#I'm so normal about this theory guys i promise

[jade-gemstone]

Why I think Eden is probably definitely the Mastermind of drdt

Spoilers for everything up to Chapter 2 Episode 11 in DRDT and all of the cannon games (especially V3)

So, I've made quite a few fangan concepts in my time and think I know how to make pretty good mastermind characters. There are a lot of general patterns I've noticed with Eden that make me think that she's a mastermind.

I'm going to start with my weakest evidence and work up to my strongest evidence.

Weakest Evidence (basically just minorly suspicious shit that might have no basis)

She is the first person Teruko meets besides Xander

This one may seem random, but if I recall correctly, in V3, Tsumugi is the first character besides Shuichi that Kaede meets in the prologue. If Eden were to be the Mastermind, it would be an interesting parallel.

Her ultimate is based in proficiency with complex machinery and attention to detail

When building a mastermind character, giving them these traits through their Ultimate makes it easier to explain the construction and maintenance of the monobots and how to game happens without that much going wrong.

The Game and in universe show is called 'Despair Time'

A game called Despair Time with an ultimate clockmaker mastermind just sounds right to me. Also could be clever foreshadowing.

Medium Strength Evidence

Starting drama with Arei in chapter 1

Not 'inviting' Arei to the baking thing in chapter 1, while presented as an accident, also brought out the worst in Arei. It also started the chain of events that led to Arei wanting to be nicer to Eden. This eventually led her to being the victim in chapter 2. As a mastermind, Eden could have planned this in order to keep the game interesting and moving quickly.

Strongest Evidence

She is the ONLY one to actively defend Teruko in the chapter 1 trial

While this could be seen as a demonstration of her kind and naive nature, it is strange that she only brought it up during the trial.

This line from Hu implies that a full group discussion took place, and that everyone was fully in agreement. Why would Eden only begin voicing her concerns about Teruko's side of the story during the trial? And while she does do the same for Min later on in the trial, this is after much more evidence has been stacked against Min, and is done much less insistently.

A mastermind would want to keep their game going, and the participants voting the wrong culprit in the first trial would completely ruin it. Her defending Teruko is not outside the realm of believability for the persona she puts on, making it not suspicious for her to do so.

The chapter 2 opening

The opening of chapter 2 is literally Eden monologuing to the camera. None of her dialogue is internal, as it is shown through white text, and we are likely seeing this from the canonical audience's point of view. I think it's weird that this is an outward monologue instead of an internal one. Unless you consider that someone needs to open this new segment of the show in context. And who would be best at it and know exactly what to say? The Mastermind.

Possible Detractions

Her emotional arc and heavy involvement in chapter 2

Masterminds are not usually heavily involved in cases or possible culprits, nor are they likely to have emotional arcs. Her involvement in chapter 2 does go against this trend. However, this is simply a trend and not a rule. It's entirely possible that Eden is an exception.

The Entire Literature Girl Insane mv

At this point, David is such an obvious mastermind red herring that I feel kind of sad for people who think he's the Mastermind. No one has their mastermind go batshit before they're revealed as the Mastermind. I do have a different theory about his role in the story that I think is more likely that I might share one day that I believe is supported by the LGI mv.

The Personal Reason I think Eden should be the Mastermind

Autistic Lesbians deserve to be a little bit evil. As a treat.

I am tired of getting all of my insane character representation in characters like David. I want to be able to tell people that I kin Eden and have them completely grasp that I am fun and nice but also a little crazy.

These are just my personal opinion and observations. Watch the Mastermind be like Arturo or something.

[mcflymemes]

NATIONAL TREASURE (2004) PROMPTS *  assorted dialogue from the film, adjust as necessary

i'm gonna steal it.

who wants to go down the creepy tunnel inside the tomb first?

if it's any consolation, you had me convinced.

you're not hurt, are you?

i am so getting fired for this.

is there a question in there?

we have no money.

how about a bribe?

it was cool. you should try it sometime.

we can't go back there.

i've never been so happy to be proven wrong.

you handled that well.

are you trying to steal that?

it's thirty-five dollars.

you know the key to running a convincing bluff? every once in a while you've got to be holding all the cards.

stop talking. start the van.

you're treasure hunters, aren't you?

i'm still working on it.

why don't you just come back down here and we can talk through this together.

don't speak again.

is that the hot girl?

are you with me?

what do you think? i'm a hostage.

do you trust me?

once we catch them, what do we do?

is this real?

i made something for you.

tell me what i need to know.

just another clue.

i can explain, but i don't have time.

i wasted 20 years of my life, and now you've destroyed yours.

what was the secret?

i found something!

i broke a shoelace this morning.

it can't be done.

i understand your bitterness. i really do.

i want you to have a chance to do that.

i've got some duct tape in the back.

promise you won't be any trouble.

i finally figured it out.

the treasure is a myth.

we need more juice.

you're all lunatics!

still a little on edge from being shot at, but i'll be okay. thanks for asking.

see? okay? now could you please stop shouting?

give me that!

you would do well, [name], to be a little more civilized in this instance.

who were those men?

we did the only thing we could do to keep it safe.

we probably deserved that.

i was thinking, what if we go public? plaster the story all over the internet.

it's not like we have our reputations to worry about.

people don't talk that way anymore.

beautiful, huh?

i have no idea what you said.

if there's something wrong, those who have the ability to take action have the responsibility to take action.

what do you see?

what time is it now?

we missed it.

i know something about history that you don't.

i'd be very excited to learn about it.

hold on one second. let me just take in this moment.

this is cool. is this how you feel all the time?

[name], you're a genius.

how do a bunch of guys with hand tools build all this?

the aliens helped them.

i volunteered.

it's invisible.

i'm sorry for your suffering.

when are we gonna get there?

i'm hungry. this car smells weird.

i'm so sorry i dropped you.

i would have done exactly the same to you.

why can't they just say "go to this place, here's the treasure, spend it wisely?"

anyone crazy enough to believe us isn't gonna want to help.

we don't need someone crazy.

[name], are you crying?

look. stairs.

i'm guessing that's significant.

i'm just trying to hide from my ex-husband.

stay as long as you like.

you want something?

i see what you left him.

this isn't a day for "um."

we didn't find the information credible.

well, this might be possible.

i leveled with you one hundred percent.

everything i told you was the truth.

it's not a conspiracy theory.

you know what? i take it back.

i'm in a little trouble.

this... is huge.

you are gonna go to prison. you know that, right?

that would bother most people.

you know what you have to do.

i'm just trying to think if there's anything else we could do.

i'm not letting it out of my sight.

how do you look?

a toast to high treason.

here's to the men who did what was considered wrong in order to do what they knew was right.

why do you need them?

look... this is a waste of time.

i'm still not against you.

i really couldn't accept something like this normally.

we don't actually have it.

did bigfoot take it?

is there a door that doesn't lead to prison?

get out of there. get out of there now!

[name], can you hear me?

can i marry your brain?

our evil plan is working.

why does that never happen to me?

meet me at the car. call me if you have any problems.

no broken bones?

a jump like that could kill a man.

[jamiepaige]

Constant Companions Closeup #3: ROT FOR CLOUT

(also on bandcamp and spotify!)

WHAT'S going on guys, welcome back to another Constant Companions Closeup, the show where we take a DEEP DIVE into what makes these tunes tick! Last episode, we went aaaaaall the way there on Not Quite There, and today, we're making that liggity-line go up up up up up with ROT FOR CLOUT featuring VISUALEYES!! Before we get started, remember to SMASH that like button, SLAM subscribe, and FUCK the bell icon. This week's community challenge: leave your credit card info in the comments! Bet you won't!

(*cough*)

---

I check my notifications way too fucking much. It's a habit I'm trying to curb, and to my credit, I am doing better lately, but being chemically predisposed to dopamine deficiencies has done a number on my ability to go five minutes without checking the funny glowing numbers on my phone. Naturally, I also very much seek more validation than I should from the opinions of strangers yadayadayada yeah that's what the song is about but none of that actually has to do with why I started writing this song in the first place.

Have you ever taken a flight with American Airlines?

This was after waking up at 4 in the morning to fly out of Houston thinking I'd be napping on a couch in Ohio by 2 pm at the latest.

I want to make one thing clear here, and that's that I made this bed for myself. Tucked the sheets in and all. You see, on the rare occasions I fly, I normally take Southwest. Southwest does not overbook flights like a lot of other airlines do, so it's a practice I am mostly unfamiliar with. So, when I received a notification on my phone promising genuinely ridiculous amounts of flight credit money in exchange for taking a slightly later flight, I thought - well, shit! That sounds nice!

