#happy valentines day. specifically to me and not to [redacted].

[notbecauseofvictories]

one of the genuine pleasures of working with my international colleagues is teaching them american sayings and phrases that are useless, but good at expressing specific emotions. I've mentioned that "I don't want to upset the apple cart" before, which made two teams in two different countries laugh at me---now I can add describing the head of our department as someone for whom "still waters run deep," then dismissing a colleague as "he doesn't know what he's talking about, he just plays a doctor on tv". I literally saw my colleague writing these down for future reference.

[guynamedultimax]

GIVE ME ONE REASON WHY I SHOULDN’T PUNCH YOUR FACE IN: Ultimate Guilty Gear Edition

Sol Badguy: It would be way too rewarding.

Ky Kiske: You’ll be late to supper.

May: Johnny specifically instructed me to have a good day.

Faust (also valid for Chronus): I’d rather just do it myself.

Potemkin (also valid for Kum Haeyun): *towers above the interloper* You’re joking, right?

Chipp Zanuff: My face is filled with hot boiling water that will shoot out everywhere if you hit me.

Zato-1: No one has attempted harm on Millia yet.

Millia Rage, buying time: I’m so underdressed.

Axl Low: Wounding me emotionally would pay much higher dividends.

Kliff Undersn: The giant greatsword I’m carrying slicing you in half. Being 71 doesn’t mean I can’t defend myself. 

Baiken (also valid for Bedman and Nagoriyuki): I’ve already discovered your pressure points and weak spots while you were menacing me, so I’m giving you a 20-second headstart before I kill you.

Testament (also valid for Dizzy, Anji Mito and Gabriel): I don’t mean you harm unless you ask for it.

Justice: *doesn’t even allow the interloper to finish his menace, rips their spine in half*

Johnny: The scheduled walloping time isn’t for another half hour.

Venom, clearly lying: Sir I’m just an ordinary baker, don’t mind the floating robot head and buy some pastries before the situation worsens. 

Jam Kuradoberi: Because you will owe me more money.

Robo-Ky (also valid for A.B.A.): I’m the last of my species.

Slayer: You’re gonna ruin my outfit, and that’s one of the few things that you will regret in your short-lived life.

Bridget: Unless you’re a bounty and you turn yourself in afterwards I’m not taking any punches.

Zappa: I don’t wanna alarm you but you might be punched by a random ghost if you do it.

I-No: Your fist is so pristine.

Sin Kiske: My teeth are not yet ready to be harvested.

Izuna: You know I can just...teleport away, right? Bruh. 

Valentine: Give me one good reason for why I shouldn’t be the one punching you. Pro tip: it’s related to keys.

Dr. Paradigm: I’m [REDACTED]th-year-old Nobel Prize-winning scientist Dr. Paradigm, celebrated widely for my studies whose help has been vital against the war with the Universal Will.

Raven: What did Asuka do this time?

Leo Whitefang: If you’re punching me, who is driving this plane?!

Ramlethal Valentine: Judge said I’d go to jail if someone punched me one more time.

Elphelt Valentine: I’m going to see the Liberty Bell for the first time later today, and I want everything to be perfect.

Jack’O Valentine: How about you give me all your candy and I ignore what you just said?

Giovanna (also valid for Goldlewis Dickinson): I took the oath to never get punched.

Happy Chaos: When you move in to punch me, I’m going to hold a bucket up in front of my face, and your fist will just punch the inside of an empty bucket and you’ll look ridiculous.

Order-Sol Badguy: 632146S, 5P, 5K, 5S, 5H, 5D, 5K, 5S, 632146H

Asuka R. Kreutz: This bullseye on my chin is not meant to be taken literally.

Daryl, lying out of his ass: I’m 84-year-old Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, celebrated widely for my poetic, unsparing depictions of life in America.

Vernon: *points at his robotic arms with an annoyed look*

Ariels: Do you know who I am?

Delilah: Your name is not Ariels, nor is it Universal Will, Original or Happy Chaos.

