#i will never forget their scenes together

[storm-and-starlight]

I would also understand it as being on a technical level -- the difference between "failed" and "wrote it badly" isn't so much about their ability to thoughtfully discuss Big Important Themes, and more about plain skill level.

For example: an author wants to write an enemies-to-lovers romance novel, does so, and it's a complete flop. There are two possible reasons:

Reason one: this story is not a romance. The characters may be well-written and complex and believably traumatized and have wonderfully entertaining interactions, but they never once seem to even so much as find the other useful to be around, much less like the other's company enough to fall in love with them. For 95% of the plot they visibly, vocally hate each other, and then at the end they kiss and get married and all the other characters go "ah isn't this romantic". This is a "bad story" because it failed to tell the story it was trying to tell. The author wanted to tell a romance and did not do that.

Reason two: this story is badly written. It is a romance, yes, it ticks all the boxes and hits all the plot points and the characters go on a perfectly charted arc from enemies to lovers, but the writing is just plain bad. The characters are flat and uninteresting, the prose is hard to read, the setting is generic, the plot is stupid. This is a "bad story" because it told the story it wanted to tell but told it badly. The author wanted to tell a romance and did in fact do that, but it's still badly done.

And yes, the line is easy to blur between "what counts as good writing that isn't doing what it wants to do" and "what counts as bad writing" is easy to blur -- the example I was thinking of coming up with this is actually something I can't entirely categorize -- but I personally would use this framework to determine if something is genuinely badly written or if the author just didn't do what they said they were going to do.

thinking about how the world would be better if more people understood the differences between 'the author failed to tell the story they wanted to tell' and 'the author told the story they wanted to tell, but they told it badly' and 'the author told the story they wanted to, and they told it well, but it wasn't the story I wanted to read'

[gojoscinnamonroll]

i wish i could forget what you did last december...

cw: sukuna angst, no comfort, mentions of death & infidelity, sfw

it was december 23rd, and you were laying in bed moping over your first love, ryomen sukuna. it had been a year since you and your ex had called it quits, and it doesn't help that you've known the stubborn and selfish boy your whole life.

the two of you had always been inseparable since a young age despite your differences. he first came up to you at the park at the age of 5 when you were bawling your eyes out because your doll had broken it’s arm and offered you his robot toy. "tch. stop crying and take this, have it. you shouldn't cry, it makes you look weak." the bratty little boy extending an arm out to you to hand you the toy. "what are you playing anyway?" sniffling and taking the robot from his hands, you gave him a toothy grin telling him how you were playing castle.

and since that moment, the two of you were always together everywhere. all through out the school years and even into university. always at each other's houses every weekend and sometimes, for days on end. and when the holiday season came around every year? you two were practically attached at the hip. christmas was never really his thing— mostly because he didn’t understand what a big deal it was, but he knew how special it was to you so he was always by your side to celebrate with and for you. along the way, maybe sometime during one of the many decembers spent together over the years, you both had realized the feelings for each other were deeper than you both thought. however, the romantic feelings grown for each other always ended up being suppressed due to one factor— fear.

when sukuna had lost his parents during his third year, it was hard on him and it took a toll on him mentally. he had basically moved in with your family. taking care of him, giving him a place to stay, and giving him comfort. for that, (though he would never say it) he was eternally grateful but he lived in terror of letting you know his true feelings for you because he thought that in this sick and twisted world, if he was loud about what he loved, the world would take that away.

eventually, sukuna did overcome his worry for his love for you, confessing how he felt at a temple in the winter and was just as relieved when you admitted your mutual warmness for him. your relationship with him began blossoming beautifully, healing him from the pain and darkness he was fighting prior, and as if you two weren't already entwined enough, it was increased tenfold.

"we belong together. you know that? you are not to ever leave me woman. i would not know this thing called life without you.” leaving a kiss on your forehead as he embraced you. "yeah yeah, think we knew that from the start when you gave me your robot toy when you were a bratty little kid." you giggled as you hugged him tighter and he rolls his eyes hiding the slight blush on his cheeks.

until one night when attending a christmas eve party, you got up to grab another drink and came back to a scene that shattered your heart into pieces just like the glass that slipped from your hand... he was kissing somebody else??? arms around the other like nothing?? "i- i don't understand? did he just forget about me? w-what.." your heart and mind racing a million thoughts at once, but you did know one thing for sure... to get the hell out of there. you grabbed your stuff, tears falling from your eyes uncontrollably as you called a friend to come pick you up and take you home since he was the one that drove and you were already a few drinks in.

when you got home, you didn't even bother to call or text him because of all the sadness and rage you were spewing out. you were also a very emotional person, so you knew speaking to him in this state of mind was going to get you nowhere. drained from all the events of the night, you passed out on your bed and woke up the next morning with 50 missed calls, 20 text messages from sukuna and a knock on the door of your apartment. you opened the door automatically knowing who it was and told him, “it’s over ryomen. you can have her. don’t ever contact me again. forget about me. we clearly don’t belong together.” he tried to hold the door open with force to prevent you from closing it, in hopes you would hear him out. "listen, it was a mistake, you have to hear me-" you cut him off. "go away. i don't want to hear what lame made-up, kiss butt, sorry excuse you got." you said coldly and slammed the door in his face, all the memories from the night prior replaying in your mind as you sobbed on your cold floor.

it was difficult for the two of you to deal with. not only because it was over between you and your boyfriend, but also because it was the end of a friendship with your best friend that you’ve known since forever. you struggled with accepting it was true but you knew you should’ve also known better because he was a mess. a beautiful one at that, one that only you could understand. difficult for him because he thought that the universe and world was being cruel to him all over again for taking what he loved the most and what all he’s ever known away from him again. but maybe it was time for the two of you to go your own ways and discover that maybe there was more to this world than just the two of you.