This is how they trick you. I didn't really realize I'd been tricked until I was on my second flight of the day, sitting in a middle seat at the very back of the plane, heading from Dallas, a city I don't live in, to Washington, DC, a city I was not trying to get to, staring down the barrel of another flight I was destined to get on that had been delayed like two fucking hours.

I became the Joker. All I could do to remain sane was write a song about it. This is how ROT FOR CLOUT came to be.

I guess the moral of the story is this: Don't go to Ohio. And to answer your question,

Yes I am

Not really

No

---

This is a complete sidenote but I want to mention it here: I'm genuinely overjoyed at the amount of people excitedly talking about my songwriting or the intention behind my lyrics. For a long time, it really felt like lyricism was the last thing people cared about from me, while it was always the thing I wanted to take pride in the most... So genuinely, thank you everyone for caring!! Every single fire emoji people have put next to a line I've written has extended my lifespan by multiple years

There's a brief little moment where the song's chords leave the key, doing a really stereotypically jazzy 2-5 movement, and it's one of my favorite parts of the entire song. I'm not really a music theory buff or anything, and I'm certainly not formally trained, but I've always been very passionate about more complicated harmony in otherwise poppy and accessible contexts - bo en's album pale machine really rewrote my brain when I first heard it.

On that note, there are microtones in the vocal melody - During the chorus, some of the rapidly repeated words move up in quarter tones! Possibly the simplest way I could've included microtonality, but I'm genuinely afraid if I learn more than what I already know about it I'll be lost to the darkness.

Obviously, the work of Sasuke Haraguchi was a massive influence on this song, particularly the song Igaku. I think basically everyone on the entire planet has picked up on that at this point, but I do also wanna point out some other songs that were on my mind at the time! (two for three on these posts mentioning louis cole now)

I'd also like to take a moment to spotlight the vocal samples on this! They previously appeared on エビチャーハン!, and they've honestly become some of my favorite samples to throw in things. They're also just a fucking goldmine sincerely

Finally, HUGE thanks to Visualeyes for the delightful synth solo on this!! I had put out a call on Twitter looking for instrumentalists, genuinely originally envisioning a super jazzy piano solo, but their synth playing genuinely brought the whole song together perfectly!

That's about it for this song - though again, if there are any more questions people have, I'd be happy to answer them in the replies to this post or elsewhere!! (*ahem*) THAT'S gonna do it for today's video, folks! Feel free to leave a like, comment, hit the subscribe button for more and click the bell so you don't miss any new videos. Tomorrow? I Wish That I Could Fall. it hurts.

[bluemooniegif]

Let's talk about Coats in Bungou Stray Dogs, and what they mean

[i.e. a repost of perhaps my most famous BSD analysis ever]

Mild spoilers for Beast, Dark Era, and Dazai, Chuuya, 15 ahead! (I'm thinking of posting an explanation of how the Beast Universe works soon anyway... lmk if that's something you'd like!)

If you've come across this theory before (uve most likely seen me talk about it on tiktok or youtube), you've probably heard already that the coat or outerwear a character is wearing (especially if it's different from the rest of their outfit) is indicative of the persona that they're trying to project.

You may have noticed, for example, that the colour and the way that Dazai wears his coat changes depending on the organisation and universe he's in. Let's start by taking a look at his Port Mafia outfit from the Canon universe:

As you look, remember that Dazai joined the Port Mafia against his will. He only joins because Mori promises that if he's useful to him, he'll provide Dazai with a quick and painless way to die:

And now I want to get into why Dazai doesn't actually want to die, but that's a whole other post for a later time.

So, Dazai joins the Mafia, rather begrudgingly, and dons the relevant 'uniform' as he does. This is necessary to show Mori and he other members of the PM that he is committing to the role; it is necessary for survival.

The important thing to note here, however, is that he wears his coat off-the-shoulder. Of course, this could just be chalked up to the questionable fashion standards of teenage boys, but when we consider that the coat is like a representation of the Mafia's values... it becomes an indication that Dazai is putting on a persona; one that he's ready to throw away at the drop of a hat. The are three reasons I know this is how he feels for sure:

we saw the exact moment Mori recruited him, and how reluctant he was to join;

he actually did throw it all away the second he had the chance;

Beast. let me explain.

Have a look at Dazai's outfit in Beast, where he takes on the role of Mafia Boss:

There are several notable differences here, but for a moment I just want to focus on the fact that he's wearing his coat properly. That was the one thing that really struck me as significant the first time I read BEAST: in the world where Dazai has to fully commit to the role if he wants his plans to work out, he pushes himself to play the part, regardless of how he feels.

The next huge difference lies in the bandages: here, his left eye is covered, whereas in the Canon manga his right eye is covered. There are several theories we could derive from this: a popular one is that each eye represents light and dark, respectively. In the Canon universe, Dazai covered the eye that saw the light, so he could more easily resign himself to living in darkness. Then, Oda pulled the bandages away, and he found himself running towards the light. I could talk about this for hours, but for the sake of brevity... ouchies.

Moving on. Another thing to note is that, duh, there's a bigass scarf around his neck here. Why? How? It looks an awful lot like Mori's... which could mean nothing. Just like how his ADA coat looking like Oda's could mean nothing. Haha so normal guys don't even worry about it!!

ANYWAY. Coats. Isn't it interesting that Akutagawa also properly wears his coat (a hand-me-down from Dazai, nonetheless) and spends a vast majority of his time trying to prove that he is worthy of being in such a high position within the PM? Isn't it interesting that his ability, the entire reason he became the Mafia's guard dog, relies on that very coat? His entire personality and reason for living becomes so entrapped within Rashoumon that the two are practically inseparable.

In Beast, when he's given a coat that echoes that of Oda's, he still uses it (via Rashoumon) like a shield, and like a weapon... but he tries to learn how to be more gentle. The beginnings and intentions are almost the same, but the outcomes are totally different. Which is very telling. I'll let you connect the remaining dots on that one.

Now, there is one more Mafioso character who wears his coat off-the-shoulder in Canon. But for some reason, in BEAST, he doesn't wear a coat at all... Strange, right?

I am, of course, talking about Chuuya. And the thing about Chuuya is that defining the representative idea of his coat is much more difficult than it was with Dazai, purely because there was so much going on at the time he joined the Mafia. He was betrayed by his closest family, while simultaneously feeling like he betrayed them. He had no choice but to accept Dazai's offer, which was actually Mori's offer. He'd been backed into this corner by Dazai, but also by the Sheep, and he'd lost everything, but was being offered all the things he used to pine after: answers, protection, relative safety. Maybe even family, something he could devote himself to- but all this lay in the hands of the organisation he'd promised to eradicate. He was going through it, as the poets say.

Personally, if I were to assign his coat with a specific ideal/persona, it would be this: acceptance of the Mafia, and hatred towards Dazai. Just like Dazai, wearing his coat off-the-shoulder indicates that he doesn't fully prescribe to their ideals... but in this instance, it also means that he doesn't truly hate Dazai like he claims.

I know, fork in the kitchen. But I also want to point out something that helps drive this perspective home for me: whenever they fight together, as Soukoku, Chuuya takes his coat off. He has a lot of fighting quirks, actually- he always keeps his hands in his pockets (something that is echoed by Dazai ohmygod I cry whenever I think about it), takes his hat off for Corruption (this is discussed in-depth in Storm Bringer), takes off his gloves when he wants to ramp up Tainted Sorrow. But, just like the coat, this only happens whenever Dazai is around. Chuuya literally and figuratively bares himself to Dazai, which can be read as something necessary for him to be saved by No Longer Human, yes, but it would be remis of anyone to ignore the fact of their trust in one another.

There's one more reason that I think these two ideals are so intertwined: it is, you guessed it, Beast!

The interesting thing is that here, where you'd almost expect him to wear something similar, Chuuya simply doesn't have a coat at all. Why is that?

If we follow the same logic that we did for Dazai, we can assume immediately that Chuuya doesn't want to hide behind a facade here. He has no facade to consider hiding behind. He's honest about his work with the PM, and open about his complex feelings towards Dazai- mostly his hatred, though that manifests purely because he's frustrated; a part of him knows Dazai can be doing better, or working differently, but he can't understand why. Or maybe he does understand why, and this frustrates him even more.

It's extremely complicated, and I feel like the way I've said things makes no sense, but I hope it's at least got you thinking. What does this truly mean for Chuuya? What does it mean for Atsushi, who doesn't wear a coat in canon, but does in Beast?

