#second pic originally started as me just showing some of her scars but she looked lonely so woe cub be upon ye

[skrittkicking]

cant sleep soooooooo here's some mom. for mothers day or something

bonus tinkk under the cut

freak of nature

[emachinescat]

I've decided to watch MacGyver from the beginning (again), and I'm live tweeting the experience with every tweet tagged with #savemacgyver. I thought it would be fun to share my collected thoughts from the episodes on here as well.

My Thoughts on S1E1, "The Rising"

Good old Lake Como.

"How do I look?" Always amazing, Mac, though here you are so bebby. Gosh, tiny Lucas is tiny.

Ugggh, Nikki. My least favorite story arc in the show. Even with her redemption arc, even her face makes me mad.

I am soooo glad this awkward flirting is only in this episode. Mac and Nikki have never vibed with me.

JACK DALTON

"Who loves ya, baby?" We all do, Jack.

I always wished they would have played more into the original Mac's reason for not carrying a weapon - not just so he doesn't get caught but because he doesn't like them. That was actually one reason I used to be so upset at the reboot when it first came out. I still feel like Mac's character was off for this first episode - a little too cocky, not super developed. But still lovable, and with so much potential!

It's so cool to see how much Lucas has grown into this character over the years, really making it his own while still holding on to its essence.

Lol "serious bad-assery" - Nikki thinks she's so cool. (Spoiler: she's not.)

Lololol Nikki is the Walmart brand of Riley.

Mac in glasses. Adorbs.

Man, I'm already so ready for Matty. Patti is the off brand version of her.

I always love watching Mac rifle through stuff to find his improvisation supplies!

First MacSplaining session! Electromagnets!

"Is this George Clooney's house?" I miss Jack so freaking much.

Mac kind of looks like a penguin with that waiter outfit on and I'm living for it.

The second Mac hack is so Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew.

"Why don't you ever flirt with me like that?" Um, Jack, do you want your partner's girlfriend flirting with you, daddy fixation or not?

There are two kinds of oops, accordng to Jack Dalton: Oops - I just stubbed my toe / Ooooooops - Zombie apocalypse initiated.

Mac's hair is so shaggy.

"START THE DAMN BOAT!" Classic.

"Hold this and get out of my way." Dang, Mac.

The bad guy is the dude from Galavant hahaha. I know this guy has been in so many things, but he will always be Gareth to me. (That's his name, right? Gareth?)

W H U M P

I actually love the consistency of Mac always having that scar even seasons into the series (except for the last time, in the river). Overall great attention to detail!

That is a LOT of blood in the water.

Lol I'm pretty sure Grandpa Harry didn't say that in so many words, Mac.

Poor traumatized bebby. What am I saying? I live for this stuff.

Awww, lil Bozer. So smol. So pure. And now I want waffles.

"Eat your waffles." Three words I will never say no to.

"Give me Wang." -Bozer, 2016

Am I the only one who finds these intimate scenes between Mac and Nikki hella awkward?

QUARANTINE, sounds familiar.

Lol "cyberteam." Once Riley Davis comes along, they will be obsolete.

Jack just wants a hug.

I always hated the clinical white room in the pilot. Can't wait for the War Room.

I love the interactions between Jack and Riley.

Mac and Riley EYE CONTACT.

"You two are on timeout from now on." 😂😂😂

THE MOMENT WHERE HE GRABS HER HANDS

Lol, thanks for telling me that's a paperclip. I was so confused.

"Riley has so much hair!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I love how Riley takes charge. Her confidence is 🔥🔥🔥

"You know what, never mind, I'd be pissed at you too." 🤣

Jack's so proud of his daughter. 💕

"Is that real?" Bless Jack's heart. He's such an old man.

Patti is a square. Pretty, competent, but boring. I miss Matty.

"My man never jokes about tin foil."

Ooooo Nikki is alive. Poor Mac. His whole world keeps getting turned on its head.

Jack can be scary when he wants to be.

Poor, poor, Mac. When he faces Nikki, he looks like a kicked golden retriever. (Also, NEVER kick a dog.)

I'm just eating up all this angst.

Mr. Wizard lololol

Mac hanging from a plane is soooo iconic.

"Don't get cocky. You're the only other one here." Haha, the SASS on this girl.

"Go ahead, you aready had me killed once." Also, oof. Undercover or not, Nikki is cold. I can't stand her.

Excuse me, Patricia, but I would consider running over your neighbor's dog (or any dog) a damn catastrophe, too.

"Sometimes a purge is necessary to fix what's broken." Codex, anyone?

Love this whole chase/fight sequence so much. The music, action, everything... perfect.

The sweat on Mac's forehead when dangling out of the 🚁 - such a great detail!

"YOU GO KABOOM, I GO KABOOM"

Kind of weird to me that Mac seems to be using so much guesswork with this bomb, especially when we know that he's one of the best specialists out there.

That fight scene in the back of the vehicle is one of my all time favorites. The whump is excellent.

Okay, but when does MacGyver ever do anything the way Jack has in mind?

DIY or die. Still so lame, lol. The parachute is awesome, though.

Oof. That landing looks painful and the whumper in me loves it. Even more, I can't get over how worried Jack is as he rushes to Mac's side. ❤️❤️❤️

That break in his voice when he asks if Mac's okay is just... AYSKTUFYIFUYliIIGUOG

Mac burning Nikki's pics like that old Taylor Swift song.

Bozer calling Jack his bestie is so weird and funny to me.

I am so ready for Bozer to get over Riley. They are so much better as friends.

Lol "Those fries won't cook themselves." The crack of a whip, man.

Jack calling Riley a little rascal and then gently asking Mac if he's doing all right there, pal ... taking care of his kids, and I am DYING.

The Three Amigos... come on, Jack. You can do better than that.

Is it bad that I'm actually a little surprised that Jack knows what a Phoenix is? Just seems like something he wouldn't care to learn, especially since he's a sci fi junkie but I never really hear him talk about fantasy.

Oooooooo Nikki's on the loose. Gotta end with suspense, to hook those viewers and make them want more. Well, I want more of this show, but not because of her.

Well, awesome re-watch of episode 1. Definitely not my favorite by a long shot, but so iconic and with some amazing moments! It just makes me that much more excited to get to see the show and the characters grow!

If anyone wants to join me in my re-watching and tweeting adventure, please do! It's my way to take about an hour a day in my busy, busy life to commit to the #savemacgyver movement. (And to enjoy my favorite show yet again!) If you do tweet as you watch, make sure to tag EVERY tweet with ONLY #savemacgyver so we can keep that hashtag trending! :)

Thanks for letting me share my (numerous) thoughts on this episode. This was really fun, and I hope it's something you all enjoy, too. I'll probably go ahead and post episode 2 tonight since I just watched it. I'd love to know what you all think of the episode in the comments! ❤️

[fizzingwizard]

Episode 27! It’s a transitional episode and I have Thoughts but nothing major really happens until the very last second :P

Cap of the day!

