#and not saying that hes completely wrong just hes overreacting. like. hugely.

[you-are-constance]

dont you love it when one person just kills your mood and gets rid of all your energy for the day

[dreaming-medium]

Bad Day - Bang Chan Drabble

Summary: Reader has a terrible day; one of those days where everything goes wrong. Luckily, her boyfriend is there to wipe the stress away with some well deserved hugs.

Word Count: 2.2k

——————————————————

Punch after punch after punch after punch lands on your soul today. Every single time you turned around, another horrible situation would present itself.

You’ve been sick for two and half weeks now. The sore throat would come and go, but you weren’t able to sleep without propping two pillows under your head. This morning when you woke up, your voice was completely gone.

The empty space next to you in bed certainly doesn’t help either. Chan has been gone for a work trip for two weeks now. He wasn’t due home for another two more.

Work has been its own animal to take care of. It was your first job after graduating, so you were at the bottom of the totem pole. Each higher up suddenly felt the need to burden you with any difficult projects they didn’t feel like taking care of themselves.

“I don’t think this is something I was trained on,” you tried to say to one of the more older workers. The huge stack of papers was so heavy in your hands. “These calculations would take me—“

“Just do it, Y/N,” he said before closing the door to the conference room you were standing alone in.

You had just watched that coworker’s boss tell him to do it. But nope, he dumped it on you.

On top of that, you were also tasked with training the new guy even though you’ve only been here for nine months.

And this guy made it his personal mission to make your job even harder. The way he would go from not knowing anything to being a complete know-it-all within two sentences made your blood boil.

But it’s fine. It’s totally fine, you can handle this.

Then, someone ate your lunch out of the fridge even though your name was clearly written on it. Your lunch break was so short that there was no way you could run out to get something else.

It was raining so hard as you jogged to your car through the parking lot. Every spot in the parking garage was taken this morning so you had to use the satellite lot ten minutes away.

Your clothes were drenched by the time you got into your car and slammed the door shut.

Fumbling with the keys, you shoved them into the ignition and started your car. The heat immediately kicked on and you sat there for an extra couple of minutes, warming your frozen fingers in front of the vents.

A book from one of your favorite authors came out today. You were going to pass the store on your way home, why not stop and buy a copy? It certainly would help with the day you were having.

The drive to the store was silent. You didn’t even turn the radio on. If you’re being honest, you didn’t think you could handle sound.

People were everywhere in the bookstore.

You walked in and looked around for the new book. There were signs and posters everywhere that announced the book. Where was it?

“If you’re looking for the new Kingdom book we sold out this morning.” A worker says to you softly.

A small part of you dies.

You politely nod to the worker and leave.

It’s ridiculous how you feel the tears building behind your eyes.

It’s fine. It’s fine. You’re overreacting. It’s totally fine. You’ll just buy a copy on your Kindle. You didn’t even need a physical copy, right?

Your fingers fumble with your keys and you drop onto the ground. They splash right into a puddle.

It’s fine, it’s fine.

Swallowing painfully, you wince at your sore throat and gather your things to get back in the car.

You’ll go home and watch TV.

“It’s Friday,” you whisper to yourself in the car to try and calm down. “It’s treat day, why not stop for a coffee?”

Every Friday you would buy yourself a coffee. ‘Treat Day’ is what you dubbed it as. It slowly became a tradition with you and your friends.

Chan used to always reload your coffee rewards app with his own money without telling you.

A sad smile tugs at your face while you drive to the coffee shop. God, what you wouldn’t give to see him right now.

The tension in your shoulders is so bad you think your shoulders are level with your ears.

After getting your coffee, you drive all the way home to your apartment complex.

Right before you turn into the lot, a car decides to come out of nowhere and cuts you off. You cut the wheel and slam on the brakes to avoid them.

Your coffee launches out of the cup holder and spills all over your lap.

“Fuck!” You curse and try to focus on the road. “Fuck fuck!”

At least it was iced coffee and you’re not burned. Right? Silver lining?

You’re at your limit. Your sanity is teetering.

Parking in your designated spot, you trudge into the large building.

The weight of the day still sits so heavy on your shoulders. Now your lap was soaked with coffee.

A package sits underneath the complex’s mailboxes. It’s ruined and crushed. The ‘FRAGILE’ sticker is gnarled up.

“No,” you sigh and look closer at it.

Yep, it’s yours. The new dishwear set you ordered came in.

When you lift the package you hear all the pieces shift around. It’s just a box of broken ceramic at this point.

Tighter and tighter your throat gets.

Slowly, you trudge up to your floor. Because, of course, the elevator is broken. Of course it is. Why would the elevator work today?

Just as you get your keys out to open your door, your shitty neighbor comes outside.

“Oh god, Y/N, you look horrible.” He says loudly.

You turn and look at him with tears already brimming in your eyes.

No sign of compassion crosses his face, instead, he laughs. He laughs right in your fucking face.

“No wonder I haven’t seen Chan around. He finally came to his senses, eh?”

Your jaw drops open.

“God, pull yourself together.”

Your neighbor picks up his newspaper from the doormat and goes back into his unit without another word.

For a long moment, you just stand there. Your clothes and hair still soaking wet and clinging to your skin, work bag and purse slung over your shoulder, box of broken plates and bowls in your arms.

Inside your body, you felt yourself finally snap. You felt your anger and frustration hit it’s limit.

Your look of surprise quickly morphs into one of seething rage. Lips pulling in a sneer, you rip open your door and stomp inside, slamming it shut behind you.

Dropping everything you own at the door, including the box of glass, you let out a muffled scream.

The box bursts open and glass shards go everywhere. They skitter across the floor and cover the wood in a dangerous mine field.

A moment of silence passes.

You lose it.

You drop to your knees and cradle your face while angry, hot tears stream down your cheeks.

Wails leave your lips as the weight of the day finally takes it’s toll.

On any normal day, you would be able to handle these things individually, but all at once? You just couldn’t deal with it anymore.

“Y/N?!” A voice calls out from the other end of the hallway.

Your head snaps up and you see your boyfriend standing there with a look of horror on his face.

“Chan,” you croak out.

His eyes frantically look around at the scene in front of him. Your disgruntled state surrounded by broken glass.

He’s here? He’s back?

“Y/N, are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt?”

He tries to walk closer but then he realizes he’s also surrounded by broken glass.

“Chan.” Is all your able to say again before the sobs come out even harder. Your entire body wracks with them, chest sputtering as you try to breathe between cries.

His face twists up in anguish.

“S-Stay there! Don’t move, I’m gunna get a dust pan, okay? I’ll be right back, babygirl. Don’t move.”

He continues to say things over and over to you while running to get what he needs.

“I’m here, baby. You’re okay, right? You’re home and safe, Y/N.”

You bury your face in your hands again and continue to cry. His words reach you, but they do nothing to quell the emotions.

Before you could fall further into this headspace, two warm, strong arms wrap around you and pull you into an even warmer body.

“I’m right here, honey, I’m here. You’re okay.” Chan whispers into your hair. He pulls you onto his lap and holds you close.

His comforting scent envelops you everywhere.

Chan rocks back and forth while holding you.

“You’re okay,” he says over and over into your hair. “You’re home now, I’m here, Channie’s here.”

Your face buried into his shoulder, hands gripping his shirt tightly

“What happened, baby?” He asks gently.

You cry harder.

“I’m so sick,” you cry into his shirt. “People keep taking advantage of me at work, I had to park ten minutes away in the rain. Someone ate my lunch. I dropped my keys in a puddle, the new book sold out, I spilled my coffee everywhere. Then fucking 304 across the hall tells me how horrible I look.”

You motion outwards at the glass all over the floor still. “And how do you like our new dishes?”

Even in the middle of a mental breakdown, you still crack a joke.

Saying it all makes you cry even harder. At this point, Chan’s shirt is soaked with your tears.

He continues to hold you as tight as he could. Not once does he tell you to stop crying, instead he carefully scoots and leans against the wall, cradling your body on his lap.

Chan rocks back and forth, pressing kisses into the crown of your hair as you cry your heart out.

His one hand rubs slow circles on your back while the other pets the back of your hair.

Low hums come from his throat. Chan lays his cheek on top of your head and keeps you close to his chest.

“It’s okay, babygirl,” he coos. “You’re home now. You’re with me now.”

“Thank god you’re home,” you hiccup and clutch his shirt closer to you.

“My spidey-senses were tingling,” he jokes in a hushed tone.

You manage to chuckle through your tears.

“My babygirl needed me.”

You’ve always been so happy go lucky, the glass was always half full with you. You always looked on the bright side of everything. If anything bad happened, it always just rolled off your back.

It was one of the main reasons he fell for you.

Chan has never seen you as bad as you were on your knees in the entryway, it shook him to his core.

Another long kiss is pressed to your head.

Slowly, your sobs calm down. Your throat still hoarse and sore from before has only gotten marginally worse.

Sniffling, you sit up away from Chan.

“‘M sorry I got your shirt all gross.”

