#i know it had a big resurgence a few years ago

[redsodaz]

trying to gauge how big of a tumblr population there is for popee the performer before posting anything else related to it in fear of zero attention and embarrassing myself so (hypothetical?) ptp tumblr users pls interact with this post

[combines]

hello again!! as someone who comes from the 2020 fandom resurgence I am. SO SORRY. that happened a lot unfortunately. yeah we did NOT know how to act early on (ToT). I had the vibe it was a lot of people's first online fandoms.

the ship with two guys in it being dubbed butter pecan because of something something 'a lot of nuts' is again, so, so funny. Thank you for enlightening me on this, I know it's probably wild to be asked about this stuff like a decade after. This is like honestly a bit of a mystery in the fandom so it's insane finding out the source!! A real miracle the person who coined it so long ago is still active on tumblr

And speaking, it is and was INSANELY hard to dig for any 'fandom history' or even just any sort of Old post on here and I hate it.

another little question if that's okay- I'd assume that seeing the change in reception to freemance and freehoun kinda swapping around must've been bizarre as an older fan considering this was a fandom for a fps game in the early 2000's-early 2010's, in my head the vibes were kinda reversed where freemance was the big ship and freehoun was less well received by most

hiii again!!! i'm so sorry it took me a few days to answer this sdkfsmdk

i think it's super funny because both half-life: alyx and hlvrai came out within weeks of each other so you had this sort of resurgence on here of old fans returning/posting and getting excited for alyx and then a huge wave of people getting into hl in general because of the audience that hlvrai introduced. personally, i still haven't watched hlvrai because it doesn't really seem like my thing, but i'm still glad that there were so many people who enjoyed it to the point where they actually ended up playing and loving the games too!!

freemance definitely was the big ship on tumblr back in the day so yes it was very interesting to see that reversal!!!! honestly i don't think i was on tumblr too much during that time where hlvrai/freehoun really took off, and so the drama surrounding ship wars or whatever was mentioned to me secondhand. 2020 was just like the worst year of my life for personal reasons, as i'm sure for a lot of people, and i can't remember really any of it tbh LOL but you've got nothing to apologize for! i think you're definitely right, it seemed like a first fandom for many people, and that generally skewed younger. i think (hope) it's a better now at least!

tumblr's tagging/tracking/search is HORRIBLE i completly understand. i still think tumblr is the best place for fandom centralized stuff (pictures, art, gifs, etc) and until there's a new platform that does it better, i'll probably still be here, if super sporadically!

if you are interested in uncovering past hl fandom posts or just looking to follow some great people, i've tagged just some that were active in the hl fandom back in the day!!! :') i'm sure they wouldn't mind if you combed their archive looking for hl stuff/shitposts <3

@mbelyakova @littlewitchbee @temunade2 @loplins @angels-heap @anndromedea @skellagirl @bioticbear @cortnan @duamuteffe @protokol @cerviceps @axiolotl @clodiuspulcher @caramujotan @drgertiefremontphd @jauffre @owligator @saikkunen @utopianoverlord @failssafe @brogineer

[lily-orchard-gossip-blog]

So I said that I was thinking of doing a little breakdown of why Lily's writing was so boring, and this is me doing that.

This is going to be very technical, though, and it's not going to have much narrative analysis in it.

So I'm not going to be talking about Lily's problems with story, character or settings. That's its own can of worms, and isn't actually the main cause for why her writing fails to entertain.

So... what is the problem; Is it the lack of good words? The constant use of past tense? Non-existent imagery? A failure to invoke any sensory detail at all?

All correct, and definitely something I should cover later.

But not the main issue, which is...

Her sentences are WAY too long.

Alright, I guess I should explain.

When you write a story, it's usually a good idea to mix up the lengths of your sentences.

Short sentences are great for fast-paced moments. They help showcase anger, panic, intensity, or even convey the urgency of a scene.

But if you over use short sentences, your story could read as choppy or even kiddish.

Long sentences are great when you want to invoke a character giving careful consideration, slows a scene down, and stops the reader from plowing on faster than you want them to.

But on the flip side, they can also be incredibly long-winded, and exhausting to read.

This quote from Gary Provost explains it pretty well:

Alright, cool. But what does any of this have to do with Lily and her writing?

Everything, my dear reader.

Lily writes run-on sentences after run-on sentences. She's consistently writing 20+ words per sentence, and even goes as high as 40 at certain points.

This is the sentence length from chapter 1 of TSR:

And this is just the intro. It actually gets so bad that she almost had a fifty-word sentence at one point.

The only time this lets up is when Lily writes dialogue. However, most of her sentences from the dialogue scenes range from 17 to 19 words, unless a character is speaking.

And, since I know you're curious, yes. This is consistent across most of her fics. Here's a shot from Two Loving Mothers:

Here's a snippet from the Sith Resurgence Wiki:

And for fun, here's one from a WOW fic she wrote called This One Has Suffered Enough:

Now, a devil's advocate would argue that Lily isn't always writing long sentences. She's got sentences under twenty words, too, so why is it a big deal that Lily has longer sentences?

Well, for starters:

The longer you make your sentences, the harder they are to understand.

Long sentences force people to slow down and work harder to understand what you've written.

Long sentences can make the point hard to figure out.

They can also be incredibly draining to read.

The problem isn't that Lily is writing long sentences. The problem is that Lily is consistently writing long sentences in almost every paragraph.

When you add this on top of Lily's already formal style of writing, it kills the engagement even further. It starts to remind people of all those research papers they had to read for school.

Part of me can't help but wonder if one of the reasons Lily writes with such length, is because she wishes to invoke more sophisticated literary styles.

But there is a difference between:

 A few years ago in fact, when she was just a teenager, Aliana had come to Jakku with her mother and had spent most of the day with a very young and very distraught looking scavenger who seemed to struggle to pull parts off a downed speeder. (Sith Resurgence Chapter 1, 47 word sentence.)

And

The impression I had was that we were leaving the West and entering the East; the most western of splendid bridges over the Danube, which is here of noble width and depth, took us among the traditions of Turkish rule. (Dracula Chapter 1, 40 word sentence.)

In Dracula, the long sentence cleverly uses a semicolon. That semicolon indicates to the readers that the sentence has two different idea's that are being bridged together. That way, our brains have to do less work in reading it, and, the author can still get us to slow down and pay attention.

In Lily's sentence, while it's readable, it's also inefficient.

The sentence doesn't need to be 47 words long. If you cut out the fluff, and reword it to be more efficient, you can easily weed it down to 35 words, which, while still isn't great, is much more concise.

Here's just a quick rewritte of that very same sentence:

When Aliana was a teenager, she had come to Jakku with her mother and had sent most of the day with a young, distraught looking scavenger, who struggled to remove parts from a downed speeder. (35 words)

Of course, there is a lot more to go over, beside simple rewording, but that's for another post.

The point I'm trying to make here is simple:

It doesn't matter how good of a writer you are. If you write nothing but long, difficult sentences, your reader is going to get bored. They are going to stop paying attention, and they will abandon your story.

And I've just decided to make this a series, because they are other issues that bug me just as much as this!

[albonoooo]

thank you for the tag @borntogayz <3

star sign: pisces

favourite holiday: christmas (for the cozy vibes and food)

last meal: rice and stir-fried veggies

current favourite musician: this changes daily, but lately i've been listening to a lot of palaye royale (damn you, liquid) and nostalgic 2000s music like britney spears, beyoncé, christina aguilera and the pussycat dolls.

last music listened to: i'm listening to palaye royale as i'm typing this.

last movie watched: drei haselnüsse für aschenbrödel (which is the same answer i gave in a tag game a few weeks ago lol)

last tv show watched: it's been months since i've watched any show, but i think it's the witcher.

last book/fic finished: the last book i finished is to kill a kingdom by alexandra christo (only took me one and a half years). i'm not sure about the last fic, probably something from the kinkmeme idk.

last book/fic abandoned: the last book i abandoned (for now) is bleak house by charles dickens. i technically had to read it for a seminar, but it's just too fucking long. as for fics, i don't really "abandon" any, i just keep them in my library (marked for later section) until i get to them, whenever that may be.

currently reading: as per the previously mentioned older tag game, i'm still reading the picture of dorian gray by oscar wilde. since my last answer, i have made zero progress.

last thing researched for writing/art/hyperfixation: does frantically looking for the right pictures of alex albon in red bull gear as well as articles about him leaving/them sacking him at 3am count?

favourite online fandom memory: honestly just discovering that there was fanfiction beyond x reader stuff was eye-opening. the first few m/m k-pop fics i read had such a huge impact on me, i can still recite the plot down to the smallest details.

favourite old fandom you wish would drag you back in/have a resurgence: it's not old per se, but the pedro pascal girlies (gn) seem to be having a great time atm. i had my pedro moment in 2019/2020 when i watched triple frontier for the first six times, but maybe i should revisit that.

favourite thing you enjoy that never had an active or big fandom, but you wish it did: i've been thinking about this for ten minutes, i can't think of anything. if something comes to my mind later, i'll just add it then. EDIT: my best friend and i have an unhealthy obsession with the film napola (more specifically, max riemelt in it. the film itself is quite dark), but barely anyone even knows it. devastating.

tempting project you're trying to rein in/don't have time for: i'm currently trying to learn how to make web weaves because i have a bunch of ideas, but uni comes first unfortunately.

zero pressure tags in case you want to do this: @wanderingblindly @piastrisms @hrhgeorgerussell @bright-and-burning @liamlawsonlesbian

[drarry-is-totally-cannon]

Drarry & the Goblet of Fire: 4th Year Rewrite

Chapter 9 - The Dark Mark

A roar goes up when Krum catches the snitch. The Irish fans cheer for the end of the game securing their already massive lead and the Bulgarian fans cheer to salvage what's left of their pride.

Harry's Ireland hat and jacket light up, shouting the names of the players in the announcer's voice. He and Draco cheer, not because they've really managed to enjoy the game through the threat of Death Eater's presence, but because cheering feels better than worrying.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Draco says solemnly, still not looking at Harry as the players exit the field, thunder made by thousands of clapping hands following them out.

"What?" It takes Harry a moment to understand, too caught up in the moment. "Oh, yeah." he looks down at his feet.

Neither of them wants to leave. Harry knows his friends are probably worried sick, and that he should probably go back to them, but he can't leave Draco knowing what he does now. If the Death Eaters truly are trying to make a resurgence and they're going after anyone who isn't pure blood, could Draco be on that list?

"Hey, you know, nothing has happened yet." Harry points out. Draco gives the barest hint of a smile. "If something was going to happen, it'd make sense to do it during the game, when no one's looking . . . so we could hang out?"

"Well, if you insist, Potter. I know I could certainly use a distraction." He gestures for Harry to follow him. Under the cover of his large Ireland hat, Harry follows Draco and descends down the stairs of the bright arena and into the night.

-

The Malfoy tent is empty, the only occupants being the twelve peacocks tethered outside. They hiss at Draco as he enters. Harry hesitates, but not for long before Draco drags him inside.

The tent is more of a house than a tent. 'If this is their tent, what must Malfoy's house look like?'

Harry's thoughts are interrupted with a loud, "Got it! Let's go!" as Draco emerges from the living room with a bottle of Firewhiskey.

"That looks expensive," Harry says warily. He may not be familiar with the ins and outs of wizard alcohol but he knows it looks a lot like what Uncle Vernon saved for special occasions.

"Oh, don't worry, Father's only been saving it for a couple of years."

'That sounds like something he'll get in big trouble for.' But the rebellious glint in Draco's eyes makes Harry go along with it.

-

The two tote the whiskey out to the forest and take turns sipping from the bottle. At first, they cough and splutter, but as the alcohol floods their systems and their taste buds dull, they acclimate to the fiery drink.

"I've actually never drank before, not really. No more than a sip of Mother's wine when she allowed it." Draco admits.

"That's still more than me, I haven't even really had more than one soft drink," Harry tells him.

In five minutes, they don't care how loud their laughter is, inhibitions lowered significantly. It feels as if somehow, they know each other better than they did this morning.

"Psst!" Draco flicks Harry's forehead, hissing way too loudly for how close they are. "Wanna do underage magic?"

"Hell yeah!"

It takes them longer than it should to rise to their feet, legs shaking like newborn calves, until the dizziness passes.

-

Jinxes fly between them, but they're both too unsteady to dodge too much, so they lie on their backs in the dirt, Harry with Slytherin green hair and Draco with Gryffindor Maroon. Quite a familiar shade actually, one Harry had seen just a few hours ago.

Harry looks over at the former blond and giggles. "You look pretty."

Draco blushes profusely. Harry giggles louder.

"Pretty like Cedric."

Draco's smile slips off his face at once. He glares, before remembering, 'He isn't mine. He never will be. I have to go before I do something I can't take back.'

