#i also want to add that at no point did i stop interacting with fan content i just barred myself from watching anymore episodes

[interpolationz]

that's it i'm starting supernatural again and there's nothing any of you can do to stop me

[disabirbity]

What are some things other psychotics do to differentiate between hallucination and reality? And what are ways some of you hold off symptoms? Looking to get a nice thread for people to help each other going here, this stuff isn't posted about enough.

Ways we prevent symptoms/stop them from progressing:

Make background noise to prevent auditory hallucinations. Most of ours start by hearing something that we can't identify the cause of in the background, and our brain starts the spiral from there. So we listen to music all the time and sleep with a fan on every single night, even in the winter. We just point it away from us if we don't want it making us cold.

Blame the cat (or other pets). Any weird movement, scratching, crunching or thumping? That's just Jerry, don't worry about it. He's a silly cat that does cat things even while we're sleeping. Any noise can be blamed on pets or the wind, which stops the paranoia from setting in and making everything bad.

We also tell ourselves that if there was an actual issue like an intruder or monster, the cat would hiss or scream, and the dog would be barking or making noise. This can be applied to many pets.

Stay busy. Focus on something--art, video games, tv shows and films, craft, gardening, anything that keeps you thinking. Don't let the anxiety get to you, just stay focused on your regular life.

Laugh at it. You're hallucinating a monster in your peripheral vision? Name it Fred and tell him to pay rent. You hear weird noises? Tell them to come back with a warrant. For us, treating symptoms like they're jokes or not serious makes us less anxious and therefore makes it easier to get back to a point where we're okay.

Having a friend or a pet near you can help. We feel safer and less alone when we see another living thing near us that's safe. We don't feel as much like we're trapped in another dimension that way.

How we differentiate between reality and unreality:

Touch it. This one only works for things you're not scared of, and if you don't have tactile hallucinations. It's not foolproof! But when we're seeing things like bugs and stuff, reaching out to touch them causes them to fade away so we know they're fake.

Ask friends and other trusted people if they "heard that" or "saw anything". If they're psychosis friendly, feel free to explain and be specific. If not, be vague and keep it to simple things like "hey did you hear anything? I couldn't tell what it was", if that will be safe enough. Having people to ground you can be great.

Look at how others around you are acting. Are they running or interacting with the thing in question in any way? Do they seem to look at it or no? If no one is noticing, it's less likely to be real.

These won't work for everyone and some of these might be harmful to others, but they're helpful to us. You know best what will help you!

Please feel free to add your own! We need more discussion around psychosis that isn't "scary evil person disorder and how to deal with people who have it".

[hiveswap]

Summary of The Cat of The Year poll atrocities of 2023/2024

I'm sure that most people on this side of tumblr have seen the Jellie vs. Nefarious Anglerfish poll going around with like 60k votes at this point, and I'd really like clear up some of what happened since I was around for the whole thing.

Url blocked out for op's privacy. They have already left but don't look for it if you haven't seen it/don't harrass them if you already have.

1. The previous round (preparation)

I discovered the poll in its previous round, needless to say she beat Jort's ass severely. This was around the 3rd of january, meaning that this round finished before jellie's passing with only about 7k votes. Op did add their own piece of propaganda from their main:

...which was FINE. (except for stuff we'll see later) Of course running a poll while biased isn't ideal but I for one didn't even know they were the op until much later. I also added my own piece in a separate thread, and they didn't interact with it at all. There was no drama.

2. The Finale

Jellie unfortunately passed away right before the starting of this poll, which was the catalyst for what happened next. Op did exactly as last time and added a slightly more mean spirited encouragement to vote for the other contestant. This is the point where I believe that i fucked up personally.

I added this thinkpiece accusing op of associating all mcyters with Dream (who we all hate for the record) despite them not alluding to him at all. This is because tumblr has a history of disimissing all mcyters as... everything that dream was been accused of. Op did allude to not caring for mcyt. but they didn't say what i accused them of. This is important to point out because this reblog of mine is still being spread. Jellie was in the lead at the time, but not by the time i woke up next morning.

I won't be including anyone else's additions because I don't want to put blame on any specific person. Just felt like clearing up mine.

3. The Fuckening

Some time later op made this post to their personal blog:

which is insanely shitty because, as other people have pointed out, the "lame ass youtube cat" didn't die to inconvinience op or ruin their fun, and people would have probably voted for her anyway because jelly is universally beloved in the mcyt community. This isn't anti democratic. This post was added to the poll with a caption saying op should not be running this poll, and it took off. Op later went on to say that this was a joke:

This apology was not taken well by people, (including me) because "you were not meant to see it" isn't an apology and they still very much made fun of someone's pet dying. Safe to say this did not make the drama stop and only added fuel to the flame. I believe this was the point where the conversation of mcyt fans being unjustly sent hate to was reignited.

We should discuss that! it's a real thing that happens often and is equal to childish bullying. However, in this case, OP was the only one getting sent hate to my knowledge. The notes were mostly saturated by mcyt fans, and even now i can only find one or two hateful stance towards us under the whole 20k notes post.

4. Conclusions

Op posted a second apology to the catoftheyear blog to try and calm people down (i believe this is comprehensive and a lot better than the previous one) The blog was deactivated shortly after, so i only have my phone screenshots of it that i also added to the poll itself at some point:

(Edit) Here's proof that op did not write the justification they got criticised for, from the notes of the original poll:

This apology didn't get seen, or get accepted by enough people, so op made this statement on their personal:

Needless to say I am deeply dissapointed (and guilty) that it's come to this. Yes, op said tasteless things that made us all angry, but telling a human being to commit suicide is worse than being insensitive about a stranger's pet dying. Even after I posted about the blog being decatived i had someone come into my notes to wish that "they never find happiness" i mean wtf. This isn't like shipping where we can do whatever without the content creator's input. this is fucking harrowing and i can't imagine how i'd feel if this was done in my/my pet's name especially after losing them as recently as a week ago.

I hope no one from hermitcraft who is on here (let alone scar holy shit) learns about this like they did with previous lighthearted tournaments. If you truly respect the creators you claim to be a fan of as people, you do not tell people to kill themselves over them. And finally, let Jellie fucking rest, guys. she had a long, good life. I hope op can come back and also avoids behaving like this if they ever wish to do so. I'm angrier at mcytblr, though.

[taeggukxiie]

I don't really like endhawks and it's not so much because of the age gape or the fan/idol relationship (la brava and gentle have some age gape and bakudeku are the pure description of fanatization/idolization trope and I like both of those ships), but more because endeavor literally embodies what Hawks hate the most.

Hear me out on this one, they have cute interactions but for me the fact that Hawks stayed by endeavor's side even knowing what he did to his children is kinda out of character. I mean the whole thing why keigo wanted to be a hero was to help people and make them smile because he went through abusive behavior all his life. Endeavor do save people but doesn't make them smile, not directly anyway. Hawks wanted to help the new generation, but endeavor traumatized the generation he gave birth to. Hawks wanted to be free, but endeavor stole freedom from his children (at least until he becomes number 1 and shoto comes to UA).

I understand hawks forgiving and accepting endeavor even after what he did, because hawks is so optimistic that he wants to believe eveyone can change for the better, but I don't understand him staying by endeavor's side. I mean, how traumatic would it be to discover that your idol who saved you and gave you a dream to follow did the exact same things as the person who traumatized your childhood? I see some narrative problems here. Or maybe it's just that hawks is too optimistic for his own good.

The thing is, I think Hawks so desperately needed a symbol to give him hope that he didn't even try to look more profoundly into endeavor's mistakes. Like he tried so hard to convince himself. Here we can see that hawks says he could keep up with training and abuse by the commission because someone supported him, probably implying endeavor. But it wasn't even true, hawks just chose to idealize enji because he saved him, but enji didn't know hawks before metting him as a hero, so he couldn't actually support him in his dream. I know it's only metaphoric, but it does mean that Keigo just needed something, someone to hold onto because of all the suffering he went through. And he chose endeavor, who was the only person indirectly "caring" for him.

Now maybe it's because I adore Hawks and I hate endeavor (the man and his actions, not the way he's written), but I can't imagine them in a romantic relationship. How could Hawks give his trust and love to the exact same profile as his father? How could they live together without hawks remembering the abuse? I think that even enji himself wouldn't trust his own reactions and feelings, hunted by the past. "The past never dies", and it's true for everyone in this story.

Look how similar they are. Honestly I don't really understand horikoshi on this one because if he wanted to give enji a loyal sidekick, then why give Hawks an abusive father?

Or if horikoshi wanted to give us grumpy x playful duo, then do it with dabihawks? They had so much potential to be our favorite bickering duo, and their drama would've been so good if they both knew each other before touya's death, became close during hawks undercover mission and then went through a heartbreaking breakup during touya's reveal.

(look at them they could've been soo good as a grumpy x playful duo aah)

Instead, we got Hawks indirectly supporting the same abuse he went through and the destruction of dabihawks' potential with the biggest absence of interactions ever after the first war.

(Also I want to add that I respect everyone's opinion and I don't hate endhawks shippers at all! It's just my point of view on the ship, everyone is free to ship whoever they want if that stays legal 🙏)

Maybe I'm going too far into the analysis (someone stop me please I'm talking too much-), but I really think that endhawks couldn't work, for hawks as much as for enji. Now the interesting thing to ask would be : would dabihawks actually work in a romantic relationship? I guess we'll never know.

[kanmom51]

Moment of clarity (?)

Just sitting here watching Jikook song edits, cause I'm missing the hell out of those two, and couldn't help but think how stupid and futile all the accusations and claims and ensuing discussions about one's reaction to the other, or one's behaviour to the other or any kind of interaction they had that didn't suit what fans (usually solos on either side of the picture) expected of them. You know what I mean. All those judgy claims and comments about how JK reacts or treats JM and vise versa, same about JM 'forcing' himself on JK or the likes of that.

How dumb those people look (and should feel as well if they only had a sliver of common sense) right now.

Inserting themselves into a relationship (whatever form it may have had) to know what these two people were all about, their interactions, their reactions towards each other, without truly knowing them, without seeing anything but a few recorded seconds (all while ignoring not only many other recorded moments but also what they themselves say about each other and to each other).

But you see, this isn't something new to me, and I did address it when answering mostly annoying asks (something I haven't been doing for some time now seeing just how futile it is - you cannot convince the inconvincible).

No.

The reason I had this specific moment of clarity while watching them was because things have changed.

Well, changed since those two have made it as clear as can be that they want and need each other's proximity.

That they will do whatever it takes to not only enlist at the same time, but to do so together. To spend their entire service together. 24/7. Together. Knowing EXACTLY what and how it looks like. Knowing EXACTLY what people (so many of them) will think, even if some will not say it out loud or spell it out. No other member did this with another, and neither of them did it with any other member, how ever close we know them to be. Because no one is closer to them than they are to each other!!