Chan laughs in spite of everything. Both of his strong hands cup your cheeks for you to look him in the eye.

His chin dips down to your level so he can stare right at you. Those gorgeous brown eyes sparkle at you.

“I’m not upset about my shirt, Y/N,” he says gently. “I’m only worried about my sunshine. It’s not every day you cry, baby.”

“Everything just happened at once.” Chan’s thumbs wipe away the tears on your cheeks. “I tried to keep it together but our neighbor verbally berating me was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Chan tuts and brushes your hair behind your ear.

“Let’s throw eggs at his door,” he jokes.

He pulls a laugh from you.

“There’s my favorite smile.” He coos. It makes your smile even brighter. You sniffle again, and look down sheepishly.

Chan lifts your chin up with his thumb and forefinger. “Hey baby,” he grabs your attention. “How about this: you go shower off the day, I’m going to clean all this up and order our favorite takeout for dinner. I even stopped on my way home and got two pints of ice cream before.”

“Mint chocolate chip?” You ask softly.

“Of course I got your nasty toothpaste ice cream.” He pinches your cheek teasingly.

You giggle and lean away from his hand.

“Come on, babygirl.”

Before he does anything else, Chan leans forward and presses a long, warm kiss to your forehead.

Both of your eyes close at the comforting feeling it brings. After he kisses your forehead, Chan leans down and kisses both of your cheeks.

His warm lips then press to your nose and then finally to your lips.

It’s a long, sensual, loving kiss. Both of your mouths slipping over one another in a dance.

You sigh happily into the kiss. Chan’s mouth smiles against your own. It’s contagious, you can’t help but mirror the grin with our own.

In the end, you both look like smiling fools wrapped up in one another’s presence.

Chan scoops you up carefully and stands up from the floor, making sure to avoid any stray shards of glass.

“I’m going to take good care of you, my honey.” He coos and presses another kiss to your forehead. “Your bad day ends here.”

[meggannn]

AITA for not accepting my EX coworker's feedback on my personal project and destroying his favorite toy when he refused to leave?

I don't really see how I'm the bad guy but I thought I'd ask in case there's a new perspective I'm lacking. I am very rarely wrong but I admit I have miscalculated before.

I (M, none of your business how old I am) have an old coworker, Vance* (M, ??? maybe like 100, it's hard to guess dwarven ages) who I used to get along with okay. We'd occasionally share some banter and have the odd disagreement on how a project needed to be handled but it was nothing major. Last I knew him, he had a side job as an author and I enjoyed reading his books. We worked together for a few years but this was about a decade ago.

The thing is though, I've always been a bit of a lone wolf. During my time at that old company, I'd been wanting to leave that job as soon as I started it, to pursue my real passion project. I was only there for as long as it took to support my own goals. As soon as we achieved a major milestone at the company, really the only reason the company was founded, I decided to leave without warning. I understand this is rude among many cultures nowadays but I knew they would no longer need me, and I was planning on traveling quite a long ways for my new job and it was unlikely I'd see any of them again, so I thought it would be best for everyone if I just cut ties.

It's now been about ten years and I recently made a major step in finally finishing my project. Not to exaggerate but you could really say this is truly the most revolutionary thing in at least several millennia. It will be something truly special and people will understand its brilliance once everyone really gives my project a try with an open mind.

But just as I was about to complete it, I heard a voice I haven't heard in a decade. It's Vance, with his favorite crossbow (he named it Blanca*, that's not important but just so you can understand he's a guy who likes to nickname things). He stalked me across the continent! Then just showed up and rudely started providing feedback, as though he was part of this project! And he called me by an old nickname he thought was funny back when we were still working together. Look, I would be happy to talk to him any time, but just not then, you understand? And especially not if he was going to try to talk me down from completing my pièce de résistance!

I've had a long time to consider my goals and actions. I truly believe my passion project will change the world for the better. I explained all of this to him. But he wouldn't back down, and then he AIMED Blanca at me, fully loaded. I just couldn't abide that. So I destroyed Blanca.

Now everyone on the internet is upset with me, but I think that's a huge overreaction; not to brag or anything, but I could have done much worse to him. So tell me, AITA?

Please note that I am ONLY accepting judgments on if I am the asshole for DESTROYING BLANCA, not for working on my passion project. I will not apologize for that.

*Names have been changed to protect my anonymity.

(thanks to @zombolouge for the help)

[liskantope]

I've been feeling devastated about last week's disaster of a debate (among other political developments) and see it as evidence that Biden was never a fit candidate for reelection. And at this point I really don't think he has it in him to stick out a job like the presidency all the way until 2029. But I think a lot of people are really overreacting in terms of what kind or variety of weakness it exposed in Biden. I'm a little stunned by how many people -- not generally Republicans or anti-leftists or leftists who have a bias against Biden already, but moderate-left-ish types such as Scott Alexander and Kat Rosenfield -- who seem convinced of things like that the debate shockingly but obviously "proved" that Biden is completely senile, has a clinical level of dementia, is unfit to be president right at this moment (let alone for 4.5 more years), obviously isn't acting as president but must be sitting around dazed while others do the work for him, that the Biden team's insistence that Biden is fundamentally fit has now glaringly been exposed as a complete lie, etc.

One particular narrow range of skills was on display at the debate, and I'm not sure exactly what succinct term to use for it, but it was something like "smooth articulation ability", and it's something I think about a lot as a communicator in my own professional context. There have always been certain mental states I get into (often triggered by stress or sleep deprivation) where words and sentences don't come out as clearly, get caught up in the moment on the wrong beat and get sidetracked, and struggle to get wrapped up without becoming run-ons that lack in a conclusion, where I mumble and stammer easily, and where I have trouble recalling particular words and phrases on the fly, and these contrast dramatically with my moments where the opposite is the case. This especially affects my teaching: it used to fairly often be the case that I had "bad days" where I could tell right from the start of the 75-minute class period that I wasn't going to be able to form thoughts as well as on my "good days". With more experience I've gradually learned how to minimize the "bad days", but I'm still prone to it if I'm not careful. Yet, even at my worst moments of this, it says nothing about my knowledge of the topic I'm teaching about, nor about my fitness in general. It's a very narrow aspect of my mental abilities.

Now one could point out that a huge part of being a politician is being a absolute world-class "smooth articulator". And that's true, and Biden certainly was once, and clearly old age has eroded his ability at this. But it's kind of beside the point when someone is suggesting that stumbling a lot at a debate is evidence of having dementia and being too old for one's job, other than that our being accustomed to politicians being extremely skilled at articulation is obfuscating the fact that for a typical person (whether old and senile or not), having to express one's ideas on the fly in the style of a presidential debate is incredibly difficult. I believe the great majority of adult humans -- including those who are dismissing Biden now, including a lot of the very intelligent and generally articulate among us, including myself -- would probably not be able to do much better than Biden did at that debate if we were placed in his position, and it doesn't say much about our ability to make decisions in the role of US president or about our dementia status.

All that said, what matters most in a presidential debate is the vibes each candidate gives off, and Biden definitely gave off "doddering old man" vibes in just about the worst way possible, which will certainly make a lot of people not feel okay about voting for him, whether or not they've seriously reflected on his capability of performing the actual non-public tasks required of a president.

[deckofcookiez]

The Alex Kister Situation

Alright; I've been more of a lurker on here for awhile, but for months now--almost a year--I've been a massive fan of the Mandela Catalogue, and this fandom has been a major form of escapism and safety for me. So, I feel the need to say something about the current situation.

To start, I'm putting a link to the document with all of the information about what happened, as it's important to read it and learn about this whole situation in depth:

With that out of the way, I just wanted to share my own personal opinion; personally, Mandela Catalogue has legitimately become my special interest. I have pretty much obsessed over it ever since I first found it, and everything I've written or drawn since then has been to do with it. It's been very important to me, especially due to the community here on tumblr, as this fandom is probably the most supportive and open places on the internet I've found. I feel a lot more connected because of it, and it made me feel comfortable and safe.

I was in a bad mental space today, and when I found out about this, I had a pretty bad breakdown--some might call it an overreaction, but you don't know just how dependent my mental health had become on this series and fandom. (I will be working on avoiding this habit in the future, as it isn't healthy to depend so heavily on one interest)

After reading through the document, and just seeing so many opinions and contributions from others, I am almost certain that these allegations are true. But I always, always listen to all perspectives before making judgement, so I will not be going full "I hate Alex, he's a despicable person!!" before Alex gives his own point of view.

That being said, I do believe Alex has serious issues that he needs to get handled. I am hesitant to call this pedophilia, as from what I've gathered, he didn't seem to have active malicious intent towards minors(correct me if I missed something that said otherwise)--rather, I get the impression that Alex simply doesn't understand boundaries, and genuinely saw his fans as mutuals. He seems to be a person who's manipulative--whether intentionally or not--and his personal relationships, platonic, romantic, or sexual, turn very toxic because of this. So, trying to have personal relationships with fans, people who look up to him and see him in a very different light, results in inevitable toxicity as well.