"Yeah. like Cedric. I have to go. Father will be looking for me."

"Wha- Wait.' Harry slurs, throwing out an arm, but he's too dizzy to really get up and stop Draco, barely grasping his sleeve before Draco pulls away. "Please."

"Sorry," Draco mumbles over his shoulders. 'It's shitty, leaving him there like that but, I can't stand to look at his face, his lips, as he says things like that. He probably doesn't even mean it. Merlin, Draco. Get. It. Together!'

-

Draco doesn't make it far. Before he's cleared the treeline he hears a scream. It's coming from the campground but he runs back toward Harry on instinct.

"Harry!" he shouts the boy's name frantically. 'Is he still . . . did he go? What's happening?'

Suddenly something slams into him, sending him falling to the ground.

"What's all the screaming?" Harry asks, slightly breathless.

"I don't know, I came to ask you. I mean, no offense, Potter, but when there's trouble it tends to be your fault." His tone is bitter again, still not having forgiven Harry for his compliment of the Hufflepuff boy.

"Yeah, right, well, I swear I haven't got a fucking clue this time," Harry says, scowling, already making his way back out of the forest. He picked up on Draco's bitterness, of course he did. They know each other better than they think.

'What's he mad at me for? It's his father that's probably a Death Eater.'

Draco follows him, already regretting his words. 'He was drunk, I shouldn't have- He doesn't need to know.'

Sprinting back through the woods, they reach the treeline quickly. They step out into a campground, not like the one they saw this morning. This one is painted in flickering shades of red and orange.

Fire.

"Get down!" Harry hisses, yanking Draco to the ground as a stray spark ignites above them. Harry stands over Draco now, looking sobered and shaken. 

"Shite! It's the Death Eaters."

Draco leaps up, knocking Harry back. It's impulsive, but he has to know, he has to. Is his father among the masked terrorists?

"Malfoy, you idiot! What are you doing?" Harry scolds from the ground.

"I- I need to know." Draco's voice breaks. Harry understands.

"Yeah, well you can ask him later, for now, we've got to run. They're burning the campsite, we've got to do something."

Harry gets up, pulling Draco along until they reach another opening in the trees. He starts to reveal himself, but Draco yanks him back. Harry spins around, ready to shake his friend off but stops when he sees his face. So afraid. 

'I don't want to face them, Harry. I don't want to face my father.'

"Okay, then let's just try to find help."

Draco nods, mouth too dry to speak.

-

They don't find the Weasleys or Hermione, (which might be a good thing) but they do find the old woman from earlier, clutching her granddaughter. Draco casts a cloaking charm and the woman smiles before disapparating away.

But they've stayed in place for too long. 

The Death Eaters proceed at an even determined pace, so secure in the destruction they've created around them. They move with a strange determination, Harry notes. Draco must be rubbing off on him, he thinks, for him to become so observant. 'Determination to do what? Does that mean this isn't the worst of it?'

Hexes launch their way across the field, setting tents ablaze, and sending wizards and witches into various states of panic and discombobulation. A stray hex, an alarming shade of smoky purple heads straight for Harry. 

He doubts it was intentional, they couldn't have seen him from around the large tent, but it's going to hit him regardless. Between the tightly packed tents, there's nowhere to run.

He's still working out a plan when he hits the ground for what's got to be the fourth time today. He's been shoved into a random tent. It looks far from where they just were. How?

Harry rolls over, shaking his head. He feels woozy, and sitting up proves fruitless. If his hair was messy before it looks like he's been struck by lightning now. Instead of sitting up he moves tentatively to lay on his hip, propping himself up by the elbow. To his relief, the nausea and starts in his vision fade. 

Draco sits cross-legged beside him, his hair mused nearly as much as Harry's and his left arm hanging over his thigh at an obtuse angle. He examines it with narrowed eyes, sucking in a quiet breath as he flexes his fingers.

(A/N: Pushing my left-handed Draco agenda. Why? So he and Harry can hold hands under their desks, of course. Also, left-handed people are cool.)

He looks at the newly-woken Harry, putting effort into a small smile that looks more like a grimace. "Welcome to the land of the living, Potter. I'm not the smoothest at this yet, so the arrival knocked you out."

"What arrival, where?" Harry scrambles up, in panic mode, feeling hurriedly around for his glasses in case he needs to leave quickly. 

'We're in a house?' Harry wonders. The space around them is charmingly decorated, reminding them of the few pictures Hermione had shown them of her house.

"I didn't get us far, just to a tent a few metres away, but-" He notices Harry's search. And with an awkward gesture, places the glasses on Harry's lap. "Here, I could've done better, but my wand hand is my left."

Draco doesn't know why he says that, of course, Harry knows which hand he uses his wand in.

"It's fine. What happened?"

"Perhaps I did a worse job on your glasses than I thought. It's broken, obviously, Potter. I'm not sure if it was the jinx, or if I did it wrong. I've only done this by myself once before." Draco sounds a bit stressed.

Harry shakes his head, getting a bit annoyed, "Did what, Malfoy?"

Draco blinks, the smallest of signs revealing the frazzle beneath his calm, "I disapparated us, Potter."

"App- but you're 14. I thought . . .?"

"Anyone over the age of ten can do it with practice, and my mother's been teaching me over the summer, but I didn't mean to, not this time. I just panicked and it happened, okay. I'm sorry. I know it's lucky neither of us got splinched." He looks upset with himself.

'I could've hurt Harry, but what else could I have done?'

The way Draco winces on the word keeps Harry from asking what splinching is.

'I think he thinks I know way more about this than I do.'

"Don't be sorry, you probably saved my life, again."

Draco pretends not to hear him, turning away to hide his blush. "We should go, they're bound to burn this row any minute now." Without another word, not even a huff of pain, Draco continues moving, pushing himself up with his right hand, a bitter glare in his eyes.

'He's nothing like he was last year with Buckbeak. He hasn't cried at all. Is he in shock? . . . Or did something happen over summer holiday to make him used to pain like this? The way Mr. Malfoy looked at him earlier, does he always look at him like that? Does he do worse? . . . What am I thinking, he's the spoiled one between us. But he's still brave, smirk, and bear it brave. Slytherin is brave. '

Still a little dazed from the amature dissparation, not expecting Draco's quick pace, Harry's "Yeah." is belated and he struggles to his feet, feeling the alcohol as he tries to keep up with Draco.

When he only stumbles again, this time into Draco, the blond turns around. "Merlin, Potter, I'm right here, if you need help just ask for it." 

Harry looks down embarrassed. Internally Draco panics, but there's no taking the phrasing back now. Luckily for him, he hasn't rubbed off on Harry that much, The Chosen One is still decidedly dense.

Harry shakes his head, straightening up from where he'd been leaning against Draco. "Yeah, sorry. I shouldn't have drank so mu-"

"It's fine, forget that now. We'll be lucky if that's what we get punished for tonight. In fact, I hope it's the ministry that finds us." The "not my father" goes unsaid but not unheard even to Harry's slightly ringing ears, "And I take back what I said earlier Potter, Expelliarmus is just as good as any other spell. If we get caught, give it all you've got."

"Oh, ha, ha, ha, Malfoy, that's really funn-" Harry's voice dies mid-sentence. "Malfoy," he tries not to panic, "did you take my wand when I passed out?"

"What, no? Why would I? You never take another wizard's wand without permission, surely even you know that."

"So you didn't?"

"No . . . Oh, Merlin, Potter . . . don't tell me you've lost it." Darco's face says he's so so tired of this, of everything that's happened tonight.

"Hey! I haven't lost it, I swear I put it in my pocket earlier."

"Well it's not there now, is it?"

"No." Harry sags in defeat, "It must have fallen out when I fell or when you apparated us or something."

Both boys ignore the possibility that it was taken and the much bigger problem: If Harry doesn't have his wand, then who does?

But they haven't got time to worry about that now.

"Okay, let's just, uh," Draco hesitates, groaning and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Retrace our steps and look for it. The woods are probably safer anyway. The Death Eaters can't linger long, I'm sure Aurors are already on their way. If the worst happens we'll stay in the woods until the ministry comes in the morning to check the scene."

Harry nods, relieved that the ringing has stopped, "Yeah. Let's go." 

Ever the Gryffindor, he wants to lead, but knows it's probably better to let Draco do it.

'He doesn't seem to be teasing me for it, so that's nice. But I mean this is hardly a funny situation. He's more mature than I thought, when did that happen?'

But Draco stops him mid-step. He pats the tent flap away, wiping his glasses with his sleeve to make sure what he's seeing is right. The campground has been decimated, turned in under an hour from a place teeming with celebration to a blurry brown mass. Ash coats the ground like thick winter snow and dances through the air, providing the accompanying snowflakes. There's more ash than there should be, probably because most tents were far larger on the inside. Even the grand Malfoy family tent is nowhere to be seen. 

'Did Mr. Malfoy pack it up at the last second, or did he burn it too?'

But when Harry looks at Draco, the blond boy is looking up, jaw hanging slack. A single tear drips down his face. Harry finds himself wanting to brush it away but Draco's never been a touchy person, so he doesn't.

Instead, he asks, far from eloquently, "What the hell is that? I didn't think the Aurora Borealis came over England that much, and isn't it purple?"

"That isn't the Aurora Borealis, Potter!" Draco snaps, sniffling back more tears. "That's the Dark Mark. It's Voldemort's mark!" Draco glares up at the writing snake with all his might, but he looks more like he's trying to hold back a sob.

Harry flinches back at the intensity of Draco's voice, the rage under the words. That's the first time he's said the name . . . ever.

There's the snap of burnt wood that sends both of their heads swiveling to the right. A singular person stands in the wreckage, a skinny man by stature, but his face is invisible in the shadow of a dark brown coat collar and spiky black hair.

"Who is that?" Harry whispers.

"I don't know and I don't care, let's just . . . go back to the woods." Draco's voice breaks. He's so close to breaking.

'You can't. Not in front of Harry. He doesn't want to see how weak you are. He needs strong people on his side, not boys who can't even bear to look their own fathers in the eye.'

"No. We can't. We should go after him, at least to see his face. We have to tell the ministry." Harry starts to jog away, but Draco pulls him back.

"Potter." He clears his throat, looking away for a second to secretly blink away the escaped tears. "You're drunk, you have no vision and no wand. And I . . . I'm so fucking done . . . with my father, with Death Eaters, with all of this. I don't want any part of any of it. I know I'm going to have hades to face when I get home, so just for now, just for one moment, one singular fucking moment, please let me have a bit of peace. You and your little friends can chase that man to Scotland, and France, and back in the morning, but right now . . . please, let's just stay here . . . . and safe." He doesn't mean to squeeze Harry's hand so hard, but at the moment, Harry doesn't mind.

'I didn't know he even knew any Muggle swears.'

"Yeah, okay. Let's stay."

-

So they stay, waiting in silence, but not for long

This time the footsteps are accompanied by clear voices, shouting directions, names with suffixes on the front, and titles.

"Mr. Crouch, sir, over here!"

Harry and Draco's eyes find each other immediately, widening in panic and relief respectively. The voices are far away now but they grow closer by the second. 

"Oh, thank Merlin. I thought we'd be stuck out here all night like heathens!"

"No, Malfoy, you've got to get out of here."

"Wh-" but his words falter as he realises what Harry means.

That man is probably long gone by now. He and Harry and the only ones out here. And according to everyone they know they hate each other, plus Harry's wand is missing. 

'I wouldn't even blame them. What are they supposed to think?' Drco droops at the thought of the house prejudice.

"Alright, but I'm not sure if I can disapparate again."

"Malfoy, of course you can! Just go!" Harry shoves him, and he does, vanishing into the air with a sad smile.

When Harry's sure he's gone, he steps out of the tent, only to be greeted by several thundering voices.

-

At mr. Weasly's instance, the crowd of aurous clears from around Harry and he's left to face Ron and Hermione.

"See, Mione, told you he was fine. If You-know-who can't kill him, I doubt a few of his cronies could."

"Oh, that's an awful thing to say, Ronald!" She smacks him lightly, then turns on Harry. "Harry! Oh my god! Where on earth have you been?! We couldn't find you anywhere!? I sent out a search party."

"'Mione, let him breathe!"

Hermione relents her crushing hug, "Sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just, uh, went to sit somewhere quieter, you know, so I could focus on the game."

Hermione looks appropriately confused, but says no more, "Oh, alright?"

-

As the group makes the trek back, Harry hangs back, rolling his recovered wand between his fingers. He knows it wasn't Winky, but there's no way to prove otherwise.

'Madame Pomfrey said that broken bones can be healed in an instant, and there's no way Mr. Malfoy would hurt his son when he has a reputation to keep up. Malfoy is fine, of course, he is . . . Mr. Diggory seemed fine, I wonder how Cedric is.'

