#said sorry if i'm not as clear in communication as articles!

[loverboyfae]

wrote an email for work. feeling: scared

[emeryhiro]

Hello!

I am new here and is feeling very overwhelmed right now with that is happening in the caryl fandom. I appreciate your insight into these characters. I am someone who has not seen Daryl Dixon season 1 and is seriously considering if I should even watch it with all that is being said about s2.

Reading all the early reviews that has dropped - I get a lot of mixed reactions to Isabelle's character. Some ppl say she was the best part about season 1 while others don't even mention here in their reviews. The caryl fandom is largely, understandably, biased against her.

I do not know anything about Isabelle and was wondering what your thoughts about her are - how she holds up as a character?

Hi Anon!!

Thank you for your question. I'm really glad you asked this question, and thank you for the kind words🥰 I'm going to do my best to properly answer and share my thoughts on all the points you've mentioned.

Firstly, welcome to the fandom!! 💖 I'm sorry you've joined at a time of so much uncertainty, but I promise that at its core, this community is a beautiful place to be. But like all communities, there is always positivity and negativity, and it's important to be careful with what's surrounding you, ensuring it's a healthy balance that works for you.

I've divided my response into several sections, as I find that to be the best way to convey my thoughts. I also wanted to be as clear as possible since this is a sensitive topic for some, and I want to try to alleviate at least some of the worries.

A mild spoiler warning for a mention of something that happens in episode 1 of season 2.

Reviews on Season 2:

I wasn't planning on reading any of the reviews for season 2, but since you asked for my thoughts, I read all the articles that I could find so that I could give you an informed response. And one thing I advise is to always take reviews with a grain of salt (this includes my thoughts as well) because, ultimately, they're all based on the writers' opinions.

What I've found with all previous seasons of TWD, especially season 1 of Daryl Dixon, was that no single review I read aligned perfectly with what I thought of the show once I watched it myself. And I know I'll say the same about season 2.

Regarding what I read in the season 2 reviews, I don't think I've actually read a single concerning line in any of the ones I've come across, and I'm pretty sure I've read every single one that has been released. There are, however, a lot of people who, out of fear or concern, focus on single lines from a review that may sound negative or worrisome when taken out of context, and ignore everything else in the review that's purely positive.

I can see many people have shared their specific thoughts on different segments of several reviews, but I won't go into my thoughts here for the sake of keeping this response reasonable short. If you're interested in a detailed post about my thoughts on the reviews in general or any in particular, let me know, and I'll share it as soon as I get a chance.

My thoughts on Isabelle:

I found Isabelle to be a fascinating character with many layers. She is unquestionably flawed and has a great mix of both positive and negative characteristics, which I think is what gives her character so much potential. She's intelligent, driven, brave, headstrong, and very protective, but she's also undeniably manipulative, which makes sense when you think of it as a self-defence mechanism that she developed during her rocky life before the apocalypse. I'm also a fan of Clémence as an actress, and I think she's a great fit for this character.

This next bit might sound a bit contrevoursial but bare with me. I've seen Isabelle get a lot of hate for being manipulative towards Daryl, even I personally hated seeing Daryl be treated that way, but it's important to remember that we've also seen Carol behave manipulatively when she's had to in the past in order to protect the people that she loves. This is something you'll see Carol do once again in episode 1 of TBOC, and when I watched it, it made me uncomfortable, but ultimetly, I could see that it made Carol uncomfortable as well; she doesn't feel any satisfaction out of what she does and is willing to carry the weight of that lie and guilt to achieve her ultimate goal of saving Daryl, the person she loves.

Even though, on the surface, it's not an admirable thing to do, we appreciate Carol so much more because of the lengths she's willing to go to for the ones she loves, and we've also seen her journey to this point, which naturally makes us love her and empathise with her.

So my point here is that I can't judge Isabelle for the same behaviour I admire in my favourite character. Just like Carol may act that way to protect Daryl (her loved one), Isabelle was doing it because she believed (to the best of her knowledge) that it was what was best for Laurent (her loved one).

However, what doesn't sit right with me about Isabelle's character is that what the showrunners and writers have been saying about her doesn't align with what I've seen on screen (this is a great example of why I try to avoid looking at unnecessary publicity). I want to love her character for who she is, flaws and all, but the inconsistency in her publicity makes me feel like there's some discrepancy behind the scenes, and that has stopped me from investing in her character and gives me slight concern for the trajectory of her arc, which has so much potential that would be incredibly tragic if wasted.

The only other thing that I would disagree with (IF the show ends up going down that path) is the negative messaging that would be given out about nuns if every surviving nun on the show is portrayed as willing to forget her vows the minute there's a man in front of them that they find interesting. I'm not catholic, but I think that it would be incredibly disrespectful towards actual nuns and the sacrifices that they make for their faith. But please don't take this as fact because I don't think this will actually ever happen. I honestly don't believe that AMC or anyone involved with the show would knowingly do something like that. I'd be happy to explain this a little further, but I don't think it's relevant if you haven't seen the first seasons.

Watching TWD: Daryl Dixon S1 & 2

My question to you would be, what draws you to TWD/TBOC? Is it Caryl itself and potential canon? And if so, do you feel that you'd be left disappointed and/or unsatisfied with the potential lack of romance between the characters in season 2? Or, do you enjoy the show for a combination of things, like the character development, world-building, cinematography, etc.?

I want to emphasise that there is no wrong answer to the above. Everyone is unique, and it's 1000% understandable and fair for each person to have unique reasons for being drawn to and loving, hating, or even being indifferent about a show.

I personally fall in the latter category; I love TWD for its rich story, action sequences, cinematography, multitude of interesting characters, and the mind-blowing ways in which they have developed over the years (the whole package of the show is exactly my cup of tea), and of course, it's no secret if anyone looks at my blog that my favourite character (BY FAR) are Carol and Daryl. I absolutely adore them for everything they are, both as individuals and what they bring out in each other and mean to each other. And if Caryl is ever canon (which I expect would happen in season 3), then that would be the cherry on top of a show I already love.

My very short review of season 1 would be that I really enjoyed it and would rank it at the top between all the other spinoff seasons we've gotten so far. However, in all honesty, I still felt and noticed the hole that was left behind in the story with the absence of Carol, but knowing that she will be returning in season 2 kind of made up for that lack in season 1. All up, I really enjoyed season 1 and have watched it several times in the last year. I'm actually currently in the middle of watching it again in preparation for season 2.

My recommendations:

If you personally fall into the former category and, as mentioned above, feel that you'd be left disappointed and/or unsatisfied with the potential lack of romance between the characters in season 2, then perhaps it's better to wait till all the episodes are released to then decide if it's something that you'd like to watch.

If you're willing to accept and are okay with the potential lack of romance between Caryl in season 2 but are concerned about and would rather not watch any potential romantic relationship develop between Daryl and Isabelle, then I'd say that you should watch the season as it releases because I honestly don't believe that something like that is a real possibility. At most, there may be hints towards one-sided feelings from Isabelle's side and maybe some confusion from Daryl's side, but untimely, it would not mean or go anywhere. I'm personally not even bothered with this worst-case scenario because it doesn't matter how many people have feelings for Daryl or how confused Daryl is because I know that once he's reunited with Carol, there won't be any more uncertainty about where his heart and loyalties truly lie. There's honestly not a single ounce of me that's concerned about this.