I get the sense that Alex simply is a young person, struggling with mental health and gender dysphoria, who was thrust into extreme popularity very suddenly, and doesn't have the maturity level to handle it properly. Overall, I do not support him, if he continues to act like this--if he makes genuine, real efforts to deal with his mental health and his unhealthy behaviours, I would respect him for that. I wouldn't look at him quite the same, but as long as someone makes genuine efforts to better themself after doing something wrong, I appreciate and respect that, and may eventually give forgiveness. But, if he doesn't make those efforts, if he continues his patterns and refuses to try and get better, then that is on him and at that point I have lost any and all respect for him. At that point, you are not a good or reasonable person, in my eyes.

Regardless of how things go with Alex himself, though, I want to say...

You do not have to support a creator to enjoy their work!!

I am a huge fan of Danny Phantom, and that show's creator is a genuine piece of shit. Like, a truly despicable human being. That fandom successfully has, just... completely ripped the show and characters from their creator. They have cut him out entirely, nothing he says holds any impact or meaning to them and it hasn't for years. He's seriously fallen off. And it's still a fun, active fandom! The people in there are super neat!!

And, hell, look at the whole mess with J. K. Rowling!! She is an absolutely disgusting person. But so many people grew up with Harry Potter, and still like her stories, without actively supporting her--lots of creators turn out to be really awful people, but that doesn't mean that what they made is automatically awful as well. They still have some kind of creative ability, that happened to produce something that garnered a significant amount of attention.

We don't need Alex to still enjoy the concept, characters, and overall story he's created. We can still make fanworks, still appreciate what it is that drew us to the series in the first place.

Honestly, out of everything that the fallout of this would bring, I was most terrified of the fandom itself dying, as that is what truly matters the most to me. This place, these people are so important to me, and I am so scared of this community falling apart. I've already seen plenty of people stating that they will no longer be associating with TMC, and are just completely distancing themselves from it. It feels like things are already dying and disappearing and it really, really fucking hurts.

I guess what I'm trying to say, is that... if that is your choice, if you truly do not want to associate with TMC anymore whatsoever, then I don't blame you for it. I understand if you can't look at the series the same way after this, and I respect that choice.

But you don't have to, if it still means anything to you. Fandoms are more than just their creators--they're the community that has been built around the work, and this community is possibly the best one I've ever been in. I don't want to see it die. So, just know, that you can still love this fandom, this story, these characters, without supporting Alex. You can still draw the characters, make OCs, write fanfiction, etc. He won't get money from that--only from directly watching his content or buying his merch.

Finally, I'd like to say to go support the victims. They didn't deserve this--no matter what Alex's intentions were. Please support them, and regardless of how this turns out, do not continue actively supporting Alex Kister. I am sure that, whatever his intentions were, he did still harm people and that is not okay.

Also, this is all just my own opinion, based on what I know; I was not in the discord, I don't have Twitter, I don't personally know anyone involved and I have not seen everything regarding the situation as a whole. I simply felt I should state my current opinion, as I'm seeing a lot of people freaking out and spiraling and just leaving the fandom entirely. I wanted to remind people that it's okay to still enjoy this fandom and be a part of it, without Alex. My opinion may change some with new information I find, but overall, I am of the opinion that Alex should not be supported, while the Mandela Catalogue itself can be separated from him and still be enjoyed and appreciated.

And, whatever happens... Adam Murray, Jonah Marshall and Thatcher Davis are officially honorary characters in my stash of little guys. If he's not fit to keep them then they will become my creative outlet instead (and others who love them, obviously). They're very special characters to me, I can't express just how many things I have written and drawn to do with them, and I refuse to give them up.

(another addition, regarding the apparent 'alter egos' Alex apparently had: Possibly consider DID? I know a lot of people with DID will often mistake it for other things, including simply being gender non-conforming, when in actuality they really have alters that just identify differently. Not diagnosing, I don't know enough about him to make any real claims--it was just a thought.)

[katyspersonal]

In today's SoTE adventures: I fucking HATE Shadow's Keep!!! Vfhhhhhf okay I wasn't able to play all that much because switching from shifts work to 5/2 weeks is absolutely destroying me, but still some progress was made!

1) So I returned in that, like.... area full of water through which I've found Queelign earlier to explore more, and found the lever that had all water flood away! I saw a Grace beneath but decided to ignore it as I haven't explored all turns yet and saw a round elevator in the next turn. So I just reloaded the area....... ...only to get a bunch of runes and Iris of Occultation dropped as soon as I reappeared? I assumed something died, then? Okay sure I am not here to judge :/

1.2) @val-of-the-north informed me that it was a Tree Spirit but it wasn't supposed to just randomly kill itself! Just my luck I guess? XD

2) I found this item,

And a bit later this item, suggesting a similar thing:

Interesting ritual, I suppose! And of course Rellana would get a unique one. Darn Carians x) I guess it is expected that she also had to show loyalty to the Erdtree when Renalla and Radagon got married and united their factions!

3) Basically I went to some area in Specimen Storehouse, yeah. It was a little frustrating, mostly because of how many turns it had, but like I said I am finally overcoming my problems with tangled locations in videogames!

4) SIIIIIIIMPS

5) Why he is so big though gdgyhvng

No, seriously, other giant specimen are some kind of beasts but this is just a very humanoid horned guy but HUGE gfhtgfh WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHY HE IS SO BIG

6) So I was running around some more, and surprisingly was starting to hear what appeared to be Freyja's monologue... And then met the girl herself!! I was surprised and sent Val a picture of her asking why was she here, which surprised him a lot on how I even managed to reach her. He recommended to go and find Ansbach down there... I did, eventually, on accident, and it was the beginning of a ROYAL PAIN, but we'll get to it in a second.... -_-"

7) I recall having turned some lever, picking an item from that giant dude's beard, hopping around and finding an exit when a very strong knight kicked my ass gfhtygg I struggled to return there but got back at him later! He dropped his ash of war and helmet:

8) So, as soon as I read that he was a captain of the Fire Knights, I've got a bad feeling about what was going to wait me behind the next doors, but figured that I SHOULD be wrong and it could not be that easy? So I just hopped onwards with almost enough runes for a level up without taking aNY PRECAUTIONS BUT FUCKING NO THEN FUCKING CUTSCENE STARTED PLAYING AND GUESS FUCKING WHAT FGGGFJJ

GUESS FUCKING WHAT OH MY G O D I'VE MET HIM!!!! THIS WHOLE GAME I WAS DOING LITERALLY ANYTHING BUT TRYING TO FIND HIM, I'VE BEEN DELIBERATELY PROCRASTINATING AND AVOIDING THIS GUY SPECIFICALLY AND YET I RAN INTO HIM I WAS SO MAD HFHYHH

Also YEAH YEAH I GET IT HE SAID THE LINE FROM THE TRAILER YEAH SAY THE LINE BART WHATEVER I DON'T CARE ANYMORE DUDE + L + FASCIST ASS DIALOGUE LINE + YOU HIRED QUEELIGN

9) Okay okay sorry if I am overreacting, it is hard to explain the context instantly gghhh I died of course, but I've lasted surprisingly long considering I was completely unprepared! I just was able to dodge his attacks and stab him with a spear effectively! I guess I start to muscle-learn finally..

10) At that point I've lost a concrete objective despite Val mentioning something about a scroll I wanted to find, and I already started to be sure something was wrong when he mentioned mysterious "grace on the fourth floor near the cross" that I never saw.... I was just running around and killing some more Fire Knights on the way!

Everything is starting to come together....... *looks at the duelists one more time*

11) At some point during my running I accidentally found an entrance outside with the giant bat enemies, but accidentally fell down the pit. All I remembered was a strange Fire Knight that was using an Erdtree incantation when others weren't...

And then I've spent the next HALF AN HOUR trying to find that place again ъ_ъ IT WAS A TORTURE, I kept running in circles over and over because I just did NOT remember what did I do!!!! It was so frustrating that I almost teared up gfhgbth Elden Ring DLC gave me EVERY type of emotion yet and I am not even halfway done!

Meanwhile Val kept telling me to forget about that place when I kept asking him to help me to find it again, and sent me a video on how to find the cross and the scroll that I didn't check because I was obsessed with finding that exact spot again! We were desperately trying to communicate each other while both confused about that location and it just felt like an image of two wojacks crying at one another 🤦‍♂️

12) While running over and over looking for the darn place, I ended up killing so many Fire Knights that they dropped their set and weapon! Damn, how many times I ran the same place over and over thinking maybe this time will be different? *insert definition of insanity meme*

^ So basically, Queelign is wearing the capeless version, right? I should check that variant later!

13) Earlier there were Spirit Ashes of Black Knight Andreas and his son, who both turned on Messmer after learning of his serpentine nature 🤔 And the son also was his brother-in-arms whose execution he grieved. Now there is Kood, the captain of Fire Knights who were more intimately familiar with Messmer than Black Knights it seems (Queelign is one of the distinct Fire Knights). And of course Rellana who abandoned her right as royalty to stand by Messmer! And of course that spoiler about Melina being his little sister (twin?) in particular. We are accumulating more distinct names connected with him!