Suddenly a hand taps Harry's shoulder. "Here, you left these, mate."

Not knowing how to explain, Harry just takes the omnoculars from Ron's hand. 

"I know you weren't watching the game, but you know it's really none of my business so just don't scare Hermione like that again." Then he pauses, sniffing the air, "Bloody hell, Harry!" he drops to a whisper before anyone can hear, "Have you been drinking?"

Harry blanches, caught. "Erm, kind of. Dean and Seamus dared me to try something that I think was more alcohol than we thought."

'Please don't rat me out.' He knows Seamus has always been curious about alcohol and silently prays that if Ron ever asks they'll just assume that they forgot and say yes.

"Oh, well, how was it?" Ron has had whiskey before, but only a bit, on the sly in the three broomsticks.

"Gross, absolutely disgusting," Harry assures, ignoring the tinge of warmth still in his veins. As interesting as it felt, it's not something he's very eager to do again, as he feels a headache already developing. Or maybe that's from his foggy glasses, the cracks didn't fuse back together quite right.

"By the way, mate, I meant to ask before, but why is your hair green? Did Seamus do that?"

"Huh?" Harry remembers, sinking down with laughter while Ron looks on in confusion. "Oh, this, I don't even know. Some boy about Fred and George's age was going around and spelling people's hair Irish Colours for them, and, no offense mate, but I didn't want to be ginger, or have white hair like Malfoy, so I chose green." the lie comes easily. He's not sure hwo to feel about that.

-

Even while snores fill the attic bedroom, dreams of snakes keep Harry awake. 

Sighing, with one hand massaging his scar, he retrieves his glasses, examining the ever so slightly distorted lenses. 

Draco had done the charm silently, but Harry still remembers the first time Hermione had fixed his glasses.

Tentatively he holds them out, pointing his wand at them. "Oculus Reparo." The words are quiet in the air but there's a crack as the glasses are fully restored.

'I probably didn't do as good a job as Hermione could've but this is better than worrying her. Draco's arm will be long healed by September, so I can probably ask him later if I need to. I hope he's alright. Mr. Malfoy couldn't know what we did. I'm sure he's fine.'

—

In Malfoy Manor, Draco cries to himself, frowning in the foggy mirror. He didn't feel like showering, but it was a good way to delay his mother's fretting and his father's interrogation. His hair is still maroon, but he doesn't trust himself to use his wand in his right hand.

This is the worst day ever. The sporting event was spoiled, his father may be a Death Eater and the boy he loves might like someone else.

The room spins as if he's still apparating and he rushes to the sink to be sick. Pain crackles up his arm when he grabs the sink to steady himself.

Behind him, Minty, the family's new house elf, whimpers. Draco had told her to go, perhaps a bit rudely, but she refused, now she offers him a warm washcloth.

"Stop! You're not my mother!"

"I is sorry, young master, Minty only meant to help. Young master is hurt, it is my job to help."

Draco takes a shuddering breath, then takes the washcloth with his good hand, "I-I know that. Thank you, Minty, just keep Mother out. I need a moment."

". . . I cannot, sir, I cannot be disobeying an order from the Mistress Malfoy. I can tells her, sir, but if she would like to come in I will not being able to stop her. Good house elf do not get in her mistress way, and Minty is a good house elf" 

He sighs, "I know. Ugh, just tell her I'm in the bath."

"I cannot be lying, sir, lying is bad, and I am a good elf. Young master should not be lying to his mother either, sir."

"It's not a lie, I've just been waiting for you to leave, before I undress."

Minty squeaks. "Ah, yes, sir, I am sorry to be holding up your bath, I goes now! I goes now to tells the Mistress!"

-

When Draco leaves the bathroom, his mother is perched on his bed, still in her outing clothes, fidgeting with one of her pearl earrings. It's almost indistinguishable from the colour of her hair, which almost appears to cast a glow around the dark room.

"Draco, my darling, are you alright? Minty told me you were sick." She beckons him closer.

"Traitor," Draco mutters, moving to sit beside his mother

"No, I forced her. Please tell me what happened. You never came back to the tent and Amaryllis, and Aida said that you weren't with Pansy or Blaise."

Draco shakes his head, "No, I wasn't. I didn't want to see Harry, so I went down a few levels to watch by myself, then I went to find Pansy, Blaise, and Theo to tell them I was right about Ireland and then . . . the Death Eaters came."

Narcissa Black-Malfoy isn't stupid, and she knows her son better than anyone. "Draco, your father isn't home. He's at work, he won't be home until tomorrow. Were you with Harry? If that boy left you alone out there, I'll murder him myself."

"Mother, we are just friends, nothing more. That's all we'll ever be."

Narcissa Malfoy looks thoughtfully at her son, then tuts, buttoning his pyjama shirt and ruffling his hair. "That may be but friends don't leave each other and that boy is a Gryffindor if ever I've seen one, I know he stayed with you. So please, darling, tell me what happened."

Darco hesitates, stilling, but he can't contain himself any longer. He tells her. He tells her and tells her and tells her. He tells her everything, everything but his suspicions about his father.

'I've never lied to Mother before, not about something so big.'

And she holds him, holds him because her husband left her alone tonight as well. He left without a word and she doesn't know where he went and at the same time, she does. She knows he didn't leave at all. 

And they both cry. Draco sobbing loudly, and Narcissa's breath hitching quietly, the tears just refusing to fall because she's already shed so many in her lifetime.

'I thought this was done. I thought all of this was done. I lost Bella to that horrid man, I will not lose my husband as well.'

She clears her throat with determination, inhaling and exhaling the thoughts away, shifting so that she can see her son's face.  "There's shampoo still in your hair, let me wash it for you."

After a moment of hesitation, Draco nods, feeling four years old again. 'Why couldn't everything have stayed the same? I wish I never went to Hogwarts. I wish I never met Harry . . . I wish my father was dead.'

When he stands up, his stomach objects to the movements. Maybe it's the pain, maybe it's the alcohol, either way, he gets sick on the carpet. The sick smells distinctly of fire whiskey. Darco winces.

Narcissa sighs. Soundlessly, cleaning supplies float in and the mess disappears.

Draco braces for her scolding. "I'm sorry, Mum."

"It's alright, darling. It's alright." She whispers gently, picking him up as if he weren't nearly the same weight as her. The bathroom isn't far anyway.

(A/N: I have no idea average 14-year-old's body weight lmao)

-

She lays him on the counter. If setting him down brings relief, she gives no indication, her face calm as she sets the tap.

Draco sighs when the warm water hits his scalp.

"You need a haircut." his mother tuts sweetly.

Draco doesn't respond. There's nothing much to say.

Quieter this time she says, "I knew I should've taken you to France."

"It's alright," he says, trying not to let the strain show, though he knows he'll have to tell her soon if she hasn't already guessed.

"It's really not . . . Draco, would you . . . " Hesitation is a rare thing for Narcissa, so it catches her son's attention.

"Yes, Mum?"

"Would you like to transfer to Beauxbatons this year? Your grandfather is old friends with the headmistress and one of your distant cousins is already attending, it wouldn't be hard to get you in, even this close to start of term."

"What?"

"Would you like to?"

"What about all of my friends, Mum . . . what about Harry?"

"You don't have to if you really don't want to, and of course your father would rather you go to Durmstrang, and all I'm asking is that you think about what you've seen this summer and consider what you want."

"Mum? What's going on? Has something happened? What aren't you telling me? Does it have to do with what Father mentioned is happening at school this year?"

"No, darling, everything is fine." A small lie, "It's just that you're in fourth year now, you're 14, a young man. If you want to try something new, you should have the option."

And he does think. He thinks of all the secret meetings and tense whispers, of his father's possible involvement with the Death Eaters, and of Harry.

'I don't know for sure.' Another small lie.

"No. I'll stay at Hogwarts." 

'I couldn't leave Harry.'

Narcissa sees through him once again, "Draco, sometimes it's okay to think only of yourself and what will make you happy."

"Mother, if you want me at Beauxbatons, I can't stop you."

Narcissa shakes her head vigorously, still trying to maintain her calm, "No, of course not, it's your choice."

-

The two don't speak again for a while. Narcissa washes out the conditioner silently.

'The warm water must be thawing me out,' Draco thinks, 'because I don't feel numb anymore. I can feel my arm now, and it hurts.'

Draco winces, giving in to the pain.

Smiling gently, Narcissa helps him up, draping a towel over his shoulders.

"Let's fix this, hmm, darling?"

Darco nods.

Narcissa points her wand at her son's left arm, healing it in an instant.

-

Even when the ache is long gone, it feels like it remains, lingering on like a stubborn chest cold. Despite being in no physical pain, Draco Malfoy falls asleep crying.

In the bedroom down the hall, Narcissa Black-Malfoy stares out at the moon with determination. She will lose no one else to this damn Hilter-wannabe. 

'For someone who hates muggles, he acts an awful lot like one. Muggle or mage we are all human, I suppose it can't be helped. . . . Should I have told Draco about the tournament, that he'd be able to see Potter? Should I go ahead and send him anyway, before Lucuis attempts to use him as a tool to regain favour with a dead man, or at least until I know what's really going on. . . . I don't want to lose Luci, but I think if he gets involved in this again, I will, for good this time.'

"Oh, Bella, I wish you were here. Why did you have to lose yourself to that madman? Where is my sister when I need her, someone to look after and care for my son?" She asks the empty night.

'And even you Ande, your advice was always reasonable even when you went and did something stupid. So bravely marrying for love. It's so lucky that my love is a pureblood, I could have never bared to disappoint step-mum that way, I suppose that's because I knew I was already enough of a disappointment.'

For now, though, she will watch and wait. She's kept secrets before, she's done worse than that before. 

A roar goes up when Krum catches the snitch. The Irish fans cheer for the end of the game securing their already massive lead and the Bulgarian fans cheer to salvage what's left of their pride.

Harry's Ireland hat and jacket light up, shouting the names of the players in the announcer's voice. He and Draco cheer, not because they've really managed to enjoy the game through the threat of Death Eater's presence, but because cheering feels better than worrying.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Draco says solemnly, still not looking at Harry as the players exit the field, thunder made by thousands of clapping hands following them out.

"What?" It takes Harry a moment to understand, too caught up in the moment. "Oh, yeah." he looks down at his feet.

Neither of them wants to leave. Harry knows his friends are probably worried sick, and that he should probably go back to them, but he can't leave Draco knowing what he does now. If the Death Eaters truly are trying to make a resurgence and they're going after anyone who isn't pure blood, could Draco be on that list?

"Hey, you know, nothing has happened yet." Harry points out. Draco gives the barest hint of a smile. "If something was going to happen, it'd make sense to do it during the game, when no one's looking . . . so we could hang out?"

"Well, if you insist, Potter. I know I could certainly use a distraction." He gestures for Harry to follow him. Under the cover of his large Ireland hat, Harry follows Draco and descends down the stairs of the bright arena and into the night.

-

The Malfoy tent is empty, the only occupants being the twelve peacocks tethered outside. They hiss at Draco as he enters. Harry hesitates, but not for long before Draco drags him inside.

The tent is more of a house than a tent. 'If this is their tent, what must Malfoy's house look like?'

Harry's thoughts are interrupted with a loud, "Got it! Let's go!" as Draco emerges from the living room with a bottle of Firewhiskey.

"That looks expensive," Harry says warily. He may not be familiar with the ins and outs of wizard alcohol but he knows it looks a lot like what Uncle Vernon saved for special occasions.

"Oh, don't worry, Father's only been saving it for a couple of years."

'That sounds like something he'll get in big trouble for.' But the rebellious glint in Draco's eyes makes Harry go along with it.

-

The two tote the whiskey out to the forest and take turns sipping from the bottle. At first, they cough and splutter, but as the alcohol floods their systems and their taste buds dull, they acclimate to the fiery drink.

"I've actually never drank before, not really. No more than a sip of Mother's wine when she allowed it." Draco admits.

"That's still more than me, I haven't even really had more than one soft drink," Harry tells him.

In five minutes, they don't care how loud their laughter is, inhibitions lowered significantly. It feels as if somehow, they know each other better than they did this morning.

"Psst!" Draco flicks Harry's forehead, hissing way too loudly for how close they are. "Wanna do underage magic?"

"Hell yeah!"

It takes them longer than it should to rise to their feet, legs shaking like newborn calves, until the dizziness passes.

-

Jinxes fly between them, but they're both too unsteady to dodge too much, so they lie on their backs in the dirt, Harry with Slytherin green hair and Draco with Gryffindor Maroon. Quite a familiar shade actually, one Harry had seen just a few hours ago.

Harry looks over at the former blond and giggles. "You look pretty."

Draco blushes profusely. Harry giggles louder.

"Pretty like Cedric."

Draco's smile slips off his face at once. He glares, before remembering, 'He isn't mine. He never will be. I have to go before I do something I can't take back.'