If you're more like me and enjoy the show as a whole, even though you may be slightly disappointed with a few accepts, then I'd highly recommend that you watch season 1 before the release of season 2 (if you have the time), because it genuinely was a good season and will give you a lot of backstory and context that would make season 2 feel so much more enjoyable and immersive.

~~~~

Thanks again for your questions!! I hope this all makes sense and that it answers your questions. As I mentioned earlier, if you'd like me to expand on my thoughts on anything in particular, please let me know, and I'd be happy to do so.

My last bit of advice is this: I know it's easier said than done, but I urge you, especially as someone who's new to the fandom, to not allow a lot of different voices and opinions to shape how you naturally feel or invalidate what you take away from watching the show (not that I think that's what you're doing but this is the general advice I wanted to give just in case🩵). It's really easy for anyone to be influenced by negativity and positivity when they find that that's all they can see from the people around them.

I personally try to focus on what I see on screen and what I hear directly from Norman and Melissa because, at the end of the day, showrunners and writers come and go, but Norman and Melissa have embodied these characters from day one and understand them more than anyone else ever could.

♡♡♡

[s12-kittie]

Imprisoned feelings: the fullest analysis of the Trix I ever wrote

For the sake of writing normal fanfiction, I've given the Trix a lot of thought and now I'm preseting you my thoughts about why they're... the Trix. I'll try to observe only the facts given in the series (I'm not taking the facts from the comics, bc firstly, I didn't read all the comics and secondly, some info in the comics is right the opposite from the info in the series and movies) and not my headcannons, but it's going to be really hard XD

Actually, I think that the Trix are kind of a phenomenon among other witches. Griffin once mentioned that witches don't work in groups and here we have... witches working in the group, which acually rarely splits up. But I don't think it's because they experience some sisterly (or any other kind of) love, bc they are way too selfish for that and when the situation gets dangerous, none of them would risk her life to save the other. (Okay, Darcy and/or Stormy might do that for Icy, but I'll explain that possibility later.)

Yet they think about each other. In season 5, Darcy and Stormy left Icy, putting their comfort in the first place, but before that they kept trying to make her change her mind (stuff about Icy and Tritannus is in my other article) and came back for their sister in the very end. In season 3, Valtor (as I believe) tried to break the Trix up, but in the end they were still working together as a group. So, the Trix are mentally attached to each other, though they care more about themselves (or about Psychofish (sorry)).

To me, that attachment means two things. Firstly, they've spent a lot of time together, bc I believe that such a firm bond simply can't be formed during the 2.5 years they've been studying at Cloud Tower. And sevondly, they didn't have a loving family/families, which could show them a good example of how people should communicate. That moves us to the next conclusion.

Although all three of the Trix are different, they have something in common. They all are sadistic and very naive. I think that it all comes from their childhood. As I said, no-one of their family members/caretakers actually loved them. Also, I think people who raised the Trix, prepared them for what they've accomplished, I mean stealing the Dragon Flame and ruling the world. In season 1, when Icy was explaining it all to Bloom, I had a clear impression that she was repeating the words the had been told. So, yeah, I think the Trix were constantly told about their future mission, smth like "you're the future and the only hope of this world/our ultra evil community/etc", apply puberty to that stuff and you'll get the "we are the baddest people here" POV, bc for real, these three didn't even take headmasters of the schools seriously, which, btw, were powerful and experienced sorcerers, who fought Valtor, Darkar and other ☆amazing☆ people. So, the piont is, the Trix were made naive and cruel. Aaaaand here we move to the "imprisoned feelings" thingy.

(Another fact that confirmed they were raised to carry out the mission of world domination: they are used to be the right-hand. They easily team up with Darkar, Valtor, Tritannus, Serina (okay, in the last case, Serina was the right-hand, but they still worked with her instead of taking her book for themselves, which, btw, I can't explain). So, it may be possible that since the very beginning of the story, they tried to fulfill the task they were given by their parents/caretakers)

So, the Trix were raised as the killing machines. I believe that it also ment they should've been heartless. But they're still human beings, who do have some feelings inside them. So, what do they do? Right, they suppress these feelings.

Remember how quick were Icy and Stormy to laugh at Darcy bc of her feelings for Riven (season 1)? Or the reaction of Icy and Darcy when Stormy mentioned them as her 'friends'(season 3)? I think it all happened because they were taught that positive feelings are ridiculous and make one weak. And that's why they never tried to show it.

Cloud Tower made things even worse. This is where we should thank Griffin (no), who always mentioned aloud about her how much she dislikes "those fairies who always care about the others." (Not a quote, but she could've said smth like that.) So, the Trix get a clear pic: on one side, there are fairies, disgustingly-glittery creatures who are always caring cheerful and therefore weak. On the other side, there are cruel, heartless and cool witches, who will win this rivalry in the end, bc they're not afraid to play dirty (why are they nit afraid?? BC WITCHES DON'T KNOW WHAT FEAR IS- oh sorry, I got a little too carried away XD)

There also might be one more aspect. Icy, who is obviously the leader type, seeing the relationship between them and their parents/caretakers, began to treat her sisters the same way, so Darcy and Stormy were really afraid of her, even though the three of them might've had equal powers. And because of this fear, they would do anything for her. That's why sometimes they risked their lives for Icy (the end of season 5 and the end of season 8).

I wanted to write about each of the Trix here as well, but this shit is already way too long, so another time :)

P. S.: sorry if there're any mistakes, I'm done checking this

[magefeathers]

In honor of TMBTE’s first birthday I’ve decided to finally unleash my dissertation on my unusual interpretation(s) of Sleep! I’ve only ever seen one person who had a similar outlook to me, and they said they received some Negative Feedback on their views, so uh, don’t shoot me?

My favorite thing about this band's fandom is exploration of the lore, how open to interpretation everything is, and how welcome we are to find our own stories within the source material. I love reading how other people interpret certain songs, or the overarching story, differently from each other based on their own outlooks and experiences. That's what I think the point is. So I want to be clear that I'm not trying to say I'm right, I'm not trying to say anyone else is wrong, I'm just expressing my own opinion.

Grab a drink, it's a long one. I won't give a TL;DR because I don't want people to reactively shoot down my theory without reading my reasoning, but I will say it deviates from the more standard interpretations in two ways:

I don't believe Sleep is meant to be an actual deity, I think it's meant to be more allegorical, a metaphor for something real.

I don't think the music, or the story being told, is about Sleep.

I'm sorry if I've already lost you with the first point. I'm sorry if I seem like a party pooper. I love the aesthetic and the worldbuilding and the symbolism, and I love the creativity of the fans who build out the story on the premise of Vessel actually communing with and having some manner of relationship with this great, unknowable, ancient deity. The issue for me is that I can only read that story if I already have that story in my mind, if that makes sense. Sure, I can make the songs fit that narrative, but I never would have arrived at that narrative on my own, without first reading that the band was made to worship this deity. And in my mind, if I couldn't arrive at that conclusion naturally, without being led there, then it probably wasn't the conclusion I was meant to arrive at.

For a while, I could vibe with the idea that Sleep was supposed to be a metaphor for a lover, either present or former, and a toxic relationship he was struggling or had struggled with. But as I delved deeper into their catalogue I very much lost the impression that all of these songs were about one singular person, or even that all of the songs were about romantic relationships in general. And as I got more into the fandom and found out that there was more official dialogue from the band than just the "One Single Interview" everyone talked about, I realized that trying to fit the songs to all be about one person or thing would never work, because the songs weren't about Sleep, there were merely gifts to Sleep.

Now, I could have sworn that when I first got into the band’s lore I read on their official website that their songs are offerings to Sleep - not about Sleep, the way everyone seems to interpret them. That no longer appears to be the case. I have this screenshot that I took of part of what I remember reading, but I distinctly recall there being another paragraph or two in addition to what I cropped, and unfortunately my PC doesn’t show me the link the screenshot was taken on, like my phone would. And in re-reading the text in the screenshot, it does seem to be speaking about Sleep Token as a separate entity so I may be entirely misremembering how official of a source it was ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Regardless, I’ve seen multiple articles that word it in this manner, that the songs are for Sleep rather than about Sleep, and nowhere in the official sources I’ve found is it said that the songs are about Sleep, so I’m going to assume I’m right and continue under the assumption I’ve worked under all along: that the songs are not, in fact, about Sleep.

They are, however, for Sleep. This has never been debated. The songs are tokens, or offerings, to Sleep.

So, let me share with you the official communications that developed my theory. In addition to what I've commonly seen referred to as their "only interview" before II's drumeo video, I've found (poor quality) scans of two magazine spreads, one from Kerrang! and another I'm unsure of the source of, both featuring Jaws. I read most of these after having watched videos of rituals and reading transcripts of the conversation between Vessel and, presumably, his mask, that took place on last year's tour, as well as the monologue from The Room Below. I started to notice a common theme between that more recent conversation and these much earlier interviews, that for some reason surprised me: Vessel had wanted the fans to project onto the music all along.

Noteworthy quotes from the linked sources, in roughly chronological order:

“Our verses are a token, crafted to magnify and embody the multitude of emotion that writhes in our subconscious. Sonically our voice is rooted in the resonation between the notes and your emotion.”

“As musicians we are inspired by the human condition [...]. As followers we are bound by a duty to combine our crafts to create music that conveys some of our most primal, and powerful emotions.”

“We are here to deliver a message; touch people in their hearts and subconscious minds.”