[pinkcarabiner]

first date, preference (for the second part), hand holding, giggle, flowers :*

first date - describe your ideal first date

coffee and a bookstore. even if they don't read, you can learn so much about a person by what they look at/what they pick up. and if they do read, nothing is sexier than listening to someone talk about their favorite book tbh!!! plus i always make it a point to learn someone's coffee order (or what kind of tea they like)

but i'm also a fan of first dates that aren't usually what someone would suggest!! like i've always wanted to take someone to a shadow cast production of rocky horror as a first date. i think that would be so much fun and different than a traditional movie date!!

preference (second part) - what's your "type"?

i don't really have a specific type, and i really am femme4all, but butches with tattoos, light eyes, and dark hair...hello (this is about [redacted])

hand holding - do you like pda?

sometimes!! it depends where i am/who i'm with!! but i LOVE holding hands and letting my partner put their arm around me/on my thigh

giggle - what's more important in an s.o.: intelligence or humor?

humor 100%!!! yes, intelligence is sooo sexy, but what's the point if someone can't make me laugh?!?!?

flowers - what's the best romantic gift to give someone?

either an annotated copy of a book (ugh that's the way to win my heart) or tbh, a handwritten letter or something homemade

thank you for the ask sweet friend!!! mwah!! happy valentine's day💘💖💓💝💗💞💌🎀💋

from this post

[fredheads]

❤️ 🧡 💛 BRIANA’S FICS MASTERLIST 💙 💜 💚

so briana did this for me on my birthday and it was the highlight of the day and i have been looking forward to returning the favour ever since because i love each and every one of these stories with a burning passion... if you want to be amazed im p sure she only started writing fic last year (2 years ago? time is a blur) so please read one or two to see how impressive these are and then i think you absolutely contractually have to leave a comment if you are reading this

PARENTDALE - COMPLETE ❤️

but for you this place is shame - (fredsythe) the og fp pretending to be from the northside so fred will love him fic.... 

seventeen and coming clean for the first time - (fredsythe) fp explosively comes out to his dad in the trailer park during a whole Scene TM and the aftermath of that... HOOOOOO BOY do i think about this one all the time truly one of her most iconic works

it was me and you and the whole town under water - (fredsythe) old dads fred and fp taking a road trip to pick archie up from toledo when that was happening I CRY ABOUT THIS FIC EVERY DAY OH GODDDDDDDD IM TEARING UP RIGHT NOW! 

i won't treat you like you're typical - (gladys/penelope) THE most important lesbian antics no one is talking about 

Happy Birthday, FP Jones - (fredsythe) two old gays slow dancing on fps 50th birthday thinking about all the second chances they never took DO NOT read without tissues

the more things change (the more things stay the same) - (fredsythe, penelope) penelope’s poor heart has to contend with walking in on fred and fp not once but TWICE in a lifetime 

with somebody who loves me - (baby fredsythe) on GOD IM CRYING AGAIN..... LIL FREDSYTHE’S FIRST OUTING AT A GAY CLUB 100% CUTENESS AND FLUFF

only love makes you that crazy - (fredsythe) she wrote this one for me for my birthday... marty mantle gets taken to beat down town after being a homophobe! part of the “marty gets his ass handed to him” canon that briana and i are the keepers of 

i thought of you and where you'd gone, and the world spins madly on - (fredsythe, mary & fp, major character death) mary checks in with fp on the fourth of july after fred’s death pls... bring tissues

(as long as you love me so) let it snow, let it snow, let it snow - (fredsythe, smut) EXTREMELY FESTIVE HOLIDAY SMUT! ft. the sheriff’s office holding cells...

my funny valentine - (fredsythe) fp gets his ear pierced so he can ask fred to be his valentine fp you fucking goob........

it's a feeling that you cannot miss (and it burns a hole through everyone that feels it) (fredsythe, fp + mary) mary and fp get high as hell and come out to each other after freds death THIS IS THE BEST FIC EVER YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED

i'll help you carry on - fp and archie bonding time OH GODDDDD IM GOING TO START CRYING!

the time to hesitate is through - (fredsythe au) - the most romantic stranger airport bathroom sex you will EVER read i PROMISE!!!! 