14) So.... eventually I've found that entrance I've mentioned earlier by accident, and this time I was more careful. Turned out that..... it WAS the path to that grace near the cross. 🤡🤡🤡

Val ABSOLUTELY lost his shit and told me that I somehow made the WHOLE Storehouse backwards!!! That not only I was supposed to reach this grace from BELOW and without turning the lever, but also I was only meant to find a HINT on Church District existing IN this place!! This reminded me of that time in the base game where not only I could not find Vare until Val told me where he was (🤡🤡🤡), but I also accidentally skipped the whole Limgrave and instead got stuck in Weeping Peninsula, wondering where to go, and did all the quests backwards. Good to know nothing fucking changed about my playstyle gfhbg

15) I got the scroll at last. While looking for Ansbach I was thinking about how I'd really hate to end up disliking Messmer as a character because that'd be a hypocrisy considering I like Marika *looks at that Leda vs D meme*, so hopefully I could learn something about him later that could make him better for me

16) So, Ansbach gave an interesting dialogue...

Basically, Miquella trashed Mohg so much that not only he bewitched him, but also wanted to use his corpse as a vessel to recover Radahn. :/ Just... zero respect. Why with Godwyn it is 'hurr hurr this isn't fair that my bro bears such a humiliation instead of dying a true death :((((((' but with Mohg it is 'humiliation is acceptable, actually'? Just because he did a bloody cult whereas Godwyn was just a cool friend with dragons and hugged you as a kid? Didn't Mohg end up worshipping Formless Mother so because of the abusive order YOU dude want to fix, whereas Godwyn was the favourite spoiled golden child? Where is 'kindness' in this mIqUeLlA tHe KiNd NOW?

17) At the same time, I am so entertained? Elden Ring gives me more variety of emotions than other Soulsborne games! I've never felt mad at the characters or repulsed by them before ER! Yet again: Martin's involvement was a great thing, it feels with how more fleshed out characters became!!!

[slayerkitty]

On Hidden Agenda and if the Agenda is Really Hidden (Part 2)

Where we last left off on our road trip, @respectthepetty and I had pulled the clown car over, started checking out directions and trying to figure out where we went wrong in our theories and I sat down to re-watch the show to figure out what we missed. Last time I posited two theories and listed evidence to why I think that. Now that I have finished re-watching through episode 11, I think I'm backing off my Joke is a stalker theory. I'm not throwing it out completely, but I don't think that's what's happening here.

There's also something happening with Joke, Zo and the Clytie and Sunflower myth that Zo reads to Nita in episode 3. Zo is repeatedly conflated with the sun/sunshine - he has a sunset painting in his kitchen, Joke photoshopped Zo's face on a sun and said Zo is his sunshine. Joke is conflated with sunflowers - he gives them to Zo over and over. They do switch this role once each - Zo paints a sunflower on his ceramic vase in episode 3 and in episode 11, Joke tells Zo that he (Joke) is Zo's sunshine. To me, that also makes Joke Clytie, the one who was abandoned by someone they loved, who was just waiting for them to come back.

All of this in mind, here's the theory I've centered on: Joke did something bad in high school; his parents paid (or used other means) to get him out of any trouble he was in and it caused a huge fallout in their relationship. Oh, and it happened on Joke's birthday.

So with this new theory in mind, I'm going to go back through all the evidence I posted in the previous post and add it to this one, plus include evidence from the later episodes.

Episode 1:

In the flashback to the Freshy Contest, while Joke is scolding(?) Zo, he says, “What you said on that stage won’t change a broken system.”

Episode 2:

Joke tells Zo, “My tongue gets me in trouble.”

When Joke and Zo are debating about hidden agendas in relationships, Joke asks why he should tell someone things when he starts dating them because he should be able to tell things in his own time.

Episode 3:

Joke says “Before you get to know someone, you need to know yourself.”

Joke also asks/tells Zo to trust him for the first time.

Joke talks about the Triangular Theory of Love: Passion, Intimacy and Commitment

Joke is pretty worried when Zo crashes his bike and makes Zo ride with him instead.

Joke mentions that he used to go to the restaurant Zo picked out with his dad, back when they used to go out to eat; this suggests a distance between him and his dad.

During dinner, Joke says that “What you see of someone may not be the whole story,” and “Stay true to yourself.”

In the library, Joke tells Zo “I would never let someone I love face danger alone.”

The next day, Zo is sitting outside when Joke finds him and says that Zo wasn’t answering his calls. and it’s implied he was searching for Zo because he was worried.

Joke invites himself on Zo’s trip as if he’s afraid if Zo leaves without him, something bad will happen.

Episode 4:

Joke tells Zo he couldn’t leave Zo “alone and sad” and “I’ll never abandon you”

Joke also says “I only care for those who care for me.”

Joke is afraid of the glass bridge but he’s also to worried to let Zo go out on the bridge by himself.

After dinner, Joke says “Sometimes people don’t show all their cards.”

Episode 6:

Joke gifts Zo a sunflower pillow and tells him to look up the meaning, Zo searches up “liveliness sprung from despair.”

Joke insists on picking up Zo so Zo doesn’t go out in the rain/worried about his health.

Kot doesn’t seem to like Joke and extremely overreacts to the way Joke trying to get Zo to eat the food he bought. Now, Joke was maybe a little pushy, but Kot goes off the handle.

When cuddling in bed, Joke says “hugging for 30s releases Oxytocin” and if they hug longer, “it means we feel the same.”

Episode 7:

At the amusement park, Joke mentions he has fond memories of the park because he went with his grandma back in high school (implies the break or disconnect with his family occurred then).

Talk of changing bad memories to good ones (re: Puen)

Joke says "I've never seen so much blood and gore in my life" regarding the haunted house.

Joke's grandma tells Joke that any potential partner needs to be a "fighter".

When his motorcycle breaks down and Zo is surprised Joke can fix it, Joke says "when you love something you learn to take care of it"

Zo says that Joke "sounds like a life coach"

When dropping Zo off, Joke hugs him and says "it's been awhile since I hugged anyone besides my grandma" (ouch, just ouch)

When Joke can't get a hold of Zo, he panics and get the landlady to open Zo's door and is freaked out to find Zo asleep on the floor.

Joke and Zo take day off and make something that looks like vases and Zo paints a sunflower on his.

Despite Joke having a temper, he lets Zo handle Puen how he sees fit.

Episode 8:

Zo comments that Joke "spouts Hallmark lines"

When Zo tells Joke that he and Poom are going to Zo's room for school work, Joke asks "is he trustworthy?"

Joke gets a package of creepy pics (via Jeng) and races to find Zo.

Joke says "I'll take care of you" to Zo

When Joke, Zo and Nita bust Poom, Zo has to pull Joke off Poom.

Joke tells Zo "don't trust strangers too easily" and "if something comes up, we always talk"

Episode 9:

Joke asks "what will I do without you for three months" when Zo says he has to go home for break.

Joke wants three calls a day and a video chat before bed every night (that's a lot, Joke, damn)

Joke tells Jeng "you might regret it one day when you turn around and [Pok's] not there"

In the flashback to the Freshy Contest, Joke is sitting alone outside, looking melancholy when Zo approaches.

Zo offers to take Joke's place in the contest and asks if Joke is okay.

Joke says "no one should be forced to do anything" and "you're the first person to ask what I wanted"

Joke says he won't lie or hide anything during his apology

Zo insists "no silence, no hiding, no secrets"

Episode 10:

Joke is supposed to spend his birthday with his Grandma (Jeng is taking Joke's parents out to dinner).

Joke worries about Zo.

Zo's mom chooses "childhood trauma from parental conflicts results in troubled adults"

Zo quotes statistic of "50% of people with family conflicts commit crimes"

Joke tells Zo "your family and mine are not so different" and it's his "happiest birthday"

(holy time jump Batman - I guess three months have passed between leaving Zo's and the debate club scene)

We get the Wave and Trin back story but the most important part to me was Zo asking "was hitting someone the answer?"

Episode 11:

Joke advises his parents are not coming to the debate, he texted their family group chat and "got left on read"

Joke's family just rolls up to his apartment (does grandma have a key then?) and they just hang out waiting for Joke

Joke's dad films Joke's mom and grandma watching the competition video

Jeng comes by and says Joke is out with friends celebrating and Joke's dad says "it's good Joke is with friends"

Joke's dad sends the video of mom and grandma to Joke

With the preview for episode 12 alluding to more issues between Joke and his family, Joke's proven temper, his aloofness around people, his propensity to speak like he's been to therapy and his extreme concern over Zo, I think that something bad happened and Joke was the cause. His family/money/connections got him out of it, but he's angry and his family and him had a falling out (except for grandma). Abandoned by everything, he was left alone and in pain until he met Zo, his sun.

That is what is hidden in Hidden Agenda, and it was right in front of our faces the whole time.