“There exists a considerable body of art that explores the deeper recesses of the human mind. Sleep Token serve as a means to explore this on an individual basis. The music is a representation of one individual’s deepest and most fundamental emotions and desires. This is what people connect to. They see themselves in this individual, and the music becomes about them.”

“The aim is to provide something people can engage with without being obstructed by the identity of its creator.”

“The ultimate goal is to engender a constructive emotional process within as many people as possible. Simply the basic concept of understanding oneself better, understanding others better as a result.”

“Sleep Token draw from the most profound experiences we have in life and, most crucially, where they intersect. [...] To see this within yourself, and then to see it reflected in others - this is the essence of worship.”

“We all desire to see the darkest, most profound aspects of ourselves reflected in the expressions of others. [...] We’re here to provide this expression, so it may serve as a device with which people might understand themselves better.”

"We are here to silently collect. To project ourselves onto one-another."

"Perhaps that is another reason why we are here. At the very least, we have all suffered."

"I think they just want to know that I am feeling something, feeling what they are feeling, perhaps."

"In order for all of this to work there has to be a certain boundary in place. They need to be able to project themselves onto this without anyone else's identity getting in the way. In turn, I need to be able to show my true self to them in a way that does not compromise their ability to connect."

"They, too, are pained. They, too, do not know who they truly are. They are each stood alone on a stage of their own. And yet, they are here. United by that sense of never truly belonging. They see something beyond their own bleak horizons, and they reach for it. Together. So let us join now, to reflect their joy and to serve as a conduit for their anguish. To swallow their fear."

And finally, from the Fall For Me music video: "So for now let me serve as a living drama of your pain. If we are to be submerged let us be submerged together."

When I place them right next to each other, it's probably easier to see the common theme that I caught onto. I cycled through a few ideas - including Vessel himself being Sleep, or Sleep representing music and the connection it can foster between people - but I kept coming back to the way Vessel has repeatedly talked about fans projecting onto the music, examining themselves through it, understanding themselves through it. Projecting ourselves onto him, seeing ourselves in him, trying to understand ourselves through our interpretations of his story.

He's a Vessel for us. The songs are tokens, offerings, to us. We, the fans, are Sleep. The songs are gifts for us to examine ourselves through, to help us delve into our own experiences and emotional responses and understand ourselves - and, in turn, understand each other. It isn't Vessel that we are worshipping, it's ourselves and each other that we see in Vessel. I could even get really sentimental and cheesy if I wanted and say that Vessel directly worships us as well, albeit wordlessly, with his deep bows and falling to his knees in appreciation of his audience.

And just to reiterate, I don't think the songs are about Sleep. Although I think an argument could possibly be made about the toxic relationship between Vessel and Sleep being a metaphor for the parasocial relationship between an entertainer and their audience, I... won't get into that. Today, at least. Although I think it's a really interesting take that deserves exploration, I don't genuinely think any of the songs are directed toward or written about the fans/audience. I just think he's sharing the story of his life with us and allowing us to project our own lives upon it, to remind us that none of us are alone in this world. None of us are alone in our feelings, or in our experiences, no matter how isolated we may feel in them.

[EDIT: After making this post I found yet another magazine interview, in which Vessel kind of.... confirms this whole theory?

"He is everyone. He is you. There is a power in music that binds us all, every note relates to another."

The power of music uniting people and allowing us to see ourselves in each other and connect through that was exactly what I had in mind when I formed this theory, so it's kind of validating that I'm interpreting things correctly to see it put so bluntly lol]

If you made it to the end of this, thank you for hearing me out! \owo/ I had been wanting to make a post about this for a while as it seemed a very clear-cut take to me that I didn't think would be controversial. Speaking with the person I mentioned at the beginning who had a similar theory kind of scared me off it, since they said they received some outright hate for it, but talking to them also really got me excited to dig into my theory and provide my sources and show everyone the breadcrumb trail of how I arrived at this conclusion. So I hope at least a couple people enjoyed it!

If this is received well maybe I'll be brave enough to actually post about some of my song interpretations ^^; As I said, I don't think they're all about any one thing. My favorite quote from the ones listed above is this one: "Sleep Token draw from the most profound experiences we have in life and, most crucially, where they intersect." The intersectionality of it all is what's most interesting to me, so that quote was a little bit vindicating to read, lol. It's not all about romantic relationships, to me. It's about how every experience we go through in life, how we feel about them, how we react to them - all of those experiences overlap and intersect and color each other. It's about how everything you've ever been through will affect everything else you ever go through. But now I am genuinely rambling ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Thank you again for reading, and feel free to slide into my DMs to talk about this god-given band whensoever you wish.

[tia-amorosa]

Sunset Died - Bunch Family

Connections (Part 2)

After Lisa had prepared dinner, they sat down at the table together. “You look exhausted, mom"/ ‘I am too, Ethan, really’. Ethan was really worried about his mother. After the disaster, she was the first to offer her help to the others. She hadn't been able to sit still since. “Why don't you just take a break for a few days. Mrs. Andrews often asks if you need help. And Officer Keaton from next door, too.”

“Justine… I don't trust that woman at the moment. But that shouldn't be your worry. Who will be teaching you all from Monday?"/ ”Peter's father. We're really glad it's not Landgraab, he always looks so stern.” Judy couldn't help but grin a little nastily. “He's good at that. Is it true that the Landgraabs have moved out? Someone said to me the other day that they were walking around with Malcolm and a lot of luggage.”

“Yeah, I heard it from Holly. And they must have moved into the house you just decorated the other day…”. Judy was about to put her fork in her mouth, but she paused. “I went to all this trouble for these people of all people? Pff… And did she say why they moved out? I thought Nancy and Vita were best friends now?"/ ‘No, she didn't…’. Judy was naturally curious and wondered what must have happened there that the Landgraabs had decided to take such a step.

After the meal, Lisa helped clear the dishes. “So, who gets to work on the laptop first, Dad?"/ ”Me. I have to write an important email today and I don't know how long it will be yet. Maybe I'll be lucky and I'll get a quick reply"/ ”So you'll be on the laptop for the whole hour? Great…"/ ‘You can use your phone, be glad you're one of the few who still has it’/ ”I get it. I'll be in my room then”.

After his return, Cyclone mainly took care of the Internet reception. But not the restoration of the telephone network. That was something he was less familiar with. But he knew how to use a computer to bypass some barriers and close minor security gaps. So for now, everyone had to make do with just being able to send each other emails. “My mother saw the pictures, it was so embarrassing.”

Of course, it is also an incredible waste of text space and time if you only ever send each other small messages. But that didn't matter to the young people, the main thing was that they could communicate with each other at all, even if they weren't in the same room together. “Crap! Which ones?"/ ‘Luckily only this ones where I was covered’/ ”Yes, lucky! Hehe, imagine if she had seen the other pics too…”

“We'd better be careful with things like that, VJ. I don't want something like that to end up on the net either. You'd never post something like that, would you?“/”Me? Nonsense, don't worry about it, I'm not that kind of person. I'll probably go hunting again tomorrow. I'm starting to like it“/”you kill animals, I don't think that's so great“/”so that you and your family and everyone else here have something to eat, don't forget that!”.

“OK, OK, you don't have to hit on me like that” / ”Sorry, sweetie. But I'm really only doing this so that we can all survive here somehow. Man, why are they saying all this garbage out there about us all died here?"/ ‘I don't know, VJ’.

“Something is going wrong here. Maybe someone out there should finally be contacted to send us help. Didn't you used to have so many chat friends?"/ ‘Yes, yes…’/ ‘And do you have the e-mail address of any of them?’/ ”I don't know, I can check tomorrow. I want to sleep now, VJ, I'll see you tomorrow. Good night xx.”

You're probably asking yourself: why didn't they contact someone out there a long time ago, now that the Internet is available to a limited extent again? Well, perhaps they were unsure? After all, there were many stories and articles on the internet suggesting that everyone was dead. Would they then believe someone who sent you a message from here? “There she is, I don't believe it!”.

But what's the best way to start an email to someone with whom you had quite a few arguments back then? In the military, the tone was harsh. There was discipline and everyone had to listen to their superiors, even on missions. And even if the last encounter wasn't a pleasant one, Jack didn't want to leave it untried.

Jack looked at the watch and realized that he was spending more time trying to work everything out in his head instead of just typing away. Once he had banished the drafts from his head, he started typing. “I see you've been promoted, congratulations Miss Kennedy. A bad start to begin an email, but please read this carefully.”

Jack wrote everything that happened in the destroyed city after the disaster, who survived and how they had managed here without help so far. And that apparently no one had ever thought to come and check on things. He wrote everything carefully. For example, that he hoped he could write this message to her in confidence. But above all, he made it clear right away who he was, with some details that only she could know. “Perhaps you know something, Miss Kennedy, or can tell me something. So please… Get back to me when you receive this. I know we haven't always seen eye to eye…”.

“…But we should put the last bad encounters behind us and trust each other again instead. I think that's probably the most important thing at this time. Yours sincerely, Jack Bunch”. After he had sent the e-mail, there were only two minutes left in which he could have done something. But he let the time pass until the Internet fell silent again. Then he stared at the screen of the switched-off laptop for a moment. “I hope that was the right decision”.

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@greenplumbboblover ☺

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Sorry pls ignore my last ask BPP. Your point about Seven being the 'Dynamite' equivalent in solo era is a good one and explains the treatment it got. After the BB article I also now understand why BH dropped LC. If BB believed the LC record was 'tainted' with Chinese cash and BH never had that 'Dynamite' promotion plan for it, everything that's happened makes sense. But it still leaves a nasty taste in my mouth. I can't wash it out. Are we now at the mercy of BB's whims? Also don't you find the support for Seven excessive? Is the elimination of direct to consumer sales enough to explain that kind of support to keep it number 1? I'm just trying to understand how the company is thinking about things without victimizing the members. They all seem to be still working with purpose so I feel they don't feel shortchanged, but from the outside looking inside it doesn't feel fair.

