#also this is way too accurate to how i would insta if i actually used mine 😭 stoppp

[sunlightfeeling]

look at this picture takuya posted:

no no wait it gets better:

Which translates to:

A crow……!

1 egg…..!! 😱💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦

—

…idk…i think he would actually do a banger job on tumblr…

[hamiltonaf]

Payback | Kylian Mbappé

Pairing: Kylian Mbappé x Female Reader

Word Count: 2.4K

Warnings: Cursing

A/N: My apologies for not posting part 2 of ‘One More Dance’, I’ve been so busy and I’m currently working on it so hopefully it will be up soon. Inspo is from an old tiktok trend. Enjoy .xo

(Y/F/N) - Your Friend’s Name

The thud of heavy rain drops hitting against my window set the mood to do absolutely nothing today. Though it doesn't work like that today since I have an assignment due in a few days time. It would also be ideal to cuddle someone right about now but that's out of the question because of a certain someone.

After completing half of my assignment, which I was quite satisfied with, I decided to call it a day for work and take advantage of the gloomy weather.

Taking a look at Instagram was a bad idea since I came across rumours of Kylian dating another girl. So much for breaking up a month ago and wanting to 'focus on football'. His excuse still bothers me since it was a poor one after dating for almost 3 years. I don't see a change of performance on the pitch if I’m being honest. I guess everything happens for a reason, maybe we're just not meant to be.

I mean if he moved on then so should I, right ? It then hit me that I should spice things up and give something for people to talk about. We’ll excuse my petty behaviour and blame it on the weather for making me somewhat evil. Before causing some drama, I called (Y/F/N), "Ello !" she answered. "Hey girly ! How are you doing on this beautiful day ?" I asked. "Ugh I’m so bored, you have no idea” she whined. “But never mind me, how are you doing more specifically ?” She asked curiously. “I’m doing okay, but-“ “I can already tell something is up your sleeve” she cut me off.

“Damn you really know me well” I pouted. “Of course ! Otherwise I wouldn’t be your bestie. Anywho, spill the tea…I’m all ears” she said enthusiastically. “So word of mouth right now on insta is that he is dating someone else, there’s literally pictures of them at dinner together” I rolled my eyes. “Shut up ! What the actual fuck dude. That’s so messed up. He’s such an ass” she yelled. “Yeah yeah I mean it hurts but the only way for my petty ass to get over it is-“ “If you do the same thing” she finished my sentence.

“Exactly ! So remember that TikTok we wanted to try out ages ago where one of us is dressed up as the guy and take out a bunch of pictures to look like a couple” I reminded her. “Oh my god ! Our time has finally come ! Okay I’m on my way, I’ll literally be there in like 5 mins” she said lastly before ending the call.

As soon as (Y/F/N) came over, we went straight to my dresser and got working on her makeup. We started by accentuating her veiny yet bony hands and then contoured her cheekbones, as well as her jawline to look more masculine. I failed to mention how smart she is, she came through with a bouquet of my favourite flowers so I had something else to post about.

Once we were done with her makeup, she slipped into one of my high heels so she was much taller than me. With her oversized hoodie and cap on you’d literally think that she’s a guy - a hot one at that too. I changed into a black slip dress and took off my shoes to spice up the picture, and exaggerate her height.

When (Y/F/N) came up behind me in the mirror, we both burst out laughing over how accurate she looked to a guy. “Shit. Even I would date me” she said before getting serious and wrapped her arms around my waist. After a few pictures of my head tilted and her face nuzzled into my neck, we finally had the picture. Her side profile looked so sharp, it’s actually insane.

After all of this, I suddenly felt hesitant to post for some odd reason that even (Y/F/N) noticed. I think it was pretty obvious how long I was staring at the pictures. “Girl don’t hold back now, just do it. He should see that you also moved on” she wiggled her brows. “You got a point there” I said to myself. I then uploaded 2 stories, one of the bouquet and one of us together - both simply captioned with a white heart. “If I saw this for the first time, I’d literally scream. Everyone is gonna lose their minds, especially him” she smirked. “Feels good to throw this back at him” I smirked back. “Welcome to the dark side bestie” she patted my back. “Anywho I need to run, got a few errands. Love you and call me later to update me on the drama. I’ll desperately be waiting for your call” she said as she gathered her things. “Of course ! Will do. Thanks bestie” I quickly hugged her before she hurriedly left.

I proceeded to spending the rest of my afternoon binging on early 2000's chick flicks, it wasn't until the evening when I decided to check my phone again that I noticed how many notifications I received. My notifications were the highest its ever been, well shit. We love to see it I guess.

I received countless tags on reposts as well as comments from fans, and surprisingly messages from family - understandable how many messages I received since it’s so evident that it’s not Kylian in the pictures. Scrolling through my notifications I decided to ignore all until my eyes landed on Kylian’s contact name, 'Kyky'. Surprise surprise.

"Heyy" the text read, I rolled my eyes, I don't have time for a conversation starter. I left him on read and proceeded with watching my movies. It wasn't even 5 minutes and my phone started to ring. It was Kyky calling. My heart started racing, I was hesitant to answer the call because what are we going to talk about and why call now ?

"Hello" he greeted. "Hey" I answered plainly. "Are you busy ?" He asked curiously. "Well kind of.. I'm actually just getting ready to leave" I said with a devious smile creeping onto my face. "Oh. Erm okay never mind" he said disappointed. "Why ?" I raised a brow. "I'm actually outside your apartment" he said embarrassed "No way" I said lowly to myself. "Have a look" he said as I then walked towards my front door and was met with his face. I ended the call and looked at him in shock, "You- here- like..what are you doing here ?" I asked.

"Can I come in please ?" He asked pleadingly. "What for ?" I asked back. "To talk about us" he said. "Theirs no us anymore. Theirs nothing for us to talk about" I said as I was about to close the door. "Wait. Just give me a chance" he said softly. "Theirs literally no point. You moved on..I moved on-" "You have another boyfriend already ?" He asked in shock. "I'm offended that you think I'm not capable of moving on so soon" I shook my head and crossed my arms over my chest.

"So you must've known this guy whilst we were dating ?" He asked as he started to grow angry. "Yeah so ?" I scoffed. "You were just waiting for us to break up so you can date this guy" he said as he started to raise his voice. "You literally did the same thing. You made it seem like it was such a simple break up for your own good, but for the last 2 weeks you're rumoured to be with another girl !"I said as I started to grow annoyed. "Yes, but she's just a friend" he said.

"Funny how we’ve been together for so long and I never met this friend before" I said. Just then my next door neighbour yelled at us for raising our voices. "Please do yourself a favour and leave" I said as I shut the door. I then heard rattling of the door and in came Kylian. "You weren't invited inside" I said. "Well I had a spare key" he said as he held up the key. "That was supposed to be returned to me when we broke up" I said as I snatched the key from his hand and went to sit on my couch. “Also, how could you act surprised that I moved on when you’re literally here after I posted a picture with another guy ?” I questioned. He then sat beside me, "Can you just stop talking about that idiot ? I came here to talk about us…How do I make you love me again?"

"Love ? Dream on" I half laughed. "I'm being serious" he said as he looked between my eyes. "Forget about me loving you. How do I know that you love me ?" I asked. "Well I missed you all this time so I came back" he smiled. "It's not that simple. If you truly loved me as you say, you wouldn't have wanted to break up after all these years" I said. "Look I'm sorry okay ? I really am. I wish I could go back in time and reverse what I did...I just needed some time to myself to think about my future personal life and I kept imagining you in it..." he said as he gently moved a strand away from my face.

"Don't play with me right now" I warned. "No jokes. I love you. I really do, and I want to continue to spend the rest of my life with you" he said as he held my hands. "Okay cute. Anyways I have to go meet my boyfriend. It was nice of you to stop by..I'll think about it" I huffed as I got up. He grabbed a hold of my wrist and pulled me towards him to sit on his lap. "Stop lying" he smirked. "What makes you think I'm lying ?" I raised a brow. "I know your facial expressions when you lie. I just know you all too well because you literally could've left the second you opened your door instead of coming back inside" He said with a smile.

"Well I've changed my mind, I rather be with him right now" I shrugged. "I want my old (Y/N) back" he pouted. "She left the building the day you left her" I said lastly and got up to walk to my room. "Ouch" he pouted as he followed behind me. "I still love you no matter what. Always have and always will" I gave him a brief look before pretending to rummage through my closet. "So is this how it's going to be ?" He asked as he leaned back in my bed and watched me. "I told you that I need to think about it" I said as I continued to skim through my closet. "I'm not going until we stop fighting" he said casually "This isn't fighting. People don't get back together based off 5 minutes of talking to them after a whole month" I said as he stood up to stand in front of me.

"I like it when you're angry" he said as he got closer. "Don't" I said softly as I looked down. He lifted my head to meet his eyes as he cupped my cheeks, his thumb tracing over my lips. "You're making this harder" I pouted. Just when his lips were a mere centimetre away, he mumbled "It shouldn’t be hard if you have a boyfriend…Should I stop ?"

I hesitated to answer. To give up the game and kiss him or keep annoying him. “I can’t” I faked a pout. “Why not ?” His mood dropped. “I can’t do this to Nico” I said as I looked down. “Fuck Nico !” He yelled. “How the hell do you even know this guy ?” He asked frustrated. “We met at a party” I answered casually. “Besides him, it’s wrong of you to cheat on your girlfriend” I said looking everywhere else but him. He walked closer which made me take a step back, my back hitting against the wall. He placed his hands on either side of me, cornering me. “I just told you that she’s a friend and nothing more” he tried to say calmly. “I’m not convinced” I shrugged.

“Forget about her, she’s irrelevant right now. I came to claim back what was once mine. If I have to fight this stupid so called boyfriend of yours, then I will” he said as he inched his face closer to mine. There was a moment of silence. Both of us holding eye contact and switching between looking at each others eyes and lips. He leaned in and I didn’t stop him. It was a sweet soft peck. His forehead against mine, he sighed and said "I'll give you your space.” I surprised myself by grabbing a hold of his hand and pulling him back into place. “What’s wrong ?” He asked. “You’ll fight for me ?” I teased. “I know that I’m not fighting anyone because you’re lying, but if I have to then I will” he said as his hands were on my waist.

“How can you tell I’m lying ?” I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck. “Besides reading your facial expressions, we wouldn’t be in this position right now” he said. “Or doing this” he said softly before placing his lips on mine. I pulled him closer against me and just then he broke away from the kiss. “I think I should go” he teased. "No no wait just a little more" I hushed him as I pulled him closer to connect our lips once again.

[kikker-oma]

hi friend!

idk how you phrase this but like

How do you draw bodies

because your art style is so good and I’m trying to find mine but people just don’t make sense to me 🥲

but aside from that, how is your day been?

Line of Action - best for figure drawing practice

@mellon-soup - has an INCREDIBLE repetoir of pose references. Here's their insta handle!

PROKO - has a lot of really great drawing fundamental resources on their YouTube channel for free. They also have paid online courses that go more in depth!

PoseManiacs - I used this when I was trying to learn and practice poses as well!

@miyuliart - on Twitter (or X , whatever it is) has a lot of great posts regarding pose study and anatomy! She even has some books for purchase too.

Lovely Blare, you are so sweet!! I'm glad you like my art style ❤️ it's definitely still being developed and I'm no master, but. I'm having fun building up my skills!

See below the break for more info cus this is kinda long lol

Above I've listed just a few of the many many many resources out there to study poses. These tend to be the people I look to most for references, tho they aren't the only ones!

If you're looking to practice and get better at anatomy and the fluidity of your poses, I would suggest starting by drawing actual people first. That way you know how real bodies move and twist and turn and what masclues go where. It makes simplifying and stylizing easier down the road!

Something I did a LOT, and honestly still do a lot, is find pictures of people or art of characters whose poses I like and just try to draw what I see. I have sketchbooks fuuulll of poses I copied just to practice! Tracing can definitely have it's value as well when you're learning!

I utilize Pinterest a lot to creat difference boards for reference photos I may need, and it's come in handy quite often!

I can show you how *I * draw bodies in general, but know that I kind of flub around until something starts to feel right haha. I'm still learning and practicing as well! How I draw bodies may now work for you and that's chill! Its all about trying out lots of different styles and seeing what you like best, or what methods make sense to you.

Fair warning: this probs isn't the most accurate tutorial, I just kinda threw something down as a general example hehe. I'm preaching about references but didn't want to use one at the moment cus I'm tired haha

Often my sketches are much messier and I just make lots of lines so I can find the "right one" lol.

These are some sketches I did for Peggys fan art!

Basically, just keep practicing until it eventually starts to look right lol

[yinof]

~FAKE SCENARIOS ~ just depicted in a fun way of how I believe the members would react to fics, stories and art about them

Hi, I’m a gal who just started writing. This is my first time uploading some writing! I’ve been writing some small fics and big ones on and off for years now😭 but finally decided to post a little something hehe, so if you even find vague interest in this piece l I plan to upload a couple different chapters this week and next hopefully of some new stories.

BTS Imagines “do you read fanfics or art about yourself?”

Jungkook yes, finds it funny and uses it, he got his vampire photoshoot idea from an army’s fic, and it was an explicit one. He found it both highly entertaining and funny, he almost thought about writing his own vampire or werewolf fic for armies, and thinks he could do a good job, he would upload it on weverse and pretends he doesn’t know about Wattpad or a03. It’s a generational thing, so most of the maknae have read quite a bit of fanfiction and use it to their advantage and for performances and inspiration, Jungkook loves to suggest art and fics he’s seen to the design team, he’s keen on perfecting his style to what army would love the most.

Taehyung yes, and enjoys it. When he feels I confident or down about himself he often finds fics, mainly the big ones about himself and enjoys binge reading them just in one or two nights. He finds it really interesting and most fics are fairly accurate to himself he thinks. He has often went on tumblr too though and reads one shots and low-key really enjoys them. He appreciates the dedication and wants to give back by reading them himself. He reads them in all different languages if he can translate, becasue he curious what international army’s are like. He also derives lots of inspiration for performances especially and his photo shoots and insta posts he really likes the vibe army see him for.

Jimin yes out of curiosity, he also uses it to his advantage similarly to jungkook, but he likes to see army’s creativity. He gets nervous at the idea reading about himself although enjoys that people take such interest and see him in so many different lights. He enjoys all kinds of fics from fairly explicit to slice of life, to more intense angsty stories. He thinks some armies are really talented in that department and really enjoys a good angsty, fairytale, alternate universe, dystopian hellscape reader x jimin. He also absolutely LOVES fanart and that’s his pride. So much so he got a tattoo inspired, but has also had paintings inspired by him, he absolutely loves being a muse for all these types of creativity from erotic art, to slice of life fluff.

Hobi dead no, he respects the artistry but it’s a no. Jimin actually showed him one with him, but he doesn’t get it, once again he doesn’t mind that he is written about and in a sense it makes him feel more powerful to know that people take such a keen interest in his life, style and personality, but he just doesn’t read. However… he’s been known to look at a lot of fanart and comic strips that depict scenarios and imagines, and kind of finds it funny and super entairtaining, he enjoys edits A LOT and loves the way they depict his and Bangtan’s dance, and is super keen to learn what makes armies so excited for performances. He loves the perfectionism and hardwork that goes into video edits, and low-key enjoys making edits in his own spare time of dance practices, he would be really keen to upload them to weverse too.

Yoongi, yea, and he used to write them? So he’s been reading fanfics about BTS and himself since they debuted and still for his own enjoyment, but he doesn’t just read about himself, he mainly reads about other celebrities and always has. He says he would low-key probably be writing about BTS and himself now if he wasn’t actually a part of the band. He also told jimin he would have written about him the most. And his reading and writing doesn’t restrict him to slice of life or reader x BTS, he’s totally into shipping other K-pop artists and celebs often make cameos in his reading and writing.

Namjoon likes the self expression and creativity but finds it too awkward to read too often, he also thinks people perceptions of him can go from not very accurate to highly accurate and it freaks him out occasionally, but like yoongi he’s been reading fics about BTS since debut, and often keeps himself up to date, he reads internation fics too, and uses it out of interest to see what armies are up to. He likes art a lot, and armies that have been inspired by him or his music through there own media, such as exhibitions and art. If he could, without any hassle, he would absolute love to see every exhibition inspired by by him or BTS from armies. He spends a lot of time reading about armies work and other small artists that have been inspired by the message of BTS.