so once you’ve finally came around to that conclusion, deciding maybe it was time to start seeing other people and probably give your heart to someone else, find somebody special who is not him, hoping it would save you from tears and more heartache. you tried it. over and over. but nobody could ever get you or know you like he did. so you just gave up. and you hated it even more that this had happened during your favorite holiday which sukuna knew it was.

which brings you to where you are now, wondering how sukuna is doing even though you knew you shouldn’t. you couldn’t help it no matter how hard you tried. after all, he was your soulmate, your childhood best friend, the one who helped you through it all. as you lay on your bed staring at the lights of your christmas tree, deep in thought, you shed a few burning tears as you cried out, “damn it ryo, why the hell did you have to ruin everything last december, you know this is the time of year we are supposed to do everything together. you broke my heart with no warning, left me a freaking mess, you-“

you hear a knock on your door and wiped your tears away with your sweater sleeve as you sat up in your bed. “who could be out there in the middle of a snowstorm right now??” you thought as you open the door to see him standing before you. “apologies for pestering you at a time like this. mind if i come in?”

likes + reblogs appreciated <3 please don't steal/copy/modify my works!

[starrieisdelusional]

How the Paopu Fruit Relates to Sora and Riku

a Soriku Endgame analysis

This is part of my soriku endgame analysis series, a series where i'll try to dissect all of the arguments made about soriku, and what it means for future installments. In part 1, we will discuss about how the paopu fruit relates to sora and riku.

This started out as screaming at soriku twitter, and when i finally connected the dots, i can't help but make an analysis about it because i haven't really seen any blogs that discuss about the paopu fruit + soriku in depth.

I assumed you have somewhat a prior knowledge of soriku as I'll be taking a lot of arguments from theories and deep dives. I'll try to make this as brief as possible and try to make this easy to read for all of us who have ADHD (me).

But if you want the short version:

From the evidence given, the paopu fruit is a symbolism for riku-sora-kairi love triangle. However, this analysis argues that the context of the paopu fruit for sokai is platonic, while for soriku it is romantic.

Because of this, i believe that one day, soriku will share 1 paopu fruit with each other as sora's final answer to the love triangle.

With that being said, let's finally talk about the paopu fruit

Start of Theory

paopu in a platonic context

The paopu fruit, is a fruit that intertwines destiny if two person decides to share it. Kind of like a soulmate cheat.

" Selphie: Hey, Sora. Have you heard about the legendary power of the paopu fruit? They say if you share it with someone you really care for, it binds you together forever and ever, through eternity! (sighs) It's so romantic. I gotta try it sometime. "

The paopu fruit has somewhat been considered as the series staple for romance. However the paopu can be viewed as romantic or platonic depending on the situation. Kingdom Hearts never said that paopu is meant to be romantic-only.

An example of paopu being platonic, is when it was used by Aqua to metaphorically describe the wayfinder charm, that binds Terra-Ventus-Aqua together, just like how the paopu works.

Aqua: Somewhere out there, there's this tree with star-shaped fruit... and the fruit represents an unbreakable connection. So as long as you and your friends carry good luck charms shaped like it, nothing can ever drive you apart. You’ll always find your way back to each other. Technically, I think you’re supposed to make them with seashells, but I did the best I could with what I had.

important keywords

The paopu fruit is related to a few things which includes:

Desitny: a fruit that binds destiny (or fate)

Star: The paopu fruit is in the shape of a star, which can also symbolize destiny.

Promise: a reminder of the promise that you made with that person you share your destiny with

A good luck charm: to ensure that no matter what, you won’t ever be separated, because your destinies are intertwined

Sea: a fruit that is native to Destiny Islands, that can be replicated by thalassa shells to make a good luck charm

kairi's relation to paopu fruit

At face value, the fruit is obviously related to Kairi, given how Kairi’s character is related to destiny, the star symbol, a promise, a good luck charm, and her name that translates to sea (海). Further elaboration of kairi's relation to the fruit:

Kairi came to destiny island by a meteor shower (or shooting stars)

Sora and Kairi’s cave drawing (star crossed lovers)

Oathkeeper (the blade is the shape of a star) or 約束のお守り Yakusoku no Omamori Promise Charm

Destiny’s Embrace (the keychain is a paopu)

Thalassa Shell Charm (in the shape of a star)

Separation and the promise never forget

Wayfinder Trio (owns a charm inspired by the thalassa (star) and came from outside of Destiny Island)

And finally, does the act of sharing the paopu fruit with sora in kh3

sokai kh3 mistranslation scene

sora-kairi's relationship in the lens of a paopu fruit is considered to be platonic with the argument: The act of sharing the paopu between kairi and sora in kh3 if you take the scene in a japanese lense:

it is kairi who initiates the thing

if anything, Sora looks so taken aback when kairi shoved the fruit in front of his face (he was looking at riku), but calms down once Kairi assures him that this is just a good luck charm to ensure that they wont be separated in battle

TR What’s R*ku doing all by himself?; TR Here!

Serves as a wrap up to sora and kairi’s arc as the realization of sokai's cave drawing

There’s even a version where this doesn’t exist at all?! (based on an interview done with their VAs, nomura made them take two takes, one with paopu, one not with paopu)

speaking romantically, if this is considered as their tie the knot scene it feels like it came out of no where because why didn't they just follow it up after kh1? why wait about 20 years to do it when there's multiple instances to develop sokai's relationship over the years aside from good luck charm

Serves as a wrap up to sora and kairi’s arc as the realization of sokai's cave drawing

There’s even a version where this doesn’t exist at all?! (based on an interview done with their VAs, nomura made them take two takes, one with paopu, one not with paopu)

speaking romantically, if this is considered as their tie the knot scene it feels like it came out of no where because why didn't they just follow it up after kh1? why wait about 20 years to do it when there's multiple instances to develop sokai's relationship over the years aside from good luck charm

if you squint, the legend says when the person shares 1 paopu fruit, so why does sora and kairi shares 2 here?

the thalassa, the crown, and the paopu

Now, going back to kairi's strong relationship with the paopu. (Notice how i say kairi's strong relationship with the paopu? ) There are multiple instances of the paopu being related to just kairi, when sora is not present (see kairi's relation to paopu fruit above) Therefore, the paopu fruit is more of a representation of KAIRI ALONE, not sora and kairi.