STRANGER THINGS - COMPLETE 💚

not my type - robin realizing billy hargrove plays for the opposite team aka is a big ol mullet wearing mo

STRANGER THINGS - ONGOING MULTI CHAPTER 🧡

why must i be a teenager in love (harringrove) - billy/steve childhood friends to lovers au WHOOOO boy this one has ALL the good suburban pining if you want to cry you should read this bad boy

PARENTDALE - ONGOING MULTI CHAPTER 💜

'Til I Hear It From You - (fredsythe + ensemble) THE EMPIRE RECORDS AU THAT SHOULD BE ALL I HAVE TO SAY! 

if i only could, i'd make a deal with god (and get him to swap our places) - (fredsythe) god this is my favourite shit...... fred and fp [redacted] fp senior and deal with the fallout

these lines were here long before we came around - (teen fredsythe) rich fp halloween au featuring fp and penelope being friends and fred and alice being friends! 

pictures of you - (teen riverparents) based on a one tree hill episode... the class is paired up for a project with some unusual pairings

parentdale tumblr drabbles - (mostly fredsythe) if you don’t click on this cuz its not specific ill punch u in the face if u wanna see some of the most exquisite writing u have ever seen read this fic i promise u

[alphacrone]

bitty dates anonther falconer au

so the graduation kiss doesn’t happen

and bitty tries to move on and jack goes onto join the falconers

and there’s some falcs family get-together early on in the pre-season and bob and alicia can’t make it for Reasons

so jack invites his other family

which -- is sort of a terrible idea bc Tater’s flying solo so he adopts Ransom and Holster and shenanigans happen immediately

(think Tater and Bitty doing lifts on the ice but with ransom and holster and alcohol)

and shitty’s hanging all over jack because they haven’t seen each other in weeks and he introduces himself to everyone as jack’s brother -- “but not like a lame- ass biological brother, a brother of the heart” -- and lardo’s somehow got all these falcs rookies following her around like little ducklings

so bits is kind of off by himself, hovering near the refreshments to monitor which pies are most popular

(he might be distancing himself from jack on purpose. he might be trying to move on. it might be really hard.)

one of the rookies (is it poots? probably) comes up to grab a HUGE ASS slice from the peach pie and makes really inappropriate noises while shoveling it down

“dude this shit is SO GOOD,” he says, then realizes he’s talking to a really cute guy and tries to remember what manners are. “um, hey, i’m ian”

“b- eric. and thank you, i worked hard on that pie”

and ian’s all DUDE NO SHIT REALLY and, again, remembers he’s talking to a really cute guy who probably is attracted to normal human beings and adds, “so, you here with zimmermann’s crew?” 

and b’s all, “yeah, jack’s one of my best friends, we were so excited he asked us to come, blah blah blah”

so meanwhile jack’s been feeling weird all afternoon and it’s not just because shitty’s been forced to keep his clothes on. he realizes, sort of belatedly, it’s because he’s barely seen bittle all day. he doesn’t Like That.

jack drops shitty off with lardo (who is regaling all these wide-eyed teenage guys with stories of her kegster victories while george looks on, impressed) 

and he wanders over to find bittle in stitches as ian tells him some story from juniors

and jack’s not jealous. why would he be? bittle makes friends the way other people breathe -- constantly and naturally. jack is a little sad bittle would rather talk to some rando than him, but he tries not to think about that. 

the samwell crew crashes at jack’s “’swawesome bachelor pad” that night, shitty in jack’s bed, bitty and lardo in the guest room, ransom and holster on the pull-out in the living room

except- shitty disappears early on into the evening and bittle slips into jack’s room before midnight, incredibly cranky, and flops onto the empty side of jack’s bed, half-asleep

“i’ve been sexiled,” he grumbles, shoving his phone onto the bedside table and sighing loudly. “burn your guest room sheets in the morning.” 

jack laughs and turns over to face bittle, whose eyes keep fluttering open and shut, nose scrunched up in annoyance. it’s the cutest fucking thing jack’s ever seen. 

bittle’s phone lights up and bittle grabs at it blindly, huffing in laughter as he reads the message. 

