fold of the fabric between two fingers to feel the warmth that the sun had infused there, the soft prickle as the tiny strands shifted.

The intercom chimed. A pleasant sound—a low, musical chirp. (They had cycled through seven different machines before finding one whose alert had pleased him.)

“Sir, Adam Young to see you.”

~

In 15 chapters and ~ 97 k words, this e-rated Human AU with teacher Aziraphale and rock star Crowley is a story that captured me, that made me think, that is still with me weeks later. It’s so well written that it, again, makes me regret a lot of those “real books” by “professional authors” I bought and read in the years before I found the AO3, a lot of which did not come up to this high quality. There’s music in here, a poetic song, metaphors that really spoke to me, and flashbacks that were expertly handled and used to tell the story the best way possible. There’s also fanart! Needless to say, the characters are relatable and loveable.

One word regarding the e-rating, as this is something many people either love or hate: the scenes regarding sex in this are rather rare, can not be called smut at all, are very tasteful, some are more described symbolically than explicitly, and still manage to be highly erotic.

👍

GO read!

Tagging List under the cut

Let me know if you want on it for future posts of mine!

Let me know if you want off the list:

@echogracebeloved @oxribs @copperplatebeech @thescholarlystrumpet @simonezitrone79

@siriosa @captainblou @alphacentaurinebula @ineffablefool @ashfae

@fellshish @vidavalor @thindarkdukewrites @crowleys-bright-red-hair-streak @kimberleyjean

@dragonfire42 @lickthecowhappy @ineffablenlghtingales @turquoisedata @di-42

@dierama-mojo

[specialized-rexan]

SCREENSHOTS I GOT FROM THE JEREMY JORDAN LIVESTREAM YESTERDAY. especially love the comments on his duck drawings. he was very proud of some of them since he needed to practice before the stream. he admits he does not draw much lol

and here's Lucifer's signature that Jeremy came up with: a cursive capital L attached to a pentagram!

the stream was SO FUN and literally only felt like 20 minutes even tho it was almost an hour

at one point he mentioned he's making pancakes with olive oil now since he has high cholesterol, and that he LOVES how the pancakes turned out. someone responded:

(later someone joked he should make pancakes with bacon grease and he almost shouted (not angrily) "DO YOU WANT ME TO DIE? I JUST SAID I HAVE HIGH CHOLESTEROL. I just said. I had high cholesterol. Are you TRYING. To kill me."

anyway back to screenshots lol)

"Take that, depression!" was a popular quote to write on prints, and he said he hoped we're not depressed and it was very sweet

some more quotes written during the stream and other notes:

"I'm gonna be signing these prints of my boy Lucifer, the short king of Hell"

he drank both a cold smoothie and hot tea during the stream. "Doesn't make any goddamn sense, but here we go."

"It's never too late to fuck up--too late to fuck shit up" (a legitimate accidental stammer. but still perfect in its own way)

"Every time I hear the name 'Shay' I think of my daughter's friend at school. My daughter's obsessed with a friend named Shay. 'S all she talks about. 'Shay Shay Shay Shay Shay Shay.' Shay and Madeline. It's like 'You can be your own person. Clara. You are your own HUMAN.' …HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KATHERINE."

hopes to go to some conventions for Hazbin Hotel. more likely to go to cons in New York, New Jersey (where he lives), or Philly area

"He's just a li'l cutie. :3 Is he really da bosh? :3" (wondering if Lucifer really is the Big Boss of Hell Himself or if it's just more of a title)

"Hope you're not depressed"

" 'Write something Lucifer would say to cheer someone up.' And I think Lucifer would think that… 'SINGING MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER!' At least when it comes to rebuilding your relationship with your daughter."

"Guess what's in my smoothie. There are six ingredients. Go."

"…said draw a little duck, so I drew the smallest duck I could. (holds print up to camera then says in small high-pitched voice:) It's a little duck!"

MORE QUOTES UNDER THE CUT. THIS POST IS GETTING LONG ASFQJSKSKSKKS

_____

about his smoothie again: "Obviously, I just went to the gym. So I gotta have some kinda supplement in there. ... WHAT'S THE BASE, Y'ALL? YOU GOTTA HAVE A BASE." (someone could use that audio and give a character a bass guitar lol)

(still about people guessing smoothie ingredients:) "WATER? Why would I put water in my smoothie. (mutters:) Water is for losers. ... Kale! -grins and points at camera- That's it! You win. That's my smoothie."

his smoothie was blueberries, bananas, strawberries, protein powder, almond milk, kale

"…with a hUUGE shmiley faysh! :3" (about a little " =) " smile he wrote with an autograph)

"THAT DUCK IS CUTE!"

"We love, we stan Lilith"

AGGRESSIVELY, ABOUT A JOKE HE MADE: "GET IT?"

Some fatherly advice from Lucifer: "Don't fuck up your lives like I did 😎"

HE SANG THE START OF HELL'S GREATEST DAD AND WANTS A MIMZY-LESS VERSION THAT ACTUALLY HAS AN ENDING QSJFKSKKSKS

he's only seen Hazbin Hotel once, and he had "~champagne fountains, caviar mountains, that's just to staaart~" going through his head for the two+ years between recording his lines and the show airing. he wasn't able to tell anyone it because of non-disclosure stuff, and eventually he even forgot what that song line was from. but it still went through his head

"[Person he was signing an autograph for] is a bi girl [bisexual], and that's pretty baller"

"AN INCREDIBLE DUCK YOU SHALL HAVE"

"Take that depression!! Quack"

"Hold please!" (i just liked imagining Lucifer saying almost any small thing)

Jeremy Jordan says Lucifer is short, and not just that all the other characters are tall (i cannot confirm that that is canon even tho that's what i want LOL) "What gives!? There are short people in this world, and they need some love"

someone asked what he thinks about OC x canon ships. he was confused about what OC means and then when the chat explained, he was confused about how "OC x canon" works. but he figured it out after thinking for a moment. "So basically everybody wants to fuck Lucifer. GOT IT."

"Am I going to Hell for this" (about all the pentagrams he's drawing)

"…so i just did a bunch of stars and hearts around Emery's name 💜"

someone asked about his favorite Hazbin Hotel song, and he answered that season 2 has a rock song he really likes 👀 👀

"(a requested phrase for an autograph:) 'Duck lord loves you no matter what.' ...Don't know what that particularly means but…"

[wordbunch]

The Hobbit re-read: favorites, thoughts and honorable mentions

thank u to my tumblr besties for encouraging me to rant abt this book for a little while, and brace yourselves for a LOOONG post; aka We're Going On An Adventure!

this quote abt Gandalf: "tales and adventures sprouted up all over the place wherever he went, in the most extraordinary fashion" like. THIS exactly is Gandalf to me ✨✨✨

the whole good-morninged sequence (as if he was selling buttons at the door! can you imagine! By belladonna tooks SON of all people!!!) 😱

"a cake or 2 would do him good after this fright" me too bilbo

"he had a horrible thought that the cakes might run short" me too bilbo 🍰

Gandalf constantly selling Bilbo's skills to the company and just hyping him up and believing in him all the time!!!! most excellent and audacious hobbit!!! 😎

"this was thorin's style... if he had been allowed he would probably have gone like this until he was out of breath" aka he is Dramatic and Important

"bilbo was getting excited and interested again so that he forgot to keep his mouth shut" how many times will i write ME TOO BILBO in this post

"THE EXPLANATION DID NOT SEEM TO EXPLAIN" 💯💯💯

gandalf: i found him in the dungeons of the necromancer; thorin: girl what were YOU doing at the necromancer's??? 🧐🧐🧐 gandalf: finding things out as usual O M G like what else would he be doing there 😚

bilbo constantly wishing he was back home as soon as he left

"off bilbo had to go before he could explain that he could not hoot even once like any kind of owl" yall this book has so many funny moments but like in a very chill humor way

the fact that one of the TROLLS is called WILLIAM 😂😂😂

"i am a good cook myself, and cook better than i cook" okay bilbo rizz 😏🔥

"they had not at all enjoyed lying there listening to the trolls making plans for roasting them" you don't say. i love this deadpan humor SO MUCH jrrt snapped

that whole beautiful iconic description of kind as summer elrond

"their clothes were mended as well as their bruises, their tempers, and their hopes" WHEN will i go to rivendell 😩

"there is nothing like looking if you want to find something" thorin life coach realness 👏🏼👏🏼

thoring gesturing at a miserable desolate land: these tRuLy hOspiTabLe moUnTaiNs 😍

then gandalf lit up his wand. oF coUrSe it wAs gaNdaLf, but they were too busy to ask how he got there. 4ever mood

he thought of himself frying bacon and eggs in his own kitchen ME TOO BIL- 🍳

"Gollum brought up memories of ages and ages and ages before, when he lived with his grandmother in a hole by a bank by a river" this kind of made me cry. it brings unexpected humanity to such an appalling character; kinda makes you want bilbo to spare him eventually

and the fact itself that bilbo felt so bad for him he decided to just leave him be

"you would have laughed (from a safe distance)" LOVE how JRRT puts random little comments addressed to the reader

gandalf just being like ok i gotta go do other things now. good luck besties. ✌🏼😚

beorn: what are you, a traveling circus? and he is actually right 🤪

"you have got to look after all these dwarves for me, gandalf laughed" and i cried

bilbo being like hmm how will i get down from this tree (except by falling)

bilbo's song while killing gigantic spiders "not very good...but you must remember he had to make it up himself in a very awkward moment"

the dwarves starting to respect him and bowing down until they FALL OVER is such a comical image to me

the whole alluring magic of the elvish feast in the forest which disappears when they get closer!! a whole fairytale mr tolkien!!! 😍

thranduil is a greedy b <3 and especially VERY fond of wine 🍷🍷🍷

"i will lock you all in again and you can sit there comfortably and think of a better plan" bilbo badass mode and we love to see it 💋

tolkien being like WELL u can laugh but you wouldn't have done any better if u were him. real.