You know what they saw about the megane shine... next season’s villain is Jou-senpai!!! you heard it here first!

More below!

GAWD I LOVE JOU

no but SERIOUSLY... so glad to have the rest of the team back. They really do make EVERYTHING better. Taichi and Yamato, yeah they’re cool, I love them, but they just don’t carry the show by themselves. And in a similar vein, the rest of the team needs Taichi and Yamato too. Otherwise they have no reason to be all dramatic and show off their cool sides.

(other than Koushirou of course who was just born Cool but it’s the kind of cool most people don’t recognize until you literally own the entire world Koushirou’s three steps from becoming Seto Kaiba except NICE)

ok back to business... last week we left off with the team finally reuniting and bringing Hikari along. For some reason the two groups both decide to stand in a straight line like two baseball teams about to shake hands. Leomon’s team still looks fricking ridiculous

Sooo jury’s out on how Taichi’s gonna react to Hikari! Yamato’s been so chill with having Takeru around, I started to wonder if we’re gonna see super over protective big bro Taichi instead this time! But for the most part he’s just surprised that she’s not surprised by the Digimon.

Hikari is creepy. lol. She’s very much the “cute little sister” type and this episode, at least, we didn’t see any kind of initiative from her, which is to be expected, I mean give the kid some time to adjust. We don’t see a lot of personality though either... I guess we can say she likes cute things, and she’s pretty darn calm... I don’t really like her voice though. It’s a perfectly fine little girl voice, but she always sounds like she’s about to doze off...

Obligatory “cutest couple” pic

The group then basically recaps what’s been happening in the human world recently. Which is all pretty important stuff. But for some reason Taichi and Yamato don’t fill them in on what they’ve gone through?? They have to explain Takeru and Patamon because well there’s a surprise but then they’re like “oh yeah Patamon’s the holy Digimon” and I’m like WHOA. DUDES. IT’S THE HOLY DIGIMON. THE THING Y’ALL RISKED YOUR NECKS FOR. Shouldn’t there be a little more interest, both in the telling and the hearing?? XD

Koushirou’s most excited to update their digivices.

Taichi: Why so blue, Agumon?

Agumon: I shouldn’t have had so many Hawaiian blue energy drinks... but how else did they expect me to fight non stop

Koushirou even has handy dandy charts and images to illustrate. He’s going to get hired somewhere and immediately promoted to CEO, by the CEO.

Patamon: “Hi! I’m the Holy Digimon! Bow before me!”

Jou introduces himself to Takeru and Hikari as the “leader” and tries to convert them to his religion (No-play-only-study-ism) to make them his first acolytes when he inevitably becomes the season’s true final villain. But Gomamon’s all over it.

Gomamon: “You can’t have acolytes until you master maniacal laughter, Jou, didn’t you read ‘Villainy for Dummies’ like I told you to??”

Agumon adorably walks right up to Hikari and asks her if she’s okay and if she feels scared. Hikari says “Agumon’s cute!” Taichi’s face is like “cute? cute?? he’s a dinosaur! dinosaurs are cool!” but he wisely says nothing because you cannot argue with girls about what we think is cute you just cannot

Then Hikari notices something even cuter! Patamon!

Hikari: So cute! I want ten!

Takeru: Sorry, he’s one of a kind and mine!

Hikari: *looks at him* So cute! I want ten!

Takeru: Wait... of me?

Hikari: (u3u)~♥ ﾁｭ

Takeru: (o///o)~♥

love at first sight???? lol

In a nod to the original series, we get a scene of Taichi asking Hikari if she has a Digivice and her being like “oh that thing, I filled it with catnip and gave it to Miko”

Taichi: No digivice! Well I guess this means there’s no way she’s a Chosen Child like us!

Agumon: Infallible logic

Meaning the Zurumon are on the move! this time to FREAKING NASA

Taichi: *most unimpressed voice possible NASA??

I thought hey, it’ll be fine, we’ll just have to fight some more... but

Nasa: *launches a rocket*

The internet:

it’s all just variations of people oh-no-ing in Japanese. A little further down someone just writes “Explosion” in English lol

Due to the weirdness in the digital world that is affecting the human world, a bunch of waterspouts appear in the ocean. Eldradimon’s like “oh bother”

he protec!

Mimi and Palmon rush to comfort each other with a hug.

Jou... immediately gets seasick.

Gomamon: So how’s that maniacal laughter coming along?

Jou: DON’T MAKE ME OPEN MY MOUTH

Awwwww. Point of interest.... Koushirou is barely larger than Hikari x’D

Leomon, for some reason, decides now we must part. He doesn’t think these kids can survive this storm and offers to protect them as they escape. The kids are powerful against evil monsters but weak to weather lol. I’m sure the actual logic in no way was “Now that the rest of the team is back from their pointless stint in the human world we no longer need Leomon to play back-up”

They don’t agree without an argument, but Leomon insists, because he believes the Chosen Children have other important things they are meant to do. We get a cool scene of everyone making their escapes. Sora takes Mimi with her

Taichi and Hikari join Koushirou

And Yamato and Takeru “join” Jou (but really Yamato’s the one calling the shots because Jou’s busy struggling not to pee his pants)

It’s just in the nick of time... before a giant whirlpool seemingly sucks Leomon and Eldradimon into the sea.

Taichi: Oh my god did they just DIE??

Kabuterimon: Don’t look back!

Taichi: I know... we have to respect their sacrifice...

Kabuterimon: Well, that and you might be scarred to see Leomon’s reenactment of Ariel at the bottom of Ursula’s whirlpool

Taichi: huh

(look I think I’m funny and that’s what counts)

Getting all split up like this made me think they were gonna end up split up for reals, but the team manages to stay together for now.

They arrive at a new continent covered in weird spikes! Yamato picks up his digivice like a walkie-talkie and says one word: “Taichi”

it amuses me that he could only bring himself to say “Yagami” for a good while in the beginning but then he finally started saying “Taichi” and now he just can’t stop!!

Anyway he’s alerting the others to the fact that some? of the spikes on the island are actually Tortomon about to attack them. Before going to join Greymon’s attack, Taichi flings Hikari at Koushirou “HERE PROTECT MY SISTER SINCE YOU HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO DO”

jk but seriously... why does Taichi need to be all up in the action? Until now I thought it was something they all had to do to help their partners, because they usually ride on them during battle, but this episode seemed to suggest that Taichi goes out of his way to do it even more than is maybe necessary. Which doesn’t exactly come as a surprise, but xD

Reason #1229345894 why the team is better when they’re all together: Mimi is hilarious and SORA HAS A GOSH DARN PERSONALITY. She DOES, folks. We hardly got to see it recently -____- this episode at least lets her react to the others. Ugggh. Irony of ironies, Sora needs more love.