Jin has read all the big ones with pride, he also reads comics of himself on webtoon, and other artists oneshots and shit, and he would love to talk about it to everyone. He totally reviews them too, and has an alt account where he comments his exact critics and finds immense humour and commenting how he ‘thinks’ jin would really react in the story. He honestly a top reader for so many blogs, and reads every the smallest webtoons or comics written about him or inspired by him and BTS. He is also very keen on directing/ writing/ designing his own webtoon and he probably has one in the works, he also really wants to make another BTS universe game, himself but it’s more like animal crossing and you can just play as the members and world build like in the seom. He also wants to make a BTS universe game but it’s just a romance like in episode and you can cheat on everybody, pick which member you want to date and be a total playa in the game. Haha.

lol so that’s it! Thank you for reading.

Fics that will be coming out soon…

‘Inner City Vessel’ - Yoongi x Reader (mature)

‘Catching Angels As They Fall’ - Jungkook x Reader (?)

I’ll try and tag them once I’ve uploaded the first chapter… however you do that lmao, see you soon!

[tobyisave]

ask dump #3!

rch

Yes and no! Holetta Baby is a character song for a story I wrote in high school with some friends I've since fallen out of touch with --- because of that (esp. since some of the characters were based on ourselves), and because it's frankly bizarre, I don't know if I'll ever share too much about it.

All you really need to know is that it's from the perspective of a man whose wife flew away as he gradually realizes that she's never coming back. IIRC she was just fleeing for a while because their love was forbidden, hence "Loving you's so good I fear it's wrong." In reality, she got trapped on an island somewhere and he was too heartbroken to consider the possibility that she might need rescuing.

Thank you!!! I really can't overstate how happy I am that Townsend resonates with other people who have intrusive thoughts. It's something I still have trouble talking about but she's been a good outlet for that. Also quite happy that the angst is hitting right ehehe

art

Honestly no, I have so much trouble with that too OTL. Occasionally I use the warp tool on a sketch to help put an interesting line of action before I actually do lineart? I recently started experimenting with drawing in fisheye perspective too, and that definitely shakes things up.

Thank you so much!!

I almost always draw in Procreate (with an iPad + apple pen). I have 2 sets of favorite brushes on there - these are what I usually use:

6B Pencil (found in the "sketching" category). I use this for EVERYTHING from lines to rendering.

Studio Pen ("inking")

Medium Hard Airbrush aka the most generic brush on earth

Inka ("inking")

Spectra ("painting") - annoying because it can alter colors by pressure though

Then I have this set I call 'ink kit' which I use when I want to change things up without actually switching mediums lol

Blackburn ("drawing") - Really thick brush that makes me think a little harder about lines. I also have a duplicate modified to make it a little smoother and smaller & I switch between those two when doing lineart on these pieces

Gesinski Ink ("inking") - one of those pens that's flat so it's really thin or wide depending on the angle

Oil Paint ("painting")

Watercolor ("painting") -- just for coloring stuff in when it doesn't have to be precise

Also these niche uses:

Driven Snow ("elements") for freckles

Nikko Rull ("painting") for skin texture

adamandi

It was just a fairly thick curling iron (curled upwards all over my head) and then a lot of hairspray. If I remember correctly, the first night it was done by our costume designer Hahnji Jang (@/hahnjij on insta!) and then I did it myself the rest of the nights. It was definitely their idea at least - my hair is naturally pretty flat and up til then I assumed Vincent's would be too, lol.

No idea where the bag (or really any of it) is from, sorry. I really liked walking around in his swooshy jacket, and I ended up buying it afterwards. As far as normal people clothes I would actually wear, I really really liked his pants, which I was unfortunately not able to keep.

There actually exists in my mind a completely different "biblically accurate Vincent," which is the Vincent I had been picturing all the way up until the actual performances. I always pictured him with long black hair and freckles, and I considered drawing on freckles for the show because of that.

[anadrenalineslut]

I need to know what you think about the whole Joe thing because at this point I'm genuinely so confused as to what's going on

i hesitate to even answer this at all, anon, because I'm honestly in the same boat as you.

all i can honestly say is something about this situation doesn't feel right to me. i don't really wanna say too much because i dont want to fan the joe is a beard bullshit but the whole "differences in personality" thing... almost that exact same wording was used during the coverage of the harris x swift break-up. im not gunna look it up but if you research the people article for it, you can see what im talking about.

we also know that as soon as midnights, her most accurate album to date, she wrote sweet nothing about her relationship with Joe. Its a really hard pill for me to swallow that after seven years of music about how supportive and how understanding he is of her career, the thing that broke them apart was "differences in personality."

but then there is haim, gigi, blake and ryan, austin unfollowing him off instagram. why? why would they do that right now, in the middle of her tour being made about this fucking break up, when they absolutely KNOW that people will be reading into those actions. however, there is also the possibility that none of those people were actually following on insta to begin with because he doesnt actually post on there. i have no way of verifying that they actually recently unfollowed him but the words of the same fans who believed he deleted the cat photo of his insta when it was just a story in the first place.

all i can say for certain is the pap pictures are planned easter eggs about a work related project. she knows we expect speak now so it would be the perfect time to throw another curveball at us. i can also see taylor deciding to have some fun with the media coverage of her tour, especially if she is announcing a film soon in which she tackles fame and the media specifically in it, when she told us in lavender haze the way she protects her relationship is by ignoring the media. like, she could be showing us how much of a mastermind she actually is. like, im getting so much deja vu from 1989 era and the fact that she used the same wording as calvin harris break up, that makes me so suspicious. i still think she's planning on coming out this summer so im not sure if this could somehow be related to that?

i keep going back to the coverage of this relationship, the media narrative she crafted of this man who supports her superstardom and just wants to be in her presence and nothing else, and how it's a complete 180 from everything she has let us know up to this point. like, the fact that in the span of 2 weeks, we have had swifties take the narrative from "they broke up" to "he cheated on her" also just makes me feel like super gross about the situation.

like i am just not a fan of all the drama about taylor's personal life all of a fucking sudden now that we think she's single as a fandom. like, wow, and like she spent so much of their relationship shading the people who called it fake or disgenuine, that i just... i dont know. nothing about how this is playing out makes any sense to me.

taylor hid the relationship for almost a year, you don't think she would have waited until the tour was over to release this news??? and then we got the pic of joe, which like, thats the first pap pic ive ever seen of him alone i think and that also makes me question why we're seeing him right after taylor. like, she was so happy right up until tour, it kind of makes me think something dramatic did happen because why did they all unfollow him?

i just don't really know what the fuck is going on. I dont really believe any of what they say is the reason they broke up, i guess. if they did break up, it sure as shit isnt even close to what the media is running with imho.

and then im like idk this whole thing just doesnt make sense and that's really all i have to say about it.

[bijoumikhawal]

Moving this to an ask so we don't keep talking to each other in the tags of my post— I think we do get a pretty decent picture of how Changelings react to trauma from the fact that it's repeatedly stated (even if never fully explored) that the entire reason the Dominion exists is because the Founders were SO traumatized from being persecuted and hunted and exploited that they said You Know What, Fuck You, We're Going To Oppress The Shit Out Of You Now. So I think that the answer to "how do Changelings handle trauma?" is "they hold grudges and get paranoid."

Which is why it's a little weird that the narrative repeatedly has Odo very quickly and easily forgiving people who have caused him pain and trauma— I'm thinking of Garak, but I'm also thinking of Mora. It feels like an extension of the Token Good One narrative that the story is trying to spin up around him (another thing I have complex feelings about but this ask is already too long). I don't think Garak deserved insta-forgiveness and I don't think Mora deserved forgiveness at all, but if Odo was going to have to forgive them anyway, at least, like... show him struggling with the idea that forgiving is something he feels he has to do in order to not be like the Founders, or with the fact that his first impulse is to go scorched earth, or something. Don't make it something he just Does because he's Good and Special.

Honestly I can chalk up Mora to also owing to another trend in Trek, particularly ds9- Forgive Your Shitty Dad. Trek has this really annoying habit of trying to bend certain very normal behaviors into a new shape, and like the questionable approach to torture, this happens with the subject of child abuse too.

Sometimes it builds a richer, more accurate picture- Garak not knowing being locked in a closet as a child for long periods of time was abusive and getting angry when someone tried to follow a line of questioning about other ways he was abused, for example, is realistic for many groups of people for various cultural reasons. Hell, I've had the experience of being in the Ezri position in high-school. But much of the time it's shitty! They never end up actually resolving the issues at hand in a way that the matter feels settled. Sometimes that works too- the melancholy and unresolved note that Ghemor's death leaves for Kira actually feels fitting for me. And speaking of Kira this is a problem with her and Odo too- there's a few occasions where Odo has done something and the show gives us little discussion about how they feel about that, or has the talk happen off screen. Show us the talk!!! The talk, the journey the relationship takes, is the moneyshot!!

Its basically often (IMO) treated as easier to have a protagonist be forgiving and an antagonist a grudge holder, unless the person the protagonist has a grudge against is a secondary or tertiary character. It can, in fact, be done and done well to have two non-antagonistic characters that show up a fair amount have this type of relationship, but... and the way grudge holding vs forgiveness is treated in media varies, but the former is frequently treated as bad and something a villain does or to be grown past unless it leads to ruin, to the point where the only counter example I can name readily is Inigo. Which is fine, there are ways of holding a grudge that can be bad, but you do need to actually write the thing good.

And yeah, I agree, it would've been interesting to show Garak navigating his feelings of regret and... whatever other words one would use outside of that episode, and more importantly, how it impacts Odo. Because he already has things about his character that could be dialed up to 11 to show what's going on- his attitudes around surveillance, for example.

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

hi I’m here to review the Clementine comic. it’s not good.

Does this even need an introduction? You know why I’ve gathered you all here today. You know the comic exists, and you probably know that it’s not great and we’re all upset about it. 

Myself included. I am not okay. At all. 

Skybound could’ve literally spit in my face and I’d come out feeling better than I did reading this comic, because this comic is an insult to the original Telltale games and Clementine as a character. 

This comic is a fancy fanfic. Glorified fanfiction. It’s not canon, and Skybound and Tillie can pretend that it is, but it’s not. Bold of them to assume we’d just accept this from people who didn’t work on the original games and never wrote for Clementine before, and based on this comic alone, any chance of us taking it seriously is gone. 

I’m gonna go through every single page, every panel, of this comic and give you my review. So I guess if you’re worried about spoilers [though at this point why would you?] then be warned, spoilers for the entire comic ahead. 

I also wanna add that I have nothing against Tillie Walden. I know a lot of dingdongs are harassing her on insta over this comic and that’s not okay. You telling her how much you hate her isn’t going to change anything. If anything, you keep being assholes to her and she’s just gonna block everything out, even things simply critiquing her work in hopes that it helps her improve. 

You’re allowed to be upset about the comic and share your feelings about it, but don’t take it out on the actual human being like that. Besides, like I’ve said before, if Tillie wasn’t gonna make the comic, Skybound would’ve found someone else to do. This was coming no matter what because Skybound wants that coin. 

That being said, I’m not going to hold back my opinions on this comic. Skybound and Tillie made this comic, they put it out there and asked for money for it, therefore I’m allowed to explain why it’s garbage as well as ponder over the questionable intent and whether or not Tillie actually has played these games. Y’know, it’s like how I have nothing against Kent, but sometimes he says things I disagree with and well, y’know how it goes. 

Alright, this is gonna be long, so let’s go--

The first few shots we get are of the school, two people sleeping, and Clementine’s empty bed. Nothing super note-worthy, we have no idea who is sleeping in the beds, it’s just there to establish that it’s early and everyone’s still asleep. 

The drawing of the school looks fine? Not super accurate, but I can give it a pass since it’s a few years later, I assume. What I can’t give a pass is how you managed to already mess up on the first page of your comic. 

Because..... why are you implying that Clementine’s room is upstairs? First of all, seems kinda dumb to put Clem, who has only one leg and has to walk with crutches, upstairs. Also, if you’ve played TFS and paid any attention to where her room is actually located [the dorms] then you’d know there isn’t any stairs leading to their floor. It’s the side building next to the admin building, you walk through the door, go down the hall, take a left and their dorm is right there sooo..... 

Oh right, it’s probably done this way so that we can have such a suspenseful moment where Clementine is sneaking out while the others are asleep and her foot makes a creeeeeeakk that could wake everyone up, thwarting her plans of abandoning everyone quietly so she doesn’t have to deal with any consequences. 

Because yeah, Clementine is sneaking out with all of her supplies because apparently, she’s been planning an escape from this place for a while. 

And just look at how gosh darn happy she is about it. You can’t see or hear me, but know that I’m laughing. Don’t worry, I will talk about her abandoning everyone later.

But first, I have a gripe with Clementine's design in this comic. It doesn’t look like her. This art of her right here is the most accurate we get throughout all 12 pages, and it’s the best looking, too. 

Moving on, she slams the door shut while this walker changes faces and hair between panels, so that’s cool. I will say, I like the idea of the Ericson crew putting spikes on the door. That’s fun. 

Though Clementine slamming the door shut while trying to sneak out seems counter productive but it fits with the theme this comic has of inconsistency, so it works. 

Next we have Clementine going to what I believe is the fishing shack by the river, and she’s going through some things that she’s stashed away, telling us that she’s been planning this escape for a while. 

Oh good, she has a map. Well at least now she won’t get lost out there in the woods while she makes her escape... also that last panel with her profile.... why does it look so funny? Like this page of the comic doesn’t look too bad, but there is something off putting about her eye there and how she has zero expression. 

And it turns out that rustle was a walker, and Clementine is super inconvenienced by this and gives us our first piece of witty dialogue.

Yeah you dumb walker, can’t you see Clementine is busy running away from home and abandoning all of her loved ones without a single goodbye so she doesn’t have to witness the consequences of her selfish actions?? Gosh, so rude.

Just a heads up, the dialogue in this comic is stilted, emotionless, and bland. The words have no flow, no charm, and never feel like they should be coming out of Clementine’s mouth. Then again, the upcoming graphic novels this is tied to are for young adult/middle graders so I guess we have to dumb everything down so their baby brains can process it. 

.....Why does her face look like that? Also, interesting that she decided to move her ponytail to the other side of her head.... which is a thing that happens throughout this comic, her hair will randomly change sides. 

I believe it’s a metaphor for her changing and inconsistent personality. 

So yeah, Clementine is just making off with the supplies she gathered [I’m sure Ericson doesn’t need ‘em anyway] and she’s just so gosh darn annoyed at all these small inconveniences bothering her.... because it’s just too early for this. 

.....Again, why does her face look like that?

I’m sorry, like I get it, Tillie’s style is supposed to be purposely messy yet minimal but it doesn’t work. When you do a comic in a more messy style, usually it has charm and heart put into it. Effort goes into the messy look, and when things are minimal, that usually means more clean, yeah? So you put them together and just..... that is nothing resembling Clementine’s face. 

Can we just--

Look at canon Clementine’s face. Look at the way her eyebrows are shapes, how wide her eyes are with her eye lashes. The dirt on her skin, the lines-- there is so much personality in her features. It doesn’t matter if she’s wearing a neutral expression or she’s expressing anger or joy or sorrow or whatever. 

Now, is it fair to compare a model of Clem from the games to the Clem in this comic? Well, I assume that if Tillie is doing this comic, she would use references from the game to ensure that Clementine is recognizable, especially now that she’s no longer wearing her signature hat. 

So why does she look like this? Why do I look at these drawings of her face and see nothing but a pair of eyes, a nose, and a mouth? You might as well draw me a simple smiley face. And I get that it’s a comic, and it’s a lot of work to draw the same character over and over again and you gotta cut corners somewhere, but maybe put some effort into the close up shots of her face so that we can actually see it’s her? 

Other fan artists have made comics in their styles that shine bright with Clementine’s personality, so what happened here? 

Anyway, surprise..... it’s not a walker annoying Clementine. 

........Why does AJ look like that??? I’m sorry, I hate to do the same thing I just did but--

Just because you put Clementine’s hat on AJ that doesn’t automatically make it him. I just.... wow. This feels like there wasn’t a single reference involved, like if someone gave Tillie a basic description of AJ and she just did this. 

But appearances aside, what is AJ saying? He says that he knew it, that Clementine’s leaving and I cannot stand this dialogue. It’s unnatural. Again, I know you wanna dumb it down for all of us because I guess we dumb.... but this conversation does not feel natural. 

“I knew it. You’re leaving.” “AJ....” “I’m coming.”