“ian,” he clarifies, when jack asks who would be texting him at this hour. “we exchanged numbers before he went home” 

again, nothing jack should be jealous of. he and bittle text all the time. but they had to build up to that, when they first actually became friends, texting only for class- and practice-related things, then when bittle was drunk, then on roadies when they were at separate ends of the bus, eventually reaching their best friend-level of texting-

jack wasn’t jealous that a stranger was already at the midnight-texting friendship level with bittle. why would he be jealous?

before he can ask about it, though, bittle’s asleep, on top of the covers and clutching his phone. jack bites his lip and sets bittle’s phone aside and very, very carefully pulls the throw blanket from down by his feet over bittle, so he doesn’t get cold in the middle of the night. 

in the morning, when the samwell crew leaves, jack hugs bittle just a little tighter than normal, a little bit longer. he’s not sure why. it just feels right. 

so flash forward, and bittle starts coming down to providence pretty frequently. sometimes it’s to visit a cousin at brown (freshman, right outta georgia, not adapting as quickly as bittle did, needs a familiar face every now and then) and sometimes it’s to visit jack. he hangs out with ian quite a bit, which jack thinks is weird and isn’t jealous of at all. 

but he loves having bittle around, no matter the reason, so jack doesn’t look this gift horse too closely in the mouth. 

towards the end of the semester, bittle starts to get really stressed-looking. jack doesn’t see him as much, as busy as they both are, but he texts bittle constantly with little reminders throughout the day: drink plenty of water, try to get a little sleep, ransom does yoga at the fitness center on wednesdays you should join him, take a break from baking to go over your flashcards, call me if you want me to quiz you on french i’m free for a bit, etc. etc. 

there’s one evening in particular where jack’s getting off the plane after a series of away games and ian’s listening to an upset voicemail from bittle and is visibly upset himself.

and jack can hear him saying something like “eric, please talk to me... can i come down tomorrow? i think we need to talk.”

and, still visibly upset, ian gets in his car to go home and jack gets in his to do the same but he- he can’t stop thinking about bittle. bittle never gets upset enough about anything to call someone. ever. 

so jack “110% even at friendship” zimmermann speeds up to samwell and sneaks into the (unlocked) haus, dripping wet, and knocks quietly on bittle’s door. 

and bittle is fucking floored and jack’s only real explanation was “ian said you were upset about something” and he’s absolutely tackled into a full-on bittle bear hug. (tiny bear hug. koala bear hug)

(and lord is jack making it hard not to be in love with him.)

he still crashes in bittle bed that night, in a pair of holster’s sweatpants bittle stole from the laundry, and bittle doesn’t tell him specifically what’s wrong but he cries a little, mostly over jack being there, and falls asleep with his head on jack’s shoulder so jack thinks he probably did something right. 

and  then. 

and then. 

he and bittle are hanging out one evening not long after that and there’s a knock on the door and it’s ian and, okay, jack likes the guy, he’s a team player and works really hard, even if he isn’t the most skilled rookie, but this is jack’s time with bittle, why is he here? 

but bittle suddenly has this really nervous look on his face and ian is practically shaking and they sit down on the couch next to jack and ian says, “s-so, um, jack. me and eric- we’re um. we’re dating. have been for a while. we wanted you to be the first to know, knew we could trust you with this.” 

and OH. jack’s sort of thrown for a loop, so it takes him a minute to respond, and ian’s getting paler and paler and bittle looks like he’s going to bite through his own lip and jack manages to say something supportive and bland, just to get bittle to smile in relief. 

and he is supportive. he’s always been supportive of bittle’s dating misadventures. and he understands why they’ve kept it a secret it all semester, even if it’s clearly the thing that upset bittle so much. 

but he’s also jealous. and it’s pretty hard to deny any more. but ian’s a decent dude and clearly cares about bittle so jack tries to tamp down those ugly feelings and claps them both on the back and thanks them for trusting him.

ian chooses not to come out to any other falcs only george. he’s mostly friends with the other rookies and they’re all young and cocky and...well, the ones making most of the questionable jokes in the locker room. 

