#WHAT DO YOU MEAN STRAIGHT TO “ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS”????

[rhaeheartzsquirrelz]

General Sevika Headcannons

Sevika x Female Reader (Fluff)

Content (w): You’re horny in like.. once? Angst at the end, but its short.

Proofread || Note: I didn’t mean to disappear, writers block got to me :( Kinda short and this is, a tiny bit, rushed.

MEN DO NOT INTERACT!!!!

Random

Big on whistling. Does it when she needs your attention, when she’s checking you out, even when she’s teasing. She likes seeing the look on your face. Especially eye rolls, do one with a face and she’s giddy.

Insanely good at Sudoku. She picked it up a while back when Silco taught her the magic behind the numbers. Now, she’ll challenge the old man and watch as he pinches the bridge of his nose while she’s smiling smugly.

Loves when call her, or anything that belongs to her, cool. She likes being cool. That’s probably why she lets her cape fly off during fights.

Hates her glasses, mainly because they lack functionality, but enjoys seeing you thirst over them. She’d going blind and you’re over here drooing over her, she loves that. And, just for fun, she’ll wear a turtleneck; which, gets you hornier than ever.

Expression

Is she good at being romantic? No. She’s never had someone to be.. soft with. In a way, you’re the first person she’s ever opened up to. Be it letting you know her interests, her dislikes, her favourites, or just small, “not so very tough” things about her. However, she’s only just getting used to those things.

Flowers is all Sevika really knows. On her way back from her backbreaking job, she’ll grab you a few flowers from the market or straight up pluck one she randomly saw and surprise you.

Not so good with words. That woman doesn’t have a clue on how to comfort you. Why? Because she’s never been in a situation where she’s had someone talk her through her problems. Where she’s been able to let slip an ounce of vulnerability. Tragic, but she’s learning.

Things she does that she doesn’t realize

Stares so much that, before the two of met, it scared you. You thought you were her next target and lived in fear for the next week or so until the woman, finally, decided to talk to you. And, after a few months of dating you finally brought it up. She denied it at first but, when she caught herself staring at you a million more times she came clean.

“I was only appreciating you.” She brings it up so abruptly that you’re confused, “what are you talking about?”

With a sip of her whiskey, she rolls her eyes and sighs.

“Nothing..”

Her grip’s a little too hard. Her flesh fingers always end up digging into your waist whenever she’s trying to keep you close. Your girlfriend never noticed it until you had to talk to her about the slight redness she had left on your skin. And, for the next week, Sevika brought home boquets of flowers— not the cheap kind— every day until you told her you forgave her. (You didn’t know she wanted you to say so.)

So sassy that you sometimes have to take deep breaths in order to not tell her off. It’s not on purpose, she’s just so used to having that tone. One time you thought she was pissed at you when, in reality, she was just trying to find the next row for her Sudoku round.

Snores loudly. Jannah have mercy on your soul because that woman will not stop snoring for the love of her life. You’ve tried giving her different pillows, different positions, anything and everything, but nothing seems to work. Somehow, over time, you found a way to fall asleep with her deep snores beside you, even though, sometimes, you want to smack her in the face with a pillow.

Dislikes/Hates

Being ignored. Sevika will, quite literally, go insane if you ever give her the silent treatment. She’s not used to being treated like she’s not there— hell, she’s one of the most respected woman in Zaun, why would she be alright with not being acknowledged? Just to get back at you, she’ll annoy you until you break. Chewing loudly in your ear or shaking you up by heavily sitting on the couch beside you, she’s determined, and she knows you know that.

Her own overthinking. She’s been through a lot, and she doesn’t know why you still stick around with all her problems. Even the risk of you being in danger, because of her, makes her stay awake at night, she doesn’t want to lose you and she hates how her mind needs constant reassurance that you want the same thing. Even though she rarely says the amount of doubts she has, she’ll hit you with this look that only you can read. It’s a silent need that you, happily, provide. Murmuring soft words she’ll end up being embarrassed about later.

The saddest one of them all: her face. :(((( Seeing herself in the mirror makes her feel a sense of shame that she’s never fully able to verbally express. It’s the scars that make her feel self conscious, the wrinkles on her face that makes her groan, the masculinity of her jaw that makes her question herself. But, luckily for her, she’s got this amazing girlfriend, you, who will reassure all her problems away. You swoop in when you hear how quiet the apartment has gotten, follow behind her and give her a few looks of awe and comment on whatever she needs you to. Tell her she’s the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen and she’ll melt. Smiling like some teenager while looking away in embarrassment; in that moment, she’s thinking about how lucky she is to have you with blush on her cheeks.

[kkyiu]

heart locket.

anton lee x reader

. . . confronting your ex was the last thing you needed amid a cold winter.

genre : angst , ex au

warnings : heartbreak , no use of y/n

wc . . 1.1k

You wonder why you dragged yourself to the park at 3 AM to face your ex-boyfriend, but here you are, revisiting the wounds of your heart just by seeing him again.

The first thing you noticed seeing Anton for the first time in what feels like an eternity, was the silver necklace resting on his collarbone. The heart locket was hidden under his coat, but the intricate detailing of the chain could have you recognize it within a heartbeat.

It had been a year and four months since you two called it quits. You try your hardest to manipulate your mind to think it came to a mutual agreement, though it only aches your heart remembering how he took the initiative. After the breakup, Anton's whereabouts were nonexistent to you considering how he blocked you on everything and you were never close with his friends, so there was no way to find out how he was dealing with the breakup.

Only after several breakdowns and disassociations you went through at the expense of the breakup, you were slowly picking up the pieces of your heart. Anton wasn't occupying your thoughts anymore and you started going out with friends again. It’s safe to say you were happy again, thinking the same for the other party, but only way quicker on his side.

Well, the assumption of him moving on was soon to be proven false when you received a text from an unknown number, revealing it to be your ex, asking to meet.

A giant part of you wants to curse him out for breaking no contact to drag you outside in the cold. But another part of you hated the way you willingly let yourself obey his words.

Nevertheless, there he was right in front of you, dressed neatly in a black wool coat that complimented his tall figure which reminded you how much of a beauty he was.

You two were the only figures spotted in the park that was engulfed in darkness, the only sources of light being the dimly lighted broken street lamps and the illuminating bright moon. The bottom half of your face was buried under your big scarf to shield against the sharp breezes. You kept a safe distance from Anton because if you were any closer to him, you'd certainly let your guard down and take the opportunity just to cup his face once more. The necklace kept stealing your attention considering how intently you kept your eye on it.

The silence was finally broken when he said your name, his voice barely above a whisper. Hearing your name come out of his mouth in such a distant tone felt so foreign. "I'll just get straight to the point." He continued, "I regret every bit of it, I mean breaking up with you. I..I thought it was the right thing. My insecurities were eating me alive, and I kept thinking you deserve so, so much more than what I was offering. I know now that I was the biggest coward to do that," the smoke of his breaths was visible due to the cold while you kept listening. "I'm sorry for shutting out after the breakup and causing you pain."

You exhale a wobbly sigh, flashing him your glossy pair of eyes. Your eyes were already filled to the brim with tears and the sight broke him completely. “Anton…” He cut through your words and unknowingly took a step closer toward you, "I found myself going to every place we went, hoping to catch even a tiny glimpse of you, wishing that I could undo this mess." You just listened and listened, carefully taking in every word he said. Out of habit, Anton reached to the tiny necklace pendant of his for solace and you can’t help but crack a tiny sad smile.

You hadn’t realized how much the space between you two had closed and you swear you could catch snowflakes land on his eyelashes, dissolving within milliseconds. Seeing him this vulnerable made you want to take back all the hatred you had for him leaving.

"Your heart locket.” You finally acknowledge, and you notice his slow blinks in realization. He pursed his lips and undoes his clutch, revealing the silver heart-shaped pendant. He was taken aback that you called it out despite it being hidden under his coat.

He still recalls the day you gifted him it for his birthday early in the relationship. He'd proudly show not just you but everyone around him the small black-and-white photo of you smiling brightly. The necklace witnessed every moment of the relationship. From a full day of laughter on the beach, sharing the first kiss, and stargazing nights to petty quarrels, deafening yells, and a pool of tears during the final night of the relationship.

It was as if every memory he shared with you was captured in that tiny little pendant, and anytime it was open, everything would flood back up. He couldn't bring himself to take off the necklace because then it would mean losing you all over again and he couldn't bear to go through that the second time.