*

Ask 2:

Hi BPP,

Re: bb article

1. Do you think there will be additional changes coming, making sales even less relevant for bb charts?

2. I absolutely hate that it is again Jimin that takes the brunt of all this bulshit, I really do. He doesnt deserve this at all. But he is strong, he will be OK. That being said, its making me really upset IRL, so I will have to do some me time.

3. I would be interested to know your outlook on BB as a whole when it comes to BTS and their future in US market (if you have talked about this pls refer me to the post)

My opinion is, that while BB is paramount when it comes to big awards season, eventually BB and the awards themselves serve as a kind of promotion, to validate the artist to their (potential) fanbase, keep them invested etc. BTS guys do all of that on their own, with their music, personalities and lyrics. So going forward, if they dont chart as much, dont win as much... It will not matter in the long run. Their fan base is so solid that I trully believe they will have no problem selling multiple stadium stops 25 years from now. Easily.

There will be a significant fandom fall off, when all the people who are here for bragging rights lose their interest. And that is a good thing... But the people who will stay, who love the guys for who they are and for their art, those whose love does not depend on how many grammy noms or BB H100 they recieve... These people will stay and buy the tickets. And their numbers will still be enourmous. Enviable. More than the majority of the western industry plants can only dream of.

Rant over. Have a good weekend

*

Ask 3:

The latest Billboard discussion is disheartening, but the NYT article description of U.S. conservatives aping the tactics of Swifties and BTS fans to get their nefarious messaging across is even more so. Have we opened the gate for the Trumpsters of the world?

I was struck by this partvof the original question to you"

'... figure out a way to truly determine which songs are most popular (whatever that even means anymore)....'

So, how can we ever know what is truly popular? Are fervent fans willing to devote time and resources to get their fave to the top really the best arbiters? Even if they number in the millions, we are still looking at support that is far deeper than it is wide.

I mean, better than the suits deciding, I guess? Or is it just another group--this one outside of the target country--imposing their agenda on the population? One has the goal of making money; the other of winning a fan war.

So, how do we ascertain what is truly popular with the much-vaunted GP? Or doesn't it matter?

***

I've said many times on this blog that I'm not a writer, and that English isn't my first language, so I suppose it's unsurprising that despite my efforts putting my thoughts to paper/Tumblr, I'm still unable to fully communicate it in a way people understand right away, to eliminate/answer a lot of questions that I believe should be clear to infer from what I've written before. So rather than write a massive post like before where my key points could get lost, I'll pick out key questions from your asks and give fairly brief answers to each one. I'll work my way from the top, down.

Hi Anon(s),

Select answers below:

"Also don't you find the support for Seven excessive? Is the elimination of direct to consumer sales enough to explain that kind of support to keep it number 1?"

I think the results speak for itself. Dynamite and the PET got what is easily the biggest support any BTS release had gotten to date at the time - all of it tailored to mirror how American labels promoted their tracks, *and* the fandom had D2C sales buttressing it as the primary support mechanism. Like, please read that sentence again and think about what it means. Sales are the easiest and most transparent way for the fandom to influence charts, and so was always preferred for ARMY. Even if you weren't in the fandom then, understand it's impossible to overstate how much D2C sales mattered. With that now out of the question, everything we're seeing for Seven for me feels like a given, especially after the Billboard article.

"Do you think there will be additional changes coming, making sales even less relevant for bb charts?"

Yes. But not 'less relevant' in a sense, more like differentiated and treated as its own thing, perhaps in a separate chart.

"I would be interested to know your outlook on BB as a whole when it comes to BTS and their future in US market (if you have talked about this pls refer me to the post)"

This probably requires its own post but the long-short of it is: just like Ticketmaster, Billboard is only one arm of one of the largest private monopolies in the US entertainment market - PMC, and as such they serve as gatekeepers of sorts. Their interest in BTS (and k-pop by extension) lies primarily in how they can profit off the group/fandom, which so far BigHit and ARMY have created very limited avenues for. BigHit's strategy until now has been to expand BTS's reach without relying on the PMC apparatus, using it only for select releases that are explicitly tailored for it e.g. Seven and PET. While I don't think this strategy will change dramatically, every change from BB is to force more compliance with their apparatus. BTS will continue facing handicaps from PMC so long as BigHit continues limiting how PMC can profit from BTS for each release. (This sentence makes sense in my head but if it's not clear, please let me know.)

*

"Have we opened the gate for the Trumpsters of the world?"

Well, yeah. But ARMYs can't take all the credit. After all, ARMYs are only doing what the Bey Hive and Swifties have been doing for almost a decade with none of the scrutiny. BTS, more than any other group, actually has the absolute numbers in demand and grassroots support to justify it as they're comparable to the afore-mentioned artists, proven by their concert showings not just in the US but worldwide, as far back as 2018. People only started paying attention to ARMYs' movements because BTS didn't look like the sorts of people they expected to see at the top of the charts. Everybody took notice, including a political faction in the US that in recent years has moved more aggressively into the entertainment sphere to influence culture, such as Ben Shapiro's entertainment empire, movies like Sound of Freedom topping box office charts, and conservative country singers pushing Reagan-esque talking points to the top of music charts. So it's basically the result of timing and opportunity.

"So, how can we ever know what is truly popular? Are fervent fans willing to devote time and resources to get their fave to the top really the best arbiters? ... how do we ascertain what is truly popular with the much-vaunted GP?"

I've talked about this before I think. You can find my views on it in my Masterlist, and I've linked the post here.

*

People sent in more asks on BB but I've since lost interest in this topic and will post my responses when I feel like it, much later, using the same format I've used to answer the asks above. The truth is that while I understand why many people feel like everything that's happened so far with Seven and Jimin is unfair, I think a lot of the discourse is awfully reductive, actually does a disservice to Jimin and BTS, and that there's a much bigger picture here that's more consistent with how BTS has operated for the last 10 years.

This is probably not the best analogy, but one way I think of BTS is like a Swiss army knife, with each member being a separate tool. And that at different points, in various markets, BigHit and BTS are testing various approaches to expand their reach while aiming to maintain the market share they've gotten so far. The group has always had projects they release that have more artistic merit and cache, versus projects made by all appearances to be purely for commercial purposes to expand the reach of the group. For example, consider how BigHit promoted Butter/Permission to Dance, compared to the BE album, or how Seven was created and promoted relative to Indigo. To go back in even further in previous years, I remember how BTS appeared to center Jimin in Blood, Sweat & Tears era to build out his and their presence in Korea, and Taehyung in DNA era where his and BTS's presence in China ballooned in 2017.

While in the solo era some people feel like every accomplishment remains solely with individual members, I feel everything serves only one purpose: to further establish the group. Because by BTS's own words, they all have their individual ambitions, they've always had that and each member is aggressively competitive on that note, but they've each all said that their priority remains the group. Not everybody likes that, not everybody believes them when they say it, but the good thing with BTS is that they plan in multi-year stints and time always reveals what the facts of the matter are. We're only one year into Chapter 2, and while certain parts of the fandom are treating their solo debut albums as the be all and end all, I don't think there's anything to suggest this perspective lines up with the reality of how BTS has behaved for the last 10 years. I could be wrong, but either way we're just going to have to wait and see. In the meantime, I believe there's significant artistic merit in what the guys are putting out in Chapter 2, that I hope isn't lost in the noise. The fandom should do a better job of bringing the attention back to this, rather than a tunnel-vision on performance metrics that only tell half of the story.

[adam-scott]

Hey! I also wanna watch and enjoy Ahsoka but I'm having trouble getting past the Ros@rio D@wson of it all.. I heard about that insane incident and her and her mother beating a trans person (with very little details but it's still been enough to put me off for years). Did you ever hear more details about this/do you know anything else? I'm sorry I know this is the opposite of trying to ignore her existence and move on.

god i feel you, i was NOT interested into the whole ahsoka thing for the exact same reason. fuck rosario dawson! all my homies hate rosario dawson! for what is worth, i tried to ignore her as much as possible during the episodes and focused on sabine, chopper and the sith(?) master/apprentice and it was way better than i expected (especially since i didn't see a lot of r*sari*)

i'm not a deep dive expert so i cannot promise that i have the whole story figured out. there's a not a lot of articles or details but these struck me out:

the description of the assault is absolutely disgusting

In 2020, 18 of the 20 allegations were "withdrawn voluntarily without settlement," and Dawson spoke out about the lawsuit

r*sari* talked a little bit about it to vanity fair and her answer srsly rubs me wrong:

Ahsoka does mean a great deal to people, and they’re deeply invested in who she is. So, Rosario, I want to ask you about something that’s outside of this story of The Mandalorian, and that’s the concern in the fandom about a lawsuit that was filed against you last year by a longtime family friend. The claim accused you and other family members of anti-trans bias, and you’ve called the lawsuit false and baseless. But what do you say to those Star Wars fans who hear this and believe the worst—that you are transphobic?  

Dawson: Well, firstly, I just want to say I understand that, and why people were concerned, and are concerned. I would be too if I heard some of those claims. But I mean, as we’re seeing right now in these past months, and just recently, actually, the truth is coming out. Every single claim of discrimination has been dismissed by the person who made them, and as you’ve said, the fact that this is coming from someone I’ve known since I was a teenager, the better part of my life, and who my family was trying to help as we have many times in the past, it really just makes me sad. But I still have a great empathy for him.