(i imagine there’s a fun moment when ian’s coming out to george where she’s all “oh, bittle? speedy little guy” and ian has no idea Why or How she knows that until he remembers that she would’ve watched his boyfriend’s tapes pretty closely while recruiting zimmboni)

(i also imagine a SUPER FUN moment when he comes out to her where he sort of chokes on his words and accidentally says “i’m dating zimmermann...’s friend, eric” and for a terrifying second george has to prepare herself for two of her boys dating each other)

and because ian doesn’t know the samwell crew, bittle doesn’t tell them about it at all. jack is his only friend with whom he can talk about ian. 

so jack hears it all, the good, the bad. (luckily, not the gory details. southern gentlemen do not [REDACTED] and tell)

in the spring, things seem to get worse between ian and bittle. they’re both busier and there’s a lot of phone tag and missed connections and jack can see ian getting visibly frustrated with it. there are a few times he sees ian, when they’re out with the guys, straight-up declining bittle’s calls. 

he tries to stay out of it. jack’s an adult, he doesn’t meddle or intervene in other people’s business. but. but. this is bittle. bittle’s happiness is more important to jack than almost anything. 

(and wow that’s a lot for a guy who only recently realized he wanted to be bittle’s secret NHL boyfriend. but he’s an all-in kind of guy.)

around february (valentine’s day??) they have two off days in a row and jack’s pretty exhausted so he opts to spend it on his couch with microwaved pad thai and netflix documentaries. that is, until there’s a knock on his door. 

and bittle’s there, tears on his cheeks, looking smaller and more vulnerable than jack’s ever seen him, babbling on and on incoherently. jack ushers him in and gets him tissues and a beer and manages to put together that ian broke up with bittle. 

(which??? what a fucking idiot??? who even does that?? he’s bittle???)

and jack more or less says that. “why would he break up with you?” he genuinely asks. “you’re amazing.” 

and bittle cries again and says something about the stress of hiding their relationship and not making their schedules line up and all jack can think is that if he had the chance with bittle, he’d do the fucking work to make that relationship solid, to make it work. he’s now rethinking his opinions on ian’s work ethic. 

and pretty much jack plies bittle with beer and microwaved food and television and lets him rest his head in jack’s lap and strokes his hair all evening and tells him he’s way too good for ian. 

(his mother was in a series of hit teen romances back in her day and jack maybe learned too much about dealing with boys and breakups from watching them as a child.)

part of jack thinks that this breakup will be the end of bittle coming down to providence every free weekend. but it isn’t, and he certainly doesn’t question it the next time bittle shows up at his place rambling on about wanting to check out a new patisserie downtown. 

they eat too much and wander around the city talking about everything. that evening they take out indian food for dinner and jack runs through flash cards with bittle, then drives him home in time to join a party going on in their living room. 

(jack crashes in bittle’s bed again. but it’s different, now that they’re both single and jack knows he’s in love. but it’s too soon and bittle probably not interested, so he falls asleep watching the rise and falls of bittle’s chest.)

things continue on like this all semester. sometimes jack brings tater to hang out at the haus. sometimes lardo comes with bittle to visit jack. luckily, ian isn’t a star player, so his name isn’t brought up too often around the haus to upset bittle (and how could it when there’s a literal shrine to mashkov being built in the living room, over the TV) 

so the falcs are playing [insert team] here during the cup play offs or whatever (lol they play hockey in this comic what?) and jack gets checked mega hard, real bad, there’s blood and shit, definitely a concussion, maybe broken ribs and all that jazz. bad enough that everyone takes a knee and jack’s taken to the hospital. 