If anything, SORA AND KAIRI is represented more by the variant of the paopu: the thalassa charm, that is unique to sora and kairi only, as the only time the thalassa shell appears is if a scene involves Sora, Kairi, Xion, and Roxas.

Which parallels SORA AND RIKU crown necklace 'good luck charm', that is exclusively unique to them (necklace theory). Which is why Oathkeeper has the thalassa charm, not a paopu fruit.

Unlike how the paopu fruit is treated (pluck, eat/throw), both the thalassa shell (that came from the sea) and the kingdom crown (that came from land, riku 陸 shore) has been carefully and uniquely modified to sora.

The paopu fruit also grows exclusively on destiny islands, on a beach, near the shores where water and land met. And unlike the thalassa shells and kingdom crown that can be made on their own area, paopu fruit cannot exist without water and land.

Both the thalassa shells and kingdom crown are either rarely appears or never mentioned (like at all...) outside of SORA AND KAIRI and SORA AND RIKU, the paopu fruit is used more frequently, appearing everywhere, anywhere, and is used by every person in the game... including riku.

See what I'm getting here? Paopu fruit is the embodiment of riku-sora-kairi love triangle. Not a symbol for Sora and Kairi. It is important to also note that the paopu's dynamic only reflects

riku->sora and kairi->sora.

Namine's fake charm also contributed to this (if we are going by the believe that she's trying to insert herself to kairi and riku's messy love triangle, pls necklace theory and aitsu). Namine turns sokai's thalassa charm into a fake paopu fruit. So this charm became a mutant variation of Kairi's thalassa and Riku's crown.

And now where I'll back up aitsu and necklace theory: Again the form that came up is a paopu fruit. if we were to delete those theories into our narrative (meaning that namine is only inserting herself as kairi), it does not make sense, because why would she conjured up a paopu that has a messy relation with sokai?? why not a variant of a thalassa shell?? why not a drawing? a painting? why the paopu specifically? where no one else can be involved other than riku->sora?

riku's relation to paopu fruit

Unlike kairi, the use of paopu fruit with riku is almost to none (which is probably the reason why no one had really talked in-depth about this) so here are a few instances that it appears:

Terra and Aqua just so happen to find SORA AND RIKU on Destiny Islands after interacting with paopu fruit back in BBS

Riku 'teasing' Sora about who gets to share the paopu with Kairi

Sora and Repliku's fake paopu charm

GaybladeTM COMBINED: Isn't it odd that the key chain turns to paopu fruit when sora and riku combine their hearts together?? even though Kairi had 0 thing to do with it?? Even though this is an exclusive SORA AND RIKU thing? Even though we agreed that the paopu rarely ever appeared alongside riku?

*presence of kingdom crown

Note that all of the instances that i've jotted down, always rarely occurred, and has only been present.... when SORA AND RIKU are around.

One reason alludes that paopu only appears whenever soriku are in sync, another is because of riku's forgotten VOW (chikai) (see necklace theory, chikai & don't think twice, to sum it up chikai or vow is riku's version of kairi's promise (yakusoku), chikai in another context is the kh3 music that came from riku POV to sora).

A third is because Riku is the opposite of paopu, his whole identity defies destiny. He is an oathbreaker (opposite of kairi's Oathkeeper). He litterally destroys destiny island, altering sora and kairi's fates. The opposite of sea...

So following that logic, the paopu should be viewed as romantic when viewing Riku->Sora

soriku and the paopu

we finally arrived to the final chapter of my lengthy analysis. so, how does this affect soriku in future installments?

i believe that one day, soriku will (either in KH5 or KH4) share 1 paopu fruit with each-other, and it will be Sora who offers the fruit to riku as his final say to the triangle. The reasons why are:

a nod to kairi who initiates the offer to sora in kh3, with sokai's case, sora is technically the first who propose the fruit via cave drawing that he done in secret at the beginning of KH1. It wasn't actually until the end of the game that kairi saw that drawing and realized: WOW! Sora wanted to share the fruit, with ME??? (because the drawing is hidden in a cave...?)

this parallels to how Riku 'jokingly', not so smoothly, try to rizz Sora at the beginning of KH1 (nearly identical timelines) and basically try to trap sora into sharing the paopu with him. Notice that in this period, soriku still aren't 100% in sync and are still dancing around / masking their feelings for the other(it isn't until kh2 that they started to re-bonded, being more affectionate and honest)

that scene is also an interpretation of how paopu should be viewed as romantic (following riku->sora = paopu romantic), notice how i always stressed riku->sora, kairi->sora, and never kairi<-sora, riku<-sora?

despite being the center of it all, sora's relationship with the paopu fruit is neutral to say, not really leaning torwards one or the other (maybe kairi but it slowly changes)

it's Sora's final answer to riku-sora-kairi love triangle war that had been going on for 20 years, sora had already rejected kairi's romantic advances, choosing to stay as friends, a slot for a gf is still available....

i have a theory this is soriku leaning because sora had been abusing the power of waking that he got to mess with reality, (check sleeping realm) so now he's leaning on the defier-of-destiny side

soriku sharing ONE NOT TWO fruit to finally do the legend as intended, because in sokai's beta-testing (the cave drawing), it's sora give kairi, kairi give sora.

Meanwhile in soriku's beta testing ('riku's pathetic attempt at rizzing')

riku: *yeets the fruit to sora*

sora: *throws fruit away*

(sokai 2 fruits soriku 1 fruit, sokai 2 fruits soriku 1 fruit, sokai 2 soriku 1, SOKAI 2 SORIKU 1)

THE END!!!!

