#They're happier than they've been in YEARS but they don't remember YOU

[thefirst3chapters]

There's something about the Danes men recognizing the Gilmores' happiness in their final OS episodes. ("You look happier than when I saw you last." / "I just like to see you happy.") Maybe the S6 writers weren't sure that this was going to be Jess's last appearance, but this was Luke's definitive end for the series; in either case, at the time these episodes were written, they were the show's final statements on who these characters are.

It's established over and over how well Luke and Jess know the Gilmores and vice versa. Luke knows exactly what Lorelai brought to Bid-a-Basket day and has her wardrobe memorized and steadfastly believes that she can start her own inn even when she's convinced that she's failing. Jess knows that Rory isn't herself when she's in Hartford and remembers her birthday even though he's barely seen her in years (and ASP directly confirmed that the intention was to portray them as seeing each other for who they are). This mutual sense of knowing is baked into the first times both couples meet. The first time Lorelai met Luke, she pestered him during a lunch rush for coffee and for him to tell her his birthday until he relented. The first time Jess met Rory, he stole her book and wrote all over it. Both of these actions could've been horrible first impressions for anyone else, and on paper could've been horrible first impressions for Luke and Rory specifically, but they were charmed and intrigued, and they treasured the written keepsakes they were left with.

Even with this intrinsic knowledge, the Danes' failures as partners often boil down to the same problem: they retreat when they're in crisis. With their biggest, relationship-ending conflicts (Luke keeping April from Lorelai and the fallout of Jess not graduating), they spend months thinking that they have everything under control when they really don't and fail to tell the Gilmores anything. This is perhaps Jess's core flaw in S3 even more so than the fact that he left; he didn't have anywhere to stay, and finding out who his father was probably ended up being an important catalyst for the person he became, but he wasn't able to share any of that with Rory. She directly brings up her hurt over Jess not telling her anything when she's in the car with Lorelai and when she's on the phone with him, and her unhappiness here is so similar to Lorelai expressing her unhappiness about her relationship with Luke when she's in the car with the therapist. ("I don't like how I feel and I don't like what I do." / "I'm not happy, and I feel crappy all the time and I just think I've had it.") They've both been left behind.

This isn't the end, though. Luke and Jess spend their time apart from the Gilmores still loving them while also building/rebuilding their professional lives, coming to terms with their pasts, and showing up for their families. This is what I think separates Jess leaving from Christopher leaving. Christopher had options and resources to be in Rory's life but chose not to be a consistent presence, and Lorelai accepted that. Rory points this out to Lorelai in S5 E9: "You're just always waiting for him to get himself together." Rory can tell that dynamic isn't healthy from the years she's watched it play out. She doesn't let Jess back into her life when she knows he isn't ready, and he grows up without her out of his own determination. His circumstances were never really like Christopher's, and Rory was left in the dark about that at the time, but when he returns in S6, I think she recognizes the difference. There's a reason why Rory shares her deepest insecurities with Jess in AYITL and sprints out of her house because she can't wait to share her happiness with him but has such an emotionally distant relationship with Christopher. As for Luke and Lorelai, they gradually get closer in S7 as they learn to trust each other again. Luke turns to Lorelai when April is sick and he needs a character reference, and Lorelai's letter helps him win partial custody and reveals where her heart truly lies, which is a catalyst for her relationship with Christopher ending once and for all. Lorelai asks for Luke's help when she's looking for a new car, and even though it doesn't make sense to him, he finds a way for her to have the exact same model again because he knows it's important to her.

Then we get to those final scenes. At Truncheon, Jess can tell just by looking at Rory that she's happier now that she's back at Yale and is editing the newspaper. She breaks his heart, but he makes sure she'll get back to her car safely and offers himself as an alibi because he still wants the best for her. In "Bon Voyage," Luke stays up all night helping the town set up Rory's party and sewing a tarp together but doesn't even want Lorelai to know. Luke and Jess have hurt the Gilmores and been hurt by them, but for both of them, their final act in the OS is quietly, selflessly wanting Lorelai and Rory to be happy. I just can't fathom a Luke who doesn't love Lorelai or a Jess who doesn't love Rory; that love is imperfect and doesn't solely define either of them, but it's an inextricable part of who they are.

[spacebar2]

I only like the dsmp ending because I like pain and misery.

[enchantress-arc]

In all honesty I desperately want to just start hypnotizing more people, and using them to hypnotize others. Turning them into walking advertisements for being a thrall. They're constantly blissful, constantly horny, they don't have to think or make decisions, their goddess does that for them, their goddess controls them and they couldn't be happier. Sure, they've been turned into a personal slut for a woman with basically no free will of their own, but that doesn't seem like a bad thing.

CW: Some hypno related CNC stuff. Just general "person being covertly hypnotized" type stuff.

Doing it in a more covert manner sounds wonderful as well. Say you happen to run into a friend. They say things in a bit of an odd manner sometimes, but they're able to hold a normal conversation. About halfway through a conversation with them you realize you're not sure what they're saying anymore All you know is that you want to keep listening. And it wouldn't really hurt to go meet their new friend. Of course, they're right, you'll get along with her quite well. When you first meet her, you can tell that there's something different about her.Something about her is just enchanting. It feels nice to listen to her voice. And she's so attractive. It's not hypnosis or anything, it's just a hot woman, of course it's normal to feel this way about her. Normal to get on your knees for her and kiss her bulge through her pants. And maybe go a bit further. The aftercare is perfect, just feeling her hold you, whispering affirmations into your ear. You barely notice the friend that brought you here masturbating in the corner, watching as you fall into her grasp. You can only focus on Her now. Only Her. She is all that matters. You fall asleep in Her arms, and you feel wonderful upon waking up. You leave, and go about your day like normal, working, doing chores, and you end up talking to a friend. You notice them starting to act a bit odd, tired, even more agreeable than normal. And suddenly the thought pops into your head that they'd love meeting your Goddess. They'd hit it off almost instantly, you're sure of it. And when you bring them to meet Her, you see them start to sink, start to become Hers, and you realize what's happening. She brainwashed you. You've been slipping little subliminal messages into your conversation with them, and you didn't even notice. You took a friend, someone who's trusted you for years, and you brought them to have their free will devoured, rewritten, brainwashed. You know you should be horrified, but you're not. You just want to watch. You want to play with yourself. It feels natural to play with yourself while you watch your friend become a doll, a drone, a perfect little sleeper agent to bring Her more toys. Oh god it's hot. You're Hers. You don't feel remorse, you feel arousal. It's perfect. She is perfect. And soon your friend is going to see that too. You don't finish that night. You both leave Her home in the morning, before you walk out the door, She makes you stay while they head out, and calls you a good thrall. You climax immediately, all of the buildup from last night coming back in an instant, stronger than anything you've ever felt before. And then you go about your days as usual. Maybe you don't run into anyone you know today, and you just go home. You remember what She did to you, what she did to your friend. And you just can't help it, you start playing with yourself. Your friend is probably doing the same thing to someone else right now. And it's your fault. Oh god it feels wonderful to know that, that someone else is being prepared to be brainwashed by your friend, and you did this to them. You made them a thrall. Who knows how many people you've doomed just by letting your guard down. You can feel the pleasure building, but never coming to a climax. And you want to finish. You wish She would give you permission. And then you remember this morning. She allowed you to finish after you left with Her new toy. She'll allow you to finish if you bring Her another. You're a good thrall. Good thralls finish when they please Her. When they bring Her more toys. You're a good thrall. You'll bring Her another toy. And this time you'll be fully aware of what you're doing. You'll feel your arousal growing as you slip those little subliminal messages into their head. It'll be even stronger next time with all of this buildup. Even better. Goddess rewards good thralls. You're a good thrall. And you'd do anything for Her.