(I already have a post delving into Atsushi's character design, which I think is genuinely one of the coolest things ever!! I don't discuss Beast in it, but it's a great starting point if you're interested <3)

I feel like I've rambled on too much, but I'm fighting brain fog rn so this is as coherent as it gets. I hope this has helped you learn something, or made you interested in delving deeper into costume design in BSD as a whole. I kiss you mwah!!!

[tommyssupercoolblog]

Wait I thought the "I'm scared" posts were jokes, like "OOOH what are these silly little guys up to now haha you never know". I just realized they weren't??

People are actually worried about the Dan and Phil conspiracy theory idea??? Why??? They've talked about fan stuff before and this is user-submitted so they aren't taking things without permission. They don't have to address anything they don't want to, and we don't have to submit anything we don't want them addressing. They're just chilling???

Also seeing some posts about hard launch and soft launch and wether or not it's okay to wonder if they're dating and I'm like... they're pro-RPF in general and none of these hard launching posts are actually harassing the YouTubers directly (@ ing them, sending them things), it's just people talking about what this video might (Or might not) be, like amongst themselves on tumblr??? And how is that different from what we normally do in this phandom????

"guys this could have IMPLICATIONS" bro...how. if they address it or not, and if they're together or not, that doesn't change anything about how their videos will come out or how the fandom will operate, or their interactions with the fans. If they clarify things then all that changes is their Wikipedia pages. It's okay.

Tldr; if you're genuinely stressed about this then take a deep breath and relax. The biggest conspiracy theory of all is the idea that we should be worried about this! It's going to be okay, promise :3

[wolfiwonderer]

Tonny is sus

In honor of the new chapter and questionable decisions, I'm going to deep dive on Tonny and why I think his innocent look is a front.

He believes he's the good guy (which honestly, confidence in one's righteousness is a red flag that Julia (prev), Tonny, and Sahed all share). The Tonny that he presents cares about each member of the circus, hates taking their lives at the beginning and end, and has sweet innocent thoughts about Julia. I think he really believes that.

I love Tonny as a character btw, super excited to see where this goes.

Tonny does not really care about the people in the circus.

The oldest history we've been told is that they were in a castle. An old woman knew about them and funneled people there for money. Tonny gave them an offer to tie themselves to the castle for eternity to protect them from pursuit.

Okay, but everyone in the castle is miserable. Tonny looks miserable. The people around him do. He clearly isn't too worried about the woman directing people to him. So why is he signing them up when he has been shown that they will break down?

It seems like there must be some kind of compulsion that means Tonny needs to add people to the pact continuously. If he's really burdened by giving them happiness, then he wouldn't sign up for more work.

2. Tonny is not that bothered by taking people's lives.

Okay, first of all, I don't know how you could keep killing people twice and not prove that you don't actually feel bad about it. He has many options other than killing people.

Most of this being bad is predicated on Tonny knowing that there's a cost after their second death, but given how hard he claims to be working to stop people ending their lives (particularly to people who have been around for a while), I think he knows something of it.

Mr. Finnegan is the epitome of Tonny's immoral sign up practices. I have no doubt that Tonny thought he was doing the right thing, but a good 30 second think on Finnegan's motivation shows that it's a terrible idea. The entire reason that Finnegan wants to sign up is to spend more time with his wife. What exactly did Tonny think was going to happen when the wife died? It was going to happen, since he didn't sign both of them up (also, why not?). He had to know that Finnegan was a short term stay.

Mr. Finnegan is the 'youngest' of them all, which makes me wonder how many people have come and gone in the last hundred years. Sahed would probably be somewhere around his age if he aged normally, so he's the next youngest we know outside of Camille and Julia.

Speaking of Sahed, we also know that he made some kind of promise to him that convinced him to sign up.

Sahed has had the same goal for a long time and he thinks Tonny betrayed him. I'm inclined to believe him - even if I'm sure the details of what he asked for were impossible. Tonny agrees with him that Ah'kon deserve equal rights. He also seems sad about the hate against them in a way you don't see from other characters. But, his logic that it is too dangerous to taken them in seems weird when he also took in Dotty while police were after her. Sahed's intake couldn't have been risk free considering he's a legendary level escapee.

I could see this being a savior complex. He 'solves' the problems presented to him with the hammer he has. He signs up to fix problems he can't and then when he doesn't deliver, he hides behind all the other promises he's made. But it's like he' s a married man with a secret family and it's somehow the family's fault he wasn't faithful when they find out about the other.

3. Julia is not safe with Tonny

This is full on theory/prediction and I want to talk about some phone fast pass episodes, so putting it under the cut.

Honestly, Camille kind of called this out in the last episode. Julia has said that Tonny is keeping her close and he has a certain possessiveness. He shows signs of feelings (for no apparent reason than chemistry though? Like do they have much in common? Julia wants to not die but also not be a bad person. Tonny wants ???), and that could be explanation. But I get antsy about a guy who wants a woman to center her life around him. But if that was all, I wouldn't be quite so suspicious of him.

Tonny has admitted that Julia is in the middle between him and someone else, but then, like... doesn't explain. He's said full trust, but she's just hoping he will make her not die, when he has a history of breaking promises (other than killing people, he's got a good record on that, seems to be the go to solution for everyone at the circus). I can't help but think that the reason he hasn't elaborated on the true details of anything to Julia, and likely to everyone, is that it is something horrible.

[i-love-your-mom-kys5snwj]

Helluva Boss Season 2: Apology Tour SPOILERS ⚠️❗

(TW!: OPINION AND BAD ENGLISH)

...

I'm so tired of that bird.

I can't stand his victimizing ass anymore, seriously.

"I don't look down on you, How many times do I?, When have I ever? 🥺🥺"

Bro you literally called him "tty bitty little imp's like you😇" LIKE BRO.?

"You speak just like that vile Striker friend of yours.The one who tried to kill me and you couldn't be bothered to come help me"

OMG, was it because Blitz was busy taking care of his daughter like a normal father would? 😱

Something that Stolas should also do with his daughter, instead of being in his "heartbreak story 🥺🥺🥺🥺"

I can't stand it anymore, I want that bird dead now 💀

Honestly, the episode should have focused more on Verosika than on Stolas (this series always let women belittled and without as much focus ☹️)

I liked Verosika in this episode, and her conversation with Blitz (should have lasted longer than the whole stupid conversation between Blitz and Stolas) And I'm glad to see her throwing a party for the people Blitz hurt, I think it's sweet (But I really feel that this will be her last appearance and we will have to wait a long time to see her again 💀)

I also think that the episode gave emotional development to Blitz and I think that's good 🧍

Now I'll throw shit at Vivzie

Literally first you say that Stolas and Blitz are equally to blame for their relationship, but the entire episode is making Stolas out to be someone who has done nothing wrong, and Blitz being a monster.

And the Blitz hate merch... How the hell do you want us to see that Stolas is also wrong if literally even in the merch they show us Blitz as a son of a bitch who deserves to die? 💀

(and I don't give a shit about that guy who kissed Stolas, I bet he'll just show up there and it won't be anything important)

And the Yuri, that was one of the good things about the episode 🦾

(I would talk more about how I hate Stolas more than usual but I'm tired and I'm sick so that will be for another time ☹️😷)

The good thing is that I won't have this series frustrating its fandom until October 🦾, although there are the promised shorts after this episode but as long as it's not from Stolas (or Stolitz) it's all good 👍

But I really want to see Octavia telling Stolas that he is shit, please 🙏

(nothing to do with Helluva Boss or the episode but If I dare maybe I will share my Vaggie theories/au's? 🦾😋)

[midesastremanifiesto]

I have a theory. The reason why some people don’t like Carlos or hate Carlos is because in this day and age there’s a certain entitlement that fans have towards drivers. They feel entitled to knowing about their personal lives and they feel entitled to knowing every aspect of the driver so if a driver is more reserved or more private like Carlos is, they feel that they don’t have access to his personal life that they feel “entitled” to. Therefore leading to the dislike. However, people that do like Carlos appreciate that he is more reserved or more private and they respect him for it. They typically have more empathy and are nicer to others because they don’t feel entitled to knowing every single aspect of Carlos’ life.