Okay we have actually reach the end!!! great job sorikus!! tysm for listening to my ted-talk!! i hope you like it

[lostsyren]

𓇢𓆸 eulogy

{a/n: sorry I’ve been behind on asks and requests and I’m also working on chapter 6 of eternal! i just wrote this for fun– sofia’s perspective is so special to me!}

{summary: a look into sofia’s mind and some more context on the spreading ashes scene in s4 ep1}

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They’d been together for eighteen months now and Sofia had fallen in love with Rafe. It wasn’t hard– he was sweet-talking and debonair, whisking her away from the mundanity of pogue life.

But it was hard not to hear the whispers that slithered through Kildare.

…Rafe’s got a screw loose…That whole family’s bad news…If his daddy’s a murderer it’s not hard to believe the boys got something wrong with him…

Even her own family were skeptical of their relationship.

He’s a kook mija– don’t forget how they look down at us

Sofia was wary, of course she was. It was all about self-preservation on this island– survival of the richest and most ruthless. But this thing she had with Rafe was never meant to be anything serious.

Yes, it was true she felt enamoured by him, allured by his cerulean eyes and tall frame. But that wasn’t what enticed her the most about the Cameron boy– it was his kindness, surprisingly.

The way he’d always be respectful at the bar, his attempts at flirting never crude, drew her to him. His proclivity for always asking is she was fine (You good? Everything alright? You okay?) made her heart soar. This couldn’t be the same Rafe who all the rumours were about…right? And soon that’s all they were to her– salacious, fallacious rumours.

She had a protectiveness over him. Whenever she’d hear people talk badly of him at the club, propagating these rumours, she’d always mess up their drinks on purpose, a silent fuck you to those two-faced kooks– she was never good at confrontation.

Their relationship had been fun. The sex was too. He’d always ask her to tag along with him everywhere. Sofia eventually figured out he was quite lonely. Once she got past the cocky, womanising persona, Rafe Cameron was soft…and that just made her love for him stronger.

Today he’d invited her out on his new boat, so she threw on her bikini and headed down to his house.

She made her way over to the back garden where they were going to sail the boat from the marsh.

“Hey baby,” she said with a smile, seeing him waiting for her in the lounge chair.

Rafe smiled at her back, but it was reticent and wan.

“Hey Sof,” he stood up walking over to meet her, his hand sliding around her hip and pulling her into a quick kiss. She noticed he lingered in their hug longer than he usually did.

“Shall we head out then?” Sofia probed. She wondered what was up with Rafe– there was something clearly ailing him.

“Before we do, I need to ask you something.” He ran a palm across the back of neck, his eye contact wavering.

Sofia’s smile faded, pupils contracting in worry, “is everything ok?”

“Uhm no. Not really,” he rasped, voice pained.

Sofia’s eyebrows furrowed, taking a quick step toward him, her fingers wrapping around his wrist, rubbing consoling circles into his skin, “what happened?”

“I got the ashes back today…you know, after my dad’s cremation. I wanted to spread them over the water, down by the lighthouse– could you come with me?” His words were coarse, as if his throat was encircled with barbed wire.

“Oh Rafe,” Sofia’s heart broke for him. He’d told her about his dad before– she knew how much he meant to him to him, “of course I’ll come with you

“Thank you…I appreciate it. I wanted to ask over the phone but couldn’t get the words out.”

“It’s ok, I’m here now.” She offered him a small smile, which he reciprocated, eyes glassy with unshed tears.

They made their way silently to the boat.

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The waves were tumultuous and the wind was strong, lulling the small boat back and forth in a rhythmic undulation.

Sofia stood quietly behind Rafe, her hair whipping around her face like slippery ribbons carried by the breeze, while he held the urn with a steady hand, scattering the ashes over the sun soaked water, the waves scintillating blue and gold.

“Dad did everything for us and he was found at the bottom of the cliff just left there like a piece of trash,” he said with a muted rage. Sofia could sense the hot rays of anger that radiated off of him, mixed with a potent grief. She glanced down in respect, listening to Rafe’s eulogy as she held her hands in front of herself, meekly upholding this funeral service.

She waited a moment, as Rafe dispersed the ashes with a strong right hand.

“I’m so sorry Rafe.” Her words were sincere. She’d always felt deeply, her empathy sometimes soul-crushing. Seeing Rafe so broken, so grief-stricken made her heart hurt for him– as if it was her own father who’d passed away. She tried to suppress her tears, inhaling a short, sharp breath.

Rafe’s face crumpled, the rage giving way to sorrow, “I won’t forget you,” he lamented, throwing the final scoop of ashes into the ocean, before he placed the empty urn down and turned to her, his head bowed and eyes wet.

Sofia sighed, face etched in sympathy as more tears rolled down her cheeks for him. She opened her arms for Rafe as he pressed his face into the crook of her neck, silently sobbing against her skin.

Sofia rubbed his terse shoulders, the waves rocking them gently as they embraced, Rafe’s cries soon dwindling into croaks.

He moved away from her, his hands still wrapped around her body, as if she was his anchor, grounding him, preventing him from drowning in a sea of anguish and fury.

“We can head back now, if you want?” He suggested, sniffing away his sobs. Rafe’s eyes were red, mouth still stark with a frown.

“No…it’s ok. Let’s stay for a while,” Sofia let her hands melt away from his shoulders, her fingers finding purchase across the planes of his face as she gently wiped away his tears.

“You sure?”

“I’m sure, you can tell me more about him, I’d love to listen…only if you want to.”

“I’d like that…thank you Sofia.”

She gave him a comforting smile, that was still imbued with a sadness she found hard to shake away.

It was Rafe’s turn to wipe away her tears, his calloused fingers lightly running across her brine-stained cheeks before he leaned down and kissed her forehead chastely.

“I love you,” he murmured against her sweet smelling hair.

Sofia let her eyes flutter close in this moment, “I love you too Rafe.”