[letmywingsdown]

Previous anon, because i’m not confident enough for DMs:

The thing is today I was arguing with my boyfriend. I’ll admit it was my fault because I initiated it for some very irrelevant dumb shit because I’ve been in a horrible mood lately. I knew I had to apologise once he began explaining to me how shitty it was, and I was about to but I couldn’t bring myself to actually say the words because I have a huge ego problem. So he smacked the left side of my face, my left cheek, because I just would remain stubborn and bitchy and not looking his way when he talked. It wasn’t harsh or violent and it didn’t hurt; just the wrist and upper side of the hand, quite quickly like when you have to tell off a kid. But it really caught me off guard and I stood there frozen. It feels like a boundary violation and when I brought up the subject to my mom (w/o saying it happened to me), she agreed. My bf started apologising right once I said how fucked up it was and I think it’s a genuine apology, but what am I supposed to do? I was getting on his nerves basically on purpose, and now I want to pretend I am the victim of the situation? But I was seriously just about to tell him I regretted making a fight up from thin air.. and stuff like that has happened twice before, once in my shoulder, the other one on my scalp. He continues apologising and I really want to forgive him because he is a lovely guy and the best thing that has ever happened to me, but how am I supposed to call myself a feminist and stuff when I am compliant once my boyfriend “beats” me? My father told me only the other day that women who stay in abusive relationships while knowing about the red flags are stupid. I disagree with him, but am I stupid? Or am I just thinking about this too much? I have childhood trauma, physical too, and I am unsure if I am overreacting because of being triggered rather than because it was objectively wrong to hit me.

He seriously is a very nice guy and I have never felt as loved and I know his love is genuine, but this has left me unsettled and, as I said, it is not the first time. Even those two aforementioned events aside, there have been very off putting things in our relationship, like him watching porn and being into cnc (we never acted on them, just dirty talk); though I think the latter might have been my fault because I was the one mainly in it (again, trauma). This was years ago and our sexual life is very healthy now, and I know for a fact he despises porn as much as I do. So what should I do? He is the only person I have left because I am a lonely loser and our connection is so sincere but at the same time I don’t feel ensured that he would never ever harm me. Is it my trauma induced paranoia, or my intuition?

Sorry for this. Thank you.

Having a bad day and starting a stupid argument is no excuse for him putting his hands on you. Doesn’t matter how mild it was; he has shown that he is willing to resort to physical violence against you, and it is absolutely 100% in your best interest to leave him as soon as you can.

You are not being paranoid at all. You are rightfully afraid of your boyfriend who has slowly begun to show you his abusive side, and it is likely that it will only worsen as you adjust to it and make excuses for him. I absolutely understand your fears, and I don’t think you’re stupid at all, but I think everyone will agree that it is objectively better to be lonely for a little while than to continue a relationship with a man who attempts to physically discipline you.

(To be completely honest, I am a 19 year old with very little experience with relationships and abuse, and I’ve had a hard time figuring out how to answer this; I would REALLY appreciate if older and wiser women would add on to give anon better advice)

[quillkiller]

i'd love to hear more about why u didn't like barbie if it's not a problem for u

it’s not a problem! i do want to preface by saying tho that i did actually love seeing it and especially in the theatres with my dyke best friend!! and we had the time of our lives.

i wrote a very long and messy film review about barbies take on feminism and the patriarchy, i could post that if you’d be interested? :)

it also just. rubs me so in the wrong way seeing ryan gosling being peoples favorite thing to come out of the barbie movie. it just proves to me, imo, that barbies message went completely unheard. i absolutely loved his performence too but like. did we watch the same film? do we really think it’s funny that ken got bored of ruling a pareiarchy bc it didn’t include horses? is that actually funny or is it just unbelievably insensitive and out of touch? because i personally think the latter.

my main thing tho is basiaclly just that i had expected the film to do something literally anything new. to say something we don’t already know. i could name several films with the same feminist take and i just genuinely thought it would do one single radical thing. and it didn’t, in my opinion, and it left me very disappointed. i can’t name one single (new) thing the barbie film did for women/feminism if i’m being completely honest. it wrapped itself up in a neat little package towards the end saying ’everyone matters!’ w a cute little bow on top. men (because kens are still men) didn’t have to apologize and ryan goslings ken is everyones favorite part. from a movie about patriarchy and the sidelining of women. it just doesn’t sit right with me at all.

the kens are literally my enemies like what they did was unforgivable? they were men brainwashing and taking advantage of women and they didn’t even have to apologize and now we’re all obsessed with ’kenergy’? they should’ve at the very least be held responsible, but no they got an apology instead. while the barbies literally didn’t get a single one. is kenergy rly something we want? was he really keanough?????? i swear if i ever meet a man saying he’s a ken / is kenough i will kill him and then myself

some people may think i’m overreacting or that i’m a buzzkill but this is is genuinely how i feel about it. i see women say ’this is a film for all women!’ but i didn’t feel that once? i didn’t feel included once in the narrative and im definitely not being represented by barbie. it brought me back to when i was in the closet and i felt alien to everyone around me. i felt strange and ugly and wrong. this was a film for heterosexual women, imo.

in my defense, i am a film student film with a bachelor’s degree in film science, so i do feel confident in my own reading of the film. i am also well read on feminist theory and have been educating myself for years (and still do). it’s two things i’m very passionate about and literally you couldn’t spend even half an hour with my friend group, all dykes, before it turns into political/feminist discussions hahahah. i trust my judgment in how i feel about the film, but i’m not trying to change anyone else’s mind and im definitely not saying it wasn’t a good film. i’m absolutely not automatically right because of this. this is simply my reading of the film.

however, i find it very difficult not to engage with media, especially film, critically as someone who studies film and intends to make it my career. and i tend to engage critically from a gender perspective based on feminist theory because i honestly just can’t help it. a huge part of me didn’t want to engage with barbie critically because i had the time of my life watching it. i had so so so so much fun. but sadly, here we are

i had a similar experience when, in film history class, we started every single morning watching silent films. i fucking love silent films but let me tell you, the people who made silent films don’t love me or care for women. every morning i had to prepare myself to watch a woman get murdered by a man. a reminder of how women have been treated in cinema. a reminder that a woman isn’t a person, she’s a plot device for the male protagonist. the men in my class never noticed, whereas me and my uni friends (all girls) felt rather affected by it every single viewing. film theory hits different depending on who’s watching the film

that’s why i wanted barbie do just something new. it’s a film literally based on feminism and patriarchy and it still ended with a woman apologizing to a man. she still had to fight him off trying to make advances. she still had to do the emotional labour for another man.

it was just tiring. i wouldn’t have this opinion if it hadn’t made it so clear that the literal plot is patriarchy and feminism. that’s why i feel so let down

[backmaskcd]

(Sydney Sweeney) [THE DOLL]. Please welcome [JOVI DICAMILLO (SHE/HER)] to Huntsville, WV. They are an [27]-year-old [VISITOR] who lives in [TOWN]. You may see them around working as an [EVENT COORDINATOR AT MINNIE'S DANCE HALL]. Poor unfortunate soul. We’ll see if they survive.

Full Name: Jovi April DiCamillo Birthday: April 22 Age: 27 Hunter or Gatherer: Gatherer Sexuality: Straight Height: 5'3 Relationship Status: single

Jovi is the youngest of three, all girls, and while she’s always tended to be her father’s favorite, something about that title makes her mother detest her.  Born to a Southern gentleman father and a French model mother, she was extremely spoiled growing up, her father caving and giving her just about anything and everything she wanted, earning grumbles and glares from her mother, resulting in hushed, harsh conversations behind closed doors.  She was a lazy child, never really learning the meaning of a dollar, but was perfectly poised in public.

She didn’t like school, but she wasn’t bad at it.  As long as she got decent grades, her father would reward her.  On her sixteenth birthday, her father bought her a car that caused a huge fight between her parents and meant that they spent a few days apart, Jovi’s mother going to spend a couple nights at a hotel while her father stayed home with the girls, insisting to Jovi that her mother was just overreacting and everything was fine.  This wasn’t the first time Jovi felt like she hated her mother, but it was one of the most memorable.

As a teenager, Jovi often got in trouble for sneaking out to meet up with boys or going to parties with her friends, having many different boyfriends, and rarely showing remorse if she set her sights on someone who was already spoken for.  Growing up spoiled gave her a complex, and she felt entitled to whatever attention and affection she could get.  Jovi knew she was pretty, and knew exactly how to act, dress and what to say to get her way.  Other than her close group of friends, most of the girls at school didn’t really like her, and looking back, she couldn’t even blame them.

The only thing it seemed like Jovi and her mother could agree on was ballet.  Since Jovi was five, she’d been taking lessons, and it was something she’d grown to love very much.  Where she lacked in school and drive to get a job, she made up for in how hard she worked at dance, quickly making her way from ensemble to secondary and even main roles.  It was the only time her mother ever showed her favor, or even praise, and it wasn’t the only reason Jovi continued to work hard at it, but it didn’t hurt, either.