when they're in dale i love the numerous references to "songs and stories of old" and all of them basically being a living legend and turning their stay in dale into a public holiday and spectacle

thorin is cocky af

/freeze frame/ "you are familiar with thorin's style on important occasions so i will not give you any more of it" its ok jrrt, let him be a drama queen 👑

bilbo when he takes some gold from smaug being like "this will show them!!!1!1" 😠😠

sassy bilbo strikes again with "did you expect me to trot back with the whole hoard of thror on my back? if there's any grumbling to be done i think i might have a say" GO OFF KING 👏🏼

i just rly love him okay, he stole my heart in this book like a real legitimate professional burglar that he is

"i am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly" etc. basically this whole exchange btw bilbo and smaug is pure gold (pun not intended) 🤫

talking birds that eavesdrop. enough said.

the descriptions of the arkenstone which make you actually want to have it too. genius. there could be no two such gems, even in so marvellous a hoard, even in all the world." 💎💎💎

the harps (untouched by the dragon who had a small interest in music).. WHY is this so funny to me

bilbo putting on some elvish DRIP and being like ✨✨ i feel magnificent ✨✨ (but probably look dumb 😩)

"this is the great chamber of thror" ok thorin the tour guide king

BARD MY KING i love one (1) man 🎯

bilbo being absolutely against any wars or battles and just wanting to go home BUT also being a sneaky lil shit who takes the arkenstone to bard and thranduil BUT also still not wanting to leave his dwarf buddies

when he gives them the gem "not without a shudder, not without a glance of longing" AHHH i want it!

ambiguous gandalf returning. always love to see it

"if you don't like my burglar, please don't damage him" 🙄 ffs thorin chill

"you are not making a very splendid figure as king" yes gandalf call him out

defeat seems "very uncomfortable, not to say distressing" to bilbo. we love.

the fact that he was just knocked out cold during the battle so thur we know very little abt what really happened?? jrrt genius writing hack. might use this one 🤔

fili and kili deserved a better sendoff than just mentioning that they died. come on.

thorin's last words and reconciliation w bilbo... PLEASE I WILL CRY until i throw up. "it has been more than any baggins deserves." "no! there is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly west. some courage and some wisdom blended in measure. if more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."

i might still be crying

"tea is at 4 but any of you are welcome at any time" my heart... ❤️😭 Guess he's no longer scared of running out of cake

bilbo gifting thrandy a necklace as an apology for eating and drinking his stuff secretly, king shit 😉

bilbo having the absolute NERVE to say to ELVES "your lullaby would wake a drunken goblin". wig wig

he deadass borrowed a handkercheif from freaking ELROND 😳

bilbo arriving home to being presumed dead and his stuff literally being auctioned off

"it was a long time before he was in fact admitted to being alive again…" and sackville-bagginses having sm beef with that HAHAHA

he lost his reputation but he lived his best life so who's the winner here 😌😌😌

the closing lines "you are a very fine person, mr baggins, and i am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all" "thank goodness! said bilbo laughing."

like. THIS. literally embodies everything. he is just a little guy. just some smol person. BUT STILL had a say in how BIG things happened. BUT he remains happy to be just a smol simple person.

overall an incredibly fun read and it was way more genuinely FUNNY than i anticipated. bilbo is a whole mood. thorin is a diva. gandalf is there to start shit and hype up bilbo. jrrt with random author's notes throughout the book gives me life.

[doesntmeanitsmeaningless]

Hola Ailo!!!! The recap that you did ask for is here(a little bit late sorry but still counts), Louis show at the Victorious Festival:

Festival poster.

As you saw but still will link some pics because he look gorgeous, Louis wore full black with a cap 🫠 and the barricade photo I show you that deserves to be link again haha.

🚨Highlight of the recap shirtless Steve is back!!! Thank you Steve 🚨 (no idea if that is a highlight for you but it wouldn't be a recap of me without that important info).

His family was there, here is a cute video of Lottie, other with Olive and other with Lucky.

Seems like the weather was cold, because Mr. Weather Man comment about it and also was doing some arms and hands gestures a few times to said that he was cold, poor Louis, but hey we thank him for showing a tank top.

He said this sweet quote and mention that it was his first festival in the UK.

Here he was interacting with a fan but I wonder what the sign said.

Louis instagram story.

Some observations about the live:-Hands up and down during kill my mind instead of kmm lights (like this other time that they did it in other festival), seems like is a tradition now and I love it.

-You can see his family on the side of the stage moving to the rhythm.

-Fans were yelling I love you Louis and he was smiling.

-He was interacting with a lot of fans, was very smiley and so confident. It was lovely seeing him like this.

He also sign a doncaster bear of a fan I guess maybe after the show I don't know.

For your Nouis' heart, Louis give a like to a video of Niall and Ed Sheeran singing Little Things (here is the full video) on today's show of Niall, they also sing Lego House (there was no live 😑, we just have to listen after it was sad but still beautiful).

Louis took a shot backstage with Phoebe and Daisy.

I already share it but still, the short setlist 11 songs rip 7 😭.

The crowd look huge, I'm so proud of him.

Here is the live in case you want to watch it.

And that is it for the baby recap. I'm probably missing some things but is what I could do, I was very busy with Niall's updates so I didn't pay much attention to everything that was shared yet.

Let me know what you think, I love reading reactions of the recaps :)

I hope you have a lovely day. Here is a spanish phrase for you: Te mando un abrazo.

Oh wow CC 🤩🤩🤩 this is amazing!! Thank you so much!! 😘 Even though I did request it (as I’m in the alps, no wifi, and quite some fandom fomo), the feeling of getting a recap is… so unexpectedly heartwarming! 🥰 It made me sing We Made It “sayin’ goodbye, wavin’ to the hard times” to the mountains this morning, as you really make me feel so included!!

I love the outfit as a whole: it works!! I’m glad you sent a photo of the cap, I would’ve missed the “mauled by a dragon” aspect of it otherwise. 🤪

Weatherman Louis 🥶 lives in an entirely different climate than Steve 🥵! And the shivering pic… is gonna be a favourite of mine!! It’s convincing me that it must’ve been freezing 😎

Aww… the mini Tomlinsons!! 🥹 They do bring a cuteness factor that we don’t often see. And I can’t believe how big Olive is! Can that really be?!?🤔🤔

I love that the kmm hands are back: you know the Louies are in the crowd when…!!

I’m guessing the sign was one of those “please write me a tattoo” or something requests… and Louis didn’t wanna explain that he’s working, day job etc again… so he just says “how?” in THAT voice… wow! 🫠 Good of you to include that!! 🤭

Mini but fun setlist! Face the Music surviving every cut is a surprise to me, but hey… not my day job 🫢

And thanks for the bigger picture: Niall singing Little Things with Ed! Yeah! And Louis liking it!! Now c’mon boys…!! Just a little click, babe!

So much more to say but the kids & mountains are calling. Schöne Grüße aus den Bergen!

Und herzlichen Dank für die tolle Zusammenfassung!! 🫶🫶🫶

[wild-karrde]

Hi again Karrde!

I have one other Fandom Friday rec I’m going to slip in. Hope I made it in time!

@sonistras (can't tag) is here on tumblr now and I wanted to shout out her amazing video edits!

Her editing style is super cool and unique. This is my favourite of her latest. Love a little Howzer/Gregor action! 😎

She also masterminded the spicy clone voice over videos that were floating around on here a little while ago!!!

This Rex one is my fave: X

But she also did: 

Wolffe

Fives

Fives pt 2

Echo

Rex pt 2

Rex pt 3

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE SONI!!! The clone simps appreciate your hard work 🫡

-Kira

VERY MUCH AGREED. Those VO videos make me BLUSH. HARD. AND SWEAT PROFUSELY. Like I immediately turn into a giddy, feet-kicking dweeb (especially for Rex... for reasons). Also, very much agree that the edit style is GREAT. The Howzer and Gregor one made me giggle maniacally, because the quotes used are VERY fitting (particularly for Gregor LOL).

(also pls slash responsibly because I was side-eyeing that note about the Howzer and Gregor video for a second hahaha 😂😅)

Participate in Fandom Friday to show your favorite creators from this week some love! :)

[draconscious]

NAME : dan!!

PRONOUNS : he/him

PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION : tumblr im. discord. passenger pigeon. I'm very slow sometimes but you should plot with me!!