They stayed on the boat until the waves started to roughen, Sofia leaning against Rafe’s chest, listening to the steady hum of his heart beat. He told her stories of his childhood and of his father, running a gentle hand up and down her body, gaze starting out at the line of the horizon.

It was instances like this that made Sofia forget about the macabre rumours tied to his name or the oppressive differences between pogues and kooks. In these moments she felt like Rafe showed her who he truly was– and for that she was grateful because it meant he could see her too.

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[angeleris-artist]

Eulogy from a fan

MCR has been my favourite band for 20 years now. Maybe I’m weird, but I love their music to the point where I have trouble just putting on one of their songs casually or placing one of their songs on a playlist with multiple artists. I like to listen to their albums in full, or at least have a rotation going specifically of just their vast and varied music. I adore just about all music, and they’re the only artist I do this with.

When I first fell in love with MCR—and I fell for them hard—they were a group of five: Gerard, Frank, Ray, Mikey, and Bob. 14-year-old me was absolutely crazy about all of them. I thought they were the coolest people in music, and any small piece of legit information about any of them got me so excited.

Before social media was standard, everything I learned about them I learned from interviews and performance footage. I’ve always remembered Bob as that silly and immensely talented blond guy in the group who was the only one not from New Jersey (Chicago). They did so many group interviews together, and behind-the-scenes music video specials for Fuse, and Bob was always smiling and laughing with the rest of them. They were clearly a family of many talents, and Bob got to finally showcase what he was capable of on The Black Parade.

There is no understating how memorable and standout the drums are on The Black Parade. I don’t know the technical terminology and I’m definitely not a music student, but the drums on that album hit me in the heart, especially on Welcome to the Black Parade. Bob clearly knew what he was doing, loved what he was doing, and as far as the rest of us know, the only reason he wasn’t with My Chemical Romance to the end was because of issues with his wrists.

I loved Bob’s work so much, I went to the trouble of learning which songs on Danger Days had kept his contributions; not surprisingly, they were all my favourites on the album (Na Na Na, Bulletproof Heart, The Only Hope for Me is You, Party Poison, and Save Yourself, I’ll Hold Them Back (my number one fav from DD)). I didn’t hear Conventional Weapons until after they’d broken up completely, but again every song was a banger and again Bob’s work was excellent.

I saw them live twice when Bob was in the band, but the only time I saw all five of them together on stage was in December 2005 (during their TBP tour, at least one of the band members was taking a break for health reasons when I saw them, but I don’t remember who). I’ll never forget how excited I was that first time I saw them, and I’ll never forget how much love I had for all five of them.

I’m not going to speculate about what happened. This is meant to be a respectful message about how much Bob meant to me as a fan during the height of MCR’s career. I’m writing all this knowing as much as the rest of the fan base about his passing, which isn’t much. I read that disgusting announcement by TMZ, same as all of you, and it made me so angry.

Within the first hour of the announcement of his passing, there were already (presumably AI-generated) compilation videos of Bob on YouTube. This is the only reason I’m not bothering to put a video together myself, I can’t compete with robots, so instead I’m here to say that Bob Bryar was and always will be one of the best drummers of the 2000s era of music, and whether you want him to be or not, he is iconic.

I was so sad when I heard he wasn’t in the band anymore, and I’m sad now. He deserved so much better, at the very least he deserved love and support, as we all do.

Rest In Peace Bob.

[luv-byers]

I think some ppl forget that byler not being endgame would be the greatest waste of time EVER, specially for Will’s arc. Now let me explain.

Ofc Will is one of the most (if not the most) complex character of the show, his connection to the upside down is essential for the plot and in s5 we’ll discover many more things. His character is not defined by his sexuality only, ofc, but it is an important thing, specifically if we’re talking about the 80’s. Which leads us to the main point of this post: his love interest.

Him being the only character who hasn’t had any love interest/crush, or that actually avoids talking about love is something that they remind us every season.

S1: didn’t care that the pretty girl (don’t remember her name srry) was crying at his funeral.

- also, foreshadowing that he might be gay (lonnie called him slurs, the bullies at school doing the same…)

S2: he didn’t want to dance with the girl at the SB

S3: “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls” “i’m not gonna fall in love…”

S4: “i think there’s someone he likes”

But we never get an actual answer. What we expect at the end of the show is seeing him with someone, to be in love, to show that he can also find someone to love just like everyone.

Him being gay adds more depth to his character, bc now we know why he wasn’t interested in girls at all, and also why he’s so scared to fall in love: bc it would be with a man, and he knows he wouldn’t be accepted.

The Duffers choosing Mike to be not only his love interest, but THE ONLY ONE, is a wild take. It’s not a simple crush.. it’s pure LOVE, he’s been in love for years. They could’ve chosen anyone, ANYONE, but they wanted Mike to play that part. Now tell me, why would they do that if it would be a simple “no, i dont like u back lmao, i care ab my gf” at the end? Why would they choose to waste 1 out of the 2 queer characters’ love story?

“It’s so vecna has something to torment him with” that’s one of the most stupid shit i’ve ever heard.

Vecna has plenty of things to torment him with: his ab*siv3 dad, the bullying he’s dealt with since he was a kid, everything he went through in the UD, him being gay, etc etc

They could’ve kept it platonic: will doesn’t want vecna to “tell” mike he’s gay bc that’s his best friend and he doesn’t want him to hate him for that. Or simply ANYONE ELSE. Mike didn’t have to be part of that trauma yk.

They could’ve added a character to be his love interest, maybe in s3, then a little scene with him in s4 to remind us that he’ll be present in s5 and then that’s it, happy ending.

Why did they choose to write mileven in such a poor way compared to other canon ships in the show, and on the other hand give us emotional, tender and intimate moments with byler if they didn’t intend to make them endgame?

When you make scenes be so easily misinterpreted you are not being clear. If mileven was clearly endgame there would be no “ship war”, bc it would be obvious. The reason why there are plenty of analysis and byler proof is bc they wanted us to notice those things. Bc guess what: if we have proof is bc there is something to prove.