And why don't we add to that, them going on a trip together just before enlistment, to Japan, you know, that same destination they went to back in November 2017. The same trip they both could not stop telling us about.

Yeah, I know there's a travel show coming (which we have no clue what will look like - if vlog-like or actual Bon Voyage style or something in between), and most of what they do could be explained away (and that's the point, they are clever that way), but let's be real here for a sec. The show, it's a very clever way to kill two birds with one stone. Literally. Getting to travel together before enlistment (I can assure you that 90% of what they got up to we will not be seeing, and they travelled first and utmost because they wanted to travel and do it together, and anyone who claims otherwise, that this was forced in some way on one or both of them is an idiot, well they probably also believe that they enlisted together against their wills) all while under the guise of doing it for work, and at the same time creating content to be released while they are away. It's a win win, or like I said, two birds one stone.

So yeah, their travelling will be in a show, but they travelled together because they wanted to travel together and not because there was content to be made. Content being the bi product of their genius idea of guising their trip as work...

Bottom line, point I wanted to make here with all of this is that those dissecting every single moment between them miss the whole picture. It's not about this moment or another. It's about what they bring together as a big picture, one that they have been telling us and showing us for years now. And if we didn't see or hear it before, well they made sure we would now.

Because being together during these 18 months was more important to them than hiding who they are and what they mean to each other.

Fuck the consequences (and fuck the haters too - JM literally said it in SMF pt. 2)...

[heartofwritiing]

could you write wilbur soot confessing his love to a crush? 👉👈

something about how he's been pinning after this crush for so long, but the crush seems a bit avoidant or something

but that's because the crush also has a crush on him and is very very shy qpwimsmanssjslslek sorry im not good with requests

You and me need never be, lonely again.

Paring: cc!wilbur soot x fem!cc!reader

authors note: Thank you so much for requesting! I hope you don't mind the reader being a content creator and i’m sorry she’s not super shy because im not really sure how to write shy lol but i hope you like the request! I just thought it would add to the idea and I've wanted to do something similar to this for a while! This is a request back from august. I am so sorry this took me so long to get out. I've been going through some shit irl but I'm finally starting to come back to writing because I genuinely love it and posting on here since it is my safe space!

line from this prompt list

warnings: friends-lovers, reader lives in the US, brief description of anxiety, the reader sends mixed signals, swearing, kinda angsty, happy end, super unedited!

"No! That was such bullshit!"

The voice of Tommyinnit ran through the speakers of your computer causing you to let out a chuckle that you were the reason for his outburst.

You were playing Gang Beasts on stream with some of your closest friends, and you had grabbed Tommy's character and thrown him off the map by picking him up.

Laughter rang out amongst the group as the screen card popped up saying your username won. You cheered as everyone groaned but dispersed into 'ggs' then that's when everyone started to bid goodnight. You hadn't realized it had been four hours of streaming and playing games, showing the good time you were having with friends.

"Alright chat, that's gonna be it for me today! Please remember to click the follow button if you're new to stream that way you'll know when I go live! byeee!" You did your outro, quickly closed your stream down, and logged out of Twitch.

It was an uneventful stream session, thank god. You’ve noticed more and more how your chat gets when you even mention wilburs name.

“you logging off completely y/n/n?” Ranboos voices asks through your earbuds.

“No, I’ll play a few more rounds if you guys are down,” you respond.

“HELL YEAH!” Tommy boasted. “IM GONNA KICK YOUR ASS THIS TIME Y/N/N!”

“Oh, it’s on gremlin child!” you replied.

Wilbur listened to this conversation on his end, letting out a chuckle. He honestly doesn’t know why you make him laugh so easily. Anytime you threw a genius comment toward Tommy that was deemed insulting, or calling him a name Wilbur fell for you more and more. If only he had the guts to tell you.

You as well wouldn’t admit it but every time Wilbur laughed all you could feel was butterflies punching your stomach and a smile that made your cheeks hurt. You were also falling hard for him.

After about another fifteen minutes, Tommy and Ranboo had bid their goodbyes for the night and ended their calls. You were left in call with Wilbur, the silence could be cut with a knife.

Knowing him for two years was hard. Wilbur was everything to you. He was funny, smart, charming, and overall made you feel comfortable. Something you thought you’d never have with anyone. Having to only talk on call and video made things easier for you. On call you could hide your blushes and smiles from him, but not from your chat who caught every interaction between you and Wilbur when you streamed. The constant ’Wilbur x name confirmed?’ tweets and comments in your twitch chat were recently repetitive and you wondered when you became such a beacon of attention. It gave you such anxiety to have all eyes on you when you wanted to spend time with your best friend.

It was getting obnoxious to the point where you debated making a tweet to get the fans to stop shipping you both, even if you were dating it was no one’s business. Still you never dared to say anything out of fear of stans coming at you in anyway. You didn’t need to draw more unwanted attention to yourself.

“You logging off? it’s getting pretty late for you,” you spoke up.

“Yeah, we both should, by the way what times your flight tomorrow?”

Right, you were flying less than eight hours from now to finally meet your friends inperson. You all had planned this for months, booking hotels and flights, making a whole deal about it. Then you really wouldn’t be able to hide from him for a whole week.

“Around seven-thirty,” you reply.

He hums.

“I’ll let you get some rest, see you tomorrow night darling,” his voice purposely going lower on the ‘darling’ part that you almost didn’t catch it, making your knees go weak.

“N-night Will,” you stutter, end call and slump back into your desk chair trying to calm your racing heart. Meanwhile Wilbur all the way across the ocean in Brighton has a smile plastered across his lips.

About a plane ride, a train ride and car ride later, you are stood in the hotel lobby in Brighton waiting for a late Tommy and Wilbur to arrive. You were super nervous to meet them. Having only been friends for what was a short time, it felt like you knew them for years, so why was this so scary?

You debated in your mind about texting them to see if they were close by, but you didn’t want to come off as annoying and impatient. You wanted to make a good first impression, but again these were your friends. Why were you shaking with nerves?

You fiddled with your thumb’s absentmindedly until you felt a pair of hands on your shoulders, causing you to jump out of your skin. You spin around to be met with a cackling Tommy who is clucking his stomach from laughing so hard at your reaction.

“Fucking gremlin child,” you huffed under your breath, not realizing the evident blood rushing to your cheeks from being startled so easily.

“It’s nice to hear you say that in person,” a deep voice said from behind Tommy. You shifted your eyes to see a very tall Wilbur, who was wearing his round glasses pushed up his nose and curly hair fluffed to the side.

His dark sweater selves rolled up to revel his arms tucked into his side as he gazed at you with a soft smile. Finally after two years of being separated by seas, your best friend was standing right in front of you. It was surreal to say the least.

You laugh and jump forward to embrace him. The number of times you’d tease him over-call about his height made you regret your words. He towers over you as he bends down to your level to give you a long awaited hug. His arms are soft, yet firm as they wrap around your back and cage you into his embrace.

You both pull away, both grinning from ear to ear. He looks down at you with a hint of something behind his eyes, he seems to be genuinely happy to finally meet you in person. which makes you blush at the thought of him looking forward to this moment since you told him you wanted to come here. You're quickly brought out of your moment when Tommy speaks up behind you.

"So he gets a hug and I don't?!" his tone slightly offended.

"Yup, cause you're annoying," you bring a hand up to flick his forehead, causing him to let out a irritated noise. you had only just met him in person but something compelled you to do that. Maybe it was just a reason for you to break the ice and it was working because you all broke out into giggles.

“Im just kidding Tom,” you motion him into a hug.

Wilbur just stood observing the entire interaction between his two best friends. He was thrilled to finally have you here, he couldn't wait to show you all his favorite places, hang out, and get to know better in person. Finally.

The two boys had managed to drag you to the beach, and even though it was freezing Tommy insisted on going to the arcade to try and win another 'vlog gun'. After suffering through loosing a few games, Wilbur managed to win you a little stuffed cat that you promptly named Mr Whiskers.

It was endearing to watch him struggle at most of the games so he could get enough tickets. It was all worth it in his eyes to embarrass himself by losing ski-ball to you, twice, he saw the evident blush on your cheeks and the look you gave him. As if he hung the stars in the sky just for you. It made his chest hurt in a good way.

The rest of the night went smoothly for the most part. More and more, Wilbur had been getting more touchy with you. Though you didn’t mind it at all, maybe he didn’t realize how much he was putting his hand on you as you walked side by side as he led you through crowds. How he held doors open for you. It was sweet.

Maybe he was doing it just to be nice. That small voice in the back of your head telling you thats all it was. Because thats what friends do.

Eventually, the three of you met up with Ranboo and Charlie. They were just how they were online, which made meeting them a whole lot better. Walking around Brighton, making inside jokes and teasing each other. You hadn't been this happy in a while. You can remember the last time you genuinely enjoyed yourself, your friends were the product of that. You were fortunate to have found them when you did. Quarantine was hard on you, much like the rest of the world. So when you were invited to join a group game call, you couldn't pass up the opportunity. That night, something had clicked between you and Wilburt specifically. Then you started to join more calls with the gang and the rest was history.

Sometime in the night, you found yourself walking behind with Wilbur by your side chatting about nothing in particular. Until the comfortable silence filled the air between you, you took a moment to take in the nightlife of Brighton. The street lamps guide your way through the beachside and the pubs on the corner were starting to fill up. As if the city was somehow more alive at night.

"I'm really glad you came," Wilbur speaks, sincerely.

You stop your wide-eyed gaze to look at him and smile softly at him.

"I am too," You gush. "I'm honestly considering moving here,” Now he’s smiling.

Wilbur's brain starts to go a million miles a second. His heart leaped at the thought of you living closer to him. Seeing you in person everyday seemed like a dream come true. He begins to slow his step and a frown replaces your smile. Your own thoughts running rampant now, assuming you might've freaked him out by voicing that you wanted to move here so soon after meeting him in person. Maybe it made him uncomfortable. it was too soon to say something that bold. You had only just met him in person today.

"Listen, Y/N..."

You stopped and your brain got the best of you with his tone. You shouldn't have said anything like that to him. It was too soon.

“I don’t want to sound cheesy, but I need you to know how I feel.”

Oh... OH.

You knew what this was leading to. Realizing why he was acting the way he was all day.

"I like you, more than like you. You're funny, beautiful, smart, and everything I could've hoped for in a best friend. But I can't keep pretending I don't think of you when we aren't talking, or how when I look at you my chest hurts."

Wilbur liked you. Really liked you. You would jump for joy and shout to the rooftops about how much you reciprocate his feelings but something in the back of your mind told you not to. The doubt in your mind from yourself, both your fans online judging. It made you slowly start to panic. You felt as though you weren’t good enough for him.