"Yeah. like Cedric. I have to go. Father will be looking for me."

"Wha- Wait.' Harry slurs, throwing out an arm, but he's too dizzy to really get up and stop Draco, barely grasping his sleeve before Draco pulls away. "Please."

"Sorry," Draco mumbles over his shoulders. 'It's shitty, leaving him there like that but, I can't stand to look at his face, his lips, as he says things like that. He probably doesn't even mean it. Merlin, Draco. Get. It. Together!'

-

Draco doesn't make it far. Before he's cleared the treeline he hears a scream. It's coming from the campground but he runs back toward Harry on instinct.

"Harry!" he shouts the boy's name frantically. 'Is he still . . . did he go? What's happening?'

Suddenly something slams into him, sending him falling to the ground.

"What's all the screaming?" Harry asks, slightly breathless.

"I don't know, I came to ask you. I mean, no offense, Potter, but when there's trouble it tends to be your fault." His tone is bitter again, still not having forgiven Harry for his compliment of the Hufflepuff boy.

"Yeah, right, well, I swear I haven't got a fucking clue this time," Harry says, scowling, already making his way back out of the forest. He picked up on Draco's bitterness, of course he did. They know each other better than they think.

'What's he mad at me for? It's his father that's probably a Death Eater.'

Draco follows him, already regretting his words. 'He was drunk, I shouldn't have- He doesn't need to know.'

Sprinting back through the woods, they reach the treeline quickly. They step out into a campground, not like the one they saw this morning. This one is painted in flickering shades of red and orange.

Fire.

"Get down!" Harry hisses, yanking Draco to the ground as a stray spark ignites above them. Harry stands over Draco now, looking sobered and shaken. 

"Shite! It's the Death Eaters."

Draco leaps up, knocking Harry back. It's impulsive, but he has to know, he has to. Is his father among the masked terrorists?

"Malfoy, you idiot! What are you doing?" Harry scolds from the ground.

"I- I need to know." Draco's voice breaks. Harry understands.

"Yeah, well you can ask him later, for now, we've got to run. They're burning the campsite, we've got to do something."

Harry gets up, pulling Draco along until they reach another opening in the trees. He starts to reveal himself, but Draco yanks him back. Harry spins around, ready to shake his friend off but stops when he sees his face. So afraid. 

'I don't want to face them, Harry. I don't want to face my father.'

"Okay, then let's just try to find help."

Draco nods, mouth too dry to speak.

-

They don't find the Weasleys or Hermione, (which might be a good thing) but they do find the old woman from earlier, clutching her granddaughter. Draco casts a cloaking charm and the woman smiles before disapparating away.

But they've stayed in place for too long. 

The Death Eaters proceed at an even determined pace, so secure in the destruction they've created around them. They move with a strange determination, Harry notes. Draco must be rubbing off on him, he thinks, for him to become so observant. 'Determination to do what? Does that mean this isn't the worst of it?'

Hexes launch their way across the field, setting tents ablaze, and sending wizards and witches into various states of panic and discombobulation. A stray hex, an alarming shade of smoky purple heads straight for Harry. 

He doubts it was intentional, they couldn't have seen him from around the large tent, but it's going to hit him regardless. Between the tightly packed tents, there's nowhere to run.

He's still working out a plan when he hits the ground for what's got to be the fourth time today. He's been shoved into a random tent. It looks far from where they just were. How?

Harry rolls over, shaking his head. He feels woozy, and sitting up proves fruitless. If his hair was messy before it looks like he's been struck by lightning now. Instead of sitting up he moves tentatively to lay on his hip, propping himself up by the elbow. To his relief, the nausea and starts in his vision fade. 

Draco sits cross-legged beside him, his hair mused nearly as much as Harry's and his left arm hanging over his thigh at an obtuse angle. He examines it with narrowed eyes, sucking in a quiet breath as he flexes his fingers.

(A/N: Pushing my left-handed Draco agenda. Why? So he and Harry can hold hands under their desks, of course. Also, left-handed people are cool.)

He looks at the newly-woken Harry, putting effort into a small smile that looks more like a grimace. "Welcome to the land of the living, Potter. I'm not the smoothest at this yet, so the arrival knocked you out."

"What arrival, where?" Harry scrambles up, in panic mode, feeling hurriedly around for his glasses in case he needs to leave quickly. 

'We're in a house?' Harry wonders. The space around them is charmingly decorated, reminding them of the few pictures Hermione had shown them of her house.

"I didn't get us far, just to a tent a few metres away, but-" He notices Harry's search. And with an awkward gesture, places the glasses on Harry's lap. "Here, I could've done better, but my wand hand is my left."

Draco doesn't know why he says that, of course, Harry knows which hand he uses his wand in.

"It's fine. What happened?"

"Perhaps I did a worse job on your glasses than I thought. It's broken, obviously, Potter. I'm not sure if it was the jinx, or if I did it wrong. I've only done this by myself once before." Draco sounds a bit stressed.

Harry shakes his head, getting a bit annoyed, "Did what, Malfoy?"

Draco blinks, the smallest of signs revealing the frazzle beneath his calm, "I disapparated us, Potter."

"App- but you're 14. I thought . . .?"

"Anyone over the age of ten can do it with practice, and my mother's been teaching me over the summer, but I didn't mean to, not this time. I just panicked and it happened, okay. I'm sorry. I know it's lucky neither of us got splinched." He looks upset with himself.

'I could've hurt Harry, but what else could I have done?'

The way Draco winces on the word keeps Harry from asking what splinching is.

'I think he thinks I know way more about this than I do.'

"Don't be sorry, you probably saved my life, again."

Draco pretends not to hear him, turning away to hide his blush. "We should go, they're bound to burn this row any minute now." Without another word, not even a huff of pain, Draco continues moving, pushing himself up with his right hand, a bitter glare in his eyes.

'He's nothing like he was last year with Buckbeak. He hasn't cried at all. Is he in shock? . . . Or did something happen over summer holiday to make him used to pain like this? The way Mr. Malfoy looked at him earlier, does he always look at him like that? Does he do worse? . . . What am I thinking, he's the spoiled one between us. But he's still brave, smirk, and bear it brave. Slytherin is brave. '

Still a little dazed from the amature dissparation, not expecting Draco's quick pace, Harry's "Yeah." is belated and he struggles to his feet, feeling the alcohol as he tries to keep up with Draco.

When he only stumbles again, this time into Draco, the blond turns around. "Merlin, Potter, I'm right here, if you need help just ask for it." 

Harry looks down embarrassed. Internally Draco panics, but there's no taking the phrasing back now. Luckily for him, he hasn't rubbed off on Harry that much, The Chosen One is still decidedly dense.

Harry shakes his head, straightening up from where he'd been leaning against Draco. "Yeah, sorry. I shouldn't have drank so mu-"

"It's fine, forget that now. We'll be lucky if that's what we get punished for tonight. In fact, I hope it's the ministry that finds us." The "not my father" goes unsaid but not unheard even to Harry's slightly ringing ears, "And I take back what I said earlier Potter, Expelliarmus is just as good as any other spell. If we get caught, give it all you've got."

"Oh, ha, ha, ha, Malfoy, that's really funn-" Harry's voice dies mid-sentence. "Malfoy," he tries not to panic, "did you take my wand when I passed out?"

"What, no? Why would I? You never take another wizard's wand without permission, surely even you know that."

"So you didn't?"

"No . . . Oh, Merlin, Potter . . . don't tell me you've lost it." Darco's face says he's so so tired of this, of everything that's happened tonight.

"Hey! I haven't lost it, I swear I put it in my pocket earlier."

"Well it's not there now, is it?"

"No." Harry sags in defeat, "It must have fallen out when I fell or when you apparated us or something."

Both boys ignore the possibility that it was taken and the much bigger problem: If Harry doesn't have his wand, then who does?

But they haven't got time to worry about that now.

"Okay, let's just, uh," Draco hesitates, groaning and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Retrace our steps and look for it. The woods are probably safer anyway. The Death Eaters can't linger long, I'm sure Aurors are already on their way. If the worst happens we'll stay in the woods until the ministry comes in the morning to check the scene."

Harry nods, relieved that the ringing has stopped, "Yeah. Let's go." 

Ever the Gryffindor, he wants to lead, but knows it's probably better to let Draco do it.

'He doesn't seem to be teasing me for it, so that's nice. But I mean this is hardly a funny situation. He's more mature than I thought, when did that happen?'

But Draco stops him mid-step. He pats the tent flap away, wiping his glasses with his sleeve to make sure what he's seeing is right. The campground has been decimated, turned in under an hour from a place teeming with celebration to a blurry brown mass. Ash coats the ground like thick winter snow and dances through the air, providing the accompanying snowflakes. There's more ash than there should be, probably because most tents were far larger on the inside. Even the grand Malfoy family tent is nowhere to be seen. 

'Did Mr. Malfoy pack it up at the last second, or did he burn it too?'

But when Harry looks at Draco, the blond boy is looking up, jaw hanging slack. A single tear drips down his face. Harry finds himself wanting to brush it away but Draco's never been a touchy person, so he doesn't.

Instead, he asks, far from eloquently, "What the hell is that? I didn't think the Aurora Borealis came over England that much, and isn't it purple?"

"That isn't the Aurora Borealis, Potter!" Draco snaps, sniffling back more tears. "That's the Dark Mark. It's Voldemort's mark!" Draco glares up at the writing snake with all his might, but he looks more like he's trying to hold back a sob.

Harry flinches back at the intensity of Draco's voice, the rage under the words. That's the first time he's said the name . . . ever.

There's the snap of burnt wood that sends both of their heads swiveling to the right. A singular person stands in the wreckage, a skinny man by stature, but his face is invisible in the shadow of a dark brown coat collar and spiky black hair.

"Who is that?" Harry whispers.

"I don't know and I don't care, let's just . . . go back to the woods." Draco's voice breaks. He's so close to breaking.

'You can't. Not in front of Harry. He doesn't want to see how weak you are. He needs strong people on his side, not boys who can't even bear to look their own fathers in the eye.'

"No. We can't. We should go after him, at least to see his face. We have to tell the ministry." Harry starts to jog away, but Draco pulls him back.

"Potter." He clears his throat, looking away for a second to secretly blink away the escaped tears. "You're drunk, you have no vision and no wand. And I . . . I'm so fucking done . . . with my father, with Death Eaters, with all of this. I don't want any part of any of it. I know I'm going to have hades to face when I get home, so just for now, just for one moment, one singular fucking moment, please let me have a bit of peace. You and your little friends can chase that man to Scotland, and France, and back in the morning, but right now . . . please, let's just stay here . . . . and safe." He doesn't mean to squeeze Harry's hand so hard, but at the moment, Harry doesn't mind.

'I didn't know he even knew any Muggle swears.'

"Yeah, okay. Let's stay."

-

So they stay, waiting in silence, but not for long

This time the footsteps are accompanied by clear voices, shouting directions, names with suffixes on the front, and titles.

"Mr. Crouch, sir, over here!"

Harry and Draco's eyes find each other immediately, widening in panic and relief respectively. The voices are far away now but they grow closer by the second. 

"Oh, thank Merlin. I thought we'd be stuck out here all night like heathens!"

"No, Malfoy, you've got to get out of here."

"Wh-" but his words falter as he realises what Harry means.

That man is probably long gone by now. He and Harry and the only ones out here. And according to everyone they know they hate each other, plus Harry's wand is missing. 

'I wouldn't even blame them. What are they supposed to think?' Drco droops at the thought of the house prejudice.

"Alright, but I'm not sure if I can disapparate again."

"Malfoy, of course you can! Just go!" Harry shoves him, and he does, vanishing into the air with a sad smile.

When Harry's sure he's gone, he steps out of the tent, only to be greeted by several thundering voices.

-

At mr. Weasly's instance, the crowd of aurous clears from around Harry and he's left to face Ron and Hermione.

"See, Mione, told you he was fine. If You-know-who can't kill him, I doubt a few of his cronies could."

"Oh, that's an awful thing to say, Ronald!" She smacks him lightly, then turns on Harry. "Harry! Oh my god! Where on earth have you been?! We couldn't find you anywhere!? I sent out a search party."

"'Mione, let him breathe!"

Hermione relents her crushing hug, "Sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just, uh, went to sit somewhere quieter, you know, so I could focus on the game."

Hermione looks appropriately confused, but says no more, "Oh, alright?"

-

As the group makes the trek back, Harry hangs back, rolling his recovered wand between his fingers. He knows it wasn't Winky, but there's no way to prove otherwise.

'Madame Pomfrey said that broken bones can be healed in an instant, and there's no way Mr. Malfoy would hurt his son when he has a reputation to keep up. Malfoy is fine, of course, he is . . . Mr. Diggory seemed fine, I wonder how Cedric is.'