"This was all I had left of you." The locket was again closed in his fist and you could see his knuckles turning red from the biting cold. "I wish you knew that you were all I wanted," now it was your turn to speak, "I wish you knew that you were the only light through my darkest times and I didn't need anything else. So, yes, you sitting me down to say those three words hurt me an amount no words can summarize." You lock eyes with him, tiny apologies flooding in his dark orbs with a frown on his face.

Anton took another step closer, "Please..." he breathed your name once again, prompting you to shake your head, "Anton, no. It's been more than a year and I've moved on. I'm happy now." You say, though your words are unconvincing to him. “I swear I'll love you right this time if you just give me this chance." His soft-spoken voice became unsteady and a single tear ran down his cheek. Overtaken by emotions, Anton let his head wearily drop on your shoulder. You stood there frozen, contemplating what to do with your ex-boyfriend physically relying on your smaller build.

Your heart breaks for him and the least you could do was wrap your hands around his waist, hoping to console him with your touch. Getting carried away, your hand found its way to his hair gradually caressing his soft streaks. His muffled sobs accompanied you as you started to feel your wool coat getting damp.

Although it was truly tempting to drop everything and return to his love, you couldn't. For the sake of both of you, maybe locking up the memories in that heart locket will do nothing but good.

[zephyrd17]

Update.

What the fuck did I just read.

Just can't wait to not be able to open social media for like ten days till my Onyx Storm arrives.

[cupidhoons]

it's weird how you aren't speaking out for the fact that you are using a zionist for your fics. shouldn't you be apologizing or at least acknowledging it? the lack of maturity you have 😭 girl just deleted it and didn't even apologize for it.

perfect timing actually anon! i have a whole post drafted on it in my google docs but i can assure you it's not me apologizing for defending myself against writers accusing me of such things. while i do acknowledge my mistake of not being educated enough on lana del rey and her practically begging the president to fund the genocide, i hope you guys do realize that equating me to being a zionist from this situation is just as insensitive and ignorant.

i urge you guys to read my side on this & understand why me and my two other mutuals are upset.

hi guys! as you all know (or assuming that many of you know) that recently i am being accused of supporting zionism/being called a zionist in general by multiple writers on tumblr. before i go on to defending and dropping screenshots of what actually happened & going on to explain my side of the story, let's take a look at the definition of zionism & why it is absolutely NOT okay to throw it around so lightly.

ZIONISM is not only the general term of supporting israel, but also the term that supports the national ethnic cleansing of palestine, which equates to killing all muslims. (defined by @pshbites or more known as kaia & her other muslim friends who grew up knowing that this is what this word meant.) 

READ ANOTHER DEFINITION FROM JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE (LINK): “While it had many strains historically, the Zionism that took hold and stands today is a settler-colonial movement, establishing an apartheid state where Jews have more rights than others. Our own history teaches us how dangerous this can be.

Palestinian dispossession and occupation are by design. Zionism has meant profound trauma for generations, systematically separating Palestinians from their homes, land, and each other. Zionism, in practice, has resulted in massacres of Palestinian people, ancient villages and olive groves destroyed, families who live just a mile away from each other separated by checkpoints and walls, and children holding onto the keys of the homes from which their grandparents were forcibly exiled.”

i also urge you to check for more information on kaia’s blog & her personal take on this.

so, now that we know what it means & why it's such a loaded word, let's take a look at what the situation at hand looked/looks like:

the other day i posted a sunghoon fic titled “ultraviolence” inspired by lana del rey’s song (it's now changed to “pictures of us, which was my original title for the fic but thought it didn't quite fit the vibe). now, why is this a problem? because i'm apparently “promoting” an artist that begged the president to fund the genocide in gaza, when NOWHERE in my work stated that you should stream lana’s song, become a fan of her’s, and also support/fund a genocide. 

while i do admit that i handled the “anons” (and i put in quotes bc i know for a fact they were ppl who i knew sent them in) terribly and also explained my own personal thoughts and feelings on this topic badly, my words should not be twisted and blown out of proportion to the point where people can freely accuse me of being part of such a horrible and disgusting group of people.

however, that's only the general situation. the real problem for me was when yesterday morning at exactly 7:22am (this timestamp is important for what i'm about to say later on), okwonyos or better known as jiah, texted me, letting me know that she saw the way i responded to the anon & accused me of “actively supporting” someone who “begged the president to fund the killing of millions of children, women, and men of palestine.” (see screenshots below)

now, you guys may think that she's only doing what's right & willingly called out a mutual for not having her morals straight, but to be blankly accusing someone of being a zionist when i've been it clear that i stand with palestine & basically saying i'm stupid does not sit right with me. 

her saying that she “isn't going to try and make me gain common sense” was so off topic & so unnecessary to bring up & could've left it at me having my own take on separating the art from the artist, which to many people on blr, “does not exist.” but if separating the art from the artist does not exist, then shouldn't we boycott enhypen too? shouldn't we also stop writing and supporting enhypen too? because last time i checked enhypen, and along with many other groups/artists, are underneath zionist companies. so with that logic, should we just stop consuming content from enhypen and our favorite groups/artists all in all? because if we are going by this logic, then we’re ALL zionists and we are all PROMOTING zionism. 

another thing is when she says “it's weird that you barely talked about what was happening in palestine until it was to defend a zionist.” ??? defending a zionist WHERE exactly? i told the “anons” i received a day before this conversation that i am not a hardcore lana del rey fan, and again, nowhere did i say that i was defending lana & her actions of again, wanting the preseident to fund a genocide. keep in mind also, that she DOES NOT know me personally & that i was NEVER close to her nor did i EVER consider her a FRIEND, so she (along with other writers) has no right to accuse me of “not speaking up about palestine” enough. 

so the fact that im being known as a supporter killing innocent lives of people in the enhablr community when the fact is that i've spoken up about it numerous times in my personal life & have encouraged many people in my life to donate and spread the daily click all because i don't “reblog enough” about it sits weird to me. not only that, but it also gives me the vibe that many writers on tumblr—weather it's true or not—thinks of this genocide as a trend and does it as “preformative activism” for the sake of not wanting to lose followers. (kaia’s post touches more on this too)

now obviously, i did reply to her message and did go back and forth with her for some time while i was present in school. me, being offended & GREATLY angered by her choice of words & going as far as associating me with such people, rightfully called her out on it & brought up the fact that her saying that isn't “cute” or right at all. but clearly, this was all read wrong & i wasnt able to explain or expand on it properly because i was simultaneously also in my homeroom speaking with my friends! 

and i know, someone is going to bring up the fact that i shouldn't have responded immediately or that i could've responded later in my day, but keep in mind that if i didnt, i probably would've been blocked anyway without getting the chance to explain myself properly. i cant help but feel that they messaged me purposefully during that time because they know i would be defenseless either way. 

im going to tell it straight now and say that i know i am in the wrong for not being able to explain myself properly & not touching on these points more in the moment, but i had absolutely NO time throughout the day to explain myself as i was blocked almost immediately by everyone, which says a lot, especially when one of the mutuals who blocked me right after that conversation was close to me & who i even considered my friend. 

besides that however, i will say this once more & once again that i am NOT what numerous people on tumblr think i am & none of you guys know me at all personally either. you guys can believe what you want about this situation, but i urge you all to get to know both sides at the very least before following what bigger writers say. im not doing this to maintain my following or even gain more followers, i just don't appreciate people calling & associating me with a group of people that i am so against. i don't at all appreciate people assuming they know me and my character all so well when absolutely none of them have ever bothered to reach out to me and even get to know me. 

but yes anon, go ahead and tell me how immature i am & say it with your full chest how i am a zionist for simply using a popular song that everyone has heard one way or another as my title on my fic!

[maul-of-shame]

Why do you and valar-did-me-wrong never post the heinous, hateful haladriel anons you claim to have received? Whenever someone gets hate they usually post the anons as proof, but neither of you did that. Interesting.

Where do I even begin with this absolute masterpiece of a reach? Because truly, the acrobatics in your logic could put even the most seasoned Cirque du Soleil performer to shame.

First off— You, just like them, came as anon. Obviously. You think people who throw hate have the guts to stand by what they say? Please. They sit behind their little grey-faced anonymity, spitting bile, because deep down, they know their accusations wouldn’t hold up to even the lightest scrutiny. They fear feedback, backlash, and accountability, which is why they only ever send these messages from the safety of a faceless profile. The only thing “interesting” here is your apparent belief that cowardly hate only counts if it’s publicly aired for your personal entertainment.

And let’s talk about this absolute gem of a claim: that I never posted proof.

Bestie, the fact that you even typed that out tells me one thing—you haven’t read shit.

