#literally my favorite lc ever

[kaeladrawsstuff]

weird way to flirt but ok

[revserrayyu]

One HSR Character a Day Day 41: Serval (aka: revs' favorite)

[yurigalactica]

would you mayhaps infodump about LC! lyrics? 👀👀 /nf

(I saw you on the anon game and am incredibly interested)

OOOOOOOOOH YESYESYESYES I WOULD LOVE TO INFODUMP ABOUT LOS CAMP LYRICS

okay okay so first of all. this band is so good. they have so many banger ass songs and that cannot be denied. HOWEVER in my heart To Tundra will always reign supreme. like holy shit. it's got lyrics like "meet me at st. nicholas among the oaks, behind the church that sway like pig-tailed girls as summer wind whistles around your bare-skin knees and the forsythia leaves" and "we take on the burden of all these sad-eyed children with lilies bunched in our hands" like. those lyrics are so visceral and potent they literally leave me with my mouth hanging wide open after i hear them. oh my GOD that song is magical

some of my other favorite songs lyrically is OBVIOUSLY tiptoe through the true bits. that's the song that whenever i hear it i have to stop literally everything i'm doing, turn up the volume as loud as it will go, close my eyes and just absorb the Vibes. it's so gorgeous AHHHHHH. the bit that makes my heart go !!!!!! is the part where it goes "the bed-spread decked in suns and moons and symbols of the star-signs, how you read how mine applied to how I would be sex-wise." like that paired with the little guitar picking up in the back and the drums kicking in are SO GOOD AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

AND. IN MEDIA RES. that song changed my life genuinely. like WOW. the whole vibe of it, especially the end when the trumpets (i think they're trumpets at least) kick in and gareth goes "if you were given the option of dying painlessly in peace at 45 with a lover at your side, after a full and happy life, is this something that would interest you? would this interest you at all?" like WOW what an existential crisis moment while you feel like you're running through a rainy field. man that hits yknow

ALSO i am emotionally attached to Documented Minor Emotional Breakdown #4. i dont know why but the first time i ever heard it my brain latched its claws onto it and now it wont fucking let go. so whenever i hear the guitar at the beginning i am Legally Obligated to belt out at the top of my lungs "I RESTORED YOUR MOTHER'S FAITH IN MEN WHILST BORING YOU TO DEATH LEFT NOTHING MORE THAN A CIRCLE OF STUBBLE RASH AROUND YOUR CHEST--"

AND!!!!!!!!! for flotsam also has a very special place in my heart. i love the lyrics in that one, particularly "summer of odd-numbered year" like. MY GUYS YOU ARE SO CREATIVE???? all of your football metaphors to describe your boredom and emotions. like i don't watch football but you go guys i think its so kickass. i love you los campesinos. also the bit where they go "flotsam, jetsam, and spindrift, all the girls i have loved, dumped to earth by a spendthrift, gilt angels from above" with the "aaaahhh" in the back and the very faint piano in the background that i can only hear when i'm listening to it with my gaming headphones on bc my gaming headphones have really good mid range. just AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

AND WHAT DEATH LEAVES BEHIND TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 fun little fact this was the first song that i listened to when i first decided to listen to their discography all the way through. and let's just say that was a VERY good start because i was very impressed right off the bat. like "i was the first match struck at the first cremation, you are my shallow grave, I'll tend you as a sexton, if you're the casket door that's being slammed upon me, i'll be a plague cross painted on your naked body" LIKE HOLY SHIT. THATS SO EVOCATIVE. HOW DO YOU USE SO MANY METAPHORS AND BIG WORDS. THEYRE SO GOOD AT WORDS. i love listening to this one because it is so lyrically complex and yet it all goes together so well auuugghhhhhhhh

also since i started university recently, hung empty rings very near and dear to my heart. like the bit in the bridge that goes "my vision is fading, it's blurry, there are fingerprints all over the sun, we're glad to be loved but we're lonely and we feel like we're the only ones." like. that's the experience of moving out right there!!! i don't know where the fuck i am and i'm so lonely but it feels so bright and new and cinematic. this song Gets me on the most fundemental level it feels so very College-Esque

ALSOOOOOOO she crows!!!!!!!!!!!11 i LOVE she crows. someone inject this song into my veins Right This Fucking Instant. i need to live and breathe this song right now. just the instrumentals combined with the anthemic feel of the song really seals the feeling of looking back on your life and all of your mistakes and acknowledging that all of them brought you to where you are now. especially the end bit, i don't know why, but when it goes "big tip for the pretty girl waiting the IHOP, these blank napkins/unwritten suicide notes, it's dark inside these eyelids, blacker than the ink (squid)" it really feels like the end of the day. these are the lyrics that buzz like caffiene in your veins as you sit outside a dutchbros at eleven pm surrounded by the only people you feel like you can be yourself around. it's the feeling of cold biting at your skin while your heart feels warm and full. it feels like an open finale, the first time you smile in a long time, an acceptance of the complex beauty of life, that unforgettable moment when you realize that you wouldn't trade who you've become for the world

and CODA A BURN SCAR IN THE SHAPE OF THE SOONER STATE. I LOVE CODA SO MUCH AGH. PERFECT CRYING IN THE SHOWER SONG. like the lyric "an artist's impression of the manhattan skyline" will get me fucking SOBBING immediately. it feels like watching the world move on without you, the world a blur as you crumple inward under the weight of your emotions, a collapsing star in an endless void. and then obviously "i can't believe i chose the mountains every time you chose the sea" WOAH the SYMBOLISM i will just pass away right here in my dormitory with my headphones on. no sorry professor i can't write my essay i am unwell about the romance is boring album again. sorry yeah i'll be unavailable for 3-5 buisness weeks

but uh. yeah. los campesinos amirite???????????

[ballcrusher74]

hi. I'm interested to hear of the fellas.

🎥LCLethal Company/CCCleanup Crew bcs I'm curious

💔Roblox but I like hearing about stuff so any would do

💎Any, but I'd like to hear of Abstrakt or Metanoia if anyyyy— :³

💕Anything that might not get as much attention otherwise I guess

OK SO

🎥 I think for the base game, it was def the reveal of the nutcracker in the update trailer. That shit still affecting me to this very day. As for CC stuff, that's a really hard choice... There was a thing where Brain was outside the ship, Faux walked by and kinda flicked his head at him (like the kinda flick you do to say 'what's up') and then just.. walked away. I don't know why but that's a little funny to me, but for a GENUINE scene- I think it would have to be when Dopey and Inspector first fought on Offense, WAYYY back in the beginning of CC. 💔 I actually don't know for this one because there's a lot of characters that come from Roblox games, but then there's also weird like. Roblox lore relevant guys and a bunch of other baloney. I think least favorite here though would have to be Folly from Regretevator, maybe because it feels like she just kinda. came out of leftfield? Idk, I don't hate her, I just don't really hold much interest (but that also goes for the game in general now) 💎Did you know about Quasi stars being hypothetical stars that existed in the beginning of the universe and are cool ass stars powered by a fucking black hole in the center of it? It's when a protostar collapses into said blackhole, and the outer part of the protostar being so big enough to not immediately fall into the black hole or being blown away. There's a lot more mumbo jumbo that has to do with the blackhole at the core being the energy source of said star because of material falling into it and creating energy, but I feel like if I sit here and try to proper explain this with scientific terms then my head and your head will explode in due time. anyways I really like space and stars and stuff ( Also I think I've shared as much Metanoia and Abstrakt shit as I can rn so OOPS ) 💕HOOOUH. HOOUH OK. There's a couple that could go here honestly. Lewis Pepper (MSA), Herobrine (Minecraft), Null (BBIEAL), Red (BRC), KAngel (NSO), The Nutcracker (LC)- but really I do think one of these fellas take the cake.

Herobrine.

Despite the fact that his original story is literally just the play on the dead brother trope, despite the story being so short, literally despite everything- this guy has been sticking with me ever since I was a wee little creepypasta fanboy, lurking over my shoulder. It doesn't help with the discovery of White Eyes and the original Copeland stream being found that this has fueled the fire even more. There's something so alluring about the mystery behind him, but also with how malleable his character is because there... really isn't a canon way to portray him. Sure, he's just a little stalker, but that's all we really knew. He's just a husk to free form and I think that's why I like him a lot. I like seeing all different interpretations of him, I love seeing the creativity this white eyed freak brings, and I love seeing the stories people weave based on this crusty ass picture.

Sure, the other characters I listed have either better and more creative designs or well thought-out and complex stories and I still do adore them very dearly, but there's just something about Herobrine that I don't think any other character could do, and for him to stick around with me for this long is fucking wild dude.

[absolutebl]

This Week In BL - Many Cute Boyfriends & Japan is Bringing It

May 2022 Wk 4

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying the most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

What Zabb Man! (YouTube Sat) Ep 8fin - Having worked in the restaurant and beverage industry myself, nothing was more relatable in the post party scenes. In the end, this was the foodie romance set in the Thai Restaurant industry I have always wanted. The machinations of being in food service formed not just setting but also plot. Perhaps if Bite Me and some of the ones from Korea hadn’t disappointed me in this regard, I wouldn’t be so generous with this show. To be fair, it probably should get a 7/10 from me. But this show was made exactly for me so it has to get an 8/10. RECOMMENDED, especially if you like Thai food. Full review here. 

Dear Doctor, I'm Coming for Soul (iQIYI Weds) Ep 10 - Such a nice little twist on the heart knows trope, which is not one of my favorites... until this show. Also, most literal version of “my heart is with you“ ever? I think so. Side couple: drunken hook up is too relatable. Lastly KarnNut give GREAT KISS. Honestly, I can’t remember if their kissing in Grey Rainbow is this good, but in a year of good kisses this was one of the best I’ve seen - we are talking MewGulf or MaxTul level. Very impressive. 

Star in My Mind (Fri YouTube) Ep 8fin - The previous episode was actually the finale, this was basically an epilogue that didn’t add to plot just rehash things we already knew. But since a lot of Korean BL at ends rather abruptly, it’s kind of nice when Thai BL gives us short form (for them) but still that extra nugget of boys being domestic boyfriends rehashing their romance (honestly it’s very Jane Austen - books not shows). Ultimately these two are a bit sappy and Dao is too blushing maiden for such an aggressive uke, but that’s par for the course with GMMTV. All in all, this show was better than I was expecting and not as good as it could’ve been. 8/10 RECOMMENDED Full review here. 

La Cuisine (GaGa Sat) Ep 12 - Very sweet supportive friends and family and dealing with celebrity. We learn why everyone is so protective of lc. 