It’s a stampede! Simba! NOOOOO!

Sooo... the battle with the Tortomon goes pretty well but then this guy called Groundramon or something appears and uh... starts to eat them... like it’s pretty visceral y’all o_o le eugh

Taichi is shocked and recalls last episode when he saw Seadramon power up and evolve after eating Ebidramon. He does not choose to mention the time he was eaten by Devimon. EH IT’LL BE FINE I’M SURE THAT WASN’T IMPORTANT ANYWAY

Greymon: Don’t get eaten.

Garurumon: lol same to you

The Agumon/Gabumon bromance is honestly one of the best things about this season. Not that we get a ton of it, but when we do we do I always feel like “yes, that’s Digimon, that’s it right there”

The Digimon rev up to face off with their cannibal and Groundramon quickly decides Ikakkakumon looks the most nutritious. He probably has lots of blubber and meat on him so I guess I’d go for Ikkakumon first too

Ikkakumon: Don’t eat me!

Jou: Wait don’t! He was teaching me how to be cool!!!

Taichi: Eat him! Eat him Groundramon! I can’t let Jou be the cool one!

Yamato: Are you two fighting to see who can reach peak villain status first?

Taichi/Jou: I’m naturally competitive

ka-boom!

Our heroes are blown back by. Takeru quickly runs to check on his big brother who seems to smack his head on a rock...

Yamato: It’s cool. I’m cool. The definition of cool. Ishida Yamato. That’s me.

Sora: Oh no, I think he’s got a concussion.

Takeru: No, that’s how oniichan is on a normal day.

The team starts to feel overwhelmed! That’s when a fire ignites in Taichi’s eyes and he announces the next siege!

Yamato: Taichi...

no but okay what even IS this moment. The episode goes out of its way to show us Yamato reacting to Taichi not giving up. This is a Thing. I don’t know what he’s feeling here - impressed? Happy that Taichi’s able to bring everyone together when they’re feeling defeated? Or is he also recalling how that same desire to never fail almost got him killed and his partner transformed into an evil evolution a few episodes ago?

So like I keep saying I don’t see why we had to split up the team for so long, and for now I stand by that. But one thing’s clear: the show wanted only Yamato around to witness what happened to Taichi. (I mean, Takeru was there too, but he’s a baby xP) And even Yamato doesn’t know everything - we don’t know how much he was actually conscious for. But I feel like, if there was any point to the separation at all, that was it. I hope so anyway. I like the idea of Yamato grappling with how to know when Taichi’s going too far while at the same time really valuing the way Taichi’s able to push them to victory.

Turns out Taichi’s new plan is... even bigger guns!

Pointed directly into Groundramon’s mouth!

Yamato: This is madness.

Taichi: No! This! Is! DIGIMON ADVENTURE:!!!!

Everyone attacks poor Groundramon in the mouth x’D im crying

The combined attacks seem to overload Groundramon and then MetalGreymon launches missiles down his throat, which cause these internal explosions. Uh, gross... like if there’s any time Jou should be puking it’s now

we won by being even more violent than normal! yay us!

Not that this means we get a break because Darknightmon chooses now to make his dramatic return!

They get blown back again

... but I love how adorably protective the big brothers are whenever it happens <3

Yamato and Taichi finally remember they never told the others much about what they’ve been up to recently, other than “we found the holy Digimon.” Now they add “and we found Darknightmon too.” Wow what a level of detail.

I honestly... expected Darknightmon to be interested in Hikari instead of Takeru xP It was a little too predictable so I was glad when he seems to go right for Takeru and Patamon after all.

Patamon, who’s recent hobby has been watching musicals, begins to sing:

Don’t ever kick a dog

because he’s just a pup!

You’d better run for cover

when the pup grows up!

Taichi: Uhh did he not see the part where Gavroche dies??

Yamato: He fell asleep before we got that far.

Angemon!!

Honestly... as a fan of 99 Adventure, Angemon there was SUCH a dramatic thing and... this isn’t. I know, I know, it’s a different show, we do things different in 2020... I just remember the excitement I felt about Angemon’s first apperance though. But, to be fair, although it takes a long time before his second appearance, once it happens Patamon always evolves to Angemon without all the fanfare and it’s just a normal evolution. So... yeah, this all makes sense xP

At least we end on a cliffhanger! What’s gonna happen?? Tune in next week!

So I guess I wasn’t that off about the team splitting up again, I was just wrong about when... next week it looks like they’ll be separated, which, although we just got everyone back together, I’m not upset about as long as each group gets focus. Now that they’re back in the digital world, there’s potential for stuff to happen. But it depends on the groups as well. I do sort of expect this is mainly a “put Taichi and Hikari” on their own maneuver.

Oh, was right about Darknightmon going for Hikari after all xP

My guess is... Angemon’s gonna fight but just not have recovered enough to stay in that form for long, and somehow that results in everyone separating... we’ll see. More importantly...

NANIMON!!!

My relationship with this guy is love-hate! I love to hate him x’D So I’m glad he’s back! Still want to see Piximon and Whamon the most but I’ll take it!

[blookmallow]

i finally rewatched Us watching for details... I also took a bunch of screenshots, I’ve mentioned before I live in santa cruz and grew up going to this boardwalk so im obsessed with this movie, I’m going to go try to take some better comparison shots sometime (here’s a few I took before) (and here’s a Tethered mannequin that was outside of the frightwalk for a while. i havent been inside for ages so I don’t know if they moved him inside or if he’s just gone now) (i HOPE they did something with the theme considering the frightwalk is literally a horror attraction beneath the boardwalk. i dont really want to go in there by myself though lmao. not a fan of animatronics jumping out and screaming at me) 

this is a lot, i have many things to say 

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

- the opening news segment is 11 at 11 

- you can faintly see adelaide/red’s reflection in the tv screen, with a toy rabbit (her shirt also has twin lines on it in multiple places but that could be looking too far lmao) 

- in the “Hands Across America” segment (aside from the obvious red figures linked together in the logo) : “from the golden gate bridge to the twin towers” another possible 11/twinning, and it starts in california, which is where the tethered revolution begins 

- on “from sea to shining sea” the exact same coastline image is just flipped 

(there’s also another 11 on the side of the TV here) 

- “This summer, 6 million people will tether themselves together” 

- brief mirroring in the boardwalk ad, not just two girls running on the beach but also two girls with upside down reflections in the ground, 

- fairly obvious one, but “find yourself” (as a sidenote there’s nothing in that spot irl, the roller coaster and the swings are real but there was never a ‘vision quest’ or a ‘merlin forest’ as far as I know and there’s no door or anything there either, the interior shots must’ve been done separately somewhere else) (nothing’s left here from the movie now either, I have no idea when they filmed it because I never saw anything or heard anything about it) 