Suddenly a hand taps Harry's shoulder. "Here, you left these, mate."

Not knowing how to explain, Harry just takes the omnoculars from Ron's hand. 

"I know you weren't watching the game, but you know it's really none of my business so just don't scare Hermione like that again." Then he pauses, sniffing the air, "Bloody hell, Harry!" he drops to a whisper before anyone can hear, "Have you been drinking?"

Harry blanches, caught. "Erm, kind of. Dean and Seamus dared me to try something that I think was more alcohol than we thought."

'Please don't rat me out.' He knows Seamus has always been curious about alcohol and silently prays that if Ron ever asks they'll just assume that they forgot and say yes.

"Oh, well, how was it?" Ron has had whiskey before, but only a bit, on the sly in the three broomsticks.

"Gross, absolutely disgusting," Harry assures, ignoring the tinge of warmth still in his veins. As interesting as it felt, it's not something he's very eager to do again, as he feels a headache already developing. Or maybe that's from his foggy glasses, the cracks didn't fuse back together quite right.

"By the way, mate, I meant to ask before, but why is your hair green? Did Seamus do that?"

"Huh?" Harry remembers, sinking down with laughter while Ron looks on in confusion. "Oh, this, I don't even know. Some boy about Fred and George's age was going around and spelling people's hair Irish Colours for them, and, no offense mate, but I didn't want to be ginger, or have white hair like Malfoy, so I chose green." the lie comes easily. He's not sure hwo to feel about that.

-

Even while snores fill the attic bedroom, dreams of snakes keep Harry awake. 

Sighing, with one hand massaging his scar, he retrieves his glasses, examining the ever so slightly distorted lenses. 

Draco had done the charm silently, but Harry still remembers the first time Hermione had fixed his glasses.

Tentatively he holds them out, pointing his wand at them. "Oculus Reparo." The words are quiet in the air but there's a crack as the glasses are fully restored.

'I probably didn't do as good a job as Hermione could've but this is better than worrying her. Draco's arm will be long healed by September, so I can probably ask him later if I need to. I hope he's alright. Mr. Malfoy couldn't know what we did. I'm sure he's fine.'

—

In Malfoy Manor, Draco cries to himself, frowning in the foggy mirror. He didn't feel like showering, but it was a good way to delay his mother's fretting and his father's interrogation. His hair is still maroon, but he doesn't trust himself to use his wand in his right hand.

This is the worst day ever. The sporting event was spoiled, his father may be a Death Eater and the boy he loves might like someone else.

The room spins as if he's still apparating and he rushes to the sink to be sick. Pain crackles up his arm when he grabs the sink to steady himself.

Behind him, Minty, the family's new house elf, whimpers. Draco had told her to go, perhaps a bit rudely, but she refused, now she offers him a warm washcloth.

"Stop! You're not my mother!"

"I is sorry, young master, Minty only meant to help. Young master is hurt, it is my job to help."

Draco takes a shuddering breath, then takes the washcloth with his good hand, "I-I know that. Thank you, Minty, just keep Mother out. I need a moment."

". . . I cannot, sir, I cannot be disobeying an order from the Mistress Malfoy. I can tells her, sir, but if she would like to come in I will not being able to stop her. Good house elf do not get in her mistress way, and Minty is a good house elf" 

He sighs, "I know. Ugh, just tell her I'm in the bath."

"I cannot be lying, sir, lying is bad, and I am a good elf. Young master should not be lying to his mother either, sir."

"It's not a lie, I've just been waiting for you to leave, before I undress."

Minty squeaks. "Ah, yes, sir, I am sorry to be holding up your bath, I goes now! I goes now to tells the Mistress!"

-

When Draco leaves the bathroom, his mother is perched on his bed, still in her outing clothes, fidgeting with one of her pearl earrings. It's almost indistinguishable from the colour of her hair, which almost appears to cast a glow around the dark room.

"Draco, my darling, are you alright? Minty told me you were sick." She beckons him closer.

"Traitor," Draco mutters, moving to sit beside his mother

"No, I forced her. Please tell me what happened. You never came back to the tent and Amaryllis, and Aida said that you weren't with Pansy or Blaise."

Draco shakes his head, "No, I wasn't. I didn't want to see Harry, so I went down a few levels to watch by myself, then I went to find Pansy, Blaise, and Theo to tell them I was right about Ireland and then . . . the Death Eaters came."

Narcissa Black-Malfoy isn't stupid, and she knows her son better than anyone. "Draco, your father isn't home. He's at work, he won't be home until tomorrow. Were you with Harry? If that boy left you alone out there, I'll murder him myself."

"Mother, we are just friends, nothing more. That's all we'll ever be."

Narcissa Malfoy looks thoughtfully at her son, then tuts, buttoning his pyjama shirt and ruffling his hair. "That may be but friends don't leave each other and that boy is a Gryffindor if ever I've seen one, I know he stayed with you. So please, darling, tell me what happened."

Darco hesitates, stilling, but he can't contain himself any longer. He tells her. He tells her and tells her and tells her. He tells her everything, everything but his suspicions about his father.

'I've never lied to Mother before, not about something so big.'

And she holds him, holds him because her husband left her alone tonight as well. He left without a word and she doesn't know where he went and at the same time, she does. She knows he didn't leave at all. 

And they both cry. Draco sobbing loudly, and Narcissa's breath hitching quietly, the tears just refusing to fall because she's already shed so many in her lifetime.

'I thought this was done. I thought all of this was done. I lost Bella to that horrid man, I will not lose my husband as well.'

She clears her throat with determination, inhaling and exhaling the thoughts away, shifting so that she can see her son's face.  "There's shampoo still in your hair, let me wash it for you."

After a moment of hesitation, Draco nods, feeling four years old again. 'Why couldn't everything have stayed the same? I wish I never went to Hogwarts. I wish I never met Harry . . . I wish my father was dead.'

When he stands up, his stomach objects to the movements. Maybe it's the pain, maybe it's the alcohol, either way, he gets sick on the carpet. The sick smells distinctly of fire whiskey. Darco winces.

Narcissa sighs. Soundlessly, cleaning supplies float in and the mess disappears.

Draco braces for her scolding. "I'm sorry, Mum."

"It's alright, darling. It's alright." She whispers gently, picking him up as if he weren't nearly the same weight as her. The bathroom isn't far anyway.

(A/N: I have no idea average 14-year-old's body weight lmao)

-

She lays him on the counter. If setting him down brings relief, she gives no indication, her face calm as she sets the tap.

Draco sighs when the warm water hits his scalp.

"You need a haircut." his mother tuts sweetly.

Draco doesn't respond. There's nothing much to say.

Quieter this time she says, "I knew I should've taken you to France."

"It's alright," he says, trying not to let the strain show, though he knows he'll have to tell her soon if she hasn't already guessed.

"It's really not . . . Draco, would you . . . " Hesitation is a rare thing for Narcissa, so it catches her son's attention.

"Yes, Mum?"

"Would you like to transfer to Beauxbatons this year? Your grandfather is old friends with the headmistress and one of your distant cousins is already attending, it wouldn't be hard to get you in, even this close to start of term."

"What?"

"Would you like to?"

"What about all of my friends, Mum . . . what about Harry?"

"You don't have to if you really don't want to, and of course your father would rather you go to Durmstrang, and all I'm asking is that you think about what you've seen this summer and consider what you want."

"Mum? What's going on? Has something happened? What aren't you telling me? Does it have to do with what Father mentioned is happening at school this year?"

"No, darling, everything is fine." A small lie, "It's just that you're in fourth year now, you're 14, a young man. If you want to try something new, you should have the option."

And he does think. He thinks of all the secret meetings and tense whispers, of his father's possible involvement with the Death Eaters, and of Harry.

'I don't know for sure.' Another small lie.

"No. I'll stay at Hogwarts." 

'I couldn't leave Harry.'

Narcissa sees through him once again, "Draco, sometimes it's okay to think only of yourself and what will make you happy."

"Mother, if you want me at Beauxbatons, I can't stop you."

Narcissa shakes her head vigorously, still trying to maintain her calm, "No, of course not, it's your choice."

-

The two don't speak again for a while. Narcissa washes out the conditioner silently.

'The warm water must be thawing me out,' Draco thinks, 'because I don't feel numb anymore. I can feel my arm now, and it hurts.'

Draco winces, giving in to the pain.

Smiling gently, Narcissa helps him up, draping a towel over his shoulders.

"Let's fix this, hmm, darling?"

Darco nods.

Narcissa points her wand at her son's left arm, healing it in an instant.

-

Even when the ache is long gone, it feels like it remains, lingering on like a stubborn chest cold. Despite being in no physical pain, Draco Malfoy falls asleep crying.

In the bedroom down the hall, Narcissa Black-Malfoy stares out at the moon with determination. She will lose no one else to this damn Hilter-wannabe. 

'For someone who hates muggles, he acts an awful lot like one. Muggle or mage we are all human, I suppose it can't be helped. . . . Should I have told Draco about the tournament, that he'd be able to see Potter? Should I go ahead and send him anyway, before Lucuis attempts to use him as a tool to regain favour with a dead man, or at least until I know what's really going on. . . . I don't want to lose Luci, but I think if he gets involved in this again, I will, for good this time.'

"Oh, Bella, I wish you were here. Why did you have to lose yourself to that madman? Where is my sister when I need her, someone to look after and care for my son?" She asks the empty night.

'And even you Ande, your advice was always reasonable even when you went and did something stupid. So bravely marrying for love. It's so lucky that my love is a pureblood, I could have never bared to disappoint step-mum that way, I suppose that's because I knew I was already enough of a disappointment.'

For now, though, she will watch and wait. She's kept secrets before, she's done worse than that before. 

[scoops404]

I feel so bad that he is so cautious of showing up anywhere now :( and i really do fear that he lost any and all motivation to stream or edit/make videos simply because that was always an issue for him and this was kind of the straw that broke the camels back for his motivation :(

Also when do we think dreams project videos will be posted? I used to think june but man it seems to be july if not even august...MAN😭😭😭

Conversations about George's motivation are dangerous, mostly because we don't know what's going on in his head or behind the scenes. It's hard to project our own thoughts and expectations onto him. A few years ago I didn't have a job for while (totally planned, I had enough money and was recovering from burnout) -- but the expectations of what I thought i would act like without a proper schedule I had to adhere to, strict clock in/clock out times--it was hard and not what i expected. Despite having all the time in the world, I still wrote about as much a day as I do now with a full time job.

The point is, you never know what other people are going through or what their motivation is like--some people are intrinsically motivated (which I think, for sure, is Dream--doing it not for money or clout but because it's a calling). George has never really talked about what drives him, not seriously anyway.

I certainly wish we'd see more from him, streams, videos, etc, but the golden age of streaming for the corner of mcyt that i care about seems to be gone. And i've been struggling to accept that.

But YouTube DreamTeam is still here and loud and present, despite not having many videos come out in the last year. I think there will be a big resurgence when the video does drop. No idea when that will be and I'm glad that Dream has at least stopped stringing us along with well intended but foolish promises.

I have no idea when it will drop, but I am *SAT* for it

[smokeybrandreviews]

I Missed You

I've been frustrated with US comics for a few years now. Sh*t has been a barren wasteland of content for some time. Well, i can't say that for the entire industry, mostly the Big Two, but they weight the industry down so much, it's hard not to focus in on them. If the two gods bleed, what does that mean for the lowly mortals, you know? IDW puts out pretty solid Licensed fair, though. Their Power Rangers and Sonic stuff is pretty good. I really loved the Transformers comics they produced until Hasbro wanted a bigger piece of the pie and pulled their rights. Still, Image is doing a pretty great f*cking job with my darling Cybertronians now, so I'm not too mad about it, but i digress. This is more about DC and Marvel and how they've finally decided to get their sh*t together. Even if it's not anything in the main continuity.

Fall of X

Before i delve in to the return of the Ultimate universe, i need to give a nod to the Krakoan Era of X-Men comics. That sh*t was brilliant. It's been a long time since I've given a sh*t about an X-Men comic so, to see how well that sh*t came together, i was stunned. Credit where credit is due, that man John Hickman has a vision! His world building is insane. I've been a pretty big fan of his since his work on Fantastic Four but what he did with the X-Men eclipsed that near completely. The groundwork he laid for others to move forward with, was strong enough to weather editorial nonsense and, eventually, Hickman's premature departure. It'd always the creatives who suffer but, as one of the greatest comic runs come to an end, i mourn it's loss. There seems to have been a bit of X-resurgence lately but it feels like it all started with those House of and Powers of X comics five years ago. That said, i think i am even more in love with what he's doing in the new Ultimate universe.