KinnPorsche (iQIYI Sat) Ep 8 - I’ve been kinda quiet on this show but this week I got shit to say. So buckle tf up. (Or have your hot mafia bf do that seatbelt for ya.) There’s a lot going on (the boyfriends, the sex, the bisexual identity grappling, the mafia, the bodyguards) that everyone else here on tumblr is already debating so I don’t feel like I have to. Here’s what I do think: the chemistry is good, the bisexual crisis is on point, I’m a little concerned by some of the kink components but less than I would be if this were a MAME offering. So I’m all in on those aspects of this show. Porsche and Kinn are cute together because their respective sexual experiences are unevenly matched, but their dating experiences are not. Their awkwardness around emotional chemistry contrasts nicely against the high heat component, which makes for a very modern narrative. The footie action under the table in ep 8 did make me bark laugh. THIS is the kind of humor I want from a show like this. And then they had to do the weird horror movie Porsche scared of ghosts going slapstick. It was not bad. I’m not saying it’s BAD. Apo is a perfectly serviceable comedic actor. But this kind of humor is a jarring disconnect. This is what is driving me nuts with this show. It’s good, and when it’s on point its great, but tonally? It’s all over the fucking place. It’s like the two  directors each have an entirely different point of view about what this show is doing, and as a viewer I can tell when we switch from one to the other. (It really makes me wonder if one directed for a while and then the other came on to do all pickups. Or if it was half way filmed when it switched studios or SOMETHING.) It’s got a bad case of production personality disorder. Honestly, the first half of this episode I was like “weeee” but the second half “qua?” That’s it, that’s how I feel about KinnPorsche. It’s not consistent and it feels like a production issue. (Incidentally the actor playing Tawan is Sorn from UWMA in case you also suffered from “holy déjà vu that-man?!”)

Before anyone asks me (and knowing I only judge based on the show, never the original y-novel), I’m getting a very weak seme/uke from Kinn & Porsche, and might even place them in the switch and verse categories as well. In other words, this show is reading more queer than yaoi. 

Meow Ears Up (GaGa Tue) Ep 7 - Evan & Faiyen are basically married at this point, they’re the only ones who haven’t figured it out yet. 

Close Friend 2 AKA I smell mothballs! (Viki Thur) Ep 4 - It’s basically dealing with two kinds of closet: the one imposed on us, and the one we impose on   ourselves. Honestly Pierce and Phoon are very mature characters for a BL couple. This is the kind of relationship that only OhmFluke could really portray, and they do it very well. That’s almost the problem, this is too well done and thus discomforting. if you don’t like realism in your BL avoid this show. That said drunk uke Besties is a fun trope.

That’s My Candy (Viki Tues) Ep 5 - Side couple Viking & TamTam are stealing this one. Star Hunter always does this thing where characters neither eat nor drink what they’ve ordered. Now it’s in this show too. Frankly, I don’t want Jing and Guy to stay/be together. So I’m not really invested in the primary story arc at all. 

Cupid's Last Wish (YouTube Sun) Ep 9 - I love a “smells like my boyfriend” visual but it is a bit rich occurring on a farm. I did like this twist to the body swap. It doesn’t save the series for me, but I am liking these last few episodes. Still, Win remains an impossibly difficult character to like at all, and I doubt I will ever get over that.

Triage (AISplay Mon) Ep 5 - didn’t get it in time for this post. 

My Secret Love (YouTube Sun) Ep 1 - it’s jock/nerd Nitiman meets Semantic error only so far not as good as either and already the side dishes are more interesting than the mains. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Plus & Minus (Taiwan Viki *rec* & GaGa Fri) Ep 8 - How can they be so cheesy and so cute at the same time? Also, yay Taiwan pushing the consent bandwagon, I love that look on you - especially combined with no clothes. Such a nice take on a first sex scene. This episode was basically just lots of boyfriends being boyfriends, very cute but AWFULLY calm. Like still waters before the storm calm, so I'm a bit worried too. We still have 4 episodes to get through (maybe more, there’s confusion on this), what ARE they gonna do? The pacing of this series is good, but the beats of the narrative are really unusual, it's HARD to predict. 

Fukou-kun wa Kiss Suru Shikanai! AKA Mr Unlucky Has No Choice But to Kiss! (Japan GaGa *rec*  & Viki Fri) Ep 6 - Somebody please save him. Poor baby. Anyway, they are very adorable. In this ep everything gets cleared up and intentions are stated openly and we have boyfriends launched onto the sea of drama. 2 more eps tho so… what next? 

Getaway (Singapore Mon YouTube) Ep 1 of 5 - based on an original story from a gay creator featuring an openly gay cast. vacation romance. “After his coming out goes horribly wrong, Singaporean Sam jets off to Bangkok to search for his exiled gay uncle, where he stumbles upon Top, a hopeless Thai romantic unlucky in love.” Pretty classic start to a gay romance (not BL). This is a Singapore production but it’s set in Bangkok, Thailand. I like the way they speak Thai in the show, it’s really easy for me to understand. The lead is good but I’m not sure about the muscle boy love interest, his acting is a little… uh… bad. Still it’s amusing and enjoyable so far.

The New Member (Taiwan GaGa Weds) Ep 1 - Described as “the first rock n' roll musical.” No thank you, musical theater is NOT my thing. This seems to be a broadcast of a stage performance from 2019. DNF It didn’t even make the spreadsheet. 

Gossip

MUCH anticipated Pinoy BL sequel, Gameboys 2 (already airing?) has supposedly been picked up by GaGa for international distribution. Not yet listed. 

Unforgotten Night, the dumpster fire to end all dumpster fires (we hope), has been picked up by GaGa for international distribution coming June 22. Get your marshmallows ready! I might have to live blog that one. Here’s all about it. Not yet listed. 

Taiwan’s (not really a) BL Papa & Daddy 2 is coming to GaGa starring Melvin Sia (Damian) and Chiu Mu Han (new actor as Jerry) scheduled to be released on August 8 (Taiwan's Father's Day). Not yet listed. 

New Japanese BL Old Fashion Cupcake announced, adapted from the manga of the same name by by Sagan Sagan (trailer on FB). Seems to be a hyung romance: office set, employee/boss, age gap. About a subordinate with a crush on his boss - seems a bit Cherry Magic light? Locally to Rakuten so we’re hoping they get international too. Only 5 episodes, no listing yet. 

IN CASE YOU’RE CURIOUS: Yes, statistically Japan has definitely ramped up production on BL. This is odd, normally they don’t cater to the market like this. I did not think this was going to happen. 

Everyone’s favorite Vietnamese hottie Ba Vinh (O2 Productions: Mr Cinderella etc...) is bringing us a new BL, Want To See You AKA Muốn Nhìn Thấy Em, starts June 5. This one has distribution, so I’m not sure if it will go international on their YouTube channel like usual. 

Speaking of which, it does seem like Semantic Error is getting a movie version with deleted scenes (like Wish You did). THIS IS VERY EXCITING. No listing yet. 

New Thai HISTORICAL gay romance came outta nowhere (probubly not BL) Khun Chai, English title (right now) is To Sir, With Love. Does not look like it’s gonna end happy, but I’m still VERY excited! (trailer)

In Case You Missed It

Korea’s To My Star 2: Our Untold Story will be getting its international release to GagaOOLala - except Taiwan, Japan, Korea, USA, and Canada. We seem to be getting it on Viki. (So this is a Semantic Error situation.) A very concerning eng sub trailer here on YT. I AM SO SCARED. MY BABIES. (But also shouty babies giving anyone else WBL 2 teaser flashbacks?) It's a Korean drama and "a year later," that is basically code for a breakup. I'm thinking of letting some watchers braver than me go first so I don't have to suffer the tension. A year ago I would have said we were safe, because... Korea did HEA BL. But then they produced Peach of Time & Kissable Lips so now I don't trust them anymore. 

There’s movement on Japanese BL Senpai, Danjite Koidewa! AKA Senpai, This Can’t be Love! which is taking over Mr Unlucky’s time slot, and has been reported as picked up by GaGa for international, June 17. However, I’m showing it listed for Viki. 

DNA Says Love You ( GaGa) finished its run and I binged it. Here’s your mini review: 

While this is one of those series carried by the sunshine seme character, and he does a stand-up job, Erek Lin, who plays the love interest, Amber, is luminous. I found the twist entirely predictable, but knowing what would happen didn't spoil this show for me, in fact I think I sympathized more with Amber and understood his behavior better, because I knew. DNA is full of queer found family representation and an unexpected amount of domesticity, plus it’s Taiwan, so the kisses are great. The last few eps really are special and life/love affirming - and the ending is big-grin charming. No obvious triggers. 

Full review here. 8/10 VERY MUCH RECOMMENDED

Next Week Looks Like This:

Nothing new starting next week except the 2nd installment of Star and Sky: Sky in Your Heart from GMMTV. 

This week’s best moments?

Such boyfriends (Meow Ears Up). 

And the best “heart knows trope” execution award goes to... 

Dear Doctor. 

Mr Unlucky bringing us a great take on a classic possessive seme’s “I don’t wanna be friends, I want to date you.” 

Plus and Minus, our current #1 ridiculous manchild. 

Plus and Minus all cast, cute boyfriends, plus tiny family. YAY! 

Full on support-fam action in La Cuisine. 

CEO alpha bf activated in What Zabb Man. 

Thai captions for faen are evolving from boyfriend to partner or lover. 

Been there, done that. 

(last week)

[cobble-stone]

33 for music ask game!!

33- do you wear a lot of band t-shirts? if so, do you like it when strangers comment on them?

i have a couple LC shirts! my favorite is probably the Hello Sadness shirt, though I can rarely wear it due to the fact that I live in very warm places and it’s long sleeved. Sadly nobody’s ever recognized it :pensivepeace:

another one i really like is the King of Bands shirt. However, it looks very similar to the Budweiser King of Beers shirt (an intentional design, a play on the fact that LC’s most popular song You, Me, Dancing! was featured in a Budweiser commercial), and i’ve almost gotten in trouble for wearing it at school once— funny that i almost got in trouble for something that looks vaguely like a beer shirt and not for a shirt that has people beating the shit out of eachother and literally says “good night for a fistfight”

[no1ryomafan]

megan’s 3am megaman hot take

I do not give a fuck if we don’t get X9/ZX3/L3/SF4/anything BN related, I am happy over whatever we get and I like literally most of those series lmao. It’s fine to be mad about those cliffhangers but people need to remember capcom has multiple fucking ips to juggle and can’t focus on mega man due to the series not guaranteed to sell if it’s not classic. The 2000s sales are a example of that. Yes, capcom put themselves in this situation by releasing two mm series at once which side line X, Legends and Classic-the 3 series before the Zero/ZX and BN/SF series took off-however people not bothering to invest in them is also a cruel factor of them not considering them. Z/ZX Lc has been out for a year but it STILL hasn’t reached 1 mil units, unlike the XLC. If the same repeats for a potential BNLC or any LC capcom is not gonna wanna invest in those projects unless they suddenly jump. I am disappointed Z/ZX didn’t sell well due to it being a solid LC and XLC not so much but I recognize what people prefer in MM series. Asking for capcom to invest in ZX3 when the ZX series is horrible finically and they MAY not have inti with them-idk wtf going on with inti and capcom but they aren’t working together and inti was not apart of the LC, logo was removed for god sake-ZX3 would be a risky move just as a example. So don’t go crying that they re-releases the Zx games when it’s a fucking miracle they did bc they could’ve just made crappy ports of the Zero games. But also I can list off reasons why I can live without them.