Even if you changed it to, “I’m coming with you.” it would sound more natural. Hell, he doesn’t even question WHY she’s leaving, he just stands there like “I’m coming” like??? I’m sorry, have you ever heard a single word this murder baby has said? I assume you have because I assume you actually played TFS, right? Soooo.... what happened here?

.....whY DO THEIR FACES LOOK LIEK THAT KSAJDLKJAS:LKDJLKASJD:L--

So now we’re getting into it.... into the bullshit. 

Clementine tells AJ to go back to the school, and AJ says that she wasn’t even going to say goodbye..... and then more bad dialogue that sound unnatural when you try to fucking read it. 

First off.... AJ’s reaction to Clementine attempting to leave is barely anything. Again, I hate to keep questioning if you actually played TFS, but AJ would throw a fucking fit if he caught Clementine out here ALONE like this, attempting to leave. 

And then he says “Like last time? You were going to come back?” this sentence makes my brain hurt. I just.... “Like last time, right? You’re coming back?” UGH

Wow, I feel nothing. 

I’m sitting here watching these two imposters with fucked up faces who are supposed to be Clementine and AJ and I feel nothing. 

I’m not even going to comment on the faces anymore. You can see it. You know. 

So yeah... AJ tells her the #1 rule, and reminds her that she promised.

Y’know.... she promised that she would never leave him again? Remember? At the McCarroll ranch? That flashback that was in TFS? The one you would watch if you played the game? 

Why is she looking straight at me when she should be looking at AJ as she says this? Is this Clementine’s way of telling me she’s sorry for what a shitty direction this is taking? I wouldn’t know because her face isn’t doing anything. Just because you draw a couple of tears that doesn’t mean I’m feeling the emotional heartbreak you’re attempting to convey. 

I don’t have enough middle fingers for this.

Well, my hat’s off to you. Ya did it. Ya fucked up everything single part of Clementine’s character in the span of two pages, I’m almost impressed. 

First off, the baby thing is weird. Why is she calling him that? She’s never called him that, which you should know.

Second, she’s not happy and that’s why she’s leaving. Clementine isn’t happy, and AJ can’t make her happy. Ericson can’t make her happy. So she’s going to go out on the road to.... what, be unhappy by herself? 

I’m sorry, but apparently we need a few reminders here of who Clementine is, because this isn’t her. 

This is Clementine. 

Clementine fought for years to find a home, something she hasn’t had since she was an eight-year-old girl before the apocalypse. The motor-inn wasn’t a home, the cabin wasn’t home, the ski-lodge, Howe’s, Wellington, Richmond, Prescott, none of them were home. 

She struggled for years, dealing with trauma after trauma while out on the road. She went from group to group, watching people she cared about die and she was powerless to do anything about it. Whenever she let her guard down and become comfortable, it bit in her in the ass and left her heartbroken.

She was there when AJ was born. She grew close to Rebecca while she was pregnant, she let herself do that even after everything she went through with Christa. Clementine had a bond with AJ even before he was born, and after Rebecca died, she did what she could to keep him safe, despite play choice. 

She cried when she thought AJ died and when she found him in that car again. She swore to protect him, to raise him right and love him. All they had was each other. 

And when she joined the new frontier and AJ got sick, she risked everything to save him and she was devastated when they took him away from her. When she found out he was alive, she is willing to go as far as helping Lingard overdose [INJECTING HIM HERSELF IF SHE HAS TO] to figure out his location. She did shitty things to find him, she killed people at McCarroll Ranch to find him again. 

Clementine raised him and he is her family, do you understand that? She went to hell and back for him, she taught him how to protect himself, and even though she made mistakes she sacrificed everything for him. She promised him that they would have a home of their own one day, she talked about how much she wished for a world where she didn’t have to worry about fighting and killing and AJ could just be a happy kid. 

She fought for Ericson, she watched her friends die or become mutilated by someone from her past. She allowed herself to be vulnerable enough to pursue a romantic relationship with Louis or Violet because she felt safe with them, felt safe at Ericson because it’s their home now. 

And when Clementine was bit, she thought she was going to die but she still fought to make sure AJ would be safe and happy without her and it was heartbreaking. She’s dying and the only thing she cares about is AJ. Not herself, not what’s going to happen to her after she dies or turns... no, she tries to make AJ smile again, she makes sure he remembers the rules, and she tells him that she loves him. 

Then he cuts off her leg, and she survives. AJ saved her fucking life, and she got to wake up at home and live to see her family again. She got to push AJ on a tire swing, she got to eat a hot meal and laugh with her friends, she got to make plans with her lover/best friend for what’s next for Ericson, and she got to talk to AJ and tell him the truth... and she asked him if she did a good job, and he’s honest with her right back. 

Hell, she tells him to keep her hat. Her iconic hat. The one thing she has left of her father, possibly her more cherished item. She lets him keep it. 

The last time we see Clementine, she’s happy. She’s sitting on the steps by herself, staring at her family with such fondness in her eyes and a smile on her face because she finally did it. She finally found a home where she can breathe. She has a bed to sleep in, she has AJ with her, she has a boyfriend/girlfriend who loves her and who she loves back, she has friends she can rely on. 

Clementine smiles, and lets out a small laugh. 

She doesn’t have to run anymore. 

And now you have the balls to tell me that AJ and Ericson don’t make Clementine happy anymore. 

She abandons everything to go back out on the road again, and that’s proof enough for me that you don’t understand a damn thing about Clementine or her journey. 

“ I don't even know the person I'm talking about... It's like all we have in common is the same name.” 

....Anyway.

Wow, Clementine found a car and kept is stashed. How lazy and convenient for this bullshit plot. 

And this is the part where I have to tell this comic to fuck off. 

What, you think if you throw in an incredibly inaccurate flashback next to a current pair of hugging Clem and AJ that I’ll feel anything but anger? That flashback is a slap to the face. It’s snowing, but the only time we’ve seen snow is in S2 when AJ was a literal new born, so why is he that big? Is that supposed to be from ANF because that ALSO doesn’t look like that AJ, and that’s not the outfit Clementine had on... AND there was no snow. This is cheap and meaningless. 

Any fan of the series who has played through the games could tell you this. 

So.... AJ runs into the woods and then we get this garbage.

This comic is awful. It misses the point of everything TFS, and the rest of the series, stood for. There is no heart here. I feel no happiness in reading it, and I don’t detect any passion behind it. It’s a lifeless comic that retcons everything in order to throw AJ away and start fresh with a new adventure for Clementine that makes no sense because the cow isn’t profitable unless it’s milked. 

This isn’t canon, and it won’t ever be canon, and honestly? At this point, I have no faith in the graphic novel trilogy. It will take a lot to do a turn around from this, and I don’t even know if that’s possible. 

Again, to reiterate, I don’t have anything personal against Tillie Walden herself. She’s just doing her job, and from what I’ve seen of her as a person, she seems like a sweetheart. I don’t want anyone giving her shit because I think the comic isn’t good or that you agree with me. All of my anger is directed at the comic itself, her work, not specifically her.... and a little bit at Skybound, because they’re the reason this is even a thing in the first place. 

So yeah.... there ya have it. 

[sixthwater]

Our Curious Little Beautiful Communities

Intro:

As someone who has been on tumblr since about the early 2010s, I've seen quite a few cycles and 'episodes' within our...community, if I can call it that at this point. I, myself, am usually an observer and end up being a mediator. So you will end up seeing me looking at things from both sides because this world is grey. There is no right or wrong, and each side has a point unless they're just uuuhhh ignorant. Objectively. I'm going to be discussing some issues that have been bubbling up a lot more consistently than they used to within the astrology and tarot community as of late. Warning: I talk a lot, but I'm organized. If you don't have the time or patience to read it, then dont, no big deal, or skip to what you want. For those that like to look at people through their charts: Cancer mercury, Virgo Mars, 6th House Stellium. If you like degrees, I have heavy air degrees, some of them being Libra. Like I said, I end up being a mediator a lot. Anyway, let's get into it.

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Astrology

I'm going to split each section into people who consume content, and those that make it!

Consumers

Appreciation / Spreading Content

So, as you know, every website works differently in how they spread content around. Twitter & TikTok work by likes, Youtube by bias also by likes I'm sure? Insta too. Tumblr doesn't work that way. The only way you're most likely going to see something is if you head into the tag yourself, or people put something onto your feed. Which is why the reblog button is important. I'm now going to go through some popular creators and show the like to reblog ratio!

See the pattern here. Hilariously enough, despite the notes on these posts, if I don't make the usual trip into the tag, I would've never seen these posts myself. Now, on one hand if you only kinda like a post, then by all means just like it. However, what this feedback is sending us is that either this post is not good enough, or this isn't the content you guys want, etcetc. This isn't a call to 'reblog every single post you see to make us feel better!', but the responses to our posts will sort of drive our motivation in either direction. Do we want to make a long in depth post for it to barely go anywhere or just do a quick one because it's going to match the reception. Unless we really like the content we're making, the output is going to match the feedback about 6/10 of the time.

Formalities

So you found a creator that is really accurate with descriptions of placements or aspects or is willing to put in a lot of time and detail to answering asks and what-not. So you head into their inbox and hit them with a 'Moon in 5th' request. However that's the entire ask it's just the placement, a statement that's posed as a request. Please understand that on the outside/surface this may seem very easy and it's just 'you are happy when you play video game', there's more stuff that goes into than that. The creator themselves have a life outside of this website (god knows what responsibilities they have; a job, school, family, just not being tied to this place as if its a career). They will Probably want to actually give you a good response, which is more than just two sentences so not treating them as if they're a machine shooting out information would be a good start to the interaction. There's some things that could contribute to this like language barriers, but just saying 'please', or 'could you do this'--anything that. Humanizes. the person on the receiving end would be super duper great. Also, as mentioned before, spreading their work or showing appreciation afterwards Really helps the creator as well and shows that you are at least thankful or appreciative of what they did and not that you just want your goodies and you're leaving now.

Creators

Rejecting Foundation

This one is a bit. Tricky. The one thing I love about the newer generation is that they are very explorative and they dig and dig and dig until they uncover something and they do extensive research on it. They're open to new ideas and possibilities and looking at things from different angles. However, at the same time, they will completely snuff out the foundations said research is based on which is--on one hand it needs to be done because considering the way this research has been passed down and who has touched it, it's been passed through some pretty cis-heteronormative white old male hands. However at the same time, it's been documented for a reason and just needs to be viewed in a different light, and isn't that what this generation is good at doing. Let's take Venus & Mars, and LGBT+ astrology for example. We Should dismantle the very close-minded idea that Venus is how a Woman loves or pursues someone, and Mars is how a Man loves or pursues someone. I should not have to explain why this is an old-aged idea and we're already halfway through dismantling it anyway. As for LGBT+ astrology, a lot of people are hesitant when it comes to it, in terms of 'these placements could show that you are lgbt' or whatever. Besides there being some personal proof of people resonating with this theory (including me myself, but of course at the same time, not everyone will resonate either so--), you can Also just morph it and look at it from another point of view. If we are so stuck on the idea that Capricorn's influence will mean that someone is traditional, why not Aquarius' influence will make people try anything at least once. They don't necessarily have to be LGBT, but having open relationships, being polyamorous, not marrying but having a committed relationship, being married but living separately, etc. Old research is always founded in Something, but considering it's old, the viewpoint is probably just Fucked up sometimes.

Theft/Sourcing This one I am Neutral one, because it's more of something to just be aware of. Obviously, straight up theft is shitty. If a person doesn't want their content taken, don't take it. If they request credit, credit them. Very basic, simple rules to follow. At the same time though, I have noticed some people, of various status, post content along the lines of:

'I'm not sure where I got this from but-' So it gets a little blurry.

While this isn't like a detrimental issue, it's sort of like glossing over one issue and calling out another while they're both in the same pool. However, at the same time, we live in the age of the internet. Information is being shared at the speed of light and sometimes gets deleted Just as fast, so in the same sense it's understandable if that source is hard to find for you to credit them for it. The best bet for this is to just bookmark whatever you find interesting and hope for the best, or just note that if anyone remembers or knows the source of this reference, to comment on the post then? Like I said, this point is a liiitttllee blurry because it's not necessarily theft but then again it's sort of like.....awkward considering. But eh.

Now to piggyback off of the previous point, I've also noticed some people making really good observations or points, and then sliding in a '___ are manipulative, never trust them' basically. Giving off really strong uuhh:

We should be over this whole generalization thing, and letting a few bad interactions with a person blind the astrologer in you. There's a difference between making roasts about signs and just. Disrespecting people or blowing negative traits of a sign into a billboard. Remember that at the end of all this, we are all just people? So get to know someone as such before even bothering to know their chart. It helps you get better at astrology anyway. If you're surprised about how they're a certain sign or have a certain placement, look closer at their chart and see how it's playing out and figure out why. Astrology is just glamourized math.

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Tarot

I'm going to split each section into people who consume content, and those that make it!

Consumers

Entitlement

Besides the many other issues that have been running rampant (don't worry, I'll talk about 'em!), I've noticed that a looot of people have been feeling mighty cocky lately, but not cocky enough to put a name to their statements. Now I'm going to be, a little bit more harsh than the other sections in this post but: if you want this service then learn the craft and do it yourself. Just like Astrology, this service takes a lot hard work and energy, and considering what type of work it is, it's exhausting. Depending on the question, the type of reading they have to do, or how deep it ends up being--the reader you're asking might need a good hour or more to get to your request. If it's free, you definitely should be thankful for their service as well. Now there's a limit, which I will get to for the creator portion, but by no means should you stomp into their ask box, make sure they know you're ashamed of them, and then leave. Either just leave or put a name to it so you guys can talk it out. You have no idea what's happening on the other side of the screen after you send in your request. You may have asked a simple question, but like I said, depending on how convoluted your mind or emotions are, the reader is picking up on that or might have to pull more cards to figure out what's going on--your energy and the situation affects them at the end of the day so be understanding, not entitled.

Dependence

Not as bad as a problem, just the normal general concern or warning. Tarot it meant to be guidance to help you Live in your current world. It's not a substitute for Anything. Your guides will absolutely stop telling you information or they will just tell you that you're obsessing over the subject if you keep looking for information (and no, this is not just about future spouses because this applies to Everything, even healing, because to do so you actually have to take steps to, you know, heal). I've mentioned this before in a response to someone, but you should try and think outside of the box when getting guidance sometimes, because guides aren't always the most direct for a reason. If you just continuously ask readers about a topic of concern or pull cards, you're still going to be stuck and you're not making any movements towards your goal so those answers, in retrospect, aren't really helping. They might help you with a different perspective the first few times, but after a while it's either going to get aggressive or you're not going to get anything. You have to live your life because as much as your guides love you, they cannot live your life for you and I Promise you, they want nothing but the best for you and they want to see you thoroughly enjoying your life. So do not use tarot as a crutch please (a video from a reader I admire on her old channel). That's why I always explicitly state that yes I am delivering the message but You Know Yourself Best.

Creators

Free Games

Yes, I want you all to take care of yourself and put yourselves first. However, that does not mean 'finish it whenever I want because it's free and you should be happy that I'm even doing this :\', that's not how that works. There will be things that get in the way obviously, and just give a heads up that you're busy, it's whatever things happen. It's Not reasonable though to just tell someone that since it's a free game, that yeah you'll get to it within a month and just relax whatever you'll be okay. Think of it like this: you're in a store like Costco or Sam's Club. A store where they give out free samples. You come up and ask if you can get one and the clerk goes sure. Then they just get on their phone while prepping the food. It's taking a bit so you walk around in the area for a moment and you come back, and they're still just. Working on it. So you're waiting a bit more and it's still not done. So you ask them what's up and they tell you that hey, it'll be done when it's done. It's a Sample Size though, right? Yeah. Now yeah, the tone of the inquiry can affect your response, and depending on the game can affect it too. There's a lot of things that can go into it, but straight up, if you don't think you can do a game or you know yourself and you're going to get bored, just don't do the game. The querents shouldn't be giving you hard trouble over it, but at the same time...? It's a lose-lose here. I'm not saying don't take time to yourself or stay offline while the game is going on, but be mindful of stuff like this and where the querent is coming from (if they aren't an ass <3).

