#i am interested in the style but doing it off of memory is no good. i might give this a few tries

[wainswright]

I looked up from the darkened basement. The roof had fallen in, letting in the silver bright moonlight, which as usual lit enough through the always cloudless skies to navigate the ruins of the institute without having to see if I could use the last of the camp’s dwindling resources. As I looked up I saw the thin trails of tree branches held still against the graying sky in the same unnatural way all branches held still in the Breach, only looking the same as a forest from a distance, but every leaf an extension of the branch, stiff and frozen in reality. The line of ants I had been following moved in monotonous lines fell into spiraling patterns as I got closer, another pattern of nature just following the edges of the real world, like the beetles and spiders I had found manifested in this place, eventually coming to gather in large piles and dying, as if reaching the end of a programmed life cycle. Always the same choices, always the same strict paths. The piles of the dead bugs grew out in neatly defined spirals, spilling across the floor to where I had entered the last room, the only hint of how long this process had been reoccurring present in the familiar way the spirals slowly crept north to south, bigger on the north end, smaller in the south. The same mathematical progression of the coordinates the whales kept disappearing to, if you added up the drift of currents to the beaches, while the breach in Australia slowly crept up- a countdown until the final patterns would sync.

[signedkoko]

I'd like to ask for a Vox x fem!reader in which Vox accidentally forgot their anniversary (I am a Vox enjoyer and i think we need more of him)

Vox X Reader [Romantic]

In which Vox forgets your anniversary, and begins to panic that he hasn't got anything set up.

You'd had plenty anniversaries together by now, and he had never forgotten a single one

Having an internal calendar allowed him to be extremely consistent

Even so, with a busier year than ever, his comfort with always remembering seemed to have affected his ability to actually do so

When you wake up and immediately wish him a happy anniversary, he puts on the act of saying it back and going back to 'sleep', but the moment you've left the room he is PANICKING

He thanks the heavens that you weren't the kind to hide it until he did something, and it gave him time to put something together

Though you caught him off guard when you came back holding two pairs of shoes, asking which ones suited your outfit better

" You're going out? "

" No! God no, it's our day! But I was hoping we could go out for brunch? "

Thank god, that crossed the morning scheduling off the table! He was happily slipping into something more romantic business casual and chasing you out the door

He was already ready to call his driver, when you took his hand and started walking

" I hope it's okay, but I think I'd like to walk there today, just us. "

Vox thinks you are just too sweet to say no

He didn't like being out in the streets of pride so much because of all the staring, but on such a nice morning with you all dolled up by his side, it was worth it

You always liked looking around and leading him to new places he'd never spot, much like today

A small corner spot with many glass windows, decorated in growing plants and gold trimmings

A big neon sign was lit atop, reading 'Rockin Johnny's', and when you entered the whole place was decorated in retro vintage diner style

It wasn't exactly the upscale place he had in mind, but you insisted and sat in one of the booths, surrounded mostly by hellborns

For about an hour or so, you both delved into cheap meals that were surprisingly good, talking about things you both enjoyed and sharing memories from the past

Vox couldn't help but feel guilty, seeing you so happy about today when he hadn't done a thing

" Listen, doll, I don't mean to ruin anything but, I completely forgot it was our anniversary today. "

" Well, duh! I wiped it! "

He paused, seeing you hold up a memory card

No one else had ever done that to him before, not for a long time, but you had an opportunity where no one else did, he trusted you

" I promise to give it back! It's just, I wanted to surprise you this year and I couldn't do that without asking or, you know, this. "

You gave it back to him immediately, and the warlords silence finally broke with a hearty laugh

You were too adorable, and admittedly clever

Though, he's especially interested in hearing what you'd done to surprise him

Not that you were bad at them, but he had a lot more resources than you did

" Two tickets to Ozzies! I had to put us on the waitlist like, months ago! "

For a moment, hes surprised you managed to get them, but then, he laughed again

" Ah, and two sinners are going to leave the pride ring? "

" Oh, I got a pardon from Lucifer! "

...

Absolutely blue screens for a hot second there

How in hell did you get a pardon? From Lucifer?? Not only were they rare, but what you'd have to do to even get one in the first place is unimaginable!

Not sure how he can beat you next year, because dear lord if you pull out all the stops imaginable

Author's Note - Bet youd didnt expect THAT!! Allow me to surpris ethe reader instead!!!! Thank you for requesting <3

[sweet-s0rr0w]

Vintage Drarry Fics

Thought I'd put together a list of some of the old Drarry 'classics' of my teenage years, for anyone interested. All posted between 2001-2006, compiled using my (bad) memory, a lot of googling, fanlore.org and numerous different LJ rec accounts (including the incredible @capiturecs). I checked as best I could, but if anyone knows of any fics that their author doesn't want to be shared, please let me know and I will of course remove.

Please also note that these fics are of their era, when attitudes may have been different, and they may not all be grammatically perfect. I haven't reread all, as my own tastes have changed, but most importantly do note that they may not be tagged - don't blame me when, for example, Harry dies tragically on a rooftop at sunrise...

Hogwarts Era (mostly 5th-7th year)

A Thousand Beautiful Things by Duinn Fionn/geoviki (M, 105k)

Draco Malfoy struggles with changed fortunes, shifted alliances, an ugly war, and an unusual spell, with the help of a concerned professor, an insightful house-elf, and an unexpected Gryffindor friend.

All Bets Are Off by Allegra (R, 53k)

I am SICK of Good-little-innocent!Harry...Enter Playboy!Harry and his Overinflated Ego, a challenge, a bet, a couple of Really Cunning Plans - and there you have it, "Forty days and forty nights", Hogwarts style. Mayhem ensues! 

Angels and Devils by beren (E, 52k)

Harry defeated Voldemort and his act of heroism is famous throughout the wizarding world. He's trying to finish his final year at Hogwarts in peace, but, thanks to the method he chose to destroy The Dark Lord, something peculiar is happening to him, something he never would have expected. It's all rather embarrassing and making his life very complicated.

Artful Facade by Sky Sorceress (T, 66k)

Sometimes you fly too close to the sun and lose your wings. With sixth year approaching, the danger Harry seeks can be found only in the form of Draco Malfoy. What follows is a twist in the line between hatred, love, and need.

Beautiful World by Cinnamon/Lissadiane (M, 70k)

Harry finds out he's going to die on his 16th birthday. He embarks on a journey of self-destructive behaviour and drags Draco along for the ride. 

Beneath You by Cinnamon/Lissadiane (M, 113k)

Draco had no idea that the repercussions of stealing Potter's journal and shoving it down the back of his trousers would be so extreme.

Bond by AnnaFugazzi (M, 173k)

It seems 95% of H/D writers feel compelled to write a "Harry And Draco Are Forced To Be Together By Something Beyond Their Control And Then Unlikely Stuff Happens That Leads To Twoo Wuv" story. Count me among the 95% ;)

Checkmate by Naadi Moonfeather (T, 245k)

Draco has the perfect plan to get Harry Potter and challenges him to a game of Dare Chess. But is it love, or betrayal, he has in mind?

The Cicatrix Cycle by Ivy Blossom (NC-17, long!)

Three parts: Origins, Haven, Belong

Draco In Darkness by Plumeria (T, 41k)

Following an accident in his seventh year, Draco loses his eyesight. After Harry elbows his way into Draco's dark world, both boys find themselves in a strange new friendship, and they each learn new ways to see each other … and themselves.

Eclipse by PhoenixSong/Mijan (T, 287k)

"You're dead, Potter... I'm going to make you pay..." Draco swore his revenge on Harry for Lucius's imprisonment, and Harry all but laughed at him. But Draco is planning more than schoolyard pranks this time. The old rivalry turns deadly when Draco abducts Harry for Voldemort. It's the perfect plan, guaranteeing revenge, power, and prestige, all in one blow. But, when Draco's world turns upside down, the fight to save himself and Harry begins, and the battle will take them both through hell and back. If they come back. 

Friend Like Me by Lady Vader (M, 11k)

Draco's rendition of the love story that never was.

How Harry Potter Got His Groove Back by Durendal/Eleveninches (R, 12k)

Snape tries to hang himself, Draco enters an alternate reality, and Harry Gets a Clue. Humor, SLASH, naughty language, and other Evil Things. Harry/Draco, Snape/James/Lucius.

Irresistible Poison by Rhysenn (PG-13, 124k)

Under the influence of a love potion, Draco learns that poison doesn't always bring death -- there are other ways to suffer and live. Chemical emotion runs feverish as Harry and Draco discover the intoxication of love.

Lettered by pir8fancier (M, 7.8k)

Harry has a secret penpal, whose identity is as plain as the nose on his face. Except he's not wearing his glasses.

Love Under Will by Aja (R, 116k)

In their 5th year, Harry and Draco choose to be with one another; but the story--and the battle-- is just beginning...

playing the game, living the lie by Abaddon (R, 159k)

Set in Sixth Year, both the wizarding and Muggle worlds are threatened as Voldemort plans a final revenge. Past, present and future collide as all must consider where their loyalties lie; who they are, and who they want to be. Amidst it all, Harry and Draco begin a dangerous journey of understanding. Is it possible to leave everything you thought you were behind?

Resolution by Frances Potter (R, 322k)

When you've spent six years fighting evil, all you really want is a quiet time. But when your name is Harry Potter the chances of that are very slim. A series of vignettes chronicling Harry's final six months at Hogwarts. Exams, friends, lovers, Quidditch, the war and Draco all conspire to make the year end seem a very long way away.

Seamus is Seamus and You are Yourself by Ari Munami (PG-13, 31k)

Harry goes through some er... changes in his Sixth Year and everyone, including Draco Malfoy, sits up and takes notice.

Snakes and Lions by GatewayGirl (M, 139k)

When Ron and Hermione get together, they notice only each other. A nightmare prompts Harry to return alone to the empty Chamber of Secrets, and leads to a new look at an old enemy. Harry enjoys the company, but with Bellatrix Lestrange actively hunting him, how far can he trust a Death Eater's son?

Something Impossible by epicylical/Cassandra Claire (PG, 6.4k)

As punishment for an act of vandalism, Draco is forced to perform three tasks to win Harry's forgiveness - only they don't turn out to be exactly the kind of tasks he'd been expecting. With wet shirtless Draco, paint-covered Harry, and Proust-reading Goyle.

Transformation by amalin (E, 98k)

In Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts, he must face the consequences of the attack on the Department of Mysteries and the effects of Voldemort's return. And in doing so, he finds that even your enemies can teach you valuable lessons—about the world, and about yourself.

Walking the Line by SilentAuror (E, 179k)

Sixth year is over and Draco Malfoy is on the run. The war is on and an unwanted assignment is forced upon him by the only people he trusts - and a one-time arch-enemy just may be out to kill him.

Post-Hogwarts

Adagio in G Minor by furiosity (NC-17, 18k)

Seven years after Hogwarts and the war, life continues in the wizarding world. Draco Malfoy is rich, bored, and slightly jaded. Harry Potter is famous, busy, and somewhat disillusioned. They've not seen each other since school ended. What would happen if they were to cross paths again? What if it involved music?

Big Dick, Come Quick [PDF] by Calanthe (NC-17, 204k)

Draco’s got a theory. About sex. And after much searching for the right candidate, it appears that only Harry Potter, his life long enemy, can help him test it out.

Draco's Escort Service by Cheryl Dyson/dysonrules (15, 12k)

Draco's job is to escort travelers through the dangerous, war-torn countryside. Harry Potter is forced to hire him, but his destination isn't quite what Draco expected.

Left My Heart by Emma Grant (E, 85k)

Auror Draco Malfoy has disappeared, and Harry Potter has been sent to San Francisco to find him. 

Malfoy, P.I. by Nancy (R, 60k)

"I'm Draco Malfoy, private investigator. I've seen a lot--I mean a lot, and I'm like sweet seventeen a lot. I thought I'd seen it all, until a pair of green eyes stepped into my office." A noir AU set in L.A. where passion and magic collide. Slashy and sexy.

Queen of Hearts by scoradh (E, 65k)

A spectre is haunting Harry - the responsibility of his destiny. It looms over his future and, more importantly, over the future of his friends. Harry is determined to exorcise this spectre for the greater good, but on the way, he enters into a few unholy alliances.

Tissue of Silver by fearlessdiva (R, 76k)

A love story concerning possessed furniture, black silk pyjamas, courtroom drama, premonitions of doom, assassination attempts, Death Eater yoga, absinthe, bare feet and a sensible werewolf.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by November Snowflake (M, 58k)

When the long-missing Draco Malfoy turns up at a Ministry field hospital with amnesia, bitter Auror Harry Potter must confront the shadows of their shared past to shed light on a potentially deadly mystery.