X9: X continuity is a fucking mess and MMX fandom is a cesspool, X9 will just be ruined for me by fans even if it turns out to be a actual solid X game bc someone will nitpick over whatever they may do with Axl or it just not being X4 again. (And unfortunately this is the cliffhanger game with the most likely chance to happen) 

ZX3: it’s my most wanted but honestly I’m coping with the fact the ZX games are fun to play and I’m literally making my own au. I just hope I don’t get disappointed if it ever happens bc I know capcom won’t follow my au at all but I’ll probably like it at least gameplay wise. But I more so want Thomas cliffhanger to be resolved cause that was a huge middle finger.

Legends 3: it’s a canceled project. It will be a miracle to come back. I want volnutt off the moon as much as you do but legends hasn’t even been re-released, so capcom can’t really see yet if it’ll do well. (I can see it being revived in 30+ years but the fact L3 is the only thing talked about with legends fucking sucks and makes me not wanna talk about it despite legends might be my third favorite series)

SF4: as much as we were robbed of this but need to stop acting like SF3 wasn’t good lol. It’s literally the best SF game and it wrapped up geo’s arc nicely. We really don’t need a fourth game even if I dig the time skip idea, they should just make a whole new series out of it but capcom isn’t smart enough to do that. Really SF just needs more appreciation over it cause holy fuck it’s slept on.

Anything BN related: referring to BN7 and BNLC cause people need to stfu about it lol. Why do people want a 7th BN game so badly? 6 was literally a good ending point, BN was the only other series that wasn’t OG or early X to not do horrible even after anything pre BN4 dipped. Like you people are more petty then the fuckers asking for Z5-bc that’s not happening, ZX is LITERALLY confirmed to intended to be Z5 but was changed to a new series-like god. As for the Lc literally the beginning of my rant sums it up but I see people going ““I want BNLC and only BNLC” over new game news and actually shut the fuck up lmao. I don’t wanna use the grateful excuse at all in this rant bc I understand fan frustration and it’s okay to want these and a new game won’t exactly fix it but BN fans actually should be grateful capcom bothering to slightly acknowledge their series and only COVID been pushing it back. (And I’m someone who wants a LC bc I can’t play the BN games besides 5 which I didn’t like of what I played but holy fuck y’all are making me despise BN even if you aren’t as much of a cesspool as X or even classic sometimes) 

TLDR: mega man fans shut up challenge. (Bad tldr but idk how else to end this or sum it up lol) 

[revserrayyu]

One HSR Character a Day Day 22: Himeko

[emmelineparker308]

Unimaginable Love- FINAL PART

Part 1    Part 2    Part 3    Part 4

A/N: I tried several times to post this but for some reason, Tumblr wouldn’t let me. Anyways thank you for all the support and love you’ve shown for my writings. 

Previously on Unimaginable Love: “I want to know why you did what you did,” you commanded. He smirked, “Well cause I wanted to. I mean you’re such a slut and throw yourself at any guy you see looking for validation, I just thought I would take advantage of that. Plus HYDRA did pay me well to make you suffer,” He stated.

At the mention of HYDRA, your demeanor faltered a little and he took that as an opening to hurt you with his words. “Oh yeah princess, you didn’t think that HYDRA would have forgotten about you because you went and joined the Avengers did you? Oh no! They sent me to come into your life and make you suffer for humiliating HYDRA by running off. That’s why I dated you, I tried everything in my power to make you fall in love with me so that I could hurt you even more by breaking up with you or cheating on you but damn it even then you were in love with that coward Barnes! And then I thought of hurting you physically but HYDRA hasn’t approved me for any of that super juice. They didn’t think that I was worthy of it or something! Psh! Never thought that was right, I mean look at the people they thought were worthy a slut and a coward! Anyways but then you blindsided me by breaking up with me, after thinking of various ways to get to you I came up with my masterplan. I mean all you women, want to act all strong and want to play on the same team as us men when in fact all it takes is some roofie to put you back in your place, underneath strong men. Literally.” He laughed maniacally throwing his head back in joy. However, what he didn’t see was the punch to the throat that was coming his way. Brandon coughed up blood and tried to regain his breath but even in pain he screamed “BITCH!”

The door flew open with such force that it came off its hinges. Bucky ran in with anger clearly written all over him and went straight to beating the living shit out of Brandon. “She. Is. My. Everything.” He said each word with a punch. “If you even think of hurting her, ever again I will end you!” The others tried to pull Bucky off of Brandon but it wasn’t until Thor said that Bucky was gonna kill the guy that Bucky stopped. “This asshole is not getting off that easy. I’m gonna make an example out of him so that HYDRA and its agents will think thrice before sending someone to try and hurt her again, hurt any of us ever again!” You tried your best to calm him down but Bucky was a man with vengeance on the mind. He demanded you leave the room at once. You knew that there was no way that he could be persuaded to stop so you left, not before you had Steve promise to stop Bucky if he were to derail. Steve made the promise but muttered under his breath that he would finish what Bucky started. You gave him a disapproving look but left the room nonetheless. 

You were standing on the rooftop looking over the large city trying to manage your feelings. “You have to be the bravest woman I’ve ever met,” the smooth voice of your favorite trickster friend broke through the silence of the empty common room. 

“And I’ve met a lot of women before,” he added cheekily smiling once he saw the frown on your face was replaced with a small grin. 

“Yeah, I know you’ve met a lot of women before. Afterall you are like a billion years old, Grandpa,” you teased him. He jokingly punched your shoulder and stared at you for a while. You were an odd pair and no one really knew how you two worked. Though everyone was wary of your friendship what they didn’t know was that like Steve you considered Loki more of a brother than a friend. And even though he refuses to admit it, in his eyes, you were a sibling that he would go to the ends of worlds for. 

You had met him not long after joining up with the Avengers, the team had finally caved to the requests of Thor and gave Loki a chance. As part of your first ever assignment, you were put in charge of Loki, babysitting the God 24/7 and making sure his intentions were real and genuine and non-apocalyptic. You were eager to prove yourself to the others and knew that this assignment was to test your abilities. Loki, on the other hand, was annoyed at the notion of having to be babysat by someone. He tried to escape from you several times but thanks to your magical abilities you were able to keep up with him, much to his chagrin. It wasn’t until day three of the babysitting that he realized the only reason you were keeping up with him was that like him you too possessed magical abilities. Since then Loki and you formed a weird alliance using both of your magic to pull the most outlandish of pranks and jokes. The alliance grew to be a bond when you started being paired for missions, having each other backs no matter what. Back then everyone had thought that both of you were romantically involved but you had put all of those rumors to rest. 

Loki was smooth, and sneaky to the others but you were the first person to see past the jokes and pranks and see the aching soul tormented with mistakes he once made. Just like that, he was the first person in the team to realize the true horror that you went through, he was the only one that you allow yourself to be vulnerable around. Until of course Bucky had joined your crew of misfits. Loki knew of your love for Bucky even before you did. He encouraged you to pursue it after thoroughly investigating Bucky and seeing how happy you two made each other. The one thing Loki had ever fought with you was over Brandon. Loki was never fond of Brandon and was pleased when you broke things off with him but what that asswipe did to you was something Loki did not see coming. It’s okay, Loki reassured himself, He’ll pay for his sins soon enough. 

“You gonna keep staring at me?” You asked breaking him out of his trance. Loki simply smiled at you before taking your arm and teleporting you to the kitchen. “Stop teleporting me without warning, Gramps!!” you smack him knowing that you can’t hurt him. As happy as he was to see a genuine smile spread along your features his attention was quickly caught by the Avengers that were leaving the room were Brandon was held. Your attention went immediately to your boyfriend who looked oddly happy as if a heavyweight had been lifted off of his shoulders. You made eye contact with Steve searching to know that Bucky hadn’t done too much damage, Steve reassured you that Brandon was still breathing. “Loki is here,” you mentioned to Thor as you turned around to where the God of Mischief was standing a second ago. 

“Brother was here? Lady Emmeline are you sure?” Thor replied confused at you staring at thin air. At that precise moment you heard an ear-piercing scream coming from the room the Avengers just exited from, before you all could rush inside Loki came out looking rather pleased with himself. 

“Loki, what did you do?!?!” you exclaimed hoping that your best friend didn’t kill a man for you. 

“Relax, my love, I just gave him the same punishment that we would give someone with his crimes on Asgard,” Loki soothed you. Thor winced at his brother’s response but was proud of him for once breaking the rules for a good cause. 

“You didn’t,” Tony stated rather amused. Thor had suggested the punishment after Tony tracked the bastard down, and Tony was on board. But no one else on the team agreed despite his protests, Tony couldn’t help but feel grateful for the Tricksters disregard for rules. 

“What did you do, Loki?” you asked frustrated at all the secrecy. 

“I castrated him,” Loki stated bluntly. 

It took a couple of seconds for you to register what he said, and the way he said it with the amusement hidden in Thor’s, Tony’s and Loki’s face made you burst into laughter. Seeing you genuinely laugh for the first time in a while filled the rest of the team with joy, especially Bucky who held you tightly and joined in on your laughs. 

Deep down in your mind, you were terrified about HYDRA coming back to get you but knowing your family of superheroes will do anything to help you have peace of mind. And with Bucky holding you tightly in his arms you knew that nothing in the universe could harm you. 