[kimingyuslover]

Screen time

Synopsis : Soonyoung can only see you on his screen now.

Word count : 905

Pairing : Kwon soonyoung x reader

Genre : angst, lovers to exes

Warnings & note : TEARS, soonyoung's an ass, members mentioned, mention of alcohol, one (1) curse word, a few paragraphs are the literal lyrics lol, this fic does not represent his character in real life!

a.n : reading through the screen time lyrics translation today, WHY IS IT SO SAD???? anw sorry for my bad grammar

“Come on soonyoung, it's been what? 2 hours and you still checking your phone” Jun said while patting soonyoung's back lightly.

It's been a year since they broke up, and soonyoung still can't let you go. The worst of it? He's the cause of the downfall of your relationship.

Soonyoung failed to realise that he's an ass throughout your 3 years relationship, and when he did, you cuss him out and start to pack your belongings.

“I still love her, jun. it hurts" Soonyoung held his left chest, feeling the pain from his heart, tears welling in his eyes waiting to fall every now and then.

Jun gives him a sympathetic look, soonyoung’s other 11 friends are also worried about him, he refused to do anything except checking his phone as minutes pass, and they are aware of the reason.

It’s you.

When they heard about your break up, they didn't dare to do anything because deep down they know, this is the best for you, even though soonyoung have to be a miserable man.

they've seen the way he treated you back then, seungcheol remembers, the way soonyoung don't want to come to your third anniversary dinner even when he say he would come, and he easily lied to you that he exhausted so he sleep early last night even in reality he go to a club with them.

They tried, and they really tried to talk to soonyoung about his relationship. You always have to message them to know about soonyoung's condition.

They saw your disappointed expression when you have to pick up soonyoung the night you're supposed to have an anniversary dinner.

And they know you're done taking soonyoung's shit when you have to pick him up, again, and with the same expression as the night of your anniversary.

So when soonyoung said you both broke up, they're not surprised at all. The least they can say is that soonyoung doesn't deserve you, and he never will.

The night of your break up, soonyoung seems fine, and he always said that to everyone, but as days passed, he seemed to worsen more

His eye bags are prominent, and everyone can point out that he's not sleeping for at least 2 days.

Meanwhile, they can see you grow happier, away from soonyoung. Joshua, along with Wonwoo, are in the same department as you, and he can see the way you would always smile genuinely now. Before your break up, your smile always seemed to be forced.

After 1 month, soonyoung always stared at his phone, hoping that you would update anything, anything to your social media. You blocked him as soon as your relationship ended.

Then, you did, you’re always updating your life through social media, and he can clearly see you look so happy without him. He learned that it was, in fact, true because when he sees your old post, you don't seem to be happier than now.

Soonyoung cried everynight, wanting no more than to have your relationship back, to have your attention back to him.

He missed waking up to your eyes, and now he has to see them on his screen, both of his hands are occupied holding onto your relationship, and he keeps forgetting there is no relationship until the night returns and he gives himself up to slumber.

It's hard to let go of your relationship.

You're living as if nothing happened between both of you, you're colder than he thought, he feels naked and his heart is cold without you.

his worries were in vain, you're doing just fine without him, from your words to your happy photographs, he actually relieved, you're getting better.

Because he knows you're not going to get better if you're still with him.

He always wants to contact you, asking you how have you been? How are things? Is work going well? Are you taking care of yourself? Do you have any regrets?

He can't stop checking up on you. He worries about you everyday and night.

Your smile once an arrow that guided him, now it pierces his heart, he used to hate the attention you gave him, now he misses the attention that you gave.

He knew his regret was meaningless, he's sorry for the time you spent with him.

The days fade into the distant horizon, and your memories rise and fall. It's late, but he's sorry.

In the end, you're both going through different separations.

He wants to ask you another question, are you broken like him? He wants to know what you're eating and drinking these days and what you find happiness in.

He always wonders, what are you wearing today? who makes you laugh, who holds your hands, where you are headed.

He's just curious. This is how he has been, miserable.

“Tell the others we're going to the club, they can join us, i think i need more drinks” Soonyoung said as he got up from the couch and took his jacket, wallet, and lastly his phone.

Not even a minute later, his phone let out a sound of a notification he just set for you, he quickly checked his phone and opened his social media.

It was a photo of you, but you're not alone. There's a man hugging you close.

his eyes finding your caption in a fast motion, his heart breaks, yet again.

my boyfriend is getting more clingy lately

[yellowocaballero]

Anyway.

How many works do you have on AO3? 54. Hm. I don't remember writing 54 fics. That's weird. But I've been posting since 2017 so when you THINK about it 54 fics over 7 years isn't weird at all.

What’s your total AO3 word count? 2.4 million. What's your point.

What fandoms do you write for? A fuckton. I write both things I'm hyperfixated on and for random shit that comes in my head. I was into TMA for like two years so I have the most TMA fic (16), but most of my fandoms are 3-5 fics maximum. There's also a lot of random-ass fics for random-ass fandoms that just jumped in my head. Artemis Fowl, Beetlejuice, Animorphs...demons that overtook me for two weeks or so and never bothered me again.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? The Great Gender Heist (Artemis Fowl, no surprise there.), stay out of trouble (Detroit: Become Human, I reliably forget that one exists and I'm still mystefied as to why so many people read it), meek shall inherit (I'm constantly attempting to forget the Be More Chill phase ever happened), someone will remember us (Batman, fic's not great, am still very fond of that au) and dead or alive (DBH, mediocre). Why the hell are the two Detroit: Become Human fics so popular? I hate DBH so much. I was so angry while writing those.

Do you respond to comments? I am absolutely terrible about responding to comments. I am sorry. I do read and appreciate all of them. It's because I always need to give a dialectical so comments take ages to write. If you do want to hear my thoughts on something, my inbox is your best bet for a way too lengthy response.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Hope, Etc for certain. I try really hard to write bittersweet at worst endings, and even the sad endings in my fics have hope in them. Hope, Etc definitely ends in a better place than where it began. But it's still very sad. I was thinking about a lot of lost loved ones while writing it. Fishhooks and reel to reel also have downer endings but that is because they are LITERALLY Star Wars.

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Uhhhh. The ending of Solitaire (and the MLM/WLW hostility series in general) is very sweet. It's meaningful because it demonstrates so much growth from everybody with very little cost. I almost said Go Straight At The Cul De Sac, because it showcases a happier world where horrible historical events were averted, but the ending will always be a little bittersweet because we understand how much Protag sacrificed to create that better world.