Transfigurations by Resonant (E, 71k)

Five years after Voldemort's defeat, Harry returns to England to help re-open Hogwarts.

[the-roo-too]

candy -> kim minjeong ver

aka the fluff alphabet

admiration (what does she absolutely adore about you)- now hear me out loud and clear, when you’re on the chubbier side… 💳💥💳💥💳💥 my girl loves to squeeze your thighs ok 😔

body (what’s her favourite body part of yours)- i said what i said about thighs, not taking it back

cuddling (how she likes to cuddle)- she is HOLDING YOU. and i’m am telling you you’re laying on her no matter if you’re two times taller or whatever. she wants to feel your full body weight on top like a weighted blanket

dates (what’s her ideal date)- i may have read one too many fics about nerdy minjeong so me thinks a movie night? omg you’re watching jaws together and building the new lego jaws set, recreating some of the scenes with the legos when you’re done

emotions (how does she express her emotions around you)- jeongie is a dork and i stand by that. she’s very expressive, either smiling at you brightly or pouting when she’s sad

family (does she want one)- in this economy?

gifts (what about gift giving)- going with my nerdy winter agenda, she gives you random things connected to whatever you like. you’re into sharks? she bought a cutie real shark tooth necklace for you to wear and gives you a lecture about it. you’re into marvel? she dresses up as spider man and randomy surprises you in the suit

holding hands (does she like to hold hands)- i like to think winter get very clingy. she HAS to be touching you somehow so when you’re walking in public, you better hold her pinky.

injuries (what would she do if you got hurt)- poor babie gets so protective :(( if you twisted your ankle walking down the stairs, she’ll insist on carrying you down bridal style for a year after. cut your finger cutting cucumber? you’re banned from the kitchen

jokes (does she like to joke around)- if the spider man suit joke wasn’t enough, she does love jokes

kisses (how does she like to kiss you)- this is gonna be corny, still pushing my marvel agenda, winter would hang up a bar over your door to maybe try and like spider man kiss you upside down she falls and hurts her head

love (what’s her love language)- randomly talking about your interests! you’re walking around and you kneel down to pick up a pretty rock and she tells you everything she knows about it lol

memory (what’s her favourite memory together)- stick with me here, she actually didn’t like you at first. before dating you, she was kinda cold and closed off. one day when you were coming back from the company with her, it was raining. she didn’t have an umbrella but oops you have one! you shielding her from rain that day, that’s her favourite memory and also the one that made her warm up to you

nighttime (how does sleeping with her look like)- i think you two start out peacefully cuddling, both happy blah blah, then she hogs all of the covers while sleeping and turns into a cocoon, leaving you freezing 💀

oddity (what’s one quirky thing about her)- nerdy minjeong agenda is going strong yawl

pet names (what does she like to call you)- now this depends really on what you like. you want simple ‘baby’, ‘love’ etc? that’s good for her. you want something more personal? ‘optimus prime’ or ‘rizzler’

quality time (how does she like to spend time with you)- i talked about legos and movies, but i have one more thing 😼 puzzle! only you’re making a 1k piece and your playlist is playing in the back—illusion comes on and the almost finished piece lands in the floor because muscle memory kicked in and winter HAD to do the choreo

rush (does she rush into things)- no 🤙 as i said, winter actually didn’t like you at first lol. she warms up to you with time but the begging are hard

secrets (how open is she with you)- winter cannot keep a secret to save her life. you knew armageddon tracks long before they were released lol

time (how long did it take her to confess)- too long. i’m thinking half a year to two? imagine you go from kind of hating someone to kind of loving them? she has to think about it hard okay?!

upset (what’s her reaction when you’re upset)- i think she actually matches your energy. gets upset as easily as you do, which is a problem when you two have to work it out. then you’re just both pouting, sitting side to side and no one is saying anything

visibility (is she afraid of the public opinion)- all of aespa is traumatised by karina’s last relationship no girl is coming out with her s/o now 💔

warrior (how often do you fight)- i’m gonna say 3/4 times a month. she’s sensitive about stuff like her idol job so sometimes that causes you to fight, or you get annoyed at one of her ‘jokes’

x-ray (is she able to read you)- no 😭 she didn’t know you had a crush on her because she thought she disliked you let’s be fr

yes (how would she propose to you)- controversial opinion, she wouldn’t really. let’s say you two are somewhere where gay marriage is legal—she’s afraid the idol life gets too much for you. you two will be girlfriends forever, unless maybe her company thinks it would be good for you to be married when you go public? 😭

zen (what makes her feel calm)- quality time ✨ building legos, puzzles, maybe even teaching your her choreos! important part, you two have to be alone. if you’re with her whole group playing a game or something, she’s too busy possessively keeping an arm wrapped around your waist

part of [the fluff series]

[bluishfrog]

tl;dr: please, please interact with your local fanartists

Since my dash is talking about artists and ex-artists, I thought it would be not the worst moment to encourage people to engage with fancreations more!

I obviously cannot speak for ex-artists (and there are very clearly many different issues depending on the situation that have absolutely nothing to do with what I am talking about), but I could imagine that maybe some of them would be less resentful of this fandom, if they felt more like an appreciated part of this community, and instead of dedicating time and energy to keep up with something they no longer like, they could have left quietly with fond memories.

I consider myself very lucky since despite being fairly new on dtblr, I have a few lovely blogs who regularly leave encouraging comments in my tags, but I see so many art works without any 'personal' tags (as opposed to 'category tags' that people use to navigate their blog) or any comments in any other form.

So let's make sure that the many artists of this community - and especially the smaller ones - have a good experience! :D

Here some ideas (the list is in no way exhaustive) on how to show love to your local artists:

leave personalized comments in the tags: you can point out what you like about it, maybe comment on a small detail you noticed, compliment the drawing style, etc. (small trick: if I don't feel up to add personalized tags, I put the post in my drafts and then add the tags later!)

send them a message in their askbox - you can even stay on anon if you are more comfortable like that! If you want to reference a specific artwork, you can add the link or include the title / description

you can tag people you think would enjoy the art piece - show off your favorite works

if you have something longer in mind, you can even make your own post and tag the artist themselves to ensure they see your post

write something based on your favorite art - no matter how long or short

draw something inspired by an artist you enjoy - and you definitely don't have to be an experienced artist for that. It's so much fun to inspire each other!

Same goes for our wonderful writers: leave a comment, gush about your favorite quote, ramble to them in their ask box, draw fanart for their work - let them know that you appreciate their creations and that you took the time to interact with it.

At the end of the day, we are all here because we want to enjoy something together. And some of us like to do that by creating our own little works inspired by that common interest. And as online communities tend to do, it is quite often the case that negative attention is a lot louder than positive attention. And it can feel rather lonely at times.

It makes all the difference when you feel like your works are loved and cherished :)

[lilyginnyblackv2]

Hmm, this is interesting to think about:

In Episode 7, we see how Yuzuko and Kazuki first met. 

She found him in a field of hydrangeas during the rainy season, holding an umbrella. He was at a low point here, in the sense of being very badly wounded and in need of physical help, which I am going to assume Yuzuko provided for him.

 We also get the full picture of her death in this week’s episode as well.

It is, once again, the rainy season and she is holding the same umbrella. So Kazuki met her and lost her around the same time of year. This adds even more depth and emotion to Karin’s words to Kazuki:

“So the thought that you only remember her looking sad...”

Since it is highlighting her later sentiment that “memories aren’t prisons.” Kazuki was locking himself in the memory of her death during this time of the year, rather than the memory of his meeting her. 

Now, when it comes to Rei, we don’t know when exactly it was that the two of them met. But it was likely a good bit before the events of Episode 1, since there was a familiarity between the two of them already. The interesting thing here though is that Rei didn’t find Kazuki like Yuzuko did, it seems more like Kazuki found him. This is based off of the February Animedia interview where the producer, Toba says:

Kazuki is very family-oriented; he's the so-called maternal type. The reason why he started living together with Rei is that he saw the complete shambles of Rei's lifestyle, went, 'This won't do!' and started fussing over him.

And we know from Rei’s general personality and the dynamic they have going on that Rei follows Kazuki, not the other way around. So, at his lowest he sought out someone to care for. But when it was just him and Rei, they were still at their lowest, diving deep into their bad habits and styles of living. 

They were both just in survival mode. They weren’t really living though. 

The one who finds Kazuki this time though is Miri. 

She finds him when he is at his lowest, and her existence in his life gives him the motivation to start changing and to start actually living again. This was in the middle of the winter, when everything is dead. And then this little ball of energy and sunshine entered his life. She provided him the same chance at a family that Yuzuko did, though obviously in a very different way than her (through being a daughter as opposed to a romantic partner and wife like Yuzuko).

And he jumped at the chance. We see him accepting her into his life slowly, bit by bit and through various different aspects and areas. But he still has boundaries set up, he still has a part of himself that is holding back, and he still sees Miri as something that was given to him in a way, then something he actively sought out.  At the end of Episode 7, though we see him “find” Miri. 

He chooses to go back to her. 

He also chooses to go back to Rei too. When he looks softly at the end of Episode 7, it is a look directed at both Miri and Rei. He’s proud and happy to see that Rei actually stepped up and took care of Miri. His warm smile is at the thought of him having a true second chance at a family again, without past memories blocking emotional bonds and connections.

And the thing is, this all happens, again, during the rainy season. Kazuki was, imo, seriously contemplating not returning at various points in this episode. But, he decided to go back to this unexpected family instead of losing the chance again, during the rainy season.

Episode 7 was a great leap in Kazuki’s character development. He’s finally starting to allow himself to properly heal, and like how Yuzuko found him when he was at a low point and in bad shape during the rainy season 5 years ago, Kazuki is here now, in the rainy season, actively returning to Rei when Rei is at his lowest point (in terms of caring for Miri). 

It almost feels like Kazuki is being to Rei what Yuzuko was for him, like taking on that same kind of role, though maybe not with the same kind of dynamic, more so just being the helping hand needed when in a bad place. 

That’s lovely in a way, but it does keep Kazuki in a sort of perpetual “giving” position in the relationship that he has with Rei. Since Rei grew up without love, we haven’t really seen him reaching out for it. Not in the same way it seems Yuzuko may have done with Kazuki or in the way that Kazuki seems to instinctually do with Miri or in the way Kazuki has done with Rei now. The gasp at realizing Miri was sick, then the confused stare for a moment, and finally the soft stare when he realized Rei stepped up and everything was fine.. That’s us seeing him making an emotional connection with the both of them at that moment, even if they were both asleep.

Something clicked there and we can see that a proper shift has happened, and that while Kazuki has always been more of an animated personality type than Rei, there is something much more true and genuine about this smile than the ones he has given in the past:

I think it’s because Kazuki has finally found himself and the obvious weight that he was carrying around has lifted. I feel like Kazuki maybe doesn’t feel like he needs to be found anymore and needs to reach out to Rei and Miri like he was doing in the past - to survive and deal with his trauma, but now he just wants to be with them and reach out to them and connect with them (we can see this through him saying he’ll teach them what good French toast actually is).

With Rei, we see that he has literally reached out to Miri in this episode:

And he is reaching out to Kazuki too. Usually Rei just goes with Kazuki’s flow, but he doesn’t actively seek anything out from Kazuki. At the end of this week’s episode though, he is actively seeking some kind of approval from Kazuki in regards to his French toast.

Kazuki may no longer need to be found or reached out to, but I hope we see Rei still try and do that, not so he can continue to take, but so that he can start to give back.

[domwitch]

Thank you to everyone interested in reading my story!

I've been writing a tiny bit and I want to post it on ao3, but it'll take about a week for my invitation to come in. I copy pasted a snippet of the first chapter here, I hope you like it!

“Stop fidgeting, Master Hwan. I’ll mess up your hair.” Despite the warm spring breeze blowing through the open window, Hwan felt cold. He sat on the floor in front of a large bronze mirror, looking nervously into his servant’s concentrated face. Sparrow was nearly ten years older than him, a tall, wiry man with high cheekbones who hid his chopped hair under a rag. He was like a second father to Hwan, caring for him since his childhood. Hwan let out a breath.