“The best and most beautiful things in this world can not be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart”- Helen Keller

Tags:  @ashleyloveslots, @iza-lc , @jessicao19 , @thelostverse , @chibiyanai  , @ moody-angel-blossom, @lemonlimeliz , @skyerun13 , @moody-magician-arcana

[purrincess-chat]

7, 8 & 16 ☺️

I just did number 8

7. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Dammit, this would have been the perfect time for the dick line. Ya know, prose is something that I struggle with tbh. Sometimes when I’m writing it I feel like it’s literally the worst, but then I read back over it, and I’m like aight, it’s not god awful like I thought. I really feel like I appreciate my writing more as it ages. A lot of my favorite bits are from old fics. But to answer your question, I have always been really fond of the way I handled Chloe in Lady du Coeur way back when. You can’t find this online anymore (except maybe if you dig on this blog or maybe my main I don’t remember at what point in LC I made this one), but just this whole scene was something I was really proud of at the time and still am, and truthfully this development is why I want to figure this fic out someday:

Chloe finished her coffee, and they continued on toward her house in awkward silence, and for once, she didn’t feel the need to fill it with meaningless words. Neither of them were really in the mood for small talk anymore, both too preoccupied with their own unhappiness. When they reached her small home, she pulled him into a tight hug which he allowed willingly for probably the first time ever.

“Thanks for letting me vent,” He mumbled softly. “I know I’m just being selfish, but...”

“It’s okay,” She shook her head and pulled back. “Give it time. You’re a great guy, and she’ll see that eventually.”

“Thanks, Chlo,” He smiled, taking a step back and shoving his hands back into his pockets. “I’ll see you later.”

“Hey, Adrien…” She bit her lip as her heart sped up in her chest. He paused and turned back to her, curiously tilting his head to one side. “I love you.”

Her words didn’t faze him even a little, and he smiled that warm, familiar smile that she so often daydreamed about.

“I love you too, Chloe.” And as she watched him walk up the street, her chest burned with confirming grief.

After saying it to him for so many years, she wasn’t surprised by his automatic answer. After all, he’d never known the true emotion she was hoping to convey each time she said it, so why would he now? It’s not like he’d ever felt that way about her which surprisingly didn’t hurt as much as she thought it would. He wasn’t hers. He never had been, and he never would be. That was something she’d known for years even if she’d never wanted to admit it. No, the hurt came in finally giving up. In letting go of her fantasy. Adrien was all she’d ever known of love, and now she wasn’t entirely sure she knew anything anymore. Just like Adrien’s heart was incapable of loving anyone but Marinette, would her heart ever let go of him?

Maybe it would, maybe it wouldn’t.

Of course she didn’t seem to think so as she spent a good portion of the night screaming into her pillow while her helpless father attempted to pat her back and offer reassuring advice until he ultimately gave up and left her to her own devices. Her life was in shambles, and now her heart was too. She’d become so reduced from the person she once was that the red-eyed, puffy-faced girl standing in front of her in the mirror didn’t seem like her at all, and the longer she stared the more unsure she became. Who was she? Without her wealth, without her power, without Adrien.

She glanced at the scissors in the drawer with a decisive frown and picked them up. It was time for a change, and with each snip, blonde waves floated to the floor until she became someone else. The old Chloe was dead and gone, and a new one was being reborn in her skin.  

Losing her luxurious life was one nail in that coffin.

Snip.

Getting a job at Marinette’s bakery was another.

Snip.

Becoming friends with her long-time enemy, making amends for her past behavior.

Snip-snip.

Meeting Hunni. Becoming Queen Bee.

Snip.

And finally, losing Adrien.

She set the scissors down, and looked at the face again in the mirror. Her eyes were pained, but filled with determination. The old Chloe had no place in her life anymore. She was tired of letting her past haunt her, of letting everyone shove her mistakes in her face. It was time to become someone else, to shed her skin and find a new Chloe Bourgeois, or maybe the Chloe Bourgeois she was always meant to be. And as she examined the remaining waves still framing her face, she placed her hands on her hips and smiled.

It was a place to start.

This was back before we knew Pollen’s name, so I named her kwami Hunni. And truthfully if I ever get back around to rewriting this fic, I’ll probably leave it as Hunni cause she is a much different character and it’s important for Chloe’s growth. I really liked how I developed her in this fic, and she is still my favorite version of Chloe that I have written a redemption for. I feel like I struck a good balance with her in this one. Too bad I hated almost everything else about that fic hence why you can’t find it anymore. I took it all down. I kind of edited up and posted the first chapter again when I intended to rewrite it again way back, but I was so back and forth on what I wanted for it, so it’s just been sitting. If you all asked me nicely I would probably upload the old version somewhere for you all to read again if you really wanted. It would probably just be a google doc that I share on this blog or something, but fair warning, it is unfinished. I think I made it to chapter 16 originally. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

16. If you could only write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be?

Adrinette. Hands down. I’m a weak bitch, and we all know. 

[ginmo]

Okay this is going to be long haha. As a disclaimer, Jaime can still die. This just explains why I’ve become skeptical over that fate.

I have not been given a straight answer to Jaime’s fate by any of the people I have spoken with, and I can’t be too detailed in my explanations because of reasons, but this is what I can say:

1. Jaime doesn’t die in the battle of WF. I’m making this clear because this has become popular spec. Now when I say die, I mean permanently dead, not resurrection dead. I have no info about any resurrections, so it’s entirely possible he can “die” and still come back. All I know is that Jaime is definitely alive after the battle of WF, so don’t listen to any leaker who says his final farewell is during that battle. I know of a specific event (actually, two of them) that happens after the WF battle, and he’s very much alive for it.

2. Jaime is in all 6 episodes, and no, that information is NOT taken from Nikolaj’s contract. I can say this with 99% confidence.It’s possible he could be in less depending on how they move scenes around in post production, but at least during filming, every person I spoke with was certain he was in every episode.

3. Jaime is not dead during Tyrion’s trial in episode 6. Tyrion’s trial is AFTER the KL battle.......... sooooo.................

4. Okay this really isn’t anything lol but, they were all pretty excited to tell me what happens, and wanting to tell me “so badly!” while… knowing I want him to live. Like I said, that doesn’t mean much, but I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt and assuming they’re not, like, Satan or something. “Omg you want him to live so I’m so excited for you to see him DIE! :D!!”

Recent Observations:

This isn’t what I’ve been personally told, but this is what I have observed in fandom over the past few months. Take all of this with a grain of salt. I’m only including these because they got my attention, considering what I know.

1. There have been a couple randos that have popped into fandom just to say that everyone is wrong about Jaime because he lives and then they poof. Like I said, take this with a grain of a salt. It probably is nothing, but they always stood out to me as suspicious.

2. Recently, someone said they spoke with a family friend and that friend said a person everyone thought would live ends up dying and someone who was “seemingly marked by death from the beginning” would survive. This actually can’t really be argued for any character. Not every character has been around since the beginning, and only a handful have been “marked by death” in the eyes of fandom.

Speaking on average: Jon, Dany, Sansa, Arya, Bran, Sam… all of them have fairly uncertain fates or the assumption of survival. Minor characters? No one is going to care so much about their fate to give a spoiler about it (“oh man dude! Melisandre LIVES! People will freak!”) or the others haven’t been around since the beginning… IMO, there are only two characters that fit that description: the twins. Considering I have good reason to believe Jaime may actually have a chance at survival, and since literally every sector of the GoT fandom, including the JB fandom, he's talked about as if he’s already dead, I’m going to make an assumption here and apply that to Jaime. Out of the twins, Jaime has actual potential set up for survival, Cersei not so much.

Narrative:

As much as Jaime’s death would fit the traditional mold for the path he is currently on, there is setup for a possible survival in the books and the show. I had always envisioned his fate going either way, and was confused why people would be completely convinced of death or survival. I felt both had set up? I went from thinking he was doomed, to thinking he would survive, to being totally unsure, back to thinking he’s dead again, and now I’m residing in survival camp.... for now, at least lol.

I could go on and on and on with the support in the books. I could describe a different interpretation to his weirwood dream, dig up quotes about how he’s yearning for fatherhood and a married life and how he thinks he will only ever be a warrior, explain how the hand chop was his “death,” moan about how eye-roll worthy it is for him to be a Stark prop. I can find evidence to argue that he’s simultaneously being molded into a leader and heir and therefore it would be a wasteful death that accomplish nothing. I can also blab about how Brienne is basically his plot armor because of how ridiculously redundant and meaningless it would be for HER arc if another person were to die in her arms and leave her exactly where she started (actually, no, I’ll probably still talk about this with the show evidence because it annoys me). But since this is a somewhat show-themed post, the question being about season 8, I’ll just stick with the show evidence.

Show Evidence:

1. Watch: Jaime and Tywin’s conversation #1 , conversation #2, conversation #3. Look. The show decided to include THREE SCENES about marriage and the Lannister Legacy. THREE................

“Oh but in the first one he says that he doesn’t want the Lannister legacy to fall like the Targaryens did which foreshadows the Lannisters going extinct.”

Jaime fulfilling his duty as heir has been brought up T H R E E times.

And the Targaryens went… extinct? … I mean… who are the two leads of this series? If they’re going to parallel the Targaryens in some form, then that means they definitely don’t go extinct. Baby Lannister left behind? Possible. But…

2. Jaime is removed from the KG in season 6. Why?  In the show he... didn’t need to be removed from KG so he could later on leave Cersei (even in the books he ran off while still on the KG). Brienne says Fuck Loyalty and he Fucks Loyalty anyway. They could have had him do that while still member of the KG. It was perfect setup. Tywin wants him removed so he can fulfill the Lannister legacy, Jaime eventually gets removed. What’s the point of removing him from the KG to simply lead the Lannister army for two seasons and then die if he could have been doing that anyway as LC? They removed him from the KG because he’s being molded into an heir and freed of vows for endgame. And, again, connects to the Tywin conversations.

3. Purple Wedding. Ah, one of my favorites. (<- that one kinda sucks because the youtuber edited Brienne’s walk to be more quick but you still get the point)

When Loras and Jaime are having a conversation, Jaime says, “You’ll never marry [Cersei]” and Loras responds with, “And neither will you.” Loras walks away, Jaime looks down, Brienne walks past and Jaime looks up. Keep in mind GRRM at least wrote the Cersei and Brienne portion, and it was even mentioned that they paid attention to the transitions. when filming and editing.

Minor detail to mention: the Bear and the Maiden Fair is playing in the background.

”lol that song has been used before for other people.”

Yeah... for marriages. Not only has it been consistently used for Jaime and Brienne - also season 3 when they’re captured and used as the episosde title for the bear pit- but the other times it has been used were for: the wedding feast between Tyrion and Sansa, the wedding feast between Edmure and Roslin, and then the wedding of Joffrey and Marg... and when did it play at theirs? During the Jaime and Brienne scenes, literally during and after Loras told Jaime he would never marry Cersei and then Brienne walks past and then Cersei accuses Brienne of being in love with Jaime.