Do you get hate on fics? Sometimes people are kind of weird. The worst of it is usually just useless comments, though. I had somebody get pedantic about how briefly mentioning an SUV would be historically inaccurate, and how I should have mentioned a minivan instead - like, did you read that fic and think I was from the suburbs? Do I look like I know what a minivan is? Lol? If I've received any actual more severe stuff I have no idea, since I delete the comment and delete it from my memory. I've never gotten anything too bad. I've been called ablest like three times, which is objectively hilarious.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? If I could write smut I'd be making bank on Kindle Unlimited right now.

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Probably the FE3H/BNHA one I'm writing right now that will never see the light of day. Just kidding. I don't actually think I've posted any real crossovers - I DO write them, I just kind of feel like they're cringe so I never post them. I write a lot of cringe shit that never sees the light of day.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not nearly popular enough for that.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Several people have mentioned wanting to do that, but nope.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Not technically. But I do want to give due honors to all of the friends who are SO instrumental in the building of the AUs, stories, characters, etc, that they've had a huge impact on the story itself. I try to recognize them by name in the fics themselves but my stories would look completely different if it wasn't for my friends. Definitely much worse.

What’s your all time favorite ship? I'll differentiate favorite ships and favorite fictional romances. For ships, it's much less about the ship and more about the role in the story. I tend not to pay a lot of attention to that while writing, but sometimes I get lost in my own sauce and I drive myself a bit nuts. I am very fond of Hanyookim, especially in my own ORV story. For romances? My top ten list of fictional romances is as follows: number one: naturally, Sasunaru -

What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? If it's up on AO3, it's done (with one or two very small exceptions - The Ending of Han Sooyoung epilogue I'll get to you I PROMISE). There's plenty of unfinished docs on my drive that I'll never finish, but that's because I decided that they weren't worth finishing.

What are your writing strengths? Dialogue and characterization. That's always been the case. I'm also pretty funny.

What are your writing weaknesses? Plotting. Action. Having stories that are not entirely dialogue. Where things happen and it's more than just people walking around talking. You know. Real stories -

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Always valid. I remember reading one Hispanic author talking about how he doesn't like italicizing the Spanish in his stories because it's otherizing, and I agreed enough with him that I don't tend to italicize other languages either. Sometimes I do. I try to do it purposefully, and to convey something that can only be conveyed through the extra language. I'll also only do it if I can have a friend who speaks that language write it out for me, since gtranslate sucks and I want to ask the friend how such a thing would actually be said and colloquialize it. I like using ASL in fics, and I am just in general begging people to a) write it like any other language, and b) understand that it's different from other languages and can't be written exactly the same. If your Star Wars fanfiction has so much gratuitous Mando'a that I can't understand anything the clones or Mandos are saying I hate you.

First fandom you wrote for? Batman Beyond. Yes, I have a FFN account somewhere. Yes, I was eleven. Yes, it was Batman Beyond.

Favorite fic you’ve written? The best thing I've written is Twilight on Owl Creek Bridge. Favorite is New Wave. That sucker took two years to write (INSANELY long for me) and it is exactly the story I wanted to write. Stephanie's a character I've been writing since I was 15, and the feeling of writing Stephanie and NAILING her for the very first time was so satisfying.

Tagging @usaigi and uh any other writer mutuals you all know who you are.

[eldrai]

While I like the Dogma & Tup being batchmates fanon, for whatever reason I'm drawn to them just meeting after Kamino and becoming friends to the point people just assume they're batchmates.

Tup's batchmate situation is pretty normal.

Dogma, on the other hand, only has two brothers leave Kamino with him. Their oldest (6920) was decommissioned before any of them remember him. The second oldest, '21, was decommissioned at five standard years. Dogma and '21 were close, and his other two brothers (who survived to have names, but I haven't thought of them yet because clone names are hard. '23 and '24) were close which left him as the odd one out after '21's death.

It also lead him to develop the attitude he did about following the rules. If you follow the rules, you won't be punished and if you're not punished, you won't be decommissioned, and they've already got eyes on their batch after '20 and '21. So Dogma became a sort of rigidly overprotective older brother to his other batchmates which drove a wedge between them quite considerably, furthering the three into a more twins + other dynamic instead of a trio. For their part, '23 and '24's withdrawal I imagine to be a combination of fear of decommissioning and a desire to distance themselves from their noticeably stranger batchmate, as the closeness to '21 makes them worry he could turn out the same way. Plus a little frustration on their end for Dogma seeming to boss them around all the time.

I think communication between them would not be very frequent and definitely not very personal. They're all more likely to keep tabs on the other one* (the two or Dogma) than actually reach out. I'm undecided whether it was strictly a numbers thing or a purposeful separation but I like to imagine '23 and '24 being assigned somewhere together with Dogma joining the 501st without any batchmates - not super unusual, as with fluctuating trooper numbers there's bound to be awkward numbers needed in different battalions, but generally most shinies have at least one batchmate initially.

He generally avoids talk of batchmates just because the assumption is that they died in battle if you have any fewer than four and he isn't keen to have to explain the situation nor revisit it; most of his happier memories were with '21 and he had a relatively lonely upbringing after that. I think it likely there would be some sort of stigma around having batchmates decommissioned, reconditioned or otherwise dead before graduating Kamino, a little like '23 and '24 were wary of Dogma. And he's self aware enough to know he doesn't want people to have another reason to find him off-putting.

I'm hesitant about writing it into any fics I'm currently writing just because I do like the Tup and Dogma thing and I don't want to box myself in. But I also want to explore a little what it might have been like on Kamino for Dogma

[tailless-whale]

Disclaimer: this post is mostly just me working out my feelings, trying to figure out how I feel etc. Also it's kinda long.

Ok so my partner is coming out as nonbinary (they/she) and I have a lot of thoughts about it...

I'm super excited for them!!! That feeling of accepting that you're trans is overwhelming but also so thrilling. I remember when my egg started to crack and I was like "fuck, I really am a boy". I got such a thrill when I accepted who I am. I'm so excited for them to be feeling that way and to be going through that journey because it's something I'm experiencing myself and it's been absolutely fantastic. Sure there were some painful moments but the positives far outweigh any negatives I've experienced. I'm happier than I've ever been in my life because I'm finally living my authentic self, and I'm so excited to see my partner go through all that and find herself. I love hearing how they're feeling and seeing how she gets a little happier when they tell me about her plans to transition.

I've also been thinking about and reevaluating my sexuality in relation to her gender identity. I struggled with my sexuality a while, and only recently (thought I had) figured it out. I used to identify as pansexual, but when I started dating again I found that I'm much more attracted to men than I am to women. For the past year or so I've identified primarily as a gay man, and my partner's transition has made me question that. I love my partner dearly and I plan to stick with them regardless of how they identify, but I do worry. I think I'm primarily attracted to masculinity, and I'm concerned that my attraction will wane if they decide to be more feminine. I don't think it will, but I do worry. I am a little frustrated though - I thought I had finally figured myself out, that I had a label that fit me - and now I don't know what I am all over again.