“How can I not? It is my marriage day, after all. Can a boy not- ah!” Sparrow pulled a lock of hair taut, using an oiled comb to smooth out any knots and leave it shining. “You are no longer a boy, Master Hwan,” he replied, not without warmth. “Today you become a true man.” He catches Hwan’s eye in the mirror and gives him a small smile. He forces himself to smile back, but his stomach is twisted into knots. At 21 years old, Hwan is an old groom. His father had jumped for joy when they received Lady Tan’s proposal, practically running around to get everything ready for his only son’s marriage. “Finally, you will fulfill your purpose as a son and a man. Lady Tan is in her fifties, so you cannot give her children, but you can still fulfill your husband duties.” Hwan remembers his father smiling down at him from his high seat in the tea room, where he delivered the good news. Hwan bowed low, his forehead nearly brushing the floor. “I am most grateful, Revered Father. It brings me great joy to finally be of use.” While Hwan’s voice trembled, his father was practically beaming. “Recite to me the first tenet of Our Guiding Principles, won’t you?” his father asks. Hwan pauses a moment before responding. “As a son, obey your mother. As a husband, obey your wife. As a widower, obey your daughter.” His father’s crow's feet eyes crinkled. “Never forget these rules, my son,” he said in a soft voice. “They will lead you to ultimate happiness.”

Sparrow had finished doing Hwan’s hair and was now applying makeup. The white powder made his nose tickle. Looking across from him, Hwan caught his reflection in the mirror. His ebony hair had been pulled back from his face and pinned up in an elaborate twisting style, with many colorful pins and baubles hanging off the branches of hair. It made him look a bit like a tree covered in bejeweled birds. Hwan felt ridiculous. “Close your eyes now, I’m almost done,” Sparrow said. A brush swiped delicately across his eyelids, trailing something cold and wet. “There we go. All done.” Sparrow sat back on his heels to check his work. After a satisfied nod, he gestures to the mirror. Hwan turns, and despite himself, he gasps. He’s always been told he was a beauty, but Sparrow’s work had elevated him to something out of a legend. The powder had smoothed his pale skin to a milky white, and the black kohl sharpened his soft brown eyes. The red paint made his lips look full and plump. He thought looked like a flower spirit. Turning, he took Sparrow’s hand. “You’ve made me beautiful, Sparrow. Thank you.” Sparrow lowers his head respectfully. “You treat me too kindly, Young Master.” He rises, helping Hwan stand up. “We must hurry, the feast will begin soon,” he says. “We mustn't keep your bride waiting.” At the mention of his bride, Hwan stills. Will she like him? What if he wasn’t good enough? What if he’s too young for her? His thoughts swirl, making his palms sweat. “Worrying is one of men’s many faults,” his father recites solemnly in his memory. Hwan forces himself to take a deep breath, and leans forward so Sparrow can fix his veil to his head. As Sparrow drapes the heavy cloth over his face, more of his father’s words echo in his mind: “Marriage is a man’s ultimate happiness.”

[phntmeii]

♡ Dating Hobie Brown Headcanons

��� I'm not a role model, I was briefly a runway model. I hate the AM, I hate the PM, I hate labels, I'm not a hero, because calling yourself a hero makes you a self-mythologizing narcissistic autocrat.❝

[ SFW + No Gendered Terms]

A/N: I can't believe it took me so long to get around to this man since he's broken me since the movie released. Will be clawing at the doors of the studio for more Hobie screentime. Also, sorry it’s been a bit since the last headcanon list. Classes and shit :(

✖ Off the bat, I'm sorry to say but Hobie would not consider what you two do as "dating". He doesn't like labels and being called someone's partner is too constricting of a box.

✖ Now that doesn't mean he isn't loyal. He's actually extremely loyal. The moment he is attracted to someone, everyone else fades away from his vision and it's just you.

✖ The only time he'd label the two of you as "partners" was if someone else showed interest in you. If someone casually asked, then no, you two are just hanging out. But if that person was interested in you, Hobie is like:

✖ "Actually, bruv, sorry to say but they're already with me. So, unfortunately, your eyes need to look elsewhere, yeah?"

✖ Pavitr is the equivalent of your pseudo-child/third-wheel. You two pay for his food, give him advice on him and Gayatri, and have him backseat on drives.

✖ Hobie is more of a listener than a talker. He likes to hear about your fixations and interests. His eyes stare at you with a small grin when he hears the moment you become totally excited in talking about your interests.

✖ And it doesn't matter what you're interested in, Hobie learns about it in his own time so he knows what you're talking about with more of an understanding.

✖ While Hobie may seem to not be paying attention sometimes, he actually had quite a good memory and simply pretends to forget when it comes to other people or if it's one of Miguel's orders.

✖ But with you, every word is ingrained into his memory and you'd be surprised that things you told him a long time ago are still present in his mind if something reminds him of it.

✖ He’ll be more than happy to lend some of his things to you! So long as he can do the same with you. If it’s clothing or something, he has specific pieces that are dedicated to himself so he won’t let them be taken from him. If you’re insistent though, he’ll simply make another one for you (with some design choices specifically attuned to you)!

✖ Hobie is very chill when it comes to his partner. He’s not an overly jealous type nor an overprotective one. He has full trust in you to make your own decisions.

✖ Absolutely acts as though his interests are commonplace and fakes surprise when you say you haven’t been exposed to that thing before.

✖ “You wot? Whadja mean you ain’t ever heard of (insert obscure indie film with a $1k budget)? It’s a classic, love, trust. You’ll love it.” It was in fact not one you loved and it was in 144p on a pirated site.

✖ Sometimes Hobie will scare the shit out of you by popping up out of nowhere. You’ll just go to the kitchen to get a snack, come back to your bedroom and Hobie is just chilling at your desk even though he wasn’t there two minutes ago.

�� Because of his calm nature, he’s actually really good at comfort. If you feel overwhelmed or panicked, Hobie sets you down and calmly grounds you back to reality.

✖ He offers his hands, gently rubbing his thumbs on the back of your hands, and speaks in a calm voice. Once you’ve calmed, he’ll have a sweet smile.

✖ “Welcome back, love… C’mere. You’re alright. M’right here, love.”

✖ Hobie's main Love Languages to give are: Gift Giving and Physical Touch.

✖ Hobie loves to make gifts for you especially if you show interest in his style or anything he owns!

✖ He tends to be possessive over his own things so he'll make you a copy or your own version! Even if it's something time-consuming like making your own version of a vest or garbage pants, he loves spending time to do it if he gets to see the look on your face because of it.

✖ Because he has a massive collection of pins, patches, etc. he'll often hand some to you if he thinks you'll like them.

✖ Hobie's one indication of a "public claim" on you would be a gifted necklace that his guitar pick. On the back, he signed it as "H♡ ".

✖ This man is sly with physical touch. It's purposeful in a way to have you blushing and stuttering.

✖ He especially does it if you are in conversation with someone else just to watch you squirm. Something as simple as passing his hand at the small of your back just to see you fight back a blush or smile has him on cloud nine since he's the only one who can do that to you.

✖ Hobie also loves to rest his chin on top of your head. He'll do it anytime you two are standing around and he just wants to be closer to you.

✖ Hobie's favorite Love Languages to receive are: Quality Time and Words of Affirmation.

✖ There's nothing sweeter to Hobie than seeing his SO go out of their way to make time for him. He may tease about it. Something along the lines of: "Couldn't get enough a' me, hm?" but he really is so honored that you'd want to spend time with him.

✖ He can sometimes disappear at random when he’s on his duty. Coming back to see you in his room has him tearing off his suit and just holding onto you. There’s nothing more comforting than a simple relaxing time in bed with you with low lighting and music playing.

✖ Hobie is an intelligent musician. Words mean everything and the way they are strung together mean more.

✖ You can swear that you’ve never seen Hobie get flustered but Hobie knows how his heart melts at your words.

✖ His favorites are when you give him letters or send songs. He’ll read the letters over and over and read into the lyrics of the song continually.

✖He also loves hearing you compliment him as it gives him reason to turn up his own charm in response.

⤷ divider credits: @cafekitsune

[idontknowreallywhy]

Father’s Day… The Aftermath?

This little Father’s Day snippet was satisfyingly complete as it was and was never meant to have a tbc, but if anyone is interested in a ‘how Scott reacted’ introspective then err, read on? Oh yeah and there is some EOS and The Tinies too :)

💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️

“Gordon Tracy and Alan Tracy.”

The brothers skidded to a halt as the disembodied voice floated out of nowhere… well, probably the stairwell speaker but, in eeriness terms, as good as nowhere.

Gordon decided to go for charm

“Hey EOS, my favourite niece!”

“I am your only niece, Gordon Tracy.”

“Heh, that makes you his least favourite too doesn’t it?”

“Shut up Alan, I’m bonding here.”

“I believe the appropriate phrase is ‘Good luck with that.’”

Hearing John’s deadpan style in that childish voice was never not going to be creepy. Also the knowledge she could open Four’s airlock while he was 3 kilometres under… brrrrr.

“Can we help you, EOS?”

“What did you do to Scott?”

They exchanged a glance. She sounded… annoyed? Worried? The AI didn’t always select the right tone for the emotion she had decided to project and thus it wasn’t always safe to rely on it, but EOS had a definite thing about their eldest brother’s welfare. Recently, non-family members who upset him tended to have a subsequent run of poor social and financial luck… she admitted nothing and John couldn’t prove it but Gordon had heard Virgil and John fretting about it.

“Nothing… bad?” Alan ventured.

“Why?” Gordon took the direct approach.

“He hasn’t moved in seven point eight two minutes. Scott always moves. Was your missive an especially lengthy one?”

Alan’s fingers dug painfully into Gordon’s arm and he yelped and shoved him into the wall.

“Eight minutes”

“Gords, did we screw up?”

“No! It was a nice thing! We said a nice thing!”

“Yeah but… maybe we should have hung around…”

“This is how it goes! We write the mushy thing in the card, nobody says anything out loud that he can argue with and he is happy. Why mess with a system that works?” Gordon could hear an old teenage defensiveness creeping into his own voice and his throat suddenly felt dry as memories of certain times he had not been… pleasant… to his eldest brother floated to the surface.

“Eight point five minutes. Perhaps I should contact John.”

“No! Don’t… John can’t know… we’ll go. We’ll fix it.” Gordon croaked. “C’mon Al.”

💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️

Still true.

Scott Tracy was pretty good with words.

He could instinctively summon up the ones that would land perfectly on the right side of the line between trite, unbelievable nonsense and courage-inspiring reassurance. He could charm the press, silence the Board, encourage a nervous member of staff. Given time, he could write a pretty cracking keynote address. If he wasn’t given time, he could give a decent (if slightly less structured) speech on a variety of topics.

Yes, Scott Tracy could make words work for him. With strangers, anyway.

With family it was different.

Especially Gordon and Alan. Ever since he had to be better than just a brother there was always too much blocking his ability to be coherent. Too much exasperation to persuade or correct. Too much worry to convincingly advise. Too much overwhelming need to wrap them up in his arms and never let anything near… to let them stretch their wings without a fight.

About a year in, when it became clear this was it - that he was all they had and it was down to him to make sure that being orphans didn’t leave them too messed up - he’d started binging books on successfully raising teenagers. It didn’t help that most recommended completely different approaches and that Gordon had seen his attempts at ‘calm parenting’ coming a mile off and laughed in his face.

He’d messed up and lost his cool almost every day. The three of them had had more blazing rows than he could bear to remember. YOU’RE NOT MY DAD!!! And they were right. And there were plenty of occasions where the moral high ground had not been his, where he felt like he was the younger brother, not even sure if he was right but begging to be heard. Outnumbered and desperate for one of them to be on his side for once. Begging for someone to understand why this was so damn hard. Virgil and John had helped, of course they had. But they were still big brothers, mediating between the grieving teenagers and The Legal Guardian.

Scott had spent too many hours slumped in the corridor outside one of their rooms, waiting for them to be ready to come out and receive his apology, to ever believe he could merit a “bestest dad”.

A little voice whispered that his dad had yelled a lot too. But Scott had been hard work, he knew that. And even if Jeff Tracy would have yelled at Gordon and Alan for the same things he was at least their Father. It would have been different.

He’d been a stand-in, a substitute.

Better than nothing, sure! And they’d turned out ok - in what must have been a mixture of luck and their good genes, he’d managed not to ruin them completely.

He realised he hadn’t been blinking enough and the two words were burning into his retinas as his eyeballs watered.

How could… how could they say this?

Surely now he was back, now they had a real father again, this was the time they’d realise how much better it could have been if he’d been here instead? Scott had expected that kind of fall out - the regrets, the if-onlys. This… didn’t make sense.

Maybe it was the shock of having the man but not quite the Dad back yet. Maybe after all that build up the fact they hadn’t rescued the exact same person they remembered was disappointing. Maybe Scott should have been better at managing their expectations… or at managing his own.