NAME OF MUSE(s) : clair, cynthia, barry, jupiter/eris + so many mooore (how did it come to this? LMAO)

BEST EXPERIENCE(S) : dedicating this section to both ash (@analuein) and aya (@distortsverity)! ash and I have been writing together for infinity years right here on tumblr. no matter the muse, it's always a blast spinning up plots and watching the magic unfold from there with her. from thorton to violet, to noland and clair. from wildencounters to indie. it's been a fantastic ride. day one. 😎

I transitioned from group rp to indie a few years ago and--at the time--I was all alone. I had no connections, just a lonely barry blog to my name. I wrote drabbles by myself in the dark for two weeks until aya came across my blog with her hikari, and everything just clicked. aya made me feel included, reached out with ideas, plots and feedback, and showed love to barry and all of my muse(s)--and to this day, I still feel TREMENDOUSLY grateful for the helping hand when I felt so isolated. I definitely would not still be writing here without her.

since then, I've had an amazing time here. writing with so many different people, muses, and groups--it's all so good. my best experiences happen when I'm writing (or even plotting) with someone, and everything just works, flows, and fits together and I can just feel that shared excitement. that feeling that we're building a great story together. that's magical. that's why I'm still around, trying new muses, diving headlong into amazing plots/dynamics, letting my imagination run wild, and--as always--writing a lot. much love to EVERYONE who has helped keep that fire burning over the years, but especially ash and aya for giving that flame a chance in the first place. tysm. ❤️

RP PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS : it's been said, but--on a personal level--I wish private communication would happen more, specifically when it comes to interest levels. my time is becoming more and more limited here (sad as that is) and I have always written at a slower, longer pace. so, given how fast this place moves, I would appreciate knowing if a thread has grown stale, or if something's off.

I'm flexible. I'd like to think that I'm pretty laid-back. I want you to have fun, and you need to drop or backburner our thread because life, interest, etc. that's okay. I promise. I also don't mind reminders about cold threads or overdue replies on my end. if that's the case, please let me know right away, and I'll pick it back up or let you know my thoughts. we can try new things, or not. just let me know what you'd like to do, and we can adjust from there. that being said, lack of time or muse =/= lack of interest. I get that. you never need to rush a reply with me, and I will always (for better or worse) assume interest is still there unless told otherwise by you. I'm no herlock sholmes. (I wish I was...)

so, as a courtesy, I'd ask to please talk to me if something's wrong. if you feel the need to drop our thread or aren't interested in an interaction and/or want to start fresh. I won't be upset (quote me on that.) I just want to make sure that the writing vibes are still good, and I want to spend my time here writing things that you (and others) are still into. and in the end, it's not really a big deal--this place is great and I adore my past/present/future thread partners--but it's something that I would appreciate!

(also since I haven't made it clear before: no AI with me, please. let's meet at the same level.)

MUSE PREFERENCES: strong women and brash, sunshiney dudes. (I'll really try anyone, but I certainly have types 😊)

PLOTS OR MEMES : whatever's easier for you to get in the door with--c'mon in!! I don't find myself with the time to reblog many memes lately, but my inbox/IMs are always open for spot interactions, and I'll do a lil' starter call here and there!!

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES : I don't mind receiving either, but I always tend to lose myself in the sauce and write a lot oops. you never have to match my length. as long as we're writing together, that's chill enough for me!

BEST TIME TO WRITE : my healthcare job is killing me. I'll try to sneak on for some stuff here and there, but I'm most active during evening/nighttime CST US. confirmed night time scrawler. 🦉

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S) : some common threads linking all of my muses to me is the fact that we always want to be active, we have (too) high expectations of ourselves, we grew up and are still growing up, and we spend too much time working (and loathe it LMAO)

[prongsfish]

NEVERMIND I GOOGLED vegemite and it says it's like marmite but with additional spices and celery and onions so it's more savoury

i hope it at least tastes better than marmite

wait...did you say you had it with tuna and cheese?? that's such a curious combo. WHY DO I WANT TO TRY IT 😩

HAHA okay the marmite comparison is very common bc it is very similar in ingredients but it tastes quite different!! it’s not sweet at all, i’m not a big fan of marmite but i love vegemite. and yes! you should try it i encourage it it’s awesome. i made this like 10 minutes ago bc i thought of the quote “try my recipe boy” when i was answering your first ask and it made me giggle and it’s not very funny but i’m never gonna have an excuse to use it any other time so it’s going here.

(2 because i make 2 sandwiches. but 1 can of tuna is enough for 2 sandwiches 😎)

[eiseryn]

Feeling not that great lately so I took a bit of time to fill in this ship meme made by @/gibbarts for Vail x Lei! I have their ship name as Vailei (which is just me smushing their names together) but my friend has brought up Leil which is tempting just because it's fun to say... I think we'll stick with Vailei for now XD

I used some headcanons for this because NGL Vail doesn't have enough screentime in the canon campaign so I had to just fill in some blanks XD This is why he is also my OC now cuz I've made so many headcanons to fill in the blanks that he's prob a diff OC than the KP imagined XD

I realize their faces are kinda babey in this. That is because I did this in like 1 hr so it's very messy sorry. I still had a lot of fun filling this out and thinking about them <3 my OTP 🥺🥺🥺

OC lore under the cut (as per usual of course)

More explanations about how I picked this even though you didn't ask 😎

Big spoon Vail / Little spoon Lei. They could def swap though but this is their usual formation if they're spooning. Little spooning is def by Lei's request but she'll big spoon him if she wants him to feel extra comfy!

Lends clothes (Vail)/ Borrows clothes (Lei) - This is self explanatory. I already drew Lei in Vail's hoodie. She really likes to "borrow" his clothes, as in, she'll wear them until they don't smell like him anymore and then return them to him XD. I do have this funny quote thing so I headcanon he steals her fuzzy socks. I'll draw that one day :3 But I also think it would be hard for him to borrow her clothes even if they're similar heights because he has a SIZ of 65 (muscle mass) and she has a SIZ of 50 which means she's probably built like a stick XD

Pet names - Vail seems like the type of person who calls people by their name/ what they want to be called. So he would prob call Lei "Lei" which is something she even requests at the end of the campaign! (Before he called her "Doc"). Lei is definitely into pet names though! In the cyberpunk universe she probably calls him "my love" 🥺

Introversion/Extroversion - this one was kinda hard NGL. Lei is def more introverted but she isn't suuuper "Ew people" cuz she is a doctor and forced to interact with people. Because Vail likes to talk/ramble, I put him as slightly more extroverted but he didn't have enough screentime so XD I couldn't confirm this theory. He didn't seem that open to talking with Liam in the campaign but it could have been due to lack of time who knows 😔 By comparison Vail is prob more extroverted than Lei at least.

Affection through words (LEi) / Affection through actions (Vail) - Lei is both LMAO cuz her love language is physical touch. But she also expresses affection through her words! This is especially true because if she doesn't like you she won't even bother talking to you. But if she likes you, she'll say sweet things to you/compliment you AND if she really really likes you she'll be physically affectionate! Vail is def an actions person XD I mean we're talking about the guy who bought her a cat for her birthday. I think sometimes she can feel a bit sadge if he doesn't verbally validate her/ have words of affirmation for her but they work with it 🥺

Confesses first (Lei) / Waits for confession (Vail) - THIS ONE IS CANON LMAOOO. Although the first time they hung out it was him who initiated, she has to make him ask her for dinner XD and then when she said it was date he was like ayo alright XD

Bugs - I feel like they're both capable of bug squashing so I put them around the same level... now I feel like if we want to dig into catboy vail his should be reallyyy far into it but I'm not changing it for now XD maybe in an updated one sometime down the line

Drives car (Vail) / can't drive (Lei) - this is also canon XD Vail drives around bikes so he has to be a decent driver, although I didn't see DRIVE in his invested skills according to the stats the dm gave me so like 🤔🤔 Lei has the base DRIVE of like 20? So I mean she can drive. But it's not great XD I would say she's just not very confident, esp in the slums where people speed a lot. She prob felt safer in the Middle district.

can't cook (Vail) / makes dinner (Lei) - Vail prob never had a chance to learn how to cook and he says "food in the slums generally sucks" XD But Lei is a good cook. I mean she cooks drugs so she has to be good at cooking food too (COPE). I just want her to be a good cook so therefore she is.

PDA - Lei likes PDA! She wants everyone to know who her man belongs to, but I think she'd be more like into handholding and clinging to him. The other stuff she prefers to do in private :3 Although she's def up to giving him cheek kisses here and there. Vail probably doesn't particularly mind, if it makes Lei happy :)

Overprotective / Chillgoing - THIS WAS HARD. Lei is def on the overprotective side, especially when it comes to her loved ones, she gets very desperate. But I mean I would imagine Vail would be protective if she were in danger. But overall he's supposed to be a chill dude so I imagine she's just chill. Like oh you're going to Prism HQ and killing some jerks? I'll come with <- maybe something like this LOL

Relationship experience - It is canon Vail has no relationship exp (like me frfr) but Lei's had 2 relationships in the past, so she has more exp than him.

(WARNING: NSFW IMPLIED) HORNY METER: I feel like they're quite similar in levels of horniness. I think mostly Lei has to initiate because Vail is shy uwu about those types of things. But once he's in the mood and the switch has been flipped... pray for Lei LOL. He will let her have control as much as she wants but if she wants him to dom... it's over for her XD a Runner and their stamina y'know... In my headcanons, he is secretly quite horny just never had the chance to express it. He is a young man after all 😔 But he has really good self control :) His willpower is 70. Lei was not supposed to be super thirsty but she is played by me so.... y'know... some stuff happened XD

AWKWARDNESS METER: Lei isn't super super awkward but there are definitely situations where she has no idea what to do, especially to circumstances that are new to her. For example, needing to learn how to do a runner's job XD that was hard for her. In highschool she was def much more awkward but she's grown out of her shell a little. In terms of this relationship, I imagine she gets awkward because she doesn't quite believe she's in a relationship with him XD (she'd be like "really? Are you sure you want me?" and he's like "yeah we had this convo last week") Vail is pretty chill so I think he's barely awkward. I imagine he's only awkward as he's new to this whole relationship business :)

JEALOUSY METER: Vail is not supposed to get jealous so hence why there's like nothing there for him. I would say he either 1) feels secure in his relationships + trusts Lei and 2) Would want the best for her so if she finds someone that makes her happier than him, he would easily let her go. Lei though... is much more insecure than he is. It's something that I would develop for her if she lives XD in the future, because she is slowly gaining confidence in herself! :) She is a capable woman, she simply needs to realize that. But yeah she's the type to get jealous, if she sees him with women who are prettier and younger than her. But she is lucky because he doesn't

[smol-grey-tea]

For the ask game thingie: top 5 fictional characters? From any media, or if that is too broad, you can choose a specific piece of media!! :)

First of all thank you for sending ask 😎 second of all, you have been warned, this post is incredibly long and infodumpy.