“It just means Jaime won’t marry Cersei because he’ll fall in love with Brienne.”

Maybe? But he’s already simultaneously falling in love with Brienne and he was (in the show) still trying to marry Cersei? Why is a theme of marriage hammered in so often then? (like Brienne’s monologue, which I’ll get to)

Maybe I can also throw in this more tinfoily bit in. “Maybe you’re a Lannister too.”

4. “Die in the arms of the woman I love.” -sigh-. Okay, I admit, the first time I heard this I jumped on the SEE JAIME IS DEAD bandwagon and was firmly stationed on that wagon until I got info that started raising my hopes and then Brienne’s, “nothing’s more hateful than failing to protect the one you love” popped into my head and I’m like

and then “who wants to die defending a Lannister.” Yeah yeah, “who wants to die defending a Lannister” is simply foreshadowing Brienne’s love for Jaime and doesn’t necessarily mean she will die (she at least survives to episode 6, after the battle). But if you take that and mix it with “nothing’s more hateful than failing to protect the one you love” and stir it in a pot, you got yourself Brienne making a move that almost gets her killed to save Jaime and NOT fail the like 4th or 5th person just because.

That line about failing is so often overlooked. Yeah, of course it’s possible it can mean she fails again, but I’m just… even if it doesn’t foreshadow shit, it made it clear that failing the one she loves is a thing she wants to avoid so... why the hell would the story have her fail another fucking person? What’s the point? She feels like she failed her father, failed Renly, failed Catelyn (more in the books), she’ll probably feel that way after Pod bites it, let’s have her fail Jaime too! :D! Let’s also be repetitive and have a guy die in her arms again just to rip her heart out and leave her exactly where she started just for the demonic lolz (btw I never subscribed to GRRM being as blood thirsty as people make him out to be). To me, that line sounds like she’s going to do everything in her power to not let that happen ever again. There will probably be a close call where she thinks she failed but doesn’t. Jaime saved her twice, maybe she will be the knight in shining armor and save him.

“Okay  but what if she’s left with his baby? She’s not exactly where she left  off then.”

No, she’s not in the exact same spot, and that’s a scenario I definitely find plausible. However, she... still kinda is? Stripping her of the only person who has ever  genuinely loved her in that way sends a message that society is   correct- Brienne, an ugly, undesirable woman- is unworthy of love. Brienne is unworthy of a long, happy life full of love because the Gods gave him to her for just a bit, dropped a baby in her lap as a consolation prize, and took the one person who has ever genuinely loved her for who she was.Normally I would argue that GRRM isn’t writing a story that gives characters everything they deserve. And I agree with that, but I’d argue that he’s using Brienne to literally tell a message of BatB. Inner beauty triumphs, superficiality does not (Cersei being example A). The message isn’t as effective if this rejected, freakish, beast of a woman continues to feel like a failure, continues to get fucked over and remains fucked over in endgame.

Now back to “die in the arms of the woman I love.” This line was used to set up the JC downfall to the viewers, and get Jaime questioning by having Bronn say, “does she feel the same?” On the surface it’s Cersei, the subtext is Brienne. That was it’s purpose. But I tend to agree with the people who say it can also be foreshadowing. So can he still die? OF COURSE! Will I agree with the narrative decision? NO (explanation further down). Can he die and be resurrected like a literal BatB tale? YEAH! Can it mean that he dies in the arms of the woman he loves as an old man? SURE! There’s multiple interpretations here.

Going back to the last one, I find it curious that immediately before Jaime mentions his preferred way of death, Bronn said he wanted to die as an old man in his castle with children groveling at his feet for his fortune and Jaime makes a comment about how that’s boring. So, I’d find it kinda funny then if the two desires were combined. (and Jaime never said in a battle, btw. The scene he describes is romantic with no context).

5. Brienne. Don’t tOUCH ME. Okay.

a) She told Catelyn she wasn’t a Lady, told Pod she wasn’t, Cersei told her she’s a Lady whether she wants to be or not... her insecurities over being a Lady is CLEARLY a theme that the show decided to keep. And then there’s this scene. Brienne fulfills her oath by keeping the Stark girls safe and getting them North. Pod calls her my Lady, Brienne begins to say she’s not a Lady, stops herself, and then thanks Pod. why is this always ignored?? This is saying that plot is done. Brienne is done being a bodyguard (which is also made crystal clear in Season 7 when Sansa basically tells her she can protect herself and Brienne tells the Hound that Arya doesn’t need protection). Brienne’s acceptance of her title is the story saying that Brienne will move on from this dragged out af plot and will now get ready to fulfill her role as Lady/heir. So what does this have to do with Jaime? Ahem. Well who else is being groomed for the role of Lord/heir?

b) I’ve been dying for them to finally give some book canon backstory to Brienne and show her vulnerable side. I was pleased in season 5 when we were delivered a wonderful little nugget that isn’t straight book canon, but an adaptation of it. Look, the fact that they even CARED to adapt this for the show is huge. Here is the scene.

The addition of this scene is important because it’s Brienne literally telling Pod (and the viewers) that the happiest she has ever been was when all the boys wanted to marry her and take her back to their castles. It’s reminding the viewers that romance is a major theme of her arc. They had her specifically mention marriage and living a domestic life in a castle and that made her fucking happy dude. The happiest she had ever been.

Now… why? Why is that necessary if Jaime and Brienne are just destined to bang and then he bites it? If they wanted to highlight that Brienne is a sexual being that wants to be loved, they literally could have taken out the whole marriage and castles and kept it as the boys dancing with her and complimenting her and flirting with her made her happy. But no, they brought in marriage. She wants marriage, man. She secretly desires the life of a Lady, with the one she loves, and that’s okay. And do NOT tell me that her destiny is to be some bodyguard for the Starks. I already wrote like 4 paragraphs on it but deleted because… not the place. Anyway, they adapted the marriage bits because it’s something that comes up in Brienne’s chapters quite a bit. (The lions on the cloak as she watched the boy she was to marry walk away and Jaime putting a cloak around her shoulders are probably my favorites).

“But what if they marry and then he dies!”

Oh, a little spoiler: Let’s just say it doesn’t seem likely they marry on screen. Possible, but very unlikely. So if they marry, marriage would have to be implied after the show... -whispers- which means he would have to survive.

Also, I already explained why I personally find that an ineffective ending, but again, is it possible that’s the version being told? Hell yeah it is. This is why I’m not completely convinced of his survival, and why I have always been open-minded about his death, and have gone back and forth depending on how much I trust the quality of writing. In most redemption arc narratives the character dies because death itself is something they have avoided, usually by obtaining power or through an exploration of a courage theme. Jaime has already proven he’s willing to sacrifice himself and has accepted his death on many different occasions (ex: he jumped into a bear pit with one hand and no weapon with literally no plan, and on the show he charged a fire breathing dragon head on with nothing but a spear I mean....), so what does his death as a knight really accomplish for his character besides, “it’s TRADITIONAL! Redemption = only DEATH! Knightly honor = only DEATH!” (I can feel myself going down a rabbit hole by wanting to talk about the hand chop so I’m going to stfu now because this is getting ridiculously long.)

“GoT has been inconsistent in the past and sometimes they do things that make no sense.”

I know, and it’s still entirely possible the execution of this story is trash and everything was pointless. That argument could apply to literally everything I say in this post. But at the same time, GoT is shit at being subtle, and when they want to drive a point or theme home, they do, even if it’s sloppy. (and yeah, like mentioned, I see this in the books as well... I’m not basing my opinion entirely on the show. It’s just if I add book bits on here, it’s going to get even more boring than it currently is lol.)

“Gin, sorry, I just disagree with you.”

That’s okay! It’s possible I end up changing my mind 50 more times, based off of the info coming in. Guys, I just think this story can be DIFFERENT. I’m so goddamn tired of the same, predictable narratives. And also because, like I said, I see potential set up for survival. I see all of the different interpretations. I’m tired of seeing people act all arrogant, like the answer is already there, when I see evidence for at least the possibility of something different.

Like we can’t even fucking discuss his survival in fandom, and if someone even BREATHES it they’re called delusional or in denial, even by their fellow JB shippers. NO? I just see multiple paths and interpretations?? And... to make it even more confusing I’ve been receiving optimistic hints that have raised my hopes??????? Fuck, I’m basically a victim here because I had been comfortable assuming the worst lol. 

I’m legit procrastinating on posting this because I have anxiety putting it out there. Discussion of his survival is that unpopular.

[lifeseverchanging]

MMX #6 (SPOILERS)

Mr. and Mrs. X Issue #6 - The bottle issue we have all been waiting for! I managed to sleep through past the midnight hour this time around but not without waking up at 5:30 a.m. and realizing I should use the small amount of valuable time before the workday began to read this issue! I had wanted to wait until I bought the floppy from my LCS so I can read it from the pages of the book to try to avoid my usual knee-jerk reaction from my groggy sleep deprived reads during the wee hours of the morning. But, yeah right. Like that happened! What? Like I suddenly grew self control? out of NOWHERE? No sir, not I.

Before we begin I want to explain that I am ridiculously emotionally invested in our heroes story. Since I was a child and long since before I could really comprehend what romantic love actually is I had fallen in love with the idea of the kind of love that exists between Gambit and the untouchable Rogue. After the many years of heartache and heartbreak we are witnessing the best times Romy has ever seen as a couple. Their story is being written by a person who truly loves the pair and what that does is makes the expectations incredibly high from the diehard fans. We are the ones who held out hope and turned to fanfic when Romy was barely a memory in the Marvel universe. The hopefuls who kept the torch lit throughout the darkest and most desolate of times and we are a thirsty bunch who won’t let even a drop go to waste.

So away we go! The book opens up at GAMBIT AND ROGUE’S APARTMENT in Manhattan. Bobby arrives to the party on time and is the first guest to Rogue’s dismay.

We can clearly see trouble is lurking ahead from the loft windows. 

CAT SPOTTING: I spy with my little eye a Fiagaro and an Oliver and Figaro again!

Rogue takes advantage of Bobby’s on time arrival and terrifies him into helping cut the cheese and refrain from making fart jokes. Our hostess is clearly flustered and behind on schedule when the doorbell rings again... (Loving Gambit’s third party dialogue)

CAT SPOTTING: Remy picks up Figaro and bravely holds him again his shirt (if you have cats you know what I mean) RING SPOTTING: Gambit’s ring, ahh!

Remy’s father, Jean Luc, makes his appearance however Tante does not.  Jean Luc drops some foreshadowing of things to come with this comment about Tante demanding a visit from Gambit and Rogue in New Orleans. 