Court records show 18 of the 20 claims were withdrawn voluntarily without a settlement, and his lawyer left the case. Two counts remain alleging a physical altercation, and a judge will rule on whether that can move forward next month. There are people that would say, “Well, this is just another example of a wealthy, famous person overpowering the system.” So what would you say to those people who are unconvinced, both about this case and about what you actually believe about trans people?

Dawson: The reason that all of the discrimination claims were dropped is because they didn’t happen. I was raised in a very inclusive and loving way, and that’s how I’ve lived my entire life. I’ve always used my voice to fight for, lift up, and empower the LGBTQA community, and use my platform to channel trans voices, in fiction and nonfiction work that I’ve produced and directed. So I feel the record is really clear.

[mbti-notes]

Anon wrote: Hi. I hope you doing well. 18 year old female ENTP here. English is not my first language, so sorry for any mistakes.

I'm here to ask for some advice. My ISFJ mom is having a hard time with an diagnosis of a breast cancer. Fortunately, it's is in early-stage and the chances of cure are high, so i'm hopeful that everything will be fine. However, this is affecting her a lot emotionally and I really don't know exactly what to do to support her in this moment.

Apparently, her concerns doesn't seem to be directed at the disease itself, but the treatment process that has left her anxious and with several negative thoughts. She said she doesn't want others to worry about her and feels guilty for not being "strong enough" to deal with it (she's the type of person who likes to take care of others but hates when the others worry about her ) so it all has been making her quite depressed lately.

I've been trying to help her in different ways, but it all seems a bit useless. I know it's normal for her to feel this way right now and there's no magic solution that would make her feel better instantly, but I still want to help her in some way and i really don't like seeing her suffering like this. Any thoughts? Sorry if it wasn't clear enough.

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

Cancer is always a tough ride, no matter the prognosis. I'm sorry to hear she has to go through that. Read the article about Caring for Emotional Needs in the site index for information based on ISFJ cognitive functions. ISFJs are practical people, so practical help is appreciated. ISFJs are Feelers, so offer extra encouragement and emotional support as needed.

ISFJs are routine people, so they tend to worry about illness disrupting routines. Observe what her daily routine is/was when healthy and well. Make a list of all the tasks she does with regard to maintaining the household, work, and relationships (including family, friends, and community). Take on as many of those tasks for her as you are able to. Let her know that you're happy to help if she protests. This should go a long way to alleviating her fears about falling behind or disappointing people.

[heybaetae]

i have no one to talk about it and you're always so open, so i'm just really getting this out of my chest, you don't need to answer if you don't want to

I'm so sad, i've been crying a lot every day since the announcement came. this was so unexpected (at least for me) and there was no time to emotionally prepare too... there were articles coming out before saying that all of them would have enlisted by december, but it was never confirmed by the members themselves, so i still had my doubts. then, out of nowhere, "hello, 4 members are enlisting at once"

they are working so much and you couldn't tell if this or that was gonna be released in 2024 or still this year. and then i thought "well, i have to prepare myself for the end of december", since there are usually between 40 or 50 days with them after the notice by bighit. if what kmedia said is true, they are leaving in less than two weeks

i feel broken and so empty, i'm so scared of my future, next year i'll go through so many changes and i never take changes easily, i always suffer so much untill i get used to something, and now... not having the only constant i've been used to have in my life..there is no time to process. it was different with jin because he was here for more than a month before he left, it was also obvious that yoongi was leaving after his tour and hobi... :/ i'm devasted

i'm gonna cry so much with this upcoming documentary, i thought that the ptd DVD would cheer me up, but i've just been feeling more weird and sad :( i laugh in the funny scenes, but there's this sadness behind it. and my bias is jungkook... his lives :( i've been asking myself if he would do a "goodbye live".. if he decides to do it, i really really really don't wanna lose it :( i already miss him so much and he's not even gone yet

i’m sorry hun. i think everyone is in the same boat emotionally about the shorter notice compared to the previous enlistments. i’m not really gonna acknowledge what is being spread around by the media rn because the same thing happened with jin and he wasn’t thrilled about that information being made public, but i’ll say it’s okay and valid to feel everything you’re feeling and to have hoped we’d have a little more time than what the reality seems to be.

i really hope next year goes smoothly for you and that you adjust as comfortably as you can to whatever your new normal is going to be in your personal life and your life alongside bts during their absence.

luckily, it‘s quite clear that they’ve each prepared things for us to release after they’re gone and while i value their safety and well-being so much more than having any content during this, it’s extremely generous of them. not only for three of those members to have seemingly held off on their enlistments until the youngest released his album and was done promoting it so they could all go at once, but for them all to have used that time to work on things to keep us entertained once they did. i don’t think it’ll feel like your constant will be completely gone, they’ve made sure of it. we’re so lucky they care about us enough to plan ahead, create new stuff to enjoy in the meantime, and to time it perfectly so they’re back on the literal day before their anniversary in 2025. you really don’t get sappier than that lol.

also on the topic of whatever content that comes out in the coming months/year (i’m sure they’ll spread it out), if you think it’ll make you too sad to watch, it’s not going anywhere and it’ll be ready for you whenever you need it. weverse posts and occasional instagram posts will be a thing. it will absolutely suck losing jungkook’s lives, but i know he’ll make the most of his social media time in other ways at every opportunity he gets and those moments of communication will feel all the more special.

feel all your feelings, let them out however you need. but remember that you’re not alone in your emotions too and you can reach out to any of us here at any time. if you need to log off on the actual day, definitely to. focus on you, do something fun, find something that’ll take your mind off of it. all of this is temporary and it’ll go by fast. we just have to take it day by day. 💜

[oldarticles]

Class Rings

by Jake Hurwitz

Remember Junior year when that guy in a suit came to your school and showed you a slide show and gave you a pamphlet with all those oversized, shiny rings? Now if you're a total tool you might also remember getting way too excited and rampantly flipping through the packet before promising to go halfsies with your parents just so you could get the "most bitchingest ring ever". Well I'm here to forgive you. I understand, you got caught up in the moment, you probably thought most of your friends would do it, maybe you were high? Look, we all make mistakes, just don't make this worse by actually wearing that stupid ass looking ring.

Much like communism and sex buddies, the class ring sounds very good in theory. Something to bond with your friends over, a keepsake of those awkward, acne filled but somehow glorious high school years, perhaps even something to show your grandkids one day, maybe they will appreciate it - if they're total losers. Let's face it though guy, unless you won a Super Bowl or World Series you just can't pull off a ring that size. Not even if you're wearing a suit like the guy that sold it to you, not even in your graduation gown. Nothing, and I really do mean NOTHING can make that ring look cool. You can do a back flip on a motorcycle over a shark tank while 20 topless cheerleaders chant your name and I will still boo your pathetic ass for wearing that unnecessarily large class ring.

I want to make perfectly clear that there are no exceptions to this rule. On more than one occasion I have found myself making fun of class rings when one of my friends is like, "Hey, I'm wearing my class ring." In this situation I have always said something like, "Oh I'm not talking about rings like that, you can pull that off, Carl." But I'm lying Carl, you can't pull that off. And also your haircut is stupid, and you wear the same shirt all the time, and your parents are dead. Now although most of Carl's misfortune is pretty funny, the fact that he wears the class ring is no laughing matter. Your bulky and awkward class ring makes your friends not want to you hang with you, it also repels women and gives you cancer, hence the death of Carl's parents.

I hope I've been helpful to all you ring wearers out there. I think all you needed was some tough love, and if this article didn't do the trick you're gonna get some tougher love. Because the next asshole I see with a class ring on his finger is getting kicked in the nuts. I'm not kidding, my foot's hitting your junk, and then you'll be sorry you ever wore that stupid ring. Or maybe you'll just punch me, but I wish you wouldn't, because that ring would definitely hurt a lot. 

[castlebyersafterdark]

https://screenrant.com/stranger-things-season-5-predictions-characters-fates-list/

“Will's fate in Stranger Things season 5 is perhaps the trickiest to determine, as he is so connected with all of the other characters, including Vecna. He could potentially fill any number of roles. It is clear that Will is artistically talented, with a powerful imagination, and central to the Upside-Down. If Will takes charge of the Upside-Down, it is possible that he could change its nature. It may be that a character must stay in the Upside-Down, and if this happens, Will surviving the Upside-Down makes him the obvious choice. Simply killing or sealing Will away would be a bad move as his unreciprocated love for Mike could make this into the tired "bury your gays" trope. A better option would be for the Upside Down to become a fantastical place that is still linked to Hawkins, with the other characters still able to communicate with Will.”

🙄

I’m so glad that these people don’t write the show

First of all, Screenrant is a joke and often has the worst or most basic takes.

I hate that take so much, it's not going to happen. STOP TRYING TO MAKE WILL BYERS DYING/DISAPPEARING AGAIN HAPPEN, IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. Becoming part of the Upside Down? No way is it good storytelling that Will ends up there alone. Away from his friends and family? How is this a satisfying ending? I do agree, his mental powers are going to affect and alter the UD in some way - but not like this! Not compelling.

Also look at this comment on the article. Listen, I try to defend people who aren't in our type of fandom so much but oooooh they make it so hard. Why is this the only thing people can come up with? Why is everyone so fucking basic!!?? "Kill off all the characters but make it all a dream." Shut up. The Duffers have already said NEITHER of these things are happening and if you watch and care about the show you'd realize these theme are antithetical to the entire spirit of the show. "This isn't Game of Thrones. It was all a DnD campaign is boring. It wasn't all a dream."