- adelaide/red whistles “the itsy bitsy spider” when the lights go out in the vision quest - “down came the rain and washed the spider out,” it’s raining outside when her tethered comes up (and she is dragged down). she also drops her red apple on the ground before she enters 

- zora’s rabbit shirt 

- everyone else is eating fast food of some kind, except adelaide, who is eating red strawberries 

as well as being a visual cue, its possible she has an aversion to meat if she was forced to eat raw rabbit as a child

- young adelaide arranging animals in the sand (it seems like some of the tethered tend to mirror their counterpart’s movements, so it’s possible she’s mirroring red, though it’s probably not that likely she’d be planning this early/the dance hasnt happened yet so its probably just foreshadowing) 

- young adelaide very pointedly watches “her” mother crying, saying “I just want my little girl back” - she will never have her little girl back again, though she doesn’t know it (I’m not sure if adelaide still remembers what she’s done at this point either) 

its also mentioned that ‘grandma’ has passed away as of the present time, likely adelaide’s mother (i dont remember if its stated outright but since the house belonged to the grandma, and it’s in santa cruz, that would line up) so. the tethered mother, if she’s still alive, would not kill red’s real mother in the uprising. dont know about the father, or if red knows/cares about this, but. thats there. that also means the original mother will never know what happened with her daughter (likely the father won’t either, it’s not clear if he’s still alive but there’s no mention of him being around/he’s not at the house so it seems likely he passed already too) 

- adelaide, her reflection, and a (not so) itsy bitsy spider 

theres even two spiders, one a toy, one real 

- jason crawls out of a cabinet at zora’s feet and scares her while she’s looking in a mirror (which is also a very pluto-like movement) 

- adelaide finds the toy rabbit in a box; assuming the intro was chronological, we saw “her” with it in the tv screen reflection before she went to the boardwalk, so this was red’s rabbit first (she probably does not remember this, though) (red also later finds this and cuts off the head, not sure why though)

- adelaide “sees” her child self in the room with her (in her memory) learning her dance alongside her reflection

 but the reflection is the one she “sees” looking directly at her 

(she’s also interrupted by hearing her son, above her, screaming because he’s trapped, but that might not be intentional) (though when red comes down here later, she is also interrupted by her son getting stuck in the closet too)

- she’s also wearing a choker necklace with a matching gold bracelet, maybe an allusion to. the choking and the handcuffs, again i might be looking into it too much, but. the white clothes which steadily become red with blood seems very intentional so i wouldnt be surprised if the jewelry was planned specifically too 

- its really hard to see and its a split second throwaway comment but kitty goes “oh isnt that beautiful” showing her the magazine and i thhiiiink thats a white girl in a native american headdress :’  ) probably doesnt have. much deeper meaning other than ‘clueless white friends’ but 

- guy buried in sand comes bursting to the surface again and scares his friends (also eyyooooo you can see the wharf in the background im down there all the time) (sorry this is still wild to me. i grew up here ive been to that beach like 9 million times)

- i didnt catch it and was waiting for it to be shown again and it wasnt and i dont want to go back for it but anyway jason has a drawing of a bunch of people holding hands in a line like the hands across america thing in his room, theres a lot of drawings around and we see his drawing of the first untethered, so he probably drew that as well

- jason has a hard time communicating, but he seems to use drawing as a way to express himself. he doesn’t tell his mother about the encounter with the old man (and only shrugs when he’s asked about it) but he does draw it. adelaide found self expression through dance when she was a child before she was able to talk, so he probably got those traits from her. her voice also goes low and hollow on the line “I just didn’t know if you were lost, or... taken” 

- her voice also gets very strange when she’s talking about her memory of the encounter in the vision quest. low, shaky, harsh. its fascinating hearing how much alike the voices are (obviously they’re both the same actress/if the tethered are clones it makes sense that they’d have identical vocal chords but like. red’s got a fucked up voice. hearing echos of that in adelaide is wild and i didnt notice it at all before) 

- its not clear whether adelaide actually remembers what she did, or even realizes she was the copy - is she trying to protect her family from what she believes was the girl who almost took her, or trying to stop her from getting her revenge? she describes the event to gabe as if she was the one who was attacked but escaped, and im not sure if she’s lying or has convinced herself that’s the truth

something’s going on with jason and pluto too but I don’t quite know what it is. when we first see jason he’s wearing a Jaws shirt, kind of a similar vibe to the thriller shirt, and when the tethered arrive he’s wearing a white tuxedo t shirt, white matching his mother’s white outfit. the others all go off to kill their doubles but pluto holds jason’s hand, sits with him quietly, watches his magic trick, he’s told to go “play” which. obviously has a violent undertone to it but he doesn’t actually try to kill him. i dont even remember seeing him with the scissors. why are jason and pluto different. why does pluto get stuck mirroring jason’s movements even to the point of his death but the others dont. why didn’t adelaide mirror red

i guess its possible its because pluto is the youngest in the family so maybe he hasn’t broken out of his connection yet? they didnt really ever explain how they learned to do that 

and as for the connection with adelaide it. could just be that jason takes after his mom more and zora takes after her dad more but that seems too simple. i mean theres the theory going around that jason was actually switched with his clone too at some point and its got some good points (jason forgetting the magic trick, getting stuck in the closet again, etc) but theres a whole line of logic to debunk that too so its just. What’s Going On Here  

cal 11 

i took the first pic to get a comparison shot at the same place later irl but then noticed the ambulance they come across is the same one (#2) they saw earlier 

pretty obvious but the real rabbit comes out through the picture of an identical rabbit (there’s also probably a “rabbit hole” allusion here) 

i noticed this before too but now i have a screenshot of it, im the rabbit in the background just chilling on the floor during the climax here

- im sure i must have seen this before but i forgot about it. the 11:11 guy’s tethered didn’t have a sign so he just.......carved it into his head

- it never healed, either, he did it badly enough to scar

- red says “I couldn’t stop thinking about you, how you could have taken me with you” - she doesn’t mean adelaide ran off and left her there. adelaide made the choice to trap her in the underground. its possible red might have even been thinking how she would have let adelaide come with her if given the chance, which. i mean, i dont know how her parents would have reacted to suddenly having identical twins out of nowhere, but like. knowing there’s a chance red might have accepted her. and all this could have been different 

this is definitely a movie that’s not really intended to be fully explained, there’s a lot of questions that aren’t really supposed to be answered, but nonetheless one of my biggest concerns is where do the clothes come from underground. red tells us they were all abandoned down there generations ago so nobody’s supervising or providing anything. how do they end up with copies of the clothing their counterparts are wearing. and here adelaide has a messed up faded old shirt that either looks similar to red’s shirt or is the same shirt just badly damaged, she switches it with red’s before she goes out for good so that explains how she gets the new shirt, but where did this one come from. why is it different if the other clothes aren’t

and of course there’s the whole question of “where did they all get these red jumpsuits from” but again. questions that aren’t really the point, i guess

[starlling-writes]

I’m screaming!!