(is that a thing in hockey? in lacrosse you gotta take a knee when someone’s really hurt but that sounds hard on skates idk)

ANYWAY jack’s out for the game (season?) and like he’s gonna be fine but there’s blood and bitty loses his shit

i’m talking, he’s fucking calling ian to make sure jack’s okay, ian whom he hasn’t spoken to since the breakup. luckily, they’re playing close by (providence? boston? idk how playoffs work, if they play in their home arenas or not) ANYWAY close enough that the samwell crew packs into holster’s mom-van and roadtrips to the hospital

they try to convince the nurses they’re jack’s family but like...no

shitty meets them there and is on the phone with bob, the only person who is at all calm because he knows these types of injuries well 

and george is in the lobby and she sees bittle and has heard enough from both jack and ian that she likes the kid and manages to get him back to see jack (without his loud and huge cohort, unfortunately)

and bits cries the moment he sees jack in that hospital bed, even though he’s totally fine, bittle, don’t worry about it, just some cracked ribs and a concu-

he’s cut off by bittle kissing him, more out of relief than anything, because if jack is chirping him then he’s not dying and before bittle can realize what he’s done jack is reaching up and pulling him back in, kissing him as soundly as one with a moderate to severe concussion can. 

and so since jack’s out for the rest of playoffs (and the falcs don’t make it much further without their lead scorer) he spends quite a bit of time, um, recuperating  in bittle’s bed at samwell, and then in providence as bittle finds a last minute internship there for the summer. 

so it starts about a year later, but it’s still the zimbits we know and love. but they’re a little more prepared. (jack has a fucking gameplan, based on everything that went wrong with ian. he’s got schedules for their skype dates. he’s ready to make this thing work forever)

(and it does.)

[krarchives]

Other assorted logs

These logs are unrelated to the previously posted message logs that detail specific days-- rather, these are miscellaneous messages sent between those dates. Names are bolded due to formatting being done differently than in previous uploads.

01/08/2017

[redacted]

Hey!

w/izard-merlin

Yo! Sent you a few messages on steam c:

01/10/2017

[redacted] sent a photo post Cover of an issue of Super M...

[redacted]

cute!!

w/izard-merlin

Oh

OH YES THIS IS

w/izard-merlin

[redacted] please get back soon

I really need to talk

01/28/2017

w/izard-merlin

Gah, just I'm super sorry for that. I really haven't been having a good time as of late, and with THAT DAY [Note: Valentine’s Day] coming up, I felt you'd probably not even want to be with me, which is most likely true but y'know... That and I sorta guess I got a little annoyed with this trade, knowing you've been doing other stuff in between? But y'know, can't win them all, must get boring, I imagine...

That and there's still a load of ambiguity about that MRI scan of mine, so I'm mildly worried about having cancer

So yes, I freaked out, but only because I feared you didn't care

w/izard-merlin

About me, that is

[redacted]

I always care about you, Merlin.

[redacted]

I was seriously concerned.

The night before... or whenever it was, I apologize if I sounded moody

w/izard-merlin

Of course

I just fear what's coming, is all

I'm never the kind of guy who gets attention from others so I always feel there may be something else going on

[redacted]

What do you think is going on?

I won't judge you.

I can promise you that I haven't said a word about me talking to you to anybody else.

w/izard-merlin

That's not my gripe

[redacted]

Joseph... you need attention. You need friends who care about you. Everyone does.

w/izard-merlin

Its just the fact that I can't trust people, I suppose

I always feel that when someone's being nice to me, they have some sort of ulterior motive

Personally? I blame my history with shitty people for that

But you can make of that whatever

w/izard-merlin

You know I feel a lot of people try and take advantage of me

[redacted]

There is nothing for me to take from you.

I genuinely enjoy your company, Joseph.

w/izard-merlin

I just have my suspicions about people who treat me nicely, is all

Especially considering my past with people who have been nice to me, and then bit me in the ass

[redacted]

Who did that to you? :(

w/izard-merlin

[Redacted for privacy. This was a sensitive subject and was unrelated to his friends.]

[redacted]

I was aware... regardless, I'm so, so sorry....

w/izard-merlin

Thats why I find it hard to trust people

w/izard-merlin

And its why I'm an incredibly emotional person

So I'm sorry for upsetting you, but I can't help it

[redacted]

You didn't upset me... I was just very confused.

w/izard-merlin

Why so?

[redacted]

Just... seeing you off my friends list out of the blue.