I've also been thinking about the challenges they'll face as a nonbinary person in a binary world. I identified as nonbinary for a long time before transitioning to a binary trans man, and it was hard feeling like I couldn't quite express my gender without facing opposition from those around me because I wasn't conforming to traditional gender roles. I don't think she'll have many problems with their friends, but I think some of her family will be a different story. I can see some of their family misgendering them out of ignorance or prejudice, and it's difficult and dysphoria inducing to be misgendered by people close to you. I don't like that she'll probably have to deal with that because I know how badly that hurts. I don't want her to feel pain because they're pursuing what makes them happy :(

I'm also wondering if their gender identity will change over time. Mine sure did! I knew from the beginning of our relationship that although they identified externally as a cis man, that they certainly are not a cis man. To be completely honest, I've been waiting for them to accept that they're not a cis man, and to actually do something about it. I've watched them try to perform masculinity in the same way that I tried to perform femininity before my egg cracked. Our second date they told me they didn't like their name and they prefer to go by things other than their birth name, and that they've already tried out a few names. When I asked them what name they would have chosen for themselves, I filed that answer away and nearly a year later, she told me that she was thinking of going by that same name they told me our second date. They've made so many offhanded comments that made me say "oh yeah, they're definitely not cis" that I was surprised this didn't happen sooner. I'm so happy that she's starting to accept, and perhaps eventually embrace their newfound gender. I do wonder if they'll ever go full girl, but I don't want to push them towards something they don't want or something she's not ready to do yet.

They're planning on shaving off their beard on Thursday and I'm super nervous about that (they started growing it when we first started dating; they've had a beard the whole time we've been together) but I'm happy that she's doing what makes her happy. I know I'll love her regardless of how they choose to look 💜

Also, I love using they/she for her!!! It feels so natural; I always felt weird about calling them a he. I keep wanting to call them my girlfriend but I still need to ask how she feels about that... I default to partner for now but I'll admit while writing this post I accidentally typed "girlfriend" a few times and had to correct myself.

Regardless of my worries, I'm super happy and excited for my partner and I'm looking forward to holding their hand every step of the way as they embark on their journey to trans their gender. I'm literally giggling and kicking my feet thinking about how it feels to reach different milestones and feel validated in one's identity, and I'm so psyched to see them experience those feelings. This is the start of a new era for them and it's so exciting to see how excited she is to do this! :D

[lgcdaeul]

hello, friends! this is so late, but that tracks for me... 😅 anyway, you can call me 𝒋𝒂𝒄𝒆 & some of you may remember me when i was here a rather long time ago. i had a muse named jeong kian, & another named lee yuan ( aka the common denominator, iykyk ). i was feeling ✨ nostalgic ✨ about them recently, so i decided to introduce a newer muse of mine to this space, one inspired by yuan, but less of an agent of chaos, & i hope you enjoy getting to know him ( oh, & please like this post for plots )!

his name is 𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒅𝒂𝒆𝒖𝒍. he was born on 20041002 in seoul, & someday, he hopes to become a main/lead vocalist, a singer-songwriter, & full-time hedonist...

🌙

daeul grew up in seoul as the son of a religious philanthropist / accountant, & a choir director. his family are devout catholics, & though he never enjoyed having to sit still for long hours in church, when he got old enough, he discovered his love of singing after joining his church's choir. his mother, its director, was overjoyed to see that she had something of a prodigy on her hands. she always bragged about how he must've been given the same musical gifts as her, a "blessing by god himself" if you will.

growing up, he learned quickly that, the likelihood of the people in his life accepting him for who he is was dramatically low, so he adjusted by painting on the most charming face he could, & keeping his real self hidden from them. there's truth to his charm, it's something he possesses to this day, but as a child, it was often amplified & used as mask. sadly, there was nothing more lethal-seeming to him than to be disliked or unloved. this is also something he possesses to this day.

for years, he appeased his parents & never focused on himself. when he wasn't at school or studying, he was working on his vocals, or he was attending piano lessons, or he was at church. all of his time was filled whatever they wanted him to do, & though their praise of him was nice to hear, he realized that it didn't feel meaningful. ever. their love started to feel superficial, & he was partly to blame. without realizing it, he manufactured himself into the perfect filial son, & the pressure of keeping that image up started to feel crushing.

where he truly found himself was in the hallways at school. an all boys' catholic school, at that ( it's giving bare: the musical / bare: a pop opera for all you musical theatre fans ). this is where he fell in love over & over again, where he wrote the best music he's ever written, & where he, strangely, felt more free than ever before. sure, the "freedom" he found was often in the form of sneaking around campus, hiding under bleachers, & staying after hours in the music room to kiss other boys, but it helped him put the pieces of himself together more.

then, he decided to be bold & audition for legacy entertainment. his boyfriend at the time encouraged him, saying that his voice was too good not to be heard on a wider scale, & feeling confident, he put his best foot forward & took a chance. little did they know, the company would decide to take a chance on him, as well. this is where his life changed entirely, & despite still being shackled to the strictness of a highly respected entity in the industry, he still feels more free than ever before. now, his entire life is steeped in music & creativity, & he's ultimately very happy; much happier than he was back at home.

now, how do his parents feel about all of this? well, they don't know about any of his high school shenanigans—thank goodness!—but in regard to his career as an idol, they're not very pleased. they miss him in church, as he's stopped going entirely, & they've noticed a change in him that they don't think is a positive one. unfortunately for them though, daeul strongly disagrees. he's never felt better. he wishes they were happy for him, but he's learning not to care so much about what they want for him.

no, this new chapter of life, he's vowed to focus on what he wants for himself. please wish him luck on this new journey forward!

✨

as far as plots are concerned, i'd love anything & everything! i'm a sucker for plots that include a lot of depth. as for daeul, he's a fan of a lot of romance. it could take on many forms, be they past or present, & he'd eat 'em all up like they're spoonfuls of lemon & honey.

despite deciding to be more "selfish" after leaving home, he's still a good friend to have around. he's there for everyone he loves. he'd also love music collaborators, duet partners, literally anyone that fuels him creatively, & that he can fuel creatively, too.

i'm sure some of his relationships with people aren't ideal, & he's still rather uncomfortable with the idea of anyone disliking him. he tries so hard to be pleasant & keep the peace ( typical libra sun ), but i'm sure some people can sense that some of that is fake. feel free to give him a hard time about it.

other side of the coin, being that he enjoys the finger things in life, daeul can occasionally come across as snobbish. maybe he said or did something that pissed your muse off, or he came across really disconnected during a conversation; something!

typically i prefer to brainstorm, so as mentioned above, feel free to like this post & i'll reach out to you for plotting. so excited for what we can come up with together!

[shrinkthisviolet]

Here's my hot take of the day: people are wayyy too harsh on Nate + Andy's friends.

The worst thing they did, which I'll never excuse them for, is throw Andy's phone around and make fun of how desperate she was to answer it. That was a jerk move.

HOWEVER people act like they constantly did this, which isn't true! They did it once, and never again.

Yeah, they were upset that she couldn't make it to Nate's birthday. You know why? Because they're adults with very different jobs, and all my fellow adults out there can attest how difficult it is to find free time to meet up with a bunch of friends. They planned that in advance, got a reservation, etc. So yeah, they were disappointed that she didn't show. I would be too!

But they didn't make her feel bad about it beyond that disappointment on the phone. They went on being friends, being warm and friendly with her, etc. Even Nate didn't make a fuss over her missing his birthday, because he knew it was for her job! People say he was petulant about it, but uh...no, he wasn't. He was disappointed she couldn't make it, but he clearly understood, even complimenting how she looked.