I hate to write essays in english because I promise I am much more eloquent in my mother tongue (duh) and also sometimes I don't want to spend half of the time searching on Google because I don't know what correct preposition I should use or if that word really exists in the english language (a bitch, if you ask me), but I have so much to say about this topic *cracks knuckles*

-First of all, I don't think Carlos is generally hated (not that you said that), in fact, I think he is quite appreciated by actual fans of the sport. Usually when he wins most of the people who are not rabid lecfosi are happy for him, and they see him as a valuable driver and a good person (if we take what people say in social media as a measure, that is)

-For the people who actually "hate" Carlos, I think it mostly comes from being paired with Charles. Charles has an insane amount of fans of only him, not the sport, not Ferrari, just him. I'm sure some of his most insufferable fans don't even like F1, they don't even watch the races (as they prove again and again with their stupid takes). Before him (Carlos) being in Ferrari, he wasn't as hated as now (also because Ferrari is huge so you naturally get more attention, for good things but also bad). One thing that bothers me, actually, is how some of said fans have convinced some people that Carlos is this evil teammate that only wants to ruin Charles' career. But that hate I don't take it seriously, even if it makes me rage sometimes and I like to bitch about it on my blog, because that kind of people treat the drivers as TV characters, and they like to categorize them as such instead of seeing them as real human beings. They love to have a heroe (Charles) and they love to have a villain (Carlos).

-Coming back to your ask especifically... about the privacy, one thing people have to understand is Carlos' dad is very very famous in Spain, and Carlos has been surrounded by cameras since he was a baby, so it's only normal he wants to protect his privacy now (and yes, he has done PR before but I think that's more about getting it done because he is going to get papped anyway so better do it his way, or more... his family way. Also I have a very solid opinion on his relationship with Rebecca and how some people think is PR but I won't elaborate so anyway). I don't know if this makes people hate him, but maybe he is seen a less approachable because of this and people looove to invent stories about things they don't actually know (they do that with everyone, tbf).

-One of the main reasons I think Carlos gets hate (or not even hate, but bad comments from time to time) is that people doesn't really understand his character (I obviously don't know him personally but yk, observation). Carlos is a very introspective guy who likes details and to explain things, and people often see this as him making excuses when in fact he just.likes.to.explain.things.in.detail (a lot). People see this as whining and see him as a loser or as a weak person, and for some that's a very bad trait in F1 (which it is, but Carlos is neither of that).

-Every driver it's PR driven to an extent (every public persona is), but Carlos, for me, is a little less in some aspects. Sometimes I wish he would shut up so he would stop giving fuel to haters, because the more someone says, the more the people (and the press) will take it as an amunition to go against them, but he is who he is, and I also like him for it. He is not going to pretend to be someone he is not, even if he gets hate for that. Some drivers do, I am not going to give names, but I don't think Carlos is that type of person.

[ju-vondy]

Headcanon Gwynriel Scene PART 1

Hey guys. I'm brazilian and this is the first time I'm translating my writing from portuguese to english so please take it easy on me 😅 I hope you all enjoy it! This scene is a part of my fanfiction (which I'm posting currently on Wattpad only in portuguese, but if any of you show interest I may post it in english as well) Good reading... ~*~ Some context before u start reading: The last chapter wass Nesta and Cassian's cerimony and she offered Gwyn to move to the House of Wind because when Cassian leaves for missions she feels way too lonly. ~*~ It was in that last conversation that Gwyn was thinking about when she woke up that weekend. It had been two weeks since Nesta had been away. Gwyn arrived earlier at the training ring each day and spent the afternoons working in the library. In her free time, she read Nesta's improper romances - which she was particularly enjoying.

But in that particular week, Merril was incredibly demanding with the research content, so much so that Gwyn took her manuscripts to her room. She rolled over in bed, thoughtful. What would a normal citizen of Velaris do at the end of the week?

Take a stroll around the city.

And that's what she should do too. But there she was, locked in her room. She had promised herself that she would give it a chance.

But the other part, the one that screamed that everything would go wrong... It was still stronger. Besides, there were the nights when she woke up screaming and crying from a bad nightmare. The fateful day in Sangravah haunted her constantly. The disfigured ghost of her sister, Catrin, used to make the nightmares much worse. She didn't want do bother Nestha with that.

Gwyn huffed at Merrill's research papers and decided she had had enough. She had spent the last twelve hours working on the translation of two ancient tomes and was not seeing any progress. Besides... Weekend meant resting. Gwyn sighed loudly and dropped the pen on the desk.

"By the Mother..." she stretched her arms before getting up from the chair. "I wonder what Merril's next obsession will be after she finally proves her theory of connection between the realms."

Gwyn took a deep breath again as she stopped in front of the window. She put her hands on her waist, thoughtful. The research could wait. And the romance was getting so interesting when she had to stop to focus on the new content for Merril...

The priestess sighed and picked up the book, lying down on her bed. But she couldn't read. Not there. Then she felt tempted to go up to Nesta's private library. The one they had had so much fun making silly requests to the House.

Gwyneth had a better idea: to read outdoors. The sky must be beautiful out there. She could lie down on the training ring that would be empty and...

Yes, that's what she would do.

Without thinking twice, she put on something that would protect her from any possible cold, grabbed what was necessary, and went to the House. The lights were on, but there was no one there. Gwyn vaguely remembered hearing Nesta telling Cassian that while they were away, Azriel would teach in the mornings on weekdays, but on weekends he would cross over to Vallahan to accompany Mor in whatever they were doing.

Gwyn hummed as she headed towards the large arch that led to the roof of the House, but then... He was there.

Gwyn halted her movements before crossing the arch and held her breath as she saw those muscular backs without a shirt to hide the tanned skin. Azriel stopped his blows on the makeshift punching bag and turned his body to look at who was present, even though he already knew to whom that voice and scent belonged.

Gwyn cleared her throat before starting to explain herself:

"Sorry, I... I thought there was no one in the House, and I had this desire to read outdoors, so I thought it wouldn't be a problem if I came up here, but..." she stopped abruptly to catch her breath and continue: "If this is a problem for you, I can go back and..."

"Gwyneth," Azriel interrupted her, holding back a laugh. "You can stay."

The priestess widened her eyes.

"Really?"

"Yes."

Gwyn quietly celebrated.

"Thank you," she smiled, walking towards the covered area. "I'll remember this before cursing you in training tomorrow, Shadowsinger."

Azriel chuckled softly.

"Good reading," he said and, after a brief nod, turned to go to the nearest rock where his shirt was thrown. No Illyrian leather, just casual clothing. Azriel put it on and then focused on the punching bag again.

Gwyn sighed, grateful for the small gesture. She opened her mouth to say that he didn't need to put on the shirt, and that she felt comfortable in his presence — even without knowing the reason — and that furthermore she didn't need anyone's pity, but changed her mind at the last moment.

"I don't bite, you know," Azriel said over his shoulder, offering only a half-smile to the Valkyrie.

Gwyn wanted to smack herself. She was there, busy enough — standing, observing those dressed backs and concluding that she preferred the previous sight — to remember to move and choose a place to settle.

The priestess took a step forward, eyebrows raised.

"For your luck, Shadowsinger, I don't bite either," Gwyn replied, keeping her tone calm and serious. "Unless if it is absolutely necessary."

Azriel chuckled. Of course Gwyn would have a smart-ass reply ready. Since the day they didn't win an award for completing the qualifying circuit for the Rite, Gwyn was determined to wipe the smug and presumptuous smiles off his and Cassian's faces whenever she could.

And he kind of liked that.

The priestess started humming softly and cheerfully to herself as she prepared a comfortable place to sit on the icy surface. She had brought a cushion and a sheet to line the floor, not wanting to bother the House with it.

Before she could sit, however, a comfortable mat appeared on top of the sheet and more cushions joined the one Gwyn had strategically positioned against the wall. Additionally, there was a pile with a comfortable blanket, scarf, and gloves. Gwyn rolled her eyes.

Seriously? I can do this myself. I'm not a child, you know.

In response, a mug of hot chocolate appeared next to the blanket. Gwyn chuckled quietly and stuck her tongue out at the House. The mug disappeared.

Hey, I was joking. Sorry.

The mug reappeared, along with a plate full of warm cookies, how fragrant. Gwyn smiled. Thank you.

The redhead settled into a cozy position while humming some soft "humming" sounds. She felt a warm breeze caress her cheeks. Gwyn shrugged, stopped vocalizing, and opened the book while whispering to herself that the House was too dramatic.

On the other side, Azriel, who was absolutely tense and with clenched jaw, relaxed. The shadows were incredibly out of control that night. It was true that Gwyn's presence caused some movement among them. Not agitation, but a small... Commotion.

Even a simple breath exercise from the redhead seemed to stir the shadows. However, it was Gwyneth's voice, her laugh in particular, that seemed to be the real call.

And the shadows... They were happy with a mere murmured singing from Gwyn. That was undeniable. But how was that possible? At that very moment, they were spying on her from afar: crazy to dance with her. They only awaited the master's permission, who, to his discontent, kept a firm hand.

Azriel rolled his eyes. He would have to do something about it, and soon. Gwyn laughed, causing the shadows to threaten to approach again. Azriel gave a scathing look to the shadows over his shoulder, to reprimand them.