Return to Glory

I love the Ultimate universe. Mostly. It is a time capsule of tropes and cliches of the day but the idea of it always appealed to me. Apparently, it appealed to Hollywood, too, because the MCU is based HEAVILY on the modern take Ultimate brought to the comics. When they killed it off, i understood why. Ultimate comics had basically ran it's course. There were a lot of mismatched tone and terribly stories at the time. Some were great, Ultimate Spider-Man maintained a decent quality until it's demise (probably why Miles was allowed to survive Secret Wars) but that thing needed to go. Throw out the entire universe, which they did. Well, several years later, Hickman, apparently, sold the Marvel higher ups on a proper reboot with a limited series title Ultimate Invasion. Another 1610 refugee, The Maker, decided to reboot his home universe and, being a Reed Richards not shackled by morality, did just that. Marvel gave Hickman the keys to an entire branch universe, with branding enough to lured in suckers like, and he has not disappointed. yes, it does feel a little "Heroes Reborn" but that can be forgiven because, so far, it's pretty f*cking good.

Along Came a Spider

The initial offering of Ultimate comics consisted of Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Black Panther, and Ultimate X-Men. Obviously, Ultimate Spider-Man is my sh*t. I finally got my Endgame with Pete and MJ plus their two kids. I love this book just because of that but there is so much more to it than JUST that. It's written very well. This one is, more than the others, a character driven drama with occasions spurts of super powered action. It's f*cking brilliant, easily the strongest of the three individual books. Did i mention the art is gorgeous? It has that in common with peach Momoko's take on X-Men.

Turning Japanese

I'm a sucker for manga and anime. A cursory search of this blog will tell you that. My personal style is heavily influenced by Kubo Tite and Toriyama. I stumbled across Peach Momoko LONG ago on an image board somewhere and have been haunting her career ever since. It's f*cking dope seeing Marvel give her a shot like this and, so far, it's paying off. Her take on X-Men seems to be focusing on Armor but with a Coming-of-age twist. It's very unique and i am enjoying where she's taking the character. Hisako is basically Wolverine's fourth or fifth adopted daughter. That's it. That's as far as she gets in the main universe. Giving her the spotlight was an interesting choice, one that allows Peach to kind of juxtapose her mutation with the oft stifling expectations of conservative Japanese society. Plus, Storm is Japanese maybe? Or not because...

Wakanda Forever

Storm is an integral part of Ultimate Black Panther and is basically classic Ororo but, like, a teenager? Who has teamed up with Erik Killmonger? To save Wakanda from Konshu and Ra? I'm going to be honest, i don't like this book so far. I can't connect with it. It's definitely a slow burn, feels like a covert/espionage, spy thriller type narrative, which is fine, but it's taking WAY too long to get going. There is a ton of groundwork which needs to be laid so we're four issues in and just not getting the principal team together. It's a frustration, for sure, but i get it. Another thing taking me out of this is the Panther suit design. Sh*t is gross. You can tell everything in this Ultimate version of the world is heavily inspired by the MCU films but it's not hitting like it should. Ultimate Black Panther has potential but right now, I'm reading it just to keep up with events.

Ultimates

This one just dropped and, i must say, i like it more than any other Ultimates book to date. It's basically the origin of the team and it hits so much harder that any of the other comics to date. Lots of world building in the margins here and i mean that. Read all of the preamble and afterword because it gives you a very clear of what is going on with the current state of world affairs. The comic, itself, is pretty good. Legit shows the efforts to save the fledgling universe from The Maker and the failures. We get to see this take on Ant-Man and Wasp, plus a few licks of what is on the horizon. As a comic, it's underwhelming. As a preview of what's next, it's dope.

I know i said the big two but this one got away from me. I'll have to get to the DC stuff later and, obviously, it's about to be real Bat-Heavy. He seems to get just SO much love over there at Detective Comics Comics. That said, Marvel needs to keep betting on Hickman because this dude is delivering some fresh, fun, and brilliant takes on established characters. We need more of this unfettered creativity. That's what comics are supposed to be about in the first place.

[incorrectoverthehedge]

Why I got back into Over the Hedge.

So I can't sleep, why not write.

Over the Hedge was for a while a movie that, up until a few months ago, has been relatively unimportant to me. I remember seeing it once when I was a kid, and I do remember playing the hell out of the video game (I even beat it once in an entire day one summer), and that's about it.

It was always a movie that I found good as a kid, and for a while I never went back to it because I didn't want my childhood ruined. Granted I usually grew up with a lot of Disney and Pixar movies, so bad childhood movies were going to be hard to come by. I guess the closest was I think Snow Buddies, but even then it's more generic than anything.

Okay, getting off topic, Over the Hedge I didn't go back to for a long time because I didn't want to think the movie was lame nowadays. Granted I thought about it a few times, mainly because I liked the names RJ and Ozzie, and I used them whenever I wanted to make a neat OC that I would inevitably forget about in less than two weeks, but aside from that, nothing really prompted me to go back, which eventually resulted in me pretty much forgetting about it.

That was until a few months ago...and it involved a certain fan-favorite Opossum.

You see, on Left 4 Dead, there's a workshop where you can play as other characters. They can range from meme characters, to anime characters, to video game characters, and of course, animated movie characters. That of course is where this starts.

I had to find a model that would replace either Francis or Louis since my friends were sick of the model I was using. In case you were wondering, I was using this model:

Terrifying, I know.

It was funny to me at the same time. However, the biggest problem with it was that it was way too big and pretty much took up half their screens whenever they looked at me. So I had to find another model that would fit…I decided to use Louis this time, and then I found…this.

I decided why not, got it, realized that it had the exact same issue with Thumper the Monster Bunny, yet ignored it for some reason, and with the model, we beat the challenge, and everything was fine. That was until I really started thinking about it.

Why did Heather of all characters get a model in this game? In fact, while doing research for this video, it turns out she's the SECOND DreamWorks character to have a Left 4 Dead 2 character model, and the first was Shrek. Speaking of which, she now has TWO character models for survivors, and she's only second to Shrek who has only three.

LET ME REPEAT, SHE IS SECOND TO SHREK.

Anyways, this really got me thinking about what was the whole appeal of her, because I recently rewatched the movie and let me tell you, she probably has the least amount of screen-time in the film. Yet, she's the only one of the cast to have a model in Left 4 Dead 2 (at least until Ozzie was also ported), that was also ported to GMod?

That's when I started to look at the fandom more, and I realized that last year the subreddit had a bit of a resurgence when it came what I like to call "Heather-posting".

Posts about Heather were all over the subreddit, and not only that, they were some of the highest upvoted there. The image I'm providing is only the second highest, with 265. Granted that doesn't seem like much compared to others, but it's still noticeable. In fact, Heather is the main focus of nearly half of the highest upvoted posts.

Not only that, she's also fairly popular on DeviantArt, and even more surprisingly (and also thankfully), there's no...weird stuff involved there I've seen.

Have you ever heard the term "Ensemble Darkhorse" in TV Tropes? It's when a character who is rather minor or unimportant to the main plot get a massive following. Heather pretty much ticks all those boxes, and it's probably one of the most surprising ones I've seen.

How powerful is it overall? Well, I actually decided to make a character based on Heather and put her in a Hell's Kitchen roleplay. I didn't exactly expect to get far, or even really be that noticed.

Heather actually won.

She won.

Not only that, she actually had two people have a crush on her, one male, one female. That's actually wild.

In the midst of all that however, it resulted in me taking another look at the movie itself, finally looking to see if it lived up to the vindication it had been receiving recently.

Turns out that yeah, it's still a great movie. It's not going to be better than something like The Last Wish or Shrek 2, but it's a film that, in my opinion, has no real flaws. Maybe the cast could be a bit smaller, like remove the porcupine family so there could be some more screentime for Heather and Ozzie, since they're the two more popular characters compared to them. Despite this, the cast itself is likable, the story is easy to follow, the satire and visual humor is really funny, and man for Dreamworks film the movie looks absolutely GORGEOUS.

Of course, there's also the banger music, with Heist and Family of Me being my two favorite songs in the film, and it always inspires me to write about the gang and their wacky hijinks.

Oh yeah, the writing stuff. Yeah, I never actually wrote a lot of Fanfiction in my life, I usually kept it original for the most part. I think the only thing Fanfiction-y I've ever wrote was some absolutely hot dog water, dumpster fire trash about...

Sonic OCS.

I'm shivering just thinking about it.

Regardless, my writing has improved a ton, so at the very least I could do the gang justice by not looking like I just half-assed my writing whilst working on writing comedy, which is a style I've never tried before.

And let me tell you, it is really fun to do.

So yeah, what started as a simple dive into a character that I didn't expect to be popular, soon turned into a genuine appreciation for a movie that had at one point been treated as merely an afterthought, as well as a new love for writing comedy detailing the wacky misadventures of some fun characters.

That is why I got back into Over the Hedge.

Speaking of which, I've also been collecting some old merchandise from Over The Hedge, and let me tell you, some of that is real interesting...

[quiveringdeer]

Attention Minors and folks under 25 tbh:

Yo, what's up. So we all know you can lie about the numbers in your profile--I did it before turning 18 and I'm sure many other now grown folks have to.

That said, I wanna drop some guidelines cause this has just been on my mind a bunch with the way all the big push of "do not interact" signs, blocking, and toxic purity culture resurgence of the past few years.

Please mind the do not interacts of folks I reblog and interact with content of

You've gotta be mindful of the differences between works of fiction and real life but also understand that the more of something you consume, the more it can impact the way you view the world

I post and reblog stuff that is often sexual as well as dark in nature. The intended audience are other adults mid 20s+. The reason I say this is because of research pertaining to the below statement.

Though the brain may be done growing in size, it does not finish developing and maturing until the mid- to late 20s. The front part of the brain, called the prefrontal cortex, is one of the last brain regions to mature. This area is responsible for skills like planning, prioritizing, and controlling impulses. Because these skills are still developing, teens are more likely to engage in risky behaviors without considering the potential results of their decisions.

Some of us are forced to grow up too fast--in a multitude of ways, as cliche and obnoxious as it sounds from an older person, don't be in a rush to grow up too soon. Especially when it comes to sexual things. You're gonna do whatever you're gonna do, but I encourage you to really use the time prior to your mid 20s -hell even beyond- to explore yourself, by yourself.

Gonna level with you I had my first real physically intimate experience with someone when I was 25 and still look back on it that I shoulda waited. I was caught up in "finally getting it over with" and honestly the hype isn't all that. (this may also be my probably aegosexuality havin ass at play here) --Point is, you got time!

Another thing that may make some roll their eyes--You probably think you're hella grown and mature for your age. And you may be right. But I assure you, as you get older you'll look back and realize there is and was, plenty of room left to grow and mature. This goes for 16 -> 18 -> 21 -> 25 -> 30 etc. I'm currently 31 and I can see a big difference in how I think and view the world and myself within it than I did even four years ago. And am constantly learning new things that alter my world view every day.

Digital stuff makes it easy to isolate yourself and for others to isolate you with them. Be mindful of the folks you let get close to you.

Opening up to folks online has always been easier for me, the internet really became big and accessible in the early 2000s when I was still a teen, I was really lucky my many dumb decisions didn't get me hurt physically or mentally. I can't emphasize being cautious and skeptic of people enough.

I'm not a health professional in any sense of the word but I am an educator who mainly works with younger folks and I just wanna be up front with yall. Ask box with anon is open. I'm not promising to be your shoulder to lean on or internet aunty but I do wanna be supportive in the capacity I have.

[golikehellmachine]

best of the year, 2022

i have not been as active over here as i intended to be, mostly because between my band, my life, and my job, i just haven’t had a ton of time to sit down and write. i’d like to say i’ll do more of it in 2023, but i know better than to lie to you or me.

however, that does not mean that i haven’t had time to listen to music — quite the opposite.

i bought a *lot* of music this year, and had no real regrets for any of my purchases, but here are some of my favorites from the year 2022. most links will be bandcamp unless there’s a good reason to link elsewhere. these are things i *heard* this year, not necessarily things that were released this year, though most of them were. 

first up, DRUG CHURCH. these dudes get a lot of buzz for sounding like the 90s, which they do, but i don’t think i quite agree with the grunge comparisons they get — to me, they sound a lot more like late 90s hardcore bands like AS FRIENDS RUST, albeit with some of the bigger, more creative guitar sound of 90s alternative bands like, amongst others, SMASHING PUMPKINS. 

i’m never not going to be an ARCHERS OF LOAF superfan, and i was absolutely fucking stoked to hear they had a new record coming out this year. this record is very, very good, and maybe my favorite since ICKY METTLE, which came out roughly 6,000 years ago. a lot of 90s-era indie bands have made returns to the stage in recent years, but these guys are one of the few who i feel like really grew in the intervening years — this song has as much of THE WHO in it as it has chapel hill, which i think is grand. 