After you requested one last thing.

w/izard-merlin

Did you get none of the messages afterwards?

w/izard-merlin

They explained why I was doing what I was doing

[redacted]

No... I didn't get them.

w/izard-merlin

Well, my final request of you was to enjoy the music I had made for you as our part of the trade

[redacted]

Would you like to see muffet? [A picture I had been drawing for him.]

w/izard-merlin

I'm fine, don't worry about finishing it

Just enjoy the music I made for you

[redacted]

I'm going to finish it

I can't keep not finishing stuff [Note: This wasn’t finished because of the events of 2/4 cutting communication. ]

w/izard-merlin

Well, if you're planning on doing so, don't do it because its for me

[URL removed]

w/izard-merlin

Go ahead and listen to it

[redacted]

I can't, I feel too guilty

w/izard-merlin

How come?

w/izard-merlin

[redacted]?

[redacted]

I'm sorry, I had to help my mom with something.

I didn't earn the right to hear it

w/izard-merlin

No trouble, and well...

That doesn't matter

Go ahead, please

[redacted]

Why do you want me to hear it?

Do you want my feedback?

w/izard-merlin

Because I want you to enjoy it?

w/izard-merlin

As far as I'm concerned, and other friends are concerned, this is a completed piece

I just really, really want you to listen to it

[redacted]

... If you insist.

w/izard-merlin

Trust me, it's going to be amazing

w/izard-merlin

Tell me what you think!

[redacted]

Good god...

Joseph... it's beautiful.

Look, I don't want to sound cheesy. I really don't. It sounds cliche as heck.

But there was a tear in my eye.

It's beautiful. [ Note: This sounds very cheesy reading back, but it was true! Merlin did a great job composing this track. ]

[redacted]

I love the ending, where... ah, what's the music term....

it just gets higher and higher in pitch?

It sounded wonderful.

w/izard-merlin

Crescendo?

[redacted]

Yes.

That's the name for it? It's very pretty.

The tune of it... that kept getting repeated over and over again... it was very, very nice.

w/izard-merlin

Most of the terminology for music is Latin and Italian

[redacted]

Is that so?

w/izard-merlin

Indeed! Most of the stuff relating to tempo, at least

w/izard-merlin

Or... melody, rather

[redacted]

What's a cadence? It seems like a popular name for girls related to music

w/izard-merlin

Its basically a bunch of chords strung together at the end of a piece of music!

And then you've got plagal, or perfect cadences

Plagal cadences are typically the kind of ones you get at the end of church hymns

Its commonly referred to as the "amen" cadence, for that reason

Its used to give something a soft close

w/izard-merlin

But yes, I'm rather happy you enjoyed this

I do feel I captured you rather well in this? Gave it a rather... Homestuck-y tone

[redacted]

You seem to know a lot about music!

[redacted]

And yes... no wonder it had a vibe of familiarity!

w/izard-merlin

I mean, I've been at it for... a whole decade, now

The rabbit hole goes ever deeper

w/izard-merlin

I'm glad you like it, though

Like, I really am

Bet you're glad to have listened to it noooow~

[redacted]

You've been in to making music for a decade?

w/izard-merlin

Well, music as a whole, rather

I got my first guitar when I was 8

[redacted]

It was gorgeous, Joseph. I'm going to keep the file in a special spot so I can always find it easily.

[redacted]

Awww, really?

You can play guitar

w/izard-merlin

Ayup!

And well, yeah! It'd be stupidly hard to teach myself all this terminology without any sort of previous instrumental knowledge

And of course! Where will it reside?

[redacted]

Probably on my desktop, hehe

w/izard-merlin

D'aww

Thank you!

[redacted]

Do you own any other instruments?

w/izard-merlin

Yup!

w/izard-merlin

I've got a really nice Taylor 214ce

And then y'know

A Yamaha keyboard ;w;

[redacted]

Oh wow

w/izard-merlin

And then my ukulele... Somewhere?