I have posted proof. I have responded to hateful asks. I have directly addressed this before, which means you either (a) didn’t bother looking, (b) did and ignored it because it didn’t fit your little narrative, or (c) are just here to stir the pot regardless of reality.

The fact that you’re automatically assuming that anyone speaking out about harassment must be lying because you haven’t personally seen enough spectacle for your liking. That says far more about you than it does about me. You really just jumped straight to “They must be making it up!” without even considering that maybe, just maybe, people don’t owe you a trauma display just to prove they were harassed. That’s not a gotcha moment—that’s just a really nasty take.

Like, do you ask people to livestream their trauma too? Should we submit a notarized affidavit of every slur, threat, and unhinged screed we get in our inbox? Or would you still move the goalposts and pretend it’s “not that bad” because facing the truth makes you uncomfortable? Because abusers love the fact that people like you exist. They thrive on this exact kind of dismissal, knowing people like you will swoop in and do their dirty work by demanding “proof” while ignoring the actual problem.

And let’s not pretend for a single second that you give a shit about fairness, because if you did, you’d be holding your own side accountable instead of crawling into my inbox with your weird little conspiracy theories but oh well-

Oh, and don’t think I didn’t clock what you were trying to do as well. Dragging Valar into this? Really?

@valar-did-me-wrong, is one of the kindest, most unproblematic people in this fandom. They have my love and support and for you to drag them into this, this is absolutely vile.

The fact you tried to drag them into this tells me everything I need to know about your intentions. This isn’t about “truth.” It’s not about “proof.” It’s about trying to discredit and dismiss people speaking up about harassment because it’s easier than acknowledging that maybe—just maybe—people in your own circles are the ones sending vile shit. And that? That’s pathetic.

You really thought you did something here, huh? Sat down, typed this whole thing out, and thought, "Wow, this is gonna expose them!" Bestie, all you did was expose yourself. The way you immediately assumed that because you haven’t personally seen the proof, it must not exist? The way you think people owe you a public parade of every nasty message they get just so you can decide if their harassment is real enough? That says way more about you than it does about me.

And let’s be real for a second—if I had flooded my blog with every single piece of hate I’ve received, you and people like you would be the first to turn around and say, “Oh, look at them playing the victim, making a spectacle of it, stirring drama!” You want to move the goalposts because your problem isn’t actually with whether or not this harassment happened. Your problem is with people you dislike daring to call it out.

And the funniest part? You came into my inbox as an anon to accuse me of lying about anon hate.

The sheer lack of self-awareness is honestly impressive. The irony is writing itself at this point. The call is literally coming from inside the house, babe.

At the end of the day, your little conspiracy theory is as embarrassing as it is transparent. If you need to contort reality this hard just to make yourself feel better about defending the people sending hate, that’s on you. But don’t expect me—or anyone else—to take you seriously.

Oh, and before you waddle off back to whatever echo chamber convinced you this was a good idea—next time, try coming up with a take that doesn’t make you look like a sentient Lembas crumb with trust issues. Your logic is as fragile as Denethor’s grip on reality, and frankly, I’ve had more stimulating debates with my toaster. Now go touch some grass, hydrate, and maybe, just maybe, develop a personality that isn’t built entirely on being insufferable. Stop embarassing yourself in my inbox, Gollum.

Toodles!!😊

[varda-star-queen]

Thank you @itwillbeourswansong - I cordially accept your invitation! When do I ever not need an excuse to wail about Adar? (Also, I very much enjoyed reading your thoughts! Nicely put as ever.)

I'll go straight to the questions for my wail-therapy session

-Your most wail-worthy Adar moment of TROP Season 1 or 2

He died! 😭 I don't think I'll ever get over it - not after all the build up and the amazing redemption arc he had. I hear what everyone says about it mirroring what he did to Sauron, but so what? It wasn't a befitting end for such a great OC.

However - TBH I think EVERY scene that Adar features in is wail-worthy (in S2 - and I'll explain that in question 3, but it's no slight on S1 Adar). The scenes where he speaks elvish and black speech... OMG 🔥. His chemistry and interactions with other characters. His tenderness coupled with ferocity on the battlefield! All of it.

I can't watch his scenes without wailing (for happy or sad reasons!)

-The detail/headcanon about Adar that keeps you up wailing at night

Very much like @itwillbeourswansong - It's Adar's huge capacity for love that gets me. We only see his physical scars, but his emotional and psychological ones are likely much worse. Yet, through all that he retains enough heart and soul to dedicate his entire existence to loving the unlovable. At no point do you feel that he would walk away or stop caring. He's capable of malice, of course, and, in many ways, he's ruthless, but always with the underlying motive of providing for his children.

He knows he's broken - when he says to Glug 'with all that is left of my heart', it feels to me like an acknowledgement. And I think when he puts on Nenya and feels whole-hearted again, it intensifies his capacity for love even more. So much so that he proposes peace - a safe place for every being in middle earth.

His patience is also noteworthy - I mean, he's lived thousands of years with an uncivilised bunch of violent kids! But he's always so calm and patient. And he's smart - one minute he's negotiating with a troll, then he's quoting poetry and calling people beautiful, then he's leading his armies into battle - It's high-level competency porn!

-At what point did you realize that you had become a hopeless Baddydaddy Devotee and lost control of your entire life?

Ok, so I am a very late latecomer!!

In season 1, I was intrigued by Adar, but more in conjunction with the 'who is Sauron' mystery. I do remember thinking his haunted look was heartbreaking and wondering what his backstory was.

When season 2 started and I saw Sam as Adar, I instantly clicked with his voice - that was the first thing I noticed and I even remember saying to my husband that I liked the sound of him. BUT even then, I wasn't fully awakened. After the 'Elen Sila Lumenn' moment, I sat up a bit more and was like, ok... what's happening here? Then next episode, when Galadriel got him by the neck, I started thinking, hang on, why am I craving more scenes with him... Which I was rewarded with in Ep 7. And that one was the clincher. After his scenes in that, I was convert and I started rotting my brain on everything I could get hold of in relation to Adar (just in time for him to die next episode 😭😭😭NOOOOOOOOOO).

I've now rewatched every S2 scene so many times and am completely and hopelessly devoted to our BaddyDaddy.... I need to do a complete season 1 rewatch with all this in mind, because I feel I don't remember enough of the details.

It's on my to-do list!

🖤🖤🖤

Season 2 episodes 6&7 were also when i jumped off the Haladriel ship and boarded Adariel (where I've been firmly ever since!). But I also love how Adar gets shipped with EVERYONE. Because it affirms my own thoughts about how attractive a person is when they have a noble heart, even if it's corrupted. (...And of course he's a hot bastard which helps too!!)

No pressure tags @tumblin-theworldaway @iwanderbecauseimlost @laurarcrazystrange @wowstrawberrycow @permanentlyexhaustedpigeon88 @adarswidow

anybody in the mood to wail about Adar??

BECAUSE I AM

[runningincircl3s]

Nothing Ever After

Chapter 26/ Ricky's Vlog Footage

chapter warnings: none? also teasers for the ending at the end of the chapter tehe :)

When I came up with the idea for this chapter I thought it would be a fun filler chapter leading up to the final part! I could keep adding to this chapter but since I didn't post last week enough is enough so here it is! Happy monday!! :)

 ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

“It’s 3am… In the am,” Ricky yawned, squinting at the light as he turned on his bedside lamp, “And we leave today for the tour, in about 7 hours.”

He picks his phone up, showing the time, and a message from Vin. 

“I texted Vin just now to make sure he was up and ready, I’ve got to pick him and Ryan up before leaving for the airport.” He yawned again, switching the lights on as he walked through his house, “But before I do anything…” He reached into the cupboard and showed the camera his coffee mug, one he had received from a fan which had a picture of him and Vin on it. “Coffee.”

[Cut to the car on the way to the airport]

“How do I know if it’s on?” Vinny asked, screwing his face up at the camera, which was too close to his face, showing a close up of his mouth.

“It’s already on.” Ryan laughed, and Vinny’s eyes widened. 

“Oh it is?” He chuckled, “Hey guys- Hey youtube! What is up! I’m Ricky Olson and-”

“This won’t make it into the vlog,” Rick laughed from the driver's seat, “None of this will.”

“But this is entertaining! Give the people what they want!” Vin smiled, “Rick just drove through a red light-”

“There’s nobody about! It’s 4am! I-”

[Cut to the airport]

Vinny stood staring straight into the camera, the sound of screaming crying children in the background. You could tell by his eyes that he was trying to hold it together.