"Sorry," Gwyn widened her eyes at Azriel and raised the book. "Funny scene."

Azriel tilted his head, wanting to beat himself up. Obviously, Gwyn would think that the unfriendly look was directed at her.

"It wasn't..." Azriel clicked his tongue. How to explain that he wasn't angry with her without sounding like a lunatic? "No problem."

"Okay." Gwyn shrugged and returned her attention to reading. She tried to laugh quietly to herself, with little success. Azriel smiled. At least she was trying. The shadows whispered to him.

Listen. Closer. Approach.

The Illyrian rolled his eyes: No.

The shadows hissed stubbornly: You're such a brat. Listen to us.

Azriel exhaled in response: Leave her alone.

Azriel swallowed a grunt. Should he leave? No, that would seem too rude. Gwyn had already presumed that he wouldn't like her presence there. Leaving would leave her, at the very least, intrigued. And if there was one thing the master spy didn't feel like dealing with right now, it was Gwyneth Berdara's curious and dangerously sharp inquiries.

So he was left with only one thing: ignore.

Ignore. Ignore. And ignore.

[kit-williams]

Barn Anon. In my defence, it's not yet Feb. I promise I have a happier one after this one. Wanted to explore the Warp fuckery or rather those that are "immune" to it. :)

You wanted to scream, want to grab your aunt and yell at her that she's crazy. That... thing that she's brought to the family reunion... It doesn't belong here! It's not even human, nor is it a pet like a dog or a cat. Why is everyone so calm? why is everyone smiling? Don't they see how it's armed to the teeth? Don't they see that chainsaw sword thing that it carries around with it? Doesn't anyone notice how it's sharp edges have some dried bloodstains?

You politely excuse yourself and rush out of the house to stand at the back porch. Deep breaths. In. Out. You look out at the single tree that grows at the back, the stars that dot the sky. You manage to come back down from the emotions that threatened to overwhelm you. Laughter creeps out from the house, you see that…thing acting all shy and bashful and you feel like throwing up. Does no one else see that thing for the danger it is? The majority of the world seems to be the same regardless of location or culture. You've seen the pictures and videos of people around the globe with their Space Marines and how everyone else would comment how they wish they had a Space Marine of their own. Just last week your friend was excitedly showing you a video of a guy and his Space Marine summitting some mountain together, with the guy excitedly hugging his Space Marine.

The only comfort you have is that you aren't alone. There's others that see the true danger of these Space Marines. It's a small minority and there are few spaces online that you can talk about it. This small community has a theory that Space Marines must have some form of mind control or that they plan to overthrow humanity. It didn't matter to you if you agreed to those theories, you're just relieved to find others that understand. You know you can't tell your parents, oh god no. They'll think you're crazy or worse, some sort of conspiracy theorist or extremist. You're not crazy! I-It's them that's insane, they're the ones that need help.

You open the chatroom start typing away, venting to like-minded sane individuals. You know you're right. Your family is in danger, they just can't see it yet but you can save them. They'll thank you in the end. You'll find a way to get rid of that Space Marine, somehow.

Thank you for feeding into my weird idea about how it is just a bit of warp fuckery cuz lets be honest no one would just do what the husbandry tag does unless it's some sort of warp fuckery.

Besides I'm always a lover of the Eldritch (Also you cannot tell me as a Catholic that biblically accurate angels aren't some sort of eldritch abominations straight out of Lovecraft just with more fire and feathers motif vs oceanic) and to imply something is just wrong under the surface is my jam

How can people not see that these things aren't normal?!

You do your research finding old and you mean old newspapers from the 20's and there is nothing about Astartes at all. Up until the 40's where suddenly there are pictures of them... some of them being seen in old war videos.

Some theorize that that Nazi Occultism brought them here but they are all beyond our petty conflicts as seen with the futile attempt there was to bring them into the Korean war. They only cared about their "companions". There use to be so much more uproar in papers about them but once the baby boomers were born that's suddenly when everyone was okay with them. Only the people in the Silent Generation and the GI generation were complaining about the Astartes and then suddenly their children or grandchildren were okay with them.

You continue to read as the generations went on... Gen X and Millennials saw the least amount of pushback... Millennials it was considered weird to have the opinion you have now. You run your fingers through your hair looking at the newspaper articles as you now realize that Gen z and Gen Alpha will only grow up with "positive" connotations.

Gone were the idea that only Loyalist astartes were safe to own and then it moved to include renegades and unaligned. You shudder at the thought of your cousin with a Khornite living with them. They're going to die you've tried to warn them but you worry their Astarte might know what's up... they are so much smarter. You pale seeing an old guide about a Blood Angel going into a rage... you shutter at the article.

Your parents are talking about getting one but you managed to convince them that they can get one once you move out. You read the chat and how someone's posted about how a kid was recently abducted by one... or another about how some Gen Alpha kids can even speak their language... and then the theory about bonding that seems to come up when the kids explain their space marine... oh great a wild idea that you get chosen and have no choice in the matter.

You look behind you as you make your way home late trying to desperately avoid the dark alleyways and crossing the road when you see people walking with their Astartes. You've already found out nice communities that don't allow Astartes to live there so you can get away from the madness.

[melishade]

Number 55?

This ask game

asked so far.

Peaceful Timeline. 2000 years later. Part 23: Modern Day AU

Eren thought it was all a daydream. A fantasy he made up in his head in order to escape the boring, mundane, routine that was his life.

Armin and Mikasa wouldn't stop obsessing over the 'Ghost Car' and 'Demon Plane', and constantly brought him into their rambles and theories, either about them being aliens or actual ghosts. Eren didn't believe it until he saw a person standing next to the 'Ghost Car' one day, disappear before the truck started driving by itself.

After Eren ran to his friends in a panic, they managed to gain some information about the 'Ghost Car' from Hanji, one thing led to another, and Eren, Armin, and Mikasa ended up getting chased by another ghost car. The truck spoke to them, told them to get inside, and it drove away with them to the outskirts of the city, and all three of them bore witness to both cars transforming into massive titans. Both titans fought, and the first titan forced the second titan to flee.

Eren, Armin, and Mikasa were taken by the first titan, Optimus Prime, to his home, where he and a monstrous titan under the name of Megatron started to argue about their presence. Megatron wanted nothing to do with them, and immediately stormed off, telling Optimus he was on his own. But Optimus promised to protect all three of them until the threat was taken care of.

The next few hours were a blur. Eren had gone back home. He woke up the next day. Ate breakfast, passively said by to his parents as he went to school. He tried to proceed as normal, and tried to listen to the lesson.

But his attention was immediately drawn to the same red and blue truck that was driving around the school. Eren screamed in surprise, causing everyone to laugh at him and for him to be given detention. When he finished, he saw Armin and Mikasa waiting for him outside with worry on their faces. The nerd and goth respectively quickly grabbed Eren and pulled him to hide in the janitor's closest.

"You guys say it too?!" Armin hissed as Mikasa flipped the switch to the light.

"Yeah, it's why I got detention," Eren sighed.

"Look, I'm all for the supernatural, but this is way above what I'm normally used to!" Mikasa fretted, "What if they decide to dissect us?! Or what if we get kidnapped?! Or worse! What if we become ghosts and our spirits aren't at rest because our killers can never truly be found?!"

"Get a hold of yourself!" Armin shook Mikasa by her shirt, "What we need to do is tell someone!"

"Tell who?! The government?!" Mikasa screeched.

"Mikasa, we don't have any better options!" Armin reminded, "I'm a wimpy nerd! You're a goth! Eren's a nobody! I don't want to push stereotypes, but who the hell is going to help us nobodies at this school?!"

"No!" Eren finally shouted at them.

"No?!" Armin and Mikasa exclaimed.

"Hell, no! We are not going to tell anyone about this!" Eren declared.

"Eren, aliens are real!" Armin hissed.

"Exactly! Aliens are real!" Eren emphasized, "Straight out of science fiction and every fantasy novel we've ever read or dreamt about! This is probably going to be the coolest things that ever happen to us in our known lives! And we're just going to pass up this opportunity to be among aliens because we're scared?!"

Eren placed his hand out in front of his friends. "Fifty years from now, I'm not going to look back on my life and say that I didn't take the first step. That I didn't take the once in a lifetime chance to be part of something bigger. I don't care if I do this alone. I'm jumping in the deep end. What say you?"

Armin and Mikasa looked at each other with concern before looking back at the animated expression on Eren. They've never seen him this excited about anything before. It was impulsive to even agree, but both raised their right hands and placed it on top of Eren's making the teen even more giddy.