They would’ve avoided any type of hint that could lead us to believe that Mike could be in love with him as well, or that he’s very queer coded.

Things like “the closet” (official soundtrack), the one way sign, him looking at will’s lips constantly, and other things, all that would be GONE.

Plus, they would wanna promote mileven and make us believe that they are THE main couple. For example, that final take? Why tf are will and mike together, alongside with other two canon couples, and then El at the front? Why isn’t Mike with her? They will defeat the evil with the power of love, right? They’ll be the powerful couple of the show… right? Doesn’t seem like it.

If Will gets rejected, not only everything they’ve been building since the beginning will be for absolutely NOTHING, but also things will be even WORSE than before.

Will, after getting rejected by Mike, will not be able to even look at him in the eyes. Not only he got rejected, not only Mike is his best friend, but also he’s a BOY. So, not only he confessed his feelings which “are not mutual” but also he just came out of the closet. How great is that? Even if they tried to play it cool afterwards I know that Will would be way too embarrassed to ignore it, so they would end up not talking to each other.

So not only they wasted a great part of Will’s character but also one of the main friendships of the show. All for what? To keep on going with mileven? To use a queer character’s feelings for their own good? After making so many people get bored of it or losing hope after season 4? After letting us see that she works better on herself without mike? What kind of shitty promo is this?

To sum up, byler/mike’s internalized homophobia would make Mike’s character even deeper and would explain some things that he’s done/said. If it wasn’t that and he was just being an idiot, then wow, they definitely nailed it……..

[cheesecake801]

Headcanons and rambling under cut

- Some of the sketches come from a random hc about Volkner being somewhat sensitive to blood ! It's not a strong hc or anything, I could also see him not minding that, especially in his Beating up Sunyshore's delinquants era from the anime aksksks, I sometimes forget about that, I really need to rewatch it !

Like there was this coffee shop owner (or like restaurant i don't remember precisely ?) that used to be a bad guy Volk and Flint beat back in the days, I don't know why I have never drawn him but that was a mistake. I loved that whole backstory thing haha, gotta remind myself to draw that one day ! And also draw Volk and Flint hanging out at his place ! And they could do that cool "The usual" thing when ordering 😂

- Also got this headcanon that Flint, as the careless/going head first type of guy, would be prone to get injured which is why he carries band-aids and a lot are pokemon themed (the idea came directly from seeing a coworker show off his dope pokemon themed band-aid, what a cool dude). He'd give the electrik pokemon ones to Volkner haha XD

- Btw I don't have any precise idea of how Volk and Luxray (formerly Shinx) met but I can imagine something related to Bad guys™. Maybe something like a lone wild shinx being wary of humans because he saw bad ones. Something something they fight bad guys together or Volk rescue him from bad ones or both something something Shinx respects a human for the 1st time in his life. Maybe also a scene when Shinx is injured and wouldn't let Volk come near even if that means biting/scratching but Volk wouldn't give up and eventually Shinx would let him help.....Man this makes me emotional 🥺 I'll let those ideas marinate some more

[ashcherryash]

Plus it felt like they were trying to get rid of Eddie as a character as quick as they could, while throwing in an excessive amount of plot threads they could use for spin-offs, all edited together poorly and paced horrendously. Never have I watched a movie that was that long and yet had that little actual plot and/or substance to it. How did they even do that? Don’t even get me started on the various plot hole messes and unfired Chekhov’s guns that never got addressed. And in the end they leave Eddie with literally nothing: his ex-fiancée is married to someone else now (and neither show up in this movie), he’s not doing journalism anymore it appears, he has a year long gap in his life because of a symbiote and being on the run, and the whole reason he was apparently going to New York in the first place (Spider-Man??) doesn’t even exist in this universe. There’s a mention of some judge he has dirt on that got him kicked out of New York, but why? For what? I don’t even know if I can go to the comics to get what’s going on there, and the movies are done so there’s no way I can figure that out from them. They literally left Eddie with nothing but memories, what is he supposed to do now? He literally has nothing but himself! It’s not even just an open ending where you can imagine what he’s going to do from what you’re given, you’re given nothing but a terrible montage set to Memories by Maroon 5 and a poorly framed shot where he says “I won’t forget you buddy” or something like that. What even?! This is so frustrating since Eddie Brock is such an important character to me (especially since reading the comics), and it really does seem like Cletus Kasady’s wishes (for him to forever be alone) came true, which is a really disappointing and crushing way to end things, and just generally dissatisfying, because what was all this for then? If he can just walk away alone again, unable to even talk about it, to try to take down some judge or something? What’s the point? Of course Venom and him could never last forever, Venom is literally an alien who has to eat brains to survive, butI would have preferred for us to be shown him figuring out his new life in a montage (rather than the Memories montage) so we could at least be left with an ending that felt like one. Hell, I would’ve even been fine with Eddie dying if they’d made it satisfying story wise, but instead they managed to ruin one of the few okay bits of the movie (the ending fight) by smashing together some empty feeling ending that just made me frustrated and confused to the point my tears of grief from the past scenes turned to tears of laughter and anger. How did they mess it up THAT BADLY?!

DO NOT WATCH VENOM THE LAST DANCE IT IS NOT WORTH IT I AM FULL OF PAIN AND REGRET. HOW DID THEY MESS IT UP THAT BADLY. HOW. AN IMPRESSIVELY BAD JOB. WHAT EVEN WAS THAT. AND NO IM NOT JUST MAD ABOUT CERTAIN THINGS THAT OCCURRED AT THE END (SPOILERS) LIKE THE WHOLE FILM IS JUST SO PERPLEXING TO ME WTF HAPPENED.

[elvisqueso]

— "...What do you say to a tree??"