General

Celebrity Readings (Which let's be honest I'm talking about K-pop because which massive group is out here trying to read for Ricky Martin)

Let's get CoNtRoVeRsIaL even though it's really not. This is very simple I don't understand why it's an issue. So the thing about Celebrity Readings is, the first layer is that you have your own stance and opinion on it, that's that. There was a statement by a reader (who I will list later) that said something along the lines of 'readings on celebrities can be seen as tests or training because they are public icons. They are already out there, there's not much privacy to them' something like that, which is...yeah pretty true. A general energy check or reading on them isn't necessarily harmful because it's General, and if their guides don't want you to know certain things, trust me, they won't let you know lmao. Guides are powerful, they're protective, and I'm starting to believe that some people really underestimate them. If you know your guides have your back, what makes you think that those for celebrities won't Check You. If not just straight up lie to get you off their back, because you cannot begin to imagine the amount of people trying to get ahold of their energy, manifest them, curse them, etc. Yes they're going to be insanely protective or tell you to fuck off. Especially those doing anything beyond a general check (which, most definitely isn't reliable by the way because now you're being invasive or way too specific). Speaking of which, wouldn't trust long term readings on them either. You have to remember that Celebrities have more money, connections, and resources than us. Besides their guides muddling information, they can change that reading at the drop of a hat, easier than we can. These readings are for entertainment just like the celebrities themselves, and should be left at that. Readers who deliver their readings as fact or scolding tea, know what they're doing. Consumers should Also be wary of what readers they are following. Are they saying this person is a piece of shit? Bad reader. They're saying they're perfect? Bad reader. Celebrities are just people who have a talent they can profit off of lmao. If a reader can't put some logic behind their reading, especially those associated with corporations who love to abuse parasocial relationships which are the real enemy here, then they're a bad reader. Of course I'm not perfect--I get bored and put some on in the background when I need noise, but I can pick up on who's embellishing or just wants views. There are two readers I came across that I don't always agree with, but they're the most tolerable and usually accurately predict things and those are the ever so popular Antphrodite & Trinity Oracles (it's ok to disagree with the people you like or admire always remember that!). I could go on for hours about this but honestly the bottom line is just...use your brain lmao. Also, as a note, it's more reliable to go off of their birth charts anyway, especially for long term things. However, I Don't Blame these people for being hesitant or Never dropping their birth times because think about how easily you can read someone off of a birth chart. Especially a Good reader. Would you want to drop yours in a climate like this.

'Future Spouse' Readings

So. Hm. So the thing is I can understand the frustration with the overwhelming amount of spouse readings considering I'm grey-spec, because I also used to feel that way, but here's the thing: constantly doing shadow work is fucking tiring lmao. For people who are able to read, I know part of it is this weird idea that people after 21 just die on social media and we don't exist but fun fact hi we do! Not everyone asking or reading about these are 17, as your go-to complaint is. You can also just make other readings if you have the time, which is what I did because I want other readings LMAO. but like i was saying ABOUT that though: if you are someone who is constantly going through transformations, looking at your flaws and seeing how you can overcome them, going within and all of that--doing it for other people, 4-5 piles at a time is fucking tiring. Sitting there, deciphering the issue, walking through it, and then becoming a therapist multiple times through the year for free, sometimes I want to have my head empty and just talk about an imaginary little person and about their energy and write a little wattpad fiction for someone and have good energy for a moment because at the end of the day we are all dust...having light-hearted energy after all of that...murkiness, is Very nice its Very good. Now, also at the same time, there's an inherent issue with the heteronormativity of spouse readings where sometimes the reader assumes its a female reading and the spouse is always male, or the central idea of 'spouse' may turn away people who aren't that attached to marriage but still want to read about their forever lover, etcetcetc. Now besides the whole obsession thing, my only legitimate worry is that people should remember that Divorce exists, and what we are reading is an Energy, and multiple people are picking the same pile as you. There are no exact copies of pile #3s just running around waiting for you. Also, in another sense, shouldn't you also be worried about next partner readings too. If we have to do the work to reach our spouse, that work would also include lessons in love so technically really we shouldn't be doing Any prediction readings (like in general) because that takes a lot of the learning away from us and I had a Very long conversation with an ex-cw of mine about this so, again, I could go on for hours but Anyway--Once again, just...think rationally lmao. There are readings that I wouldn't put Too much emphasis on (like 'how would my fs react to me sneezing' or something), but also like, you want to read something cute you want to read something cute. For readers, you can only warn people so much. If the cards stop you from reading or you Clearly get the message that someone is obsessed, relay it. However if it doesn't come up sometimes people just want to know because there's Nothing Else they're worried about or need a reading on lmao, it's not that deep. If you give the warning and they ignore it, then well. I guess their guides will teach them well enough. Can't really hold everyone by the hand can we.

»»—————————-　✼　—————————-««

Overall

That's about all on my mind, it wouldn't leave my head for 6-7 days and that's usually when I figure I need to say Something because my attention span is Shit. I did want to bring up the uh.

Mass Ignorance

That has been popping up lately, but it feels out of place in a pretty light-hearted post like this so if something pops up again I'll maybe make a separate post like that but my efficient way to deal with that is to look at how people respond to it, and just block them lmao I do not like being stressed out or bothered on my phone So. Love you, feel free to discuss talk complain yell at me whatever, just felt the need to Discuss what's been up lately. I don't have a clean way to end this because I just talk a lot without grammar or anything formal this is literally what it looks like when I'm not trying to be formal my thoughts are just rapid fire like this i have a third house moon the inside of my head is Hell have fun trying to figure out what tone this is in love u

[feelingofcontent]

DNP Rewatch: BEARD EDITS IN REAL LIFE!

Date video was published: 12/07/2020 (X)

DNP Main Channel Rewatch: 428

There was a bit of warning for this video, with this Insta poll. And then Phil promoed this one SO MUCH for some reason - including an Instagram grid post and a link in his Instagram bio. Also he shared these outtakes, which 😂

0:00 - no hello, just jumping straight into this one. also, the shared denim jacket!

0:07 - he doesn’t know what to think about the edits of himself. I love that he doesn’t seem to find the fact that there are edits strange

0:09 - “work that beard, dad” alrighty

0:19 - I’m just going to say now that I am not on team beard

0:42 - that emoji was very useful for this video

0:47 - he knows this video is going to be ridiculous; so many little laughs at himself

0:51 - it does! that one looks pretty realistic though

1:00 - they’re getting progressively more disturbing

1:18 - I love all the title cards he uses in this

1:32 - I can’t not laugh

1:38 - Phil’s descriptions 😂 he’s inventing a whole character for mustache-him

1:46 - this in-between footage is a treat. also he’s put it on so crooked

2:01 - the on-the-spot comedy while filming combined with the editing comedy...Phil is so great

2:06 - “I’m the gay police” 😂 I forgot how funny this video is

2:12 - I would love to see a top ten list of what Phil thinks is a “cool” name. at least he’s expanded from “Zack”

2:22 - he is really ripping those off intensely

2:35 - his eyes look slightly scared

2:43 - “do you wanna scratch my knees” Phil why

3:03 - already regretting this

3:11 - so much laughing at himself. I love giggly Phil

3:18 - oh I would say it looks pretty bad...

3:20 - slightly scared that he was into that one, though it is the one that matches his hair best

3:24 - where did that even come from

3:31 - for some reason I immediately thought of (and the bottom half of this beard is somewhat like) the character “Philip” from the board game Guess Who

3:42 - I did start to get used to his one as he kept talking and I don’t know what that says

3:50 - those were a lot of noises

4:05 -  not sure any fake beard can be described as “sophisticated”

4:13 - “maybe these two could be friends...now kiss” um.

4:32 - ooo this one is not good

4:34 - 😂 he must have given up and had Dan help him take the photos afterwards, for the one he posted and such

5:07 - he had posted that back in May 2019, but only in black and white

5:19 - opening every package with his teeth

5:35 - we have gone beyond the realm of anything that looks realistic

5:40 - could have lived without hearing Phil say that 😳

5:51 - if he can actually see with his glasses here, does that mean he was filming without contacts or glasses?

6:11 - 😂😂 oh Phil. the annotation self-call out

6:38 - he’s very into that one hahaha

6:48 - I feel like he has that one up too high on his face

6:56 - king of comedy. Phil wins

7:14 - I feel like he half-assed the clipping there. also, flashback to the hair lights from 6 Things I Regret Buying

7:42 - he needed to think a bit more about the glue placement first

8:10 - I would imagine just having glue on your face like that would feel strange

8:26 - if he was a little neater about it it would

8:50 - waiting to see if he does ever attempt it for a while...I feel like it would end up annoying him but who knows

8:53 - “don’t do too much...beard application” and the little eyebrow raise. 😳 in hindsight this feels like a precursor to the chaotic-Phil of the stereo show era and some of his 2021 videos

9:02 - Phil had released his winter merch the week before this

9:42 - and he really does mean “very” soon this time

In Answering Questions I Would Usually Avoid, Phil showed his “script” for this video, which is hilarious and accurate. He ended up doing the viking beard before the grey beard though. And he didn’t note the beard lights on there, so maybe why he forgot during filming too!

Definitely a ridiculous (in a good way) and also hilarious Phil video. I forgot how funny he was in this one.

[bqstqnbruin]

I hate your big dumb combat boots and the way you read my mind

We’re going to ignore all typos until I have time to fix them, and also ignore the fact that it’s four am and I have a 9 am class, but this was clearly more important.

Shout out to the anon who sent in the idea for the little blurb that I did that I ended up putting in here!

Prepare for the part all of y’all have been wanting! There’s some smut in this, so be warned that it’s not great leave me be. I still hope you like it!

Read the whole series:  I hate the way you talk to me and the way you cut your hair // I hate the way you drive my car // I hate it when you stare // I hate your big dumb combat boots and the way you read my mind // I hate you so much it makes me sick, it even makes me rhyme // I hate the way you’re always right // I hate it when you lie // I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry // I hate it when you’re not around, and the fact that you didn’t call // But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you, not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all

___________________________

“It doesn’t matter if other people think it’s true or not. What matters is that we know it’s true. I love you.”

“Fuck you.” 

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

“So, is there a reason it looks like a vacuum attacked Matthew’s neck in his latest Insta post? Did those appear last weekend when I was gone?” Evelina comes barging into your room, phone in hand. “Damn, you actually picked that outfit out?” 

You look at yourself in the mirror, your hair and makeup finished, the dress you had on for the charity event that Matthew was supposed to pick you up for any minute now. The black, off the shoulder high-low dress fit you perfectly, accenting every feature of your body in just the right way. But still, you weren’t quite sure if it was right. “It looks ok?” you ask her, going to your closet to find a pair of shoes to wear. 

“If you didn’t fuck each other after destroying each others necks while I was gone, you’re going to tonight.” Wiping around, you can’t help but glare at her. You did not love Matthew. But then, why did you have to keep reminding yourself about that. “Hey, I have until you finish the list to keep this up, let me live.” 

You were about to fire something back at her when you hear Matthew’s voice call from the living room. “We’re in Y/N’s room!” Evelina answers for you.

“You really abuse that key,” you say, not taking your eyes away from your closet as you try to find shoes to wear. You weren’t ready to look at him just yet. “Ev, help me find the right shoes!” 

She gets up as you hear Matthew sitting on your bed, the creak of the frame sending a shiver down your spine. “What about these?” she asks, holding up a pair of heels.

You scrunch up your face, telling her to find another option. “How does he look?” you whisper, just loud enough for her to hear.

She smiles at you, handing you another pair of shoes, “I think you need to look for yourself.” 

You put on the shoes, refusing to turn around until the last minute. You almost didn’t want to see what he looked like, but you turn to him anyway. The second you look at each other, you both stop breathing. He gets up from your bed, slowly, making his way to you while Evelina was watching off to the side. He looked perfect. The suit was fitting him just the right way, the tie in your favorite color to match the necklace you were wearing, his hair in a flawless mess, the curls going everywhere yet looking pristine at the same time. 

He couldn’t find the words to say to you, taking your hands in his as he scanned your entire body. “W-wow,” he stammers out, swallowing hard as he tries to make any sound. “You look,” he starts, not knowing what word could accurately describe how incredible he found you, “Wow.” 

You look down at your hands, intertwining your fingers in his. Everything about holding his hands just felt right. You look up at him, his blue eyes sparkling even in the shitty lighting of your bedroom. “Wow yourself,” you tell him, unable to fight the smile on your face, or control your breathing for that matter. 

You stood there standing for what felt like forever, until you were interrupted by Evelina clearing her throat, a smirk on her face. “Don’t you two need to get going?”

“Uh, yeah,” you say, breaking away, embarrassed that she just saw that. If she thought you loved him before, that would confirm it now. But you didn’t love him. You didn’t even like him. You had a list of things you hated about him, even if there were only four things on it. 

“Are you going to be alright in those shoes tonight?” he asks, looking down at the heels Evelina had picked out for you. 

“It’s not like Ev here would let me wear these,” you say, holding up your black, beat up combat boots. You hear her fake gag behind you, throwing them in her direction and purposefully missing so that you don’t break anything of yours.

“Those would ruin the look,” Matthew says, both of you looking shocked that words like that would even come out of him. “Actually, Ev,” he says, changing the subject and finally tearing his eyes away from you, “Elias wanted me to ask you something, privately?” he lies.

You and Evelina exchange glances before you leave your room. Elias has Evelina’s number, why didn’t he just ask her?

“What’s up?” she asks, sitting down on your bed, Matthew sitting next to her. He lets out a low groan, putting his face in his hands. “Y/N looks flawless,” he says, pain in his voice. 

“So what are you going to do about it?” she asks, pulling him up. “You both love each other. I know you know that. This whole list thing is ridiculous. She looks great, you look great, act,” she instructs him.

“I have tired. I can’t even kiss her on the lips without some sort of interruption. I can’t control that!” he whines, trying not to get too loud incase you were within ear shot. He’s wanted to do more than just kiss you this entire time. He’s flat out told you that and you somehow still missed the message. “How is it she’s so smart, yet so oblivious?” 

Evelina shrugs, pulling him up off the bed, “People who are book smart never have common sense, bub. I’ve been telling her she loves you since you two met. She doesn’t even listen to me.”

“This is hopeless,” he says, practically throwing himself back on your bed. 

“Nope, get up,” Evelina says, pulling him back up. Matthew nearly stumbles over and onto the floor, not expecting her to be as strong as she was. “Look, she only has four things on the list,” she explains, “I told you the first night, if she really hated you, she would have more than that. You still have two and a half weeks.” 

He looks at her, biting his lip and nodding as the two of them go out to find you waiting on the couch. “Ready to go?” he asks, putting his hand out for you. 

You get up, Evelina’s eyes going wide and her mouth falling open. “Wait, you left something in my room, Y/N,” she says, dragging you there. She closes the door behind you, “You’re not wearing underwear!” she tries hard not to scream. 

“It would show under the dress!” you try to protest, heat rushing to your cheeks.

“I have worn a dress much tighter than that and you couldn’t see mine,” she provokes you, her eyes gleaming, knowing that she was right.

“I have to go,” you sing to her, trying to get past her. 

“Admit it!” she yells as you run towards Matthew, taking him by the hand and dragging him out the door. 

“Bye, love you!” “I hate you!” 

You practically run Matthew to his car, praying that Evelina wasn’t following the two of you. “Do you want to talk about what that was just then?”

“I borrowed one of her shirts and haven’t given it back because I got a stain on it and haven’t done laundry yet,” you spit out the lie. There was no way you would tell Matthew that you weren’t wearing anything underneath the dress. Not yet. “So, uh,” you start to change the subject, “What is this event again?”

“Something with the organization and the season ticket holders? It’s fancy and I was told to wear game day clothes, so, here we are.”

You look at him for a moment, your eyes tracing his jawline like when you went to the liquor store. “You clean up really nicely, Rat Man,” you say, “You look really good.” 

He smiles with the left side of his face so you can’t see it. “You don’t look too bad yourself,” he tells you, wishing he could figure out the proper words to say what he really thought. “Excited for tonight?”

“Yeah, it’ll be nice to see the guys not drunk at a bar.”

“Right because seeing them drunk in a ballroom is better.” You both laugh, leaving the two of you in a comfortable silence as your phone buzzes with texts from Evelina.

‘This means you love him!’

‘No it does not. Who says I have to wear underwear under a dress?’

‘You never go without underwear. Admit you love him.’

‘I don’t love him.’

‘Do you like him?’ 