"What the fuck are you three doing in here?!" The trio screamed when they saw Levi standing at the entrance to the janitor's closest with a mop in his hand, forcing them to run out.

(For what's left, we have: 51, 52, 57, 62, 63, 65-69, 74, 76, and 85)

[thesevenwondersofawitch]

The Brothers Sun e6

Charles going nuts with sunscreen after he found a weird mole is relatable af😂

NO BRUCE DON'T INVITE GRACE SHE'S SKETCHY

The fact Bruce won the shooting game is great 3

Annnnnd Alexis is having them watched

Love the karaoke😂

FUCK YOU BIG SUN

It was absolutely gut wrenching to watch as Mama Sun learned of her sisters death🥺😭

Oh, I think Mama Sun is about to rain hellfire on these assholes, maybe even her husband because he had ONE JOB

Damn, Charles was 14 when it happened?🥺

The way the mom was staring at him makes me think it was a planned kill by the parents, judging by how the mom looks strained when the dad tells Charles to protect the family

Oh, so that's why they call him Chairleg Sun

The way the mom smiled at first at him, but had tears in her eyes and then tried to hug him, taking him away from the body🥺

I get that it was better to save one son, but maybe if the mother had stayed, she could've saved both her sons🥺

The way Bruce startles when Charles asks how he is😂

The way Bruce is asking Charles to use his words first to try and get TK back😂

I fully expect Grace to be apart or maybe even the head of The Boxers, it would also track because of how her parents were trafficked (maybe with the help of the Jade Dragons)

OH SHIT THE PEEPING GUARD BOYS ARE DEAD

Grace totally killed them

Especially with how she's trying to get Bruce to leave with her

My theory has been reinforced by the way she was looking at June

OH SHIT

The red bracelets!

I was right!! Heck yeah (also poor Bruce)

I bet one of the guys is the son that wrote to Alexis

The way the chair kept bouncing back at him😂

Damn👀 okay Grace's story is dark and shit and I get where she's coming from, but murder is still wrong

She wants to kill Charles🥺

Damn, she's pointing a gun at Bruce

DON'T BELIEVE HER PROMISES SHE'S A BACKSTABBER

Tense moment

Bruce: "Get me paper and a pen."

Grace, pointing to the paper and pen right in front of him: "It's right there."

I'm crying the way he called her, inviting her over and she lied to him🥺 my poor guy just wants to cook and have someone to love🥺

Oh wow, poor TK👀

Charles didn't use words first and you know what? I don't plan him

Me: *watching Charles beat up a bunch of people* GO GET EM SWEETIE

There's a second level 😂

Wow, he's a good golfer 😁

The way he's choosing the golf club to kill the guy😂

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww my boy, he's picturing the first man he killed 🥺😭

I'm crying with you Charles😭

TK as Charles helps him walk: "You're an asshole, Charles."

Charles: "I know." We Stan a self aware king

I had a totally normal reaction to seeing Michelle sitting all pretty as a man sung to her

I'm getting the vibe these two loved each other but we're kept apart because of work 👀 and you know what? I hope she either divorces or kills his (Big Sun's) ass. She had one request! That he contact her if something ever happened to her family.

FUCK YEAH! Poison THAT MOTHER FUCKER

Hell yeah, you tell him Queen, you take that assholes empire And rule like the Queen you are!

Oh, did she bring him out of his coma? I thought she killed him but him shaking his fist at her retreating form has changed things.

[canirove]

Best friends… forever? | Chapter 21

Previous chapter | Next chapter

Masterlist

"Happy Valentine's Day, Rúben."

"Happy Valentine's Day, Mila. Please come in."

"Thank you" she says as she walks into their apartment. "I got you something."

"Chocolates?"

"Yep. My favourite ones. And you can't say no to eating at least one, you promised."

"I'll eat one, don't worry" he chuckles. "I also got you something."

"Aww, red roses. How original” Mila says, rolling her eyes.

"I always get you red roses for Valentine's Day, it's our tradition."

"I know, I was just teasing you. Thank you.”

"Why don't we sit down and talk for a bit, uh?" Rúben says, moving towards the sofa.

"Yeah, sure" she replies, following him.

"So..." he says after a few seconds in silence. "I wanted to apologize for what happened at the game. Jealousy took over me, and I hate it. I'm not like that. At all."

"I know that you aren't."

"And I also was a dick when I asked you to move out. I don't know why I was so cold with you.”

"Well, I had hurt you. You were on your right to behave like that" she shrugs.

"But I could have been an adult, you know? Do things differently."

"It's ok, Rúben. I deserved it."

"What are you talking about?"

"You were right. I kept saying one thing and then doing the opposite, I played with your feelings. And instead of trying to figure out how I felt like normal people do, I followed Eva's advice and slept with a guy to prove some kind of theory."

"A theory? What theory?"

"That if I was able to flirt with a guy without thinking about you, then make out and have sex with him without also thinking about you, it meant that I didn't have actual feelings for you."

"And?"

"I didn't think about you."

"I see..." Rúben says, not being able to keep looking at her.

"But he apparently looks like you, so the theory didn't work."

"It didn't?" he asks, looking at her again, his heart starting to beat really fast.

"Nope. All the girls agreed on it, so" Mila shrugs.

"What does that mean, then?"

"It means..." It means that I love you, Rúben, she says to herself. "It means that Fran didn't mean anything, he is just a friend. And also that I've figured out how I feel, but that I'm not ready to be open about it. Not yet."

"Ok."

"Are you mad?"

"Mad? No, no" Rúben says, taking Mila's hand on his. "I'm... Can I be completely honest?"

"Of course."

"I'm relieved you don't feel anything for that Fran. For a minute there I thought the worst."

"He is just a friend. Yes, we slept together, but he also knew nothing else was going to happen. And in the friends scale, he is at the bottom, definitely not close to the girls or Bruno and Diogo for example."

"I didn't know you had a friends scale."

"I just made it up" she laughs.

"And may I ask who is at the top?" Rúben asks with a smile.

"I'll tell you if you eat a chocolate."

"Oh, c'mon."

"Those are the rules. You eat a chocolate, I tell you a secret."

"Ok" Rúben says, getting up from the sofa and picking the box from the table where he had left it, letting go of Mila's hand and instantly making her miss his touch. "Are they all the same?"

"No, they are a mix. The ones with white chocolate on the top are my favourites."

"Then I'll eat one of those first" he says as he sits down and opens the box.

"And?" Mila asks.

"I hate it."

"Rúben!" she says, hitting him in the arm.

"It's good, it's good" he laughs. "I was teasing you."

"Idiot."

"Now, tell me. Who is at the top of that friends scale?"

"And idiot who thinks it's funny to lie about the best chocolates in the world."

"I don't know him."

"Mimimimimi" Mila says, making fun of him and crossing her arms over her chest, trying very hard not to smile. This feels like them, like how things used to be. It feels good.

"If I eat another chocolate... Will you tell me another secret?"

"What?"

"You said that those were the rules. I eat a chocolate, you tell me a secret. So if I eat... This one" Rúben says after checking them all. "What secret are you telling me?"

"That's one I don't like."

"It wasn't that bad. But since you don't like it, now you must tell me a juicy secret."

"A juicy secret" she laughs.

"Yeah... Something like... Who is better, me or Fran?"

"At what?"

"At playing football I obviously am, so you can guess what I'm thinking about."

"Urgh, men" Mila says, rolling her eyes.

"I ate the chocolate, I deserve an answer."

"Ok, fine... You" she says very low, covering her face with her hands and feeling like she is turning as red as her United shirt.

"Ha, I knew it! I'm gonna eat another chocolate to celebrate."

"Another one? Who are you and where is my best friend the super healthy?" she laughs.

"Super healthy and sex God."

"Rúben!" Mila laughs again. "Did that chocolate have alcohol on it and already affect you?"

"Maybe" he says, checking the box and making her laugh again. He had missed that sound so much, that he doesn't mind looking like an idiot as long as he can hear it for a bit longer.

"C'mon, I want one too" she says, taking to box from his hands.

"Let's do a toast."

"With chocolates?"

"Yes, with chocolates. To us being best friends forever."

"To us being best friends forever" Mila replies.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Mila, you are falling asleep."

"No, I'm not."

"Then why do I feel your head getting closer and closer to my shoulder?" Rúben asks, arching an eyebrow.

"Gravity" she shrugs.

"I thought Maguire was the one with the big head. Is it something that happens to all of you after playing for United for a while? Does your head get bigger?"

"Shut up!" she says, hitting him on the chest with her fist.

"Ouch, that hurts!"

"Good" Mila replies with a big smile. "Now, can I rest my big head on your shoulder, or will it be too heavy? I thought you were like the one of the strongest players."