Maybe when he was well. Which he would be. It was just a matter of time then everything would become as it was supposed to be.

And he’d better get rid of this, because if Dad saw it, it would break his heart. Because if today had taught Scott anything it was that being a father had meant a lot more to Jeff Tracy than his eldest son had ever realised.

In a minute he’d burn it.

In a minute.

He would just look at it for one more minute.

💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️

Part 3

[mintytealfox]

Goodness GRACIOUS orz

Alice's Deduction version of Alice in Wonderland, in 1949,...felt like my brain was actively melting awaaayy orz

This claymation style is anything BUT fun to look at for my eyeballs. Like even the caterpillar on the cover here fills me with an uncanny amount of dread and visceral ANGER PPFFFFF

But I watched it, and made it to the end -falls down the stairs- uhg orz

Dunno if there is a point to do a read more cause I am keeping it SHORT but just in case~

So in this version, instead of a book being read to Alice as she falls asleep, it is actually her friend who is an author that uses the alias Lewis Carroll LOL YOOOO that is telling this story he is making up for her and her sisters.

To note: Her friend says something interesting in the beginning, when referring to this place that Alice and her family live 'Oxford', saying "nothing in this place ever changes" This made me think of Orpheus and his purposeful plans to make the mansion look exactly like it did before, and the other obvious part, that he is also an author.

ANYWAYS

Alice falls asleep as he starts telling this story and we get to experience these horrible AWFUL TERRIFYING CLAYMATIONS AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH for WAY too long -WHEEZE- I don't even wanna TALK ABOUT IT

LOOK AT IT

THIS IS WHEN THEY START SPRINTING and RUSHING TOWARDS HER TO GET HER!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME WHAT IS THIS HORROR FEST

There was this part where all the animals are YELLING at ONCE about the 'FLOOD' from Alice's tears and I WAS ABOUT TO RIP MY HAIR OUT

and don't get me STARTED on that BELL RINGINNNGGGGG RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I AM GETTING OFF TOPIC LOL

ANYWAYSSSSSSSSS

The long and short of it, we all know the story, but this is definitely the right Alice movie PFF

-Its an absolute MIND MELT and is a story completely curated by her friend who is an author 👀 -She drinks every bottle of 'poison' she sees and eats every sweet she finds PFF -She is significantly curious and wonders about all the things. I particularly liked how she wondered about things and her thought process as she fell at the beginning~

Alice: "either this well is very deep or I am falling very slowly. Well, after such a fall as this, I shall think nothing of falling downstairs. How brave they will all think me at home. Why I wouldn't say anything about it even if I fell off the top of the house. I wonder how many miles I have fallen by this time. I wonder what latitude or longitude I've got to. I must be getting somewhere near the center of the earth. Curiouser and Curiouser"

-She is being chased friggin ALWAYS -And I did appreciate how she kept stopping and looking back when she heard the doorknob turning sounds when she is in the first room. ("don't look back" heh)

-This is a tripped out and confusing experience like idv Alice's life when she was being experimented on, All that chaos and memories all over the place ;; -Her wit staying intact regardless and still having a smile on her face and kept on trying. (boi she kept on keepin on with the drink me bottles and eat me snacks my gosh LOL)

This is the most off putting Alice in wonderland movie I have seen, to date, which is on brand for our IDV Alice cause it really puts to paper how chaotic, off putting, and confusing her life has been.

----

I will add this random side note, that there was a part I did appreciate, I appreciated the king character, his delivery with his lines were hysterical PFFF

like, "before we are entirely depopulated my dear, might we find out who actually did it" cause the queen was wiggin for heads to roll again PFF

Alice: "I'm not a mile high!" The King: "you are" -matter of fact dry response I CAN'T HAHHA-

and then the BEST delivery was the:

White Rabbit: "where shall I begin?" -with reading- The King: "Begin at the beginning, then go on til you are at the end, then stop"

-WHEEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZEEEEEEEE- just the most DRY of deliveries got me HOLLERIN, (the court scene ended up being so funny to me PFFF) but it also could have been because I was literally LOOSING MY MIND by the time the end was rolling around AH

----

This got a checkmark from me PFF even just the way I felt after watching this dang thing was enough for me to be like "yea......" but the fact that there is more is "YUP this is our idv Alice for sure"

[arlana-likes-to-write]

Monet Issues By Chase Petra

Summary: You are the daughter of Tony Stark but DNA is the only thing you have the proves he’s your father. You were raised by his assistants and nannies. When an interview comes out, you have a few choice words you want to say to the billionaire. 

Word Count: 2.3 k 

Warning: implied sexual relationship, child abuse, child neglect, Tony is kind of a horrible father. 

“Good morning, Diane,” you said, placing her coffee order on her desk. It was Monday morning and every Monday you brought coffee for everyone on your team. It was a tradition you started when your tech company was 4 people. Now you had about 15 employees, still small but you were in the bar with the likes of Stark Industries and Bishop Securities. 

“You are in a good mood,” she said, taking a sip of her iced coffee. “Did you have a good weekend?” You smiled. 

“I spent the weekend up north with no service and a beautiful woman,” Diane smiled, shaking her head. 

“Good, you deserved it. Let me know if you need anything.” You gave her a salute and headed through the rest of the office. You gave your employees their coffee and asked about their weekends. Finally, you sat down at your desk with a sigh. Mondays were the busiest with long meetings and phone calls to start the week on the right foot. You opened your email and saw you had over 1000 unread emails. 

“Morning boss,” Taylor said as she came into your office with her laptop. You rolled your eyes. 

“Not your boss, Tay.” You said, not looking up from your laptop. Taylor was your business partner and best friend since grade school. She set a bag down on your desk, you knew it was snacks to help you both get through the long meetings. She shrugged. 

“Yeah, but your name is on the building.” That was true. Fundamentally, it was Taylor’s idea to focus the company on advancing medical products for veterans due to losing her father at a young age. But you were a Stark, the company was under your mother’s name as that was when you went by. L/n Production, you wanted nothing to do with Tony. 

“Can you tell me why every news station is requesting a comment from me?” You asked. “What the hell happened?” 

“That is where I come in,” Emily said, entering your office. Her usual put-together bun that sat on her head was disheveled. She must have had a long weekend and an early morning since no reporters were standing outside your office. “So, I’m guessing you didn’t see it.” You glared at her. “Sorry, don’t look at me like that.” She picked up her coffee and plugged her computer into the TV that was mounted on the wall. It took a moment for it to load and you saw a clip of an interview with your father and Jimmy Fallon. You groaned, holding up your hand. 

“Wait,” you said before she pressed play. “Is this going to piss me off?” It was a zoom style interview as Tony lived upstate at the Avenger’s compound. 

“Probably,” Taylor mumbled, sipping on her coffee. You sighed and waved your hand for Emily to continue. She pressed the spacebar. 

“And your daughter, Y/n L/n,” you could tell the clip was from the middle of the interview. Tony put a smile at the mention of your name. “She’s making quite a name for herself. She and her team were given the Presidential Medal of Freedom and nominated for a Nobel Prize for their work in prosthetics.” Jimmy held up a picture of you and Tony at the White House. You invited him to the event to avoid the press, not that you wanted him there. “You must be extremely proud.” 

“I am,” your jaw clenched. “She has made this old man very proud.” Well, that was news to you. 

“When she was younger did she always have an interest in falling in your footsteps in the tech world?” Tony laughed. 

“Jimmy, I couldn’t keep her out of my lab.”

“Oh my god,” you mumbled, putting your hands over your face. 

“Those times spent together are memories that are important to me,” your father continued. “And I like to think that those memories shaped her into the person she is today.” The video ended. Your office was silent. Throughout your entire career, you’ve tried to separate yourself from him. Tony Stark. Ironman. He had many names but father wasn’t something you would call him. You were raised by the nannies he hired. You paid your way through school by working waitress jobs, retail jobs on holidays, and babysitting gigs when you had the time. You wanted nothing to do with Tony Stark since he wanted nothing to do with you. When your mother died, he didn’t even show up to the funeral. 

“I’m gonna kill him.” You said, standing up and throwing your work essentials in your bag.  You were taking a trip to Upstate New York. You didn’t wait for Taylor and Emily to say anything as you headed to the door. 

“Egghead,” you stopped at the nickname Taylor called out. “I can’t afford to bail you out so don’t kill the man.” You chuckled, waved your hand, and left. 

*

“Miss. Stark,” FRIDAY as you walked into the compound. “It has been a long time.” 

“And I told you to stop calling me that,” you told the AI. The AI was silent for a moment. 

“My apologies, it appears the boss changed it.” You sighed. Of course, he did. 

“Where is he?” You asked. 

“He’s in the conference room with the rest of the team. Would you like me to alert you of your arrival?” You smirked. 

“Let’s surprise him, that’s more fun.” 

*

Steve was standing in front of the team with a blueprint of a factory. The words were in Russian. You leaned against the open team, the team was engrossed in what the super soldier was saying you went unnoticed. While one person saw you, a certain redhead. The Russian smirked at you. You set her a playful wink. “Y/n,” Steve said, interrupting Tony. The table looked away from your father and to you. You gave them a small wave.  

“It’s my favorite Stark!” Clint said. Tony rolled his eyes. 

“Don’t eat my leftovers like last time,” Clint called after you. You flipped him off over your shoulder. 

“I’m hurt, Legolas,” he finally looked at you. “I didn’t know you were making a trip up here."

“Finish your meeting. I’ll be in the kitchen.” 

That was the problem. You enjoyed the company of the other Avengers but being around Tony made your blood boil. It was frustrating. You opened the fridge and pulled out the ingredients to make a salad. You weren’t sure how long the meeting was going to be. 

The answer was 45 minutes. In that time, you ate your salad, made coffee, and joined in on two meetings for work. You were sitting on the couch with your laptop open when the Avengers walked into the common floor. Clint made a beeline for the fridge, to make sure you didn’t eat his food. Steve went by the window with a sketchbook in his hands and Sam sat down next to you, turning on the TV. Finally, Tony walked in but he walked to the coffee pot instead of you. You sighed, standing up. “Do I smell or something?” Sam asked. You laughed. 

“No, I have to go talk to the old man.” 

“Good luck with that.” You smiled. Tony was pouring a cup of coffee into a mug. 

“Hey, can we talk for a second?” You asked. He shook his head. 

“Can’t right now. I have to do some modifications to the suit before the upcoming mission.” You bite back a sigh. 

“Okay, how about when you are done?” He put the pot back on the machine. 

“We’ll see if I’m not busy.” He began to walk towards his lab. 

“So you’ll only talk about me in interviews, is that it?” Tony turned back to look at you. “Nice interview by the way. Jimmy knows how to bring out your good side.”

“You saw that.” He said, a hint of surprise in his voice. 

“Half the world saw it, Tony, according to how many news stations were in my inbox looking for a statement.” You were becoming the center of attention with the other Avengers. You noticed a few more entering the space. Wanda and Vision were in the kitchen and Natasha were on the couch, her feet tucked underneath her as she watched the interaction between you and Tony. 

“Maybe we should take this conversation somewhere else,” You laughed. 

“Oh, now you have time for me because a few minutes ago you weren’t going to give me the time of day. But now since your image of yourself is being fucked with you have time,” you took a step forward. “Who are you to credit yourself with my accomplishments? How could you lack such common sense?” You asked. “You may have given me a name but blood doesn’t mean a thing 'cause I did it all on my own. So, disown me, you don’t owe me, I don’t want your money so feel free to leave me out of your will.” The man was silent in front of you. It was the first time you’d seen him speechless. “You don’t deserve the title of my father.” The slap caught you by surprise. You touched the spot he hit and stared at him. He seemed shocked. Your jaw clenched. The common floor was silent. It was a loud silence. “You are lucky I have any ounce of respect for Pepper or I would be suing your ass.” You grabbed your bag from the couch and walked towards the door. You heard footsteps behind you but you didn’t stop until you felt the sun on your face. You sat down on the bench, squeezing the metal. You looked at Natasha. She was frowning as she cupped the cheek Tony hit. 

“Do you want me to kill me?” She asked. You shook your head. 

“His death is not worth it to add to your ledger,” you said, kissing the palm of her head. She sat down next to you. 

“He hit you,” she said. “He put his hands on his daughter.” You nodded. 

“I know,” you whispered. “But it’s not your fight, okay?” She didn’t look convinced. She was angry and you knew if you allowed her to, she would march back in there and deal with him. “Just sit here with me.” You placed her head on her shoulder. She sighed and relaxed on the bench. 