You saw the aftermath of when his fans shipped him and Niki together. It almost ruined their friendship. You didn’t want that.

"Please say something?" he stops his rant to notice you are staring up at him with blank eyes.

"I-uh," you stutter. "can we maybe not do this now?"

His face falls and it instantly crushes you with regret. His disappointment shows as he gives you a forced smile and nods.

"Y-yeah, let's catch up with everyone, Tommy wants to do this big stream at his place." he gestures for you to move along with him, all while you feel horrible for doing this.

You wish you could take back what you said. You know you've hurt him, It's painfully obvious when he doesn't talk to you for the rest of the walk. You glance at him a few times but he keeps his eyes forward and stoic.

If only you didn’t let your anxiety get the best of you. You had to talk to him at some point, but for now you pushed it aside. The rest of the group didn’t seem to notice the sudden tension between the two of you, if they did nothing was remarked about it.

As you continued the journey to Tommys flat, you and Wilbur still walked silently side by side. With what little courage you had, you reached out your hand and held his in a moment of truce. Giving it a gentle squeeze with your fingers to seal the deal that you would talk later. You heard his soft inhale at the contact and he squeezes back. Your shoulders drop from the weight of tension being lifted off. Maybe, just maybe this ment this conversation wasn’t over.

Back at Tommy’s, the monitor in his cramped bedroom with everyone packed together like sardines; shows the twitch chat flashing by with viewers comments.

“WELCOME BACK TO THE STREAM EVERYONE!” Tommy shouted causing you to hold your ear in slight pain.

“God Tommy, could you be anymore loud?” you wince.

“Look who’s here chat!” he gestured to you with his hands, ignoring your complaints. You waved at the webcam as chat went crazy. He introduced everyone else as they all broke out into a chorus of conversation.

Wilbur was mostly quiet on your left, an occasional sarcastic comment made here and there. You could practically feel his eyes buring into the side of your head. Hopping chat wasn’t noticing how he was looking at you, your eyes shifting to your lap to fidget with your fingers.

Out of view, Wilbur reached over and took your hand picking at the skin around your nails. You had stopped your nervous tick and opted for squeezing his hand. Nobody seemed to notice the sudden shift in both your behavior.

Suddenly you felt tense, the feeling of having everyone’s eyes on you made your mind start to spiral.

Letting go of Wilburs hand, you quickly had excused yourself and walked out of Tommys room and into the kitchen.

Everyone had a mix of concerned and worried expressions as they watched you leave the room but didn’t say anything about it. Wilbur had followed you in pursuit. He found you in the kitchen hyperventilating Your panic had taken over and now your lungs were paying the price for the burning sensation from not breathing.

“it's okay,” he took your face into his hands and held you. “just follow my breaths.

he took a breath in, and you followed.

When you came to your senses, Wilbur had asked you what was wrong and you just began to cry. Everything came rushing down on you.

“Im sorry. I-Im sorry I shot you down earlier, Im sorry for h-hurting you. I-i,” you stuttered over yourself. Wilbur shakes his head at you. He probably thinks you’re such a mess.

“I don’t understand, I know you like me too, so I don’t understand why you rejected me after I poured my heart out to you. Then you go and hold my hand while we're walking.'

Wilbur was right. Playing with his feelings was selfish and cruel. He was completely in the right to question you. You were practically flirting with one another all day, and then you shut down his advances of trying to open your relationship.

“I do wanna be with you.” you sniff. “I'm just really scared.”

"Why darling? It's just me, your silly old Wil." he pokes at your sides causing you to let out a giggle. Your best friend, who looked at you with the prettiest chocolate eyes, who stayed on call with you all night when you couldn't sleep. The only person you told your deepest fears and dreams to.

You take a shaky inhale as you begin to explain. "I don't wanna ruin our friendship, we have something I've never experienced with anyone else in my life. I care about you too much to let me be a distraction in your life, and I am scared that the fans will-"

Wilbur interrupts you with a hand on your arm.

"The fans? darling who cares about that, I care way too much about you to even care about what strangers think. It's no one's business who I, or you for that matter have a relationship with." he clarified. "I love you and nothing or no one will ever change that."

Those three words made your heart leap in your throat.

"Y-you l-love me?" you stutter in disbelief.

"Yes, of course I do."

Tears roll down the apples of your cheeks as you lean forward to engulf Wilbur into another hug. His arms wrapped around your back reciprocating your embrace. your face buried in his neck as you inhale his cologne and your tears dampen his skin.

"I love you too Wil," you whisper.

He squeezes you closer to him in return and this time you don't hold yourself back...

-

taglist: @trashcanduck @ax-y10 @mysticalsoot @idontreallyexistyet @loonalvjy @toastyliltoasts41

[tangibletechnomancy]

The (Personal) Is (Political)

~7 hours, Dall-E 3 via Bing Image Creator, generated under the Code of Ethics of Are We Art Yet?

Or, Dear Microsoft and OpenAI: Your Filters Can't Stop Me From Saying Things: An interactive exercise in why all art is political and game of Spot The Symbols

A rare piece I consider Fully Finished simply as a jpeg, though I may do something physical with it regardless. "Director commentary" below, but I strongly encourage you to go over this and analyze it yourself before clicking through, then see how much your reading aligns with my intent.

Elements I told the model to add and a brief (...or at least inexhaustive) overview of why:

Anime style and character figures - Frequently associated with commercial "low" art and consumer culture, in East Asia and the English-speaking world alike, albeit in different ways - justly or otherwise. There is frequently an element of racism to the denigration of anime styles in the west; nearly any American artist who has taken formal illustration classes can tell you a story of being told that anime style will only hinder them, that no one will hire them if they see anime, or even being graded more harshly and scrutinized for potential anime-esque elements if they like anime or imply that they may like anime - including just by being Asian and young. On the other hand, it is true that there is a commercial strategy of "slap an anime girl on it and it will sell". The passion fans feel for these characters is genuine - and it is very, very exploitable. In fact, this commercialization puts anime styles in particular in a very contentious position when it comes to AI discussions!

Dark-skinned boy with platinum and pink [and blue] hair - Racism and colorism! They're a thing, no matter how much the worst people in the world want you to think they're long over and "critical race theory" is the work of evil anti-American terrorists! I chose his appearance because I knew that unless I was incredibly lucky, I would have to fight with this model for multiple hours to get satisfactory results on this point in particular - and indeed I did. It was an interesting experience - what didn't surprise me was how much work it took me to get a skin color darker than medium-dark tan; what did surprise me was that the hair color was very difficult to get right. In anime art, for dark skin to be matched with light hair and eyes is common enough to be...pretty problematic. Bing Image Creator/Dall-E, on the other hand, swings completely in the opposite direction and struggles with the concept of giving dark-skinned characters any hair color OTHER than black, demanding pretty specific phrasing to get it right even 70% of the time. (I might cynically call this yet another illustration against the pervasive copy-paste myth...) There is also much to say about the hair texture and facial features - while I was pleased to see that more results than I expected gave me textured hair and/or box braids without me asking for it, those were still very much in the minority, and I never saw any deviation from the typical anime facial structures meant to illustrate Asian and white characters. Not even once!

Pink and blue color palette - Our subject is transgender. Bias self-check time: did you make that association as quickly as you would with a light-skinned character, or even Sylveon?

Long hair, cute clothes, lots of accessories - Styling while transmasc is a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situation, doubly so if you're not white. In many locations, the medical establishment and mainstream attitude demands total conformity to the dominant culture's standard conventional masculinity, or else "revoking your man card" isn't just a joke meant to uphold the idea that men are "better" than women, but a very real threat. In many queer communities, especially online, transmascs are expected to always be cute femboys who love pink (while transfems are frequently degraded and seen as threats for being butch), and being Just Some Guy is viewed as inherently a sign of assimilationism at best and abusiveness at worst. It is an eternal tug-of-war where "cuteness" and ornamentation are both demanded and banned at the same time. Black and brown people are often hypermasculinized and denied the opportunity to even be "cute" in the first place, regardless of gender. Long hair and how gender is read into it is extremely culture-dependent; no matter what it means to you, if anything, the dominant culture wherever you are will read it as it likes.

Trophies and medals - For one, the trans sports Disk Horse has set feminism back by nearly 50 years; I'm barely a Real History-Remembering Adult and yet I clearly remember a time when the feminist claim about gender in sports was predominantly "hey, it's pretty fucked up that sports are segregated by sex rather than weight class or similar measures, especially when women's sports are usually paid much less and given weirdly oversexualized uniforms," but then a few loud living embodiments of turds in the punch bowl realized that might mean treating trans people fairly and now it's super common for self-proclaimed feminists - mostly white ones - to claim that the strongest woman will still never measure up to the weakest man and this is totally a feminist statement because they totally want to PROTECT women (with invasive medical screenings on girls as young as 12 to prove they're Really Women if they perform too well, of course). For two, Black and brown people are stereotyped as being innately more sporty, physically strong, and, again, Masculine(TM) than others, which frequently intersects with item 1...and if you think it only affects trans women, I am sorry my friend but it is so much worse and more extensive than you think.

Hearts - They mean many things. Love. Happiness. Cuteness. Social media engagement?

TikTok - A platform widely known and hated around these parts for its arcane and deeply regressive algorithm; I felt it deserved to be name/layout/logodropped for reasons that, if they're not clear already, should become so in the final paragraph.

Computers, cameras and cell phones - My initial specification was that one of the phones should be on Instagram and another on TikTok, which the model instead chose to interpret as putting a TikTok sticker on the laptop, but sure, okay. They're ubiquitous in the modern day, for better and for worse. For all the debate over whether phones and social media are Good For Us or Bad For Us, the fact of the matter is, they seem to be a net positive-to-neutral, whose impacts depend on the person - but they do still have major drawbacks. The internet is a platform for conspiracy theories and pseudoscience and dangerous hoaxes to spread farther than ever before. Social media culture leaves many people feeling like we're always being watched and every waking moment of our lives must be Perfect - and in some senses, we are always being watched these days. Digital privacy is eroding by the day, already being used to enforce all the most unjust laws on the books, which leads to-

Pigs - I wrote the prompt with the intention that it would just be a sticker on the laptop, but instead it chose to put them everywhere, and given that I wanted to make a somewhat stealthy statement about surveillance, especially of the marginalized...thanks for that, Dall-E! ;)

Alligators - A counter to the pigs; a short-lived antifascist symbol after...this.

Details I did not intend but love anyway:

The blue in the hair - I only prompted for platinum and pink in the hair, but the overall color palette description "bled" over here anyway, completing the trans flag, making it even more blatant, and thus even more effective as a bias self-check.