Senpai noticed me and complimented my writing! *insert fangirl noises here*

The scene I wrote is typed below the cut for anyone who’d like to read it (I didn’t want to just paste the pic of the text since that would be rude to anyone who is blind or has trouble treading screens). There are a couple typos in the original that I left in the copy below for authenticity’s sake (also because if I start editing one bit, I’ll want to edit the entire thing, lol).

Note: this is my personal twitter. I do technically have one for writing/exophilia/adult content,@ StarllingWrites, but I don’t use it a lot.

[ID: screencap of a Twitter conversaion between two people, Erika Ishii and Effy, consisting of three tweets. First tweet is by Erika saying, “One day I will be a Bond villain. I will have delicious scene-chewing monologues. I will wear a tailored tux and do martial arts in an evening gown. I will seduce Bond. And a Bond girl.” Second tweet is from Effy saying, “Okay so... this vague idea has been stuck in my head since I first heard Nice to Meet Ya by Niall Horran. I changed some of my original details to fit your Bond villain idea (though honestly, I love it more now). Hope you enjoy, (heart emoji).” Below that, is a picture of text. Third tweet is from Erika saying “Oh my god this is so good????” End ID]

Scene opens in a casino.

In walks Villain (V) wearing a tailored suit, no shirt under the jacket; gold necklace/body chain; simple yet stylish stilettos; hair up in a neat ponytail, perhaps adorned with a small gold ornament/clasp; (other accessories to taste). V is flanked by two fem bodyguards in black dress shirts and slacks, keeping a generous distance back.

V sits down at a table for a card game. Bond Girl (BG) is already there playing. BG stats acting coquettishly towards V. V plays into it. After a couple hands V says, “Why don’t we make this a bit more interesting. If I win the next hand, you’ll join me for drinks in my VIP lounge. You win... and I’ll make sure my ladies don’t kill Mr. Bond as he searches my office for this-” V pulls out an SD card or key, whatever.

Cut to scene of Bond in V’s office finding a note from V saying, “You’re going to have to try harder than this, darling ♡“ Behind Bond, a number of guards slowly walk into V’s office, ready to fight.

BG’s blood goes cold as she eyes the card as V slips it back into her jacket then watches the smirks grow on V’s face. “Well [BG’s name]. Do we have a bet?”

Cue fight scene, cutting between the fight of V vs BG, and Bond vs guards. V tells her 2 bodyguards in the casino to stand down, keeping it a 1v1 fight. V and BG’s fight is filled with homoerotic tension, ending with V pinning PG. “Looks like you owe me a drink,” V says.

V disengages, adjusts her clothes and gives BG a once over. “I’ll send some new dresses to your room. Drinks in an hour.” V walks off confidently, knowing she doesn’t need to threaten BG more, nor keep an eye on her, to know she’ll show for drinks.

During drinks, V comments, “I hope I didn’t leave any scars on you. Unless... you want a scar to remember me by.”

[pezberry-week]

So I have to admit this is a little bit of a cheat for my Pezberry Secret Santa fill for @angel-hummel - as in, it’s both my present fill and a prompt fill for my 25 Days of Christmas (AO3) fic collection. As it is, I have plans to revisit this someday, but I hope you enjoy this self contained bit anyway. Happy Pezberry Secret Santa, angel-hummel!

*

Day 21: Character A is pretending to be their friend’s lover for the sake of the friend’s family. Character B is said friend’s sibling.

*

“Santí! Come down and meet your brother’s girlfriend!”

“That’s really not necessary.” Rachel smiled at Maribel, hoping the woman wouldn’t see her unease. “If she’s busy we can always meet later.”

“Nonsense. It’s time for her to come down anyway.” Frowning, Maribel sighed, saying under her breath, “That girl,” before taking a step on the staircase, rapping harshly against the wall. “Santí! Get off the computer and come meet Rachel! Your brother’s girlfriend!” She turned her head, smiling at Rachel, “I’m so sorry. She’s always playing around with those music programs of hers.”

“Puck did tell me that she worked for Big Machine Records…” Rachel tried to placate, starting to feel even more awkward than she originally had when she’d first walked into her friend’s father and step-mother’s house as his fake girlfriend. “Perhaps she’s busy mixing and can’t hear you?”

Maribel huffed. “That would be just like her. Here,” she turned, descending the step she’d taken, “Can you be a dear and fetch her for me? I have to check on dinner, and this way you can introduce yourself.”

Blinking, feeling a little blindsided, Rachel barely had the chance to agree before Maribel was hustling her up the stairs, calling out a thank you as she turned to make her way back to the kitchen. Figuring there was no point in pausing in the middle of the stairs, she finished her walk up, pausing and wavering at the top before sighing and squaring her shoulders, turning to the hall of doors. About to start worrying about which she should knock on, she relaxed when she could see a door proudly proclaiming, “Santana’s Room Keep Out!!!” from where she stood. That was lucky.

The door opened after Rachel’s second smattering of hesitant knocks, Rachel still pulling her hand away. “I told you, Mamí, I have a deadline I have to – – you’re not mom.”

Beautiful brown eyes blinked down at her. Framed by thick, curly bangs and above a thin nose and plush, red lips, Santana Lopez practically took Rachel’s breath away. When the striking eyes narrowed, Rachel realized she was still staring, and she took a step back, shoving her hands behind her back so they wouldn’t fidget in front of her. “I’m Rachel. R-Rachel Berry,” she stuttered, “Puck’s… Girlfriend.”

“You don’t sound so confident about that,” Santana smirked at her, leaning against the side of her doorway.

Red slashed across Rachel’s face. “Oh, no, I am. I, er, just…” Trailing off, she remembered herself, standing forward to offer her hand, “It’s nice to meet you.”

Untangling her arm from the doorway, Santana accepted the handshake, and suddenly long, warm fingers were wrapped around Rachel’s. “Rachel, eh? Puck’s bandmate?” She made vocal bunny ears, “The tiny fellow Jew hottie?”

More red bloomed on Rachel’s cheeks. “Ah, yes, that’s me. Apparently…” She’d have to have a talk with Puck about how he described her in the future. Not wanting to relinquish the handshake, but knowing she had to before it became weird, Rachel pulled her hand back, Santana’s grip briefly tightening before releasing her, sliding her hand into the pocket of her skinny jeans. Following the motion, Rachel wondered why she’d thought it be a good idea to wear one of her ‘best impression wholesome girl’ dresses when she could have worn something like what Santana was and have given her an extremely different impression than what she was probably giving her.