Pocahontas (1995)

Bonus:

[hyohaehyuk]

Jacob Anderson on working with Sam Reid

via ImmortalUniFan and pookiedpdl

Video: Taylor Swift's Midnights is Good But Not Essential | Keep It Podcast (it have a few guests besides Jacob)

✅ Jacob calling Sam his partner in crime and saying he feels so lucky that he got to spend every day with him ✅ Jacob says Sam’s hair has grown out and sometimes it’s a little bit alarming (“Sam, are you in there?”) but he ties it up and it looks cool

[deus-ex-mona]

when the slowburn makes the ship extra cute~~~

[softquietsteadylove]

It’s time to read more about tomb raider! Let them meet again after the almost drowning incident and let there be teamwork fighting against a group of treasure hunters! :D

"Will you stop?!"

Thena - surprisingly - stopped squirming behind his back against her own binds. Her chair stopped rattling against the floor as she stilled. She huffed. "I'm sorry, were you trying to get some sleep?"

He joined her in her frustration. "I just mean conserve your energy. We don't even know how long we've been down here, let alone how much longer we have ahead."

She went quiet, and he was quite sure he was more uncomfortable with it than she was. Thena spoke two languages: yelling, and sass. He was unfamiliar with any quieter sides of hers.

"I'm sorry."

The simple words gave him chills. He whipped his head around but all it did was hurt his neck, and he couldn't even get a glimpse of her anyway. "What?"

"They followed us all the way out here and I had no idea."

"I didn't either," he interjected.

"I was the one who came up with the plans. The next time they come down here, I'll tell them I can guide them, but only if they release you." Now she was really talking crazy.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he grumbled, now starting the game of fruitlessly tugging at his binds again. "You think I'm going anywhere without you?"

"We may not be afforded another option," she bit back, also turning her head. He could feel her ponytail against the back of his neck. "If at least one of us makes it out, there's a chance of escape."

"There's no way you believe that if you cooperate they won't hurt you," he snorted.

"I didn't say I believed that."

He jerked his shoulders, attempting to get a look at her again. The backs of their chairs clanged together, although they were still technically bolted to the floor. What little movement they did get on them was from the general state of the ship's disrepair. "Don't be stupid, Thena."

She didn't even have a scathing retort about him assuming such a thing about her Ladyship.

"Once they come back, we'll reason our way through this." Sure, he didn't totally believe what he was saying either. But it was a better solution than Thena giving herself up as a bargaining chip for his life. "All they want is the bounty, right? Your plans were solid, and I doubt any of them can dive for as long as you can. We'll-"

"Gil."

She was right, there were few options they had which might lead to their escape. They knew the risks, running in the circles they did. There was always a risk.

"You have connections on the mainland," she continued to talk him through things like she was coaching him. "Tell them that they can collect your bounty if they return with you."

Rather then killing them both and leaving them somewhere.

"And what about you?" he just barely dared to ask.

She took a damn long time to answer, twisting his gut all the way around itself. "Karun and Druig always know the risks of our field. They have instructions should I fail to return one day."

Gil scoffed loudly, rolled his eyes, shook his head--all of it. Anything to convey to her just how ridiculous this was. "I am not going to just leave you here, let alone with those-"

"Gil-"

"They slapped you, Thena," he reiterated, since that didn't seem to matter to her as much as it did to him. "They backhanded you across the face. I'm not exactly counting on them to uphold a gentlemanly agreement."

He leaned forward, pulling at the legs of the chair, still bolted to the floor by a couple of rattling brackets.

"It wasn't how I saw our collaborative efforts ending," she tried putting on a lighter tone, as if that would distract him from the gravity of all this. "But I must admit, we make a good team, Gilgamesh."

He huffed, leaning as forward as he could, "don't 'Gilgamesh' me."

"Could we not spend what might be our last time together arguing?"

He paused in his efforts, partly to catch his breath, and partly to twist his neck again. "I thought you loved arguing."

"I love anything at which I can win."

Well, there was the Thena he knew and tolerated.

Her tone changed again, and he felt her hands move from being tightly balled up fists. Her fingers fluttered around, as if searching for his. "But arguing with you was always a byproduct of the job. Your company from the same side is far preferable."

If he didn't know better, he could think she was admitting to some fondness for him. But he did know better, and beyond that, this was not going to be the pre-burial-at-sea confession she thought it was.

"Who said you could talk?!"

The door slammed against the back wall. All the hinges in this place were falling apart. The men filtered into the room, fully armed and just as dark in expression as when they had found them.

Thena glared at them of course. "You didn't gag us. I don't see how you expected us to remain silent."

"Silence might do you some good." The same one who had struck her before raised his hand again, just barely in Gil's periphery.

He jerked in his chair, "don't touch her!"

They all laughed at his noble effort to protect her. The hand changed from an open palm to grasp her chin instead. She jerked back like a caged animal, but he grabbed harder. "Is she your pretty little treasure?"

Thena practically growled at them even with her cheeks smushed.

"That's all you want, right--the artifact we got sent here to find?" he clarified, doing everything but snapping his neck right off his shoulders to try and see what they were doing. "I'll take you, but only if she's unharmed."

"Relax, big guy," another one instructed, even slapping the grabby one's hand away from Thena's face. "The bounty from the artifact is only half of it. There's also the matter of you two."

Thena must have made a face, because they glared at her again. "We have no insurance policies on us, if that's what you're after."

"Not at all, girlie," he chuckled at her. "The museum will pay his ransom, surely. And as for you...you're sitting on an old family estate, aren't you? That will do nicely."

Gil was desperately trying to think of something but if anything, Thena relaxed. He kept his mouth shut though; they hadn't mentioned Druig or Karun, which meant they didn't know about them. They hadn't done reconnaissance on them or anything, they just happened to be their lucky catch of the day.

"You're right, you will guide us to the artifact." The men began gravitating towards the door again, one with his hand already on it. "And when we have it in our possession, then you'll make the ransom call for us."