The Macbook - I only specified a laptop. Hilariously ironic, to me, that a service provided through Bing interpreted "laptop" as "Macbook" nearly every time. In my recent history, 22 out of 24 attempts show, specifically, a Macbook. Microsoft v. OpenAI divorce arc when? ;) But also, let us not forget Apple's role in the ever-worsening sanitization of the internet. A Macbook with a TikTok sticker (or, well, a Tiikok sticker - recognizable enough) - I can think of little more emblematic of one of the main things I was complaining about, and it was a happy accident. Or perhaps an unhappy one, considering what it may imply about Apple's grip on culture and communications.

Which brings me to my process:

Generated over ~7 hours with Dall-E 3 through Bing Image Creator - The most powerful free tool out there for txt2img these days, as well as a nightmare of filters and what may be the most disgustingly, cloyingly impersonal toxic positivity I've ever witnessed from a tool. It wants to be Art(TM), yet it wants to ban Politics(TM); two things which are very much incompatible - and so, I wanted to make A Controversial Statement using only the most unflaggable, innocuous elements imaginable, no matter how long it took.

All art is political. All life is political. All our "defaults" are cultural, and therefore political. Anything whatsoever can be a symbol.

If you want all art to be a substance-free "look at the pretty picture :)" - it doesn't matter how much you filter, buddy, you've got a big storm coming.

[restinslices]

Hi I’m the anon who asked about the popstar one! (Loved what you did btw) If it wasn’t too much of a problem I love if you could do the Lin Kuei boys + Syzoth too!

Me finally getting to my requests?! Who would’ve thought. Everyone got around 300 words besides Syzoth, who got 400. Why? No further questions.

Bi-Han

You can change him? Well I can accept him as he is! You don’t like the murders? Grow up! The atrocities are a part of him and I’ve decided they’re funny :D

I know the Lin Kuei are a part of Earthrealm but are they allowed to have technology? 

For the sake of this, imma say technology is very very limited 

With that being said, what do you mean you're a pop star? It's not that he doesn't know what it is, he just doesn't get why. All the things you could be doing and popstar is where you landed 

I don't wanna make it seem like everyone is supportive but him but this is Bi-Han. He's going to judge 

He's the Grandmaster so he's always busy. Going to concerts isn't happening and honestly? He doesn't give me the vibes of someone who's a fan of concerts 

He doesn't hate your job, he just genuinely doesn't get it 

Remember how I said Kung Lao will give you brutally honest advice? Same goes for him. You can always trust the truth to come outta him (unless it's about the father he let die but anyway)

I don't see him doing anything special. I don't see him buying posters or tickets or streaming or concerts. He cares for you but doesn't see the need to do all that. 

If he did stream he'd probably just put the video on repeat on his phone and go do other shit. At the same time though, do they even have cell service? Where is Lin Kuei HQ??

Absolutely refuses to add ice or snow to your set for an MV. Be a team player. Damn. Stop thinking everything is beneath you.

“That is entirely beneath me” “aight, I guess you don’t want me beneath you”

He apologizes for his outburst (I was making that joke happen by any means necessary)

I just think he's the most nonchalant about dating a celebrity. Probably forgets you're a popstar

Loses a piece of his sanity everytime a Lin Kuei ninja loses their mind over you. Actually wants to join his father in the afterlife. How y'all even seeing these performances? Y'all sneaking off?!

You're disturbing his peace but hey, it is what it is 

Kuai Liang

Also doesn't understand why that job, but he's less judgmental than Bi-Han. Not everyone can defend Earthrealm. 

I also don't see him doing a lot. He's busy and also he's just not interested in being around a bunch of sweaty ass fans. Nothing against you 

If he did buy your merch I think he'd set it in like, a box. He only bought it to be supportive. He's not gonna hang it up or anything. To be honest, he might give it to the rest of the guys (Johnny, Kenshi, Kung Lao, Raiden and Liu Kang)

I see the Lin Kuei as private and not really interactive when it comes to normal citizens so I honestly don't know what to say for them 😭

I don't even know if Kuai Liang likes pop music. Him and Bi-Han give me the vibes of someone who listens to white noise to past time 

Like Bi-Han, he's nonchalant about the whole celebrity thing. 

Probably doesn't even have a phone. He probably got an old ass mp3 player. What are you doing with that?

If your songs are more calm and chill, I can see him liking it when you sing while he does something 

Popstars wear dramatic ass outfits and this is definitely when he starts judging you 

“How does it look?” “It… looks”

He's used to practical outfits so I think he subconsciously spots all the ways your outfits could injure you 

“You could be easily spotted” “That's the whole point”

Will he add fire to an MV for background effects? Possibly. He has to have nothing else to do and be absolutely bored out of his mind to do so. Bi-Han says no out of spite and ��this is beneath me”. Kuai Liang initially says no and has the same “this is beneath me” thought process, but he folds easier. There's certain things he is absolutely not doing though

“I am not saying 'get over here’ for you” “You're so not fun”

This relationship feels like a hostage situation but oh well

Tomas Vrbada 

He wants to be as stern and serious as his brothers but we all know I babygirlify him so it's not happening 

He doesn't have a phone but he asks Johnny to use his and have your shit on repeat for the views 

Idk why but I feel like he's a Twice stan so he's no stranger to pop music. I have no reliable sources for this 

I could see him buying pins and keeping them in his pocket since he can't have it on his outfit 

I don't think for any of the brothers, your fans would know you're dating which is something they'd want. They're assassins. They can't be all over the internet. 

Doesn't go to concerts because he can't. Such a sad life 

Gives background smoke for effects cause he's a team player 

Wants to be the first to hear anything you're working on 

Gives you honest advice but nicely 

I think he has conflicting feelings about you always being in the spotlight. He loves that you're happy but is also worried because that comes with danger and if smth were to happen, there's a good chance he wouldn't be there 

I feel like Tomas can lowkey sing (once again no reliable sources present) so karaoke? karaoke. 

You could talk him into doing a collab but it'd never be released. It'd just be for you two 

He wants to keep up with everything you're doing as it's happening but once again, no phone. Instead he just checks in with you whenever he sees you 

The most aware out of the brothers that he's dating a celebrity. 

Probably the brother you'd feel the most supported by because he's the most expressive (?). He makes his support very known and doesn't question why you're doing what you're doing 

He doesn't give me as much Ken energy as Johnny does, but he still gives me “Ken only has a great day if Barbie looks at him”. Like I said for Johnny, you're Barbie regardless of gender 

Syzoth

Does Zaterra or Outworld even have popstars? For comedy sake, imma say not exactly 

He was ran out of Zaterra and he was working for Shang Tsung, so even if they do he had no time to actually enjoy music 

So when he hears you're a popstar, he has no idea what you're talking about. You have to genuinely explain what your job is, what you do, what's a tour, what's merch, etc. etc. 

Like the Lin Kuei Bros, he has no phone. He doesn't understand technology at all. He's like a grandpa fr, so his interactions with your music is slim to none when it comes to music videos 

Explain it to him as many times as you want. He doesn't get it. 

You have to actually show him the video on your phone. You have to show him any merch you have so he can pick whatever he wants and you can sneak it to him 

Prefers you singing for him live rather than watching a music video but he watches them anyway because you're really proud of them 

Like Tomas, he likes little pins or other little trinkets 

Since he was in a traveling circus, he knows what performing is but you're getting paid and treated fairly which he finds fantastic 

He is slightly worried tho from his time being in said circus. You have to explain that they're two different things (sorta, not really) and you're ok 

Has no idea what's going on but is supportive anyway

He tries really hard to understand Earthrealm customs and culture to better understand you. Is he successful? Probably depends on the subject 

He doesn't get merch at all or why it's so stupidly expensive. If you weren't giving it to him for free, he probably wouldn't buy it to be honest. He likes that you're proud of how it looks but why is it necessary for success? He just doesn't understand it 

Concerts he somewhat gets. The idea is cute but once he sees videos of people fainting, he swears he's never going to one of those 

Does not want your fans to know you're dating him. Does not want to be in any of your videos as himself or a lizard. Wants nothing to do with the spotlight. He has trauma with being known. 

It'll take awhile to explain to him what fan culture and memes are, but he's ready to learn for you. 

Idk if I wanna write more silly shit or angst shit. I guess we’ll find out next episode

[featheryminx]

hate post under the cut! this is so petty and purely a form of stress relief bc it’s finals season and i need some unserious venting. do not engage if ur a fan of buckt*mmy :) thanks

truly i have no words for this one. Girl what do you mean That Ship brought you so much joy you started watching 911 for them, and then stopped when they broke up? this isn’t like that egregious by their standards it just. it just boggles the brain.

why the fuck would chris meddle in this? these are grown ass men and he is a teenager who has a whole world of other problems, be serious. I also love how Those Shippers are so adamant that buck isn’t like that important or intertwined with Chris, up until they can use Chris as a plot point for their (bad) ship

okay so first of all—the 118 were never his friends. Like we gotta get that straight. He (can’t even say That Man bc that’s too ace attorney coded LOL) literally made chim & hens professional lives like, miserable? He was an active proponent of discomfort and harm and you think that the 118 is supposed to be on his side ever? no.

also like between Buck and Him, the 118 would never ever choose him. Like what the fuck does OP mean “the breakup has proven they aren’t his friends” as if there was something to disprove? There was no evidence suggesting that the 118 were his friends for that guy to even feel betrayed by. They just did not give a fuck about him.

you’re just making him italian to give him a cute plot point italian grandma? Talk about making him more and more eddie coded… like we already have Abuela we don’t need another grandma who speaks a diff language and has cute little names for buck. like this is literally just ripping off of eddies character bc you have nothing better to give this cardboard man who is Eddie Lite in every other way as well. (sorry to OP not a dig on your actual writing, it’s just the eddie-ification of your blorbo that bothers me)

WHAT IS YOU BITCHES OBSESSION WITH SAL? IF IM REMEMBERING CORRECTLY SAL WAS ALSO A WEIRD RACIST FREAK! are you weird and racist? is that why you’re obsessed with weird racists? grow up.

GET BUCKS NAME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH how dare you suggest that a song could apply to buck & temu and also sal/temu? gross. ALSO see above for my criticism of sal & temu obsessed weirdos.

so you think a racist, disrespectful clown is easier to stomach than someone having safe, sane, consensual sex? Like let me remind you—Temu was ridiculously paternalistic towards Buck all the time, and never respected him (first date, the way he talked about him to hen and karen) and is also canonically racist and misogynistic and also apparently has no remorse over the way he treated his beard or no respect for her as a human… and you think THAT is easier to stomach than a guy having casual sex? shows where your priorities lie.