“Stay the night,” she said. That was the last thing you wanted to do. “This weekend wasn’t enough.” She kissed the top of your head. Her fingers skim underneath your shirt. “I’ll make it worth you're wild.” You smirked. 

“Are you trying to bribe me into sleeping with you?” You asked. She smiled.  

“You didn’t need much bribing this weekend,” you rolled your eyes. “Please malyshka (baby girl).” She whispered, kissing your cheek. 

“Okay, since you are twisting my arm.” She laughed against your neck. 

*

Knocking woke you up. You groaned and burrowed your head deeper into the pillow. But the knocking continued. You opened your eyes, blinking the sleep away. Natasha was slowly waking up. Her red hair fanned out over the pillow as she lay on her stomach facing you. “Who's at the door, FRIDAY?” She asked the AI. 

“Mr. Stark is at your door,” the redhead sighed. 

“I am going to kill him.” She mumbled. You kissed her shoulder. 

“I’ll deal with him,” you stood up and found a shirt and shorts to throw on quickly. “Are you going with him knowing about us?” You asked. Natasha’s eyes were already closed. 

“FRIDAY must have told him you were here,” she said, yawning. “I’ll deal with him later.” You smiled and headed to the door. You opened it. You could only imagine what you looked like. Your hair was probably a mess from Natasha running her fingers through it. You had hickeys on your skin. Since you were still half asleep you weren’t sure if you were wearing your clothes. 

“Tony,” you said, leaning against the door frame. “Good morning. How are you?” 

“What are you doing in Romanoff’s room?” He asked. 

“Well Tony,” you noticed by saying his name was getting under his skin. “I’m sleeping with her.” You smiled. “I have been for a while,” you added. 

“No, not happening,”

“Oh I missed the part where I asked you if it was okay,” you heard Natasha chuckle from inside her room. 

“Your my kid I don’t-”

“I’m your kid?” You cut him off. “The last time I checked I disowned you and you slapped me across the face.” There was no bruise but the feeling was there. You flinched a few times when Natasha took you by surprise and touched your cheek. 

“Look, I'm sorry.” You stared at him.   

“Sorry about what exactly?” You asked. “Because you are the source of all my scarring. I spent too many years underneath rubble that I got myself out of. I put my heart back together. Do yourself a favor and leave me alone.” You closed the door on him. You took the clothes you were wearing off and climbed back into bed. Natasha rested her head on your chest and looked up at you. You loved staring into her green eyes. 

“Are you okay, malysh (baby)?” She asked. You smiled. 

“Yeah, I’m good.” 

*

You made the trip back home that afternoon. It was nice being back in the city, in your apartment. You took a quick shower and changed into sweatpants and a white tank top. It was going to be a long night. You sat on your dining room table with a cup of coffee in your hands. You were watching a recorded zoom meeting that you missed. But you winced from a slight pinch on your neck. You touched your neck and felt a tranquilizer dart. The room around you began to spin. The coffee mug fell from your hands and shattered to the ground. You fell to the floor and the world went black. 

_

Part 2 here

[fellthemarvelous]

Aziraphale my love

Please enjoy my WHOLE ASS OPINION AND META ANALYSIS.

I support Petty Bitch Aziraphale for season 3!! The angels have been talking down to him from the very beginning and mocking him. Every single person in his life has insulted his intelligence (yes, Crowley has done so several times). I want to see him GO OFF!!! (I posted this part as a tweet but Twitter doesn't give me enough room to write it all in one big place like Tumblr).

Like I am ready to GO THE FUCK OFF myself!

All of Heaven has been emotionally, verbally and physically abusive to Aziraphale since the very beginning. They never listen to him, and the only one he ever really wants to talk to anyway is God, but she is nowhere to be found.

Gabriel came to Aziraphale because he experienced something that Aziraphale is very familiar with. He couldn't remember why he was going to Aziraphale, but hiding away his memory in a fly ended up being just as much for Aziraphale's protection as his own. It ended up being the only way he could actually explain to Aziraphale and Crowley what was really going on.

Aziraphale was there to witness Gabriel's open expression of love for a demon and it lit a fire in his heart. He and Crowley could be together.

Aziraphale wanted Crowley to be by his side in Heaven so he could stand in front of all the angels and tell them how much he loves Crowley so they can see that there is more to life than death for humans.

Aziraphale thought taking Crowley with him meant he could continue to protect Crowley from ever going back to Hell. It's not like he's forgotten how Crowley was acting after being dragged down into Hell for saving the life of a human and persuading her to be not just pretend-y good but actually good. Aziraphale giving her the money was the temptation to always be a good person. They saved her soul together, Crowley with the angelic act, and Aziraphale's act was the temptation. They were so used to doing each other's jobs by this point that they switched roles in that scene.

Despite their last fight, Crowley came back and saved him from the Nazis in the church, and Aziraphale had that moment of realization. "Oh my God, I'm in love with my demon." Crowley wasn't interested in the holy water when he saved Aziraphale, and he saved Aziraphale's books. They also killed three Nazis in the process, which is the most romantic part of it all. The Nazis were a source of evil for Hell, so you know Hell told him to keep an eye on the Nazis. Hell was full of Nazis! We saw Furfur complain about processing 52 men called Otto. It's not normal for that to happen in Hell, and it's really starting to piss Furfur off!!

Aziraphale and Crowley working together in 1941 is the first time we see someone in Hell say WE ARE FULL GO AWAY. Hell turned some of the worst of the worst against humanity by turning them into flesh-eating zombies. "The dead shall rise from their graves and roam the Earth once more." Furfur was the first one to set Hell's prisoners free, and in true demon style, his plan backfired against him, but he'd already set the ball rolling on the Second Coming.

The man who owned the magic shop did not want to sell the Bullet Catch to Aziraphale because he could tell right away that Aziraphale was in desperate need of help as he'd just knocked down half the things on the front counter and he would absolutely die just like that Lovely Chinese Fellow (and that seems like a pretty relevant clue). The shopkeeper only sold it to Aziraphale after Crowley handed him money from Aziraphale's wallet (Aziraphale didn't even try to stop him) and used it to tempt the shopkeeper into going against his instincts.

And in true demon fashion, that immediately backfired because it was only then did he realize Aziraphale was going to need a partner, and he was the only one who could do it. I don't think either of them were thinking about what the trick actually entailed. Aziraphale just saw a gun and was like LET'S DO THIS!

They survived the Bullet Catch in a very human way. They couldn't perform miracles and had very human reactions to the situation, but Aziraphale trusted Crowley with that gun pointed at his head.

And when Aziraphale used a human magic trick to save Crowley from being taken back to Hell by Furfur, he proved that he was willing to go to great lengths to keep Crowley safe even though Crowley was a demon.

This entire time he has been trying to give Crowley a place to call home. He painted the walls of the bookshop yellow because they are the same color as Crowley's eyes, which are also the least human thing about him. He has written about him in his journals and he's openly affectionate with Crowley. He always gives Crowley gentle touches and praises him. He loves Crowley and he's showing him in the most human way he knows how.

And when Crowley is losing Aziraphale, he shows Aziraphale his love in the most human way he can think of.

Heaven and Hell have invaded Whickber Street and put the lives of all the humans at risk. The problem is worse than he thought, and he's going back to try and fix it so that Heaven will actually try to be good for once. Not just pretend-y good, but properly good. Everyone is in danger, and I think when the Metatron mentions the Second Coming, Aziraphale completes the puzzle he's been trying to put together since hearing Jim singing a human song. It makes him understand what Gabriel was running away from, and he's the one who gave Gabriel the freedom to run away with Beelzebub.

And the Metatron is not pleased. Aziraphale introduced free will to demons and angels just as Crowley had introduced free will to humanity.

Aziraphale wants to help spread the idea of love and free will around Heaven so it can be better. He's doing something he believes is right with all his heart. He's been on Earth for more than 6,000 years. He remembers the lessons he learned. He knows shades of grey exist and he wants to use this to make Heaven a better place.

But the other archangels have never respected him, and now he's the Supreme Archangel. He has a chance to make things better, and he has done Crowley's job before. He wants to talk to God. He wants to know what it is she wants. He's tired of hearing everyone else speak for God when no one has spoken to God in thousands of years.

And when he told Crowley his idea, Crowley became angry with him and called him an idiot. What he was saying was not what Crowley was hearing because Crowley was trying to confess his love while Aziraphale was trying to tell Crowley his plan to save everyone.

He only wanted to go back to Heaven when he believed he would be able to take Crowley with him, and he thought reinstating Crowley as an angel was the safest way to keep him from ever having to return to Hell.

None of Aziraphale's actions were malicious. None of his actions were to hurt Crowley. He didn't realize how bad his words sounded because he was saying something completely different than what Crowley was hearing.

All of it was a big misunderstanding. If Aziraphale had not taken the coffee from the Metatron, he would have been choosing death. The Metatron is punishing him for going against Heaven by forcing him to go back. Aziraphale only believed it was a choice when he was told he could bring back Crowley.

Aziraphale had the illusion of choice. He knew the Metatron wasn't taking no for an answer, and when Crowley rejected his offer, he still had to go back anyway. When he looked back at Crowley before stepping on that elevator, he knew he was breaking Crowley's heart by not going back to him, but he had no choice. It broke his heart too.

So now he's stuck in Heaven after having the worst fight with Crowley. He probably feels like no one believes in him. Crowley had called him an idiot and then Crowley kissed him. He's confused because he doesn't understand why Crowley is upset with him, but he's probably tired of everyone underestimating him.

Let Aziraphale be done with this shit. Let him be petty about it. He's not holding back anymore. I want him to push back just as hard and stand up for himself. He has earned the right.

[cherrylng]

Memory of Muse 2000-2004 [STYLE Series #004 - Muse (August 2010)]

From the first visit to Japan to the 2004 Japan tour. How did Muse grow up after seeing them up close? We look back at how Matthew, Dom, and Chris were at that time, with some interesting episodes.

Conversation◎Yoshika Horita & Kaoru Abe pix Yoshika Horita

Yoshika Horita and Kaoru Abe, who had close encounters with Muse while working for Avex as their official photographer and interviewer, respectively. We asked them about their most memorable episodes, not only during their visits to Japan, but also during the many times they interacted with the members during on-site interviews. Please enjoy their memorable talks, which convey the individual personalities of the members, as well as their nostalgic memories.

[2000/First visit to Japan] Horita: I first met the three of them at ON AIR WEST. They were like three dark and friendly guys from the countryside, whispering in hushed tones about everything. They have very thick accents to begin with, so you can't hear them very well when they talk like that. Dom is the type who consciously tries to speak properly, so his English pronunciation is clear. Matthew is like a muffled machine gun and speaks very fast.

Abe: He wasn't so nervous at that time. He was being interviewed while lying on a gorgeous couch at Avex (laughs). Basically, [to them] it was like "I'm on a field trip!" and it was so pure.

Horita: At that time, they were accompanied by a manager who found them and was like a father figure.

Abe: Yes, it was like they were a local family. The show itself was very good, and they already had a certain style, but their usual behavior was not up to the level of their ability at all. Even in Tokyo, if they were to walk around Harajuku or Shibuya, they would look a bit out of place (laughs).

Horita: The way he dressed (laughs). I liked Matthew's cyber look at the time, but his shoes looked like something an old man would wear, and his denim was cut off at the hem! The uniqueness of Matthew's fashion came out at that time. But Dom is a bit of a fashionista. He was choosing what was appropriate for his height and weight. Chris doesn't care at all.

Abe: He (Matthew) talked a lot in the interview. He talked a lot about how they started the band because there was nothing to do in the countryside...... He talked a lot about things like that. But he would get bored in the middle of the interview (laughs). Then the three of them would get together again and start whispering in hushed tones. They didn't really have anything profound to say.

Horita: At that time, we even went to a music store to look at effectors.

Abe: It was their first time in Japan. 

Horita: Dom is Matthew's personal interpreter. Whenever Matthew needed something, he would call Dom and be like “Dom-Dom, Dom-Dom, you know....“ He always says “Dom-Dom” twice in succession (laughs). There was also a classmate of theirs named Tom (Kirk), and the four of them were originally best friends, but Tom went off to college and didn't play in the band. But they continued to be good friends, and eventually became like an external coordinator for Muse. You see, the world is closed, so they need that kind of existence (laughs).

Abe: Matthew is a little bit different. He is rather shy, so it would be difficult without Tom. Well, he's about as shy as I am. ...... So shy people interview each other and get interviewed by each other....... It's the worst (laughs).

Picture: Matthew cools off with a mini fan given to him by a fan. He said, “Back then, I would have gladly used any gift from my fans.”