“Seems like a pretty accurate description,” Santana smiled, bringing Rachel’s attention back up to her face.

Rachel laughed self-consciously. “You should hear how he describes you.”

Fine eyebrows rose. “Oh, you’ve gotta tell me.”

“Well, you know…” Taking a second to come up with a response, Rachel affected her voice lower, “’Santana Puckerman? My totally pain in the ass step-sister.’”

Rolling her eyes, Santana shook her head, a smirk still curling her lips up. “He just never stops complaining about when I almost castrated him with a s’mores fork, doesn’t he?”

“What?”

“We were eight.”

“Wait, his pain is literal?”

“I’m sure you’ve seen his ass. Is the scar still visible?”

“That’s… Actually not something I would know.” Thank god.

“Really?” Santana’s eyebrows shot up again. “Normally bro’s faster with getting his chicks naked. Boy does not know how to do the romance.”

“And you do?” Rachel immediately lobbed back, both out of curiosity and automatic defense of her friend.

Santana smirked. “I’m sure you’ve heard the tales about me. What do you think?”

Opening her mouth, Rachel was saved from making some obvious and pathetic attempt at not being flirty by the loud racket of Puck loping up the stairs. “Babe,” he called out carelessly, swinging himself around the banister, “Stop flirting with my sis and come make me look good. Mom’s wantin’ us all down there.”

“Puck,” Rachel snapped, not bothering to hide her mortification at his words as Puck wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side.

Puck smirked at Santana. “Ain’t she hot?”

Again, “Puck,” and Rachel elbowed his side, using his indrawn breath and flinch to disentangle herself, stepping aside and straightening her dress.

Santana surveyed them curiously, a lazy tilt of her lips showing her amusement. “At least this one seems to know how to handle you,” she teased, shaking her head; disappearing into her bedroom – Rachel getting a glimpse of black and white and a sumptuous looking bed – she called over her shoulder, “Give me a sec to save my work and I’ll be there.”

Once Rachel was secure she was far enough away to be able to hold a furiously whispered conversation, she rounded onto Puck. “You,” she jutted her finger at him, “Didn’t tell me how… Attractive she was!”

That elicited a loud, full-belly laugh, Puck even going so far to pretend to wipe away tears. “You’ve seen pics, haven’t ya?”

“Those were crazy, unflattering ones, and you know it!”

Still laughing, Puck shook his head, urging Rachel down and in front of him, meeting his mother in the kitchen. “Well now you know, eh?”

Giving Maribel a calm, benign smile, Rachel elbowed him again the second she was turned away.

*

A couple of hours later, gathered at the family table with a mug of spiked eggnog and reams of awkward, fake relationship comments behind her, Rachel couldn’t look away from Santana.

“You’re being obvious,” Puck teased, breath hot against her ear, lips curled up.

“Not caring,” Rachel lilted back, raising her mug in a toast when prompted, her tongue lapping up foam when it clung to her upper lip.

A strong finger poked her side. “Have you forgotten you’re my girlfriend?” he prodded.

Rachel grit her teeth. Turning her head, angling back to glare at him, she humphed. “Shhh. You, grateful, me going to ogle if I want to.”

“You do so criminally rarely ogle,” Puck hummed agreeably. “Should I let slip that you’re an out and proud bisexual?”

Rachel didn’t feel bad about the strength of the kick behind the side of her foot impacting her bandmate’s shin. She took a sip of her eggnog to cover the proud smirk at his fumbling of covering up the reason for his squeak. As her eyes traveled along aimlessly, she had to stop and blink, a blush covering her cheeks at the dark eyes smirking at her. Well. At least it was only Santana who had seemed to catch on. Rachel softly cleared her throat. “Dear, you alright?”

“No thanks to you,” Puck hissed, but gathered himself. “Hey, sis,” he abruptly burst out, motioning at Santana when both Abby and Santana looked at him, “Now that Show and Tell’s done with me n’ Rache, how ‘bout you? Got any hot tail in LA?”

“Noah,” Maribel sighed from her spot down the table, lowering her mug to the table, “Must you speak like that? I swear, I don’t know where you and Santana got it.”

Santana and Puck exchanged grins. “Lima Heights Adjacent,” they chorused.

Maribel closed her eyes. “We never lived in Lima Height Adjacent.”

“Tell that to the jocks and nerds who were terrified of Santana in high school,” Puck laughed. He affected his voice, lifting his hands, “’I’m ‘bout to go Lima Heights Adjacent on your ass if yous don’ts. Step. Offs. Afores I ends you.’”

Santana grinned. “You forgot the razors ‘all up in my weave’.”

Abby tched, rolling her eyes. “I went to William McKinley after you guys and heard nothing. So I think you’re lying. Or exaggerating.”

Grinning, her teeth biting lightly on the rim of her mug, Rachel watched the play-by-play. She jerked, cheeks glowing bright as Santana suddenly winked at her.

“Puh-lease. Puck was the one exaggerating,” Santana grinned, tossing her hair and adopting a teasing tone, “Who was the one who was a ‘sex shark’ who died if they stopped having sex?”

“Ay Dios mio and the Mother Mary!” Maribel groaned, her palm slapping on the table, stopping Puck’s retort, “Who raised you children? Have you no tact? Do I need to hear this, hmm?”

Santana snorted. “Ask your son, Mamí. He’s the one who used that excuse.”

“Oh, and you didn’t use tricks to get the girls into your bed,” Puck snapped, looking actually insulted, his chin and chest jutting forward.

Santana clicked her tongue at him. “Unlike you, I didn’t need to.”

“Oh god,” Abby muttered, hands covering her face, “Stop! Forget about need, I don’t want to hear this!”

“I agree,” Rachel chimed in, steel filling her voice as she pressed her hand into Puck’s thigh, stopping him. “Noah.” She didn’t actually really care, having made peace with how much of a horn dog her friend was years ago, but she figured his girlfriend probably wouldn’t be amused at all.

Puck frowned at her. “Why do you care? You’ve always listened to me talk about girls…” he asked, Rachel’s eyes widening as she figured out, before him, what he was saying.

Rachel didn’t dare look at the stares she could feel until, taking a deep breath and pasting a large smile on her face, she looked up with a, “We… Have a very open relationship.”

The first person she looked at was Santana, who quirked her eyebrows at her. “How open?”

“Santana Maria Puckerman, please stop antagonizing your brother’s girlfriend.”

“Who’s antagonizing?” Santana asked ‘innocently’, hands raised, “It’s a legitimate question.”

Though obviously a little uncomfortable with the confession, Maribel helped (made) the conversation pivot, and with only a few moments of grumbling and heated glares at his sister, Puck settled down. Doing so as well, though expressing it with a dark smirk instead, Santana hummed, turned to Rachel, winked again, and only turned away in satisfaction as Rachel’s ears heated up.