Lilly finally ends her friendship with Andy because she sees Andy happily flirting with Christian at the gallery exhibition. While Andy's still in a relationship with Nate. Yeah, I'd be pissed too if I saw my friend flirting with another guy while still in a relationship! It shows how Andy's letting the job get to her head and change her—she's emotionally cheating on Nate! Even if Nate sucked (which he doesn't), two wrongs don't make a right.

Speaking of Nate...so here's the thing about him, right: he is supportive of her, by and large. She starts off the job complaining, spends a lot of time doing that...but he supports her goal to stick it out for a year and then move into journalism.

The only times he raises misgivings are:

When he sees she hasn't quit after the manuscript incident. Remember that this is the same day she called him and was talking about how she's going to quit and how it's for the best, etc. She sounded happier than ever on the phone, too. So...yeah, as her partner, he's excited for her to quit, to put herself first (remember, they've been living together. He knows the crazy unhealthy hours she's had to work. Especially since her dad knew and brought up these concerns, Nate probably has too). And he's disappointed to see she didn't quit after all, and is even working on the twins' science project late at night. She's still sacrificing her wellbeing for this job, that's a valid thing to be concerned about. Him saying "I liked the old clothes" wasn't about the clothes—it was about Andy. He missed the old Andy, who didn't wear herself out for a job that didn't seem to care about her

When he finds out Andy's going to Paris, even though that was apparently Emily's thing, and hasn't told him. It's been a while since she found out (a few days maybe?), and you'd think she would confide something that serious in him, especially since this is coming from someone who, until recently, has only ever complained to him about Runway. Yes, we know Andy didn't confide in him because she's already having a crisis of conscience as it is, but he doesn't know that, because she won't communicate. And beyond that, she's not taking responsibility for her choice to stay in this job despite what it's demanding of her emotionally, mentally, and even it seems morally—she was backed into a corner by Miranda, sure, but she could've chosen to quit Runway and go work at Auto Universe, her backup option. She chose not to. That was an active choice she made, and Nate's right, she has to own that choice. She can express regret for it, but she has to own it. She's an adult, her choices are her choices.

Anyway. I just figured I'd make this since I rewatched recently and realized that the friends and Nate aren't actually as bad as other fans of this movie make them sound. I used to think they sucked too, but...no, not really. We just think so because we know way more about Andy's situation than they do, but the fact is, they weren't so horrible given what little they knew about what was going on.

[insertsickusername13]

okay yes toxic jake and chloe i love it. screaming yelling fighting, angry sex in bathroom stalls and school custodian closets and ruthlessly spreading rumors and absolutely hating each other for years but still ending up back together when it's dark and they're alone. jake and chloe who are shocked back into reality after the fire and squip and realize they're better off with other people yes yes endgame richjake endgame pinkberry or whatever other ship you want BUT also jake and chloe broken up but jake and chloe still in love with the idea of each other

jake and chloe in january after the fire when chloe comes out as lesbian and jake's so supportive in public but the second he's alone in his apartment he's in tears because I was supposed to marry her. It was over, he knew it was, but there was still some part of him that had his entire future revolving around coming back to her

Chloe with a girl, so much happier than she's ever been with Jake, but when things don't work out with that girl and she's single again she calls Jake with the intention of hooking up, of angry break up-make-up sex even though that break up was with someone else and it's only after he picks up that she realizes she doesn't want that anymore. He doesn't want that anymore. He still drives over and he still holds her but it's not like it was.

They don't forgive each other and they aren't friends but they've still got that time after the SATs in spring when jake took her out to lunch because he was finally stress-free and she can tell that they're there for a reason and she's scared it's going to be a I still love you, but then she's shocked with a "How'd you know?" "Know what?" "I mean. About. That. Girls. That you---" and he looks so flustered and scared and Chloe's trying to be better so instead of relishing in his discomfort she just talks him through everything and somehow it ends with him apologizing and her apologizing and they know they're never ever going to be what they once were---there's never even gonna be acquaintances, they'll see each other once a year when they come home for holiday breaks (if that, because does Jake really have a home to come back to?) but no matter what, she's going to be his first love and he'll be the only name she remembers from high school when she's old and has a life with new friends and a new personality that isn't just a manifestation of her own self-hatred

[natjennie]

hello mutual jennie natjennie im thinking rn like can you imagine if all the ghosts that had been there when cap was alive didn’t really pay him much attention bc they were all more occupied doing their own thing or thought some other soldier was more interesting or whatever. and then he died and they all realized oh shit this guy has a lot going on and they should have paid attention to what he was doing when he thought no one else was around bc there’s no way he’s telling them anything now. i don’t know where i’m going with this but like. you know

OUUUUGGHGGHHHH that's sooooooooo sad because like. I always forget that a lot of them were around for whoever else's death until it's really explicitly pointed out like fanny telling her story and thomas going "I did know all that, I was there" and the thomas thorne affair with everyone's different recollections of how it happened and the quick scene in perfect day when pat remembers his death but this time the ghosts are there and all wince like. it's hard to reconcile the ghosts as Ghosts in the past, that they've been here in roughly the same state through everyone else that has passed yknow within their timeline. kitty is kind of iffy because everyone seems to know that she's touchy about her sister and it's not wise to talk about her past, but no one outright takes over narrating for her or giving their own perspectives so it's hard to say if they definitely bore witness to her life but.

if the captain just. didn't get that at all. no one knew or noticed or payed attention. that makes everything so much more tragic because then NO one knows him. all those little things that make someone human, the things that only family and loved ones get to see, your quirks and your habits when you're alone and truly yourself. things that you would share with people you trust. NO ONE has shared that with him. because if the ghosts are around then there's always this little seed of hope, right like. when I said a nice word to my plant, someone noticed and cared and it made someone a little happier. or when I tripped and busted my ass it was embarrassing but it hurt and maybe someone felt bad for me in another plane. but if they straight up ignored him. he has nothing to show for his life. I mean we have no knowledge of a family or friends. other than havers but I can't get into that right now. so like.. no one in his life ever got close to him to feed that little spark of humanity. and then no one on this constant other plane of people noticed him either!

the idea that the ghosts don't say anything about cap's life not because they're respectful of his privacy but. because they don't know. and in all those years no one has tried to learn anything about him. they stay silent about the bomb and the letter and his time on the front and his military experience because they didn't care to pay attention to it.

it all just feeds so much into the fact that we are defined by our connections to each other and the idea that humans are social creatures and that like "these are my ribs- as defined by your reaching" or whatever that poem says. I mean. we become who we are because of our reflection in others. names are sounds other people use to get our attention. and he doesnt fucking have one.

[zoyalannister]

yes exactly, she used that space to gain representation points, even if it makes no sense the way and that obviusly is going to be awkward for flora to be with anna and ari in their first travel together because if cc sees anna as grief-free and happier than ever, then she would be affectionate with ari. maybe they even have to share suites even with different rooms, or share even rooms as women in that time wouldnt take a room to themselves in certain places, so it would be awkward.

also i noticed the end also has family scenes in one way or another of everyone except gabriel and cecily, which i don't get if it is to say they get excluded from the group , as in the last scene everyone was talking to someone not from the direct family except them that were alone with their youngest.

in the end there is also a scene where thomas and alastair are mentioning domestic stuff related to zachary like getting him a dog, they have been together so little, and zachary has a mother, why do they talk like they are the parents? there is not this approach with james and cordelia with him who are more solid in that moment

In my opinion giving more space to Gabrily would have made CC gain representation points, since they’re the ones who canonically accepted their daughter’s homosexuality and, unlike all the other characters that accepted their non straight children without beating an eye in 1903, for them it actually make sense.