I was going to include other media but as I started I just got more and more invested in Nameless

If you don't know who these characters are or where they're from I'll take this post to strongly recommend checking out the otome visual novel Nameless the One Thing You Must Recall, made by a collaboration between dating sim company Cheritz and ball joint doll company Crobi Doll. You can play the demo(?) or buy the full game on Steam or watch a variety of play throughs available on YouTube but since this post is about the characters instead of the game I will stick to just that- this is my main blog and therefore spam blog but it is first and foremost a Nameless blog ;)

This is long so I'll put it under the cut ^^

Up first of all is him, the one, the only, the man, the myth, the legend, the hero of the hour: Red from Nameless the One Thing You Must Recall :) could anyone have possibly predicted this? /s

He is the character ever, I will not apologise. He is the perfect man. He is everything I am and aspire to be. Number one himbo and most precious being in existence. My bpd bestie and husband, til death do us part.

I cannot possibly relate to him or his struggles anymore than I already do, he is so fucking unbelievably underrated in what little fandom this game has, he deserves so much more. He literally just does his best and never does anything wrong and the very little he does do wrong he sincerely apologises for and never does again ❤

He is the knight in shining armor who tries constantly to achieve an impossible goal because he believes himself worthless otherwise and slowly comes to realise that all he needs to do is stay right by Eri's side to be enough because, in her words "you are great as you are right now", a quote I will never forget

Coming up next-

It's her. The her of the game ever. It's Eri.

She is the main character, she is literally me.

I think her character especially is such a good protagonist for a game like Nameless cuz I also appreciate just how fleshed out she is, with her relationships - to her grandpa, her parents, Nameless (the character), her friends and the dolls - especially with how she holds every single one of them so dear to her.

Nameless' such strong themes of abandonment and grief are shown in her character really well cuz for some of the dolls their reactions to their own abandonment can be sort of abnormal or extreme (ex. Tei, Nameless), but I think Eri's reaction is so so human and childish (in a good way) cuz it's almost like she never grows up because of it. Her parents work overseas so her grandfather looked after her until he passed away and she began to just live on her own in his apartment. Her parents very rarely ever visited and she struggled to make friends so she only has 2, so as she grew and learned how to live on her own she developed a hobby of collecting ball joint dolls from the company Crobi Doll which makes dolls with souls so they feel alive.

She deals with the abandonment of her parents and the loss of her grandfather by escaping reality with playing with her dolls and dressing them up but I think another way she copes with it of note is how she doesn't ask for help when she needs it cuz she doesn't wanna bother people. It's never explicitly stated in the game in comparison to how the doll's issues are so explicit but you can definitely infer that how she learned not to ask for her parents to give attention to her cuz she didn't wanna bother them bled into her future interactions with ppl and not asking for help when it's needed. The wording of that feels incoherent but I hope the point gets across??

Anyway I love her so much, I hope you can tell 😅

In third place I have selected the Ice Prince, Lance :)

He's pretty funny. Lol.

Ok but I really really love how good of an introduction he is to the game. There isn't a set order to play all of the routes in but the recommended order is: Lance -> Yeonho -> Yuri -> Tei -> Red -> Nameless. With the themes of not only grief and abandonment but the empathy/connection to inanimate objects, his route really really compliments those themes well, especially in the chapter in which he and Eri search for her lost phone and especially his rain scene.

His route as a whole is quite sweet, his growth is very cute and the end to the festival scene is absolutely hucking filarious. Ooh and I love his relationship with Red and how they compliment each other so well but are in constant competition at the same time. I feel like they would be the stars of a romcom or something, I would love to see some kind of dlc or spinoff which solely focuses on them trying to tolerate being roommates with each other 😂😂

In fourth place I am choosing Mr Yuri :3

I think out of all the other characters he's slightly misplaced? I've played the game over multiple times and his route still confuses me a bit since I'm not really sure what struggles his character arch is supposed to be a comments of. He's a bit of a difficult character to read and he can even come off as quite unlikeable because of his flirty and carefree attitude but despite all of the confusion I really can't help but love him and his route - I can do nothing but find it incredibly sweet and cute :)

Out of the whole game my favourite scene is the one pictured above, his rain scene. I love how different it is to Lance and Yeonho's rain scenes because theirs revolved around Eri rushing to find them in the rain and comfort them thru whatever they were dealing with, but Yuri's rain scene involves Eri rushing to save him from the rain only to find that he is warm and dry and calmly playing the piano whilst Eri is the one who needs comforting after being in the cold and storm.

He's very flirtatious and boasts about how much women love him and he loves them in return but Eri learns that he's actually quite an empty person who only gives back as much love as he is given from others. He lacks the understanding of sincerity because he is so used to giving love only to be polite and so is overwhelmed upon realising his sincere feelings for Eri.

I suppose on further inspection he's more like a person who surrounds themself with fake and shallow love to feel whole whilst lacking any deep true connections and understanding of other people? He understands love through flattery and money instead of the intimacy of personal connection.

Because of this I think that the title of Red's opposite is less fitting of Lance as it is Yuri to be honest. Lance is too similar to Red to be his true opposite, they're only opposite on the outside. Red is someone who doesn't particularly understand empty love like that, he is someone who only understand sincerity, whose character is defined by his unabashed and unapologetic empathy.

Also I love him cuz he's funny. For a competition on the funniest Nameless character he is up there. Seriously.

In last place it's kind of tie between Soi and Shinbi.

^ edit by @welcome-to-banjul - will reblog original post after uploading this one

It's a little bit cheating to put 2 characters into the 5th spot but okkkk they don't count as 2 different people, they are a package deal ok??? 😂😂😂

Both Soi and Shinbi so cute just look at their designs alone!! They are amazing :)

They compliment each other so well and are so supportive of Eri it's adorable. I especially love their interactions at the end of Lance's route when Eri finally gets the courage to share with them her passion for dolls and to her surprise they react so well and accept her wholeheartedly and even seem to show an interest in it themselves :)

They're both really nice palette cleansers from the insanity and depression of the boys' routes as the majority of their scenes are very lighthearted and wholesome as well as hilarious especially around exam time. Soi's over the top dramatic reactions blend really well with Shinbi's cool and calm attitude. Did you know Shinbi's name can translate to mystery? Quite fitting for her :)

One thing though that I don't like about them is that I wished they played a bit more of a role in the story and although they do serve more purpose in Red and Tei's routes I wish their roles were more positive than conflicting. Plus I wish that Shinbi played more of a role too. And!!! They were done so dirty when Yujin of all people was given a dlc but for Soi and Shinbi??? Nothing!!! Come on!!! >:(

And. You cannot convince me that they aren't in some kind of relationship. Romantic, platonic or what, I don't know, but I do know for sure that those two share everything with each other and I have a relationship more intimate than a married couple.

Thank you so much for sending the ask!! ^^ I really appreciate it and I hope you enjoyed the word vomit 😅 I shall end this with a poll

[hot-girls-corner]

reading books is the greatest hobby y'all, argue with the wall 💅 - 24th August, 2023

BOOK: Unknown | kth

#rr 24th August, 2023 Thursday 1:04 AM

I loved this book so much, i fucking cried at the V gone scene, and the whole book was a great masterpiece, a perfect mix of comedy, romance and action. I fucking loved it and i love YOU author. just marry me at this point bruh-

no like seriously i only have a few favorite books even though i read hundreds and it's in the top <3

love y'all, hopefully i'll read it someday again when i forget about it, i love when i forget books cuz i can reread it :)

---

reading books is the greatest hobby y'all, argue with the wall 💅

---

books make me feel emotions i didn't knew existed in me.

---

I'm going to reread Creation next, the jjk ff. i had teary eyes and a broken heart in Unknown, but Creation made me fucking cry more than i did when i was depressed-

coughs

anyways- so another book that made me cry (very vulgar, sexual and violent stuff) was very memorable and fucked up, which was Just Us, and i swear i fucking don't want to re-read it, it will literally fuck up my mind again. when i first read it, my brain wasn't functioning properly for a few days like wtf-

but ngl the book was great and VERY memorable cuz even after a year i CLEARLY remember it because of the intense and excessive scenes. the last chapter had be crying, and the author was so brutal she didn't even leave any comdic quote and end to cheer me up again so i ended up depressed the whole day… fuck it, i loved it.