You take a minute to think, looking up from your phone to see Matthew watching the road. Like and love are two different things. You liked Elias, but did you like him in the same way you liked Matthew? Did you like anyone in the way you liked Matthew? ‘Sure.’ You roll your eyes as you hit send when Matthew finally puts the car in park. You didn’t even realize you were at the venue. Matthew gets out of the car, practically running to the passenger side to open the door and help you out. With your arm linked with his, you head inside, “Who would have thought you could be such a gentleman?” you tease. 

“Only for you, babe,” he says, sending a wink your way before dropping your arm to greet some of his teammates. “I’m going to get us some drinks?” he says, leaving you before asking you what you wanted. 

You wander around, finding Elias and making conversation with him while you wait for Matthew to come back. You had wanted a vodka sour, but would he come back with that?

“You look amazing, Y/N,” Elias starts, a smile on his face not unlike the one Matthew normally gives you. 

You feel yourself blushing at his comments, unable to hide the heat that was showing in your cheeks, “You look pretty great, too.” 

“Maybe at some point tonight, you’ll save a dance for me?” he asks, moving closer to you. This was the teammate that you’ve had a slight crush on since you met Matthew, so why didn’t you feel the same way with him as you did with Matthew? His hand reaches for your waist, but you move away from him, giving him an innocent smile before turning to see Matthew standing behind you with a drink in each hand.

He tried to hide the pain he felt watching Elias flirt with you. He knew you liked his teammate, and it was clear that Elias was seeing something in you that he hadn’t seen before. But you smile at Matthew, one very different from the one you had given his teammate. A real, genuine smile that reached your eyes. Matthew knew you felt the same way about him as he did about you from that, he just didn’t know if you knew. “Vodka sour for my girl,” he says, handing you the drink you had wanted.

You feel your knees buckle ever so slightly at the sound of hearing Matthew call him your girl, taking your free hand in his, intertwining your fingers. You immediately felt a warmth rushing through you as he gave you a soft smile, taking a sip of drink before starting a conversation with Elias. You start to look around at everyone surrounding you. The dance floor was crowded, you itching to get out there with Matthew. You both finish your drinks, probably too fast, but who cared? “Hey, can we go dance?” you ask Matthew before turning to Elias, “I don’t think you’ll be able to pry my from my guy tonight, Lindy, but if he lets you, I guess you can try.”

You drag him out to the dancefloor, your hands never losing connection as he looks back and smirks at Elias. The look on his face tells Matthew that this was intentional, whatever plan he had concocted working as a slow song came on. Matthew used his free hand to pull you in by the waist, your other hand on his shoulder as you swayed to the rhythm of the music. 

Your mind starts running free as you think about dance, Matthew chuckling before letting out, “You know something about the history of dance, don’t you?”

“How would you know I know that?” you ask him, shocked that he read your mind for a second time tonight.

He shrugs, spinning you away from him before bringing you close, his front pressed against you back as he whispered, “It just sounds like something you would know.” He spins you back around so you’re facing each other, him beaming down at you. “Go ahead,” he teases you.

“It’s specific towards Canada, is that ok with you?”

He leans down, his curls tickling your face, “Anything you say to me is fine.” 

“The first written record of dance in Canada,” you start, “was by Jacques Cartier in the 1530s. He described a group of Indigenous people dancing in modern day Quebec, but it’s obviously likely that this was going on way before he encountered them.” Matthew pulls you in closer, still moving with the music as you rest your head on his shoulder. He plants a soft, long kiss on your head as you continue. “Because of the idea 'assimilate or exterminate,’ where these Indigenous people had to either change their culture to fit that of the European settlers, or risk their culture being destroyed in its entirety, their practices of dance declined until the late 1990s when groups began investing more time into preserving these sacred dances as part of Aboriginal and Canadian culture.”

You lift your head off his shoulder as he starts kissing your neck, everyone around you disappearing as you felt his lips connect with your bare skin. “Europeans settlers brought their own forms of dance to the country, eventually infusing together to create new forms. Famous dancers like Martha Graham, Anna Pavlova and Ruth St. Denis started touring the United States and Canada, leaving their own imprint on the culture.” 

He lifts his head, his forehead against yours. You could feel him grow hard the more you talked, his dick pressed against you as you stifled a moan. “Modern dance got its start in Canada nearly a decade before ballet,” you say, Matthew kissing your forehead before connecting his back to yours, “In the 1940s, Montreal became the central hub for modern dance, and stayed that way for a while. Ballet came about in a professional manner, companies developing their own identities before performing and going onto the world stage.”

The song changes and you stop moving. Staring at each other, you finish, “All of it comes together into the dance we know today.”

“Y/N,” Matthew starts, obviously staring at your lips. He wanted to kiss you. He didn’t care that his entire team was around him; he didn’t notice anyone there but you. 

You don’t know what to say to him. You take your hands off his shoulders, cupping his face. His grip tightens around your waist, a confused look of his face. 

‘Fuck it,’ you think to yourself, just like you did the other day. Your lips connect with his, everything around you melting away as you moved in sync with each other. His tongue swipes your bottom lip, begging to enter your mouth, you gladly letting him. You can feel him smiling as his hands move up your back, your hands falling down to his chest. You pull away, both of you breathing slightly unevenly. Why did you just do that? You weren’t upset that you did, but why did you just do that?

“Wow,” he whispers to you, kissing you softly again. 

“Wow is right,” you let out. 

“Hey, uh, Matty?” you hear Elias’ voice behind you. You pull away from each other, both of you slightly embarrassed that he, along with everyone else, probably just saw that. “We’re trying to do a team photo,” he says, looking like he was trying to stifle a laugh or something. 

Matthew swallows, nodding and dropping his hands from your body. “I’ll find you later,” he reassures you before leaving. 

You try to catch your breath as you run to find your phone. ‘SOS’ you text Evelina, praying that she was looking at her phone and not already asleep.

‘What?’

Your fingers hover over the screen of your phone. Do you tell her what just happened? You tell her everything, so why would you leave this out? 

‘I have another thing to add to the list’

‘This list needs to be electronic so I don’t have to get out of bed every time you think of something new’

‘Do you want to know or not’

‘Duh’

‘The way he reads my mind’

‘That’s dumb, but fine. Are you at least having fun?’

‘Yeah.’ You put your phone away before you can say anything else to her. If she found out you kissed each other - no, if she found out you kiss him, she would have a field day. You would never hear the end of it, list or not. All you had to do was rejoin the event and hope you could find Matthew.

Staying off the side, watching the event unfold, you couldn’t find him anywhere. There was something fun about seeing all the guys and their wives and girlfriends dressed up like they were, whatever photo they were doing clearly taken. The season ticket holders and management looked good, even though you had no idea who any of them were. 

“Hey,” you hear a man’s voice say to you, taking you out of the trance as you fixated on Johnny and Meridith, admiring the way they looked at each other while they were dancing. If they were back out on the dance floor, Matthew had to be following suit soon, right? “I’m Reggie.” He sticks out his hand, you smiling at him to shake it as you introduce yourself. “So, are you here with someone, or are you a ticket holder?”

“I’m here with one of the guys,” you say, trying to see if you can find him anywhere. Something about this guy wasn’t quite right, and you really prayed for an out from talking with him. 

“Really? Which one?”

“Me,” you hear Matthew’s voice say, his arms wrapping around you as you feel your shoulders relax. “Thanks for keeping my girl company.” Reggie just nods and smiles, walking away and leaving the two of you in the position you were in. Matthew holds you tighter, your hands reaching up to touch his. “You are the most beautiful girl here,” he whispers.

“You’re just saying that,” you tell him, feeling his breath on your neck as he lets out a sigh. “What if I said you were the most handsome guy here?” 

He freezes, swallowing hard and thankful that he was behind you so you couldn’t see the grin covering his face. Calling you his girl was something he said just to get the guy away, but after that comment, after that kiss, there was nothing more he wanted than to call you that and mean it. “What if we get out of here?” he whispers, kissing you between your shoulder blades. 

A chill runs down your shine as he kisses along your back, moving your hair to your shoulder as you can’t help but let out a low moan, “Matthew.” 

He moves his way up your neck, ending at your ear, “Come on. Do you want to go somewhere more private?” he whispers before his teeth connect with your earlobe. You didn’t expect that to do what it did to you. 

When he pulls away, you turn to him, mirroring the smile on his face. “Where did you have in mind?”

“Is it too early to leave?” you ask him, running your hands down his chest. 

“I’m ready if you are, babe,” he says, kissing you softly on your lips yet again. God, he hoped this was the start of something. Knowing what this was like, he could only imagine what more would be. 

He takes your hand, leading you back out to his car. You look back over your shoulder before leaving the building, out of sheer curiosity as to whether or not anyone saw you. You make eye contact with Elias, who winks, raising his glass in the air to you as the two of you disappear through the door. “Your place or mine?” he asks as the two of you practically sprinted to his car. Given what you were both sure was about to happen, he answers his own question, “Mine, got it.” 

You couldn’t concentrate the entire way to his place, thinking about what this was going to be like. You both wanted it and didn’t. You didn’t love him. You couldn’t love him. Evelina was in no way right about you being in love with each other. You just were both horny, right? That’s all it was?

Matthews hands don’t leave your body once you get out of the car. Whatever cameras were around the lobby of his building, the elevator, the hallway leading to his door caught everything. He was kissing you passionately, as if doing this was something that he had been waiting for. His hands gripped your butt, so tight that you had to hold back a scream of pleasure as he sucked away at your neck, something he seemed to like doing more than you expected. 

You were surprised your clothes were even still on by the time you get to his door. You could only imagine how red and bruised your neck was, the handprints that had to be left on your ass from him, your mind going blank as you were sure you would regret anything. 

You practically rip off his suit jacket, both of you impatient to get everything off each other. “Are you sure you’re ok with this?” he stops, his hands on the zipper of your dress as you bounced up and down, dripping with anticipation.

“All you have to do is take off the dress,” you tell him, his eyes going wide.

He swallows hard, “N-nothing underneath?” he asks you. That would mean that you were expecting something to happen tonight, right? Or did it mean nothing? He really hoped it meant the first thing. 

“Yes, take it off, come on,” you whine. 

He does as you ask, his lips connecting with yours, simultaneously taking off your dress and leaving it in the hallway while you unbutton his shirt and leave it there with it. You were down to nothing as he threw you on the bed, him rushing to take his pants off to climb on top of you. You spread your legs for him as he climbs on top off you, kissing you from your hip bone up to your mouth. “You’re really sure?” he asks you, in a quiet voice.

You nod, taking his face in your hands, “I’m sure,” you say before he kisses you again. You give him all the access he wants, the tip of his dick rubbing against your already wet opening, teasing you as you whined for him, “Fuck me, Matty.”

“I will, baby,” he says, pushing his hips against yours as he enters inside you. 

You spend the night, both of you kissing, whining, moaning, begging for each other, everything you had ever imagined with any other guy, you were doing with Matthew. You didn’t want it to be anyone else.

You were so busy, so hungry for everything Matthew had to offer, you didn’t know your phone was buzzing, texts from Evelina flooding your phone.

‘Where are you????’

‘You were supposed to be home by now.’

‘Why isn’t your phone location updating? Elias said you guys left hours ago.’

‘Please tell me you’re ok.’

[katsidhe]

Ranking Every SPN Midseason Premiere

15) 10.10 The Hunter Games. Wow, this one is real bad. Has not one, not two, but three subplots I either don’t care about or actively despise: Claire bonding with Cas (uh, he’s wearing her dad’s corpse), Rowena’s petty infighting with Crowley (bleh why), and Metatron smugly egging on Dean’s violence (why would he care?). This is deep in the slog of s10 episodes that go nowhere fast.

14) 13.10 Wayward Sisters. Is it clear yet that I really don’t like Claire episodes? Sam and Dean roasting lizards is the only real moment of fun here. I liked Kaia, so I hated that she gets used as Claire’s insta-friend/retconned love interest in order to immediately fridge her for the backdoor pilot… so that Claire, who was orphaned young, can understand loss, I guess? Pointless and unimaginative. I also resent the deeply, deeply directionless magic spear/Alt!Kaia subplot that eats up, like, four other episodes in s14-15 and accomplishes exactly nothing.

13) 3.09 Malleus Maleficarum. I like this episode for the insight we get into Ruby’s backstory, and the frank conversation that she and Dean have about demons and his impending Hell tour. But other than that, there isn’t too much to recommend it.

12) 8.10 Torn and Frayed. The next several episodes are all good, and are difficult to sort. In 8.10, Sam and Dean choose each other over Amelia and Benny, in all-or-none ultimatums. I truly enjoy how miserable they both seem to find themselves about this, about how their relationship has grown more and more isolating when tbh it needn’t be. Naomi’s control of Cas in this episode fleshes out the chilling implications we got in The Rapture: Heaven is best when its dark AF.

11) 6.12 Like A Virgin. Monsters, dragons, and Eve: the reveal of Purgatory kicks off a brand new chapter of the show’s mythology. But more importantly, Sam is fully back now! Watching him navigate this brave new world while no one will tell him anything is fascinating and more than a little sad.

10) 4.11 Family Remains. Actually frightening! I like it when the show does the ~it was just humans~ twist. And this episode has great commentary on Dean’s emotional state after his reveal about Hell last time. It’s a good MOTW.

9) 15.10 Nihilism. Dean’s bar mindscape. It’s no Sam mindscape, but it’s definitely the most interesting thing that’s been done with Dean and possession. It’s kinda fascinating that Dean’s uncomplicated happy place exists in an underdog Americana limbo without either Cas or Sam. Also gives us, at last, a good take on Alt!Michael’s motivations—he’s hunting down God. Loses points because the idea of managing to lock Michael in Dean’s mind for any length of time is still extremely unlikely.

8) 1.11 Scarecrow. Meg’s iconic introduction, Dean and Sam’s first breakup; emotional clashing over Winchester family dynamics: what’s not to love?

7) 12.09 First Blood. We’ve got Sam and Dean coping with prison very differently, then using their deaths to escape, and an action sequence through the woods: it’s just real fun. Cas breaks their deal with Billie, which ends up having, uh, no consequences whatsoever. It’s a strong kickoff to a regrettably weak second half of s12.

6) 7.11 Adventures in Babysitting. A quiet, emotional breath after Bobby’s death: Sam and Dean are deep, deep in terrible misery. The potent psychological suffering of season 7 is a delight, and 7.11 doesn’t shy away from it. Plus, it’s got Sam volunteering to get bit in the neck, and a rare example of a Plucky Teen (tm) done right.

5) 15.09 The Trap. This is just a worse 11.10. But 11.10 is amazing, so that’s still a compliment: Chuck tries both torture and the promise of various bleak futures to get Sam to cave. Even if the various futures aren’t staged that well, there is so much stuff here that’s ripe for analysis: especially on the broader stage of s15, this episode is plain interesting.

4) 5.11 Sam, Interrupted. Sam and Dean in a psych ward! They’re dealing with the extreme stress and grief of season 5, and they’re doing it badly—this episode provides a great way for their respective coping mechanisms to be forcefully stripped away. In a delightful microcosm of the show, Sam confesses his anger and gets consequently wrestled down and tied down to a cot.

3) 2.10 Hunted. Gordon Walker, whose old-fashioned absolutism is only matched by his competence, is one of the most memorable early seasons antagonists, and for good reason. We also get Ava, the queen of season 2, who has taken it upon herself to warn Sam and save his life. Then Sam and Dean using code words to disarm Gordon’s trap, and the fallout from John’s final words: quality television.

2) 9.10 Road Trip. Oh my god, what a horror show. This is an exemplary episode. Just incredible. Kinda unfair that it has to compete with 11.10, because it would take the gold by a mile in most other matchups. It’s got a fascinating character study of Gadreel, which also serves to inject interest into the s9 angel conflict; it’s the violent, hypocritical lengths to which Dean is willing to go; it’s got needles in Sam’s brain and a nauseating, horrific picture of possession; it’s got That Bridge Scene. The payoff for 9.01 begins to come due, in spades.

1) 11.10 Devil in the Details. Season 11 gets two D-tier ranks and two S-tier ranks; this is the duality of man. Do I even have to explain why I love 11.10 so much? It’s Sam and Lucifer in a room in Hell for an entire episode, nuff said. It gets better with every rewatch—there are so many great tiny moments, so much history. Lucifer’s combination salespitch/dressing-down is threatening and fascinating and mostly accurate; Sam’s rigid terror and courage and heartbreak and anger and resignation and determination are intoxicating. I want to watch them talk in a room forever.