Or, another representation, could have been revealing that Thomas is so scared of letting anyone know he is gay despite literally no one has problems wirh Anna being out and proud, is that he overheard Gideon tell Gabriel something like "are you sure you’re actually okay with Anna liking women?" and in ChoT Thomas and Gideon could have had an emotional talk about Gideon accepting him. It would have made more sense both for Thomas’s character and because we know Gideon since TID and the readers care about him.

But Flora popped out from literally nowhere, I don’t even remember if we knew her name before ChoT and now she is suddenly one of the best mothers.

Anon, don’t let me start about how shit Gabrily were treated in this book. Gabriel sees his batshit crazy sister holding a knife against his toddler's throat and says nothing?! Are you fucking kidding me?!

I totally believe that if Gabrily's personality hadn’t been devastated in this shit series, they would have probably sorted out the entire plot, resolved the miscommunication between Anna and Ari and saved Grace from Tatiana all in 40 pages.

But they had to be treated like shit and put aside even in their important moments. They were literally brought their son’s body but we are told that Tessa and Will cry because the idiots they have for children are alive in London and Gabrily aren’t even mentioned. Are you fucking kidding me?? Why should I care about Wessa??

And the fact that they are isolated in the end it makes sense to me, idk where you live, but unfortunately in my country is quite common that people leave alone a grieving family and since no one of the others cared about Kit, except for Henry Fairchild, in my head it makes sense that they all left Gabrily alone in their grief.

I will tell you a hot take, anon: if Wessa was done dirty one tenth of how much Gabrily was done dirty in this shit book (and series), the general consensus would be our opinion.

About Thomastair you’re 100% right: no one in their right mind thinks about family, a dog, adopting children with the person they've been dating just six months. Also Thomas and Alastair are so emotionally immature that they couldn’t even talk to each other about their own feelings until after they have sex, but somehow I have to believe they have this strong and pure love just because they're a MM couple.

They're barely able to take care of themselves, they shouldn’t have dogs or, god forbid, children at least for 5 or 10 years, when they'll maybe be mature people.

I think that Cassandra tried to recreate Malec 2.0, with the difference that Malec are more mature than Thomastair and they adopt Max after two years of relationship, since at that point both Magnus and Alex are mature enough to take care of a child.

Thomastair instead are too immature to have a conversation, why should I believe they are ready to adopt a child?

This book is just nonsense garbage.

[maxwell-grant]

any thoughts on the game awards street fighter trailer?

Not too many but a few, the game's got a loooot of content to cover and I'll stick with mostly some character impressions

Dee Jay! I have never been happier to see Dee Jay! ...I've never usually been happy to see Dee Jay, granted, but this redesign is really all that was needed for me to unreservedly love the dude, it does away with the biggest problem with him that was his basic and kinda-racist design (the new art style also helps a lot). It's such an upgrade in terms of his style and vibe and conveying the kickboxing DJ concept. He looks like someone I'd find at Mongaguá beach if I went down there tomorrow, drumming away and living his best life. I'm so happy for this dude.

I like that they opened the trailer with him, with a club party and him dancing along with the protagonist. LOVE the music notes on his new Super, love his new animations and that camera autograph victory pose, love the sparkles and ways they've incorporated his old moves (he's got a Sonic Boom fakeout and, as obnoxious as that's gonna be to deal with, it's a pretty brilliant choice and one that fits him superbly)

Love that the new minigames, I mean of course they brought the basketball parry, and I'm sure the car destruction's gonna be real fun as always, but I'm surprised they dug back that far and brought some things we haven't seen since Street Fighter 1.

I think it's really remarkable that, for the trailer shown at The Game Awards of all things, they chose to focus on the return of, arguably the least popular of the New Challengers, and three new characters. Everyone assumed it was a dead giveaway that this was gonna be the Cammy trailer and the fact that it wasn't, and that people still absolutely loved it without complaints, man, what a testament to how confident these guys are in what they're doing. I have never seen a Street Fighter title be this brazen in it's new faces in the trailer period, I've never seen one where EVERY new character or return of an old character, without exception is incredibly popular and well-received.

I'm not too big on Manon? I do like her but she's probably my least favorite as of yet, feels a little more gimmicky than the others and I kinda wonder if she wasn't some SFV concept that they held off on (in fact I'm pretty sure I remember seeing some characters like her on the drafts for Kolin and Menat). She's definitely filling a much-needed niche as the agile pseudo-grappler and, those months of dance training I took for music theater definitely give me a greater appreciation for her animations and pose work.

She's been compared with Abel a lot but I kinda feel like she's a response to Shermie? Definitely with her alt costume. Capcom and SNK riff on each other all the time and I do wonder if someone in the SF6 dev team saw that KOF XV Shermie trailer a couple years back that got the biggest viewcount of all the characters and thought to themselves, hey why don't we have our own sexy French fashionista grappler lady, and that's how Manon was born.

Oh GOD, Marisa, the standout of the trailer to me. I was hooked from the design alone but that trailer, good God, what a character. Everyone thought she'd be a grappler but no, she's just a tank, absolute beast mode woman who just bulldozes through whatever puny shit you do to repaint the pavement with your face. I get stupid looking at this character, what a glorious addition to the Giants Club of Street Fighter characters.

SHE LIFTS LIONS LIKE KITTIES, living the dream.

She might have some ties to the Illuminati characters? I’m curious if she’s gonna be a villain or anti-hero or on the “just here to fight good” alignment, I’m cool with all of these.

She’s Zangief-size and built for it and we’ve NEVER seen a female character be depicted like this in a fighting game. Every other “big girl” people point to in these games is pretty much always some fitness model with, at best, muscle definition in the arms but a typically thin stomach and torso, identically-attractive to all the other female characters but slightly more ripped.

You never see women characters built the way Marisa is, You just don’t see muscular women depicted often (if at all) outside of either someone’s fetish or someone’s punchline. Fighting games have a marginally better track record with body type diversity than other game genres but still an incredibly, painfully limited one when it comes to women, who are given like two body types to work with and no one would be able to tell 80% of them apart in either type if they switched acessories.

I am supremely glad over the fact that this is a SF6 character just now making her debut, because if Marisa had debuted at any prior installment in the series I do not think she would have been allowed to be this way. If she was in the 2/Alpha/3 titles, there is no way she'd have been given such an unapologetically burly design, and if she was a IV/V character, she'd be most certainly some kind of awful joke they’d have to rework later.

I love that Marisa is a bruiser, that she’s got an rowdy attitude and might even be a villain, but that she’s not fucking Abigail (...I mean maybe she IS fucking Abigail, I don’t know her life, if anyone could do it it’s her but why would anyone want that tho), that she’s allowed to be so cool. I have nothing but praise for this character so far and I really wanna see how her story unfolds and also I NEED TO PLAY THIS.