Rachel had a week more of this. Of Santana.

Rachel’s teeth bit lightly into the rim of her eggnog mug.

Oh god.

[ladynestaarcheron]

Like Pristine Glass - Chapter Five

ao3 - ff.net - masterpost

(tagging these cuties: @humanexile @skychild29 @rhysandsdarlingfeyre @candid-confetti ​ @rhysandsrightknee @missing-merlin @azriels-forgotten-shadow @books-and-cocos)

hey everyone! thank you all so much for your notes--I especially love getting all those asks after uploading a chapter! they totally make my day:)

so most of you were kind of upset about elain going against nesta’s wishes last chapter. i get that, and I'm with you. please take care to remember a) elain is really trying and she really does mean well, b) that was an early chapter and her behaviour will change by the end of the pic because c) i am just as team nesta as any of us here *sunglasses emoji*

anyway, enjoy chapter five!

---

October 19 - 4 years after

Nesta finds herself rather anxious as her dinner date with Amorette approaches. Her children pick up on this and ask her several times what is wrong, and she hates feeling like she’s hiding something from them, so she decides to take them to the park so they can run around.

After donning them in their jackets and boots, Nesta herds them all out the door to the direction of their favorite park. Ava leads the way, holding Nicky’s hand and chatting with him as Nesta and Ollie trail behind.

“Did you see Ramil at nursery today?” Nesta asks him.

“Yes,” he says.

“And did you play with him?”

“Yes.”

“What did you play?”

“We colored.”

“You colored? Together?”

“Yes.”

“Together at the table or together on the same paper?”

“Together at the table.”

“Good waiting, Avery, Nicky,” she calls ahead to them, as they wait at the curb for her to arrive so they can cross the street. Sugar Valley is almost comically safe, but there are some things she’ll never get used to, and letting the children cross the street alone and leaving her door unlocked are some of them. “Well, did you talk to him while you were coloring?”

“Yes.”

Nesta supposes that she once might have likened talking to Ollie to pulling teeth, but she’s different now, and she finds his shyness rather endearing. She adores Avery’s outgoingness, as well. She feels as though everything they do becomes them, and she smiles as she gently prods, “And what did you talk about?”

“About the colors.”

Nesta almost laughs. Of course the three-year-old wouldn’t have much to say about his and his mother’s recent move to Sugar Valley, but she tries again regardless. “Well, do you ever talk to him about where he came from? Or his mummy?”

“Sometimes,” Ollie says, shrugging. They reach his siblings, and he takes Nicky’s hand so they can all cross the street together.

“What does he say?”

“That his old nursery didn’t have any good green colors.”

“I see,” Nesta says, fighting off another smile. “Good thing he’s here with us now, then.”

“Ramil’s my friend, too,” Avery says.

“Also mine. And I was not coloring with him, but I was coloring with him yesterday, and today I was with Oz....”

Nicky and Avery talk about their day till they reach the park, and Nesta does not mind that she’s heard this relayed to her before, or that every day since they started nursery has been roughly the same. She’s very much relieved to hear that neither their father’s arrival nor his departure has psychologically scarred the children in any way. She doesn’t even think they’ve mentioned it to their friends--nothing their teacher has overheard, anyway.

When they arrive at the park, they see their friend Emilia already there, and Avery and Nicky run to her, pulling Ollie along with them. Nesta sits down next to Classia, Emilia’s mother, on a bench.

“Been a while,” Classia greets her. She’s from Prythian originally, and her accent is so similar to Nesta’s own it sometimes makes her feel the slightest bit...nostalgic? She is never entirely sure.

But now, of course, it only makes her think of Cassian and her sisters.

“I’ve been busy at the shop,” she says. She’s eager to draw the conversation away from herself, though, and says, “I heard you got a new collection.”

Classia runs a small boutique in town, with styles from the City.

“Oh, yes, for the winter,” she says, always excited to gush about her clothes.

Nesta tries to keep herself engaged in what Classia is saying, but she isn’t doing a very good job, her mind only on meeting Amorette later tonight. She’s near-desperate to talk to her friend, but she feels that it will make it more real, and she doesn’t want that.

So it feels all too soon and long-awaited, when it’s time for them to leave the park and head back home. Then it’s dinner and baths for the children and she’s tucking them into bed when she hears a soft knock on her door.

Most Gilameyvan residents let themselves in everywhere. Amorette always knocks.

She whispers one last goodnight--only Nicky is conscious enough to sleepily say it back--before closing the door behind her and making her way to the front door.

“Thanks for coming, I know you’re busy,” Nesta says, ushering her in.

“Of course,” Amorette says, her voice as low and smooth as always.

“Come into the living room. Let me get the food.”

Nesta brings out the pot of pasta she’s made and a bottle of wine.

“All right,” she says, pouring out two glasses. She takes a sip and closes her eyes. The wine spreads a warmth through her in a way it hadn’t four years ago.

She doesn’t drink very often now, and hardly ever anything very strong, and she doesn’t spend her time wishing she could. She had gone very long without any, and then she had been pregnant with triplets. And then given birth. All that together did a good job of helping to dissipate her desire and destroy her tolerance.

“All right,” she says again, putting her glass down. She takes a deep breath.

Amorette doesn’t say anything. She sits there, blue eyes thoughtful and patient.

“My children’s father showed up on my doorstep five days ago.”

Amorette’s eyes widen, but she composes herself almost instantly. “Did they see him?”

“Yes,” she says. She huffs a laugh. “They asked if he was their neighbor.”

Amorette smiles slightly. “And what did you say?”

“I told them to go inside. He asked if he could meet them. I...told him he could. He came the next day and for the next two days. Then he left to the Night Court. He said he’d be back within a few days.”

Amorette takes a sip of her wine. “And how are you holding up?”

“I don’t know.”

Amorette merely waits.

“I feel...I don’t know. He says he wants to be a part of their lives. Our lives. I don’t know...I don’t know. I don’t want to...start that again. I don’t care if he’s their father.” She regrets the words even as she says them, but she knows Amorette knows.

“There’s one thing I never understood,” she says. Composed and even, no matter what Nesta throws at her. “Did you ever tell him you were pregnant?”

And there is Nesta’s only part of her tale she never lets herself think about, for a variety of reasons. “No.”

And she doesn’t want to confront that, either.

“I’m a mess,” Nesta says.

“Tell me,” Amorette says.

And she does. Sorting her thoughts, her feelings. Amorette’s the first person she really did that with. Nesta’s not entirely sure what it is Amorette gets out of their friendship, but she’s immensely grateful to have her.

She finds herself smiling softly as she tells her of Cassian talking to Avery. “She’s just...she’s always reminded me of him. And even though--”

She stops. Tilts her head. And then leaps off the couch.

“Stay here,” she says, nearly hissing.

She’s at the door in seconds and rips it open, shutting it behind her.