“I have an announcement,” he said after a long sigh, “So… I’m actually quitting the band.”

The sound of crying children got louder as Vinny shook his head, he looked like he was either about to start laughing or crying, perhaps even both?

“I’m done!” 

[Cut to the tour bus]

“So,” Rick says as he places the camera on the table, on a makeshift tripod, made from books and an upside down cup , “We’ve landed, we got to our hotel and then Chris said the guys from Bad Omens forgot to change the dates they needed their bus for, so we’re off to pick them up!” 

The camera turns to Justin, who slowly turns to look at Ricky. 

“What do you want?” He groaned. 

“Do you have anything to say?”

“Yeah. Fuck you.”

[It cuts to shots of the guys, and Bad Omens as they get on the bus. Folio and Ruffilo both gave the camera a wave, but the others didn’t seem to acknowledge it, with some music playing over the top.]

[Cut to Vinny on the bus]

Vinny was talking to the camera, but seemed a little distracted. Unbeknownst to everyone else, his eyes were on you as you stepped on to the bus. 

“Guys I have solved our photographer dilemma!” Chris proudly announced as he stepped back onto the bus, “Y/n’s filling in for the first three days!”

“Hi!” You said with a smile, but Vinny quickly grabbed the camera from Rick, turning it back to him.

“Do you have her consent to record her?” He asked, a mock-serious expression on his face, “Didn’t think so… You creep!” He couldn’t help the small smirk tugging on the corner of his lips. 

“...Aren’t you, Vin.” Justin shouted out, but Vinny didn't quite catch the beginning of his sentence. 

“What did he say?” He asked Rick, who shrugged in reply.

Vinny put his middle finger up to Justin, holding back a laugh. 

[Cut to the hotel room]

“So,” Ricky says, turning the camera around, “Here’s our- I mean my room for the first couple nights, we’ve got our own rooms this time around so that’s sick.”

Rick gives a room tour, showing the bathroom, the bed, the window and the tv which didn’t seem to work. 

“It’s gonna be weird going to sleep with nobody else snoring or coughing in the room.” He smiled, "It won't be this way on the bus!"

[Cut to the next day]

Ryan, Rick and Vinny are walking down the street. 

“So, update,” Ricky began, “Technically tomorrow is the first day of tour, since we’ve got the day off today. So we’ve decided to go and explore the city, get some lunch, maybe visit the museum here... Ryan, do you have anything to say?”

“Yeah, Rick’s boring, there’s a party tonight and he’s not coming.” Ryan laughed. 

“C’mon,” Vin groaned, “Even I’m gonna be there!” 

“I’ve got shit to do.” Ricky chuckled.

“Like what?”

“...Editing the vlog?”

[Cut to the next morning]

“Today’s the day.” Rick says as he stirs his coffee, “It’s the first day of tour, we’ve also got an interview to go to this morning. I need to go and check on Vin after last night, Ryan said he left early but Vin stayed behind… So he might be feeling a little rough this morning.” He chuckled. 

[Cut to Rick walking down the hall]

“Okay, Vin hasn’t seen my texts so I’m assuming he’s still asleep!” Rick says before he knocks on Vin’s door. 

“Vin! Wake up everyone’s waiting for you!” He continues knocking. 

Rick sighs and shakes his head, there was no answer.

“This is why I told you it was a bad idea to go out la-” Vin opened the door, revealing himself half dressed and you still lying in his bed, wearing his shirt. “Finally, I- What’s y/n doing in your room? What the hell Vin! This better not be what it looks like-” 

“No! She stayed here because-”

[Cut to backstage before the show]

“Wanna tell us what you’re up to?” Rick asks Folio, who was smirking as he collected two paper cups. 

“I’m doing an experiment. Noah and Vin both claim they can tell the difference between coke and pepsi,” he looks around for the two cans he had bought, “So in one cup… There’s pepsi, and in the other, there's gonna be coke.”

“How are you going to tell the difference?” Matt asked, “How would you know if they’re right or not if you forget which cups which?”

Folio thought for a moment before calling out to Angela. 

“Can I borrow something to mark a cup?” 

“Sure,” she chuckled, handing him an eyeliner pen, “Just be careful with it, it's expensive.” 

“Thanks!” 

Folio roughly marked the underneath of one of the cups, and smiled at the camera, putting a thumb up.

[Cut to the couches] 

“So,” Folio laughed handing Noah the cups, “One of these has pepsi and the other one has coke-“

“You want me to say which ones in which?” Noah raised an eyebrow, “Easy, I’ve been training for this my whole life!”

“You need to smell them first!” Vinny shouted over, and Noah nodded, smelling each drink. 

“This one smells like pepsi for sure,” he said, “Is it?” 

“Try them!” Matt encouraged. 

Noah hesitated for a second before trying a sip of each. 

“Oh no, that one’s coke… This one’s pepsi.” 

Folio took the cups back, checking the bottom. 

“He’s right!” *insert sound effects*

[Cut to Vinny] 

“I can tell just by smelling them,” he bragged, “And my nose tells me that…” 

He brings both cups up to smell, pulling an unsure face, he has his answer. 

“This one’s pepsi. And I know I’m fucking right!”

“Try them.” Folio chuckled, and Vin nodded, taking a sip of each. 

“Pepsi.” He held one of the cups out, “Just like my nose told me.”

Folio takes the cup and checks the bottom. 

“Wrong! That’s coke!” *Insert sound effect* 

[Cut to Chris] 

“So… I have to guess which one’s pepsi?” He asks, a smile on his face as he takes both cups from Matt. 

“That’s right, so far Noah’s got it right and Vin got it wrong.”

Chris smelled both cups before trying each, furrowing his eyebrows. 

“That’s hard,” he chuckled, “How do you know which is in which?”

“I’ve marked the bottom,” Folio said, “But don’t look!”

“I won’t!” Chris laughed before trying each, “I’ll say… This one’s pepsi?”

Folio bent down to check the bottom of the cup Chris held out. 

“It is!” *insert sound effect* 

[Cut to you] 

“This is stupid,” you laugh as Folio hands you the cups, “And the others have all drank out of these?” 

“Hey, that's nothing, Ryan drank Ricky’s piss before.” Vin laughed, and your face screwed up in horror as you looked up at Ricky with fear in your eyes. 

"He did what?!"

“I told you that was an accident!" Ryan shouted from across the room.

"Fuck this isn’t staying in the video,” Rick laughed, “Ryan bought apple juice and left it in the van, back when we toured in a van, it just so happened I peed in a bottle and it was the same colour-“

“Okay!” You shook your head, “I’ve heard enough, what do you want me to do, Nick?”

“Tell me which one’s pepsi and which one's coke!”

You tried each drink, thinking for a moment before trying another sip of each. 

“This one is definitely coke,” you held one cup out, “so this one’s pepsi.” 

Folio took the cups back and checked for the mark. 

“You’re right!” *Insert sound effects*

“What the fuck,” Vin groaned, “Let me try them again.”

[Cut to after the show]

“We just got done playing,” Ricky said to the camera, “And clearly it’s been a long couple of days for somebody on their first tour.” 

As he pans the camera around, he shows you fast asleep with your head on resting Vin’s shoulder. 

“I think somebody’s got a crush!” Justin whispers to the camera.

“Okay I can't keep that in!”  Rick laughs.

[Cut to Vinny randomly dancing to Maroon 5]

[Cut to Justin doing his makeup]

"So, for everyone who's been asking, I'm going to give you all the long awaited stage makeup tutorial... So what you want to do first is-"

[Cut to backstage, after a show]

“Update!” Vinny grinned, “We literally just got off stage, I went nuts out there, we all went nuts out there... I think I need a shower… Hey y/n, do you think I need a shower?” He was suddenly invading your personal space, his arms wrapping around you in a scarily sweaty hug, and what was left of his body paint was rubbing off on you. 

“Vincenzo I swear if you don’t let go of me right now!” You threatened, pushing him away. 

“Y/n, give me an update!” Rick smiled from behind the camera. 

“Update- Is this my first real update?” You ask as Vin begins to make an escape, “Vin stinks, and I’m gonna beat his ass for covering me in sweaty paint!” 

“You would never!” He shouts from the hallway, and you raise your eyebrows before chasing after him.

“They’re so into each other... It makes me sick.” Ryan laughed, as Ricky panned the camera to him.

[Cut to the tour bus, the next morning]

“Chris, give me an update!” 

Chris groans, before smiling for the camera.

“Update, it’s the… Fifth show of the tour tonight, and I think I’m getting sick. I should be saving my voice, Rick, but look what you’re making me do!” He said in a mock-serious tone. 