BIG JOANIE seem to be blowing up everywhere, and for good reason, they’re fantastic. i’ve written about them a couple of times, so i won’t go too much more into detail here, but if you haven’t yet heard them, check this one out — if you get the time, check out the video, too, which is a sweet and lovely vignette of young friends and lovers. 

ELLEN RIPLEY HYPERSLEEP are a japanese band that i stumbled across on twitter (i think) who, if i had lottery money, i would fly out to the united states to do a west coast tour with. they’re a really, really great mix of synth-y 80s and early 90s new wave, but with a lot of very good shoegaze sensibilities. they’re a little hard to find, but they’ve got a youtube channel and they’re on spotify, so go check them out, everything they’ve done is great and i’m really hoping they start to gain ground, either in japan or worldwide.

years ago, when i lived in denver, i remember LEON BRIDGES playing at the ogden theater right after he broke out and thinking that he maybe wasn’t quite ready for that level of audience just yet — the show got moved to the ogden from a much smaller venue at the last minute. fast forward to 2022, and he’s working on really innovative and incredible R&B and soul, this time, with the unflappable khuangbin. 

LOS BITCHOS weren’t new in 2022, but this record was, and it’s a delightful spring and summer record to play with the windows open. they get a lot of totally justified comparisons to THE GO-GOs, but i think people sort of snooze on the way they’ve also got a sound that’s similar to some of LUSH’s best work. also, their percussionist might be the best drummer i’ve heard all year, really creative and technically precise. 

i really like jazz, but i am not, like, a jazz-knower — i just hear things, like them, and sometimes buy them. this JOHN PATTON reissue was a good example; i came across it on bandcamp, loved it, and bought it even before the first song ended. 

i have been absolutely thrilled by the resurgance of of electro, new wave and post-punk in recent years, and LEATHERS absolutely hit all of the sweet spots here. LEATHERS are a side project of another great canadian band, ACTORS, but whereas ACTORS are a little louder, more rock, and a touch grimier, LEATHERS are all neon and cool. 

speaking of cool, neon and electro, 2022 saw the return of one of my personal favorites, LADYTRON. i am stoked as fuck to catch them on one of their very few US dates next year, because everything i’ve heard from this new record so far sounds like a return to their classic LIGHT & MAGIC sound, which is somewhere in my top 50 favorite records of all time. 

i’ve included them on a couple lists before, but SOFT KILL’s CANARY YELLOW may get my album of the year. it’s a bummer that this may end up being the last record they put out, but if you’ve got to go, you can do a lot worse than going out on at the top of your game.

[danwhobrowses]

My Highlights from WWE Elimination Chamber & NJPW Battle in the Valley

So instead of my usual long-winded reviews I'm deciding on something else, just highlighting the stuff I like from the PPVs, in this case two on the same night

On one end we have matches like Jay White vs Eddie Kingston and Mercedes Moné vs KAIRI, and on the other you have Elimination Chambers and Sami vs Roman. Let's see what I liked

Spoilers for the PPVs, watch them first if you don't want to be spoiled

WWE Elimination Chamber

Starting with the easy one, Montreal's crowd was a huge plus, proper into it just like El Paso was last week on AEW's shows

Liv Morgan x Elimination Chambers, girl just loves some gnarly spots so you gotta appreciate the gusto. Liked the way she was eliminated too, even if I had hoped she'd be final two

KANA. Asuka is on yet another resurgence and she deserves it. Back to her roots, she once again proves to be the most viable opponent for the champions, and frankly I think she should beat Bianca (tbf I wanted Asuka vs Charlotte: the revenge so we could get Rhea vs Bianca but this way if okay too) so she can get a world title reign that doesn't get bullshitted over

FINALLY DOING THE HOLLYWOOD PARODIES

Beth Phoenix sporting a bit of Bull Nakano facepaint

Dominik's ability to draw heat is great, he knows his role

Balor crossing from under the ring to sweep Edge

Beth and Edge did the Big Rig (Cole it's not the Shatter Machine anymore)

We need Rhea vs Beth one-on-one, make Rhea champion and have Beth challenge down the line

Starting the US title EC with Gargano vs Rollins, a feud we should have for Mania instead of Rollins vs Logan Paul

Theory locking himself in the pod was a better spot than when Carmella did it

Tezzy Ford, to absolutely nobody's surprise, did amazing, he's a year overdue in needing that singles run

Roman's character work during the match (which was slow going) is still great, even gaslighting Sami's wife. The psychology in hindsight was good too, because all the rest holds was to INTENTIONALLY kill the crowd energy, because that cut off Sami's energy source from Montreal's crowd

Also Sami's selling, not just for taking offence but also dishing it out, you feel the adrenaline carrying him through

Heyman thinking he could fight Owens

NJPW Battle in the Valley

A surprise mention of Mascara Dorada's (aka Gran Metalik) AEW Dark win run

Adrian Quest and Kevin Knight, as well as Dorada and Volador Jr's, synergy was great

The sheer madness it is that Hideo Itami vs Darren Young (with Aiden English on commentary) would've been a 205 live taping at best in WWE and yet it's now a title match on a NJPW PPV

KENTA being a bastard, hell put KENTA vs PAC as a feud have a proper Battle of the Bastards

Rosser's STF-Chickenwing was unique-looking

Reminder that MCMG debuted 17 years ago and they're still great

That one fan who sold Jay's Too Sweet like he was just given $100

Jay White also being a bastard, he will land wherever he ends up

The absolute CRACK you hear when Eddie chops someone, few do it better

Eddie outwitting Jay by rolling out of the ring after being hit with a Blade Runner

Jay kicking out of 3 Urakens, a half and half and a Northern Lights Driver!

Eddie giving Jay respect post-match as well, Jay could've easily left after Hikuleo, he could've just disappeared but instead he put Eddie over afterwards. I'll say again, he'll land wherever he ends up

Dave Finlay's promo after makes sense, that's how you get heat

Tom Lawlor hamming it up

Homicide sporting a Jay armband for Jay Briscoe

DVD, off the ring, through a door!

Commentary taking time to thank Jay White for his career

Watching ZSJ transition through submissions is like watching a sculptor work clay

I've only ever seen Clark Connors wrestle twice (first time being Forbidden Door) and I've enjoyed his energy both times

Mercedes out with the TCS Hana Kimura look, a bittersweet moment really, a great tribute but god I miss Hana, and I'm still not over the fact that the ones they charged got away with just an $80 fine

KAIRI hitting Mercedes with a table powerbomb off the stage

Mercedes this time hitting the Mone-maker cleanly

Mercedes landed, it was ultimately so important that she landed on her first post-WWE match and she did, she was worth the Mone. As much as I'm sad that KAIRI's reign was short, it makes sense

The stipulation of the main event, Okada and Tana are great wrestlers, but New Japan had fallen back on Tana vs Okada way way too many times

Overall

Match of the Night: US Championship Elimination Chamber (Jay vs Eddie is a close second but in spite of the shit finish I felt more entertained by the chamber)

Best Performance: Sami Zayn

Best Attire: Mercedes Mone's Hana Kimura gear

Best Spot: Montez Ford splashing from the chamber roof

[smokeybrand]

I Missed You

I've been frustrated with US comics for a few years now. Sh*t has been a barren wasteland of content for some time. Well, i can't say that for the entire industry, mostly the Big Two, but they weight the industry down so much, it's hard not to focus in on them. If the two gods bleed, what does that mean for the lowly mortals, you know? IDW puts out pretty solid Licensed fair, though. Their Power Rangers and Sonic stuff is pretty good. I really loved the Transformers comics they produced until Hasbro wanted a bigger piece of the pie and pulled their rights. Still, Image is doing a pretty great f*cking job with my darling Cybertronians now, so I'm not too mad about it, but i digress. This is more about DC and Marvel and how they've finally decided to get their sh*t together. Even if it's not anything in the main continuity.

Fall of X

Before i delve in to the return of the Ultimate universe, i need to give a nod to the Krakoan Era of X-Men comics. That sh*t was brilliant. It's been a long time since I've given a sh*t about an X-Men comic so, to see how well that sh*t came together, i was stunned. Credit where credit is due, that man John Hickman has a vision! His world building is insane. I've been a pretty big fan of his since his work on Fantastic Four but what he did with the X-Men eclipsed that near completely. The groundwork he laid for others to move forward with, was strong enough to weather editorial nonsense and, eventually, Hickman's premature departure. It'd always the creatives who suffer but, as one of the greatest comic runs come to an end, i mourn it's loss. There seems to have been a bit of X-resurgence lately but it feels like it all started with those House of and Powers of X comics five years ago. That said, i think i am even more in love with what he's doing in the new Ultimate universe.

Welcome Back

I love the Ultimate universe. Mostly. It is a time capsule of tropes and cliches of the day but the idea of it always appealed to me. Apparently, it appealed to Hollywood, too, because the MCU is based HEAVILY on the modern take Ultimate brought to the comics. When they killed it off, i understood why. Ultimate comics had basically ran it's course. There were a lot of mismatched tone and terribly stories at the time. Some were great, Ultimate Spider-Man maintained a decent quality until it's demise (probably why Miles was allowed to survive Secret Wars) but that thing needed to go. Throw out the entire universe, which they did. Well, several years later, Hickman, apparently, sold the Marvel higher ups on a proper reboot with a limited series title Ultimate Invasion. Another 1610 refugee, The Maker, decided to reboot his home universe and, being a Reed Richards not shackled by morality, did just that. Marvel gave Hickman the keys to an entire branch universe, with branding enough to lured in suckers like, and he has not disappointed. yes, it does feel a little "Heroes Reborn" but that can be forgiven because, so far, it's pretty f*cking good.

Along Came a Spider

The initial offering of Ultimate comics consisted of Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Black Panther, and Ultimate X-Men. Obviously, Ultimate Spider-Man is my sh*t. I finally got my Endgame with Pete and MJ plus their two kids. I love this book just because of that but there is so much more to it than JUST that. It's written very well. This one is, more than the others, a character driven drama with occasions spurts of super powered action. It's f*cking brilliant, easily the strongest of the three individual books. Did i mention the art is gorgeous? It has that in common with peach Momoko's take on X-Men.

Turning Japanese

I'm a sucker for manga and anime. A cursory search of this blog will tell you that. My personal style is heavily influenced by Kubo Tite and Toriyama. I stumbled across Peach Momoko LONG ago on an image board somewhere and have been haunting her career ever since. It's f*cking dope seeing Marvel give her a shot like this and, so far, it's paying off. Her take on X-Men seems to be focusing on Armor but with a Coming-of-age twist. It's very unique and i am enjoying where she's taking the character. Hisako is basically Wolverine's fourth or fifth adopted daughter. That's it. That's as far as she gets in the main universe. Giving her the spotlight was an interesting choice, one that allows Peach to kind of juxtapose her mutation with the oft stifling expectations of conservative Japanese society. Plus, Storm is Japanese maybe? Or not because...

Wakanda Forever

Storm is an integral part of Ultimate Black Panther and is basically classic Ororo but, like, a teenager? Who has teamed up with Erik Killmonger? To save Wakanda from Konshu and Ra? I'm going to be honest, i don't like this book so far. I can't connect with it. It's definitely a slow burn, feels like a covert/espionage, spy thriller type narrative, which is fine, but it's taking WAY too long to get going. There is a ton of groundwork which needs to be laid so we're four issues in and just not getting the principal team together. It's a frustration, for sure, but i get it. Another thing taking me out of this is the Panther suit design. Sh*t is gross. You can tell everything in this Ultimate version of the world is heavily inspired by the MCU films but it's not hitting like it should. Ultimate Black Panther has potential but right now, I'm reading it just to keep up with events.

Ultimates

This one just dropped and, i must say, i like it more than any other Ultimates book to date. It's basically the origin of the team and it hits so much harder that any of the other comics to date. Lots of world building in the margins here and i mean that. Read all of the preamble and afterword because it gives you a very clear of what is going on with the current state of world affairs. The comic, itself, is pretty good. Legit shows the efforts to save the fledgling universe from The Maker and the failures. We get to see this take on Ant-Man and Wasp, plus a few licks of what is on the horizon. As a comic, it's underwhelming. As a preview of what's next, it's dope.

I know i said the big two but this one got away from me. I'll have to get to the DC stuff later and, obviously, it's about to be real Bat-Heavy. He seems to get just SO much love over there at Detective Comics Comics. That said, Marvel needs to keep betting on Hickman because this dude is delivering some fresh, fun, and brilliant takes on established characters. We need more of this unfettered creativity. That's what comics are supposed to be about in the first place.

[suckitsurveys]

When was the last time you read a whole book, to the last page exactly? It’s been SO long honestly. I want to try to reread something on the 18 hour train ride I have coming up on Thursday but I know I won’t be able to focus.

How many times have you had sex within the past two years? Guesstimate? Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh a lot?