Creation had me pretty fucked up for a few days too, but more in a lovesick way, i would cry whenever than scene came up in my mind, and not to mention that i cried for an hour straight after that book ended… like THAT'S what you call true love bitches, argue with the goddamn wall-

i hate when good books come to an end, because my imaginary world fall apart with it

i should start studying physics now, tomorrow is my exam… can't believe i read 54 chapters, a goddamn book, instead of studying a mere chapter of physics for my exam-

---

fuck it, i'mma just take a nap for 90 mins then wake up and study, too depressed to do anything now lol

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nvm i ended up sleeping, my exam went average, enough to pass

---

i'm re-reading Creation again with my bestie, we started at the same time. I'm loving it lol. 10/10, would highly recommend 😎

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just finished work, 11:30 pm

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lmao sorry i ended up finishing it at around 2 am and i was crying for 2 hours straight 💀💀💀

[windsweptinred]

Tagged by: @mashumaru my fellow cat mama, always a delight. 💖

Relationship status: Married for just under a year. I beat him a in a job interview by, and I quote him here... Flashing my legs in with a strategically shapely pencil skirt... And the rest is enemies to lovers, slow burn... First date, June 7th, engaged June 7th...meant to be married on June 7th (until 2020 happened). Joined the Sandman Fandom.. The irony was strong. 😆

Fave color: Red, if I'm not wearing it on some part of me... It's not me, it's a clone. Alert the correct authorities.

Last song listened to: What happens when you turn the devil down by the Mystery Lights...Which one, just one lone mutual will know the relevance of. And that is why you can never leave me @thelostkelpie 😆

Songs stuck in my head: Call Me by Blondie. I watched the Conjuring: The Devil Made me do it last Friday. It was played over a brutal demonically possessed murder scene. It was a very catchy brutal demonically possessed murder scene... The song has been stuck in my head ever since.

Last thing I googled: Decepticon tattoo ideas...I am an adult. 😎 Where to put it though? Am I proud and blatant about it. Or do I put it somewhere hidden, where it can cheekily be revealed in summer like, mwahahaha suprise Autobot scum!!

Fave food: Pizza Hut cookie dough...I know, classy! I can, have and will threaten loved ones with grevious bodily harm for tying to steal it.

Dream vacation: New Orleans, I would say I want to go and soak up the history and culture. Which is partly true. But mostly I intend to eat food so spicy it permanently destroys my taste buds and run round pretending to be Gambit from the Xmen.

Tagging: @azirart @byronfucks @thelostkelpie @two-hands-toward-the-sun and @boneymagpie... If it tickles your fancy. 😁

[rillabrooke]

there is SO much to unpack in this chapter.

before we get started on quotes, i just want to say that this chapter really encapsulates the "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times" of the opening chapter. [more under the cut]

tracking:  pretty words, i’m crying, love, violence/hatred, duality, les mis parallels, foreshadowing

in the first half, lucie is living a fulfilled life. she is thriving. her family is successful and growing and closer than ever. over in paris, on the other hand, blood is being spilled on the streets. there is duality in paris itself because the people of the streets are rising up to earn their vengeance (the best of times) while everyone else is being crushed under their feet (the worst of times).

"Ever busily winding the golden thread which bound her husband, and her father, and herself, and her old directress and companion, in a life of quiet bliss, Lucie sat in the still house in the tranquilly resounding corner, listening to the echoing footsteps of years." title drop. roll credits 😎 additionally, this really reminds me of anne blythe (née shirley) in one of the later anne of green gables books, listening to the echoes of time going by.

". . . golden hair, like her own, lay in a halo . . . 'Dear papa and mamma, I am very sorry to leave you both, and to leave my pretty sister; but I am called, and I must go!'" i only knew him for one paragraph but i love him with my whole heart ;-;

"And one other thing regarding him was whispered in the echoes, which has been whispered by all true echoes for ages and ages." dickens sidling into the story like, "don't give up on sydney! there is more to come! he has a resurrection story, too! in death, he is also called to life and thus remains rooted in their lives, echoing for ages to come!"

"No man ever really loved a woman, lost her, and knew her with a blameless though an unchanged mind, when she was a wife and a mother, but her children had a strange sympathy with him— . . . 'Poor Carton! Kiss him for me!'" uncle sydney :')

"Headlong, mad, and dangerous footsteps to force their way into anybody’s life, footsteps not easily made clean again if once stained red, the footsteps raging in Saint Antoine afar off, as the little circle sat in the dark London window." file this quote away for later. (this is where that best of times/worst of times situation comes in.)

"Every living creature there held life as of no account, and was demented with a passionate readiness to sacrifice it." the oppressed rise up the face the oppressors, and as so many lives were already sacrificed against their will, why not purify the cause with lives readily given?

"As a whirlpool of boiling waters has a centre point, . . . every human drop in the caldron" dickens uses a lot of water imagery throughout this chapter. in lucie's section, there is a looming storm, but in the defarges' section, the people are the destructive waters. every person is a droplet in the overwhelming maelstrom.

"Madame’s resolute right hand was occupied with an axe, in place of the usual softer implements, and in her girdle were a pistol and a cruel knife." who needs knitting needles to mark those for death when one can wrought death with one's own two hands?

"the living sea rose, wave on wave, depth on depth, and overflowed the city to that point. . . . the sea raging and thundering on its new beach" destructive water imagery.

"'We can kill as well as the men when the place is taken!' And to her, with a shrill thirsty cry, trooping women variously armed, but all armed alike in hunger and revenge." ooooh goosebumps.

"furious sounding of the living sea . . . raging storm . . . the sea rose immeasurably wider and higher . . . restless was the force of the ocean . . . as if he had been struggling in the surf at the South Sea . . . the sea that rushed in . . . billows rolled past" even more water imagery.

"One Hundred and Five, North Tower" would you just leave poor dr. manette alone!!

"'Or do you mean that I shall strike you dead?' 'Kill him!'" bloodlust, man.

"the noise of the living ocean, in its irruption . . . its inundation . . . leaped into the air like spray." more water imagery.

"in a crevice in the chimney into which his weapon had slipped or wrought itself, he groped with a cautious touch." that sneaky son of a... secretly found dr. manette's letter and played it off so nicely.

"in the raging flood once more . . . surging and tossing" water, etc.

"the governor who had defended the Bastille and shot the people." yikes. in all fairness to that guy, he was just doing his job. if the people didn't kill him, whoever was his boss would've.

"began to be struck at from behind; remained immovable close to him when the long-gathering rain of stabs and blows fell heavy; was so close to him when he dropped dead under it, that, suddenly animated, she put her foot upon his neck, and with her cruel knife—long ready—hewed off his head." ma'am????

"The hour was come, when Saint Antoine was to execute his horrible idea of hoisting up men for lamps to show what he could be and do." oh my gosh??! (upon rereading, i realize i may have blocked out some of the gruesome stuff.)

"Saint Antoine’s blood was up, and the blood of tyranny and domination by the iron hand was down" great line + hatred of tyranny + violence

"the sea rushed on. The sea of black and threatening waters, and of destructive upheaving of wave against wave, whose depths were yet unfathomed and whose forces were yet unknown. The remorseless sea of turbulently swaying shapes . . ." more water (who would've guessed)

"ocean of faces . . . never did sea roll which bore more memorable wrecks with it." the shipwreck metaphor is a nice touch.

"Other seven faces there were, carried higher, seven dead faces, . . . bear witness with the bloodless lips, 'Thou Didst It!' . . . seven gory heads on pikes" ah see this is the part i remember. good heavens.

"Seven prisoners released, seven gory heads on pikes" it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, né?

"they are not easily purified when once stained red." callback to the opening paragraph of this section, except now it's put into much clearer context.

Book the Second—The Golden Thread

[X] Chapter XXI. Echoing Footsteps

Awonderful corner for echoes, it has been remarked, that corner where the Doctor lived. Ever busily winding the golden thread which bound her husband, and her father, and herself, and her old directress and companion, in a life of quiet bliss, Lucie sat in the still house in the tranquilly resounding corner, listening to the echoing footsteps of years.

At first, there were times, though she was a perfectly happy young wife, when her work would slowly fall from her hands, and her eyes would be dimmed. For, there was something coming in the echoes, something light, afar off, and scarcely audible yet, that stirred her heart too much. Fluttering hopes and doubts—hopes, of a love as yet unknown to her: doubts, of her remaining upon earth, to enjoy that new delight—divided her breast. Among the echoes then, there would arise the sound of footsteps at her own early grave; and thoughts of the husband who would be left so desolate, and who would mourn for her so much, swelled to her eyes, and broke like waves.

That time passed, and her little Lucie lay on her bosom. Then, among the advancing echoes, there was the tread of her tiny feet and the sound of her prattling words. Let greater echoes resound as they would, the young mother at the cradle side could always hear those coming. They came, and the shady house was sunny with a child’s laugh, and the Divine friend of children, to whom in her trouble she had confided hers, seemed to take her child in his arms, as He took the child of old, and made it a sacred joy to her.

Ever busily winding the golden thread that bound them all together, weaving the service of her happy influence through the tissue of all their lives, and making it predominate nowhere, Lucie heard in the echoes of years none but friendly and soothing sounds. Her husband’s step was strong and prosperous among them; her father’s firm and equal. Lo, Miss Pross, in harness of string, awakening the echoes, as an unruly charger, whip-corrected, snorting and pawing the earth under the plane-tree in the garden!

Even when there were sounds of sorrow among the rest, they were not harsh nor cruel. Even when golden hair, like her own, lay in a halo on a pillow round the worn face of a little boy, and he said, with a radiant smile, “Dear papa and mamma, I am very sorry to leave you both, and to leave my pretty sister; but I am called, and I must go!” those were not tears all of agony that wetted his young mother’s cheek, as the spirit departed from her embrace that had been entrusted to it. Suffer them and forbid them not. They see my Father’s face. O Father, blessed words!