"Come here" Rúben says, putting his arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him.

"Too heavy?"

"It feels perfect."

"It does, doesn't it?" she says, curling her body against his.

"It does" he says before kissing the top of her head.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Mila..." Rúben whispers. "The movie just ended."

But he gets no answer. She has fallen asleep, her arm and leg hugging him like a koala, barely allowing him to move.

"Ok" he whispers again, slowly moving her until she is on top of him and he can carry her like a little kid.

"No... No, no, no" she purrs against his chest.

"No what?"

"Ella, no."

"You are dreaming. Ok" Rúben chuckles before getting up from the sofa and walking towards her room.

"Cold" Mila complains when he leaves her on her bed, moving to be on fetal position.

"Better like this?" he says, covering her. The fact that she can sleep with sheets, a blanket and a duvet, is something he will never understand. "How does that feel?"

But she doesn't answer, she's fast asleep once again.

"Good night, Mila" Rúben says, kissing her forehead.

"Rúben" she murmurs when he makes it to the door.

"Uh?"

"Rúben..." she murmurs again, turning her back at him, still sleeping. "Amo-te."

"I love you too, Mila" he says before leaving her room, not being able to stop smiling.

[traincrashs]

Theory about puzzlevision

I heavily think that puzzlevision wants the smg4 crew because of their popularity online and how famous they clearly are seen in the smg3 and smg4 hand holding video they are celebrities. he wanted to use their social status to elevate his show and make it popular and for him to get all the fame that he wanted in his ideas. thats why he makes parody's of popular shows and movies since by the normal audience they are widely accepted so its a no brainer to use them in his own show with new actors in hopes it will have the same success. why is hes so fixated on ratings and reviews. seeing low reviews is destorying him because he wants 5 stars not the 1 stars hes been seeing on his shows and thats being plastered on his name. he wants success but seeing 1 star rating is literally killing his ego.

I think puzzlevision is blackmailing and sending people false promises and using their weakness against them. The letters being sent to people are sent by puzzlevision himself with inside info that he's witness from everybody, puzzlevision seems to have camera literally everywhere in main areas. Because of this I heavily think that he uses their weakness and promising them via the letter he can help them in their failures and get what they want. using people who have had ties with his main targets the smg4 crew in some sort of way to help him get to them so he doesn't have to get his hand dirty.

Example: Him trying to get smg3's notebook via mario and marty was to use that as blackmail to get to smg3 a person who is heavily close to smg4 a person who he clearly wants since smg4 is very damn popular. And was planning to use smg3's notebook as blackmail so him and smg3 could make a deal and allow smg3 to get something in return if he could get smg4 to show up on one of his shows likely. what would smg3 get in return? smg3's cafe is dying. I wouldn't put it past puzzlevision to mention it to smg3 as a false promise that puzzlevision would make smg3's cafe popular and promote it seeing that he works with all of the different scenes without an issue and can easy promote it internet wide if he truly wanted to. so he can get close to smg3 and get even close to smg4 and do what he needed to do by using them.

Example: Wren was a popular and famous splatoon star. Using wren popularity that he knows wren did at some point have promising to him to give him back that fame and that he could get back at meggy. seeing as thats what wren wants getting to kill off meggy and becoming popular again because he would own the title that meggy and her team have. knowing that if wren got back that title there was a damn good chance he would be popular again and get his half of the deal by using wren in his show. a shame wren did die and now that plan got thrown out the window. but it would help explain why wren would get a letter from puzzlevision another false promise.

in conclusion puzzlevision some angsty theatre nerd who just want his silly show to be popular and is using the smg4 cast because their popular to boost his ratings and popular shows to parody. and because they arent helping him with getting good ratings, he's getting more and more upset which is leading him to have his own igbp arc in his headspace. I'm very normal about this guy trust me.

[kae-karo]

I saw your tags on the link click post and I love your theory that this isn't the first time lu guang has saved cxs. Would you happen to have the energy to expand on that? I'd... 👉👈 like to hear your thoughts (only if u want to though)

HELLO THANK U FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND ON THIS (for context - x) don't get me wrong i ADORE the sentiment in that post, but i am SO far down the "this isn't the first time lu guang has saved cheng xiaoshi" path that i can't come back lmao

before i say anything else, BUCKLE UP cause i have absolutely zero tangible proof and any canon reasoning for this is a stretch that would make a rubber band look rigid, but i can't stop thinking about it and i'm having fun so here we go

first and foremost: hat guy is a time cop ("cop"). hear me out, i promise this is relevant.

also sorry his name is liu xiao lmao (ignore the moment i thought his name was lu xiao and was about to be like he is the physical manifestation of lu guang and cheng xiaoshi's melding of their powers and/or their lovechild and/or their future combined self and/or- etc u get the idea)

AHEM. okay so. the first number of times we see liu xiao (as a kid and a friend of li tianchen) he seems relatively normal? although he does make a comment that stood out to me when i first watched ep9, where he says "i believe in the near future, you will definitely encounter the opportunity to become a hunter". when tianchen asks if they'll meet again, he says "surely we will" - and then, when they do, he reminds tianchen that he said they'd definitely meet again

he proceeds to comment (when tianchen asks if he has any choice) that "it seems everyone has only one path in their destiny, but in fact, it is made up of countless parallel lines...sometimes we want to change it, but we can't." - this specific phrase is spoken over lu guang's memory of watching cheng xiaoshi get shot.

and of course, we can't forget liu xiao's critical line "i wanna bring all parallel lines together, to turn all uncertainties into certainties." i think that's beyond metaphorical, i think he can not only see (in some sense) the parallel lines of a person's fate/futures/etc, but can manipulate them. or, rather, can corral them all into a single line, a single destiny, a single path for every person

now brief reminder that li tianxi was able to see lu guang's memories when she looked at the pic (revealed in ep12) - and she immediately started crying. i know the implication in that moment (ep10) was that she was experiencing lu guang's pain from the wound, but what if it was more than that? what if she saw his memories, too - in ep12, he implies that he went back to the beginning, presumably the start of the season, effectively, to prevent cheng xiaoshi from dying (hence all his careful planning through the season)

also real quick can we talk about how the passcode to his phone was the time (and date?) he went back to save cheng xiaoshi? THEE moment of "he is worth more than my rules". whether this is the first time or the thousandth, i'm still unwell

OKAY so anyway i think i've established that liu xiao has some fascination with timelines and, more precisely, with paring them down to whatever he's determined to be the Correct or Perfect timeline (ie establishing 'certainty') - this is why i call him a time cop like i don't think he's actually executing on some authority i think he's just decided that he has the power and that he wants the world to operate according to his certainties.

ones that lu guang has fucked up by saving cheng xiaoshi. possibly more than once.

for my next act, lu guang's character sheet:

yeah can we talk about age: ? like excuse me ?????? i'm also intrigued by the unknown blood type, but let's ignore that for now lmao

back to his unknown age - why the hell would this be unknown if he's just a guy? cheng xiaoshi has a normal age in spite of his abilities, right? and lu guang's ability is only to view the 12hr surrounding a photo, right?

WRONG. well, right, but also wrong. BEAR WITH ME OKAY cause we're jumping to qiao ling's experience in ep12 now - the moment she held onto tianxi when she died. where we saw...something travel from her to qiao ling. her memories? or her abilities?

now perhaps u, like me, recall lu guang's solitary moment in ep12 where, while covered in blood, he looked at his phone, his eyes turned cheng-xiaoshi-gold, he clapped, and he zoomied back to the past. because he was holding cheng xiaoshi when he died. and thus inherited his power.

OKAY SO why the fuck does that matter !!!! WELL I'M GLAD U ASKED. because we have no problem with cheng xiaoshi's age, right? he's done this 'jump back in time' thing a bunch!!! for 12hr at a time, and then he's back!

okay, but what happens when lu guang, who acquired cheng xiaoshi's power, jumps back to a time before he had cheng xiaoshi's power? now what? how would he jump back (or even be forced back) to his present body and time if he no longer has that ability? wouldn't he now be forced to re-live the hours, days, years after going back to make a change?

in his words, he went back to the beginning, thus he'd have to relive the whole thing, but now, he can make the Right choices this time to protect cheng xiaoshi

but what's a week (or a couple days or whatever it was) in the grand scheme of things? how would his age be unknown if this is the first and only time he's ever done it?