GET MY GIRLS OUT OF YOUR MOUTH. he was so dismissive of their concerns in that deleted scene and u want more of those interactions? no baby. absolutely not.

el em ef ay oh. that’s all.

why the FUCK would he be involved, bffr. like practically, we know this is an athena plot. and also. DING DONG THE WITCH IS FUCKING DEAD and he’s not coming back. cope. seethe.

ugh i can’t add more images? okay i’ll just transcribe the post it’s short. basically it’s a snippet of a scene where Temu says “I’ve got your back”, because of course they have nothing better to do than steal from the buddie dynamic. like. that’s just embarassing.

[lemonandpie]

The Sladick content you post intrigues me, but I have no idea where to start comic book canons! What kind of dynamic do they have, and could you please recommend the best sources of canon for them?

Oh hey it's the post that killed my phone 🫠

Post, take 2!

OK, so, basics: Slade Wilson (aka Deathstroke) is an assassin with superhealing who decided to spend several years tormenting a group of teenage superheroes. Dick Grayson is, of course, the leader of said teenage superheroes.

From what I know in the comics, Slade makes himself the Titan's big bad because he blames them for his son's death. Except he grows to genuinely admire Dick's skills, and by the time Dick is Nightwing, they have a friendly adversarial relationship, which the fandom of course took and ran with. Lots of Slade challenging Dick to stop whatever assassination Slade is there to carry out, but neither of them actually try that hard to catch each other.

Of course, that backstory is a bit too dark for a kid's show, so after a season of Slade fucking with the Titans, Dick becomes so obessed with finding Slade that his bedroom is covered in every spot by information about Slade. All while Slade is matching Dick's freak and has a wall of Robin surveillance videos. Then we find out that Slade is obsessed with Dick specifically. Because he wants Dick to be his apprentice.

Cue blackmail. And implanted bombs. Sending Dick to attack Wayne Enterprises (which very heavily implies that Slade has figured out Dick's identity).

All of this is a great time, obviously, and the basis of a perfect ship, but a very important thing to remember is that, even if they can't say anything outright (again, kid's show), is that Teen Titans does everything it can to hint at Slade being very sexually predatory. Pinning Dick down while he tries to escape, gently putting a clip in Terra's hair while promising that he can give her control over her powers (though he emphasizes "your power, my control"), all adds up to an awful lot of subtext. Keep in mind that in the comics, Slade did have sex with Terra when she was a minor, and Dick in the comics has a long history of being sexually assaulted to outright raped. The result is that Slade and Robin have a lot of sexual implications in their interactions, for better or for worse.

The apprentice arc doesn't really have a comics basis, but the fandom has in a way defaulted into combining them. Slade admires Dick, but that admiration is overrun by his search for revenge, and the answer he comes to is to try and force Dick into being his apprentice. Dick usually escapes, but with a lot of trauma (typically both psychological and sexual-- TT doesn't confirm that Dick has PTSD, but they do have him breakdown over induced flashbacks, so.) The biggest split tends to be over what happens next; if Dick continues to hate and fear Slade, or if he comes to respect him to the point where he's praising Slade to Bruce.

Honestly, I find that their best quality is that Sladick can be a fun friendly enemies ship, or a really harrowing portrayal of abuse, and both are equally supported by canon.

When it comes to the comics themselves, my knowledge is always very scattered because I've never had great access to comics and only know what I can get my hands on. So unfortunately I'm not able to direct you to specific runs. But I do highly recommend watching Teen Titans, both for the Sladick content and also because it's a genuinely great show (if you're an anime fan, you'll love it). The live action Titans does have a Slade arc, but unfortunately it like everything about Titans fails to live up to even a scrap of it's potential.

[crumplstiltskin]

Idk if anyones asked this before but how do you usually approach your anatomy? Did you do a ton of studies beforehand to get where youre at now (if so,,what kind of studies?) or did you just sorta pick up the skill along the way?? : ] big fan of how you draw bodies n stuff as someone who struggles with muscles a lot n your overall posing is so nice guhh… anyway have a good day! 🫶🫶 just curious on how you approach things

hi! first of all, thank you so much ! 😊💗 i've answered a similar question here. but short answer; yes, i've done more studies than i can count. and the practice doesn't stop! i still do observational sketches when i can. it does get easier the more you do it. you'll eventually get to the point where you can put down exactly what you pictured in your mind, but the most important thing is to study and understand how muscles work and where they connect under the skin.

not saying you should be doing medical studies or anything lol (unless you want to) but you won't learn unless you observe. i still use references now if i can't get something right but if i don't use any i follow the same principles (basic shapes and rules for certain body parts). you'll get what i mean once you do them! it's quite intuitive!

the best practice you can do is drawing a character in motion/interacting with the world around them or drawing two characters interacting with each other. i used to only do the latter, but doing studies from photographs is also very helpful.

EDIT: forgot to add but if you can find a reference where subjects are partly nude (underwear, or nude? up to you) with harsh lighting that helps a lot!!! you can see muscle definition better that way!!

(something to remember: each drawing you make is practice/a study in itself for your craft)

i have a tiktok i think would be helpful in how i construct anatomy. so please take a gander! i hope i answered your questions. if i wasn't clear enough or if you wanted to ask anything else, feel free :-)

[king-paimon]

Houseki no Kuni Chapter 103 Thoughts: Can't Stop the Inevitable But It'll Be OK (Maybe...)

Hello hello hello. Long time no see, Houseki no Kuni fandom! How have you all been? It's been a while. That hiatus Ms. Haruko Ichikawa took much longer than expected. That's fine by me because I've been pretty busy these past few months. Mostly the usual stuff; had some major ups and downs for me and those who I care about, annoying work/life events, though I had the wonderful opportunity to branch out and meet people who could help me with my career, found some new stuff to obsess over, etc. I honestly forgot about Houseki no Kuni for a little while until I saw the announcement about the latest chapter.

And now here we are.

This chapter was very dialogue heavy, though fairly straightforward. It seems to confirm some of the thoughts and theories other fans and myself had made back in chapter 102, though I left me asking a few new questions. They aren't big questions, but I just can't help but wonder...

This will definitely be one of my shorter posts because I don't have any big analytical thoughts here, just with lots of pictures from the chapter, so I'll make sure to add the spoiler tag. As always, please feel free to share your own thoughts in this post and sorry in advance for any mistakes or ramblings. Might add more later, but I can't promise anything.

Anyways, here we go!

It'll Be OK: Liberation Of Internalized Suffering

The interaction in this chapter was interesting. Like I stated above, this chapter confirms that Phos is scared of corrupting the new rock species or being the catalyst that would cause humanity to come back. They don't want to be the source of suffering again, even if it meant destroying the very last remaining piece of their original self. They were ready to do whatever it took to prevent that from happening, even by having the entity who hated humanity do the deed.

But what surprised me a little in this chapter was Eyeball. For one, even though he could have fulfilled Phos's request, he didn't. He claims that there's only a trace of humanity on Phos's remaining piece, but states that it'd go away over time, therefore there's no reason to destroy it, even though Phos initially wanted that. I'll get back to this part later.

The other thing that surprised me was how Eyeball was able to placate Phos's current mindset, at least for a little bit, and he do it in an interesting way. Eyeball basically told Phos "Hey, your fear might come true... but it'll be okay. If if comes to that, I'll figure something out. And you shouldn't worry too much about it even if it happens because all things will come to an end one day, including us, and things will start over again in some way. There's no point in stressing about that future, so don't worry about it."

In some ways, I kind of see this as Eyeball liberating Phos by taking some of their burdens onto himself by him stating that he'd be the one to figure out what to do if humanity did come back, not Phos, all the while dispelling Phos's other concerns by stating that Phos shouldn't waste their time worrying about what could happen. Phos's fears might come true... but so what? That's just how things go. Somethings are just out of your control and change is inevitable. Yes, it's stressful to worry about but that's just how it is. That's the strange beauty of it all, at least that's how I see it.

And I don't know about you, but I just really liked Eyeball's monologue through these pages.

In the end, I think this interaction helped Phos by the fact that despite their fears, they chose to tell the pebbles about what the Professor said and humanity. Because even though Phos understands that humanity is capable of doing horrible things, thanks to their own experience as a sufferer and perpetrator, they also understand that there are parts of humanity that is capable of creating wonderful things. I'm glad that Phos is the one who wants to take this task. Despite everything, Phos is taking it upon themselves to be the one to teach these aspects to the pebbles so they can have the freedom to figure out how they can learn and evolve from this point onwards. It may lead to a better version of "humanity" or it could lead to something very similar. Who knows? But at least Phos is (hopefully) giving them what they need to figure themselves out.

What will come from this interaction is anyone's guess and I'm hoping we will soon see within the next, and hopefully last, couple of chapters.

The Last Piece Of The Past: Why Keep it?

One of the things that this chapter left me questioning was the final piece of the original Phosphophyllite. Not only is this the last remainder of Phos, but it may be the very last piece of the last human descendants; not just for the gems, but for the admirabilis and the lunarians. If what Eyeball said about the Lunarians intentionally leaving a piece of Phos's untarnished self behind is true, my question.. is why? Why did they leave this behind in Phos?

Was this for Phos's benefit somehow? Is it supposed to remind them of their origins or who they represented they obtained their final deity form? Or is the piece supposed to serve as some sort of artifact that could be beneficial for future organisms that would form over the course of time?

At this point, I have no clue. If anyone has any theories, please feel free to add them or post them!

Until Next Time! (Hopefully sooner than 4 months...)

That's honestly all that I have at this point in time for this post. I may come back to it and add more, but I can't promise anything. I don't know how my future posts for the hopefully last chapters will go, but I'll be honest... I can't wait to see it end. I enjoyed this story and I'm still looking forward to see what happens next, but I'm ready to it end.

For those of you who like these rambles, thank you so much! I still love seeing everyone's thoughts and I can't wait to see what people think of this chapter.

Hopefully this will be the last hiatus Ms. Ichikawa will have and we'll be facing the true final stretch of this story.

Or maybe we'll face another hiatus after another couple of chapters.

We'll see.

See you later!

[chirpsythismorning]

The Hellflire Club Foreshadows Mike's Monologue (and More Than You Think...)

Several fans have noticed already that there are direct parallels between Mike's monologue in The Piggyback, with Eddie's monologue in The Hellfire Club.

While we've been grappling with all sorts of supernatural creatures over the course of Stranger Things' entire run, here Eddie is warning us about forced conformity and how that is the real monster.

This has also led fans to joke painfully about the fact that Max 'died' because forced conforming; that's what's killing the kids, aka Mike's whole speech to El wouldn't have happened the way it did in the first place, had him, Will and El not been trying so hard to be who they think they're supposed to be, instead of who they truly want to be.