Naturally Rogue is utterly sweet to JL (if you have ever read a fanfic by the name of “Treading Water” you will understand why this embrace between Rogue and JL caused me to shudder) and Remy gets all of the blame about the spontaneous wedding not allowing any of his family to be there. 

CAT SPOTTING: Figaro Jean states he can’t stay but needed to warn Remy of the pending attack.

aaaand in comes the party crasher.

Love this little moment between husband and wife... “Wild Horses couldn't stop me” - Rogue

@cajuncajole spotted that something was missing. See: RING SPOTTING below

RING SPOTTING: 

And the uninvited guests quickly goes back out.

Rooftop fighting ensues where the unknown t’ieves point out that their King doesn’t even recognize his soldiers. This is certainly going to lead us into the Guild issues Kelly has planned after the Mojoverse arc.

Rogue is a complete bad ass who joins the fight up on the roof with no regard to not having her powers but she quickly finds herself in a bind of which Remy helps get her out of.  RING SPOTTING: Rogue!

It’s important to note that this scene draws out how well they know one another and why Gambit and Rogue have always made a great team and just how much trust they have in each other. 

Love that the card he throws is none other than the QUEEN OF HEARTS (The card he gives to Rogue)

RING SPOTTING: Rogue!

Quite the flashback to X-Treme X-Men days!

Though it doesn’t stop Rogue from becoming infuriated and ready to nip this fight in the bud because they have guests arriving and a party to host!

Rogue is going to have to pull out the big guns and take a much needed break from that collar. 

This is now probably my new favorite phrase: HOO BOY! Remy leaps off of the building in his bad-assery ragin’ cajun kind of way.

The comical moment where Laura and Bobby are a witness to his jump while Rogue knocks all of the thieves out with her new powerset. I can already hear the Gambit-only fans being peeved over this but simmer down, they need to get back to their party and this is the quickest way!

Then we have the amazing loft view/party scene.

CAT SPOTTING: Lucifer at the top of the loft, Oliver and Figaro down below watching the party goers. 

One of my favorite moments of the party scene was certainly when Bishop retells the pie story and Rogue corrects him on the type of pie it was (she baked Boysenberry!). I also loved when Remy threatens to push Kitty out the window while standing directly behind her as Lorna, Jean and Angel were discussing how impressive Remy’s amazing rooftop jump was.

Sidenote: TIL Bobby is cheap.  I truly wish we had focused more on the party in this issue but alas we move along to the party winding down (Remy threatening Bobby not to freeze anything - I wonder what exactly?) when suddenly Belle pops in as an invited guest. I can’t say unexpected because because we all saw the preview and knew it was coming but Remy certainly did not see it coming. She’s there to warn him that the Guilds are after his crown after he married the “Princess o' all tings good an’ honorable”. Remy defends his new bride against his ex wife however Belle won’t be deterred and has the balls to let him know exactly how she feels. I noticed Remy didn’t close the door in spite of her presence. 

I wasn’t a fan of the scene where Remy looks like a little kid who just got scolded but this last shot was lovely... and it transcends into the next scene where we find an upside down Rogue in the fetal position taking a much needed break from that collar. 

Speaking of unexpected... Magneto pays Rogue a visit. Though it makes no sense why Rogue summoned him at all it is incredibly unclear as to when she contacted him. 

This panel got a lot of people talking... some were mad (raises hand), some didn’t mind or care at all (mainly due to the fact that there was no real sense that these two have romantic feelings for one another) and others are claiming this is proving Rogue still loves Mags and trusts him more than Remy. (Bullsh*t)

Listen, aside from the obvious parallel Kelly was going for with the “Exes” the main problem with this scene is that she makes it seem as if Rogue doesn’t trust Remy. It makes her look as if she will confide in a person like Magneto over her husband, her best friend and partner in life. After mulling over this GD scene for about 48 hours I finally did some real soul searching to make sense of this panel. Kelly knows that continuity should not be ignored so I think she felt compelled to make an attempt to shut that R and Fapneto ship door as best as she could. 

Did this moment belong in this particular issue? I think not... I feel as if this panel was removed and more party panels were shown people would have loved the hell out of this issue. I think Kelly really didn’t want to leave the ex situation one-sided and she felt as if she needed to prove that the only thing left between the two of them is friendship. 

Like it or not, Rogue is the kind of person who wants to stay friends with people that matter/mattered to her. DO most of us feel the need to stay friends with our exes? NOPE. Do some? SURE. The point is that we as humans are complex creatures who do stupid things from time to time. People are pissed because Rogue is naive enough to call on her ex around a time she ought to be embracing her new marriage/husband instead of confiding in her old friend (and boy do I mean “old”). Rogue is the kind of idiot who would feel the need to apologize to the man she shot down that she didn’t tell him about her wedding in person but there is also probably some need for her to confirm that he has drifted back to the darkside because as a friend she would care about that too.

The upside? There was no hint of romantic love between the two of them. Magneto for once isn’t bad mouthing Gambit and is in fact saying good things about him. Rogue SAYS IT ON PANEL that she does not want to scare off Gambit with her warped powers. She even gushes to Mags about Remy’s approach of their relationship... smells like nothing but friendship to me. There was no hint of jealous ex talk in anyway but some folks will never be convinced. Anyway, with Mags out of the way I can only hope he won’t make any further appearances in this book because he’s the reason I quit reading comics in the first place and I don’t want him anywhere near our newlyweds. Ever again.

Rogue’s comment above about not being sure how many more surprises she can take is what makes the moment when Mags shows up seem like she hadn’t called on him right then and there. (~B’s 2 cents) Then of course she runs (literally) into Beast who provides her with another surprise. A pleasant one. (lol, love Gambit’s playing cards in the closet... I sure hope he buys in bulk from Amazon).  RING SPOTTING: Rogue (yeah I just  love seeing the rings)

Beast comes through for Rogue and makes her a new and improved power inhibitor tennis bracelet. You know she was totally kidding about the design but good ol’ Beast doesn’t know any better. Whatever, it works and is a much needed upgrade from that collar that made Rogue look like a poor puppy. The concerned expression on Beast’s face as he embraces her does make me worry a bit. Or maybe it’s just sympathy that Rogue has to be confined to a power inhibitor at all.

The look on their faces. Yeah, hosting is a shit ton of work especially when exes show up. How exhausting! 

I loved the moment between Remy and Rogue here that they both acknowledge that they need to talk (Hoo Boy, don’t they!?) but that it can wait... you know, for science reasons. 

Unfortunately they spot a gift they had missed...  (speaking of spotting - CAT SPOTTING: Lucifer!)

... and they’re immediately warped into Mojoverse. I thought it was funny that Kelly took a stab at herself with the last page. Ahhhh, those uniforms...  In my perfect version of this book we would not have addressed the Magneto thing so soon (but I am glad it’s out of the way) so we could have had a little more party and an indication that the newlyweds get a moment to test out that new bracelet *wink* before jumping right into the next crazy arc with Mojo.  All in all the bottle issue of MMX was a fun one that had a lot of fun callbacks to the past (some not so fun) and the change of art was a breath of fresh air! (even if Rogue wasn’t the most flattering - at least Belle looked gorgeous). THINGS I LOVED:  Cats and Rings! Gambit and Rogue’s fancy loft Seeing the X-Men party  Silly humor Rogue got her new power inhibitor bracelet THINGS I DIDN’T LOVE: Magneto

I think Kelly has a game plan that is not entirely visible at the moment but I’m ready to dive into whatever it is she has in store for all of us next. 

MMX #7 is out the first week of January!

[jumphq]

A Jump, Little Children Renaissance?

It's hard to believe that it was just a week ago that we were playing with our newly-named New Oblivion Orchestra. That was a week ago? That was a week ago. And exactly one year ago that Vance the Manager sat us down with the plan for funding, writing, recording, releasing, and touring a new album. ONE YEAR AGO. Thank you for making this entire year one of the most fun we have ever, ever had. 

The day after our last show of the year we had a photo shoot with our friend and photographer Nathan Baerreis, and from the looks of the early shots, it's going to be a good one.

"Why would you have another photo shoot?", you ask, "Isn't Sparrow done, already?" What is left to do?

A lot. Four months isn't a ton of time for an album to be out. There are still so many people–so many fans of Jump, Little Children, even–that don't know about the album, or that we are writing new music. While it might be easier to get the word out thanks to various social media in some ways, in many ways it's just as hard as ever to introduce people to new music, because there is so much noise out there, literally and figuratively. It'll be tough for us, too, because we know that we're not going to be a full-time touring band again. We love our home lives: we like making our own coffee in the morning. We also like getting on a bus, playing shows, saying "hello", but I don't think we'll ever get back to the point where we are touring most of the year. It's a choice that we're happy with.

So how do we a) increase our "noise" both online and elsewhere without physically touring and b) try to support all of this work that we need to do to make it happen?

We have a few ideas, and many of them we discovered by accident. My brother Evan and I started doing Facebook and Instagram Live streams because we had things to announce that were band-related. They were awkward, at first, then awkward AND fun. Soon we were talking about things that were unrelated to Jump, Little Children because we enjoy talking to each other and have lots of things to talk about. The experience was made even better by you, chiming in in the comments. The Bivins Brothers Show (name pending) was born. Coming soon to a Facebook & Instagram Live and YouTube Channel near you. We're working on a few ideas of what the focus of the show will be, but no matter what we feel like it's an excellent way for us to all stay in touch.

After our first performance of Sparrow at the Footlights Players Theatre last year, we did an extremely fun "Q & A" that gave you the opportunity to ask questions about the album, and about us as a band. It got Jay thinking about how fun it would be to break down the entire album, song by song. For those of you familiar with the podcast "Song Exploder", that's what we'll be going for. Jay Clifford, a remarkably entertaining podcast host, will single out accordion tracks from "White Buffalo", interview Johnny Gray about how many basses he used in the song "Voyeuropa", and learn from producer Josh Kaler how much reverb went into the harmonica in "Cyclorama". It's going to be a high-quality and very interesting dive into our new album, and how the writing/recording process really goes, for those of you that don't know!

But there's more.

We kept a secret from many of you this year, and it's time for us to fess up. On December 29th we performed a very special show at the Queen Street Theatre in Charleston where we played the entirety of The Licorice Tea Demos and Magazine, back-to-back. Yes, we played "Opium" for the first time in probably 20 years, and "Dark and Lonely Man" for the first time in a loooooooong time. We only announced this show to our Facebook Group called Opium, a 1000-strong group of folk that has been a part of the official J, LC "fan club" for a while. 200 tickets sold in about three minutes. Many people on Opium didn't get to go, and there were plenty of you out there that didn't know about the show at all. We called it "#licmag". It was f'ing magical.