Thus, the rustling of an Angel’s wings got blended with the other echoes, and they were not wholly of earth, but had in them that breath of Heaven. Sighs of the winds that blew over a little garden-tomb were mingled with them also, and both were audible to Lucie, in a hushed murmur—like the breathing of a summer sea asleep upon a sandy shore—as the little Lucie, comically studious at the task of the morning, or dressing a doll at her mother’s footstool, chattered in the tongues of the Two Cities that were blended in her life.

The Echoes rarely answered to the actual tread of Sydney Carton. Some half-dozen times a year, at most, he claimed his privilege of coming in uninvited, and would sit among them through the evening, as he had once done often. He never came there heated with wine. And one other thing regarding him was whispered in the echoes, which has been whispered by all true echoes for ages and ages.

No man ever really loved a woman, lost her, and knew her with a blameless though an unchanged mind, when she was a wife and a mother, but her children had a strange sympathy with him—an instinctive delicacy of pity for him. What fine hidden sensibilities are touched in such a case, no echoes tell; but it is so, and it was so here. Carton was the first stranger to whom little Lucie held out her chubby arms, and he kept his place with her as she grew. The little boy had spoken of him, almost at the last. “Poor Carton! Kiss him for me!”

Mr. Stryver shouldered his way through the law, like some great engine forcing itself through turbid water, and dragged his useful friend in his wake, like a boat towed astern. As the boat so favoured is usually in a rough plight, and mostly under water, so, Sydney had a swamped life of it. But, easy and strong custom, unhappily so much easier and stronger in him than any stimulating sense of desert or disgrace, made it the life he was to lead; and he no more thought of emerging from his state of lion’s jackal, than any real jackal may be supposed to think of rising to be a lion. Stryver was rich; had married a florid widow with property and three boys, who had nothing particularly shining about them but the straight hair of their dumpling heads.

These three young gentlemen, Mr. Stryver, exuding patronage of the most offensive quality from every pore, had walked before him like three sheep to the quiet corner in Soho, and had offered as pupils to Lucie’s husband: delicately saying “Halloa! here are three lumps of bread-and-cheese towards your matrimonial picnic, Darnay!” The polite rejection of the three lumps of bread-and-cheese had quite bloated Mr. Stryver with indignation, which he afterwards turned to account in the training of the young gentlemen, by directing them to beware of the pride of Beggars, like that tutor-fellow. He was also in the habit of declaiming to Mrs. Stryver, over his full-bodied wine, on the arts Mrs. Darnay had once put in practice to “catch” him, and on the diamond-cut-diamond arts in himself, madam, which had rendered him “not to be caught.” Some of his King’s Bench familiars, who were occasionally parties to the full-bodied wine and the lie, excused him for the latter by saying that he had told it so often, that he believed it himself—which is surely such an incorrigible aggravation of an originally bad offence, as to justify any such offender’s being carried off to some suitably retired spot, and there hanged out of the way.

These were among the echoes to which Lucie, sometimes pensive, sometimes amused and laughing, listened in the echoing corner, until her little daughter was six years old. How near to her heart the echoes of her child’s tread came, and those of her own dear father’s, always active and self-possessed, and those of her dear husband’s, need not be told. Nor, how the lightest echo of their united home, directed by herself with such a wise and elegant thrift that it was more abundant than any waste, was music to her. Nor, how there were echoes all about her, sweet in her ears, of the many times her father had told her that he found her more devoted to him married (if that could be) than single, and of the many times her husband had said to her that no cares and duties seemed to divide her love for him or her help to him, and asked her “What is the magic secret, my darling, of your being everything to all of us, as if there were only one of us, yet never seeming to be hurried, or to have too much to do?”

But, there were other echoes, from a distance, that rumbled menacingly in the corner all through this space of time. And it was now, about little Lucie’s sixth birthday, that they began to have an awful sound, as of a great storm in France with a dreadful sea rising.

On a night in mid-July, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine, Mr. Lorry came in late, from Tellson’s, and sat himself down by Lucie and her husband in the dark window. It was a hot, wild night, and they were all three reminded of the old Sunday night when they had looked at the lightning from the same place.

“I began to think,” said Mr. Lorry, pushing his brown wig back, “that I should have to pass the night at Tellson’s. We have been so full of business all day, that we have not known what to do first, or which way to turn. There is such an uneasiness in Paris, that we have actually a run of confidence upon us! Our customers over there, seem not to be able to confide their property to us fast enough. There is positively a mania among some of them for sending it to England.”

“That has a bad look,” said Darnay—

“A bad look, you say, my dear Darnay? Yes, but we don’t know what reason there is in it. People are so unreasonable! Some of us at Tellson’s are getting old, and we really can’t be troubled out of the ordinary course without due occasion.”

“Still,” said Darnay, “you know how gloomy and threatening the sky is.”

“I know that, to be sure,” assented Mr. Lorry, trying to persuade himself that his sweet temper was soured, and that he grumbled, “but I am determined to be peevish after my long day’s botheration. Where is Manette?”

“Here he is,” said the Doctor, entering the dark room at the moment.

“I am quite glad you are at home; for these hurries and forebodings by which I have been surrounded all day long, have made me nervous without reason. You are not going out, I hope?”

“No; I am going to play backgammon with you, if you like,” said the Doctor.

“I don’t think I do like, if I may speak my mind. I am not fit to be pitted against you to-night. Is the teaboard still there, Lucie? I can’t see.”

“Of course, it has been kept for you.”

“Thank ye, my dear. The precious child is safe in bed?”

“And sleeping soundly.”

“That’s right; all safe and well! I don’t know why anything should be otherwise than safe and well here, thank God; but I have been so put out all day, and I am not as young as I was! My tea, my dear! Thank ye. Now, come and take your place in the circle, and let us sit quiet, and hear the echoes about which you have your theory.”

“Not a theory; it was a fancy.”

“A fancy, then, my wise pet,” said Mr. Lorry, patting her hand. “They are very numerous and very loud, though, are they not? Only hear them!”

Headlong, mad, and dangerous footsteps to force their way into anybody’s life, footsteps not easily made clean again if once stained red, the footsteps raging in Saint Antoine afar off, as the little circle sat in the dark London window.

Saint Antoine had been, that morning, a vast dusky mass of scarecrows heaving to and fro, with frequent gleams of light above the billowy heads, where steel blades and bayonets shone in the sun. A tremendous roar arose from the throat of Saint Antoine, and a forest of naked arms struggled in the air like shrivelled branches of trees in a winter wind: all the fingers convulsively clutching at every weapon or semblance of a weapon that was thrown up from the depths below, no matter how far off.

Who gave them out, whence they last came, where they began, through what agency they crookedly quivered and jerked, scores at a time, over the heads of the crowd, like a kind of lightning, no eye in the throng could have told; but, muskets were being distributed—so were cartridges, powder, and ball, bars of iron and wood, knives, axes, pikes, every weapon that distracted ingenuity could discover or devise. People who could lay hold of nothing else, set themselves with bleeding hands to force stones and bricks out of their places in walls. Every pulse and heart in Saint Antoine was on high-fever strain and at high-fever heat. Every living creature there held life as of no account, and was demented with a passionate readiness to sacrifice it.

As a whirlpool of boiling waters has a centre point, so, all this raging circled round Defarge’s wine-shop, and every human drop in the caldron had a tendency to be sucked towards the vortex where Defarge himself, already begrimed with gunpowder and sweat, issued orders, issued arms, thrust this man back, dragged this man forward, disarmed one to arm another, laboured and strove in the thickest of the uproar.

“Keep near to me, Jacques Three,” cried Defarge; “and do you, Jacques One and Two, separate and put yourselves at the head of as many of these patriots as you can. Where is my wife?”

“Eh, well! Here you see me!” said madame, composed as ever, but not knitting to-day. Madame’s resolute right hand was occupied with an axe, in place of the usual softer implements, and in her girdle were a pistol and a cruel knife.

“Where do you go, my wife?”

“I go,” said madame, “with you at present. You shall see me at the head of women, by-and-bye.”

“Come, then!” cried Defarge, in a resounding voice. “Patriots and friends, we are ready! The Bastille!”

With a roar that sounded as if all the breath in France had been shaped into the detested word, the living sea rose, wave on wave, depth on depth, and overflowed the city to that point. Alarm-bells ringing, drums beating, the sea raging and thundering on its new beach, the attack began.

Deep ditches, double drawbridge, massive stone walls, eight great towers, cannon, muskets, fire and smoke. Through the fire and through the smoke—in the fire and in the smoke, for the sea cast him up against a cannon, and on the instant he became a cannonier—Defarge of the wine-shop worked like a manful soldier, Two fierce hours.

Deep ditch, single drawbridge, massive stone walls, eight great towers, cannon, muskets, fire and smoke. One drawbridge down! “Work, comrades all, work! Work, Jacques One, Jacques Two, Jacques One Thousand, Jacques Two Thousand, Jacques Five-and-Twenty Thousand; in the name of all the Angels or the Devils—which you prefer—work!” Thus Defarge of the wine-shop, still at his gun, which had long grown hot.

“To me, women!” cried madame his wife. “What! We can kill as well as the men when the place is taken!” And to her, with a shrill thirsty cry, trooping women variously armed, but all armed alike in hunger and revenge.