However, what I want to add to this discourse, because I haven't seen anyone else acknowledge it (correct me if i'm wrong!?), is that this scene at lunch has two extras with whom Mike sits between, which are very likely meant to represent Will and El.

We've seen a lot of (love) triangle blocking used with these three before, often with Mike between the two. This screen-cap below has gotta be one of the most iconic and so I feel the need to mention it briefly:

What also makes this shot relevant as an example for this post, is the costume choice for Will and El here: the same shade of dark blue (hints of gray), and the fact that this doesn’t align with the colors/style they usually wear as individual characters. However, this was presumably one of the few times Will and El have genuinely interacted beyond supernatural happenings. And so now, with both of them standing on either side of Mike, after two seasons of him having only one of them beside him, and while the other was out of reach, what we're seeing is that these two are more or less two sides of the same coin. Whether Will and El are actually blood related (I'm like 75% sure they could be) remains to be seen. However Mike's bond between both of them individually is causing him to sort of be at war with himself (and his identity).

Now bear with me, because I know so many of you see theories/analysis involving set design/blocking/costumes and you just instantly check out and stop taking it seriously. But I can assure you, this is the real deal.

What follows, is so outrageously easy to overlook. And yet upon thinking about what it actually requires to film a scene, especially a scene like this with dozens of background extras, along with how this scene actually turned out, I'm going to explain why there are several factors which make me feel fairly confident about what these two specific extras represent.

To start things off, we know how this scene begins, with Eddie dramatically reading a Newsweek magazine:

"The Devil has come to America. Dungeons and Dragons, at first regarded as a harmless game of make-believe, now has both parents and psychologists concerned. Studies have linked violent behavior to the game, saying it promotes satanic worship, ritual sacrifice, sodomy, suicide, and even... Murder."

After they give us a short introduction to some of the faces of the Hellfire Club (notably Eddie), they cut to this point of view shot from Mike:

Here we are instantly introduced to the two extras that are going to dominate a majority of this scene outside of the main characters themselves, aka Willel...

note: interesting they don't include Mike in the shot for that specific sound bite below... almost as if he considers himself a freak for a different reason...

Yes, on the surface this scene is establishing that Mike and Dustin are finding a place in High School, as the freaks and geeks, but a place nonetheless.

Though, is that really all there is to it?

You'll see what I mean.

note: there's no meaning behind the circles touching here. i just wanted to acknowledge here that the El extra is visible at first, only for her to become hidden the moment that the Will extra becomes visible.

Now, this shot right here below is kind of iconic, because it's what made me realize that this girl extra here in the scarf represents El.

To provide a little more context, the Will extra next to Mike has already been picked up on by a decent amount of fans. I've even posted about it at least once. This guy definitely resembles Will at certain angles, to the point where he could arguably be a stand in/stunt double for scenes that don't require a close-up of him.

Also keeping in mind, this is a scene of the party in high school, in a D&D club. Assuming Will could have stayed in Hawkins and went to high school with the party, he would've more than likely been right here beside them. So that's what I initially got out of this scene and still partially do get out of it, regardless of these other observations I'm discussing here.

What's so fascinating about the Will extra though specifically, is that they avoid showing his face as much as possible, which is a unique choice that we're just not seeing be applied to the other extras in the frame. They even let us see the face of the guy across from the Will extra (blue/yellow striped shirt guy) multiple times, but apparently they really wanted to avoid showing this guys face (there are a few notable, but fleeting side profiles from an outside POV), almost to keep up this guise that we could imagine this is Will and hell, it could be him, bc it's pretty damn close.

However, upon recently rewatching this scene, I remember looking for other points when this Will extra might have been prominent, to see if I could find anything else.

And that's when I realized this girl in the scarf, directly blocks the Will extra at the most convenient time.

And that's when it hit me...

FORCED CONFORMING!!!!!!!

The following images below is when it really starts to get obvious that there was an intended direction going on here with the blocking of these two extras, in accordance with Mike's placement in the frame.

What sealed the deal for me, was noticing how the other extras surrounding them (excluding Willel), do not seem to be granted much importance in the continuity of this scene.

Continuity between shots is pretty essential to filmmaking. It's gotta be the main thing about film that just bugs me, which is that you can tell very visibly when a shot is followed by another shot, but from a separate take (has the capacity to ruin the illusion that this is real and not all fabricated).

For example, what I gather from the beginning of this following conversation, is that there were at the very least 2-3 takes done for these reaction shots of Dustin and Mike, and it's because the extras in the background give it away. Sometimes they're in the frame, sometimes they're not.

The Will and El extras provide a contrast to all the other extras, in that the continuity for their blocking in the frame is fairly spot on each time, equal to the standards of the main cast arguably. Meaning they had a mark and they had to stick with it.

Check this out:

side note: star wars reference (luke & leia??)

The most obvious thing that gives away the importance of these two extras, besides the blocking, is them both sporting an almost identical color in their costume. While the Will extra wears a maroon shirt, the El extra wears a scarf in that same color.

This is so simple yet sort of genius, because again, from what I understand, no one has noticed this, and so it's pretty epic once you finally do pick up on it.

The Will extra is almost always in the frame on Mike's right? The El extra is facing the the opposite direction as them (not on the same page), and wearing a scarf, which is there to represent the tentacle choking her during Mike's monologue...

This theory does take a turn for the hilarious, when at a later point Eddie starts monologuing again, while Dustin and Mike look at him fondly (w/ Mike in focus), the Willel extras are now nowhere to be found...

I think this choice was made to indicate that Mike's attraction to Eddie is based on the most basic type of attraction, while what he shares for Will and El is so much more complicated (and deep). When you're just experiencing everyday attraction, you're not thinking about your significant other or your hearts desire in that moment, because this moment is just a blip encounter that isn't going anywhere, it's attraction and that's all there is to it. Whereas what he feels truly for Will is true love, while what he feels truly for El is familial love. This tiny moment isn't about his conflict over his romantic feelings, it's about the fact that Mike is attracted to men.

And then what follows directly after this, is that little snippet of Eddie's monologue, which echoes Mike's monologue to El at the end of the season...

Oh and look who it is?! The El extra has made a reappearance, just in time!

This is one of the few times they made a point to have the El extra in the frame while the Will extra wasn't, which I also think is intentional because it could be a hint to how Mike's speech about falling in love with El the moment he saw her is a fabrication (copyright to be exact), and it also doesn't resemble the love that Mike has for Will, hence why he was almost entirely left out of those shots. (Also similar to Mike's monologue at the end of the season, where Will was in certain shots but not others, because the words did/didn't match Mike's feelings for Will at those points).

Lastly, we get a Gap (gay and proud) reference for Mike. And low and behold, the Will extra is making a reappearance, just in time!

I think what makes this scene easier to understand on a basic level, without making it too complicated for yourself, is comparing the implications that come with it, to the implications that came with Mike's monologue.

The choice to put Will in most of the shots, directly behind Mike as he professes his love to El, who is lying before him unable to look in his eyes or even respond, leads those truly paying attention, to the conclusion that this is not how you shoot a satisfying love confession. Therefore it can't be a genuine love confession.

Instead what this scene more so depicts is a character having a confession practically wrenched out of him. And because of all the other details happening over the course of this season and just the series overall, we can gather that Mike feels pressured to go through with this because he thinks he has no other choice.

They didn't beat the big bad this time, instead they lost. Because forced conforming, that's the real monster.

With only one season left, they're going to have to face the truth if they want to make it out alive this time (and happy!).

[danielfeketewrites]

The Marvels (2023)

Not usually reviewing films but here we are. A friend of mine invited me to the cinema to see The Marvels. And so we did, two days ago.

Neither of us expected much. I haven't seen Ms. Marvel. I thought Captain Marvel was 'meh' and a bit bland. Not offensive in any way (if you discount the blatant milatary propaganda) but ultimately Just A Marvel ProductTM. And not even a fun one. At least not fun for me.

And no offence to Teyonah Parris, but her character was definitely the least interesting thing about WandaVision. That's not saying much, seeing as that miniseries was great and one of the best things Marvel did since Infinity War... But it just goes to say that this didn't seem that promising.

The trailer for it looked quite cool though.

My friend Marek, who was bitching to me about how bad Captain Marvel is for years now, invited me to see The Marvels with him in the cinema. Mostly as a joke. Although he did enjoy Ms. Marvel. But still, neither of us expected much.

To our surprise - The Marvels is really good and we both enjoyed ourselves a lot.

It's really, really good.

While I don't think it can stand shoulder to shoulder with stuff like The Suicide Squad, Across the Spider-verse or GotG Vol. 3, I still feel comfortable calling it one of the best superhero movies of this decade so far. It's easily the 2nd best MCU movie since Spider-man: Far From Home, imo. (admittedly, I haven't seen all of them, so take this hot take with a grain of salt... I just really enjoyed The Marvels)

So now I'm gonna do a wee bit of gushing about some of the reasons why it's so good. (spoilers bellow)

Carol, Kamala, and Monica are just really fun to watch? Their interaction is amazing.

Kamala can be a bit cringey but in an authentically teenage way and I really enjoyed that! Her being a huge fan of Captain Marvel never stopped feeling real. Yeah, of course she's into RPF.

Consequences! I love when things in stories have consequences. And this is all built around consequences to the stuff Captain Marvel did. She did them with good intentions... But that didn't necessarily matter. And I love that. It adds a bit of complexity and nuance that's less and less common in superhero movies these days.

Which ties into... Carol not being perfect. She's amazing and powerful but she can't save everyone.

Carol is also... really fun? With a slight nudge she just became a really well-written, interesting protagonist? I love this version of Captain Marvel and I want more!!! Brie Larson finally gets to show off a bit as an actress!

She just really gave me Xena vibes, in the best possible way.

While the villain isn't an all-time great, the actress went for dignity and it payed off. She feels iconic and you understand where she's coming from.

Monica's sacrifice was quite powerful and kinda hit me.

The "training sequence" where Carol, Monica, and Kamala are practicing the switching is perfect. I love it. No notes.

I love that while it's only an indirect continuation of Captain Marvel, it takes the best bits from that film and builds on them. For me, Goose is the best bit of that film - a cat, but make it eldritch and alien, as well as bigger on the inside? Nice, love it. So what do we do with that idea the second time around? MORE CATS!!! I got a bit excited when I saw the kittens in the trailer and they did not disappoint. (Can the next movie be set on their planet? Please?)

But it's not just "there are kittens now" though. THE KITTENS ARE INTEGRAL TO THE PLOT. It's not just there to be there, but it's an important plot point. And it's so fun!

Nick Fury is also fun.

But it's not just taking what worked and expanding on it. This movie got really creative!

For example - the worlds! Especially the Bollywood planet. Great stuff.