[2000/Summer Sonic 2000] Horita: When Matthew had blue hair. Chris got a tattoo in Japan after his son Alfie was born. I went with him to Harajuku, and we went into a store owned by a very seedy foreigner, and he got it done by a female assistant who said she had just started working there (laughs). I was like, “Oh my God, are you sure this is a good place to get a tattoo?" She showed me a font sample book, and I just put the letters exactly as they were in the book. I wrote “Alfie” as “Zaibu Ryo” (在父良/Father-in-law) in big letters at ....... But he looks so happy!

Abe: That doesn't exist, does it? (laughs)

Horita: Matthew seemed to be very interested in it. I think that's why he let Chris try it out (laughs).

Abe: I didn't do any interviews at that time. I did see Summer Sonic, though. I remember they were already playing “Plug in Baby” at that time. It was the first show of the morning, and it was on a grand scale. It was so hot that I almost collapsed, but I heard that Matthew almost collapsed too.

Horita: Speaking of Summer Sonic, Coldplay['s Chris Martin] and Matthew were talking backstage at the Osaka show. Then one of the tour managers at the time asked me to take a picture of them. I was like, “Hey, let's take a picture now!“ And I thought to myself, “Well, Coldplay is in a higher position than Muse.“ They didn't really know each other that well, but Matthew, who was shy, talked a lot. Matthew is a very cunning guy (laughs), and he will go for anyone who benefits him or interests him. He is a surprisingly calculating man (laughs). Also, maybe it has something to do with the fact that his grandmother is a medium, but he seems to have a divine power or something out of the ordinary. There is a little bit of evil spirituality in him (laughs). It's great because that kind of thing is sublimated into the music!

Picture: At Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto, where we stopped by during the Osaka performance. These two are always a set.

[2001/London coverage] Abe: At that time, they did two days at the Brixton Academy and it was a great success. I think I went to see both days.

Horita: The first day was just the day I arrived or something, so I just went to see the show without any equipment. Matthew backstage was very funny. I think there was a tax accountant or someone in a suit there, and he was talking seriously about something like, “From now on, I'll take care of the money!“ As I said earlier, Matthew is very calculating and businessman-like. Their previous manager was someone who looked like someone from the industry, so I guess he thought he would be taken advantage of if things continued like this.

Abe: With all the money they had, they also bought a house to share among the three of them [Note: Presumably they're talking about Matt, Dom, and Tom's time of living together]. So, because of the formalities involved, we arrived very late to the hotel where the interview took place (laughs). During the interview, Matthew and Dom talked about the house all the time.

Horita: It was around this time that they suddenly became aware of themselves as members of society...... A tax accountant and a house! The next time I interviewed them in London, they had already moved to a different house (laughs).

Abe: Oh yes, it was a house with a studio. On the second day in Brixton, they had 2ManyDJs [aka Soulwax] in the afterparty, and it was Matthew's birthday party. 2ManyDJs at a live venue were still cute back then (laughs).

Picture: Matthew is not much of a drinker, but these two are the type that drink until morning. Chris in particular is the type that is easy to get along with.

[2001/performance in Japan] Horita: This was the time when the dark side of Muse was in full bloom. They were selling out at once, they had money coming in, and they had more than enough talent, especially Matthew (laughs). The number of groupies increased to the point where I wondered, “How many groupies are there nowadays?“ (laughs).

Abe: Chris was a serious guy and never played around...he lost his wedding ring at a show in 2004 and turned blue.

Horita: Oh yes, once Chris got very drunk and lightly kissed someone. The next day he was depressed and said, “What have I done? I'll never get drunk again!“ (laughs) It was painful to watch, but he was so cute.

Abe: Yes, he was. He really cherished his wife. Did he have his fifth child this year?

Horita: Yes, yes. His wife is a very plain, ordinary person. She is very different from Matthew, who is now a celebrity (laughs). Dom is a mystery! Even if he cheats on me, I feel like I'll never find out.  On the other hand, I don't think he is clean for sure.

Abe: Come to think of it, Dom is always clean [i.e. hygienic]. Chris is always clean, too. But Matthew never takes a shower even when he is sweaty at a show. (Laughs) Even when they play until morning.

Horita: Matthew's eccentricities are many. They were staying at the Nikko Hotel at the time, and when we were in the cafe on the first floor, he came down from his room in his hotel gown and slippers. When the hotel staff was upset with him, he told them that he was “dressed in African formal wear“, and they forgave him (laughs).

Abe: He had a look on his face that said, “If I say this, they will never be angry with me.“

Horita: He was once scolded for suddenly playing the transparent grand piano displayed at Kawai Omotesando without permission (laughs).

Abe: Well, even if he did that, it still looks good, in Matthew's case.

Horita: The thing about Matthew is that he is easily drawn to things like “white pianos” and “transparent pianos.” It's simple and cute in that way.

Abe: He likes to play the piano as soon as there is one. He must think “I'm so cool!” playing it more than the guitar (laughs).

Horita: On the piano, he can play Chopin and other pieces right away, but he's not actually that good at it. But on the guitar, even though he is so good, his movements are unique.

Abe: Speaking of Matthew, he always went back to the hotel after rehearsal. Dom and Chris stayed at the venue. I don't know what it is like now.

Horita: Yes, and that sometimes caused him to come back to the venue about 10 minutes before the show started, which made the people around him nervous. I don't know what he’s doing, but I really want to go back!

Abe: Is it some kind of ritual to concentrate?

Horita: Some kind of ritual to bring down the god of live performance? After all, he is a spiritual person (laughs).

Abe: Maybe he’s preparing confetti to be taken out of his pockets during the show (laughs).

Picture: The pass from the 2001 Brixton Academy show in London, which was attached to Abe-san's press notebook.

[2003/Reporting in London] Abe: Before [the release of] “Absolution,” we were in London again for an interview. At that time, they had a confident but calm impression. They took a long break before making the album, and all three of them had that good feeling. I would say that all three of them had grown up while still maintaining an aura of being rock stars. They also set up our own studio. It was just a renovated flat.

Horita: Yes, there were computers and office desks in one room, and a huge pile of equipment in the next room. There was a grand piano, so it was not small, but there was no table or anything like that, so it was just a place for recording as a hobby.

Abe: But he said he went there three to four times a week.

Horita: What surprised me was Matthew's new car. It was a very nice [Toyota] Solara, the kind of car that only [Japanese] yankees drive nowadays, and it was a white convertible (laughs)! It had a tachometer that looks like something you would never expect to see on a car like this (laughs).

Abe: But I was convinced. No matter how you try, only Matthew could drive a car like that!

Horita: It's the same as the idea of the white piano (laughs). Dom drove a maroon BMW or something, so he was totally normal. After the interview, they both said, “Goodbye,” and went home.

Abe: It was a bit of an inconvenient location, and we were at a loss because we couldn't get a cab. Dom said, “I'll wait with you until the car comes,” and bought us a drink at the pub next door! Really, Chris is like a good father and he is very kind.

[2004/performance in Japan] Horita: Before the Bay NK Hall show, I caught up with the guitar tech at the venue when the band members were not there, and he let me take pictures of the equipment. Matthew was just passing by and said, “You can film anything you want! There's no secrets.” When I first came to the show [back in 2000], he was very reluctant to have his effects equipment photographed, but I could see that he was gaining confidence. Matthew was wearing a weird “Matrix”-style coat and sunglasses, and there was a big fuss about “Take a picture! Take a picture!“ Matthew may be a dorky guy, but his personality and sense of aesthetics remain consistent. But that is out of tune with the world's sense of beauty (laughs).

Abe: He always likes things that are futuristic. He likes to wear a ring with a cybernetic design that was given to him by a Japanese fan. He was wearing it during the photo shoot, but I guess it wasn't fanservice, he really liked it.

[Thereafter.....] Abe: After they moved to Warner, we stopped doing interviews with this trio. They had a worldwide breakthrough and became an unreachable band.

Horita: They were five years after their debut... a country bumpkin who succeeds, falls to the dark side, and realizes who he really is... It was like the “Star Wars Trilogy” (laughs).

Abe: By making a good album, you grow as a person. That must have been how Matthew was able to make such a big leap forward.

Horita: I think Dom, Chris, and Tom were instrumental in that. If it had been just Matthew, he would have destroyed himself by not being able to use his abundant talent. Also, it was good that he didn't have any impatience like, “I want to sell [out] in America! I want to be big!“ Even though Coldplay had achieved success, they [Muse] were not in a hurry, and they worked slowly and deliberately, and finally achieved success. But he might have had a desire to play in a big venue and hypnotize everyone in the room......

Abe: Yes, he just needed a place to present his sense of aesthetics.

Horita: That hasn't changed. I haven't met him (Matthew) yet, so I can't tell you more about him. I met Chris and Tom when they came to Japan in January, and I was happy to see that they had not changed at all.

Abe: Well, I think I was very lucky to catch a glimpse of Muse, who have now become such a great band, on their way to the top, and I have really good memories of them. I would like to continue to support them from behind to see where they are headed.

Translator's Notes: This is actually one of my favourite and unique Muse interviews I encountered so far in the STYLE magazine, because it's an interview/conversation in the point of view of those who actually interviewed and photographed the band themselves and witnessed their growth over time in 5 years, and gives interesting insight of stuff that they picked up, such as:

-Matt calling for Dom's attention by going all "Dom-Dom, Dom-Dom!" and he does it twice in succession!

-Matt's sense of fashion in the past was just that... eccentric/bad enough that nobody could ignore it LOL

-Not even his choice of car was spared from Abe and Horita's low-key savage mocking LMAO

-The journalist and photographer are like "Yeah, Matthew is a weird dork, but that's what makes him so cute!" LMAO

-Matt's preference for white or transparent pianos were actually noticed since 2001.

-The true story behind Chris' first tattoo and the absolute horror by Horita at the choice of tattoo shop and being forced to pick the kanji letters that sound the closest to what 'Alfie' would be pronounced as.

-Matt actually enjoys receiving gifts from fans and would use/wear them.

-Their observation that Matt and Dom always stick together as a set. My heart...

-The imagery of the boys' first trip to Japan being like "I'm on a field trip!" to them shall live in my head rent free.

[jqmalikhsgib]

sea view

four

Harry waves at the camera and smiles. We’re behind the camera, ready to interview him about his second album. We laugh at how nervous he looks, him being an international rockstar since he was sixteen, it was kinda weird seeing him shy away.

Harry laughs with us before clearing his throat. “Are we rolling?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Hi, I’m Harry Styles! I’m here to give never before information about my second album!” Harry states.

Our interviewer, Samara shakes his hand before asking the twenty-eight year old questions

“First and foremost, How are you Harry?”

“I’m good! How are you?”

“I’m great! Thanks for asking. How’s the wife and kids? You and YN recently had another little one, yeah?”

“We did! As of now, starting this video he’s four months! He’s definitely a happy little fellow. Obviously my wife is amazing. She’s a super hero in my opinion. She takes care of the house and the kids like it’s nothing. She’s a great mom.”

“Is it crazy how much she still the most amazing woman in the world in your eyes?! That’s how I am with my wife. No one can compare. Even after years of marriage.”

Harry chuckles. “Yeah! She’s the greatest woman of all time. I still get butterflies when I’m around her.”

“I’m the same way! Before we talk about the album, how is she handling tour? I know by the time this video releases, you’ll be back to touring. How do you both balance your relationship and you being away from your family?”

“It’s hard, yeah! But we manage it. We’ve had so much to work on before Fine Line was released. With our marriage almost falling apart, I had to build trust again before going on tour.”

“That makes sense. Let’s talk about the saddest song on the album, falling. You have stated previously that was the first song you wrote for Fine Line. Where was your head at when you wrote falling.”

Harry sighs. “It was one day when YN and I met up for coffee. This was before I packed my bags and went to Japan. I tried to reason with her, get her to understand I was gonna get help so we’d be a family again. She kinda just told me we needed space. After, I got drunk off my ass and continued to party, every single day. I’d wake up in some hotel room, no memory of the night before. I thought my marriage had been over and I was the only person to blame. Finally, after a friend basically told me to get my shit together and get my wife back, I immediately packed up a bag and left. I had to for the sake of my family. Falling is about me coming to terms with my mistakes. It’s about me owning up to me being a shit husband to the woman who’d been there for me before the fame. I hated what I saw in the mirror, the things I’ve done, the people I’ve cheated on my wife with, I was disgusted in myself. It’s a song about self reflection!”