[Cut to Rick backstage, in full makeup and stage fit]

"Update... I keep forgetting to make actual updates so uh... We're about to play at the biggest festival of our career, loads of people are out there waiting for us, we're on in about 15 minutes..." The camera turns to Vinny, "How do you feel?"

"Rick..." He presses his lips together, looking away for a moment, "I think I'm going to shit myself."

[Cut to Vinny after playing at the festival]

“Update,” Vinny pointed at the camera, clearly on an adrenaline rush after playing, “We just got done playing to like… three hundred million people, it was fucking awesome!” He claps, thinking of something else to say, “Y/n took some hot pictures of me, Rick fell off the stage-”

“I didn’t fall off the stage,” Ricky interrupted, turning the camera to his face, “I misjudged where the platform was-”

“Rick fell off the stage.” Vinny repeated, “And now we’re about to go play some Mario kart.”

“Y/n do you have anything to add?” Rick pointed the camera at you. 

“Motionless in White rock,” you said proudly, “It was great to…” You trailed off as your phone vibrated, forgetting all about the camera pointed at you, “...Fuck, I think I’m getting a headache, I think I need to lay down, I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” You say, quickly turning around and walking off. 

Ricky and Vinny look at each other as you walk away. 

“That was weird.” Rick points out, putting the camera down.

[Cut to you and Vin in the dark, in the hallway of a hotel]

“Welcome back,” Vinny says in a weird voice, “To the third installment of this place is haunted.. Haunted….. Haunted……”

“We’ve been staying at this hotel for two nights, and we’ve been noticing… some strange things!” You say. 

“So, as an expert in all things paranormal, I am here to investigate!” 

“The first mystery… A banging sound coming from Folio’s room in the middle of the night…” You try to hold back your laugh as you approach his door, “I’ve been staying in the room next to him, and I think he may be being visited in the night by spirits-”

“I fear it may be the very same vengeful incubus that was following me around last tour… Y/n has the spare key to his room, so let’s go and check on him!” 

You slowly push the hotel door open, and wave for Vin and Rick to follow you in. 

“It appears Nick is asleep… And there is no sign of any spirits, or incubuses.. But there is a- Oh shit we better get out there’s a girl in his bed!” 

All three of you rushed out of the room trying your best not to laugh before shutting the door back up.

[Cut to Vinny getting his makeup done]

“The concept of a dad dick isn’t hard to understand…” Vin laughed, “When you become a dad you get a dad dick!” 

“So Justin has a dad dick?” Folio chuckles. 

“Yeah! He’s the only one of us with a dad dick… I think.” Vinny’s eyes widen, full of fear as he stares into the camera, “I don’t think I have any kids?”

[Cut to Vinny asleep on the couch in the green room, whilst you stand behind him, braiding his hair]

The camera slowly zooms in on you as you try holding back your laughter as Vin snores.

"When he wakes up we're telling him he's been visited by the braid fairy," you whispered, before looking back down and running your fingers through his hair, "He's got softer hair than me? I'm stealing his conditioner."

[Cut to Rick on the bus]

"I can't believe what I've just seen... I've caught y/n in the act... With evidence..."

As the camera turns around, it shows you stuffing as many snacks as you can into your bag before getting on to the bus.

"Every time we ask her if she's got any snacks she says no!" Vinny laughed, also watching you from the bus window. "When she gets on I'm gonna ask if she has any and see what she says." he plotted, and the Rick nodded.

"Hey guys." You smile, walking onto the bus, "What time do we start sound check?"

"Uh, in a couple hours." Rick said from behind the camera.

"Y/n did you get any snacks in the store?"

"Yes, but you still owe me for the packs of starburst you stole from me!"

[Cut to Justin and you]

“Justin, give me an update!” 

“Update!” Justin sighed, “I’m introducing y/n to Twit!” 

“And for the people who don’t know… Who is Twit?”

“He’s in the video you posted! If you don’t know you better get to know!” 

The camera zooms in on Justin’s phone, where Vinny is being Twit.

“What’s up man! I’m Twit and I’m gonna eat some God- I mean gosh darn cookies!”

“Vin, how old were you here?!” You laugh. 

“25.” Vinny groans, “Please stop! Turn it off!” 

[Cut to Chris playing a guitar during souncheck]

"I didn't know he played?" Your eyebrows raised as you listened to Chris play a song that sounded a lot like Another Life

"Chris has always played," Rick chuckled from behind the camera, "I guess you learn something new everyday."

[Cut to you]

"Y/n, give me an update."

"Update... I'm sat here in the green room editing some pictures I took from the shows last week. The guys have gone out to get lunch, I've asked Noah to get me a bagel so we'll see how well he knows me because I haven't told him which one I want..."

"Does he know your usual order?"

"He should!" You chuckle, "I've been getting the same thing for three months."

[Cut to Rick backstage before a show]

"So, update..." He set the camera up, stepping back slightly, almost ending up in Justin's lap, "One of our shows got cancelled because it was an outdoors venue and the weathers been pretty shit so we're unable to play, so Vin suggested going live on twitch and hanging out there for a bit with all the guys. I know it won't make up for a cancelled show but it's something."

"They can't see you, Vin." Justin laughed, and Rick looked over at Vinny.

"Give the people what they want!" Vin called out.

"Vin's got his thumbs up," he chuckled, turning the camera around, "There he is..."

"What's up youtube!"

[Cut to you smiling at your phone]

"What are you smiling at...?" Rick teased, zooming in on you.

"I'm looking at pictures of my bed, I can't wait to be home." You hold your phone out to Rick, showing him.

[Cut to Ricky in the bus]

"Update! It's the final month of tour and I don't feel like I've given any real updates on here. We've had the best time this tour, it's been great seeing familiar faces and some new ones too... Uh... Yeah. Do you have anything to add?"

Rick turned the camera, pointing at Vinny who was sat facing you on the couch as you carefully re-dyed his red streaks.

"I don't feel like I've slept in 4 years."

"Vin stop moving!" You groaned, trying to section his hair to clip back.

"Shit, sorry."

[Cut to Ryan backstage]

"I'm not doing this shit," he laughed, until Ricky snatched his phone from his hand, "Fine." Ryan sighed, sitting up straight, "Update, we've got a few more shows to play and then I can get back home to my dog... Vin's been unusually quiet the last couple days, it's been pretty nice."

You walk into the room, setting your bags down on the table. As if on cue, Vin gets up and leaves without saying a word to anybody.

Ryan gives the camera look to say what was that about?

[Cut to Vinny and Noah talking in the green room]

"I just don't understand how you guys can all do the metal screamy thing but I can't?" Vinny laughed.

Noah tried explaining it to Vinny, who tried to copy and do as he was taught, but still failed.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Angela laughs, walking in with you by her side, "I thought Vin was getting tortured."

"No but we are." Justin sighed.

"Noah's trying to teach Vin to scream, it's pretty funny."

"...No, not like that- Y'know what, ask Justin or Chris, I haven't got the patience for this." Noah shook his head, chuckling slightly as he reached for his water.

Vin still attempted, and still failed.

"Can I please say what we're all thinking?" You ask as you sit beside Noah, resting your legs over his lap.

"Go for it!" Ryan laughed.

"Vin, you have the voice of an angel, honey, but just this once... Shut the fuck up, please." You chuckled.

"Yeah, man, stick to rapping. Trap Demon's overdue a comeback." Rick said from behind the camera.

"Trap Demon?" You raised an eyebrow.

[Cut to Rick trying to set his camera up on a tripod on the beach]

"Uh... Is it straight? Y'know what I don't care actually... We've made it to LA, we've got a couple days off so we decided to spend the day at the beach. Vin and Noah have buried Jolly and Ryan and in the sand and seem to be building sand castles on top of them? Folio's swimming out there with Justin, Chris is just chilling here in the shade like the vampire he is-"

"Coming from you?" Chris chuckled from beside Rick.

"Hey, I don't want to burn! You remember how red me and Vin were after we played that show in Malta, we were only in the sun for less than an hour!"

[Cut to Vinny, who had sunglasses tan lines on his face]

"This is pretty high coverage," Angela explains, showing him the foundation she was going to use, "If I do some colour correcting underneath you wont even notice it!"

"Please just do something. Anything!" Vinny whined. "I've never been sun burned this bad before."

"I told you to wear spf, not my fault you didn't listen." Noah shrugged.