That's just some of the reasons to like this film. I'm probably gonna watch it again when it's on Disney+

If you haven't seen it yet, go do that it if it's still playing in a cinema near you. It's definitely worth a watch if you are in the mood for a fun, well-made superhero film.

I'm really looking forward to what Nia DaCosta does next. This film really didn't deserve to underperform and I hope she gets another stab at a big blockbuster like this in the future.

[mysteryshoptls]

SSR Cater Diamond Halloween Personal Story

"What a bunch of lies"

[Main Street]

♪♪♪

Cater: Oh? I got a message on Magicam. Oh hey, it's that one follower! It's been a while～

Cater: Because of the Ramshackle ghosts, the campus is totally abuzz →

Cater: I jumped on that and made post after post on my Magicam account → Cay-kun's big plan to grow his following was a major success!

Cater: And everything was good up to that point...

Cater: My comments and DMs are a huge mix of both new followers and old acquaintances.

Cater: Not only classmates from back in my middle school days, but even elementary school, too.

Cater: "It's been so long, everybody～! You wanna come hang at my school? Sure, your boy Cay-kun'll welcome you with open arms!"

Cater: "Come hang out at the NRC Halloween event whenever you want ☆"

Cater: And then add a ton of heartfelt little emojis!

(^○^)♪　(ゝω・)☆　d(’ｖ｀*)b

Cater: Man, everyone's real casual and light～ Eh, I guess it makes it easier on me too.

???: HEY YOUUUUUUーーーー!!!!!

Cater: Whose crazy booming voice is that? I got a bad feeling about this…

[Front Gate]

Sebek: ALL YOU HUMANS BETTER STOP TRYING TO CROWD HIS LORDSHIP! SCATTER! BEGONE!

Man A: Hey, whaddya think you're doing, Mr. Slicked-Back-Hair! Don't get in the way of my Draconian Challenge.

Man B: Yeah, we're gonna upload a picture of us touching that esteemed Malleus so the whole world'll see how awesomely we risked our lives!

Man A: Huh? Wait, Malleus disappeared all of a sudden. Ughhh, it's all your fault, Slick.

Man B: Hey man, don't look so angry. You'll ruin your cool slicked-back look. You gotta put a smile on your face!

Sebek: I cannot accept that mere humans like yourselves are speaking so lightly the name of the revered Lord of Briar Valley as mere amusement…

Sebek: And the reason my hair is slicked back is so I have a clear field of vision in order to pinpoint rude people like you all!

Sebek: As retribution for this insult to the Draconia family… I shall reduce all of you to ashes by my thunder!

Sebek: URRRYAAAAA～～～

Cater: Alright, stooooop! Hello from the Halloween Steering Committee.

Cater: You can't be fighting, mmkay? Can you tell me what's going on?

Sebek: Don't you dare get in my way, you ridiculous-looking human. I'll turn you to ash alongside them!!!

Cater: Oh but, if you harmed these visitors with magic, won't that be a scandal for the Draconia family?

Sebek: Ur-Urgh… That may be so. Also, did you say you were from the Halloween Steering Committee just now?

Sebek: Both the young master and Lilia-sama are also executing similar duties as you…

Sebek: I was given a command to follow any instructions made by any of the other committee members. Alright, I shall speak with you.

Cater: You're standing there all cross-armed and straight-backed, but that's you trying to apologize to me, I'm sure.

Cater: Anyway, these gentlemen are important guests of this school. They're not trying to harm Malleus-kun at all.

Sebek: These weak, magic-less humans are using their toys to try to make my liege into a sideshow. I cannot accept this!

Cater: Isn't it because Malleus-kun is super famous and someone that everyone looks up to?

Cater: Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he interacted with the guests as a bit of fan service, at least for this event?

Sebek: Ridiculous. My lord is a person who should have all others kneeling before him and lowering their heads in awe.

Sebek: AND IT IS FOR THAT REASON THAT I WILL ALWAYS STAY BY HIS SIDE AND PROTECT HIM WITH MY LIFE!!!!!

Cater: THAT'S WAY TOO EXTREME!

Man A: Hey, why're the two of you arguing like that after getting in the way of our Draconia Challenge?

Sebek: Hm? Oh, were you still here, human? I told you to leave already.

Man B: Haah? What's this little student kid thinking talking back to us like that?

Cater: Hey, hey, now. C'mon guys, it's Halloween! Here, come take a picture with me!

Cater: My costume as someone from Heartslabyul is of a creature of the night that springs out from under the ground ☆

Man A: Oooh! Now that you mention it, you're rocking that outfit, and look super rad!

Cater: 'Kay, let's all turn our frowns upside down and squeeze in, everyone! Strike a pose～～～!

Cater: HAPPY HALLOWEEN ☆

[shutter clicks]

Cater: (Sigh… Man, I'm so tired)

[Classroom]

Kalim/Cater/Lilia: Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh～～～ So tireddddddd～～～

Cater: This year's Halloween's way too crazy. Especially 'cause of the guests all being so rowdy…

Kalim: I like entertaining guests and all, but Jamil's mood's gotten so bad that it's terrible.

Lilia: Even we're totally exhausted and we're supposed to be the three peppiest boys here. Most of the other students must already be at their limit.

Kalim/Cater/Lilia: Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh～～～

Cater: Well anyway, it's great that we ended up having all of the Pop Music Club members on the Halloween Steering Committee.

Cater: Let's have one of our club's customary snack breaks, while we strategize some countermeasures.

Kalim/Lilia: AYE, AYE～!

Cater: Ta-daa, I brought this. It's Trey-kun's handmade pumpkin pie! It's my absolute fave, 'cause it's not too sweet ♪

Kalim: I brought a knafeh. It's a type of cheesecake from Scalding Sands. It tastes best when it's eaten hot!

Lilia: Oho. You both brought stuff that suits Halloween, I see. And here, last, but not least, here's what I brought.

Lilia: Licorice candy!

Cater: That's the same thing you always bring!! Both me and Kalim already told you we don't really like it.

Kalim: Yeah, it's got a little too strong of a smell, it makes my nose crinkle～

Cater: But hey, I guess it's black, so it's got a kind of Halloween feel to it.

Cater: Oh yeah. Let's take a picture of the three of us together. It'd be great to show off how good we look with our Halloween costumes and sweets.

Cater: 'KAY, HAPPY HALLOWEEN ☆

[shutter clicks]

Cater: #TheBestHalloween☆ #OurCostumes #OurTreats #PopMusicClub #NRCHalloween

Kalim: The best? Weren't you just saying you were super exhausted, Cater?

Cater: I mean, I'm not lying when I say I'm excited, either, and it's better to be more peppy when posting online.

Lilia: That's the spirit, Cater. This is the age where you can connect to anyone in the world. It's better to spread happiness, rather than complaints.

Cater: Oh! I'm getting some good responses on that picture I just uploaded to Magicam!

♪♪♪

Cater: It's a message from that person again. Were they always this persistent?

♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪

Cater: Now they're calling. So persistent…

Kalim: Oh, is that a friend, Cater? You can answer it here if you want.

Cater: Hmm～ …More like an old acquaintance? But it's fine. 'Cause we're in a super important meeting right now, anyway!

Lilia: All we're doing is eating snacks and taking pictures to upload to Magicam, however…

Cater: We're in that age where we can connect with people whenever we want, right? So I can't be fielding calls in real time all the time, y'know.

Kalim: Wow, you get that many people calling you all the time? Man, you're really a social butterfly, Cater～

Cater: Eh, I guess, if you think that's what it means to have a wide circle of acquaintances?

Cater: My father works as a banker, you see. And banks have branches all over the world.

Cater: So, whenever my dad got transfer orders, the whole family had to move.

Cater: We probably moved about once every two years or so, so I guess you could say I'm a pro at packing, or something like that?

Lilia: We were always one of those families that never settled down.

Kalim: So, when you were younger, you traveled all over the world, huh. Well, I totally see how you made so many friends, then.

Cater: Yeah, that person who messaged me earlier also considered me a friend, I guess.

Cater: I definitely met more people changing schools in such a short amount of time like that, than I would have if I stayed in one place.

Cater: The best kinds of people, and the worst kinds of people… I met 'em all. But there was always just one thing in common.

Kalim/Lilia: ……？

Cater: I would leave there eventually, and they'd all stay.

Cater: That's why instead of a down-to-earth relationship with someone, I'd rather just have a casual and happy-go-lucky relationship with everyone.

Cater: Kind of like those circus guys who'll come in for a whirlwind of fun with people all around the world, and then leave when it's done.

Cater: That's why Magicam's real neat. I even can get messages from people I knew in school three years ago.

Cater: I'm able to make more and more casual and light friendships, y'see? Now that's Cay-kun approved ☆

Kalim: I don't think you gotta restrain yourself, just 'cause you're far away from them, do you?

Kalim: Oh, I got an idea! I'll lend you my magical carpet. That way you can go see your friend anytime you want.

Cater: … Thanks, Kalim-kun. Maybe I'll use it one day?

Lilia: ―I think I understand you.

Cater: Huh?

Lilia: The bonds built between people will never disappear. It continues on forever.

Lilia: And sometime in your future, new bonds will develop that you cannot avoid. That is just what happens.

Lilia: However, the more important a bond you carry with someone, the lonelier it will feel without them.

Lilia: Why do we feel this way? I've lived quite a long life, and yet it's still shrouded in mystery to me.

Lilia: Just as you professed earlier, Cater, perhaps one truth to it all is to avoid becoming too attached to certain people.

Cater: Lilia-chan, what just came over you? No, what I wanted to say was―

♪♪♪♪♪♪

Lilia: Hello, it's Lilia-chan. What's up?

Cater: Man, he's just super alright with answering the phone in the middle of a conversation, huh.

Lilia: Oh, Sebek. What's going on? Why are you shouting? I'm in a meeting with Cater and Kalim right now.

Lilia: WHAT!? MALLEUS IS WHAT―!?

Kalim/Cater: !?

[Hall of Mirrors]

Silver: Please don't push. There is no entry permissible into the Hall of Mirrors

Man A: Eeeeh, come on! I came all this way out the remote Sage's Island just to see Malleus Draconia.

Man B: We're trying to do the Draconia Challenge! C'mon～

Woman C: He's inside, right? The real Draconia! The Malleus!

Guests: MALLEUS! MALLEUS! MALLEUS!

[lightning flashes]

[thunder rolls]

Silver: This was supposed to be a special event. And Malleus-sama himself stepped up to help host these guests…

Silver: And yet for this sort of thing to happen…

Silver: You all should leave now. Malleus-sama is extremely angry.

Man A: We all spent a ton to travel all the way here. Doesn't he know the meaning of noblesse oblige?

Guests: MALLEUS! MALLEUS! MALLEUS!