[seriouslyhooked]

Feels Like This (Part 11)

Emma Swan is a once lost girl who is now making good. She has made a way in the world for her and her young son, Henry, and after years of hard work, Emma is in her last stretch of schooling for the career she’s always wanted. Unexpectedly, she finds herself in a tiny nation no one’s ever heard of for her last year of study. She knows nothing about the place except that it’s beautiful, has a world-renowned child life program, and is filled with possibility. Meanwhile, Prince Killian is hardly happy with the title he received at birth. As the second in line for the crown, Killian has long tried shaking his royal duties. He built a career in the royal navy, and has stayed out of the limelight, but his ship has been called to port indefinitely at the request of his brother, the King. Fate (in her many forms) brings Emma and Killian together and the resulting fic is a cute, fluffy, trope filled romp featuring heart felt moments, a healthy dose of insta-love and an assured happily ever after. Story rated M and will have 12 parts. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10. Available on FF Here and AO3 Here.

A/N: Hey all! I am so excited to share this chapter for a number of reasons, one of them being that we get a new POV that is not Emma or Killian. That’s right, today I am including Elsa as one of our storytellers too. But don’t worry, as much as we’ll be learning about Elsa and Anna’s past and Elsa and Liam’s attraction to each other, there will still be some CS cuteness. Because it is me, there is also a LOT of fluff and feels abounding. It’s hard to say much more without spoiling, so, without further ado, I hope you’ll enjoy this chapter and thank you so much for the support and good vibes!

Wandering through the woods at the far reach of the Institute, Elsa did her best to stave off the worry that had clung to her heart all night. She hardly slept, tossing and turning, gripped with agitation, and all because today, at long last, the truth would come out.

It wasn’t that she enjoyed lying all this time, or that Elsa was desirous to keep her story hidden any longer. This was simply reflex. For years she and her sister had guarded their real origins from nearly everyone they met. Only a select few people in the world knew anything of Elsa and Anna’s past, and those secret keepers had not been chosen by her or her sister. They were thrust into this situation as children, but today they would take a leap of faith and share the truth with a new, but genuine friend.

Emma is deserving of our trust, Elsa reasoned to herself, continuing an argument she’d had internally for weeks. She and Anna had both agreed Emma was someone they could confide in and they believed in her goodness and her ability to keep a secret. They had both yearned for the chance to share this truth with someone – anyone - and now they had it. But it had gotten so much more complicated at the same time, and all thanks to the royal visit that happened yesterday.

When she and Anna moved to Montenarro and began working at the Institute, they both knew the slight risk that existed of their being found out. Public curiosity had long ago waned about their family, enough so that they felt capable of using their real first names in applying for the job, but members of the aristocracy were different. They memorized lineages, and studied other families of note, across country lines. The royal family of Montennaro may not come to the Center often, but they did sponsor and fund this charity. As such, there may come a time when they encountered the royals. This was, theoretically, not a huge issue, at least not in Anna’s eyes. After all, Anna had never actually met any member of the royal family, and so had no chance of being recognized. She assumed that Elsa was in the same boat, and that would make sense, for the sisters had done nearly everything together their whole lives.

Selfishly, Elsa allowed her sister’s assumption of their past run ins with the royals to stand, even though it was not accurate. She omitted the truth, about a moment in time that felt light years away and yet so cherished even now, because she wanted to stay here in Montennaro. It was her and Anna’s dream to do good works, to make use of all their many years of study back in France, and to leave the world a little brighter than how they had found it. After everything they had been through, Elsa so dearly wished to give back to children in need alongside her sister. There were no other opportunities like this one, no Centers that provided as much for their pupils, and no other place that felt like a home, not since the passing of their Grandmere. So Elsa had bit her tongue, and enjoyed the years of obscurity they found here with the children, always praying that her secret from her sister would never come to light.

Things obviously changed when Killian arrived, and when it was announced that the youngest son of the royal line would be here, working alongside them, almost every day. The panic Elsa carried with her was profound, but after hesitation in the beginning, Elsa realized there was nothing to fear from the Prince. Prince Killian had no connection to her, and he was instantly consumed by his attraction to Emma. There was no fear of him discovering who she and Anna were, not when he was distracted and totally besotted by her friend.

Only when she and Anna spoke with Killian after the parade did Elsa begin to worry again, not because she thought her friend would lose out on the clearly true love she’d found with Killian, but because it was clear as day that Emma and the prince would one day be married. That was a wonderful thing, but it would make a friendship between Elsa and Anna and Emma so much harder. Guarding this secret would become even more difficult if they regularly saw people who held so many breadcrumbs from the past. Elsa had grown more and more worried about it, but it was ultimately Anna who made the decision.

“There’s only one thing to do,” Anna said the night of Killian and Emma’s reconciliation. “We have to tell Emma the truth. I think the danger for us has long since passed, but even so, it’s best to tell her what we’ve been through. Just in case. That way, when they marry, as we both know they will, we can sidestep the whole awkward RSVP thing. It’ll be a shame to miss it, but it can’t be risked. Not if we want to keep hiding.”

Elsa was simultaneously relieved at Anna’s idea, and guilty at the fact that she still wasn’t being totally honest. In truth, it was eating her up inside, and she just didn’t know how much more of this she could take.

Not much longer now. You’ll tell them both everything today. As soon as Emma gets here.

At that moment, Elsa came to the part of a wooded clearing where green grass met the bank of a bubbling stream. The clear spring water flowed across rocks and moss, gurgling along in a measured, soothing melody. It was nothing like the mighty river they’d grown up on, which was loud and thunderous and strong, but still, a lullaby from her childhood filtered through Elsa’s mind, and a memory of their mother singing to her and Anna transported her back to the life they used to have…

“Sing it again, Mama, please?” Anna pleaded, snuggling into bed and holding Elsa close as she did. The two of them had their own beds, and their own rooms, but every night Anna made her way here, insisting that she and Elsa needed to be together. Elsa never tried to fight it. She loved Anna, and she always slept better with her sister beside her.

“Anna, darling, it’s late. Far too late for my two little princesses to still be awake. How will you ever rise with the sun if you never go to sleep?”

Their mother’s green eyes shone with mischief, but also so much love. She was pretending to deny them, but she could never say no to Anna. It was only a matter of time before she repeated the lullaby again, and Elsa couldn’t wait. She loved her mother’s voice. It was like warm honey in her father’s favorite tea. A splash of simple sweetness that made all the difference in the world.

“I promise to go right to bed. Look, I’ll even close my eyes,” Anna said eagerly, shutting her eyes so tight her face scrunched with the effort. Elsa shook with silent laughter and watched her mother do the same. Then their mother sighed and yielded to the request.

“Oh, all right. Now let’s see here. How does it start again…?”

Anna’s eyes popped open as she fed her the line. “Where the north wind meets the sea!” she exclaimed, and their mother shook her head even as she smiled.

“Ah, ah, ah. Eyes closed remember?”

Anna nodded and closed her eyes again before whispering. “You help her, Elsa. You and Mama sing. I love it when you sing.”

“Ok, Anna,” she agreed, taking her sisters hand and squeezing it gently. Then she and her mother looked at each other and started the song together.

“Where the north wind meets the sea There’s a river full of memory Sleep, my darling, safe and sound For in this river all is found

In her waters, deep and true Lay the answers and a path for you Dive down deep into her sound But not too far or you’ll be drowned

Yes, she will sing to those who’ll hear And in her song, all magic flows But can you brave what you most fear? Can you face what the river knows?

Where the north wind meets the sea There’s a mother full of memory Come, my darling, homeward bound When all is lost, then all is found”

In the short time they sang the song, Elsa felt Anna’s hold on her soften, but she wasn’t quite asleep yet. Elsa held a finger up to her mother, a signal that they should sing it through once more, and by the time that was done, Anna’s breathing had evened out and she was already dreaming. She was nearly impossible to wake once sleeping, so Elsa felt free to speak to her mother in a quiet tone.

“Anna still thinks if we search hard enough by the riverside, we’ll find the magic in the song.”

“But you don’t?” Her mother asked and Elsa shook her head.

“No. I think magic like that is just in stories.”

“Perhaps, but I like to think our magic – real magic – is just a little bit different.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well you’re right, the lullaby goes hand in hand with our old folk stories, the legends of Arendelle shared for hundreds of years. In those stories people had abilities that no ordinary human should have.”

“Like superheroes,” Elsa offered, and her mother smiled.

“Exactly. But just because we can’t wield water or ice or flames doesn’t mean we can’t make a difference. And you know how you make the biggest difference?” Elsa shook her head. “With love and with kindness. The way you love your sister, the way you love your father and I, the way you love everyone here in the manor, that is your greatest gift, my dear. And someday you will change the lives of so many people all by showing them great love and compassion.”

“You really think that’s magical?” Elsa asked, letting the idea wash over her. She always tried her best to do right and to be good to other people. That was what her parents had taught her. She liked the idea that by being good she was using a superpower, and the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Everyone did seem so much happier when she was kind and patient, and at the end of the day, that was the greatest gift – to be happy.

“Oh yes. It’s an old magic, one that is so much more powerful than people give it credit for. But once you know of it, it’s your job to keep it strong. You must never give up hope, and you must always follow your heart and do the next right thing.”

“The next right thing,” Elsa agreed, not thinking too much of it as sleep was beginning to creep near. The hour was late, and she was tired too, but she wanted to stay awake and enjoy this time with her mother. She and Anna often had to share their time with their parents, and it always made Elsa feel special to be with her one on one. As if she could read Elsa’s mind, her mother pressed a kiss to her forehead and made a promise.

“We’ll talk more tomorrow, my darling. Now, get some sleep.”

Elsa had no idea that that night with her mother would be the last, and that everything she took for granted as the pillars of her world would be stolen in an instant. They’d gone from peace and contentment to total upheaval in the blink of an eye, and she and Anna were whisked away immediately, saved by little more than luck and the will of fate herself. The pain of that day would be etched in her soul forever, and so would the grief of losing the only home she’d ever known. But now, after decades of wishing things were different, Elsa could look back and be grateful, not for the troubles that had come, but for the sacred moments they did have with their parents before they were gone. It was hard to look back, but it was also a blessing. To have been so deeply loved that death could not sever the tie, that was something that had kept Elsa strong, and what she would cling to today especially.

Unwillingly, Elsa’s mind wandered at just the thought of love, to a man who bewildered her and drew her in all at once. He was always meant to be a beautiful memory, a boy she knew one summer’s day who showed her kindness and kissed her senseless. She could never confess how much she’d thought of him that summer. It was a girlhood infatuation that rivaled any other. Truth be told, he never was fully forgotten. He was always there in the back of her mind, until they’d moved here and she’d seen a random tabloid in the corner store. On the cover was a picture of a beautiful man – the King of Montenarro – and staring back at her were the same blue eyes from her girlhood dreams, if a little colder than she remembered.

That night she’d poured over the gossip rag and scoured the internet, waiting only until Anna went to bed before falling into a sinkhole of information. She read all about what he’d done since they had met, and how he’d stepped up to rule in a country that needed more than a little bit of hope. He was fair and wise and just, and passionate about making this country prosperous for all. Most recently he’d been working on his initiative to give all people in the country more say in government, and she thought that was admirable and knew how hard a task it must be. For years she’d watched and read the headlines, tracking his progress, while trying to avoid the speculation on things like his future and his love life. There was always talk about who the King would one day marry, and though Elsa knew she would be nothing but a forgotten blip in his past, it still hurt her to think of the boy who’d touched her heart belonging to another.

“Touched my heart,” she said aloud, scoffing with the foolishness of the thought. “As if I haven’t been secretly giving it to him for years. God, what a mess this all is.”

At confessing her feelings, which had mostly developed from afar, Elsa’s hands began to shake. Even if she’d thought of him often, it never in a million years occurred to her that they would ever reunite. But yesterday they had, and it was even more intense than she remembered. All day she felt his eyes on her, watching her every move. At all stages of the visit she could feel his presence, and it spun her whole world upside down. Never mind seeing him with the children, and watching him come out of his shell to offer them genuine affection. That had truly done her in, and almost made her forget herself. A few times they’d managed to speak, but Elsa always found an opportunity to run or to distract. She longed for that closeness, but was scared to death of letting someone – especially him – behind her many walls.

By the time she made her way back to her and Anna’s home, it was nearly time for Emma’s arrival and Elsa was nowhere closer to composure. She tried to breathe deeply, using some mindfulness to clear her thoughts, but her pulse was racing and her hands still shook. No matter – it was too late to run now. She had to face this head on. There was simply no other way.

A minute later she opened up the door, and within seconds, Anna was on her, enveloping her in a huge bear hug and prompting an emotional reaction in Elsa. Her sister was scared too, but Elsa could tell that underneath it all Anna was excited. She didn’t even need to see her face to know that there was relief in sharing their story. Anna had never liked living a lie, and the burden of it weighed on her always. Knowing that, Elsa hugged her back and whispered words of encouragement.

“It’s going to be all right, Anna. Remember what Mama used to say.”

“All you can do is the next right thing,” Anna replied shakily before nodding. “This is the right thing.”

Elsa had just enough time to agree before a knock sounded at the front door. “Are you ready?” Elsa asked and Anna nodded.

“I’m ready.”

“Okay, then let’s do this.”

………….

Sitting in the kitchen of Elsa and Anna’s small but charming house, Emma could practically taste the anxiety in the air. Whatever was going on with her friends was electric, and the room crackled with unsaid words Emma was increasingly eager to hear. Despite that, she could tell her friends needed a bit of an ice breaker, and she used one of her surest tactics to provide one.

“I’m sorry I’m a little later than we planned. Henry was on another level this morning. I love him more than anything, but he’s just so…”

“Helpful?” Anna offered.

“Curious?” Elsa countered.

“I was going more for something like ‘verbose.’ I swear he’s always got a dozen stories he can tell and today was no different. Actually, it was worse, because Killian was there last night, and you know how he gets with Killian.”

“He loves him,” Elsa said automatically, prompting Emma to smile warmly.

“He told Killian last night. It was so easy for him. He didn’t think twice, he just said exactly how he feels.”

“Oh, Emma,” Anna said, happily taking her hand after putting a tray of pastries on the counter. “That’s wonderful. What did Killian say?”

“That he loves him too.”

“I knew I liked that man for a reason,” Anna replied glibly. “Though, to be fair, it’s impossible not to love Henry. He’s the cutest, even if he hates me saying it.”

“Killian said something else too,” Emma said, waiting for Elsa to sit down with their tea. She watched her friends slightly shaky hands pour each of them a cup before spilling the beans. “He told me he sees a future, for us, the three of us. He said… well he said he loves me, and that no matter what he wants to be with me. Forever.”

The sounds of secondhand joy that came from both her friends made Emma even happier, though it also prompted a blush she’d been trying pretty hard to fend off.

“And what did you say?!”

“That I love him too.”

“Forever?”

“Definitely.”

“Oh my God, this is exactly what I needed today,” Anna said happily. “You don’t even know.” Belatedly it seemed to dawn on her – that was actually why Emma was here in the first place.

“I really don’t want to push, but it sounded yesterday like the two of you had something you really want to tell me. I promise whatever is said here, it’s between us. I’m still kind of new to the whole having good friends thing, but I can keep a secret.”

There was only a moment of silence between them before Elsa replied. She centered herself with a deep breath in to start and then let it out and looked directly at Emma. “You have to understand that all of her hesitation has nothing to do with you. We trust you. We do. It’s just been years of training ourselves to hide this part of our past, and keep the story in check so no one ever questions it.”

“Years?” Anna barked out hollowly. “More like our whole lives. Honestly, I barely remember a time without the secrets. It’s like they’ve always been here.”

“You’re right,” Elsa acknowledged, squeezing Anna’s hand gently. “This has been our burden to carry for as long as we can remember, and though time has passed, and we believe the physical threat is long behind us, old habits die hard.”

“Actually, in our case they don’t really seem to die at all,” Anna quipped. “You’re the first person we’ve ever told, and we can’t even seem to do that right. God, this is so hard. Why is this so hard?”

“Probably because there’s no easy way to say this,” Elsa admitted. Emma reached out for her hand in a show of comfort and Elsa looked up at her immediately. Emma wanted to assure her she was here to help, never to judge, and if they needed more time to make peace with their decision to share, that was fine too.

“Just tell me what you can. Start wherever you need to.”