[Cut to Vinny, Rick and Ryan backstage somewhere, Folio is in the back talking with Bryan]

“So,” Rick says, placing the camera down on the table, “It was y/n’s birthday yesterday, and she had other plans so we couldn’t all spend it together. However, our one and only, our dear Vincenzo Mauro booked a venue so we could throw her a surprise party for when she gets back tonight!”

“I’m currently making the playlist,” Vin explains as Ricky turns the camera to him, “Banger after banger, baby! I’ve got some songs I found from her playlists and some DJ shidnfard classics. It’s gonna be a sick night, guys.”

“The good thing about being a band on tour is that you have equipment,” Ryan said, also doing something on his laptop, “We’ve got all our stage lights and shit but nobody here who knows how they work, except Matt but he woke up in a bad mood today so everyone's too afraid to ask him for help, so I’m watching a youtube tutorial on how to set them up.”

“Ryan Sitkowski, our guitarist and soon to be our lights guy,” Rick chuckled, turning the camera back to him, “Angela and Justin are over here, what are you guys up to?”

“Blowing up balloons.” Justin sighed, “I’m gonna be doing this for my kid’s birthday for the next 12 years so why not get some practice?”

“That’s the spirit,” Chris chuckled, walking in with lunch, “How many have you done already?”

“Three.” Justin confessed, “I just don’t know how to tie them!” 

“It’s easy,” Angela chimed in, “Even with these nails I’ve still done more than you.” 

[Cut to Ricky whispering in the dark]

“Okay… She should be here any minute now, Noah’s gone to pick her up…” Rick paused suddenly, thinking he could hear something. “Y/n, if you’re watching this, I’m so glad we met on this tour. I know we didn’t get on too well in the beginning but… You grew on me. I hope our paths cross again after this, and maybe we get the chance to tour together again. Happy birthday!” 

“Fuck, Y/n just texted saying they’re still half an hour away. They stopped at the gas station because Noah needed to pee.” Bryan announces, and everybody groans. 

“Great! I’ve just had an idea!” Rick beamed as the lights were switched back on. 

[Cut to Justin]

“So what was this plan?” Justin asked, he was stood against a blank wall as Rick pointed the camera at his face.

“We’re all going to give y/n a birthday message, whether I actually keep this part in the vlog or not will depend on what people say but I thought it was a good idea!”

“Oh that’s cute,” Justin smiled, “So do I just-”

“Yes, the camera’s rolling.” 

“Oh, okay!” Justin grinned, “Y/n… It’s been great having you with us on this tour, it’s been a pleasure to get to know you, we all think you’re awesome… Vin especially,” he winked, “But seriously, I hope you have a great day, eat cake, party, dance, have fun! You deserve it!” 

[Cut to Angela]

“Happy birthday, my love! I never expected to make a new best friend on tour, but here we are, I love you so much girl!”

[Cut to Chris]

“Happy birthday, Y/n! You've pretty much became a member of the band over these months. You’ve been killing it out here, I don’t think I could thank you enough for making all of us look so photogenic and filling in for our usual guy. We love you!”

[Cut to Vinny]

“Y/n!” He clapped his hands together, “Uh… What can I say about you… You’re pretty cool, not as cool as me but y’know, haha, who is?” He smirked, “No, I’m kidding!” 

“Restart!” Rick called out. "Take 2!"

“Y/n, I think I’m speaking for all of us when I say you brighten our days, your smile lights the room-”

“Hey, it’s a birthday message not a love confession.”

“Shut up!” Vinny groaned, before getting into the zone again, “Y/n, happy birthday! I wanted to say something heartfelt but Rick didn’t like it so I’ll just say you’re awesome! I’m so happy that I’ve gotten to know you, and I hope when tour ends we’ll still be friends, y’know, unless you’ve been simply just tolerating me the last few months cos you had no other choice! Okay how was that?”

[Cut to Ryan]

“Happy birthday, Y/n! I don’t know how you’ve put up with all of us… I can't even stand these guys and we've been doing this for years. Thank you for everything you do for us, it doesn’t go unnoticed.”

[Cut to Jolly]

“Happy birthday, Y/n! Uh… I’m not usually great at stuff like this, but I just want to say thank you for always being there for us. You deserve the world, and I hope you know how much we all appreciate you.”

[Cut to Matt]

“Happy birthday, Y/n! You’re like the little sister I never asked for but now I can’t live without. Thanks for putting up with all of our shit on the daily and still managing to make us look good out there. I hope you had a great birthday!”

[Cut to Folio]

“... But I don’t know what to say- Oh you’re recording! Y/n, I know I give you a hard time sometimes, but it’s only because you’re basically family to me. You’re one of the hardest working people I know, and we’re all so lucky to have you around. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! I love you so much, I hope you had a nice birthday, and I can’t wait for our fishing trip when this is all over!”

[Cut to Nicholas]

“Y/n! Happy birthday! We all appreciate everything you do for us, even if some of us don’t say it! Have a great night, don’t vomit on Noah this time though… We all remember Bryan’s party!”

[Cut to Bryan]

“You’ll always be my best friend and-”

“Shit I wasn’t recording,” Rick laughed, “Okay, we’re all good.”

“Fuck you, Rick.” Bryan chuckled, “I just said something really beautiful… Y/n, I love you dearly, thanks for sticking with me and being my best friend throughout all the madness in our lives… I can’t remember what else I said now but that’s Rick’s fault. Happy birthday!”

[Cut to darkness, again]

"This is definitely them..." Ricky whispers to the camera.

Suddenly, the lights all switch on, revealing the beautifully decorated room, everyone shouts surprise! As you stand in the doorway, a look of disbelief and excitement on your face as you grin widely

"Oh my god... Guys you didn't have to do this!"

[Cut to Rick at the airport]

"Holy shit. I don't even know if I should post any of this now." He sighs, looking away for a moment, "Some serious shit went down in the last few days... But we did it. We played every show, we... Yeah, I'm not posting any of this shit-"

[Camera cuts]

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

spoiler alert (?) i'll be posting the final chapter in three parts because it's been getting longer and longer and longer, but i'm hoping to post all three parts throughout next week!!

@rumoured-whispers @collisionofyourkissmakesitsohard @lma1986 @thisbicc @dominuslunae @miss570 @miamore0570 @jilliemiw86 @itsyaboinoah @kait16xo @discocowgirly @rainy-darling

[cannibal-nightmares]

let's make trouble in the dream world, we'll hijack heaven with another memory now; i make the most of the turning tide, it just split what's left of the burning silence

[pinnithin]

yknow i didn't necessarily start my wyll origin run with the intent of romancing astarion in mind but the more i play the more i find their similarities amusing when it comes to like, the surface level personality they present to strangers in act 1.

wyll is a compulsive flirt. you see it in dialogue with shadowheart and lae'zel - he just tosses out a couple lines that clearly aren't supposed to go anywhere (asking lae'zel if she believes in love at first sight, blatantly reusing the same flirtation attempts with shadowheart) and i see this as part of his Blade of Frontiers persona. obviously a traveling vigilante would have no time for romance or relationships, but he's socially aware enough to have learned that people respond well to a certain level of rogueish charm. especially if his reputation precedes him. he can safely and positively engage in surface level flirtations with the people he interacts with because the person doing the flirting isn't real - at least not to him. he often says the Blade is his best self, but to him its an ideal he strives to achieve, not the person he really is. and i imagine that includes the ability to give discouraged people positive attention in a nonthreatening way. its safe. its superficial. he doesn't have to follow through.

this is overshadowed somewhat by astarion's tendency to flirt with anything that has a pulse, but the perspective they both have on it is pretty similar. theyre both coming from a place of not actually being interested in the recipient of their attention - whether that be through astarion's ulterior motives or wyll's lack of capacity for a relationship - but they both still put on this front because it's habitual. it's worked for them and it's gotten them through the varying degrees of social contracts they find themselves in. so they wind up trading lines easily because they've studied from the same script.

anyway what im getting at is bumping these two personalities against each other can definitely result in wyll and astarion committing to the bit so hard they accidentally wind up in a relationship. like, you're safe, you know the rules, you're speaking in a language i'm familiar with but we both understand that neither of us expect anything back on an emotional level. wait when did we start confiding our deepest secrets with one another. what do you mean you trust me.

[mikewheerlerdefsquad]

If what you're saying is true, then not only is it poor writing, but it also means the creators deliberately used marketing tactics to attract Byler fans, which makes the whole situation even worse.

I don’t usually pick up on queer subtext as easily as many others do, but when I watched Mike’s monologue, I found myself completely distracted from his words because I was so focused on Will’s visible pain. That kind of framing feels intentional. If they truly wanted Will to simply move on, they could have done so without making the audience pity him so much for his situation.