Cannon, muskets, fire and smoke; but, still the deep ditch, the single drawbridge, the massive stone walls, and the eight great towers. Slight displacements of the raging sea, made by the falling wounded. Flashing weapons, blazing torches, smoking waggonloads of wet straw, hard work at neighbouring barricades in all directions, shrieks, volleys, execrations, bravery without stint, boom smash and rattle, and the furious sounding of the living sea; but, still the deep ditch, and the single drawbridge, and the massive stone walls, and the eight great towers, and still Defarge of the wine-shop at his gun, grown doubly hot by the service of Four fierce hours.

A white flag from within the fortress, and a parley—this dimly perceptible through the raging storm, nothing audible in it—suddenly the sea rose immeasurably wider and higher, and swept Defarge of the wine-shop over the lowered drawbridge, past the massive stone outer walls, in among the eight great towers surrendered!

So resistless was the force of the ocean bearing him on, that even to draw his breath or turn his head was as impracticable as if he had been struggling in the surf at the South Sea, until he was landed in the outer courtyard of the Bastille. There, against an angle of a wall, he made a struggle to look about him. Jacques Three was nearly at his side; Madame Defarge, still heading some of her women, was visible in the inner distance, and her knife was in her hand. Everywhere was tumult, exultation, deafening and maniacal bewilderment, astounding noise, yet furious dumb-show.

“The Prisoners!”

“The Records!”

“The secret cells!”

“The instruments of torture!”

“The Prisoners!”

Of all these cries, and ten thousand incoherences, “The Prisoners!” was the cry most taken up by the sea that rushed in, as if there were an eternity of people, as well as of time and space. When the foremost billows rolled past, bearing the prison officers with them, and threatening them all with instant death if any secret nook remained undisclosed, Defarge laid his strong hand on the breast of one of these men—a man with a grey head, who had a lighted torch in his hand—separated him from the rest, and got him between himself and the wall.

“Show me the North Tower!” said Defarge. “Quick!”

“I will faithfully,” replied the man, “if you will come with me. But there is no one there.”

“What is the meaning of One Hundred and Five, North Tower?” asked Defarge. “Quick!”

“The meaning, monsieur?”

“Does it mean a captive, or a place of captivity? Or do you mean that I shall strike you dead?”

“Kill him!” croaked Jacques Three, who had come close up.

“Monsieur, it is a cell.”

“Show it me!”

“Pass this way, then.”

Jacques Three, with his usual craving on him, and evidently disappointed by the dialogue taking a turn that did not seem to promise bloodshed, held by Defarge’s arm as he held by the turnkey’s. Their three heads had been close together during this brief discourse, and it had been as much as they could do to hear one another, even then: so tremendous was the noise of the living ocean, in its irruption into the Fortress, and its inundation of the courts and passages and staircases. All around outside, too, it beat the walls with a deep, hoarse roar, from which, occasionally, some partial shouts of tumult broke and leaped into the air like spray.

Through gloomy vaults where the light of day had never shone, past hideous doors of dark dens and cages, down cavernous flights of steps, and again up steep rugged ascents of stone and brick, more like dry waterfalls than staircases, Defarge, the turnkey, and Jacques Three, linked hand and arm, went with all the speed they could make. Here and there, especially at first, the inundation started on them and swept by; but when they had done descending, and were winding and climbing up a tower, they were alone. Hemmed in here by the massive thickness of walls and arches, the storm within the fortress and without was only audible to them in a dull, subdued way, as if the noise out of which they had come had almost destroyed their sense of hearing.

The turnkey stopped at a low door, put a key in a clashing lock, swung the door slowly open, and said, as they all bent their heads and passed in:

“One hundred and five, North Tower!”

There was a small, heavily-grated, unglazed window high in the wall, with a stone screen before it, so that the sky could be only seen by stooping low and looking up. There was a small chimney, heavily barred across, a few feet within. There was a heap of old feathery wood-ashes on the hearth. There was a stool, and table, and a straw bed. There were the four blackened walls, and a rusted iron ring in one of them.

“Pass that torch slowly along these walls, that I may see them,” said Defarge to the turnkey.

The man obeyed, and Defarge followed the light closely with his eyes.

“Stop!—Look here, Jacques!”

“A. M.!” croaked Jacques Three, as he read greedily.

“Alexandre Manette,” said Defarge in his ear, following the letters with his swart forefinger, deeply engrained with gunpowder. “And here he wrote ‘a poor physician.’ And it was he, without doubt, who scratched a calendar on this stone. What is that in your hand? A crowbar? Give it me!”

He had still the linstock of his gun in his own hand. He made a sudden exchange of the two instruments, and turning on the worm-eaten stool and table, beat them to pieces in a few blows.

“Hold the light higher!” he said, wrathfully, to the turnkey. “Look among those fragments with care, Jacques. And see! Here is my knife,” throwing it to him; “rip open that bed, and search the straw. Hold the light higher, you!”

With a menacing look at the turnkey he crawled upon the hearth, and, peering up the chimney, struck and prised at its sides with the crowbar, and worked at the iron grating across it. In a few minutes, some mortar and dust came dropping down, which he averted his face to avoid; and in it, and in the old wood-ashes, and in a crevice in the chimney into which his weapon had slipped or wrought itself, he groped with a cautious touch.

“Nothing in the wood, and nothing in the straw, Jacques?”

“Nothing.”

“Let us collect them together, in the middle of the cell. So! Light them, you!”

The turnkey fired the little pile, which blazed high and hot. Stooping again to come out at the low-arched door, they left it burning, and retraced their way to the courtyard; seeming to recover their sense of hearing as they came down, until they were in the raging flood once more.

They found it surging and tossing, in quest of Defarge himself. Saint Antoine was clamorous to have its wine-shop keeper foremost in the guard upon the governor who had defended the Bastille and shot the people. Otherwise, the governor would not be marched to the Hotel de Ville for judgment. Otherwise, the governor would escape, and the people’s blood (suddenly of some value, after many years of worthlessness) be unavenged.

In the howling universe of passion and contention that seemed to encompass this grim old officer conspicuous in his grey coat and red decoration, there was but one quite steady figure, and that was a woman’s. “See, there is my husband!” she cried, pointing him out. “See Defarge!” She stood immovable close to the grim old officer, and remained immovable close to him; remained immovable close to him through the streets, as Defarge and the rest bore him along; remained immovable close to him when he was got near his destination, and began to be struck at from behind; remained immovable close to him when the long-gathering rain of stabs and blows fell heavy; was so close to him when he dropped dead under it, that, suddenly animated, she put her foot upon his neck, and with her cruel knife—long ready—hewed off his head.

The hour was come, when Saint Antoine was to execute his horrible idea of hoisting up men for lamps to show what he could be and do. Saint Antoine’s blood was up, and the blood of tyranny and domination by the iron hand was down—down on the steps of the Hotel de Ville where the governor’s body lay—down on the sole of the shoe of Madame Defarge where she had trodden on the body to steady it for mutilation. “Lower the lamp yonder!” cried Saint Antoine, after glaring round for a new means of death; “here is one of his soldiers to be left on guard!” The swinging sentinel was posted, and the sea rushed on.

The sea of black and threatening waters, and of destructive upheaving of wave against wave, whose depths were yet unfathomed and whose forces were yet unknown. The remorseless sea of turbulently swaying shapes, voices of vengeance, and faces hardened in the furnaces of suffering until the touch of pity could make no mark on them.

But, in the ocean of faces where every fierce and furious expression was in vivid life, there were two groups of faces—each seven in number—so fixedly contrasting with the rest, that never did sea roll which bore more memorable wrecks with it. Seven faces of prisoners, suddenly released by the storm that had burst their tomb, were carried high overhead: all scared, all lost, all wondering and amazed, as if the Last Day were come, and those who rejoiced around them were lost spirits. Other seven faces there were, carried higher, seven dead faces, whose drooping eyelids and half-seen eyes awaited the Last Day. Impassive faces, yet with a suspended—not an abolished—expression on them; faces, rather, in a fearful pause, as having yet to raise the dropped lids of the eyes, and bear witness with the bloodless lips, “Thou Didst It!”

Seven prisoners released, seven gory heads on pikes, the keys of the accursed fortress of the eight strong towers, some discovered letters and other memorials of prisoners of old time, long dead of broken hearts,—such, and such—like, the loudly echoing footsteps of Saint Antoine escort through the Paris streets in mid-July, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine. Now, Heaven defeat the fancy of Lucie Darnay, and keep these feet far out of her life! For, they are headlong, mad, and dangerous; and in the years so long after the breaking of the cask at Defarge’s wine-shop door, they are not easily purified when once stained red.

[bizarrequazar]

GJ and ZZH Updates — July 31-August 6

<<< previous week || all posts || following week >>>

This is part of a weekly series collecting updates from and relating to Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan.

This post is not wholly comprehensive and is intended as an overview, links provided lead to further details. Dates are in accordance with China Standard Time, the organization is chronological. My own biases on some things are reflected here. Anything I include that is not concretely known is indicated as such, and you’re welcome to do your own research and draw your own conclusions as you see fit. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or additions. :)

[Glossary of names and terms]  [Masterlist of my posts about the situation with Zhang Zhehan]

Addition to 07-30 I missed: A rumor was spread online originating from a supposed staff member of Back to Field that one of the guests used to be a sex worker (“duck”). This led to slander against Gong Jun, connecting it to slander previously spread by Sophie and co.. Back to Field did not post any official statement about this other than to say they were disappointed that people were more preoccupied by this than the show itself.

07-31 → A Twitter space was held reviewing old candy! [recording] [written notes]

→ Gong Jun posted a photo ad he did for L’Oreal. Caption: “In the midsummer of the heart, apply #L'Oreal Water Light Skin Sunscreen# to start the date. Love and sun protection should continue to be online! Enjoy summer lightly with @L'OrealParis!