[redacted]

Ahh! How cute!

w/izard-merlin

I bought a cheap one to learn a few songs and never picked it up again

Their use is VERY niche in comparison to other instruments

[redacted]

That's true. Can't throw a ukulele in the middle of many songs

w/izard-merlin

Unless its like

w/izard-merlin

Cheesy jokey stuff

Which is fun

I really must find it

w/izard-merlin

But either way, acoustic guitar is where its at

[redacted]

Guitars always sound so nice.

w/izard-merlin

They doooo

[redacted]

Is that your favorite instrument?

w/izard-merlin

[URL removed]

Here's the one I own

And well, yes it is!

[redacted]

Goodness, it's beautiful!

Say...

Have you ever made a theme for YOU?

w/izard-merlin

Nope!

I... Probably should

Just not sure where I'd even start with it

I can read people better than myself ;w;

[redacted]

I can't help but imagine something that has an atmosphere of magic in it

w/izard-merlin

Any sort of genre?

w/izard-merlin

[redacted]?

[redacted]

Yes?

Sorry, sorry

Hm...

I can't think of anything.

w/izard-merlin

Ahh, okay!

Well, I shall keep it on the backburner

w/izard-merlin

Gonna shoot you a friend request on steam, hope you dont mind

[redacted]

Okay!

w/izard-merlin

Done, and done

[redacted]

Also, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snzjXp6fbrI&t=97s

[ Note: URL kept bc its just an undertale song ]

[redacted]

Something like this without the really ominous part

w/izard-merlin

Ooooh

That could work!

[redacted]

I don't know how a guitar could be thrown in to that

w/izard-merlin

Once you've accepted my friend request I need to gush about the Undertale OST

[redacted]

Accepted!

[litrionic]

You don’t only have to be thankful for whatever material possessions you have and the people around you on Thanksgiving Day. You don’t have to wait until Valentine’s Day to tell someone how much you love and care for them. Some people make it their mission to change and safe lives every day. One of those people to me was my Positive Psychology teacher, @aimee.chevalier.msd. I was so skeptical at first at her bizarre and different approach for our syllabus, which she made out of her own syllabuses from her major courses at Penn State. I hated the thought of not having tests as an evaluation method and instead having to do what I thought were silly things like a positivity journal, which we were to keep for an entire 21 days (the time it takes a person to adopt a new habit). Aimee, I must confess, I didn’t write on my journal a single time. In fact I kept mental notes on good things that happened throughout the day and why it happened to me, which is definitely not what we were specifically instructed to do on our first day of class. I lied my butt off on the Reflective Essay and how the experience “changed me.” By the way, redacting our syllabus adapted from ones you yourself completed and successfully coursed in the past, was brilliant. Yet what made me realize that Positive Psychology was definitely going to be one of my favorite classes in my entire formation as a clinical psychologist was the fact that you not only came up with a program of your own, but you printed out colored, detailed copies of the syllabus and it’s respective assignments. You handed them out and I absolutely loved it! I couldn’t believe it, my OCPD traits and my perfectionist side were completely and utterly ecstatic! Here I am, two whole months later, keeping a gratitude journal just because. Well, not just because, but because I’ve been having such beautiful, fulfilling days lately that I want to record all of it as often as possible, in order to sit down and reflect on it in the future when things aren’t going so well. It’s bound to happen, bad days are inevitable. But deciding that you can sit down, count your blessings, be thankful for them, and realize that you are an immeasurably important human being who is worthy of all good things out there, is up to you. “No one is coming. Prince Charming isn’t coming, the perfect job, the perfect family, or the perfect house aren’t arriving on their own. It’s no one’s job to take charge of your own happiness. It’s only yours. And that autonomy is beautiful.” Back then, those words hurt so much I became a Positive Psychology grinch and I would refute absolutely everything we discussed. I grudgingly became that narcissistic know-it-all who didn’t buy a single “cheap, Disney-Princess-Film-Theory” I was being taught with so much love and passion. Yet today, that same love, passion and altruistic nature have made me a believer. Now every single time I have the chance to read or talk to someone about PERMA and Martin Seligman, and grit, and resilience, I start preachin’! Aimee, you’ve preached to the converted. Thank you, it was an honor being your student and I hope to be able to work with you in the future. With Love, The Grinch who turned into the Santa Claus of Positive Psychology, Carlina De los Santos