The grabby one rattled the handle in his grasp. "We might have to rough her up some, just to make it believable."

Gil launched forward. The chair came clean off the floor as he cried out in his rage. He hunched forward, swinging the legs around as a line of defense. He turned, charging at their captors.

His shoulder jabbed into the most dominant one, crushing him against the handle of the door and doing some good damage to his back. He slumped down. He turned as fast as he could, using the legs of the chair to do some damage to the other two.

The grabby one grunted as he got hit in the gut. Gil positioned himself better, throwing himself back and ramming the legs into his shoulders. He screamed at the top of his lungs but Gil did little more than grimace. "Relax, it's not like I stabbed you."

He tried to get a sound out, but the wind had been knocked out of him. Gil looked down at him, holding out at a hand as if to plead for something. Unfortunately for him, that was the hand he'd used to slap Thena, and Gil wasn't feeling particularly forgiving.

Thena winced as he rammed the chair leg into his open mouth. "I never took you for the sadistic type."

But he didn't have a witty retort for her. He knelt down, feeling around the mess of bodies for a knife. "I'm tired of him yapping."

Thena sighed as stood again. "I suppose it's a better option for us. We still don't know how many of them are out there."

"Let's not be tied up when we find out," he groused. He walked back around her. "Got it?"

She did have it, grasping the knife firmly, passed from his hands to hers behind their backs. "You seem confident I won't slice anything essential"

"Like you say, we may not have a better option," he conceded. He strained the ropes tired around him, pulling as Thena attempted to pressure the blade against them. It wasn't a great angle, or a serrated blade. But he continued to pull as she worked, eventually pulling them apart before she could slice through the middle.

The knife clattered to the floor between them.

"Okay," he sighed as he finally pulled his arms around to his front again. They hurt, and usually it would be more ideal to move them slowly. But he swung them around, desperately needing their full range of motion sooner than later. "I've got you."

He worked at Thena's ropes more gently. They were tied tight, but he could see the red irritation in her pale skin more. "Do you know how far out we were when they found us?"

Her ropes snapped apart, and he immediately grasped her shoulders, rolling them forward for her slowly and gently.

"Well, someone was hogging the radar," he commented, and was rewarded with her turning in the seat, skipping over examining her wrists in favor of glaring at him. He grinned, "but I know the jetski you used to get to the boat is still being towed. If we can get to a railing, we can definitely swim under the ship and get to it in time to get outta here."

It wasn't his most risk-free plan, but they both knew the risks--had just gone over them, in fact.

Thena nodded, rubbing her wrists but wearing the usually determined expression he had come to expect. "Lead the way, then."

He planned on it, and not out of some need to protect her or anything. It just made good sense.

They hugged the walls all the way up. He really didn't know how many of them were on board, but he dreaded to think about the possibilities considering the expected crew for any boat this size. He looked over his shoulder and nodded his head.

Thena showed her understanding; they weren't far now.

He held out his hand. She gave him a look but he shook it at her. He wasn't going to let them get separated again. Begrudgingly, she slipped her hand into his. It was cold.

Gil looked both ways before dashing across the deck and to the railing. No life boats, of fucking course. He climbed over the railing while Thena crouched between the top and middle bar. He looked at her. "Ready?"

She didn't reply, but she let her hand give his a squeeze.

"Don't let go." He didn't know why he said it. There was no need, but he held her hand, getting ready to free dive into the water and potentially be chased down like wild animals.

"I won't." That was much more assuring than anything she could have said about them making it. She looked ahead, resuming her usual role of being the one to pull him along.

And despite their rivalry, he would follow her anywhere.

[marcusagrippa]

HORRIBLE scene with agrippa + atticus appeared fully fledged in my brain

[stormyoceans]

https://twitter.com/i/status/1786515710639808754

ok now imagine what should have been in vv boxset. I hate everyone involved in the decision not to put this boxset on sale!

NOT ME MANIFESTING AND HOPING AND PRAYING AND WAITING FOR MORE THAN A YEAR TO GET A DECENT KISS INITIATED BY ONE OF SEA'S CHARACTERS ONLY FOR P'AOF TO CUT SUCH AN AMAZING ONE OUT OF THE SHOW LIKE AM I A JOKE TO THAT MAN ✋😭

i mean i haven't rewatched last twilight since it ended, so my memory of the kiss we did get in the last episode is a bit fuzzy, but i do remember it not being one of jimmysea's best, and also that a lot of people were talking about how it looked pretty stilted and not that great. WELL LET ME TELL YOU. if p'aof had kept THIS one??????? no tongue would ever rise against jimmysea and call them bad kissers again because THAT SURE IS A KISS

on another note, and to answer what this message is actually about, PLEASE DON'T REMIND ME OF ALL THE THINGS WE HAVE LOST IF I THINK ABOUT ALL THE EXTRA CONTENT AND DELETED SCENES WE COULD HAVE GOTTEN FROM A VICE VERSA DVD BOX SET IM GONNA START CRYING THAT'S TRULY THE WOUND THAT WILL NEVER HEAL MY 13th REASON MY VILLAIN ORIGIN STORY LIKE

THE WAY WE WILL NEVER GET TO SEE THIS SCENE FROM THE TRAILER HAUNTS MY EVERY WAKING MOMENT AND MY EVERY SLEEPING HOUR IT MAKES ME WANT TO COMMIT GRAND SCALE LARCENY SO BADLY 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[titsthedamnseason]

YOURE WELCOME FOR THE REMINDER BC I THINK ABOUT THAT POST AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK (and the mbobhft + lilo post) 🫡 i am patiently waiting for the parallels :)

oh yes even when i try i can never think of anyone but lilo during the bridge of that song it’s actually just so fucking perfect (and heart wrenching??? it always gets me teary)

but yeah the day i made the connection with coballoway and so high school something shifted for me. like it’s so fitting that it’s insaneeeee

[mugglebrn]

it’s crying over the harry/hermione dancing to o children hours