I main Big Lads in fighting games and I main all the Big Lads in Street Fighter and now I need to main The Big Lass, I need to land that glorious counter of hers ASAP, I need to Sparta Kick my way through matches, this character has my playstyle written over her and I need this game to be out now damnit

I’m sure he was a nice guy and obviously not saying he was the sole cause of everything, but every step of this development process I’ve been thanking my stars that Ono quit the team, we are so unbelievably lucky

While I was holding out some hopes that Capcom would make the final boss a woman this time around (especially with all the new characters being so great that this wouldn’t be a worrying prospect), I was also very curious for JP and I’m really excited with how he’s turned out.

He definitely feels like they took their time connecting a whole lot of separate design ideas and undercurrents into a single character to carry them. He is a rich fighting dandy, a modern equivalent to Dudley and Eagle (Eagle in particular since he was the first weapon user in the series). Some have brought up comparisons between him and Rugal Bernstein, which makes a lot of sense as a character to emulate if you’re doing a Final Boss who’s supposed to be like Bison but different, a next evolution of Bison and his power, since that’s kinda what Rugal was, the next evolution of the Fighting Game Final Boss after Bison and Geese.

Like Ed and Falke, he’s another new character who wields Psycho Power and has mysterious connections to Bison, except he doesn’t suck. He’s got a fantasy wizard vibe and his single-letter name and style seems to imply some sort of connection to G, another powerful fighting wizard dressing and behaving like authority figure, and by far the standout character of V.

G was also said to be the Final Boss of SFV, a position I do think he was qualified for but never really fulfilled because, I don’t think he was supposed to be that entirely, I think they retroactively made him the Boss when Necalli proved to be a dud and the story mode revolved around Bison but they still needed someone who could be the V Boss for assorted reasons.

I think JP is kind of them taking that idea, of G as a Final Boss and important character in the storyline, and sort of doing it right this time around, as he also follows that theme of succession they’ve been doing with these bosses: Emperor/King (Sagat) - Dictator (Bison) - Cult Leader Messiah (Gill) - C.E.O (Seth) - President (G) - N.G.O Oligarch (JP)

He hits such an absurd amount of my aesthetic and conceptual tastes that I, almost don’t believe he’s real? He’s Bison 2 + Eagle + Rugal + G. He’s a Russian supervillain with a dapper red suit vest, gloves reminiscent of black claws, a wonderful mustache and beard combo, and he fights with a cane. He’s got a killer design I absolutely need to take a crack at cosplaying after the game is out.

He has a cat, a detail deemed important enough to go in his bio. He’s voiced by Wally Wingert and Tomokazu Sugita, two people I could watch in anything. He’s got a sick fighting style summoning portals and claws and spike energy spires and one of the most murderous supers in the game yet.

He’s Christopher Lee as a Street Fighter final boss. Can you blame me for thinking more and more that this game is made for me?

[depthbuffer]

I absolutely love how clearly you can hear the progression of ideas, confidence, and access to equipment operating so clearly when listening to Radiohead's albums in chronological order.

Starting way back with Pablo Honey where they were little more than an above-average guitar & drum indie ensemble with some catchy song writing.

Then the opening bars of Planet Telex on The Bends hit, and it's like, what the balls? There are feedback loops, phasers, flangers, filters, echoes and delays all over that. I don't know what sort of gear they used, and feel like looking it up would remove a little of the magic, but it seems like the kind of stuff you could fairly easily do with access to little more than a decent console, a reel-to-reel recorder, and a larger collection of guitar pedals than they had before, and I choose to hold on to that headcanon.

The album as a whole frequently veers back into familiar live ensemble territory, but there are all these little touches here and there that show them starting to branch out into new (to them) techniques, and I like to think they knew exactly what they were doing when choosing the heaviest showcase for all of that as the opener.

Then comes OK Computer. The use of layering really shines here; they're clearly getting comfortable with using the studio to "perform" as a much larger ensemble than they really are. Again, every track is littered with these little touches of filter sweeps in the background, haunting one-off appearances of things that might be sampled vocals, might be theremins, might be synths.

And of course the vocals on Fitter Happier.

Then a three year gap. Which isn't actually as large as I remember: there had been two years gaps between each of the previous three albums, but this one will always feel longer to me because I didn't discover them until the OK Computer days. It was actually the first time I started paying attention to contemporary music; up until that point I'd payed recorder in school (as in, I was the nerdy one who could actually play and kind of enjoyed it, in a class of kids who had it forced upon them and didn't care, as was the done thing in British schools of the era), liked the idea of classical but didn't really love it, had a singular played to death Kraftwerk cassette (The Mix), and knew I didn't care for what I was hearing on radio or TV.

Kid A. What a rollercoaster. Does the opening track, Everything in its Right Place, contain a single acoustic instrument apart from Thom's voice? Again, I think they knew exactly what they were doing putting this one front & centre. It's synths, but it's not synth pop in any way, shape or form. These aren't the cheesy FM presets of the 80s. They were a medium different from the guitars and drums that had come before, but the message is still unmistakably Radiated. To anyone who'd been paying attention, anyway: people fucking hated it. Even I didn't know what to make of it at first.

Then they doubled down a year later with Amnesiac, like a massive middle finger to all the haters who just wanted them to keep doing what they'd been doing.

Which, ironically, is exactly what they were doing: but what they'd been doing all along was growing and evolving, they just took a bigger step this time.

Years later people have come round; to Kid A, at least. But they took their time. Amnesiac still gets little love, but go back and give it another chance. Pyramid Song. Knives Out. Dollars and Cents. Even the meandering two-minute one guitar, one synth noodle that is Hunting Bears. It's not the monument people wanted, but I maintain that it IS a monument.

I could go on, but I won't. It's a shame that Radiohead as a band barely exist any more; they've all started various side projects, the gaps been albums are getting longer. A Moon Shaped Pool came out seven years ago. But sadly it makes sense, given that their whole thing was always about finding new ways to express themselves.

[sunskate]

Having followed CPom for years, GPa aren't that much better if they're better at all. Anthony's increasingly injured ankle(which they really should have had taken care of ages ago) slowed them down and made Anthony regress and make more mistakes, but he was a huge generational talent since he was young, just watch them as juniors. Anthony is still recovering but even though you can see he's a bit rusty he's looked more solid than he has in absolute AGES. Three clean comps in a month, steady on the twizzles, and looks so much happier and more confident. Christina looks amazing, her dancing, expression, skating, all seriously improved. Their connection and performance quality has improved a lot, partially from coaching but also they're clearly happier and more confident. Even with a late start they looked great especially live, they have had six weeks since golden spin to improve and make changes. When GPa started they looked like a disaster and lost to the Taschlers, but cleaned up over the season. Do I think GPa have the advantage? Yeah, I think the odds are more in their favor. But CPom aren't massive underdogs, they've reinvented themselves this season and provwn themselves. Besides, this is Anthony's home ice and where they won their Junior National title, so hopefully good vibes!!

i agree that CPom are looking really good skating-wise, performance-wise, program-wise, and in their confidence and demeanor. i think there was an overreaction to Gr/Pa's debut at Finlandia, from me included, because last season's FD was so stunning, and this season's is so safe and blah that it felt disappointing. but they skated clean and looked good for having been at MIDA just over 2 months. the Taschlers are a good team, too, and Gr/Pa were behind them by 1.51 pts.