The DiCamillo family lived comfortably, her father inheriting a lot of money, and Jovi often opted to hang out with friends or go on shopping sprees on her father’s dime.  He never complained once, all but encouraging her to go do what made her happy, all while receiving scolds and glares from her mother who didn’t think Jovi had earned any of it - and she wasn’t exactly wrong, but Jovi didn’t appreciate it being pointed out.  At the gentle behest of her father, she started taking some side classes to learn how to do something ‘useful’ with her time, and while it wasn't exactly what Jovi would call enjoyable, it got her higher spending limits.

Balancing school and ballet wasn’t Jovi’s strong suit, often putting more stock in dancing than anything else, though she did actually complete her degree.  Shortly after her twenty second birthday, she got an opportunity to join a ballet company, and even though she jumped at the opportunity, she knew she’d miss her father terribly.  Saying goodbye to her dogs and her sisters, she made the trip alone, hoping to make friends soon - and not with any of her fellow dancers.

She could have sworn she was taking the right way - she had been following the GPS to a tee. However, the fork in the road threw her off, and that's how she wound up in Huntsville. It was a devastating few days when she realized she'd never be able to make it out of the town, but managed to start to piece some semblance of a life together, spending a lot of time with Minnie at the dance hall, becoming something of an assistant to her.

Jovi still takes every opportunity she can to dance and stretch her muscles, but misses her old life terribly still. It's not so much that she had real friends to miss - they were pretty flakey and fair weather - but she missed her dad and her dogs and horse terribly. She hates the weather in West Virginia, missing the warm Texas air, but after five years, she has no choice but to make the best of her situation for as long as she can. She still finds herself having days where all she can do is sob in bed, but they're fewer and further between than when she first came to town.

[echantedtoon]

Cagney Carnation x Rumor Honeybottoms

-Takes place a few years after the events of the game- It had been almost....scratch that.....It HAD been too long since he had seen her. He could understand the need to get away from the cold weather as bees and flowers didn't like it all that much...But, now that the cold weather was gone.... He had expected her to show up within the first two weeks. When she didn't, it concerned him but he dismissed it as she was Queen of thousands of bee employees and a respectable business woman. So he assumed that she was just busy with whatever work had thrown at her. It had almost been a month when he finally decided to go see what was taking so long. Of course he couldn't just go and travel to a whole 'nother isle. Especially over water. Good thing his friend owned a boat.....and a giant flower pot. It wasn't too hard to travel on land without legs. His roots acted sorta like octopus tentacles. Pulling him along and over concrete and steps and such. No one ever saw though, because of the four huge leaves covering them. "Mister Carnation. Hello." A young bee lady looked up at the taller flower. Her blonde locks and blue eyes made her seem younger than what she really was. He smiled down at her. On the rare occasions that he would make the long journey to visit the hive, he would often be greeted by the young secretary. She was no nonsense and completely professional, which he admired. "Hello, Beetrice. Is Rumor in?" "Yes. Her majesty hasn't been out for nearly five months now." At this, he looked at her confused. She hadn't been out of the hive for five month? That didn't sound like her. Sure she'd be les likely to go out during the cold, but considering she'd often go out for business deals and such made no sense. "....I see. Where is she now?" "In her office on the top floor. She wasn't feeling well this morning." "Thanks." She nodded before he left. He had to pass some bees to get to the stairs. All of which waved or said a quick hi. It was amazing how many bees served Rumor. Not only on this Isle, but all three. Despite the many bees, she wasn't related to a single one. Rumor had come from the main land with her mother who forced herself into the queen title.....Which would sometimes cause problems since many of the young males would gladly love to become her spouse and therefore King. It caused quite the commotion when everyone found out about their relationship. Which soon quieted down after her angry outburst at them. ".....Heh." It still surprised him at how well it worked out. He never met someone else who took their business of flowers so seriously. He appreciated how serious she was whenever they discussed anything important instead of just thinking he was overreacting like most of his friends. She was also someone he could let his guard down around......which wasn't an easy feat. They got along pretty well despite the species difference.

The trip up the stairs didn't take long, despite how tall the building was. The top floor was empty except for the occasional bee buzzing from one of the rooms. He stopped at one of the doors, smiled, and knocked. "........Who is it?," called a female voice. "Hi, Honey.~ Did ya miss me?~" A sudden noise came from the room. "Cagney!?" He grabbed the doorknob and began slowly opening it. "I hope ya don't mind me dropping by.~ I-" "DON'T COME IN!!" He stopped at the sudden shout. The door only a crack open. ".......Is everything ok in there?" On the other side of the door, the Queen bee was sweating bullets. "O-Of course," she shouted back trying to keep her voice steady. Of course he would show up today. Unannounced. When she had a huge weight on her shoulders....or should I say stomach. "You don't sound ok. What's wrong?" She immediately blurted the first thing that came to mind. "I-I'm ........not decent." Well......It was sort of the truth. She wasn't feeling decent. There was a pause. ".......Oh, really?~ Mind if I come in?~" "YES!! Yes, I do mind!!" "Honeybunch, calm down. It's not like I haven't seen you 'not decent' before." "Well.....I....feel different this time." "Feel different? What's going on?," he pressed. She felt her stomach drop. If there was one thing Cagney was, it was definitely territorial over HIS things. His property. His garden. His friends. And ESPECIALLY her. If you said or looked at her the wrong way, you could expect a visit from the giant carnation. And he was very good at finding problems with what he considered his. "I....You need to leave. Now!" "Leave? I just got here." She couldn't let him see her. At least, not right now. Not like this. "I said GO AWAY!!" She reached for the silent alarm. "That's it!" The door slammed open. "What's with the whole-!?" They both froze at the sight of each other. She was still frozen, hand outstretched for the silent alarm, when she dared to sneak a look at him. He stared wide eyed at her.....or more specifically her giant mid section. ".........." He slowly looked up to meet her eyes."...............Exactly how much honey have you been eating?" She didn't answer. Instead she sat back down at her desk with her face in her hands. It took him a moment to realize that she was crying. He immediately felt guilt rise up his stem. He walked over to her and rubbed one of her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her. "H-Hey! C'mon. I didn't mean anything by it. You're still as beautiful as ever." She shook her head. "No. It's not that. I'm not fat." "Of course not. You're just........well rounded." "No. I mean my stomach isn't sticking out from too much food." "Wha-? You're making no sense!" "Do you remember our last visit? 'The birds and the bees' theme had a big role that night."

''Heh. More like one flower and one sensitive bee.~" "Be serious!!," she yelled whipping around to face him. "What?! It's not like I could cross pollinate with you!" "There's more than one way to reproduce." "So, what? You're acting like a moody.......mother...." He did a double take at her stomach. "Holy F--king stem-wades!!" A hand flew up to clutch his head. "You're pregnant, aren't you?!" "I SWEAR to you. I've NEVER cheated on you." "How the heck does that even-? I-I-I didn't even know that was possible." "You're.....not mad?," she asked incredibly surprised. "What?! Nonono! I'm just very.....very surprised...........Why didn't you tell me in the first place?" "Because......I was scared. I never had children before. It's hard enough running a honey hive empire. Now, I'm expecting. I didn't know how you'd react." He bent down to wrap his viney arms around her trembling form. "Hey. Hey. Calm down. Stress is bad for the baby. It's ok." "I.......I'm glad you aren't mad, but...won't it be hard for you? Considering how long distance our relationship is." "I......could always move my garden to the meadow where your guys get all that pollen on this Isle. Although it might take a while to get all my plants over there." "I couldn't ask you to do that. You love your garden." "And I love you." She looked up at him. "I'm willing to do it." "............I suppose I could have some of my workers help. Only if you really want to do this." "I do." "Alright." They sat there for a little bit. "Cagney.....I made a decision." "What?" "The baby is not going to have any plant related names." "WHAT?!"

Author's Note: Submission and regular posting wouldn't accept it so I had to post it through the ask box.

[gr33nbull]

Hello Everyone,

It’s certainly been quite a while. The last time I was here was well, quite frankly a devastating day if you’re a Sebastian Vettel fan. Which is pretty much 95% of the F1 world I would say. 28/7/22 was the last time I was here and well. Yeah.

That day sucked. And when I say sucked. I mean really sucked. I’ve been a fan of F1 since 2004. I fell in love with Seb in 2007 and not once did that waiver for me. Through all the highs and lows. He was my number one guy always. No matter who came in. It was always Seb for me.

When he announced his retirement last year it absolutely shattered me to pieces. It honestly hit me harder than I ever thought. I’ve never really had to go through that process of seeing your favourite band break up, or seeing your favourite athlete retire or someone you’re a huge fan of being hurt or passing away. I’ve not had that, until Sebastian.

I always thought people overreacted when they got upset over stuff like that. But I completely get where they’re coming from now. When you’ve grown up watching and loving someone for so long like that. Showing unwavering support. It really does punch you in the gut when it’s over. I’ve never been so upset in all my life. It broke me if I’m completely honest and it really broke my love for this sport.