The Opium Group is open to anyone. It's a private on Facebook, but any fan of the band can apply, and you should: (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1621541794731647/). In Opium you'll often get first dibs on any ticket sales, special questions from Vance the Manager about merch and the like, even more interaction with the band, etc. This year, Opiates got a chance to come to see us play very old songs that you haven't heard in years. It's a very supportive group and we appreciate it so much. 

What if there was an "Opium+"? An "Opium Pro"? "Opium XS"? An "Underground Elite"?? What if we could build a place where JLC fans that want to support the band financially, to support this community, to share information and talk about live taping and in return for their support get special tickets and original content created by the five of us?

"Underground Elite 2.0" (name pending) will be built at patreon.com. We love Patreon's very-old-school concept of having Patrons support Artists directly. Old school like "The Renaissance". It has a ton of tools that we can use to be closer to those that want to help us stay a rock band, to help us write more albums, to help us just create. I personally support a number of Patreon accounts, just a dollar or ten a month, and I love the feeling it brings to be able to allow another artist the means to continue to do more of what they're doing, to feel like I'm helping them not have to find money doing something that would in any way keep them from being great podcasters, singer-songwriters, or comic book writers. 

Patreon lets you support an artist monthly or based on what they create. Either way helps. And we're ready to exchange this patronage with content. Besides Jay's yet-unnamed-podcast, our Patreon channel will be a home for special episodes of the Bivins Brothers Broadcast (name pending). We'll share newly written demos, and songs that "didn't make the cut" to be on Sparrow. Exclusive merchandise designed by Evan and some of our favorite designers. I’d actually love to write out some more lyric prints (or phrases?) for those that would like them. Would it be fun for Ward Williams to teach guitar and cello lessons, or Jonathan Gray perform "80's Mall Organ Store" renditions of songs on my Fun Machine? You're damned right it would be fun. Official Archivist Chris Slack is willing to share never-before-released Jump shows he has on file. Remember the "secret show" I mentioned above? #licmag? Chris recorded it, and as a Patreon subscriber, you'll get to hear it, and also our night with our incredible New Oblivion Orchestra.

And we'll be talking tickets. Early-Access tickets to shows that non-subscribers know about, and probably some that they don't. Tickets, podcasts, videos, merch, and a lot more. We're still dreaming stuff up.

We've always been a band that is very open to our fans. We try to write back when you email, answer when you call. I have (very recently) stood in line with a blazing fever after a show because I genuinely wanted to talk to each and every person that came to see us play. We don't have to; there are lots of bands that don't care about that stuff. To me, it's part of it, maybe the biggest part of it. The problem is that we're not going to be touring 250 days a year like we used to, and that could seriously limit our interactions. But if we can create a place where we're sharing stuff that we create, you're helping us create stuff, we throw in a decent forum platform, and Boom. We will get even more of this lovely community and communication, is my hope. We'll just more of these moments in our PJs on the Laz-E-Boy on our computers instead of at the end of a long night at a rock and roll club. 

Last year we hit January with a very clear plan for the entire year: fund the creation of an album of new songs, write songs in 3 months, record those songs in 2 months, release said album, tour that album for about a month, end the year with an orchestra. We pulled it off and learned a lot. We learned that we like having goals and we like creating and writing songs. Evan and I like recording ourselves talking about superheroes and intense diets, and yes, Jump, Little Children. Jay loves to talk about the songs he has written. There were some growing pains, but we feel ready. We want a plan for this year, and next year, too. Part of that will include more touring, and part of that will likely include a new album down the line. Sparrow has just dropped, though, and there is a ton to still say, a ton of people that need to find us. We think that Patreon will help with that. 

Our Social Media Sensei Alison Kendrick suggests that it's time we "let our hair down". #licmag was a good start, and 200 people got to see us, Scrunchies off. (Especially Ward Williams…holy sh&t!!, right?) We want more people to come to the next party. Including you. More information coming soon.

[keeloves]

MY Top 10 Worst Male Characters

 Keep in mind this just my personal opinion! I would love to hear your thoughts but please keep them civil and respectful. Kicking off the list at number 10

10 Jake Salt (Famous in Love)

Don’t get me wrong he is super cute/hot but ugh he freaking irks me! First of all he treats girls like crap, he is emotionally needy and as Paige put “Nothing is ever his fault” He slept with Lexi to try and get his script published into a movie. He slept with her for several days and when once he realized that wasn’t happening he got pissed off blamed her and then he ghosted Lexi. Yeah, I know what an asshole. He confesses his “love” for Paige at a press conference right after Rainer had a severe melt down. Then once he gets with Paige he treats her like crap and is emotionally abusive. He doesn’t move into the house she bought, he didn’t stick up for her when she said no to shots but instead helped pressured her into doing shots of tequila and she ended up getting so drunk that she ended up missing her screen test and he didn’t defend her when she was being ripped to shreds by a producer guy. Skip to like 5:28 and watch until 7:16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYMVnvjcfpY&t=7s This video was made by my dear friend @disneyfanforever3 This clip pretty much sums up why I can’t stand Jake. I am so happy Paige called him out on his bullshit.

9. Sinbad (Sinbad from Legends of the Seven Seas) 

First of all he doesn’t deserve to have this movie named after him because he is a terrible protagonist. He speaks disrespectfully to women, and just ugh! He is okay letting his friend Proteus die for a crime he did not commit and and Sinbad would run off to Fiji fully knowing his friend Proteus that he has known since CHILDHOOD would be dead as long as he can run off to Fiji. Proteus said to Sinbad while taking his place “I know you would do the same for me” and Sinbad’s reply is “No I wouldn’t” like ugh dude you aren’t that loyal! So Marina is the real hero of the movie. In fact I go a little more into detail on why I hate Sinbad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhD6mbhLJpY&lc=z23iz1vpsv3kyla3xacdp430q55un5sqk3m3zmlonvhw03c010c

8.Oliver Queen (Arrow)

I have ranted on him several times so I will try to keep this brief! He is a womanizing manwhore. He serial cheated on his girlfriend Laurel with basically every woman including her sister Sara. He did nothing to make the situation better. This pic I used of him is him flirting with Sara at the Lance family dinner and this is the moment where I wanted to punch him in the face! Ugh god he is the worst. He cheated so much that he fathered a child. He abandon Thea after she got out of the Lazurus pit all so he could play house with Felicity and he constantly goes back and forth on his no kill rule. Oh and this Oliver is a knock off version of Bruce Wayne and he is a complete 180 of who he should be.

7. Mon El (Supergirl)

I hate Mon El so much! He lied to Kara about who he was on Daxam yes I know Kara was judgmental at first but Mon El just planned to keep her in the dark the entire time of their relationship. He owned slaves and did nothing to correct the issue he just chose to stay with Kara. He called Kara his kryptonite which is something that can kill her literally so bleh! He disrespected Kara at every moment she tried to help him. He beat up another Aileen for money and he is so selfish. In fact how here is Kara chewing out Mon El’s ass out! Its very satisfying like “Paige Townsen Nothing’s ever your fault speech to Jake.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnHZInGzQ4w

6. Moses Puloki Dance Teacher (Lilo and Stitch)

A while back I made a list of my most annoying cartoon characters and he is number one on the most annoying cartoon characters list. I put him on this list because he is an adult who lets Mrytle get away with bullying Lilo. He sees it happening before his very eyes and he does nothing to stop it and instead it always Lilo’s fault. He never asks for Lilo’s side of the story and he just assumes Lilo is at fault when she beats up Mrytle. At least that is how it feels. I have never once seen him say anything to Mrytle or her possy that follow her around. To me he is my least favorite character from Lilo and Stitch and it makes me wonder why he is a teacher in the first place.

5. Thomas Humprey aka Humps (Orange is the New Black

He is an abliest piece of shit. He caused a fight all for a stupid bet. He gas lit Suzanne Warren aka Crazy Eyes and she said repeatitly she didn’t want to fight. The other gaurds are terrible because they went along with is bullshit and because of him this Suzanne beat the hell out of this other woman who also appeared to be mentally unstable because the other woman was insulting Suzanne. Suzanne beat up this other woman so much that this girl was bleeding and her face was bruised up. Two other inmates had to get Suzanne off of this other inmate. Yet all Humps did was laugh and said “Well I just made $20 bucks” Suzanne is left to cry and feel ashamed for something he started! He is so terrible he makes Pornstache look like a saint.

4. Pablo Money (Famous in Love)

He is emotionally and phyically abusive He stole Jordan’s IPad and accused Tangey of cheating. He treats Tangey like an object to be had and he kicked the door of the room where Tangey was hiding. He is possessive,manipulative and ugh! I also put him on the list because he treats my favorite character on the show like shit.

3. Every Itteration of Harrison Wells (The Flash)

I have gone on ar ant about why I hate this character so I will kep this brief as I can. The only Wells I will put up with are The original Earth 1 Wells Eowells (Season1) and Harry Wells. This character is boring, he is played out and he is just there to take up space and be a boring whtie character that Cisco has to play glorified baby sitter too. EoWells is terrible because he killed Barry’s mom, he killed Cisco and when Cisco remembers EoWells laughs in his face. Harry is awful, he faked an illness to guilt Wally into not moving in with Jesse knowing full Well that is how Francine West (Wally and Iris’s mother) died. He chokes Cisco, he also breaks Cisco’s things and never offers to fix them and he is just an ass wipe. The rest of the Wells are annoying because we don’t need anymore Wells and Sherloque Wells has annoying accent.

2. Ezra Fitz (Pretty Little Liars)

I have also ranted on him a lot as well so bare with me. He stalked teenage girls, he got with Aria knowing full well she was going to be his student and knowing she was underage. He framed Spencer for something she didn’t do and because she was on to him. He stole her files and gave it to Aria which by the way is illegal to do. Then again what does this man care about what law he breaks he is all ready guilty of statutory rape, stalking and violating privacy. He hooked up with Alison and he should have gone to prison but instead he gets to live happily ever after with Aria. He ends up marrying Aria. Yeap that’s right folks he married the girl he groomed and stalked and manipulated. He even trapped her on a Ferris wheel. 