Also, you don’t spend an entire season degrading a relationship with unnecessary conflicts—starting all the way back in Season 3—just to ultimately conclude that Mike has always loved El and was just afraid of her abandoning him. What kind of character arc is that? Even in straight relationships, this kind of storytelling is weak.

On top of that, the way the show isolates Mike and Will’s bond from Mike’s other friendships—almost in an awkward way—feels deliberate. If Mike is supposedly straight, why can he hug Dustin but not Will? What’s the implication there? Does Will suddenly not matter to him? That would make Mike look like an opportunist who only acknowledges Will when he’s feeling lonely and in need of emotional support.

Either way, the writing is just bad.

I suppose it's worth pointing out that, hypothetically, Byler could not happen. It wouldn't be because we were blind, or stupid, or overly hopeful, or anything like that. All the evidence is, indeed, there. However, the Duffers, again, hypothetically, could decide not to go with it for one reason or another. They could have Mike reject Will. They could use it simply to drive Will's gay coming-of-age story arc, including him learning to "move on." They could use it merely to make Will vulnerable to Henry, allowing him to be taken again. They could have one of them die (unlikely, given what we know). They could even have it never even be directly addressed.

However, none of this changes how bad this writing would be in this hypothetical universe.

They will have spent the better part of a decade building up a slowburn rejection. It wouldn't be any old slowburn rejection, though. It would be the slowburn rejection of a gay teen who did nothing but experience trauma and rejection since the very first episode, and even before. We will have gotten to see little glimpses into how happy he could be, but ultimately walk away knowing he will never be truly happy with the only one who would likely ever truly understand him.

I can't say that I've ever seen a slowburn rejection depicted on-screen in the first place. The fact that the rejection would come at the expense of a gay kid would be insensitive at best and homophobic at worst.

I choose to believe the Duffers are not that insensitive. I choose to believe that Noah, despite him seeming to enjoy playing a suffering person, wouldn't want Will to finish his story heartbroken. I choose to believe the writers know what they've been doing, not having fallen ass-backwards into a gay love story.

What do you believe?

[spitedemon]

i really hope that ign article is kinda blowing things outta proportion, at least in terms of romance. to be clear, it is understandable to me that the inquisitor’s relationship with solas is going to matter in the grand scheme of things. solas is the thing tying rook and the inquisitor together, and whether you despise solas, love him, or are painfully indifferent toward him, he is an antagonist bioware has set up for this game. his decisions and actions are going to, and have already had, far-reaching effects on thedas. of course he is going to have a spotlight of his own. i’m not concerned with that.

in terms of solavellan though, like. again, i hope things are being blown out of proportion. bioware is clearly very proud of solavellan and loves their solavellan fans very much, and i’m glad solavellan people can expect a decent endgame after 10 years of waiting. but i will genuinely be so upset if every other inquisitor, every other romance path, gets demonstrably Less in comparison. female lavellan is one inquisitor among eight. solas is only romanceable by one specific type of inquisitor. if the rest of us are left with some throwaway “oh yeah we still write sometimes” lines regarding our romances i will be very disappointed. obviously we can’t know everything until the game comes out, but the fact that, in an article about why only three choices from inquisition are going to matter in veilguard, everything seems to round out into “solavellan fans are going to be pleased,” i’m left with a bad taste in my mouth.

[emmavakarian-theirin]

the way it kinda just dawned on me we're never seeing alistair again

[tsururoach]

you showed up on my tumblr i used to follow u on twt and i just wanted to say that one time i said smthn mean abt ur art to your fucking face and you probably already forgot it cause it was over 4 years ago but i never got over the fact that i did that and i am so fucking sorry dude omg

Please I woke up to this and laughed please I wanna know what you could've possibly said.

BC I feel like i should remember this so it probably went over my head you ever did it at all. I WANT TO KNOW SO BADLY... PLEASE...

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

And this isn't even the only case of canon doing this nonsense! The most similar example is Adrien doing the exact same thing with Lila, taking about the same amount of time to acknowledge that she was a problem and that his previous advice was bad. Marinette's kwagatama is another good example. Introduced in season two only to be forgotten until season five! That's nonsense pacing!

This is not a deep, nuanced show where every moment matters. A show where you have to watch closely to understand the plot. It is, in theory, a fun comedy for kids. In that context, it is not reasonable to expect the average viewer to remember things across multiple seasons without even a token reminder between the setup and the payoff. That's not even how serious shows work! Serious shows put in that multi-season stuff for the hardcore fans, but write the show so that the surface level stuff makes sense to the casual watcher. Miraculous isn't doing that. It only makes sense to those who can quote every episode and, even then, I use the word "sense" lightly. Just because I can put two and two together doesn't mean the plot actually functions on a technical level.

I watch Miraculous with my adult partner who is an extremely casual fan - meaning he has only seen each episode once and is totally divorced from the fandom - and he gets totally lost when this stuff comes up. The season five final was incredibly confusing for him because it had been years since we watched the specials and he - understandably - forgot who all the special-only characters were!

Even if you could argue that the average viewer should remember everything, that doesn't work here because canon will straight up ignore what it established in previous seasons, making it impossible for even a dedicated fan to know what matters (for a well-known example, see canon suddenly forgetting Lila's ongoing lies about Ladybug being her best friend). That's part of what makes Miraculous so aggravating. There's no way to guess what will matter and what canon introduced for a cheap cliffhanger. Will Adrien's kwagatama ever be used? I don't know! And the fact that I don't know is bad writing! Why would you introduce that right after you explained how they're used if Adrien wasn't going to immediately use it? That doesn't even fit his character! He's supposedly desperate to know more about the miraculous and yet I'm supposed to believe that he didn't care about this magical link to all the previous holders?

Sure, writers. Sure.

Whenever I think of Miraculous's attempts to do context, I think of Gravity Falls.

Gravity Falls was a great show, especially in how they did off-screen context and overarching plot.

SPOILER ALERT

When they did the reveal of Stanley and Stanford, Alex Hirsch used subtext to tease the truth. Ford's glasses, the different nameplate on his car, knowing Gideon wasn't a real psychic since he kept calling him Stanford instead of Stanley—they were all there, but these tiny hints, while are noticeable, generally didn't mean much until the big reveal.

But the fun thing was that the fans saw the subtext, and because of the mystery genre in Gravity Falls, it's almost like audience participation in putting together the clues.

Obviously, I'm not expecting Miraculous to do this. It's a whole other genre, a whole other storyline. But I feel like a distinct parallel that can be taken from it is mainly WHEN said subtext is subtext, and what's not.

One example I can think of is Despair Bear. Adrien told Chloé to fix her attitude otherwise they won't be friends. Relevant for the episode, fine.

BUT THEN

They ignore it for episodes on end until Queen Banana, where Adrien suddenly uses it as a bargaining chip. And when people complain, they act like Adrien's tried this whole time and Chloé's just mean.

Basically, what Miraculous did wrong that Gravity Falls did right was knowing when to call attention to something and when not to.

In Gravity Falls, they were careful with the Stanley-Stanford reveal hints; things like the nameplate and Gideon were small in the grand scheme of things and passed you by if you weren't paying attention. But then they remind you of the mystery surrounding Stan by using small but overt scenes to make you think about it.

However, in Miraculous, they didn't do that. Again, Despair Bear. Adrien threatens their friendship, Chloé gets her act together, blah blah blah. But the issue is, post-episode, it's never mentioned again until practically a whole season later, after which we're just supposed to believe Adrien tried.

When you call attention to scenes from prior episodes, usually through quoting, you're inviting extra scrutiny on how you do your context. However, there's nothing to call attention to! You have Despair Bear, then radio silence until Queen Banana, after which it's treated like the last straw when it was the only straw.

It feels sudden that Adrien cut off the relationship because it was sudden. There was no added context or reminder, like visual effort on Adrien's or Chloé's part to preserve their friendship, and because of that, the conflict in Queen Banana feels thrown out there at random.

When conflict is supposed to coincide with previous episodes but said conflict stretches far from the start of the issue to the actual fight, you need to pepper in reminders to people that this is an issue that will have relevance in the future. You can't just declare it as something, just because that's what YOU think happened. And who knows, maybe to you it did, but we're not in your head, so how are we supposed to know if you don't show it to us?

The audience is usually more eagle-eyed than you think, and if over 90% of the audience missed the context, that's not the audience's fault. It's the creator.