We say we love this sport in general, but no matter what there’s always that one driver that just sucks you in and you unconditionally support. Sebastian was that driver for me.

I just couldn’t face being here. I was mentally in a bad place anyway and that was the final nail in the coffin for me. Albeit it wasn’t the best couple of seasons he’s had and there was so much heartache. Watching Seb was my escape from the real world and my happy place. Now that’s gone. I just had to get off here. Seeing his face upset me so much.

If I’m totally honest. That hasn’t really changed either. If anything, the build up to this new season just made it all the more real for me that he’s really not racing anymore. Abu Dhabi made me sob like crazy, but I’ve found myself yet again getting so upset because I can’t see my favourite guy race ever again. I know it’s totally on me for being so attached to Seb and this sport but I can’t help it. He was my source of happiness.

As the Season opener looms. I’ve been toying on what to do. If I’m completely honest, my love for this sport has vanished. AD 21 really knocked my love for it then Sebastian retired which just sent it to a whole new level. And unfortunately if Mercedes don’t perform well this year, I do believe this could be Lewis’ last year aswell considering he hasn’t signed a contract. All of my era is fading away, all my favourite drivers and I honestly don’t think I can take losing Lewis and Seb in the span of the year. I’d be well and truly done with this sport.

With that being said. I have, like Seb, decided to retire this blog. I may come back periodically, I may not. Quite frankly I just lost motivation for this sport and I miss Seb so crazy seeing his face just makes me feel all sorts of sad. I can’t bare it, it feels so raw and wrong now the season is starting without him. It’s just a bit too much.

I will be watching this season to support Lewis. But there’s a hint of fear, sadness and extreme anxiety. There’s alot riding on this W14. If she doesn’t perform I feel like this year could be very upsetting for me. And I just don’t want to be online and seeing everyone’s posts making me feel worse than I already do.

I will obviously be keeping the blog up. Incase I do pop back. And of course the memories of Seb on here. And if there’s any chance of seeing him in the future. You best believe I’ll be back cheering him on because that’s what I do best.

I will say, I’m glad he’s happy, he’s done what he believes is best for him and his family and I’m sure he’s loving his retired life. His happiness is what’s most important. But that will never change the fact I miss him so incredibly much. His impact on me and my life has been immense. It hurts to lose that.

So guys, for now, I’m gonna go. If you do still follow me, I just want to say a massive thank you to those that followed and who I interacted with. My time on here has been great (and tense lol)

I hope you all have a great year, I hope you all enjoy the season and most of all I hope you’re all well and safe.

Thank you guys so much,

See you around 💚

Kat. 💕

[crushculture03]

Chapter 20

It was finally the start of the tour, the band had made their way up to Manchester for their big home town show.

Over the past couple weeks, the band and jules have gotten to know jade more, and the 6 all clicked with eachother, but the person she seemed to bond the most with was matty, the two spent alot of time talking, and that didn't go unnoticed by jules. She wasn't one for jealously, she knew matty had female friends and obviously didnt mind, she's not that type of girlfriend, but something about them felt off, she couldnt tell what it was but she didn't have a good feeling about the situation, but she decided to brush it off for the time being.

"Hey Jules" jade greeted as she walked up to the merch stand, "Hey jade, you ready for your first night of the tour?" she asked, jade nodded her head in response "Yeah! I'm really excited, it should be fun" the girl responded. "Yes! In the meantime though, here is a copy of the checklist, if you could do me a favor and go over all the boxes and just make sure we have everything in stock" jules said, as she handed the girl a clipboard and a pen. "Will do!" jade responded and made her way to where the boxes were.

After the show..

Jules quickly made her way backstage, as it was tradition for her to give matty a kiss as soon as he was done. She quickly opened the door to the green room and spotte her favorite curly haird boy, she ran up to him and engulfed him in a huge hug, she didn't care that he was all sweaty, she was just so proud of him.

"Hey baby, you enjoy the show tonight" he asked, hugging her back "Yeah you did amazing I'm so proud of you all" she gushed. Without her knowledge, jade walked into the room, causing matty to turn his head in her direction, just as jules was about to kiss him, He pulled away from her and quickly made his way over to the petite blonde, "Hey matty you did amazing!" she said, "aw thank you" matty responded, jules watched this interaction from a far, still in shock matty not only rejected her kiss, the one that was a tradition ever since they got together, but left her mid conversation to talk to jade.

Jules's heart had cracked a little when it happened, she couldn't believe he would do that. She felt like she was overreacting a bit, but she didn't care, the man she loved seemed more interested in talking to jade then to her, so she left.

Jules quickly walked out of the room, matty noticed but thought she was just leaving to use the restroom. Jules quickly made her way to the restroom before anyone could see the tears that were starting to form in her eyes. She quickly called the one person who could make her feel better.

"Hello jules you ok?" charli asked on the other line, "No-no som-something happened" jules stuttered, more tears flowing down her face as the heartbreak set in. "Babe what's wrong is this something to do with matty? Do you need to come over? " charli's now panicked voice asked, "Y-yes and yes, but I'm at the venue" jules responded, "First off breathe for me jules, try to calm down as much as you can, second can you make it up to the back of the venue, go find mark and have him take you to the park across the street, I'll pick you up there and we'll go back to my room sound good?" charli asked, "yeah, I'll see you soon" jules responded, quickly saying goodbye to her friend.

She looked at herself in the mirror and thought, "Am I overreacting to this?". After a minute to gather herself, she quickly made her way to the lobby and grabbed her purse, from there she found mark and he escorted her to the park across the way and waited with her until charli came to pick her up.

The whole time not one text or call was received from matty, truth be told at the moment she was getting in the car with charli, matty had asked jade if she wanted to go get some drinks at a bar, completely oblivious to the fact he had a girlfriend.

Maybe their love wasn't as strong as they both thought it was.

Once the two arrived at the hotel, and made their way up to charlis room, jules broke down in her friends arms. "Its ok babe I got you" charli whispered as she embraced her friend, and slowly rubbed her back, trying to calm her. After a few minutes, julies sobs turned into sniffles and she finally pulled away from her friend.

"You wanna talk about it jules?" charli asked, jules nodded her head in response, "So matty and I have this tradition, where everytime he gets off stage I go hug him and give him a kiss, well today when I was about to kiss him, jade walked into the room and he walked over to her and ignored me, hell he hasn't even texted me asking where I went" she said, a few stray tears still fell from her eyes as she recalled the events of the night.

"Jules I'm so sorry, he doesn't deserve you darling. I'm appalled at the way hes acting, what a dickhead next time I see him I will be fighting him just so you know" charli commented, jules chuckled softly at her last statement. "I know you'd win in a fight against him anyday" jules said, "Damn right i would" charli responded, which caused the two to break out laughing.

"Now what do you say we watch a movie, and I'll ask george to pick us up some ice cream, sound good?". Jules nodded her head in response "Sounds good", "Awesome I'll call text him right now" and with that charli sent a text off to her boyfriend, letting him know the situation and also asking him to bring some ice cream.

A/N : i'm sorry for that, next chp is not going to be any better for the couple i fear

[oflowtides]

⸻  KATHRYN NEWTON. SHE/HER / have you ever heard of ACTING LIKE THAT by yungblood, well, it describes JOVI DICAMILLO to a tee! the twenty seven year old, and BALLET DANCER / PART TIME MORTICIAN was spotted browsing through the stalls at portobello road market last sunday, do you know them? would you say SHE is more manipulative or more RESPONSIBLE instead? anyway, they remind me of lightly smudged eyeliner, pointe shoes strewn together with worn converse, bottle blonde hair in a tight bun, and pink satin bows, maybe you’ll bump into them soon!

time in notting hill: five years

Jovi is the middle child, the second of three girls, and while she’s always tended to be her father’s favorite, something about that title makes her mother detest her.  Born to a Southern gentleman father and a French model mother, she was extremely spoiled growing up, her father caving and giving her just about anything and everything she wanted, earning grumbles and glares from her mother, resulting in hushed, harsh conversations behind closed doors.  She was a lazy child, never really learning the meaning of a dollar, but was perfectly poised in public.

She didn’t like school, but she wasn’t bad at it.  As long as she got decent grades, her father would reward her.  On her sixteenth birthday, her father bought her a car that caused a huge fight between her parents and meant that they spent a few days apart, Jovi’s mother going to spend a couple nights at a hotel while her father stayed home with the girls, insisting to Jovi that her mother was just overreacting and everything was fine.  This wasn’t the first time Jovi felt like she hated her mother, but it was one of the most memorable.

As a teenager, Jovi often got in trouble for sneaking out to meet up with boys, having a different boyfriend often, and rarely showing remorse if she set her sights on someone who was already spoken for.  Growing up spoiled gave her a complex, and she felt entitled to whatever attention and affection she could get.  Jovi knew she was pretty, and knew exactly how to act, dress and what to say to get her way.  Other than her close group of friends, most of the girls at school didn’t really like her, and looking back, she couldn’t even blame them.