“You and YN have been through so much, a lot of fans feel like she’s to blame in your relationship almost ending as well. We know you’ve made it very clear that she had nothing to do with the split. And in your song Golden, you sorta open up about how imperfect you are, begging for forgiveness. What we wanna know is, was it the first song you let your wife hear?”

“No! The first song I showed her was Cherry.”

“Interesting! What made you want to show her that particular song?”

“Jealousy? It was mostly a manipulation tactic to try and win her back. A friend of ours had posted a photo of her laughing and enjoying herself with another man. I thought nothing of it at first, but as time went on, she was seen with him more and more. This only made me feel like she was moving on. I was angry! I went home, cried, got drunk, and started scribbling down the lyrics to Cherry. At first it was me spewing out some pretty hateful words, jeff was the one to tell me this was absolutely insane and I’d lose her forreal if I released it. Deep down I knew he was right I re-wrote the song. I sent it to her after I recorded it. She didn’t talk to me for two weeks. I knew I had fucked up once more. I was trying to make her feel guilty about moving on, if she did, when I was the one who cheated and lied. I re-wrote the song again around the two weeks we haven’t talked, in came cherry. The final touch was so much better than the two originals. She loved it and cried. I think that’s how we kinda got back together and went to couples therapy.”

“So, where did Golden come from, exactly?”

“We’d been in therapy for a little while. Maybe two months? YN was still very hesitant with our relationship. She kept pushing me away more and more. I didn’t blame her! I knew I needed to gain her trust back. After all, I cheated on her for six years! Golden is my song, really. It’s about me coming to terms with possibly losing my wife. I write about the separation of our marriage and how if she were to divorce me, I’d just have to accept in being alone and having a broken heart. I tell her she’s still the light of my life but i would understand if she decided enough was enough.”

“The next sad track would be to be so lonely. Is that also a song where you’re accepting who you are and what you did?”

“Sorta? I think it’s more so me being exactly what the song states, an arrogant asshole who couldn’t even apologize for his actions. I thought back to our marriage the last few years and how idiotic I truly was. I was constantly coming home drunk, smelling like another woman, not really giving a single fuck I was a husband and a father and my wife and kids should come first. I thought about the situation I was in that particular moment. I’m sleeping in a hotel, my wife and kids are home without me, I had been selfish asshole. I felt like I didn’t deserve her forgiveness.”

“Now, lights up and she are kinda giving me the reflective of your cheating habit. Is that where you’re going with that?”

“She is about my abuse to partying and who I’d become when I did party and get drunk everyday. I knew I had a problem. I wouldn’t call myself an alcoholic but, I wasn’t acting like myself. The ‘She’ I’m referring to is the partying and drinking. I would go to bed and wake up not remembering a single fuck about what happened the night before. I’d take my kids to school, go to a ‘friends’ house, get super fucking drunk, go out clubbing, and somehow wake up in my bedroom next to my wife. I’d pretend I was at work, recording more music with the boys, but she always knew I was full of shit. Lights Up is about the cheating. The girls I was sleeping with, they’d occasionally call here and there, having new numbers after I blocked them, asking to hook up again. At this moment YN and I were doing so much better! We weren’t sleeping in the same bed again, but she let me come back home with her and the kids. I wasn’t gonna mess that up. I wrote that for the world to hear, especially the women who I would sneak around with, letting them know I’m not going back to the man who mentally abused his wife. I’m a new man! I’m all about my family. Basically me killing any relationships I had with them. Letting them go into the light!”

“What was the next track you wrote for fine line?”

“That would be treat people with kindness believe it or not. It was a fun little song! Payton was only three at the time and me and her mom were teaching her about kindness! It started off as just a little humming. Eventually the lyrics came together. We all want our kids to be better than us, I want all three of my children to not make the same mistake I’ve made when they get older. Teaching them to treat people with kindness no matter how old or where you are, it’s important. It was just a fun little song for my babies.”

“Wow! That’s very beautiful, Harry! What do you say to the parents that are out there trying to same tactic but feeling like they’re not getting through?”

“Keep on teaching them about kindness! As parents, we all have that sinking feeling that we’re not doing enough or we’re failing a parents. In the end, children are human, they’ll make mistakes! This doesn’t make you a bad parent or a failure. We just teach them right from wrong. Once they learn, all will be good. I promise.”

“Would canyon moon be about you moving back home?”

“No, actually. It’s about moving back into my wife’s heart. It’s about me being gone and absent from her heart for too long. It’s basically her point of view. She tells me how she feels one night, like truly feels! How she felt like I’d broken her heart to tiny little pieces but I’m slowly building my way back in. She actually gives me the lyrics to the song. YN words were ‘It feels like you’re climbing my heart all over again. Like you’re heading to the top to touch the moon.’ And that’s how Canyon Moon was born.”

“Could you explain ‘Sunflower just died. Keep it sweet in your memory.’ To us? What does that mean exactly?”

“Sunflower is about us starting over! It’s about YN and I getting to know one another all over again. We’ve grown and changed over the years. Ultimately it was about us learning the things we liked and disliked now. We needed to re-grow our petals. I believe it kinda leads up to Adore You in a way. In Adore You I basically tell her, no matter how much she changed I will still love her for who she is. I let her know I’d do absolutely anything for her love, even walk through fire! I let her know to take her time with loving me again. I’d wait for her for as long as she let me. I’d love her until the day that I die, even then, I’d still love only her.”

“With the next song, we don’t have to go into too much detail. I’m sure your wife wouldn’t want you to anyway. Could you at least confirm it’s about giving a woman oral pleasure?”

Harry chuckles. “Oh, yeah! I mean, you can even use it as giving men oral pleasure. Whoever you identify as, it’s about sex! I wanted to add a little bit of adult content in the album. And as a married man, who’s not too shy, I will say I love giving my wife pleasure. It’s only natural, yeah? And I think I’m pretty damn good at pleasing her.”

“I’m one thousand percent sure you are Harry! Onto the final song. You have told us that Fine Line was the final song to be written and recorded. Would you say this song ties the album together and explains your infidelity as well as your love for your wife?”

“Yes! It’s the end of an era, end of hating myself, end of discovering who I am, who I was, and who I wanna be. Fine Line was a journey of self reflection and getting the help I needed to not only get my family back but, to finally get back to the version of me I like. It took a while to admit my faults and wrongs. For so long I blamed anyone but myself. I blamed my bandmates, my parents, the alcohol, the women, and most importantly I blamed my wife. I was the one who’s been selfish and arrogant and a dick! But at that moment I was letting my friends and family know, I was sorry for the pain I caused them. I’m finally getting my shit together and I hope we’ll all be alright in the end!”

“Wow, Harry! That’s beautiful, honestly. This album is the most real and raw thing we’ve heard. We all love that you shared this part of your life with us. We’re so very grateful that you were willing to explain this tragic, yet beautiful story. Thank you, Harry!”

“Thank you, darling!”

[wordbunch]

The Hobbit re-read: favorites, thoughts and honorable mentions

thank u to my tumblr besties for encouraging me to rant abt this book for a little while, and brace yourselves for a LOOONG post; aka We're Going On An Adventure!

this quote abt Gandalf: "tales and adventures sprouted up all over the place wherever he went, in the most extraordinary fashion" like. THIS exactly is Gandalf to me ✨✨✨

the whole good-morninged sequence (as if he was selling buttons at the door! can you imagine! By belladonna tooks SON of all people!!!) 😱

"a cake or 2 would do him good after this fright" me too bilbo

"he had a horrible thought that the cakes might run short" me too bilbo 🍰

Gandalf constantly selling Bilbo's skills to the company and just hyping him up and believing in him all the time!!!! most excellent and audacious hobbit!!! 😎

"this was thorin's style... if he had been allowed he would probably have gone like this until he was out of breath" aka he is Dramatic and Important

"bilbo was getting excited and interested again so that he forgot to keep his mouth shut" how many times will i write ME TOO BILBO in this post

"THE EXPLANATION DID NOT SEEM TO EXPLAIN" 💯💯💯

gandalf: i found him in the dungeons of the necromancer; thorin: girl what were YOU doing at the necromancer's??? 🧐🧐🧐 gandalf: finding things out as usual O M G like what else would he be doing there 😚

bilbo constantly wishing he was back home as soon as he left

"off bilbo had to go before he could explain that he could not hoot even once like any kind of owl" yall this book has so many funny moments but like in a very chill humor way

the fact that one of the TROLLS is called WILLIAM 😂😂😂

"i am a good cook myself, and cook better than i cook" okay bilbo rizz 😏🔥

"they had not at all enjoyed lying there listening to the trolls making plans for roasting them" you don't say. i love this deadpan humor SO MUCH jrrt snapped

that whole beautiful iconic description of kind as summer elrond

"their clothes were mended as well as their bruises, their tempers, and their hopes" WHEN will i go to rivendell 😩

"there is nothing like looking if you want to find something" thorin life coach realness 👏🏼👏🏼

thoring gesturing at a miserable desolate land: these tRuLy hOspiTabLe moUnTaiNs 😍

then gandalf lit up his wand. oF coUrSe it wAs gaNdaLf, but they were too busy to ask how he got there. 4ever mood

he thought of himself frying bacon and eggs in his own kitchen ME TOO BIL- 🍳

"Gollum brought up memories of ages and ages and ages before, when he lived with his grandmother in a hole by a bank by a river" this kind of made me cry. it brings unexpected humanity to such an appalling character; kinda makes you want bilbo to spare him eventually

and the fact itself that bilbo felt so bad for him he decided to just leave him be

"you would have laughed (from a safe distance)" LOVE how JRRT puts random little comments addressed to the reader

gandalf just being like ok i gotta go do other things now. good luck besties. ✌🏼😚

beorn: what are you, a traveling circus? and he is actually right 🤪

"you have got to look after all these dwarves for me, gandalf laughed" and i cried

bilbo being like hmm how will i get down from this tree (except by falling)

bilbo's song while killing gigantic spiders "not very good...but you must remember he had to make it up himself in a very awkward moment"

the dwarves starting to respect him and bowing down until they FALL OVER is such a comical image to me

the whole alluring magic of the elvish feast in the forest which disappears when they get closer!! a whole fairytale mr tolkien!!! 😍

thranduil is a greedy b <3 and especially VERY fond of wine 🍷🍷🍷

"i will lock you all in again and you can sit there comfortably and think of a better plan" bilbo badass mode and we love to see it 💋

tolkien being like WELL u can laugh but you wouldn't have done any better if u were him. real.

when they're in dale i love the numerous references to "songs and stories of old" and all of them basically being a living legend and turning their stay in dale into a public holiday and spectacle

thorin is cocky af

/freeze frame/ "you are familiar with thorin's style on important occasions so i will not give you any more of it" its ok jrrt, let him be a drama queen 👑

bilbo when he takes some gold from smaug being like "this will show them!!!1!1" 😠😠

sassy bilbo strikes again with "did you expect me to trot back with the whole hoard of thror on my back? if there's any grumbling to be done i think i might have a say" GO OFF KING 👏🏼

i just rly love him okay, he stole my heart in this book like a real legitimate professional burglar that he is

"i am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly" etc. basically this whole exchange btw bilbo and smaug is pure gold (pun not intended) 🤫

talking birds that eavesdrop. enough said.

the descriptions of the arkenstone which make you actually want to have it too. genius. there could be no two such gems, even in so marvellous a hoard, even in all the world." 💎💎💎

the harps (untouched by the dragon who had a small interest in music).. WHY is this so funny to me

bilbo putting on some elvish DRIP and being like ✨✨ i feel magnificent ✨✨ (but probably look dumb 😩)

"this is the great chamber of thror" ok thorin the tour guide king

BARD MY KING i love one (1) man 🎯

bilbo being absolutely against any wars or battles and just wanting to go home BUT also being a sneaky lil shit who takes the arkenstone to bard and thranduil BUT also still not wanting to leave his dwarf buddies

when he gives them the gem "not without a shudder, not without a glance of longing" AHHH i want it!

ambiguous gandalf returning. always love to see it

"if you don't like my burglar, please don't damage him" 🙄 ffs thorin chill

"you are not making a very splendid figure as king" yes gandalf call him out

defeat seems "very uncomfortable, not to say distressing" to bilbo. we love.

the fact that he was just knocked out cold during the battle so thur we know very little abt what really happened?? jrrt genius writing hack. might use this one 🤔

fili and kili deserved a better sendoff than just mentioning that they died. come on.

thorin's last words and reconciliation w bilbo... PLEASE I WILL CRY until i throw up. "it has been more than any baggins deserves." "no! there is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly west. some courage and some wisdom blended in measure. if more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."