The issue is the same for the infamous wax scene. Discomfort aside, Adrien's attitude towards Marinette post-episode never changed. No lingering glances, no moments of confusion in his feelings, nothing. So when it hits that he apparently has feelings for Marinette, it comes out of the blue. Or the whole Marinette and Cat Noir switching their crushes, with Marinette now like Cat Noir and Cat Noir now liking Marinette. There's just not enough context to justifiably believe that it is what it is.

Sorry for how long it is. I was just thinking about Gravity Falls and one thought turned into another.

This is an excellent time to give one of my favorite pieces of writing advice: if you want to tell stories, then you should study how mysteries are told because most stories have an element of mystery to them.

The mystery genre is the literary equivalent of a puzzle because a good mystery is all about setup and payoff. If the ending of a mystery doesn't come with a feeling of, "oh, how did I miss that?" or "Yes, I knew it!" then you've probably told a bad mystery. But that rule isn't unique to mysteries. Anything with a twist or a reveal requires you to set up those things and, generally speaking, you want to set up these non-mystery twists and reveals the same way you set them up in mysteries. The big difference will be that people aren't aware of what the mystery is, so the clues won't play like clues the first time through.

If you look at Gravity Falls, you know right from the start that there's a mystery afoot because the series begins with the character Dipper discovering a mysterious journal marked with a six-fingered hand and the number three:

This means that everything in the story should be viewed with the knowledge that this journal exists. Viewers assume - correctly - that they are going to learn more and more about the journal as the story goes on. They can also make some logical guesses based on the things they learn. For example, later on, the story introduces a nearly identical journal marked with the number two. For some viewers, this was an "oh, shit!" moment. For others, it was a major win because they'd guessed that this reveal was coming. After all, why would you mark Dipper's journal with a three if it was the only one?

Let's compare this to Miraculous and how it handles things.

I would not call Miraculous a mystery, but - like many non-mystery stories - it has a mystery at its heart: what happened to Emilie Agreste? The answer comes with the reveal that Adrien, Felix, and Kagami are sentimonsters. But, for many viewers, that is not a satisfyingly reveal. They don't look back at the show and go, "Oh, that's why X happened in season one and Y happened in season two! It all make sense now!" Instead, they go, "Wait, how did Gabriel lose in Chat Blanc if Adrien has a remote control?" or "Wait, if Adrien is a sentimonster, then why didn't Chat Noir go nuts when he was cataclysmed in Miraculer? And what about Claw Noir in the Paris special? Why was he totally fine? Gabriel showed us that being transformed doesn't protect you from a cataclysm, so there's no reason why these two didn't act like other sentimonster here."

There are also lots of smaller-scale mysteries going on such as the fate of the eyeglass that Félix used to find Emilie in the season for final. Canon then let Adrien find the abandoned glass in the season four final, making everyone think it was going to be an important plot point in season five. No one knew how it was going to be used, but the hype was real! Hype that went no where because canon apparently forgot about Adrien finding the glass. Mid-season fine, it randomly shows up in Gabriel's possession, a twist so confusing that the wiki can't even figure out what happened here:

In "Pretension", Gabriel somehow finds it and gives it to Tomoe, who uses it to track Félix's scent during her akumatization after he kidnapped Kagami.

Nevermind how Gabriel found it, how did he even know it was Félix's??? Nothing about this makes sense.

This is what I mean when I say that you want to write non-mystery stories like mysteries. No matter the genre, you want your stories to make sense. For stories to make sense, you need to make use of various setup and payoff techniques like foreshadowing. You can also make use of distraction techniques like red herrings. Everything mystery writers use is on the table for other genres. The big difference between mysteries and non-mysteries is not the techniques used, but the timing of events and how the characters are played. In a mystery story, you start with a body on the floor. In a non-mystery, the body might not show up until the end, but the reason it's lying there still needs to make sense!

Similarly, your non-mystery characters may not be trying to solve anything, but you'll still need set things up so that they get the information they need to have in order to make the ending work without it feeling like said ending came out of nowhere. While season five of Miraculous sucked in most ways, it did this to a certain extent by at least taking the time to establish that the Emilie videos existed before bringing them into the final. They also took the time to setup Lila knowing that Gabriel was Monarch. Imagine how much worse the final would feel without those things.

This need to set things up goes beyond plot elements. It applies to character beats, too! Adrien and Chloé's relationship is a wonderful example of a relationship arc that needed to take some lessons from mystery novels. As you noted in the ask, Despair Bear setup the idea that Adrien would cut Chloé off if she kept hurting others:

Adrien:(sighs in disappointment) Chloé, how long have you and I been friends? Chloé: Since we were adorable little tots, Adrikins. (Pouts) Adrien:(disappointed) Well, I'm sorry Chloé, but I can't be friends with someone who treats other people like this. You've gotta be nice to people! Chloé: N-Nice? Adrien: Yes, nice. It's not that hard.

But this setup doesn't pay off until the end of Derision:

Adrien: I know about everything that you did to Marinette last year, Chloé. You're going to go and apologize to her and prove to everyone that you can change. I'm sure she'll forgive you. Chloé: (cackles) Forgive me? What do I care about her forgiveness? I couldn't care less about Dupain-Cheng's feelings! She and the likes of her only exist to suffer for my entertainment. Why bother having power if you can't use it against those who don't have any? You're the one who’s getting things wrong, with your baker girl! You're a prince! You belong with me, the princess! You're in this world to shine! To make fun of all the losers who are only good enough to be used as doormats!  Adrien: You're nothing like a princess, Chloé. I supported you. I gave you multiple chances to become a better person. Everyone reached out to you, including Ladybug and Cat Noir when they gave you the Miraculous of the Bee again. But all you ever think about is yourself. Chloé: And what else is there to think about? Losers and nobodies? The little bees? The planet? Adrien: (angrily) We will NEVER be friends again, Chloé. You and I are DONE. (walks away in anger)

And between those two episodes, the most we get is Chloé breaking up with Adrien in season four's Queen Banana after the two have a fight about her behavior:

Adrien: Hey, wait! Chloé:(turns around) Adrikins, it's sweet of you to want to console me, but I'm fine. I'm going to get my revenge and send Zoé back to New York. Adrien: Actually, I came to suggest that you apologize to everyone. Chloé:(vehemently) Are you ill?! They've ruined my film! Adrien: It was never your film, Chloé. It belonged to the group. You promised me you'd make an effort to stop being mean to everyone. I warned you that if you didn't, then we can no longer be friends. Chloé:(ends her friendship with Adrien) You're as ridiculous that film! It's over, you're no longer my Adrikins, you're Adrinothing! (Runs off to the limousine and cries inside.)

If you look at this like a mystery, it's a pretty awful one. The pacing is terrible and the events don't link together. When Queen Banana had Adrien call Chloé out for breaking her promise, I wasn't sure what he was talking about. The wiki links that line to Despair Bear and that makes sense to me in terms of what happened in Despair Bear, but if that's what he's talking about, then why did it take him two seasons remember his original threat? Why is Queen Banana his breaking point and not Miracle Queen, Zombizou, her theft of the bee, or any of the other awful things Chloé has done? Things that saw Adrien do and say nothing, making his claim that people reached out to her ring rather hollow. He let her get away with some pretty major crimes and only speaks up when she's mildly petty which isn't a great look for his character.

I've also seen several people confused by Derision's ending because they thought that Adrien and Chloé were already done, which is a perfectly reasonable thing to assume since Chloé cut Adrien off in Queen Banana and Adrien doesn't really talk to Chloé between Queen Banana and Derision. Two facts that really undermine his actions in Derision because why did he even bother talking to Chloé at that point? And why was Marinette's trauma the thing that made him finally reach out? It's especially weird when you remember that Adrien didn't get to watch the Derision flashback like we did. He just learned about one "prank" from Kim and went on the warpath. Not an overreaction given how bad the prank was, but a bit of an overreaction when you considered everything Chloé did that Adrien was happy to tolerate.

For this breakup to work and have weight, the show needed to have Adrien consistently reacting to Chloé's bad behavior. We need to see him actually trying and failing to push her to improve. We need to see him struggling between his new friends and his old friend. Those are the clues you use to tease Adrien cutting her off. The setup to the payoff of the breakup. We don't get those so Adrien and Chloé's relationship arc feels like a waste of time because they don't really have a relationship. You could have removed their "friendship" and the show would lose nothing. Just rewrite Despair Bear to give Chloé a different motivation and you're good to go.

[xamaxenta]

The agonies of art return to plague me

[thats-my-passion-right-there]

I finally saw the mean girls musical (the movie one) I have so many fucking thoughts oh my god