Sorry, I don't usually get this heated but I know we're about to get a year of these bland, basic takes and I'm already exhausted hahaha:

[m0mmat0rtle]

FANCY FNAF MOVIE ➵ Ch. 2

Fancy sat at a lone table in the diner, secluded by herself in the corner as rain pelted the window.

She wore her bulky over ear headphones as she played back the recorded interview between her and Mike from the night before, or well earlier that morning actually. She took notes in her notebook with Lisa Frank stickers and rhinestones on the cover.

Just slightly, she could hear the sound of someone clearing their throat over the lulling sound of Mike's relaxed voice from her tape recorder. She looked up as a waiter looked down at her, notepad ready to take her order. She quickly removed her headphones.

"Sorry."

She apologized. "Just a coffee, thanks."

"That's it?" The waiter asked, brow quirked in surprise.

"Yeah." She said simply. "But food is so important, miss. You should eat something." "Too busy." She said with a wave of her hand, dismissing the idea.

"Even more the reason to eat, give your brain some energy to work. You know scientists say that you can't face the day without a good breakfast." Fancy looked up at him. She read his name tag. "Are you one of these scientists, Ness?" He smiled at the mention of his name. "No, but I can be somewhat of a theorist." "Aren't we all." She said.

"Tell you what, I'll do whatever you recommend for breakfast." "Excellent choice." He scribbled something down on his notepad. "Hope you like french toast." He added before taking the menu and hurrying back to the kitchen.

Fancy looked back down at her notes. Her interview with Mike had been a dud, but hopefully not a total dud. He spoke of someone who would be able to help her. Hopefully Mike was right. But Fancy had thought for sure if he was a local in the area he would know more. A small town like Hurricane Utah- well people are bound to talk.

Just like they had in Bear Forest Tennessee. People talk, and nothing brings a community together more than mass child abduction.

Perhaps she was thinking too narrow, she had to widen her sights, her targets. She didn't need to just interview people whose names were attached to the Freddy Fazbear Company, but locals of Hurricane Utah in general. People who have lived here their whole life.

"Your coffee, miss." Ness interrupted her thinking session as he sat a mug down in front of her. "Your food will be out shortly."

It clicked.

"Hey- uh Ness?" She called and he turned. "Um.. yes?" He replied. "How long have you lived here, in Hurricane?" "My whole life."

Perfect.

"Do you mind if I... Can I interview you?" Ness cocked his head to the side. "About-?" "Those children who went missing almost twenty years ago at Freddy's." Ness' face almost lit up. "I would but I'm working." "I'll pay you." She held a wad of twenties in her hand. "Done."

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

"State your full name please." "Nelson Patrick."

Fancy flinched.

"Ness, you don't have to lean down to the mike to speak." "Oh, Sorry." He leaned back.

"Nelson Patrick." He said again, this time not so loudly into the mike.

"But most people just call me Ness." He said as he gestured down to his name tag.

"Tell me about your job." "I'm a waiter at sparky's diner. There's not much to that. But I do hear a lot, whispers and gossip from customers. I know just about everything about everyone just from working here. A lot of people will gossip over food and not even think about their waiter." "And how long have you been working here, Mr. Patrick." "Please, Mr. Patrick is my father. Just call me Ness." "Alright, Ness, how long have you been working here?" "Oh a while. I started working here while attending SUU." "What?" "Southern Utah University." Ness explained.

"I got a degree in journalism. But i've been stuck working here since, and publishing articles on the side." "What sort of articles do you publish?" "My theories." "On what?" "On this town. The missing children, the sudden closing of all Freddy Fazbear's Pizza Franchises, The rise and fall of the local Afton Robotics." Ness explained. "Anything that had to do with those missing children, I have written and published articles on." "Where do you publish these articles?" "My blog." "Which is?" "I'll write it down for you incase you want to take a look." He grabbed a napkin and a pen from his pocket with a chicken head pencil topper that stared blankly at Fancy while he wrote.

"Here." He handed it to her. "NESSTHEORY.NET" She read aloud and Ness nodded proudly.

"You can read all about my findings there." He said. "I'll certainly take a look at this, thank you." She replied as she tucked the napkin away in her pocket.

"Now one more thing, who do you think is responsible for the missing children?" "Oh the owner, without a doubt. He may not be the man behind it all but at the end of the day he is liable for any accidents within his business. So he would be at fault. There's never been enough evidence to convict him of... well anything... which is shocking. Not even a child endangerment charge. William Afton was always able to dance his way out of charges."

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

Once again, Fancy packed up her things. Ness stood from where he sat across from her at the booth.

"Ness, hey, thank you again for your time I really appreciate it. I'll leave your money with your tip." She said. "Not a problem." Ness replied with a grin. "Just happy to help get the truth out there one way or another. By the way, what's got you so interested in a small town cold case? You obviously aren't a local, I would recognise you." Fancy gave a dry chuckle. One that said she was complicated, there were levels to her, layers. Like an onion.

"I forgot to introduce myself." She said as she shook her head. "That's so rude of me, I'm sorry." She added.

"I'm Francine, my friends call me Fancy. I'm a student at Yale studying pre law and criminal justice. I'm working on my internship with Hurricane PD for my senior thesis." "Which is?" "To reinvestigate a cold case. I got assigned with this one." She said. "And you came all the way from Yale?" He asked and she nodded.

"You must be pretty smart." "I would say smart enough. Not pretty smart. If I was pretty smart I would have figured out who the zodiac killer was by now." she said with another dry laugh.

"Well, I'm not sure if I can be of much use to you but I'm more than happy to help you with your thesis. As long as it's not during my shift. Not again at least." He offered and Fancy smiled. "I would love all the help I can get. Besides, this is your home. You'll know more about it than I do. That automatically gives you and your knowledge an advantage over mine." Ness smiled at her. "Well if you need me you know where to find me."

Masterlist

Table of Contents

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[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

What I don’t get is why all those collabs and remixes with mid/has been artists? JT and Usher now… hello, it’s not the early 2000’s anymore, I’m 30 and all for the nostalgic vibes usually but with those guys? What the heck is Hybe doing. Those artists need JK and BTS way more than he needs them. They should better focus on him solely. I’m so done with this obsession with toping the charts and awards and popularity contest, I get that he’s an artist and wants to be the best but as for me I don’t fucking care about it, I want good music with good concepts and good performances with JK only and screw the rest. Honestly, I know this is a matter of personal taste, but I feel like they should better come back to the roots of kpop. They have to secure the ‘k’, not get rid of it imo. Turning kpop into mainstream pop is a sure path to failure in the long run, but I’m just a kpop fan so who am I I guess.. as much as I was dreading this enlistment period, I hope the boys will be safe and that it will be a time for self reflection for them, especially JK who seemed a bit uncertain about the path to follow for his solo- I think his solo lacked a clear vision and concept, probably the result of his lack of inspiration in the first place. Sorry I’m rambling. That being said him enlisting with Jimin makes me feel better, I’m relieved they’ll have each other. I truly hope we’ll get to witness amazing music when they will all come back.

Well, JT and Usher aren't super popular anymore but they are still famous and somewhat relevant, and have access to different demographics - in JT's case, 30-40s (white) women who were his fans as teens and young adults, and, in Usher's case, I guess it's a similar age group, but also the black community as whole according to an anon. I don't like calling people has-beens although I pretty much called them that myself. In JT's case, his reputation is on the floor right now so it's like Jungkook is on the wrong side of the Britney vs. JT debate, and it's not exactly a good look (even Forbes questioned this collab and they write more flattering BTS articles than Weverse Magazine). With Usher, I don't know. It could be a better decision than I assumed but Usher is certainly not a trendy artist these days and those are the kind of artists that could help Jungkook a lot in the short term. Even Jack Harlow helped JK, simply because people know his name, he's White, and people are way less prejudiced to check out his music, and he also has access to places JK is kept out of despite JK being way more in demand. So, truly, all these artists help JK in some way, with some drawbacks (3D alternate version is a much better song and overall Armys were definitely disappointed in the collab), but there's also no denying there are a lot more impactful artists to have a collab with. I would argue that, of all the collabs, Latto was the best one they chose and I was not happy about it at first. I'm still not sure if the woman is a racist because I saw a few racist tweets about Asian women, which could be really old and I'll give her the benefit of the doubt, but despite not being that famous, she is a) a woman, which in the music industry makes her more interesting right now, b) an up-and-coming rapper, which makes her seem like a more tasteful, music-oriented choice rather than a commercial one, and c) the fact that people don't really know her means no one is immediately put off seeing her name, which I'm sure cannot be said about the other three artists. So, Jungkook collabing with another rising star, perhaps one that has a current hit, would've arguably been a more interesting choice. I don't know, but I think JK's demographic doesn't mesh with JT and Usher fans? Their images don't mesh either? JK is a young, "rising" star, part of a very popular established group, so he needs to be associated with artists that are respected and have a fresh sound imo. I don't know... Ideally, he would partner with established artists with a fresh and current sound.

Putting the k back in kpop... I think English songs clearly do better internationally, but it's very hard for most groups to have a genuine impact abroad, so, to them, making English music only wouldn't help much. It would probably help BTS with the GP, since they are famous globally, but I don't TXT would overthrow even SKZ globally if they only made English tracks. In JK's case, because he's that big, an all English album helped, and, what's more, Koreans liked it, especially Korean celebs, and I think a lot of kpoppies loved it too. Kpop fans complain a lot about English music but usually like very Western kpop tracks (mostly as long as they are not from BTS)... I prefer kpop too, but the distinction between pop and kpop isn't that clear, and atp this debate is very useless and tired.

I think Jungkook didn't have a clear artistic vision for Golden, but he did have a clear vision of the kind of performance and vocals he wanted, as well as visuals and (maybe) impact. I don't think enlisting would change him and make him want to release a kpop-y album. It could be argued that he doesn't have very set opinions either way - English or Korean music is kind of the same to him in many ways, I think.