Over the next hour, Emma patiently listened as they unfurled a truth that had been wrapped up tight for twenty years. They told her about their parents, two young Europeans who had met on foreign holiday. They were neither of them in their country of birth, and both eager to avoid the shackles of their real worlds, at least for a little while. Together they’d succeeded in doing this, and they had spent a week falling hopelessly in love with each other. From the way Elsa and Anna described it, Iduna and Agnar (yes, those were apparently their real names) had woven their strings together so tightly, the braid could not be broken.

The ‘problem’ stemmed from their father, for though he loved their mother endlessly, he had obligations – royal obligations. It turned out that Agnar was a Prince, of a nearby European principality that Emma had actually heard of. Arendelle was a small place, but it had undergone a revolution when she was a child, and even in the States there was endless conversation about it for a while. At first Emma was shocked, how was it possible that their Dad was a prince? But it took only a few moments for the surprise to dissipate. It explained why Elsa and Anna had always been so jumpy and yet very knowledgeable at multiple instances. It also explained why they were so hell-bent on keeping a secret, since the things Emma had heard about this country had hardly been positive.

According to Elsa and Anna, at the same time that Prince Agnar miraculously found love with their mother, his father, Runeard, had grown ill and passed away, leaving him as the heir apparent of the kingdom of Arendelle. Their father was eager for that role, and had been preparing for it all his life, until he was confronted with a truth that destroyed every plan he’d ever had. He could not remain the ruler of his country and pursue a life with the woman that he loved. He was bound as King to marry someone from a royal bloodline, and so he’d made a choice, to relinquish his crown and to hand it over to his younger brother. Their Uncle was a good man, and so they believed he would be a good King, but after a peaceful transition of power, and ten years of quiet where Elsa and Anna’s parents married, had children, and made a quiet country life for them all, something happened. Their Uncle had begun trusting the wrong people, and a coup had taken place. The palace was overrun, the royal family was imprisoned, and the country was thrust into darkness.

In the thick of that fighting, Elsa and Anna’s parents had also been targeted. They knew it was coming, as no coup could allow for anyone of the royal bloodline to live, but they didn’t have the time to all get out safely. Instead, their parents stayed behind as Elsa and Anna were taken with their father’s one-time nanny. She had lived with them all their lives, caring for them as if she were their own relation, and she brought them to France, through untraceable means, to the only other living relative they had left. Technically the older woman who became their lifeline was their father’s Aunt, but to them, she was forever Grandmere.

“It was a few weeks with Grandmere before we had confirmation that mother and father were gone,” Elsa said, sadness, even all these years, later taking hold of her quivering voice. Emma ached for her friend, and she couldn’t comprehend that kind of loss. She had never had parents at all, and that had been so painful in so many ways, but in some respects this was an even worse fate. “They were strong, and they protected us until the very end, but some battles simply can’t be won. Some heartbreaks cannot be avoided.”

“I’m so sorry, for both of you,” Emma said softly. “I cannot imagine the pain at knowing your parents and their goodness and then losing it like that.”

“It was difficult,” Anna agreed, “Especially being in a new country and having to hide who we were and basically stay at Grandmere’s estate all the time. But even when they passed, our parents were never truly gone. They’ve always been with us. Their love lives on in us, right Elsa?”

“Right,” Elsa agreed, offering a smile to her sister. “We stayed in France with Grandmere for years, and even though we were hurting, it was still a happy time. Grandmere adored us and spoiled us like any grandmother should. She gave us all the love and attention a person could stand, but she also took her role as our protector very seriously. As Anna said, we never really left the manor. It was a great estate, but for all intents and purposes we were under house arrest for years. We had private tutors for our schooling and no nanny except for Grandmere. The household staff were either sworn to secrecy or told an unassuming story about how we were two distant cousins who had fallen on hard times. The core of the story was true, of course. We had been orphaned through a series of tragic circumstances, but everything else was an illusion, including our names.”

Emma’s look of surprise had Anna clarifying quickly. “Our full names are Elisandra and Annadella, but our parents always called us Elsa and Anna. Those other names were family heirlooms, but these names were our truth. That’s what Mama used to say. Still those nicknames were a luxury we couldn’t afford when at our Grandmere’s. So we chose new ones. Selene for Elsa, and Soleil for me.”

“Totally different,” Emma said casually.

“They were,” Elsa agreed, “But they kept an important part of our story intact. My father called me his ‘little Luna’ since the night I was born, under a full blue moon. An ice-solstice, as it’s referred to in Arendellian tradition. It’s supposedly a sign of great fortune for babies born to be born on those rare nights. Meanwhile Anna was born at high noon on the sunniest, most beautiful day of the year. The kind of day that was a gift, as Papa would say. From that day forward, Anna became his ‘sunshine.”

“So let me guess, Selene means moon and Soliel means sun.”

“Yes. It was hard to get used to, but Grandmere helped us every step of the way. She was devoted to us completely, and in truth, I think she loved us as much as any mother could. She had no children of her own, but she had us, and thank God we had her.”

“But you never went out, you never left your home?”

“Not for a long time. Eventually we were allowed small indulgences. We went to Grandmere’s house in Paris every Christmas season for the shopping and the sights. We visited her sister, Aunt Josephina, on the Spanish coast in August, when the weather was hottest and the beach was pure bliss,” Anna acquiesced. “But we never went to school or sports or that kind of thing. All we really had was each other, until I made a dear friend in our next-door neighbor, Aurora. She didn’t know the truth about our past, but Grandmere fully trusted her parents. They were diplomats, and always had ample security. A few summers I was allowed to go for a week or two to their summer home. Elsa was always invited, but she preferred the quiet for a change, deciding to get lost in her reading instead of adventuring with me.”

Emma noticed that Elsa flinched slightly at the words, but it escaped Anna’s notice. Emma looked at her curiously, wondering if Elsa would comment on the claim, but when no words came from Elsa, she decided to ask some more directed questions. Emma wondered about what had happened to Arendelle and how they came to be in Montenarro. Arendelle, luckily, was much recovered from the tumult of the past. The heinous coup had been righted by the people, and a new democratic government instilled. Unfortunately, their Uncle had not made it through that dark time unscathed. He grew very ill while in confinement and died some years later. The country was now transitioning to a fully democratic state, but there was, at least reportedly, great respect amongst the public for the royals that were. Their parents and Uncle were highly regarded, with a memorial service each year held in honor of their bravery and dedication to the country. Whispers about whatever happened to Elsa and Anna, or if they had even existed remained, but it had been a long time since any real attention was paid to their fates.

Despite those changing tides, Elsa and Anna’s grandmother had always been hesitant in exposing the truth. She believed it wise not to open the door to a grand reveal. Why tempt fate when they could instead pursue, simpler, less complicated lives? Elsa and Anna had waivered at first, but ultimately decided that the best way to honor their parents was to do as they’d instructed – share their love and their abilities to make the lives of people who needed it better. Their personal experiences sparked their interest in working with orphaned children, and they both went to school to study in Paris, staying at their Grandmere’s home all the while. It was only after the unexpected death of their dear Grandmere that they’d decided on a change. The jobs here in Montenarro had been discovered, and the rest was history. Anna and Elsa had chosen their simple, balanced life, and they’d been keeping the secret all the while.

“So, I guess keeping the truth from the rest of the world now is less about any danger to your life, and more about your privacy. I can only imagine how it would go – the press discovering two long lost princesses who lived through that kind of turmoil. It would be…” Emma trailed off and Anna filled in.

“A nightmare.”

Now there was no denying the reaction from Elsa, and in truth, it looked like her friend had been struck by something. She was suddenly pale, and clearly agitated, and Emma suspected it was all to do with a certain King who’d paid her extra mind upon his visit to the Center yesterday.

“Elsa, are you all right?” Anna asked, pulling Elsa in from her own wandering thoughts. Still she looked almost haunted, and was unable to convince either Anna or Emma that she was well.

“I’m fine,” she said, but the whispered words were hardly reaffirming.

“You are definitely not fine. Elsa, you’re white as a sheet.”

“I’m always pale, you know that,” Elsa tried to joke but it was a pitiful attempt at humor.

“Elsa, seriously. What’s wrong?” Anna asked, looking, for the first time all day, actually afraid. That distress in her sister’s eyes prompted Elsa to hug Anna fiercely, and admit an unexpected truth for both Anna and Emma.

“I have to tell you something. Something I never told you.”

“Okay,” Anna agreed quickly, with nothing like anger in her expression. “You know you can tell me anything. Anything at all.”

This time the revelations shared were questioned mostly by Anna, though Emma had questions as well. Who wouldn’t, given the surprise twist in an already surprising tale?

It turned out that in one of those times where Anna was traveling with her friend, Elsa had gone with their Grandmere back to Paris. One afternoon they received an invitation from their grandmother’s oldest friend for a garden party. With Elsa now 16, it was their grandmother’s belief that she was ready for such an event. Elsa promised to keep to her story and mind her manners, but when she arrived, she was so nervous about doing or saying the wrong thing that she wandered off, away from the party all together. Deep within the hedgerow she’d met a young man who was also hiding. The bond of shared discomfort and an instant attraction made for a magical day where young love had a chance to bloom. At the time Elsa knew him only as Liam, and while she had planned to ask her Grandmere for more information on him, the old woman was in a state of panic when they finally reunited. It turned out more people were there than she ever realized, including some who could have discovered the secret. Elsa saw how much relief her Grandmere felt when she fibbed and said she’d been alone out in the gardens, she hadn’t the heart to tell her the truth. The lie was typical, especially for a teenager, but it was clear it still ate away at Elsa.

“I felt awful keeping it from her. I kept trying to get up the courage to confess, but then you came home early after Aurora broke her ankle on her horse, and the summer ended, and nothing ever came of it,” Elsa said, looking to Anna. “Eventually I came to believe that even if he seemed remarkable to me, he was just a boy. Our secret was still safe, and I had had my day in the sun.”

“So you didn’t realize who he was?” Emma asked and Elsa shook her head.

“It never came up,” Elsa asserted. “He only referred to himself as Liam. He told me he was seventeen and that his mother knew our hostess and that was it. I didn’t ask questions. Well, not about those kinds of things. We talked for hours, about everything and nothing. I didn’t have the time for basic details.”

The feeling was familiar to Emma. When she first met Killian, she felt the same way. They were so busy connecting with each other, so busy feeling the spark between them, that the words almost seemed to matter less. Knowing that Elsa had experienced that explained every part of her reaction yesterday, from the barely veiled interest to the severe trepidation every time she was within touching distance of the King.

“But when did you know the truth of who he was, Elsa? Please, please tell me it wasn’t just yesterday,” Anna begged, surprising both Elsa and Emma with her acceptance of the story and genuine want for Elsa to not have been blind-sided.

“It wasn’t,” Elsa admitted. “I found out when we first came to interview here. I saw a picture in the paper and I knew. I should have told you then, Anna, I know I should have, but we both felt it, our calling to this place. I swear it was like Mama and Papa brought us here. There were all those signs, and that feeling we just hadn’t had since we were kids. I thought that if I shared the truth we’d have to leave, and I couldn’t do that, to you or to me.”

“I’m so glad you didn’t,” Emma admitted. “Perhaps that makes me selfish, but I know for a fact how much staying has meant not just for me but for the kids. This place is like one big family, and it’s thanks to you two. It wouldn’t be the same without you.”

“I comforted myself with that thought for years. We were making a difference, we were using the magic Mama taught me about. But that doesn’t mean what I did was right. I shouldn’t have kept it from Anna, and now we may have no choice but to run.”

“No choice but to run?” Anna parroted, astounded at the idea. “Elsa, what are you talking about? We are not running. You are definitely not running!”

“We’re not?”

“Absolutely not. And you know why? Because this is love, Elsa. If yesterday is anything to go off of, and if your day together years ago was even half as romantic as you described, it’s full blown, love at first sight, once in a lifetime stuff. And you want to talk about signs? How about the fact that we could have landed anywhere in the world for work – we had no limits and no plan – and we ended up here, in the same place where Liam is King. The chances were so slim, I know that was Mama and Papa’s doing.”

Tears had spilled onto Elsa’s cheeks at Anna’s declaration, but it didn’t stop Anna from continuing on, even though her own eyes were misting over with the emotion of it all. “Our parents would never ever want you to run from love, Elsa, and neither do I. You deserve it, and here it is, back again after years of being parted. You’ve never really connected with anyone else, and I thought it was just a matter of waiting for the right man to come along, but now I know you were waiting for him again.”

“But it’s hopeless, Anna. He is the King.”

“So? You’re a princess.”

“A princess in hiding. A princess who’s story belongs squarely in the past. I can’t ask him to keep the secret, but I also can’t keep it from him. I’m caught up in this web I can’t get out of, and Liam is too honorable. He would never deceive his people like that. I wouldn’t ever ask him to.”

“So we let the secret go,” Anna said adamantly. “It’s simple Elsa. We just tell the truth.”

“You don’t mean that,” Elsa replied earnestly.

“I do.”

“You just said it would be a nightmare.”

“That was before I realized our alternative, and believe me, Elsa, there is no question of which is worse. If giving up obscurity and facing the press is what it takes to get you your love, it will be the easiest decision I ever make.”

“That’s assuming he even wants me,” Elsa said prompting Emma to chime in.

“Oh, he wants you. Believe me, and if you don’t believe me, then believe Killian. He talked about it most of the night, and he knows his brother better than anyone.”

“Maybe he wants me, but he doesn’t know everything, and I have no idea how he’ll take it.”

“Well there’s only one way to find out,” Anna said, standing up and pulling Elsa with her. “You have to tell him.”

“Now?” Elsa squawked, looking at Emma for help and Emma intervened.

“Let me call, Killian. He’s at the palace today. He can help us figure out a time.” No sooner had she said the words than her fingers were making the call. It rang only twice before the sexiest voice she knew picked up.

“Miss me already, Swan?”

“Something like that. Listen, I’m here with Elsa and Anna and I think it would be good if Elsa and Liam talked.”

Emma heard murmuring and then something that sounded like the phone banging on a table. She flinched from the sound, but then heard Killian once more. “Sorry, love. Suffice it to say my brother is enthused by the prospect.”

“When?” Emma asked, and she heard a resounding ‘Now!’ from the background. It was Liam’s voice and it prompted a smile for Emma. Elsa and Anna looked at her curiously as Killian responded.

“The sooner the better it seems.”

“Okay, so in an hour then?”

“Aye.” Again there was fussing on the other line, and it sounded like someone was pacing, until Killian spoke once more. “Might I suggest my place, so they may have some privacy.”

“Perfect,” Emma agreed. “She’ll be there.”

“Brilliant,” Killian quipped, “And Emma?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” she murmured, hanging up and putting her phone away in her pocket.

“And?” Anna asked.

“He wants to meet at Killian’s in an hour.”

“So soon?!” Elsa asked and Emma laughed.

“By the sounds of thing, an hour may as well be an eternity in Liam’s eyes.”

“He’s not the only one,” Anna agreed drawing Emma and Elsa’s gazes immediately. “What? Oh, come on, Emma, like you aren’t totally excited to see what happens. The suspense is practically killing me.”

“It may actually kill me,” Elsa said, putting her hand to her heart.

“It’s going to be all right,” Emma insisted, prompting Elsa to look up at her with hopeful but still skeptical eyes. “Don’t ask me how I know, but I do. I can just tell.”

“See!” Anna said excitedly. “And you know Emma’s gut is legendary. She can sense these things.”

“She didn’t sense Killian was a prince,” Elsa replied, not in a mean way, but as a frantic response from someone currently dealing with a lot.

“Touché,” Emma said with a laugh. “But I did know he was it for me. So, let me put it this way: I don’t know exactly how it will happen, but I do know you and Liam are going to work things out. Is that better?”

“Only if you really mean it,” Elsa whispered.

“I do,” Emma said softly.

“Ok,” Elsa agreed after a moment’s pause, straightening her spine in a show of determination. “Ok, I’ll do it.”

And with that the three of them set out to help Elsa get ready, knowing today would be a turning point, and that soon a much-needed conversation would lay it all out there once and for all.

Post-Note: Not going to lie, this chapter took SO long to craft, partially because of my muse being fussy, but mostly because, in the end, I needed two chapters to do this whole bit justice. I know I am leaving you on a bit of a cliff hanger, but I promise that next chapter we get the entirety of the Elsa/Liam story, and some added CS scenes to boot. Anyway, I really do hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and that it brightened your day, even if there were parts that were a bit sad. I love seeing what you all think, and knowing so many of you have enjoyed reading so far. I am still pretty busy with other things at the moment, but I promise to do my best to get an update written soon. Hope to see you next time, until then, hoping you are safe, healthy, and well!