→ Dragon TV posted stills from Go Fighting! episode 5, including one featuring Gong Jun.

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted his schedule for August: Only drama filming, no public schedule. Caption: “Ding! Boss @Gong Jun Simon's August itinerary is coming 😎 The beginning of autumn is approaching, and the heat is hard to stop. The small room reminds everyone to pay attention to heatstroke prevention and cooling!“ Fan Observation: His eyes are closed in the picture. 

→ A Zhihu account that some have previously questioned as possibly being either Gong Jun or Zhang Zhehan posted a photo of someone taking a photo of a frog plushie, cropped so only the person’s hands are visible. Caption: “Don’t worry about the duck, just like this a little bit, love yourself 100%”  Fan Observations:  -  Frogs are a common qixi gift.  -  Some people who made posts comparing the hands to Zhang Zhehan’s had their posts deleted and accounts banned.

08-01 → Gong Jun reposted a post by CCTV for the People’s Liberation Army’s 95th anniversary. Caption: “Thank you Chinese soldiers, thank you for your protection, salute!“

→ Gong Jun’s studio reposted the same post. Caption: “Loyal guard, fearless forward. Tribute to Chinese soldiers with boss @Gong Jun Simon!”

→ BEAST made a post on WeChat for their Qixi product line. In it, they included “Remembering that we couldn't spend the previous Qixi together as we were at different places I even secretly childishly cried, and was angry at him. He promised that he'll give me a surprise next Qixi." [quoted translation] Later in the post, there were also the lines “Love is separated by the mountains and seas / The mountains and seas can be flattened” Fan Observations:  -  Qixi 2021 was 08-14.  -  During the 05-04 concert livestream, Zhang Zhehan chose to show off a fanmade banner with the same phrase, saying it was related to his family.

→ The Supreme People’s Procuratorate posted an announcement about the anti-monopoly law that went into effect that day. One of their focuses was said to be Internet anti-monopoly litagation, with public prosecutors now allowed to launch civil antitrust lawsuits out of public interest. [summary translation]

→ The Instagram posted five pictures of “Zhang Zhehan” and “Zhang Mama” working out.

08-02 → #JunZhe trended on Twitter throughout the day.

→  #Gong Jun Fox Spirit Matchmaker white clothes# was on Weibo’s hotsearch after some very pretty behind the scenes photos leaked.

→ Mengniu posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun. The caption includes: “🌹 Love has no limits ... I want to watch the sunrise and sunset with you, and I want to taste the world's delicious food with you 💗 There is no need to wait for heartbeats ... unlock the romance related to you~”

→ Tiffany & Co. posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ Colgate posted two photo ads [here] and [here] featuring Gong Jun.

→ #JusticeforZhangZhehan trended on Twitter, organized by Instagram-believers. The tweets within it were mainly focused on promoting Zhang Sanjian and the teashop, as well as pointing blame towards Gong Jun.

08-03 → Both Gong Jun and his studio reposted a post by CCTV with the hashtag #only one China#

→ Gong Jun posted a promotional video for Marrsgreen to his Douyin. [subbed video]

→ Instagram-believers asked everyone to delete videos have have been going around of Zhang Zhehan working out and boxing from a unreleased Taobao vlog filmed last year. This was presumably so the videos wouldn’t be compared to the (starkly different) videos of Zhang Sanjian boxing. Here are the videos, sharing them is encouraged: [warm up] [boxing] [floor exercises]

→  Four billboards of Gong Jun’s ad campaign with BEAST were installed at an airport.

→ Addition made 08-11: MUJOSH posted one of the photo ads featuring Gong Jun with their limited edition glasses to their Instagram. 

08-04 (Qixi) → #LoveGongJun trended on Twitter, a hashtag made in direct response to the slander in the #JusticeforZhangZhehan tag. #JusticeforZhangZhehan continued to trend.

→ Kangshifu posted an audio clip featuring Gong Jun.

→ Gong Jun’s studio commented on the post of his schedule for this month with an update: Variety show filming on 08-10 to finish up Go Fighting!.

→ Gong Jun posted the Marrsgreen video to his personal Weibo, later reposted by Marrsgreen. Marrsgreen later also posted nine illustrated pfps and a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ Mengniu posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun. (1129 kadian) The caption included, “It's more than the Qixi Festival, I want to be with you all day and night~ Savor every bit of the relationship, some tastes only we can understand. So romantic with you for three meals and four seasons.”

→ Gong Jun posted a commercial for Kangshifu to his personal Weibo, later reposted by Kangshifu.

→ Tiffany & Co. posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ Gong Jun followed Yang Mi, his co-star for Fox Spirit Matchmaker, on Weibo.

→ Hsu Fu Chi posted three Qixi pfps featuring Gong Jun.

→ Legend of AnLe’s Weibo posted a new promotional still featuring Gong Jun and Dilireba.

→Colgate posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

08-05 → #TheRealZhangZhehan trended on Twitter, #JusticeforZhangZhehan continued to trend.

→ CPFs donated over ¥87,000 to the Beijing Yangfan Public Welfare Foundation in the name of Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan’s fans.

08-06 → Kangshifu made a post about a collaboration with Nivea that is running from 08-05 to 08-11. Nivea’s own post about it referred to someone as Maomao, a popular fan nickname for Zhang Zhehan; Nivea previously endorsed Zhang Zhehan prior to 813. It is not currently known if there is any significance to this.

→ Gong Jun liked a douyin about an old woman who runs a streetfood stall, in which she says her operating hours are from 5 to 11. The video’s caption includes, “Don't gossip about others, and be yourself and be happy.”

→ My #ZhangZhehanIsInnocent hashtag event began. [Here] is an archive of my posts for it.

→ Addition made 08-09: The anti that Gong Jun filed a lawsuit against on 21-07-06 and settled with on 04-13 had his public apology posted in Legal Daily as agreed upon.

Additional Reading: → Flora’s daily fan news thread → Sheena is organizing a charity drive from 08-13 to 08-15

<<< previous week || all posts || following week >>>

This post was last edited 2022-08-11.

[thinkingnot]

introducing the great thinker -> me <-

Welcome to the Great Apartment

we are now flat m8s

pronouns: he/him (giggling and twirling my hair)

super cool with any terms to be referred as king, queen, idk hoodie, beez, mister landlord anythin really im cool and love

pseudos: Hoodie/Beez/Fern

mains: Yu Wo (author), Trevor Noah, Priest (author), Rood Chrishi & Kielnode Chrishi & Lanoste & Yujeria (characters from Black Haze the manhwa) and a bit of everyone else (just a dash, a pinch)

(colored means i think about them 24/7 :))

ask, spam notis, message, pop off. i like interactions (not very good at responding might be awkward sorry)

tags list:

#nsfw <- any post/rb that contains explicit implications via wordings, imagery, etc..

#hoodie’s ask <- send asks!!! me answer!!!! :D

#tenant <- for anonymous asks!! :]

#hoodie’s real <- hoodie irl related

#hoodie’s day ratings <- also irl related but im rating it >:)

#correct watcher entertainment quotes <- watcher entertainment hyperfixitation brrrr

batfam fic rec <- yall were right i shouldve got onto the bat train a long time ago dammit (includes: copious danny phantom and spiderman crossover)

#orv correct quotes <- omniscient reader’s viewpoint quotes yoooo

#vomit <- ??? idk ive just realized i talk about vomit way too much might as well as warn ya (i do include a warning tag, the #tw vomit)

#hoodie’s doodles <- it is what it iss

#hoodie reads

#hoodie travels

#thinkingaboutmusic <- where i think abkut music and mostly fangirl over wilbur soot, nf, imagine dragons, mitski & more

#hoodie’s definitions <- i define things for fun

#banish the baddies <- self care, for when you get not nice thoughts and maybe a little bit sad or a lot. i got some little things for you to do or maybe just a distraction. you can reply/rb to these and i will see them or maybe you can do the things in private if you want!!

#fic events things <- i join fic events

#live-fic-react <- haha so im an avid fic reader

#not sponsored but promo for cool shits <- i see good stuffs, i share good stuffs :D

#confession slash jay <- usually accompanied with #or is it cuz i make them when i am in silly goofy mood /lh /hj to all of em’

#correct mcyt quotes <- quotes that are from streams vids or idk any social medias and is canon/real - i will add the source

#fics recs <- uhhhh fics recs :D (me read, they’re good, me recs, they’re probably-definitely all tommyinnit-centric)

#gender <- when i am feeling gender :)

#ranble <- when i randomly ramble

#personal <- ehhhhhh it’s like when i’m bored imma say shit that’s well personal and nobody asked 😎

#hoodie’s art <- when i doodle on the paper and decided to bring it to show and tell

#hoodie’s achievements <- i’ve done things! hooray!! no matter what those things are (ie: felonies, awards, how lonely i am, aged,.etc..)

#hoodie’s lil siblings <- self explanatory

#hoodie’s mc skins <- i made mc skins!

so back on 23rd April my account was bleh

@thinkingaboutaus

@thinkingaboutirlstreams

o7, you’ll be missed

i literally don’t even know how all my blogs just got wiped off i didn’t even do anything

ps: if u recognize me pls tell i forgot all my moots urls ;-;

thanks m8’s

update:

im back babyyyyy

but im too lazy to re-login rn so….. actually….

idk imma just use two accounts from now (probably one on the computer and one on the fone) <- i in fact is still too lazy