The only thing it seemed like Jovi and her mother could agree on was ballet.  Since Jovi was five, she’d been taking lessons, and it was something she’d grown to love very much.  Where she lacked in school and drive to get a job, she made up for in how hard she worked at dance, quickly making her way from ensemble to secondary and even main roles.  It was the only time her mother ever showed her favor, or even praise, and it wasn’t the only reason Jovi continued to work hard at it, but it didn’t hurt, either.

The DiCamillo family lived comfortably, her father inheriting a lot of money, and Jovi often opted to hang out with friends or go on shopping sprees on her father’s dime.  He never complained once, all but encouraging her to go do what made her happy, all while receiving scolds and glares from her mother who didn’t think Jovi had earned any of it - and she wasn’t exactly wrong, but Jovi didn’t appreciate it being pointed out.  At the gentle behest of her father, she started taking some side classes to learn how to do something ‘useful’ with her time, and just to stick the knife in her mother more, she decided on mortuary science.

Balancing school and ballet wasn’t Jovi’s strong suit, often putting more stock in dancing than anything else, though she did actually complete her degree.  Shortly after her twenty second birthday, she got an opportunity to join a ballet company in London, and even though she jumped at the opportunity, she knew she’d miss her father terribly.  Saying goodbye to her dogs and her sisters, she made the trip alone, hoping to make friends soon - and not with any of her fellow dancers.

How she fell in with Jaya, Darius and Teddy wasn’t really something she was too sure of; maybe it was fate, or just pure luck, but she loves sharing a space with them since while she does have a part time job in a morgue, she still tends to focus her energy on ballet and very little else.  She has enough skills to get by, often cooking for everyone when the mood strikes, and does her best to step up and clean the shared spaces when she hasn’t in a while, but it’s pretty evident that she’s used to having someone else do it for her.

Jovi’s grown a lot over the last five years specifically, still extremely flirty but trying not to be as much of a cold hearted bitch as she used to be.  She’s trying to be less self centered and focus on other people’s needs and wants (especially if they’re close to her).  She’s dated around a little, but since really focusing on dance and having competition for the lead roles, unless you have the patience to put up with her drive, it rarely works out.

[zylophie]

okay I uhh haven't requested match ups much but I saw yours and I really wanted to try!! if I do anything wrong please feel free to correct me because I'm new at this but I'd like to request a match up please! and thank you!!

Preferred gender to be matchup with: id like to be matched up with a male character and the source is genshin!

Personality Traits: okay uh.. I'm introverted. I don't go out often so I usually don't speak unless I'm spoken to. when I do speak to people though I genuinely love talking to other people and hearing what they have to say. I value interaction with others deeply. I'm someone who really loves to make others feel happy it just makes me feel warm inside. I do admit I tend to be anxiety ridden sometimes. I am working on it though! I appreciate when people are affectionate to me and cherish it deeply! I'm grateful for the kindness of others

Hobbies: I play violin.. and I like to sow! I love crafts like sowing and cross stitching and I love music! I don't have tons of hobbies so those are the ones I invest in the most. I wanted to learn how to bake but I'm a disaster in the kitchen so...

Love Language: quality time and words of affirmation! I want people to know that I care for them and I value spending lots of time with others. I don't want them to be left in the dark about my feelings towards them or feel neglected. I want them to know they matter

Funfacts: fun facts about me right? I HAVE A CAT.. he's huge and cuddly and my best friend. I like writing and stuff.. I have like 5 unfinished journals lying around. I love sweets.. like love love them. I need to work on my sugar cravings.. i eat sweets more than I drink water. I was also homeschooled majority of my life so I don't have much experience with people but when I do go outside I just like to be kind to everyone and chill.

Things you look for in a person: I don't expect a lot of people because nobody's perfect! but I do like people who are loyal and honest with me. like even if the truth hurts I prefer it over lies. I'd also like someone who doesn't mind that I'm anxious and tend to overthink.

Things you don't look for in a person: I guess someone who doesn't have patience for my anxiety. like being told I'm overreacting or that I'm annoying for it would put me down pretty bad. I don't want anyone who would betray or lie to me either.. thats about it!!

normal/both/yandere: id like both of possible!! if not it's completely okay!

thank you for taking time for my request!

♡ genshin impact matchup

"૮₍ •⤙•˶|💌 ᴮᵉᵉᵖ..! ᵒⁿᵉ ᵐᵉˢˢᵃᵍᵉˎˊ˗

✉! .•°⟡˚ ༘ ʸᵒᵘ ʳᵉᶜᵉⁱᵛᵉᵈ ᵃ ᵐᵉˢˢᵃᵍᵉ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ʸᵘᵉ !

⌨️ᶻᶻᶻ...yue is typing... ♡

↻ᴹᵉˢˢᵃᵍᵉ ˡᵒᵃᵈᵉᵈ !

꒰ʜɪɪ ʜɪɪ, ʀᴇᴀᴅʏ ꜰᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ?꒱ 🎐~*

❛❛,,𝐎ᵖᵉⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ᵐᵃⁱˡ ᵗᵒ ˢᵉᵉ ʷʰᵒ ⁱˢ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᶠᵃᵗᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ᵇᵉ!,,❜❜

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|• 0:10 ⁿᵒʷ ᵖˡᵃʸⁱⁿᵍ... Genshin Impact!

˗ˏˋ ★ʸᵒᵘʳ ᵖᵃⁱʳ ⁱˢ...Kaveh!★ ˎˊ˗

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ɴᴏʀᴍᴀʟ ᴍᴀᴛᴄʜᴜᴘ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

˚☽˚｡⋆ Kaveh is very patient with you, he always wants you to be comfortable to be open with yourself...he is the type who shower you with sweet words and his usual line whenever you did a good job at something? It's "I'm so proud of you" and "I knew it that you can do it!"

˚☽˚｡⋆ His favorite daily activity with you? He always leave little notes in your notebook whenever you weren't looking, he is always looking forward to your reactions to them!

˚☽˚｡⋆ If you end up making a sweater, scarf or any kind of clothing...you can bet he is going to wear them with pride, he thinks your crafts should be seen by the world for their beauty because of your love and care towards your works.

˚☽˚｡⋆ Kaveh adore your cat...well because they were raised with your love, right? He likes to think you and your cat are very similar in that sense, very loveable beings who are just very precious and cuddly which may or may not activate a protective side to him that he wasn't aware of until now...♡

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ʏᴀɴᴅᴇʀᴇ ᴍᴀᴛᴄʜᴜᴘ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

˗ˏˋ ★ʸᵒᵘʳ ᵖᵃⁱʳ ⁱˢ...Tartaglia/Childe!★ ˎˊ˗

˚☽˚｡⋆ Childe likes chatting with you a lot, he loves hearing your voice especially when you're passionate about certain topics. He doesn't force you whenever you don't feel like talking in fact, he also enjoy those quiet moments with you!

˚☽˚｡⋆ When he found out that you want to try your hands on baking... let's just say that he was well-prepared like sheesh, he make sure to buy aprons, mitten gloves, making sure the tools are clean...and you name it, he got everything set and ready! He just doesn't want you to get hurt during your baking experience is all.

˚☽˚｡⋆ He love your cross stitching crafts, so much that he always keep them in his room and office...if anyone dare to question them, he would have a nice long chat with them... he just really adore anything you do really!

˚☽˚｡⋆ Whenever he is away for work, he always send you sweets with letters as a reminder to not overdo it and take care of yourself while he is missing you from far...he always wants to see you being all healthy and happy when he come home to you after his missions ♡

✿ — ↠ NOTE : I hope you like the results! I'm glad to be one of your first few matchup matchmakers, thank you for ordering with us~ ♡

[orangedodge]

So anyway I thought it was pretty weird that Star Wars fandom, and even critical response in general, became so committed to defending Ryder Azadi's honor. Just for weeks after the premiere episode, we were all about how Sabine wronged him, as though sending the military to blockade a road wasn't a completely deranged overreaction to someone leaving his party early.

I know, I know, "she made a commitment to give a speech" but so what? First off, when was it even established that she actually agreed to be there? I actually can't find any basis for it in the episode, unless we just really want to give him the benefit of the doubt that he didn't strong arm guests into going. No one ever actually says Sabine agreed to participate, and she only ever plays it off.

And even if she did agree, and just changed her mind or flaked out at the last minute when the memories got to her... maybe that's a bit rude of her, but I don't think it warrants any of Ryder's actions thereafter. He has security block the exits off to search the crowd, and eventually launches the special fighters that are designed to shoot down Star Destroyers to do a highway chase and intercept her.

At the very least it's a huge waste of time and resources, if not an actual risk to the lives of everyone involved. And it's all for what? Because he got embarrassed and his feelings were hurt?

(Maybe I'm biased because I watched Rebels and I do remember what he was like there, and those memories do not elicit feelings of fondness within me, but even so I have a really hard time believing I was supposed to sympathize with him now!)