so i'm curious about young CPom - i've watched all their junior programs, and they were very good very young, period. but the part i have a question about is the generational talent thing. That phrase i understand to mean you're the kind of talent who comes along once in a generation. Scott Moir as a generational talent, i get that

i remember hearing that being said about Anthony too, but i don't understand it the same way. every single interview or article about them when they were young would mention right away who his parents are. did the generational thing come because it's an intriguing part of his story that he's a 2nd generation ice dancer with OGM parents? and this isn't to take anything away from him, he's unquestionably talented. like if those two meanings of generation got conflated, or if people really meant he's a once in a blue moon skater? and who said it

anyway, can't wait to see them on thursday- i really want CPom to go to worlds, but i hope both teams have amazing skates

[notebookmusical]

Hi! I meant to reply sooner but I guess I've been distracted so I apologize. Also I'm sorry if I can't remember everything. Oh that's cool..and it seemed like a fun trip. I saw some of your posts about seeing Holly Humberstone in concert and going to the aquarium. I hope you still ended up having a good time even though the airline or travel sucked. I've only been on one plane a long time ago so I can't relate. But I am also going out of town this weekend but we are driving. Also if you're still sick, I hope you're feeling better. My sister is starting to feel sick too actually.

I keep up with the show through gifs mostly and know the basics. I've watched a few clips too. I've also heard the show is a lot better than the books. What do you think? What is your favorite season so far? Does it match up with your favorite book? I think the most popular is season two with Kate and Anthony and that's the one I'm most familiar with too. I don't know much about Jonathan Bailey but I heard him sing the last five years before so I know he can sing pretty good so I'm excited to see him as Fiyero.

Haha I love Shameless but I wouldn't really compare it to The Bear besides the attitude of his and other characters I guess. It's about a tough Chicago family and they deal with crazy situations. Unfortunately I never even finished the show and I don't remember why. It definitely got weaker in the last few seasons. I still love it but think it would be a hard show to recommend based on what you like lol but I'm excited for the Bear.

Billie's album has grown on me a lot more now with more listens. I'm glad you liked it. I feel it was a good mix of her other albums if you never listened to her before. My favorites are Skinny, Lunch, Birds of a Feather, L'amour de ma Vie and Blue. At first, I wasn't impressed and the transitions or production threw me off. I think two songs were actually pretty similar to Taylor actually. The obvious one was L'amour de ma vie which I knew even reading the title translates to love of my life. It's similar or almost the opposite cuz in this song she's saying she said it but Taylor says the other person says it about her. I just found that interesting that it was the same concept basically being told in a different way. I feel similarly about gonnagetyouback and Get Him Back by Olivia and I guess Peter vs Wendy. How they're not really similar songs at all despite having the same kind of idea. The other one was that the end of the Greatest in the bridge reminded me of her song Happier than Ever but also the bridge of Smallest Man who Ever Lived. But I don't think Billie is similar to Taylor at all compared to the other two..I think she is more like Lana. I just found it to be an interesting coincidence though but that's all. I need some more time with Zayn's album but my favorite is called Stardust. Overall I like that all of the 1D boys have different styles and music and same for all of the popular albums from this year.

The new twenty one pilots album is amazing and I love it so much. It's like a blend of all of their styles which is really awesome. I liked it right away but my sister was expecting a bit more since they said it would have a lot of lore and it was the end of a story they've been telling for the past few albums. They also had a Livestream and music videos for each song which they talked about so it felt like an event and was really fun. I definitely recommend the album but don't feel bad if you don't get to it. I also feel behind on some albums since I've spent lots of time listening to this album and Taylor's, but they will both definitely be my albums of the year lol. I am already starting to connect some songs with past Taylor songs too. I think if I had to pick a Taylor album to compare it to, maybe Midnights? But there has also been some theories about a double album too and if the story is truly over which also lines up perfectly with Taylor lol. But we are also waiting on one more mv to drop that can wrap up the story so idk. Anyway my favorite songs are Next Semester, Navigating, Midwest Indigo, Vignette, Snapback, Oldies Station and Paladin Strait.

Omg how did you only just now watch the sisterhood of the traveling pants movie? I love the movie and thought it was a good adaptation of the book. I did read the whole series too which I love. Did you also watch the second movie too? They also said a while ago that number 3 is still in the works and I love that they're still close too. I think just based on what I've read so far, Funny Story will be in the middle maybe and I understand some criticisms. The plot itself seems more tropes compared to her other books but it's also a mix of her other books to me. So far, I think I like Beach Read or Book Lovers the best. It is interesting when I read articles about which ones are the best and the rankings are always different, which is good cuz there is something for everyone and people connect with different things. I will definitely try to finish along with Carley's too hopefully now that it's summer time.

I can't believe the Tony's are almost here. I spent part of my weekend watching more performances and it's hard to say what will win best musical. They're all pretty different in a good way. I've also tried to read more reviews and what people thought but I'm still bad at predicting lol. I watched one Stereophonic performance and I think people seem to like it a lot so you're probably right about it winning. It makes sense if it's about musicians that it would only be about an album worth of songs though. I think my favorite is the Outsiders still, but I'm probably biased cuz of the book and I have read pretty mixed reviews. I will send the rest in a part 2!

you're totally fine, friend! <33 hope you've been well!! i did have a good trip regardless of the travel day from hell. i hope you're having a fun time out of town!! did you know that i have never been in a car longer than like three hours (basically how long it would take me to drive down to portland or vancouver)? i am still sickly :( me and my victorian child immune system just does not want to kick this cold away unfortunately.

my favorite season is season two! and it matches with my favorite book (anthony's)! i think my ranking of the siblings are: anthony → francesca → hyacinth → eloise → gregory → colin → benedict → daphne & in terms of books, it's anthony → francesca → colin → hyacinth → eloise → gregory → benedict → daphne. the new season is coming so soon and i'm very excited! i saw some kanthony related spoilers on twitter, and am stoked. i loveee jonathan bailey! he's phenomenal in the last five years, and was also so lovely in company and american psycho! i'd love to see him do more theatre.

i really really like billie's new album! a couple of the songs on there have made it onto my june playlist (lunch, birds of a feather, wildflower, and skinny)! i've also been listening to maggie rogers' newest album quite a bit, as well as please please please by sabrina carpenter, isabel by isabel pless and close to you by gracie abrams. and of course, charli xcx's newest album, brat — i've been listening to b2b, von dutch, 360, club classics and talk talk a lot.

there's a lot of quintessential movies that my friends grew up watching that i totally missed out on! sisterhood of the traveling pants was one of them, and i'm really glad i got to watch it with a friend who loved it — made the experience so much more special! i haven't gotten around to watching the second movie yet; scheduling movie nights with my friend is difficult (we have opposite work schedules) but i think we will watch it together eventually! and then the third one, when it comes out!

beach read and book lovers are my favorites! i'm very curious to see what emily henry writes next! i've been reading very little — just a lot of classics lately (finished the phantom of the opera, still making my way through gatsby & started the hunchback of the notre dame), and i started s./ship of theseus last night but i'll be taking my time with it! it's quite overwhelming!

tony awards next weekend!!! eeeee! i'm so excited! i'm really rooting for the outsiders (partially out of spite, partially because it's what i predicted). i wish stereophonic got to perform! i think it's silly they wouldn't let them! see you in a bit for part two <333