i might still be crying

"tea is at 4 but any of you are welcome at any time" my heart... ❤️😭 Guess he's no longer scared of running out of cake

bilbo gifting thrandy a necklace as an apology for eating and drinking his stuff secretly, king shit 😉

bilbo having the absolute NERVE to say to ELVES "your lullaby would wake a drunken goblin". wig wig

he deadass borrowed a handkercheif from freaking ELROND 😳

bilbo arriving home to being presumed dead and his stuff literally being auctioned off

"it was a long time before he was in fact admitted to being alive again…" and sackville-bagginses having sm beef with that HAHAHA

he lost his reputation but he lived his best life so who's the winner here 😌😌😌

the closing lines "you are a very fine person, mr baggins, and i am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all" "thank goodness! said bilbo laughing."

like. THIS. literally embodies everything. he is just a little guy. just some smol person. BUT STILL had a say in how BIG things happened. BUT he remains happy to be just a smol simple person.

overall an incredibly fun read and it was way more genuinely FUNNY than i anticipated. bilbo is a whole mood. thorin is a diva. gandalf is there to start shit and hype up bilbo. jrrt with random author's notes throughout the book gives me life.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s2 episode 10 thoughts

woohoo! this episode has "museum" in the title and i love museums! but it also talks about cults in the description and i'm less keen on those

update: there were no real museums :( i feel lied to and cheated

we open on some cows. i was admiring their cuteness and their wonderful sounds by writing "moo" in my notes before we get a JUMPSCARE to a beef processing plant which. augh. unpleasant. i do not care for meat related story lines.

we see this woman working at the processing facility and she comes home to her kids and no husband in sight (a single mom who works two jobs, who loves her kids and never stops, iktr)

and she's getting in the shower but we see some fellow with glasses is WATCHING her. the question is from where and how?!? oh very creepy!!!

then the older brother leaves and we find him in the morning stripped to his underwear in the woods and whimpering. and his back is covered in writing.

so naturally my first thought was "what does this have to do with the meat? or did they just jumpscare me with unrelated meat imagery?"

(we later learn that it is, in fact, related. but this all happened before the title sequence even aired, so i was a little suspicious!)

cut to our beloved duo. mulder says this waking up in the woods with writing on the back and no memory thing has happened to a bunch of other kids. and scully's like "but why does this interest you?" and he says the sheriff claims they're being possessed which does seem up his alley

they're in the car with the sheriff and mulder was a gentleman and let scully sit in the front <3 he said my queen, you have endured so much, and motion sickness shall not be one of your troubles

at this point i realized the earlier meat scenes WERE related because the sheriff is introducing this new religious cult, who are vegetarians and bought a ton of cows to keep as pets. cows are cute but a bit large for pets in my opinion.

next they SHARE AN UMBRELLA on the way to the church's sermon thingy

okay so the leader is typing while someone reads his words which is certainly a presentation style. they all wear red turbans. and scully says she doesn't think they seem like the type to get involved in all this. she wanted them to be innocent so she could pet their cows. i'm onto you.

mulder hears a few lines of their chanting and says that these are "walk-ins'', which means the people think enlightened beings are controlling their bodies. okay theological king!

they go to talk to the boy who was in the woods in his underwear and man. we get this shot of mulder in the back. and his coat. is so comically large. i had to pause. take a deep breath. and remember the origins of my url.

the teenager says he thinks he was maybe possessed by an animal spirit or something, he doesn't know, and scully's sleuthing around the house when she discovers a child (the teenager's brother) and they are having a chat (again how much of this work involves talking to children) but SOMEONE is WATCHING THEM and it is CREEPY!!

cutscene to the pair eating ribs together and scully has sauce on her face and mulder wipes it off for her. and i squeaked. a squeak emerged from my body. look what they've driven me to. i am a woman with dignity squeaking over a rib date.

and why did they both look so good? but i was especially admiring mulder, in his silly little rib eating fit, explain the cult's reasoning behind a new spirit taking over the bodies of those who lost hope. i was embarrassed at myself for how attractive i found him. but then i remembered there are a lot of people who have probably been in a similar situation. so thank u for following this blog so i feel less alone in that manner.

oh nooo a bunch of kids are being mean to one of the church members on the side of the road... mulder gets up to intervene and tells them to gtfo (we love a man that stands for morals and justice)

the lead bully is ANGRY and sees scully come out and says "why don't you run along with the little wife" in her direction which is exactly what i have been saying but no one listens to me.

(neither of them seem to care that this happened which makes me think it's not the first time such words have been tossed in their direction)

and he's all "my father will hear about this" because the girl notices scully has a gun and gasp. he's the sheriff's son! so mulder's like "yeah i think he WOULD like to know about this" and they beat it

there's a moment where scully says it's hard to know who is in the wrong without having a scorecard, implying that keeping up with small town drama is impossible, and mulder is gazing at her. like GAZING at her. i think he heard the wife suggestion and was seriously mulling it over.

then the sheriff's son is making out with this girl for a time i considered far too long. but she goes back to where she lives and she sees a dog! a very cute dog! she appears to know this dog and goes to visit when BAM! dog-related kidnapping occurs :(

she ends up down to her underwear in the woods and she's hallucinating a giant crow eating her and also being swarmed with bugs which seems deeply unpleasant

scully does a check up on her because she is a DOCTOR and you had best not forget it! she seems fine... except... weird chemical in blood... a chemical you'd need to be some sort of doctor to know about... and we see the cult leader used to be a doctor before getting kicked out of the doctor world... it's not looking great for him

they pay him a visit but he won't let them enter his place because they will defile the sacredness of the space with their meat-eating aura. and then all of the members of the church swarm our duo's car and OHH it was creepy. but they manage to bring him into the station for questioning.

they're trying to ask him about the weird chemicals and he's going on about the injustice of eating cows and at this point the sheriff starts screaming at the guy. and mulder has to escort the sheriff out and tell him to be normal.

he says something about the guy starting a lot of trouble for being a holy man and i was thinking to myself. famously holy men DO cause a lot of trouble. this is perfectly on brand.

so then the rest of the church members were protesting outside of the bbq restaurant where our besties recently ate. and the sheriff's son comes out and throws COW BLOOD on them. he took his notes from carrie i see. the sheriff is PISSED and wrangles him up.

while all of this is going down, a strange man is beckoning to scully. and i am of the opinion that strange men beckoning to women should be avoided, but this is what separates me from the fbi agents of the world, because she goes over and he says he wants to show them something

at this point, the score to the show was going hard. i was jamming out. it was really getting dramatic as they rode over to some place and then got out of the car.

this strange man is talking about how he used to own this land, but he sold it and got rich, and he's saying that the new people inject the cows with stuff. i felt as if this episode was trying to make me a lil vegan.

scully's talking about how growth hormone is safe but the guy is not buying whatever the government has to say on the subject. and yeah like scully the government did just take you for a while so maybe they're actually lying? who knows. she went to med school and i didn't. frankly i don't want anything extra in my cow

we see the glasses of the man who was watching them earlier doing some cow injections! the amount of red flags here is staggering...

at this point, our regularly scheduled plot is interrupted by an excellent (and by that, of course, i mean entirely unrealistic) CGI helicopter crash that had be yelling at the screen. i LOVE 90's CGI it always fills me with whimsy. like sorry i know this was a serious scene but it looked funny and i laughed!!!

the two people on the helicopter are dead, and one of them was a doctor, who was found with a briefcase full of cash and a mysterious liquid... hmm..

mulder enters the room. "scully? you're not gonna believe this"

YESSSS! he said the LINE! i had seen it meme'd into my vocabulary far before i had ever decided to watch this show, or even had any idea what it was referring to. i would just mumble "scully, you're never gonna believe this" to myself whenever i learned any surprising information. for at least the last 5 years or so. so this felt very full circle to me. he did it.

he also proceeds to say something that scully can, in fact believe, because she already figured it out herself

so here's the situation: the doctor was treating a bunch of kids, including all of those who had gone into a frenzy in the woods. but what is the through-line here...?

we see glasses man again and then a RANDOM FARMER IS SHOT DEAD!

they go back to the house of the mom and the kids, and she's like yeah my son was getting vitamin shots from that guy. man i hate to tell you but i think there was more than vitamins in those shots. but mulder is... distracted by something.

there's a light coming from the bathroom mirror and he realizes there's something behind it. so he wraps his hand up and PUNCHES IT (bad luck be upon him for 7 years)

he finds what he refers to as a "private little movie studio" with a running camera and a TON of vhs tapes... nasty!!! not good!!!

cutscene to the sheriff's son, who has undergone a kidnapping and has not woken up! sheriff is naturally in deep distress. it turns out that he was actually murdered.

the car of our duo passes that of the gunman who shot that random farmer and scully realizes she knows that face... and i'm thinking that it did not look familiar at all. maybe it's someone she went to school with?

mulder is interrogating the video man, and he's getting real rough with him. he smacks him on the head, which is justified considering he was filming people in their home, but i do worry that mulder's interrogation violence will someday get him fired. the dude swears up and down that he did NOT kill them, but he did do the kidnapping and writing, because the doctor was experimenting on those kids and turning them into "monsters"

scully makes a connection... the gunman she saw before... was the FELLOW THAT KILLED DEEP THROAT???!!!! she has to excuse herself from the room at this revelation

mulder is deep in interrogation mode and the glasses slash video guy is saying that the doctor paid people- himself included- to inject the cows with a mystery substance, and that he must have been doing it to the kids he was treating as well

scully's back in the room and her and mulder are so close. so close. there is no reason for them to be that close. but here they are.

she says the stuff in the bottle was unidentifiable. that's actually not what she says, she said something about the number of proteins it had, and that means nothing to me but mulder goes OFF. he takes her outside the room and starts yelling at her about this meaning something.

here, at this moment, is where i realize what was happening: deep throat had mentioned to scully how they were dealing with people so cruel that they injected alien dna into kids. and i was putting 2 and 2 together JUST AS our main characters were. which honestly i feel like i should have picked up on that earlier but i hone in on character details and not alien details so sue me.

anyway mulder is absolutely gagged. he's yelling about "deep throat dying for this", and scully looks super super scared. he tells her to head out and that he wants this gunman taken alive

next we see him knock on the door of the... cult leader?!?! yes, you heard me right! mulder explains that he KNOWS it might offend this dude's religion, but he needs help. and so all of the kids and the families involved with the secret alien injection are taken to the barn where these people worship. tensions are boiling.

scully asks the sheriff where mulder is and he says that he left because he thought he knew where the gunman was. and this was not part of the plan, the splitting up and going to an undisclosed location! but i can imagine that this was deeply personal for him on the levels of 1. having lost deep thoat 2. having lost his sister and requesting any information pertaining to aliens and 3. these were the folks that kidnapped him at the end of s1 so. he had some scores to settle.

he goes to the beef processing plant, where he finds a TON of gasoline poured all over the floor. now, if i were mulder, being both deathly afraid of fire and also generally concerned with my life, i would have gotten tf out of there. but i am not mulder, and he keeps going on his quest to find this man.

gunman launches a sneak attack from behind a cow. which is not a bad place for a dramatic stakeout/fight scene but boy i'd hate to be there irl. and things are looking tough for mulder, who gets off his feet, only to be locked inside the building while this dude gets his lighter. he's about to drop it when...

scully walks in! with backup! she's got her gun pointed at him and he's wavering but the sheriff shoots him like 800 times. because he was the one that must have killed his son, so it was deeply personal. he's crying while doing this.

mulder stands over his body so sadly, knowing that he will never get the information he wants

scully concludes the episode by writing her case report, talking about how the kids who were infected have started getting sick. none of the kids from the church were infected, so it seems they were a control group. so in that case, the cult leader would have to have been in on this whole thing! oh, it's dramatic

but wait! if our duo had so recently eaten the infected meat, does that mean they are susceptible to aliens in their blood? and who knows who else ate the meat that was shipped out all around the country! aliens could be running rampant!

(i don't think that is actually the case- i'd have to imagine eating alien protein once is a lot different than getting it injected in you regularly for your whole life. but still. could complicate an already complicated situation. i mean, they've already endured evil cocoon bugs, exposure to that fungal virus, scully's coma... their doctors must be baffled at their medical history)

anyway, pretty good episode! i wish i could explain the joy that crossed my face when he said the line. and when they had a little rib date. oh man i needed that. that was good for me. i'll pass on meat imagery, like always, but it was interesting how they built this episode out of that one line in the s1 finale- or that they had planned it that way from the start. i didn't think we'd ever see what that whole process looked like! and it's good to get more info on our late friend deep throat. i still don't fully believe he's dead. you have to keep some suspicions on these things in sci fi.