[Exterior Hallway]

Cater: So, even Malleus-kun's gotten pissed off at all the Magicam clout chasing guests, huh?

Sebek: Correct. At first, he was so calm that he was even telling me to settle down…

Sebek: But then one fool grabbed at his horns and did some sort of pantomime.

Sebek: SAYING, "JUST LIKE AN OLD BICYCLE!"

Lilia/Cater: GAH!!!

Cater: Don't know if that was brave… or just reckless…

Cater: So then, all those dark clouds and lightning that's looming over the Hall of Mirrors is Malleus-kun on a magical rampage?

Cater: Wait, he wouldn't overblot over something like this, would he…!?

Lilia: Don't fret. He won't overblot just by using that amount of magic.

Lilia: This is a mere temper tantrum. Back when he was a wee one, he would also completely reduce crags to mere pebbles with his lightning whenever he threw a fit like this.

Cater: Hahaha… He's just on a different level entirely.

Cater: It was smart that we sent Kalim-kun along to go call for a professor.

Sebek: When Vil-senpai realized what was happening, he evacuated my liege, and is putting up barriers to make sure to no harm comes to the visitors.

Sebek: Also, it seems Jade-senpai is working on trying to persuade the young master to come back to his senses with his own tactics…

Sebek: All of these humans who still don't understand just how grave this situation has become are just causing further ire to my lord, and things are spiraling out of control.

Lilia: We'll have to use our last resort.

Lilia: In order to keep the "worst outcome" from happening, we should forcefully try to subdue all these rubberneckers.

Cater: Wait, Lilia-chan. I got an idea. 'Cause it's not like they all are here 'cause they hate Malleus-kun.

Cater: But that doesn't mean they really like him, though… More like, they're just trying to stick with what's "in" right now.

Cater: Basically, just like how my old acquaintances are doing.

Lilia: ?

Cater: Alright, first, I'm gonna snap a pic of you, Lilia-chan, since you're dressed the same as Malleus-kun!

[shutter clicks]

Cater: Next, I'll use the tool that every influencer needs. This photo editor'll stretch Lilia-chan's picture vertically!

[swipe, swipe]

Cater: Then, I'll just quickly slap some text on there. And then upload it alongside the picture!!

[chime]

Cater: #MalleusEncounter #DraconiaChallenge #UnexpectedMeetingOnTheSchoolGrounds #NRCHalloween

[chime]

Man A: H-Hey. Look at the DraconiaChallenge tag.

Man B: Looks like he's at the sports field right now. That's Malleus for ya. He's so much faster than us!

Woman C: Ooookay. Let's head over there, everybody!

Guests: YEAAAAAAAAAAH!

Silver: What is going on? Malleus-sama should still be within the Hall of Mirrors.

Cater: Whew. The storm should calm down now… Right?

Vil: For goodness sakes. Accidents are an unavoidable part of being on stage. To react as such to instigating visitors is such an amateur move.

Vil: Well, this is where I leave you, I will be heading back to my dorm for a moment to freshen up my appearance.

Jade: Well now, that was touch and go for a moment there. Malleus-san's power is quite mighty, isn't it.

Jade: I had wanted to persuade him to stop by utilizing good, strong eye contact, but it was much too far out of my depth.

Jade: And now, I shall also leave to return back to my station. Have a pleasant Halloween, everyone.

Malleus: I fear I almost stoke the coals on the relationship between our species during a mere school event.

Malleus: I must learn to control my emotions better…

Sebek: There is absolutely no blame that should fall on your shoulders, my liege! The fault purely lies at the feet of those indecent humans!

Silver: Malleus-sama just said he did not wish for any hostility between species. What do you hope to gain by exacerbating that hostility?

Sebek: WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME, SILVER?!?!?!

Lilia: Malleus. Have you forgotten the promise we made when you were naught but a wee one? Whenever the emotions in your heart are tumultuous, you should call for us.

Lilia: We may not be connected by blood, but we are family. Understand?

Malleus: Lilia… My apologies. And to everyone else, as well.

Silver/Lilia/Sebek: ……。

Cater: …Family…huh.

[FLASHBACK]

Lilia: ―I think I understand you.

Lilia: Just as you professed earlier, Cater, perhaps one truth to it all is to avoid becoming too attached to certain people.

Cater: (What a bunch of lies.)

Cater: (Lilia-chan's built up these priceless relationships from being with them together for a long while…)

Cater: (How can he even hope to understand my stupid, pathetic little feelings?)

♪♪♪♪♪♪♪

Cater: Hi, Trey-kun. What's up?

Cater: Eh? Our night-time rehearsal for our stamp rally site's starting now?

Cater: And my fellow committee member Deuce-chan's so shorthanded that Ace-chan's helping out?

Cater: Augh, Ace-chan's definitely trying to get me in his debt!

Cater: Gah! And Riddle-kun's on the verge of exploding? I'm on my way right now, Trey-kun, so try to calm him down for me!

Cater: I was just caught up in what could have been the biggest, most terrible crisis of this Halloween Week!

Cater: No, really! I'm not lying. Come onnn, don't be so cold to me, 'kay?

Cater: HHHHHHNNNGH, TREY-KUN YOU'RE SO HEARTLESS～～～～!!

Cater: Alright, now that the Diasomnia fiasco has calmed itself down, time to get hyped again.

Cater: It'll be the same here, anyway. Once four years pass, we'll all go our separate ways. …Well, guess not if I get held back～

Cater: So, I gotta make sure I enjoy the "now" as much as I can!

Cater: I'm gonna rock this skeleton costume and scare everybody!

Cater: I'll show 'em all just how hard Cay-kun can go.

Cater: HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Requested by Anonymous.

[bookishtheaterlover7]

👸- I'm breaking my rule of not talking about them for a hot second. I know this is lengthy, but I have a lot to say about how they are trying to drum up media by using fans.

It just occured to me we, the fans whoever is left, were used again. They saw pur comments about not giving them attention and adjusted thier strategy.

We all saw the photos discusses for maybe 180 minutes and then moved on. We all know they gave us what we all said last tine was missing/odd down to her out of place (we assume cause no one could actually see the dress) outfit and ridiculous heels to a "loving" hand hold flashing the ring.

But we all went theres a picture of before a possible kiss and after a possible kiss. But somehow they missed the money shot which many of us saw as in they didnt or whatever. Then we moved on to other topics and Then 24 hours later we get a video with 2 kisses and the video of said walking out.

THE PICTURE AND VIDEO OF THE KISS WAS HELD DELIBERTLY.

They did this deliberately to make sure fans talk about them for longer. Otherwise the picture of the kiss would have been released with all the others.

They did this because fans said that they arent going to give them and the poop show attention so it can go away faster. So what do thier teams do? Split up the relases. Usually outlets would have both whoever the pics were sold too usually gers the video but regardless the video is usually released at the same time.

And robert patterson who isnt media shy with his significant other went out the back to try and leave privately while the couple that says they are private didn't find a private way to leave.

chris and ebola waited infront of the glass in a weird position then give us those two very loving kisses. (I hope you all can detect my tone here)

We all saw her smirk and Chris' other language fans know so well. And if his body language starts changing again we will know it's because we all discussed it and the lurkers saw. If his body language doesnt change, that's a point in the win collum of it bejng true. Go ship. So congratulations, we all believe it is now true love!

The truth is no amount of papwalks can convince us anything other than someone seriously is holding something over Chris because I dont see any other reason why he's being forced to change to sell it. Its one thing to show up places, but having them try and act more like a couple from him is also another sign that its a sham. We have what 2 years' worth of videos to watch how they interact to compare to, so stop trying to give notes it makes everyone looks worse.

Real couples don't change what they wear and how they hold hands and act based on what fans say. Why because its idotic to do so no one wants to pretend to be aomeone they're nkt and destroys relationships as you can be who you are. And while im assuming that was gunna be the break uo angle- blame it on the fans you can't this time. Why?

This time you can blame his fans because its not just his fans the gen public online isn't buying thany of this bull 💩. That is based on Instagram comments and website comments all which have been limited/turned off the ability to comment.

After Britney Spears being forced to say she's fine for media ( a totally diffrent aituation minus that she was forced to lie that she is ok) and after Will smith and Jada revealed theyve seen seperated for 6 years but pretend theyre together for media reasons, people don't believe a lot of what's 'saud' ??and they especially dont believe/m and questjjn Hollywood couples like they used to

I have been so proud of the fandom or rather what is left to getting rid of the lablels and limiting our discussions.

Regardless if its her pr team CAA's team who is not only Chris' (as they are invested and actually have a distribution type role (i forget the exact name) in her new movie i teams really just proved how fake everything is and that they are lurking otherwise why would everything we all said across milti platforms tumblr, instagram and lipstick queen was suddenly included in this walk.

Do you want us to be convinced it's really a real relationship and they are just in the media to drum up press for thier releases?

(She had a movie that opened 2 days ago over seas)

Do you want to prove they are a real couple?

Then don't release ANYTHING for the next 2 months. No pap walks no reels no photos no stories, no magazine or website blurbs or sources, and no photos carousel of even Dodger. Her movies is released in 2 more places one in the end of January. The other was supposed to be in February but when I just checked the date was removed. Othwewise I expect to see another dog and pony show on or around January 27th.

If we get nothing for two months including Valentine’s day and this included blurbs in mags/online or "sources". Putting nothing out there it will go a long way to convince people that they are a private couple and they are together.

If not and we get one as planned on or around the 27th....

The truth is that her career is a non starter in the usa/north america. Not everyone makes it here- we all have seen way too much of her and since that didnt get any media coverage of that scandle nothing will really get her talken about minus 1 thing:

a REAL break up article

His career is close to being the same. We all see how Chris looks and the diffrent man he is now. Some are still holding out hope that well once again see the man who tweeted if you hang out with racists you are a racist even a charity wants nothing to do with him and he did do a lot for them, we all see that and that. That's why chris' career will dissapear or be on the c or d list as the man who used to be thst superhwro guy. My Point is:

IF YOU CONTINUE TO USE FANS LIKE THIS he won't have a career to go back to and all you press agents will be dropped because he wont have mkney to spend on people.. people who helped his career go down in flames. The only way he'll really be talked about for more thsn 300 minutes is if there is a break up article with truths

Otherwise we'll see you both again at the end of January and Chris will be told to adjust/change what he did wrong.... at least hollywoof knows he can take direction... we'll see the photos first sent to obscure blogs/accounts, then an outlet and then apprently video follows the photos now because you are all THAT desperate

P.S. it's a great choice to have him get makeup done makeup job on He looks a lot healthier (no one is buying that he actually changed that much in such a small amount of time is he wearing the new Prada or Dior foundation?)

No need for me to add anything else... 👸 said her peace, and damn is it everything and beautiful!