When was the last time you made up a word? Did people think it was weird? I don’t make up words as much as I purposely mispronounce things sometimes.

How many times in a month do you go to the movies? How much do you spend? I very rarely go to the movies.

What is one of those movies that you could never get tired of watching? Romy and Michele, Clueless, Mean Girls, Ferris Bueller, Wet Hot American Summer.

When was the last time you heard thunder? Where were you at anyway? A week or so ago at home.

Have you ever begged the opposite sex for anything at all? Sure.

Are there many places to shop in the town you live in? What kinds? Uh, yeah, I live in Chicago.

When was the last time you bought shoes? What do they look like? A few weeks ago I bought a new pair of Converse. They are black low tops with tiny embroidered cherries along the holes where the laces go.

Do you like surveys with really in-depth questions, like mine? Sometimes.

When was the last time you were in trouble with your parents? It’s been at least 11 years, because my mom was always the one I was “in trouble” with, and she’s been gone for 11 years, so.

Do you know anyone who claims to have the ability to see the future? No.

Are you a superstitious person? Have you ever been superstitious before? I’m just a little stitious.

Do you like any songs from country music? If so, which ones do you like? Oh yeah, there’s a pretty big handful of “country” songs I like. There seems to be a resurgence of country-influenced songs and artists popping up lately.

Can people read your facial expressions easily? If so, why is this? I don’t know, ask them.

When was the last time you went on vacation? Where did you go to? I went to Boston and New York about a month ago and I’m leaving tomorrow for NOLA!!!!!!!

How many states have you been to in your lifetime? Guesstimate if not sure. I counted not that long ago but I don’t remember. I’ve been to at least half if I remember correctly.

When you go to the movies, do you actually watch the movies or not? Why would I not watch the movie?

What kind of instant messaging service do you use? Why do you use this? I use FB primarily to talk to Mark and texting to talk to basically every one else, but I do DM people on twt and ig as well.

When was the last time your area had a tornado warning, if ever? There was one not too long ago but tornadoes never touch down in the actual city.

Have you ever had one of those major fights with your current bf/gf? We’ve had literally one major fight and it was resolved SO fast.

Does it ever bother you when people use abbreviations for certain words? Nah.

Would it creep you out if you walked in on your best friend having sex? It would just be awkward af.

When was the last time you said ‘I love you?’ Who did you say it to? Last night to Mark.

Do you have any of those freaky phobias that make no sense at all? Nah.

Do you ever look at random people and think they could be a serial killer? Eh.

Does it scare you when the sky gets really cloudy and dark during the day? No.

What was the last amusement park you went to? Did you have fun? Do waterparks count? That was the Wilderness in the Wisconsin Dells in Feb.

[tentacledtherapist]

Funny, I read your tags, I regularly send letters with wax seals on them to people. Its a hobby of mine, I have a dozen different wax seals. If I could pick the one I would use for these messages, I would either pick the rose with red wax or the cartoon star with a smiley face in green. The cartoon star feels very "Lisa".

Where to start: I love that our story takes place in the 1980s because that was when "Victorian revival" became very popular, pardon the pun. The 1970s were very big on medieval, but the 1980s borrowed a lot from Victorian. The shoulder pads, massive puffy sleeves, big skirts. If you look at wedding dresses from the 1980s you'll really see the similarities. It's very fascinating!

Thank you for letting me ramble to you.

-Creature

both of those sound really pretty. i agree, the star is fitting :D. i should start writing more letters. i mostly use wax seals on boxes when i send out commissions (i still sew! and knit and crochet). i only have a few seals but there’s this one with a moon and sprig of lavender that i use the most. they’re pretty, even if i use hot glue instead of actual wax ‘cause it’s easier to buy in bulk

i know theres the supposed “30 year cycle” or whatever where trends from 30 years ago come back into fashion (like how the 80s got big again in the 2010’s), but i hadn’t put together the connection with the two 80’s. but now that you mention it, i see it a lot! especially in the wedding dress example. the big puffed sleeves and the drop waistline looks a lot like victorian day dresses

i had thought that, at least a significant portion of, the reason why the movie was set in the 1980’s was because of the prominence of “sci fi horror” in the decade? the 30s-40s were the classic universal monsters, the 70’s gave us slashers like michael myers and jason, the 90’s was when self-referential horror came around ‘cause of “Scream”, but the 80’s were big on sci fi horror! got kicked off with “Alien” in 1979 and then like half of all the major horror films in the decade were about some alien or otherwise sci fi creature coming to life. we even got “Reanimator” which is arguably a “Frankenstein” retelling. but all the sci-fi horror of the era fit for a spin on what is the first sci-fi horror story ever

is it just the fashion that you see parallels in? (i’m reminded of the “satanic panic” and junk that went down then, though that’s probably just a reagan thing as opposed to a proper resurgence of culture)

the rambling was fun. thank you for letting me ramble back :D

- Lisa

[dentwy]

number 1: adventure time

don’t quite remember how old i was when i first watched adventure time, but i sure remember watching it a lot. back then you’d just hop on tv whenever you could and watch whatever was on at the time. thank grob for streaming sites! i say half ironically since HBO's release of adventure time is quite pathetic in fact, but i digress.

obviously with fionna and cake airing this year there’s been a big resurgence in adventure time online that i’m pretty fond of. although i don’t draw myself, i follow around 10k accounts on twitter that are mostly just artists because i love looking at nice pictures. there’s one caveat though, i’ve never actually seen the entirety of the show. who the hell is this grass finn? princess bubblegum and marceline ended up together? holy glob. and so, i felt it was time for me to get on my two ass cheeks and actually watch the show.

here is a brief (?) off the shelf summary on what that was like:

as it turns out as a younger-ish boy i had only seen up to season 4, with a few extra episodes here and there. this means the lich was definitely a thing, but that’s kinda where it ended. re-experiencing the episodes i knew so well was definitely more fun than i was expecting. most i know by memory already, others lowkey tried gaslighting me into thinking they were different from how i remembered. so that HBO thing? you can look it up on reddit and go into detail but in general terms, some of them are kind of a mess with how they’ve been edited and censored. i believe a bunch might just be from the tv versions in some countries? but i clearly remember watching them so...

usually there’s a couple of things they want to avoid: butt stuff (so some fart jokes and grabbing-things-with-butt scenes), stuff that’s kind of gross, things like ripping off the lich's face off, deaths (?) and other extremely specific stuff. at times you will get scenes cut off that you don’t realize (ill mention one in a minute) and others that simply cut off in the middle of dialogue or battle to jump into something else. in 2023 i don’t even think this is that excusable.

two episodes stood out as a sore thumb to me. "storytelling" the 5th episode of s2, and "princess cookie" on s4 episode 13. ill refrain from explaining the entire episodes but first one has this scene where our titular "mrs cow" makes her first appearance. as she is instructed to do, she removes the bag since she also is beautiful as everyone else, only to turn out she should put it back on. pretty funny stuff, especially for a 13 year old. this little gag is completely removed. poof. gone. i almost shit myself i thought i was going crazy. i’ve been a fan of calling random shit i’m lying about part of the mandela effect now but it genuinely felt like that.

second episode is one of a tragic story, of a tragic cookie. putting aside the fact i think a he/him cookie wanting to become a princess is fucking awesome, this one just sucks. at the literal climax of the episode (spoilers!!) as they are in the middle of the exchange the episode just randomly cuts off to the following scene with princess cookie in the floor, shattered. extremely jarring. and you don’t even get to see the most important part of the episode! goddammit.

either way i could go on details like this forever but it’s mostly just a gripe i had as i watched with HBO than the show itself, as i was actually having a lot of fun as, in the end, it’s the characters that make adventure time what it is.

finn and jake are characters that are very easy to endear yourself to. i feel they’re generally the simplest ones from the cast, but that’s what makes them most malleable. they’re likable dudes, bros for life. do you not wish to have someone that will follow you to the end of the world? in life and even death? nothing can break these two. distant lands' "together again" is probably one of my favorite episodes. it was 200 episodes ago that jake established their special signal to find each other again once they’re dead, and real bros don’t forget. it’s a beautiful episode that completely wraps up these two in the best way they could’ve done.

ice king is someone i would have never been able to appreciate when i was younger. maybe for the first couple of seasons yeah okay he’s an unlikeable prick, but man. simon petrikov is such a tragedy of a man. forced to live in his delusions for the rest of his life, unable to remember his loved ones, or to be loved. forever obsessed with finding those who are important to him, without the means to do so. i gotta say, i never put two and two together before getting around watching the entire thing - but fucking tom kenny? what a legend.

alongside ice king comes marceline, and what is there not to love about marceline. she carries such a teenage angst with her that feels so passionate. every song with her is a blast to listen. "woke up" from obsidian in distant lands has to be my favorite. "i'm just your problem" is up there in the classics and how to forget the fries song. living for 1000 years has to fuck you up so bad man. she carries such weight after so long. saving people, losing them, making friends, losing them. "i remember you" from season 4 is such an emotional episode i’m pretty sure i cried watching it. every single marcie / simon flashback holds so much importance to both characters, as well as the world itself. i’m always a sucker for father & daughter stories and these episodes hit a really special spot.

with marceline, comes princess bubblegum, which i have to say is probably my favorite character in the show. your honor, she’s silly. bubblegum (fucking bonnibel? really?) shares this aspect of essentially living for 1000 years, eventually needing to put things behind. main difference with her is the fact, you know, she’s made out of candy, and candy people don’t exactly die of old age as far as i know. however, being in the spot she is, she holds great responsibilities she sometimes feels she needs to deal all on her own. she is actually such a fucked up individual, messing with people emotionally (and specially finn) just for the sake of it, and sometimes showing her apathy for people. she’s dedicated to a fault, often ignoring other's feelings or beliefs. sometimes for the better, but also for the worse. one thing that remains with me for sure is the simple fact that she’s just adorable, and i’m a big fan of them giving her different outfits and hairstyles as much as possible, which is exactly why i present my tier list of bubblegum outfits & hairstyles:

the ones that didn’t make it in are either irrelevant, spoilers or forgot about. why not marceline? because everything she puts on is a banger. extra special mention to "the star". what a fucking queen.

the last tier list will be for every character in the show in no particular order, because i need to make my opinions permanent:

except i lied obviously it’s not every character. the ones that didn’t make it in i either don’t care about enough or are so minor i don’t even have an opinion on them (or i forgot).

s tier is the people i couldn’t have put anywhere else, they just go there by default. prismo is awesome too so he goes in.

for a tier i feel the only two i need to specify about are doctor princess, which i just find really funny, and huntress wizard, which i actually like a lot. i feel she was definitely the one that would’ve been best to end up together with finn.

b tier are cool characters, i like them enough that i think about them often or have something about them that really stood out to me. james baxter actually being a mispronunciation of "games bookstore" is really fucking funny.

c has all the pups because i like them :), abraham lincoln is also really funny. martin i think i could put lower, but simply because he’s relevant to the plot he goes here. i never liked finn insisting to call him his dad when he’s such a shit person.

d is filled with weirdos that have something about them that may make them stand out a little bit more or maybe had a scene or episode that was cool. i don’t like LSP at all, but she’s the like third most important princess so yeah that’s fine, i guess.

f is filled with people i don’t give a shit about. a bit crazy how most of the princesses end up being completely irrelevant. you lost to a fire dog slime princess, how does that feel.

with that out of the way, what i want to finish off is the general plot progression of the show. there’s something really special about adventure time that i’m not too sure other cartoons do the same way. it manages to hold such a consistency throughout its run time that’s almost impressive. besides the first season where tree trunks dies on episode 4 only to reappear later on and only bring up the fact she’s "gone" on season 2, the show always makes sure to reuse characters, keep them around and stay true to its own timeline. there’s a context in this world, stuff has happened already, and things will continue to change. it might take some time to get the answers to your questions, but you will get them eventually. the past is already set in stone and the future is already on its way to happen.

most characters will make at least a second appearance at some point, and a lot of them even become more relevant for that episode, which i find really cool. no stone is left unturned and it shows that this world is fully lived in.

it was a bit hard for me to nail down what i believe the theme of adventure time is, what it all means in the end really. because no, "going on adventures is fun" is not it. it definitely is fun don’t get me wrong, its episodic in nature and most episodes end up working on their own, but is there more to it than just bros having fun? my take on it (i haven’t looked it up so no clue what other people think or even the creators) is the passage of time, and growing up.

the most relevant characters are the ones that have been around for centuries, the ones that have seen the world change and that have changed it themselves. generations move by and time keeps going. jake has a family, a new generation that will follow him. finn doesn’t have anything because he died a virgin but still, the humans are and will be around after so many years.

it’s important to live in the moment, appreciate the people dear to us and have our own "adventure" while we can, and i think that’s really nice to get across. as it stands, adventure time has moved through generations and i hope it will continue to do so.