(critical caveat that 'the beginning' could absolutely refer to something far earlier than just the season's start - it could be the beginning of their relationship, for all we know, but let's start here for the sake of keeping this...i'd say manageable but we're well beyond that i am YAPPING)

if his age is so impossible to define, i think it could very easily fit to suggest that he's done this before - possibly many times. so many times that to suggest he's only as old as his physical body would be utterly ludicrous

okay but what in the world would make him want to change fate so often, for so long, so many times? what would make him go against his own rule (*i don't think this was always a rule for him but bear with me, we'll get to that)? well, we know the answer to that :)

so, i don't think this is the first time he's gone back in time to save cheng xiaoshi. i don't think it's the first time he's held cheng xiaoshi as he dies, because that's the way he would've acquired his ability in order to do this (an argument could be made here that he's hidden some facets of his own ability and that he's always been capable of this, but i don't think it was an accident that we saw qiao ling Acquire tianxi's ability)

in fact (if u thought this was all crack theory up to this point, hold onto ur horses) i think the first time he went back in time to save cheng xiaoshi was (seriously, hold on tight) when cheng xiaoshi died with his parents when he was a kid

that's right i'm going all the way baby. i think cheng xiaoshi was supposed to die when he was a kid. why the hell did his parents leave him all alone? to go on some random trip?? like we all agree this is peculiar right???? how does NOBODY know what happened to them, where they were, etc?

now i could go into possible scenarios (lu guang was a kid, too, and didn't know what he was doing, lu guang knew EXACTLY what he was doing and that it would have consequences, lu guang didn't even know he HAD any abilities til he tried to save cheng xiaoshi, the list goes on) BUT the gist of this being: i think lu guang saved cheng xiaoshi. i think he went back in time (into his own body) and figured out the right choices to make (maybe after many tries) to ensure that cheng xiaoshi didn't go with his parents. that he stayed home, for whatever reason, and survived

now why do i believe this, you may be asking? because it's fun, of course !!! and because we have no idea what happened to his parents yet, so i'll continue to theorize in the meantime lmao

you could also alternatively suggest that the going back in time to save cheng xiaoshi doesn't start until after they meet - i mean, hell, look at the situations they get themselves into just within the span of two seasons, they are RIFE with danger. like, cheng xiaoshi could've died MANY times !!!!

but honestly what really sells me is - going ALL the way back to the post that i linked at the start - lu guang didn't hesitate. not only did he already know, but he had no qualms with immediately (still covered in blood) going back to before and doing this all over again. unlike qiao ling, who does not appear to realize she has tianxi's ability, lu guang seems to immediately understand that he has cheng xiaoshi's. that just smacks of experience

(also, an aside: what photo did he use? how far back did he go? there's another route of course - did he go so far back that he's relived his life to such a notable degree that calling him whatever age of his physical body would be missing a notable number of years? in which case, one could argue that this could be the first time, though his immediate knowledge of acquiring cheng xiaoshi's remains unexplained. ANYWAY i digress)

okay back to the point here - lu guang immediately knowing that he has cheng xiaoshi's ability and using it without hesitation, though he does comment on how he broke his own rule. and it sounds like a first-time thing, but consider...

what if this is the first time he's broken it since making the rule?

enter time cop hat guy (i hear u, i promised this was relevant), aka our boi liu xiao who wants to create 'certainties' by (presumably) eliminating branching possibilities in some regard to create single paths/fates/destinies/etc. for lack of a better way to phrase it, a single timeline where everything can be predicted and accounted for (yeah...i suspect we'll be unpacking some of his trauma in s3)

now, different choices mean different outcomes - different timelines, a long list of uncertainties. i think liu xiao aimed to stop that. i also think that his ability gives him some kind of godlike manipulation over timelines (how else would he speak with such confidence about making this future a reality?) assuming, of course, that he has no interference from others with similar abilities

enter lu guang, who has now - potentially multiple times - messed with liu xiao's perfect timeline, one wherein cheng xiaoshi dies (not necessarily with intentional malice, just by virtue of securing whichever certainties liu xiao wants). this, of course, is a problem for liu xiao

and perhaps he makes lu guang's life a living hell - hey, why not go all the way? perhaps he makes a point of manipulating the timeline to kill cheng xiaoshi in new and horrifying ways, again and again, just to watch lu guang play this pathetic game trying to save him by going back in time. perhaps it's entertaining, for a while, but he grows tired of it eventually

so, he proposes an agreement: he'll stop trying to kill cheng xiaoshi, but lu guang has to agree never to manipulate his perfect timeline again (or something similar, you get the idea - they reach a ceasefire of sorts wherein they both, to an extent, get what they want)

thus, the rule was born - whatever they do, they cannot ever change these critical nodes. so long as lu guang adheres, liu xiao won't try to kill cheng xiaoshi

but then someone else does. someone else succeeds. and lu guang breaks his side of the deal, he changes the timeline. he knows exactly what he's doing, what he may invoke, but he does it anyway (i'm fully writing my own au of this story at this point lmao but hey, hope ur having fun if u made it this far)

and so liu xiao returns from abroad, because he has a score to settle

[don't ask me why s3 is set in london and they look like they're teaming up, i'm all for a 'forced to work together' arc but how that fits in with this wildly out of pocket theory is beyond me lmao]

anyway hope u enjoyed this delve into my silly goofy theory !!!! thank u deeply for the ask LMAO

[cass-rambles]

Hiii guys, after my last .. uh theory thingy I'm back to ramble more. (About mostly Morty Prime this time). Because I'm very normal about R&M I promise. :D

Anyways! (Major spoilers for season 7 ahead!!!)

I've been thinking about season 7 again, as well as the earlier seasons, and I've got a few ideas/possibilities/plot bunnies of what the writers of Rick and Morty might do for Morty.

The thing is, season 7 had somewhat really juggled Morty's character back and forth between its development and regression for Unmortricken, giving more light to the rest of the Smith family and Rick. I don't mean to phrase this negatively, but compared to earlier seasons, Morty seems to more of just being there, not taking into mind the episodes w Rick Prime and episode 10 of the latest season.

And this brings me to my point: What will they do with Morty's character and development now?

Let's take all things into consideration:

Rick Prime is gone/dead (hopefully permamently but it could be an interesting throwback)

Rick C-137 can be now actively allowed to heal

There is nothing (particularly) endangering their whole family

Evil Morty returned to his paradise island and there doesn't seem to be a strong/certain reason for him to return to the Central Curve

So the new arc, by technicality, should consist of Morty's and Rick's healing, right? Right???

That's what I thought of at first, but there's a good chance it's not as clear as it may appear.

For example, let's talk about the last episode of season 7. Throughout all of it we have the dissection of Rick's and Morty's fears, even as far as having an accurate Diane in it. It portrays how many fears and worries Morty Prime has accumulated through the seasons, including, of course, not being accepted, his fear of being replaced (THANKS RICK <3🙄) and many more. My point here is, that his trauma runs deep, it's hard-rooted into his character and almost unmovable. The most fucked up thing about it in the ep, is that Morty receiveing positive attention from Rick, is what made him realize that he's the only one in the hole. Because he doesn't believe Rick would consciously describe him as an irreplacable person in his life.

Which brings me to one of my key-thought-out-problems. Can Morty Prime even heal properly, at least around his family?

Chances are: it might be a HUGE FUCKING ISSUE.

(To be fair here, I'm not an entirely objective theorizer, even though I'm trying to stay as neutral as I can, please take my ideas with a grain of salt.)

Morty Prime actively thinks that all healthy affection he receives from Rick isn't actually received from Rick (most likely paranoia from the Rickbot arc) or that he's in a scenario in which his family isn't real. His counsciousness has already started to agree and intertwine into his approach all of the things and actions that have previously hurt the teen. (For example, if his family lashes out at him, he's being ridiculed or hurt by them to some degree, then it must mean they're real. It is an objective truth.) And it makes me think that Morty may need to be away from his family to be able to acknowledge each of his traumatic experiences in order to attempt moving on from them.

I think that Morty in order to heal, will have to learn that he doesn't have to focus on others all the time and can learn how to depend on himself, because he lacks trust even in his own thoughts. And so far, Morty has barely digested his trauma, more of "shelving" it away for later or having occasional meltdowns once he's under too much pressure. He always seems to be stuck in survival mode in some way, meaning that his brain prioritizes keeping him alive, rather then caring for the damage.

So by those thoughts, it is a possibility that Rick's healing and Morty's healing, cannot partake side by side, and therefore may result in Morty leaving his family to achieve healthy progress.

Either way, this is all just speculating and my ideas, but I hope it helped some people in their own theories. (My inbox is VERY open to rambling about R&M in ANY WAY.)

(Side idea for my enjoyment: Morty leaving his family can play into the theory that Morty Prime may actively search out Evil Morty to understand how he can achieve a process and goal in which he doesn't "cling" to his family and Rick.)