And, yeah, I'm glad Jikook are enlisting together, I hope they stay together the entire time...

[edvinception]

Part 4 - the final part

Edvin is a child of his time and a clear representation of generation Z, the progressive generation with Greta Thunberg and Billie Eilish being prominent people. They have grown up with social media and doesn't care about traditional norms.

Thanks to his role in Young Royals Edvin has become an international superstar in the lgtbq+ community, something he feels very honoured about. When Young royals premiered he went from 20 000 followers on Instagram to 1,2 million. Now he has 1,8 and no matter what you think there's alot of power coming from that in today's entertainment business.

I would like to live and work abroad some day. When an actor says that it usually means the U. I would also like that but Denmark, France and Irland make amazing movies too. A good friend of mine said "Live big" a that's exactly what I want to do.

Anne Hathaway climbs into a Mercedes with toned windows when we move towards the beach. With the warm, Mediterranean breeze in the hair, Edvin does what so many movie stars have done before him, walks down the iconic pier of hotel Martinez. The 19 year old looks like Alain Delon as he looks out at the riviera.

"I still feels like Mr Bean"

And that's it. I'm so sorry it took so long. I'm sorry for all the mistakes and questionable translations. The article was super long and I did my best but also wanted to get it out.

[profoundalpacakitten]

Is it still WIP Wednesday? I mean it must be Wednesday somewhere...

So here's a little snipsnops of the Superbat fic I'm working on, where after Clark admits that sex with supers is nearly impossible and always uncomfortable, Bruce and Clark attempt to have sex... For science. And maybe catch some feelings in there... somewhere. Dorks.

Clark was in the middle of typing up an article about gentrification in Metropolis’ suburbs when his phone pinged with an incoming message. He checked it, frowned, then checked his other phone, the superphone as Dick had taken to calling it, to Bruce’s greatest aggravation. It was basically the JL work phone, and was used mostly as a gossip network for the superhero community — again, to Bruce’s greatest despair.

“Batcave, 5 minutes.” It read.

Shit, must be an emergency. Clark sped through closing his computer and zipping into his costume, before flying as fast as he could without breaking the sound barrier — it could be an emergency, but if it had been life threatening, Bruce wouldn’t have given him five minutes to get ready. He landed in the batcave with three minutes to spare, and found Bruce there, visibly just showered, and calmly talking with Dick and Jason who looked ready to go out, domino masks already on their faces.

Calmly talking to Jason, well. Seemed like Bruce was in a good mood.

“Hey Clark!” Dick smiled wide and twirled one of his escrima sticks. Next to him, Jason teetered precariously as he was leaning on one hand against the desk, legs crossed.

“Hi guys,” Clark greeted, he cleared his throat, uncertain of the protocol. What did you say to your best friend’s children when your relationship with said best friend had started to recently involve the nether regions of the body? “Patrol time?”

“Yup!” Jason checked the bullets in his charger, which would have been normal, usually, on any other day, but with whatever was happening between him and Bruce, Clark felt like today it mostly rang like a threat. Or part One of a shovel talk.

“Came to spend some quality time with daddybats?” Jason asked in the silence punctuated by the clicks and clacks of him checking his weapon.

Clark blushed, cheeks going hotter than the last time he’d gone into a nuclear reactor. “W-what? Quality what?”

Bruce frowned ominously.

Jason raised his eyebrows and Dick missed a stick twirl.

“Holy shit.” Jason murmured.

Clark raised his hands, and was one second away from using superspeed to take some time to parse a good answer, but luckily, Bruce came to his help in the form of a darkly growled “Patrol, now.”

Dick turned to Bruce. “But, Bruce!”

Jason wasn’t done with Clark though. “No no, this is too funny, come on, you and Bruce?”

Hiding behind his hands, Clark declared “I know my rights, I don’t have to say anything that could incriminate me before a court of law.”

“You and Clark?!” Dick exclaimed, waving his recovered sticks around.

“This conversation is over.” Bruce crossed his arms over his chest, which coupled with his black turtleneck ensemble gave him an air just as inviting as a jail door.

“Sorry I’m late! Sorry!!” Duke sprinted down the stairs coming from the locker room, his helmet in hand and half his armour flapping around unsecured.

“Bruce! You can’t do that to us!”

Bruce frowned even harder at Dick, while Jason leered at Clark. Duke skidded to a stop, and looked at the scene, puzzled.

“For once in your life it’s not you adopting children, it’s us adopting a new dad and you want us to go patrol?” Dick asked, scandalised.

“We’re adopting dads now?” Duke asked, perplexed.

“No, we aren’t.” Bruce cut in, teeth gritted.

“This is a family emergency!” Dick said, just as Jason sniggered and commented that Clark was daddy enough though. To Clark's utter despair.

“Patrol now. Stay, and Arsenal and Flash get sent off-planet for a month.”

“Ugh.” Jason rolled his eyes heavenward and walked away. “You’re such a fucking buzzkill. Okay come on, Signal.” He passed Duke and hooked a finger in the armour to help tighten it and then use it to lead Duke away. “Let’s leave daddybats and daddysupes to their freaky shit.”

“Daddysupes?” Duke looked back as he stumbled forward, eyeing the way Clark hadn’t taken his hands off his eyes.

Dick was the last one to go, parting ways with a heartfelt “This isn’t over.”

[writer-ish]

The 3rd Annual Bloom Edenbrook Fundraising Gala

Pairing: Dr. Ethan Ramsey x f!MC (Dr. Brooke Spiers) Word Count: 2.9k Rating: Mostly T (innuendo, language, smooches)

Premise: Dr. Brooke Spiers and Dr. Ethan Ramsey get coerced into answering anonymous questions submitted by generous donors at this year's hospital fundraising gala. They have about as much fun with it as you'd expect.

This idea is all thanks to THIS ASK from the lovely @lem-20. The concept and all questions are hers! Thank you, darling Leah! ♥️

Author’s Note: My first time with a mixed-media type post(!!!) and the writing part has been done almost script-style, similar to the "Not Yet Wed" questions courtesy of @jamespotterthefirst, which you can find HERE. Hope you all enjoy. 🥰

Tickets

Bonus Raffle

SETTING - Diagnostics Office - 5:15 PM

TWO DOCTORS in formal attire sit across from one another. The male, DR. ETHAN RAMSEY, late-30s, devastatingly handsome, leans against a desk, arms crossed. The female, DR. BROOKE SPIERS, late-20s, charmingly attractive, sits on a larger table further away, legs swinging.

Ethan: I can't believe you talked me into this.

Brooke: [smirking] Why does this feel like deja vu?

Ethan: You know exactly why. You coerced me into the same sort of nonsense in your intern year for that magazine—whatever it was.

Brooke: Yeah, and remember how much publicity the hospital got that year? You're welcome.

Ethan: How can you be sure our "publicity" had to do with that article and not the fact that a first-year intern stole from a large pharamceutical company to administer an unapproved drug to—

Brooke: [hands up] Okay, okay, we get it. Regardless, you have to admit I was responsible for all the publicity. [grins]

Ethan: [can't help but grin back] Touche. [sighs deeply] Let's go home.

Brooke: Can't, babe. We're the main event.

Ethan: How did this even come about? Is there not some code of ethics against this sort of thing?

Brooke: [laughs] It's just staff and donors. All adults. We're showing that we're good sports and it's for a good cause.

Ethan: [grumbles] I don't know why people care so much about us.

Brooke: You don't? I mean, have you seen us?

Ethan: [dryly] And so humble, too.

Brooke: Lord knows you aren't with me for my humility.

Ethan: Indeed. [picks up a glass from the desk at his side, swirling the amber liquid] Well, I hope you're prepared.

Brooke: [amused] Prepared?

Ethan: You're used to me being reticent in situations like this and holding back? [downs the liquid in one shot] Not today.

Brooke: [wary] What does that mean?

DR. RAMSEY stands up, crossing the room towards DR. SPIERS until the latter is forced to open her legs to accommodate his presence. He braces a hand on either side of her, leaning forward until their lips are almost touching. Her face flushes. He notices, and a slow, lazy smile spreads.

Ethan: It means [kisses her slightly open mouth softly] I'm answering all their questions.

Brooke: [giggles nervously] All of them? But what if—

Ethan: [punctuating each word with a kiss] All. Of. Them.

He leans forward and captures her mouth in a deep, searing kiss. Her arms twine around his neck and she lets out a soft moan. Drawing her ankles around his legs she pulls him even closer and he places one hand on the desk as the other glides up her back. They stay like that, interlocked for a moment, before he pulls away.

Brooke: [eyes still closed] Hmph.

Ethan: Let's go get this over with.

Brooke: [slowly opens eyes and peers at him, disgruntled] What kinds of questions do you think people are submitting?

Ethan: Like you said, Dr. Spiers... [a slow smile spreads] Have you seen us?

DR. SPIERS laughs as she follows DR. RAMSEY out.

A.N. PLEASE do not look too closely at this very badly photoshopped pic 😂

SETTING - Bloom Edenbrook Hospital, Main Atrium - 6:25 PM

Our two doctors sit beside each other on a makeshift stage. A semi-recognizable third-year resident is the host for the evening. DR. RAMSEY dusts an imaginary piece of lint off his sleeve. DR. SPIERS has her hands in lap, knee shaking slightly. Noticing, Dr. Ramsey reaches over and rests his hand on her leg. She looks over with a small smile and places her hand over his.

Thank you to our very own Chief of Medicine, Dr. Ethan Ramsey, and his partner, head of the Diagnostics Team, Dr. Brooke Spiers, for being here with us today for a good cause. Dr. Ramsey and Dr. Spiers, are you prepared to answer some questions provided by our generous, anonymous donors?

Brooke: Sure, why not.

Ethan: [through gritted teeth] For a good cause.

Alright, excellent. I will be drawing these questions at random. Thank you to all who donated for the opportunity to submit a question.

Dr. Ramsey and Dr. Spiers, you will both be posed a question. If you choose to answer, you must both answer. If you choose not to, you must match the donation made by the donor, in lieu of a verbal response. Are you ready to begin?

Ethan: Mmm.

Brooke: [nervous laugh] I suppose.

Alright, here we go!

First question: If he/she could take one thing to a desert island what would it be?

Brooke: Me.

[Audience whoops and laughs]

Ethan: [can't hide his smirk, before clearing his throat] Brooke would take her phone. Heaven forbid she can't post about something on Pictagram.

Brooke: It's true. I'm sorry for being such a young millennial needy for external validation.

What are your nicknames for each other?

Brooke and Ethan: [look at each other. Brooke laughs.]

Ethan: Just say it.

Brooke: I mean, it's nothing too embarassing. I call him babe usually, or baby sometimes if I'm feeling extra nice. He calls me—[blushes and looks over at Ethan]

Ethan: [sighs] 'My love'. I call her 'my love'.

[Audience "awwww"s]

Who’s the better cook?

Brooke: Oh, Ethan. A hundred percent.

Ethan: It's true.

Brooke: I'm abysmal.

Ethan: Normally I would demur when it comes to Dr. Spiers' perceived faults, but in this case she's correct.

Brooke: Thanks, babe.

Ethan: You have many wonderful qualities that don't involve ovens, my love.

[A squeal from the audience that sounds suspiciously like Sienna]

Who has the last word in an argument?