1. Damon Salvotore (The Vampier

Ugh just thinking about him makes nauseated. He is abusive, manipulative and he ruined hi brother’s life and stole his girl and he is part of the reason why I have a hard time getting into the show. Damon is a serial rapist and serial killer. He raped Caroline, fed off of her and terrified her. He kills people Elena cares about just because she isn’t giving him what he wants. Man if Damon wants something he better get it now or else. I bet he is terrible in bed because three girls have bragged about how good Stephan is in bed and Damon only brags about himself. I say he is terrible because if he wasn’t he wouldn’t have to compel girls to sleep with him. He killed a pregnant woman this means he also killed a baby. He has no remorse for any of these things and he just relies on Elena to change him. The only time I can deal with him is when he is around Bonnie! Ugh I hate this character! He needs to trade places with Stephan and now the fact that Delena have kids together make me want to throw up my insides because it makes my skin crawl knowing Damon would father a child. Plus I think Ian Somerholder though he seems nice is not all that great of an actor.

[zombiiesque]

New Year's Eve in St. Petersburg, FL

Happy New Year!

Originally published on 1/20/2020

Hello, all! Happy New Year to you. I hope your holidays were wonderful, and I wish you lots of light and a prosperous year to come. I had hoped to get my Nocturne Alchemy Holiday order reviews up in December, but I got so busy after Thanksgiving that it didn't happen, and I am sorry for that. I rarely make resolutions, but I do try to set goals for myself, and this year I want to be more organized about writing, including here at Zombiiesque. (Plus, I am overdue for a little redesign for both sites, so that's another goal!) I am going to get my second post in the seasonal series up this month, NA for winter.

But I'd like to talk about some of my favorite perfumes from Nocturne Alchemy for 2019, a look back. It was a stellar year of releases, including some PC (Permanent Collection) releases, and a good bit of additions to the SL (Studio Limited) section, which has always been one of my favorite sections of their catalogue! I will also be including perfumes that I had rediscovered in 2019 after socking them away to age, as there were many that really delighted after some time to sit.

I'll start out though, with the seasonal offerings that I loved. The year for NA started after a little break, as it will this year, with the Valentine, and Valentine Resurgence, LCs (Limited Collections). By the way, you can find the entirety of the LC releases and the notes over at the Nocturne Alchemy LC Archives, if you ever need them! From the Resurgence, I have and love Vanilla Wedding Cake - I usually shy away from the more gourmand perfumes, but I find myself opening up to those more and more, because NA is really wooing me with what are, for me, very wearable gourmands - and if you've been reading Zombiiesque for any length of time, it's obvious my wheelhouse are the woods/resins/incense/musks. This year they came out with two new things that I found extremely intriguing, the NA Bunnies, and the Candied series. I actually did some swapping to get my Valentine perfumes, which is always fun, and wound up with Speckle Bunny, Star Bunny, and Midnite Bunny. I originally got a sample of Midnite Bunny, and didn't know if I was going to care for it, as sometimes spices can go seriously awry on me, but wow, it knocked me off my feet. It's SEXY. I love all three Bunnies that I got, but Midnite Bunny was the surprise hit for me. And I wound up with a full sized Candied Egyptian Musk, and a sample of Candied Crimson - and those are both glorious! I think I would probably love the frankincense, myrrh, and sandalwood variations, too, but those two musks are just beautiful. This collection also saw the Bastet’s Ice Cream bois d’epices et de crème, which was new. I received a sample of the Teak & Sandalwood, and I thought it might be something that would smell great on a man. So I made my fiance experiment with it - and W O W. Also wound up going back and buying a full sized bottle for him because it was just jaw dropping - if you have the opportunity to try this out (on your guy, or yourself if you are a guy reading this) I highly recommend it. It works on me too, but it is just perfection on him.

Sadly, I missed out on both of the Spring LCs, but I was wearing a lot of the Art of Love/Art of Literature , and falling for them all over again. Those were huge collections, and an absolute treasure trove of wonderful scents - Enigma, Overseer, Pandora, Music, Ophelia, Holy Grail....the list goes on and on. I also wore the Bunnies and Candied Crimson/Candied Egyptian Musk long into spring, as well as some of my beloved PCs.

July brought the Summer LC collections, and Oh. My. Gods, the beginning of the Eternal Egypt Anniversary collection. As Eternal Egypt is one of my desert island scents, I was....a little obsessed. I have three of the first round, EE Vanille, Santal, and Ambre, and adore all three, huge favorites this year. Still wearing them well into winter. They also did the Eternal Summer subcollection, and my other favorite was absolutely Eternal Egypt Summer and I wore it so, so much. Sublime. Really a stunner of a chypre! I also have really loved so much of the Summer Teas and Tea Service, and have written about so many of them. They are constantly in rotation in the summer for me, especially, of course, my beloved Green Tea Crimson, and this summer was no exception, as it's also one of my fiance's favorites. But they also came out with some new offerings and of those I got Chamomile, Vanilla, & Spice Tea, which sounded very intriguing - and Agave Nectar from the Tea Service. Highly recommend them both, and they pair absolutely perfectly together! I also had missed Apricot Sugar the year before, and my best friend, who is also my skin twin, loved that one so much, I made sure to pick it up from the Resurgence. Whew, am I glad I did - I love it with literally everything I have tried. It's extremely versatile, and so beautiful.

September, Bastet's Bazaar came rolling in - and I was swept off my feet by her ChakRA collection. Oh, if I had only been able to get the whole thing! I would have loved to do it. I managed to get three of these - Ajna, the dark blue one, Svadhishthana, the orange, and Muladhara, the red. Truly all three ChakRAs I have are fantastic, absolute perfection. Wonderful for meditation. And they continued the Eternal Egypt Anniversary celebration with Bastet's Bazaar, so I grabbed Eternal Egypt Incense - and I. Freaking. Love. IT! Might...just might...be my favorite of all of them. But it's hard to choose.

Okay, with that we are falling headlong into my favorite collection of the year, NAlloween. Pfffft no self restraint, and I loved everything I grabbed. I rediscovered V by Thoth, and it had aged into something so, so swoonworthy. And my bottle of The Mummy Returns - it, too, had changed so much. I loved it fresh, but aged? I was completely obsessed and wore it so much this fall. I was able to grab Pirate Rum for my fiance, as his absolute favorite scent by NA is Ghost Ship, and they have a similar vibe, although they're different. Can absolutely report that Pirate Rum is fantastic on him, also. Scarlet Bat from last year also got a lot of love, and as a matter of fact I just wore it again for the end of the year. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention Seth's Sleepyceratops, I wore this all year this year, and it is a wonderful sleep scent. But I haven't even touched on the new Halloween release, and....I just went for it. I got Blood, Blackout, Blood Queen, Moonsand, Mummy's Spirit, and Skeletonic....all were huge wins for me. And of course, the fan favorite this year was Vampire Bourbon Patchouli Bat - whew. It was a DO NOT MISS. Absolute perfection, and very worthy of being a fan favorite! The sample they gave out this year was for the PC offering, they do a new Halloween scent every year, and Halloween 2020 is just not to be missed. Seriously, what stellar fall offering. I loved every single one of my choices!

The Holiday collection is probably my second favorite of the year. Last year, they came out with the two Copals - Vanilla and Sandalwood - and they were instant fan favorites. I knew I was going to love them both, so I did grab them last year, but I was not prepared for how much MORE beautiful they had become with age! Unfh. So those both got a lot of wear starting in November for me, and I wore Sandalwood Copal for New Year's Day, too. From the Resurgence collection, though, I really fell for Holiday Rex this year, hatching it with several vanillas and finding it was perfect every time. Vampire Cardamom Bat was a surprise hit for me last year, and I found myself reaching for it so many times this year. It's such a snuggly scent. I have to tell y'all, I missed out on Cherry Bourbon Vanille last year, and I regretted not grabbing it, so I definitely went back for it, and it became a surprise favorite this year. I love that tobacco note! It's so beautiful. That brings me into the new Holiday LC release, and ... wow, there was so much that sounded like perfection, so I kinda threw myself headfirst into it and did not have a single miss. I picked up, and love, Crystalline Chai, Vanilla Dreams, Private Universe, and Royal Elephant. Vanilla Dreams is an amazing, cozy, sleep scent. Crystalline Chai feels like snuggling in a comfy chair with a throw blanket, with snow falling outside. Yep, it really gave me quite a visual response! And of course, the last two Eternal Egypt Anniversaries came out - EE Frankincense, and EE Myrrh. Had to get them both, and I am so glad I did - they are lovely worn on opposite wrists, and lovely layered together.

Okay. Whew! That's just the LCs, y'all. And I .... I love them all. So maybe I will break this into a second part, to talk about my PC loves from 2019 tomorrow. I'd hate to overwhelm y'all!

[northwest-cryptid]

You're absolutely on the right track.

LC spoilers here and I'll tag it but

Garion literally means Guard as far as German names go and wouldn't you know it Germans love tea, there's also a stereotype that Germans are good fighters who will absolute fist fight their way out of a problem, a trait we see in both Lisa and Garion which mind you are both German names. I have noticed that ProjectMoon won't shy away from little stereotypes like that without ever letting them outright consume a character's personality.

Likewise Giovanni is literally one of the most popular Italian names and believe it or not Daniel is also Italian, the Italians love their coffee so much it's sometimes called the European home of coffee. Notice as well that he wears clothing extremely close to old fashioned suit and fedora dress that became popular from Italy.

Not gonna lie I have way more evidence for some characters than others but it's one of those things I was thinking about because someone had pointed out on Tumblr a while back (I'm desperately trying to remember the post) that these characters likely didn't actually have their colored hair and such when they were still human. After all we know that we see them via the filter which would suggest we see them as we either wish to or how we remember them but not actually how they were. I say how we remember them because we do see them with the same colors in the flashbacks, it made me wonder about who these characters were and where they might have come from.

I am sadly on mobile right now desperately trying to sleep so I can get to by opening shift in like... 5 hours but you best bet I'm absolutely typing up proper explanation with images and the like once I get on my computer again. Because this is a theory I hardly ever get to talk about but it's one of my favorites.

You know I don't have enough time to really get into it this second but I wholeheartedly believe that Chesed and Netzach are Italian, Three Tiphs are German (A) and Welsh (B) with Binah also being German. As far as I'm currently aware Ayin might be one of the few actually Korean characters in LC. I say I don't have time to get into it because I actually do have a lot of evidence to back up what I'm saying ranging from their names and meanings, to their love of tea and coffee respectfully, to even aspects of what we're seeing in Limbus Company. You can absolutely expect a proper deep dive on this theory that will further look into things like genetics and actually explain what I'm saying with all of this but this is possibly one of the few things I can never seem to talk about with ProjectMoon fans without them dismissing it entirely under the idea that "ProjectMoon is a Korean company making Korean games, what do you mean they're not Korean characters?" But like really I have my reasons and I'm absolutely willing to explain when it's not 3 AM. But also I'm making this post now to actually hold myself accountable to actually do it lol.