[ellanainthetardis]

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer My rating: 4 of 5 stars I adored this book. From the cover alone I was expecting a cute romance in space and I got... So much more. This book doesn't really put science in science fiction, let's be clear, because the few science that was in it... I'm not sure how accurate it was. This being said, it wasn't a problem at all for me. I found the various concept clear enough and what didn't quite make sense I decided to suspend my disbelief for. The story is extremely compelling, I couldn't put the book down. I've read it under 24hours, I NEEDED to know how it would end. I was perplexed by the choice to have so few chapters at first but then it all started to make sense and simply really liked that the structure of the book follows so close to the story. It's a great narrative choice. The romance was a bit too insta-love for my initial taste but I really liked it overall. What I particularly liked also was the fact that there were a few established significant past-romances and that's not something that's often done in books, particularly when the characters are so young. It added a level of realism. I'm not sure how original the concept is as I haven't read that much sci-fi although it's a genre I'm branching into but to me it was really great. I didn't see the twist coming (view spoiler)[ I was actually banking on them being in cryo and woken up a few times during the course of the travel and that the truth was hidden for their sanity (hide spoiler)] It was really a good surprise. The reason I'm not putting a 5 stars is because I had a few problems along the road. I found the writing a bit unequal at times. There is a vivid sensation of claustrophobia and anxiety that is really really well rendered and contributes to making the story so riveting. (view spoiler)[ the looping sensation is really well done. Every time the cycle begins again, the same but different... It's really great. And the way OS is slowly turning into this threatening presence is just chef kiss (hide spoiler)] However, there were also times when stuff didn't make sense to me. Some descriptions were unclear which made the action difficult to follow and some transitions were just puzzling as it was unclear how long had past. The mood was great in short but the actual description of the set could have been better in my opinion. I also think the character could have had more depths. Kodiak is a really capable young man but at several points throughout the story I wondered what was the point of having Ambrose there... I understand they're young - and the excuse for that is a bit fishy in my opinion - but I'm assuming you send the most qualified people in space. From the reading, it looked as if Kodiak was the one always doing all the work so... What was Ambrose bringing to the trip outside of his name? I'm not sure if the "twist" eventually explains his inaptitude or not... I guess it could be read that way but it didn't really convince me. And outside of that, I think it could have been good to dig a bit deeper into their character. (view spoiler)[ the initial stance of watching them evolve differently again and again was really interesting and cool but I think we could have had more backstory woven in there outside of a few elements that seemed a bit cliché of "Federation" versus "Demokracia". (hide spoiler)] Also contributing to that star ducking: (view spoiler)[ What is the point of WRITING because you don't want to be overheard the OS only to speak about it out loud five seconds later? That irked me a lot because it happens a few times. They will go under the blanket so the OS doesn't suspect they know but then they discuss or refer to it out loud five minutes after that so it's a little stupid and confirms to me they're not really good astronauts. Also... And while I really adored the romance... You send two people on a new home planet... It would sound logical to send people who can actually reproduce... I understand that there's a machine that can do that for them (although I find the idea of a machine growing human life very uncomfortable) but I don't know... What if it breaks? No contingency plan? You're the last of the human race so... Yet at the same time there are a thousand stories out there about a man and a woman being the last of the human race so it's refreshing to have a queer version. I just wished there was a better explanation for that particular side plot than "we can risk space pregnancy". Guys you're literally killing them anyway so I fail to see the problem... Maybe they could have said clones were sterile and leave it at that. Then it would have made more sense to me. It's a small detail but it bugged me. And to come back to the "they feel very unprepared" aspect of the characters... Also MAYBE if you're going to send two people, the last of the human race, to a far away planet... MAYBE TRAIN THEM IN SURVIVAL FIRST???? Even when suspending my disbelief this made no sense to me. Ambrose barely looks ready to be IN SPACE never mind colonizing a new planet. Kodiak comes out as more capable but he's not clearly not trained in survival... That plothole really got to be to be honest. (hide spoiler)] The ending also felt a bit "easy" but the bulk of the book was so riveting that I don't really care. I really recommend this book if you're in the mood for some light sci-fi. View all my reviews

[crazycoke-addict]

Shallon Lester needs to be held accountable

If you’re wondering who she is. Shallon Lester is a YouTuber who makes videos of celebrities whether it be relationships or other stuff in general. She’s also MTV personality and may have connection with some celebrities but not all. I discovered Shallon when a video was recommended for me and it was about the Khloe/Tristan/Jordyn that went down last year. She talks about how Khloe should’ve been aware whom she was dating and how the kardashians treated Jordyn wasn’t ok. I didn’t watch the whole video because she began degrading Jordyn Woods. I can’t remember the exact thing she said but it was basically Khloe is the beautiful one like Jordyn is not. I see this as being racist.

Khloe has done a lot of surgery on herself from her face to her butt even she denies it, it’s clear that she has done surgery. Jordyn however it doesn’t seem like she has ever done any surgery on herself just lost weight naturally. The kardashians and also the Jenners are known for profiting off of black culture and they are obsessed to look like a black woman. They deny this but there’s so many proof like how Kim uses a foundation that doesn’t match her skin tone. They are blackfishing and people like Shallon see them as ‘beautiful’ and even praise them but degrade and hate on a real black woman who has all these features that the kardashians and other white insta models are trying to steal. Because of white supremacy Black girls were taught not to love themselves and their mind were poisoned into believing that European beauty standards was better. Flash forward to today and you got white girls pretending to be a black Woman for clout and get likes and followers.

I didn’t watch any of her other videos because she didn’t really peak my interest and especially after that video she made that I mentioned. A video that she made was recommended to me again and it was about why Scott Disick shouldn’t be dating Sofia Richie. She basically goes into detail as many people have said about why this relationship isn’t going to work out. The age difference, Sofia is 21 while Scott is 36 so there’s a 15 year gap between them, Scott has three kids with another woman and she mentioned his past. To be honest I don’t care much about age difference as long as both parties are in legal age and it’s consent. I find the relationship between Scott and Sofia not problematic as many trying to make it out like. He doesn’t drink that much as he used to and it seems like he cleaned up his act because of her. I don’t think Sofia pushed to change him, but I do think she’s the reason along with his kids he decided to get his shit together. Although girls that are Sofia’s age are still trying to figure out everything and relationship with older man can go different ways until they look back and realise there were a lot of red flags. There are girls like Sofia are actually mature for her age and they know it too. One of the celebrity couples I’ll give an example is Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. When they met each other, Humphrey was 45 and Lauren was 19. The way Lauren carries herself shows that she’s mature person for someone her age. Although the age difference is quite big, the two got married, had two kids and stayed married until bogart’s death in 1957. So it can work for some but not all.

Many would agree on Shallon when talking about the age difference but she comes off as hypocritical. She doesn’t agree with an older man dating a younger woman but is ok with an older woman dating a younger man. Her defense was younger women become sexually traumatised but apparently younger men aren’t going to share the same experience. This becomes more uncomfortable when funding out that she made tweets about Justin Bieber about having sex dreams with him in it. The tweet that was made in 2010, she was 25 and he was only 16. Why is a 25 year old woman tweeting on having sex dreams about a child. It’s creepy and disgusting.

When she talks about certain celebrities or even certain topics, majority of the time she acts like she knows what she’s talking about. It’s the way she says make you believe that everything she said 100% accurate to the point where it feels like she’s manipulating you. It seems like she considers herself as a physiology and has even try to diagnose celebrities based on what she has heard despite not being accurate. Her latest video is about Ellen DeGeneres and how to spot a psychopath. In video, she goes straight to Ellen and her marriage with Porsche by saying that Ellen was mean to her wife and refused to give her a baby. She says this is allegedly as what she has heard, but Portia on other hand said she doesn’t mind not having kids. The way she tries to self-diagnosis Ellen to see if she has psychopaths tendency and even try to compare Ellen to Adolf Hitler because they both love animals. I love animals does that mean I’m Hitler. It’s so weird and just ridiculous.

She tackles on another serious topic like Mental Health and suicide by making video about Pete Davidson. The video is titled “Ariana Grande & Pete Davidson: how beta males manipulate women”. There was certain time when Pete wasn’t in a good place. He deleted all of his social media accounts but before doing that he wrote a statement which appear to be a suicide note. Everyone was worried about his well-being. Pete has been about his mental health issues and how he suffers from Borderline Personallty Disorder and sometimes have suicidal thoughts. Shallon doesn’t like Pete because he’s not doing anything to fix his mental disorder. What Shallon is doing is victim-blaming and very insensitive as well. You can’t be fix in way as what she is implying there’s no cure for mental health. The only that Pete can do is seek treatment. People with BPD can get treatment but it’s not something that can be cured. She talked about where Pete did an interview with Charlemagne the god. It doesn’t seem like she even watched the video, because she sees Pete going to rehab or getting help in order to get more drugs. She also thinks that people suffering from BPD can’t seek treatment because it’s not something you can get treated because it’s part of your personality. This is so ignorant and incredibly harmful.

She mentions how in the interview Pete Davidson says he use to cut himself and how Charlemagne didn’t asked them in that when he actually did which shows that she didn’t watch the video at all. She also doesn’t think he goes to therapy when he actually does. Like she did with the Ellen DeGeneres video, she thinks him having bipolar disorder and even BPD is connected to his mother and sister. Like something bad happened in the family household. He lost his father due to 9/11 so he probably suffered from loss and trauma, But it’s not the way she’s implying at all. It’s like she’s saying he can’t have good and stable relationship with his mum and sister because he has a mental disorder. The way she talks about Pete shows how much she hates men who talk about their mental health issues. She is one of the reasons on why men have a hard time expressing their emotions and deciding to mental disorder they suffer from because it’s people like her whom are going shunned them and even said that they don’t deserve any love and happiness.

She also hates Selena Gomez and even calls Selena her “mortal enemy” even though Selena probably doesn’t know who she is. Her hatred towards Selena has to be an extend of her being attracted to Justin Bieber when he was 16. She says that she could help Selena and whatever issues that she’s battling but doesn’t want to because ‘Selena is annoying’. Imagine you going to therapy and telling your therapist how you been feeling and they says ‘I would love to help you but your annoying’. She says that if Selena dies from overdose than it’s our fault for not holding her accountable and says that Selena isn’t going to make it to 27. Her dying gets better. Which is completely disgusting and just insensitive. She says that Selena has bad tattoos and even though one of her tattoos is a semicolon that is located on her wrist. The semicolon actually means something very important which is a solidarity against suicide, depression and other mental health issues.

Overall Shallon Lester is a horrible white woman who doesn’t know what she’s talking about spreads false lies on people and does the harmful by trying to diagnose a person because you just don’t like them.

[titsthedamnseason]

I agree with you guys so much about the like us series... I mean I mostly liked moffy’s books - Farrow felt more like a fully realised character than the other love interests and his relationship with moffy actually changes moffy and helps him become a better version of himself.... But the rest of the books just aren’t as compelling to me - I don’t really feel like Jane or Sulli have any major flaws or issues to overcome as characters, and their relationships don’t make them better or make them grow the way that the addicted ones (or even marrow’s) do.... idk but I think what makes me so obsessed with the core six is how they consistently helped eachother to change in such huge ways... and jane’s and sulli’s relationships just don’t bring you on that journey? They’re kind of flat? They also don’t feel like they have enough history or build-up or evidence to carry how in love they’re all supposed to be. Still love all the group scenes and family dynamics and absolutely foaming at the mouth for Charlie + Beckett books tho.

yes! again, it’s not to say marrow is perfect but i do think they are levels above the other couples of the series. i think they actually make sense together and have an entertaining dynamic, their banter is fun to read at the very least but on top of that i do think they have an actually good love story as well. theyre so believable together and you can completely understand what would draw them together and make them fall in love

as for the others.....it was clearly just a cheap way for them to drag out the series without putting in actual thought to the relationships. they didn’t want to create a larger cast that would be too hard to follow so they grouped together all the bodyguards and just made them love interests which was problematic for many reasons, least of all that they just ended up being cardboard cutouts. and i totally agree on the insta love feel! i think at least jane and thatcher at least had their fake dating/fwb stage to fall for each other but sulli’s books felt so sudden to me i remember reading wlu and feeling like i was missing something, and then starting flu and feeling like i had missed even more because all of a sudden they were in this earth shattering love and i was like?? it’s only been like 2 days mates calm down??

i think at the most you could believe the characters starting relationships but they definitely missed a lot of beats with jumping straight from first kiss to love of their life type of love. it’s just strange and doesn’t let you appreciate or believe in the love story. especially if you’re going to give them so many books, you have nothing but time to let the relationship evolve! i don’t get the rush! i do think marrow had the best relationship progression that felt both accurate for the characters and actually the timing of a realistic couple

i think one of the main issues with the kids as characters is probably their entitlement? although that isn’t exactly the right word. it’s hard to explain but although the addicted characters were rich, they had real struggles to contend with surrounding their mental states, being abruptly thrown into the media, brutal public perception, parental issues, etc etc. it’s not to say they weren’t also spoiled rich kids, but you could also see and relate to their struggles because they felt very real.

as for the like us kids....although they are famous, because they had a much better upbringing it then becomes hard for the authors to draw upon something the kids can internally struggle with and what i’ve always found very odd is how kbr settled on this sort of wealth guilt? like all the kids acknowledge their status and privilege and wealth but they constantly feel bad for having it and don’t know what to do with it? it’s just strange because i think in addicted they never pretended to be anything but rich and it was fine but these kids almost wish they WERENT? it’s complicated to explain but the new generation’s relationship with money really gets on my nerves like omg be grateful for what you have, dont work a day in your life, and try your best not to rub it in our faces that’s literally all you need to do

[ik it seems impossible since this is the Longest Response Ever but i did end up deleting a paragraph here about friendships i like that i will try my best to recreate! basically, i think moffy and jane have a pretty solid/cute friendship, i find the yale boys very enjoyable to read about, i think the hale siblings have great bonds (although i am admittedly very biased), and i think moffy and sulli at least deserve a mention. beyond that, there isn’t much to say for notable like us friendships that we’ve gotten to see so far. i think the biggest difference from the addicted series is that with that series you get to see all the characters actually decide to be friends, whether after meeting for the first time or rekindling long lost bonds, and at they end of the day they all truly enjoy spending time together. they make each other stronger and in every scene you can see how deeply they care about each other and prioritize the others’ happiness and lives. they constantly joke around and are always there to support each other and by the end of the series every single one of them knows the others so well. in comparison, it feels like the like us friend groups are being forced together. for more than half the series a bunch of them have literally LIVED together and they barely hang out and when they do it reads as awkward. they never get the natural progression of the core six and it’s bc kbr put too much stock in the concept that the kids grew up together and got lazy with that excuse rather than fostering actual relationships (like i’m sorry but what even is the seasons i’ve never read a more awkward friend group). i think there’s so much tension between so many characters and while some of them are family, a lot of them are not and even when they are, it’s like?? then why spend time together?? if it’s just going to be tense and strained and cause drama then why be around each other 😭 just find better friends ✋]

they definitely made a lot of odd choices with friendships in the books. for example, luna and sulli supposedly get a lot closer in the series but since that happened during moffy and jane’s books we never get a first hand account of that and are just supposed to take their word for it. but then luna was barely even in sulli’s books? and beckett and sulli are supposedly meant to be best friends but right before sulli’s book they have a cataclysmic fight and aren’t speaking? and i know it’s because we’re supposed to be rooting for them to make up during sulli’s books but it’s hard to be invested in a relationship reigniting when you never saw a foundation of it in the first place. i have a feeling i would have adored their friendship if we had ever gotten a proper chance to see it. and i think luna, tom, and elliot seem like great friends and highly entertaining to read but we also have barely seen them yet so i’m keeping my fingers crossed that they won’t do me wrong in luna’s books (i’m putting A LOT of pressure on the luna books if i’m being honest 😭)

all in all i think what this boils down to is kbr putting to much weight on the familial status of the characters. rather than taking actual time to build or show previously established friendships, they just want us to trust that These Characters Are Family And They Love Each Other Very Much They Are Great Friends and it just ends up falling flat

IM SORRY THIS RESPONSE IS AGES LONG AND PROBABLY NONSENSICAL AT THIS POINT BC IM VERY TIRED AND KEPT ACCIDENTALLY DELETING KEY POINTS BUT THANK YOU FOR SENDING THIS ASK ILY