[simultaneously] Brooke: Ethan Ethan: Brooke

[They look at each other]

Brooke: [laughs incredulously] Seriously?

Ethan: You think I don't hear you muttering to yourself after you walk away, almost every single time?

Brooke: Oh, so cursing your name and your very existence counts as the last word and not you shouting [affects deep voice] "And that's final!"? Duly noted.

Ethan: I don't sound like that or say that.

Brooke: Mm, sure.

Who is best at keeping secrets?

Brooke: Uh, neither of us?

Ethan: I had a secret once and it was hell keeping it.

Brooke: You've had a couple.

Ethan: True. I'm done with secrets.

Brooke: In lighter news, we kept [gestures between the two of them] this thing a secret for a bit. No?

Ethan: [opens his mouth to agree, when he's interrupted by a shout from the audience—]

Audience member that sounds suspiciously like Elijah: Nope! We all knew!

[Audience loudly murmurs in agreement]

Brooke: Never mind, then.

Who wears the trousers in the relationship?

Ethan: Neither of us subscribes to antiquated beliefs of superiority in a relationship. We're partners and teammates and work together accordingly. Sometimes she helps and guides me and sometimes I do the same for her. There is no one person who holds higher ground over the other and to imply otherwise would be foolish.

Brooke: [literal heart eyes at Ethan] What he said. [stage whisper] Except it's me.

[Audience laughs as Ethan rolls his eyes]

What is his/her worst habit?

Brooke: Workaholic, poor communication skills, yells first and asks questions later… I could go on.

Ethan: Charming. I have two words for you: messy packrat.

Brooke: Excuse me?

Ethan: If I had a nickel for every useless piece of garbage you kept "just in case" or for each article of clothing on the floor of my bedr—[clears throat] Just trust me.

Brooke: [smirks and whispers against Ethan's ear so only he can hear] Sorry, who is responsible for my clothes on the floor…?

Ethan: [says nothing but smirks as well]

[Audience murmurs in scandal]

What three words would you use to describe them?

Brooke: Hmm. Let me think.

Ethan: Passionate, caring, intelligent.

Brooke: [looks at him fondly] You came up with those fast.

Ethan: [matter-of-factly] I could give them ten more easily.

[Audience "awww"s]

Brooke: [to the audience] No, no, no don't be fooled, he doesn't mean only the flattering words, trust me.

Ethan: I believe it's your turn.

Brooke: Dedicated, compassionate, brilliant.

Ethan: [smiles softly at Brooke, who avoids his gaze. He reaches over and squeezes her hand.]

Brooke: [mutters] Yeah, yeah.

What celebrity do you/they think they most look like?

[Both Ethan and Brooke look at the announcer quizzically.]

Brooke: Celebrity? Uhh…

Ethan: I don't even know how I would begin to answer this question.

Brooke: Ryan Reynolds?

[Audience laughs and loudly disagrees]

Ethan: Who?

Brooke: [laughs and shakes her head] I don't know! I just named a random hot guy. You name a redhead actress. Jessica Chastain?

Ethan: [confused] Do you mean Jessica Rabbit?

Brooke: No I don't mean— [looks at him incredulously] Are you saying you think I look like Jessica Rabbit?

Ethan: No, I thought that's what you were saying and I was about to tell you how incorrect you were. Er, that is to say—

Brooke: I feel like you're digging yourself into a hole here.

Ethan: Agreed.

Who is the most vain?

Ethan: Both of us have more pressing concerns than our physical appearance.

Brooke: Ethan.

Ethan: [splutters]

Brooke: If you're going based off who spends more time on their hair in the bathroom? Ethan.

Ethan: [crosses his arms and glowers, but doesn't disagree]

What is his/her guilty pleasure?

Brooke: Ethan's is cooking shows, particularly Nigella.

Ethan: It's true. Brooke's is high calorie indulgences like—what's the freezer cake you made me buy the other day? With no identifiable or even passably edible ingredients?

Brooke: Ooh, Deep 'n Delicious. So good.

Ethan: [rolls eyes] Yes, because we all need our daily dose of hydrogenated oils and preservatives.

If they had a free pass, which celebrity would they choose to sleep with?

[Look at each other blankly]

Brooke: Uhh… Nigella?

Ethan: This Ryan Reynolds fellow?

Brooke: [laughs] I don't even like him!

Ethan: So who, then?

Brooke: [crosses her arms] I notice you didn't deny Nigella.

Ethan: This question is stupid. Next question.

Where and when did you go on your first date?

Brooke: Derry Roasters

Ethan: What? No. I took you to Sorellina—

Brooke: What, three years after we first met? No. Our first date was Derry Roasters when you caught me following you that time.

Ethan: Ah, so she finally admits it. I thought at the time I was… what was it, "paranoid"?

Brooke: [laughs only a touch guiltily] Did I say that?

Ethan: So you're treating the first time you trailed after me to the local coffee shop as our first date?

Brooke: Well, you paid.

Ethan: Yeah, after you "forgot" your wallet.

Brooke: What, you thought I pursued you for your good looks? No, sir. I like a man with deep pockets. Plus, you know how I know it was a first date?

Ethan: Please, enlighten me.

Brooke: You ordered for me and I didn't get annoyed and it was horrible, but I still drank the whole thing.

Ethan: The espresso Romano is not horr—

Brooke: Horrible. Coffee and lemon? [shudders] That's how I knew I was into you.

Ethan: [intrigued] Really? Way back then?

Brooke: [nods, blushing slightly, and rolls her eyes] Oh brother, don't act so shocked. You knew.

[Audience laughs and whoops]

Ethan: [shell-shocked face showing he absolutely did not know]

Where was your first kiss?

Brooke: [sheepishly] Miami.

[Audience murmurs in surprise]

Ethan: [sighs] Yes.

Brooke: Is that—are Harper and Naveen exchanging money?

Naveen: [from the audience] Dr. Emery should know better than to question my instincts!

Ethan: [loudly groans] Next question.

Who is the loudest in bed?

Brooke: [yelps and, remembering Ethan's earlier warning, throws her hand over his mouth]

Ethan: [from behind her hand] You probably could have made the answer less obvious.

Brooke: [blushes and groans]

[Audience roars its approval]

Which of your friends do you think he/she is most likely to have a crush on?

Brooke: Ohhh, this is awkward.

Ethan: My friends?

Brooke: Considering we can list your friends on one hand…and some of them intersect with mine. [bites lip] What do we do with this one?

Ethan: [to the host] What did the donor pay?

Sorry?

Ethan: To submit this question. How much?

Oh, uhh—[checks] $200.

Ethan: I'll write you a cheque for $200. Next question.

Brooke: [shakes her head laughing] All the questions, huh?

Ethan: At my discretion, yes.

Bryce: [from the audience] You know the answer was me for both of you, anyway!

Ethan: [scoffs] Fat chance, Lahela.

Brooke: [pointedly silent, staring straight ahead]

Ohh-kay. Next question. Who had feelings first?

Brooke: Ha, me. For sure.

Ethan: Are you sure?

Brooke: [looks at him incredulously] I just told you I liked you even after you bought me lemon coffee at Derry Roasters three years ago. [sits up to look at him more fully] No chance you liked me earlier than that. I mean, like-liked me.

Ethan: "Like-liked you"? Are we twelve?

Brooke: You know what I mean. You were such a grouch and I was just your annoying intern.

Ethan: [irritatedly] The annoying intern I kissed in Miami, what, a week later? Is that how obvious my lack of feelings for you were?

Brooke: [opens her mouth to respond and then closes it again]

Ethan: That's what I thought.

Who’s more dramatic?

Brooke: Ethan.

Ethan: I am absolutely not—

Brooke: See? Honestly, he's exhausting.

Ethan: [glowers]

Who has the weirdest orgasm face?

Brooke: Weirdest?

Ethan: Oh for the love of—

$5000 to not answer this one, doctors.

Brooke and Ethan: [jaws drop simultaneously]

Brooke: Someone paid five-thousand dollars—

Ethan: What kind of a pervert—? Fine, say it's me.

Brooke: It's really not.

Ethan: [quietly] Well, it's certainly not you.

Brooke: Yeah, but—

I believe we have our answer!

Ethan: We'll take it. Next!

What are you most likely to argue about?

Ethan: Brooke believes I could be more communicative about my feelings, especially when I have a problem.

Brooke: You do listen!

Ethan: Of course. We also argue about when she's going to move in with me.

[Audience gasps and murmurs in gleeful scandal]

Brooke: [jaw drops] Ethan!

Ethan: It's true. [turns to host] I believe it should have already happened. She believes she needs to maintain a tenuous hold on a bedroom she rarely occupies for a group of roommates who would be happy for her to move on.

Brooke: [fuming] Of all the high-handed—

Jackie, from the audience: He's right, girl, bigger and better awaits.

Brooke: [through gritted teeth, as Sienna, Ethan, and Aurora all nod and give her thumbs up] Maybe this is something we can talk about later—

Ethan: Whatever you say, my love.

Brooke: Oh, yeah, now with the "my love"s—

On that note! Here is our final question.

What’s the most romantic thing they’ve done for you?

Ethan: [looks at Brooke, who is still glowering] Most romantic?

Brooke: [glares]

Ethan: With Brooke, it's the little things. She'll notice when I'm having a bad day and bring me my favourite donut. Or a well-timed hand on my shoulder or knee when she can see I'm getting riled up.

Brooke: [glare softens a bit]

Ethan: She's thoughtful and kind and extremely empathetic. She knows what I need even before I know that I need it. It's not—candlelit dinners or what have you, but I've already prided myself on being a practical person and this intersection of—of practicality and care? That's what I find… [struggles to get the word out] romantic.

[Audience "awww"s]

Brooke: [screws up her mouth before leaning over to kiss Ethan on the cheek] Okay, that was sweet. [Thoughtfully] Most romantic thing Ethan has done for me? Well… [side-eyes him, before continuing] The HAZMAT suit sleepover last year was probably up there.

Ethan: [uncomfortable] I don't want that to be classified as—

Brooke: You were there for me at a time when I needed you most. If that's not romance, I don't know what is.

Ethan: [increasingly agitated] That's not romance, dammit, that's—that was a necessity. That was vital. I needed to be there. I needed to make sure you—that you—[cuts himself off, clenching his jaw]

Brooke: [eyes soft as she looks at him. Reaching out she rests her hand on top of his clenched fist until it unfurls slowly underneath hers and he releases his breath slowly] See? [softly] Romance.

Ethan: [sighs deeply, then links his fingers with hers and gruffly kisses the top of her hand] All this tells me is that I've neglected you on the "romance" side of things.

Brooke: [still smiling softly] No complaints. [looks out at the audience] Are we done here? [affects a deep voice] Are you not entertained?

Ethan: [fondly] And she says I'm the dramatic one.

I think we got what we needed, doctors. Thank you for helping out for a good cause. This raffle ticket session alone raised a total of $23,000 for Bloom Edenbook Hospital!

Ethan: [dumbfounded] That is insane.

Brooke: I promise we aren't that interesting.

The people beg to differ. Round of applause for Dr. Brooke Spiers and Dr. Ethan Ramsey for being such good sports. Until next time, doctors!

Ethan: [over thunderous applause] There absolutely won't be a next time.

Brooke: [laughs and stands up, smoothing out her dress]

Audience member that sounds suspiciously like Jackie: Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!

Rest of the audience chimes in: Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!

Brooke: [crosses her arms, smirking at Ethan]

Ethan: Oh for the love of— [acts like he's walking away, then loops an arm around her waist and pulls her close, tilting her back and kissing her thoroughly]

[Audience roars its approval]

Ethan: [pulls away slowly and sets her upright, chucking her chin with an affectionate and slightly devilish smirk. He starts to guide her away from the host and off the makeshift stage]

Brooke: [mutters, still a bit dazedly] Told you. Drama.

[Laughing, they walk off stage together.]