“What are you doing here?”

For on her doorstep is another person from her past. One she used to desperately wish would turn up, years ago.

Elain. Beautiful, sweet Elain.

Even as her anger clouds her vision, her heart clenches. Elain.

---

October 5 - Year of

It had been a few days since he’d been gone, and the chocolate still sat untouched on the kitchen table. She glared at it every morning when she left.

She didn’t really go anywhere. Just wandered around. Sometimes aimless, her mind blank. Sometimes vaguely taking in the Steppes, the mountains. Never thinking of her sisters, of him. Not until she got back to his house, at least. In bed, at night.

Today she was wondering about the wind. She knew logically that the mountains were windier than the plains, but as she had never lived above sea-level before, she hadn’t really felt its impact. It was early October and it was already getting cold enough for her to need a heavier coat.

She didn’t really mean to go, but she found herself in front of the shops tucked further into the mountains, the ones she had suspected existed but not quite known where they were. She had found them a few days ago and had not gone inside. They didn’t look much different than the ones in the center of the camp, but she knew there must have been something. Perhaps poorer owners? She wasn’t sure.

There was a clothier place, wooden, and it looked newer than the others. There were a few coats on display--nothing very fashionable, but she supposed it didn’t matter. Especially considering she didn’t have any money on her.

Or at all.

A small bell rang as she opened the door. The store was warm, wonderfully so, and the glass and walls were strong enough that she didn’t even hear the winds outside.

There were three males inside, talking to a female. Their conversation didn’t stop when they heard her enter or scented her, which was odd. Normally her presence silenced Illyrians.

With one maddeningly irritating exception, of course.

Nesta inched forward slightly, careful not to move too much. It had been a long while since she had been anonymous or unseen in public. She rather missed it...and she was curious as to what they were talking about, what was so engrossing they had not noticed the Commander’s witch come in.

“...not exactly fit in with the rest of the camp,” one of the males was saying. Nesta did not know his voice, but his tone was all-too familiar. Condescending and mocking, masquerading as logical.

“I said, are you threatening me? I want an answer.”

Nesta raised an eyebrow. The female looked slight, and the males each looked two or three times her size, for one thing, and for another, this was Illyria. Females did not generally hold their heads high and stare down or speak so brazenly to any male, let alone three.

“Now, why would you think that?” another said, and something inside Nesta flickered. There was the condescension again. Once that would have sent her into a near-rage. Perhaps she was too used to it, numb to that like she was to everything else.

But not entirely. Some part of that fire was still there, just an ember, maybe, because the female said, “I want you out of my shop.”

And the first male said, “I don’t appreciate your wording, girl.”

And then Nesta said, “What do you think you’re doing?”

Her first words to anyone since speaking to that barmale a few days ago. She guessed the words alone weren’t anything special in particular, but there was power in her voice again, feeling.

The males agreed, she thought, because they all whipped around, their wings nearly knocking each other over.

Color leached out of their faces when they saw her. The one who had not spoken made a motion with hands Nesta had figured out was an Illyrian symbol to ward off evil.

“I like to shop in peace,” she said, taking care to look them all in the eye individually. They tried not to flinch, but they didn’t quite manage. The one who spoke first was best at hiding it.

“And were we bothering you...lady?” he asked.

She pursed her lips slightly. They always added the lady, didn’t they? No matter what they said to her. Her only claim to a title was via her sister’s husband, which would have been far-reached even if they had been on good terms.

“You are,” she said cooly. “And you’re bothering the mistress of the shop, I believe.”

The two more cowardly one's exchanged a glance. Slight panic in the third, but the second is more incredulous. The female’s lips quirked a bit at being called mistress of the shop, which had been Nesta’s guess, unlikely as it might be. It seemed she was correct.

The first one said, “This is an internal matter, lady. Concerning...Illyrians. Not...others.”

Others, he said. Because he wouldn’t call her witch, and he couldn’t call her High Fae--not the she minded, of course. She wouldn’t want to be High Fae anyway.

“I don’t care,” she told him. Because she truly didn’t. “I said I like to shop in peace.”

They didn’t move or say anything. Neither did the female. She seemed to be holding her breath.

Nesta rolled her eyes. “Go. Don’t let me see you again.”

The first one took the smallest step towards her. She nearly laughed. If he was trying to intimidate her, he might at least try actually standing in front of her.

“I don’t answer to your bastard Commander,” he said in a low voice.

And there Nesta did laugh. Mirthless, cold. “I have no commander,” she said, and she felt something flash in her eyes--something real, tangible.

And they must have seen it, whatever it was, because they all stepped back, the female too.

“Now get out.”

And they did, the third one making more signs of protection and mumbling something to himself under his breath. Nesta watched them go.

She heard the female loose a breath. She turned to face her. “I’d like to see your coats.”

The female did not look her in the eyes. “Lady, I....”

Was she going to grovel? Or ask her to leave?

“I don’t appreciate any interference with how I run my shop.”

Neither, apparently.

Nesta raised an eyebrow. “I don’t care how you run your shop,” she said. “I don’t care about if your neighbors like you or not. I only care to shop in peace. Will you let me see your coats or not?”

The female looked up. “They’re over here,” she said, and led Nesta over to the far corner.

Nesta started feeling the fabrics, as if she was debating which one to choose.

“Are you looking for anything in particular, lady?”

“No,” she said.

“Did you come in here to shop?”

Nesta turned her head sharply. The female didn’t blink, just stared at her head on.

Her eyes narrowed, but they didn’t flash. She didn’t feel whatever that thing was again. The emotion was...normal. She was intrigued.

“What’s your name?”

“Emerie.”

“Did you build this shop?”

“My father. It’s mine now.”

Nesta’s eyes trailed upward. “What happened to your wings?”

For running down the inner side, there was a long scar. It didn’t look like the scars most of the Illrian males had. This one was precise. Surgical.

Emerie started slightly. Hesitated. “I was clipped,” she said, and her voice sounds soft for the first time.

Nesta furrowed her brow. “You...can’t fly?”

Now Emerie’s eyes narrowed. “No.”

“Who clipped your wings?”

Her jaw clenched. “Are you sure I can’t help you with your coat, lady?”

Nesta blinked. She supposed she was being rude.

She didn’t mean to be. She was just curious by nature. She didn’t always know when to stop asking questions. She didn’t mean anything by it.

“Do you work here alone?” she said.

“Er...” Emerie was a bit surprised by her change in conversation. “Yes. The shop’s mine.”

“You do the sales? The upkeep? The storage? All by yourself?”

“Yes...lady.” Emerie’s tone was careful.

“What about the books?”

“What books?”

“The record books,” Nesta said impatiently. “Keeping track of sales, of orders. You run the books?”

Emerie faltered. “I...yes.”

“Well, isn’t that a bit much?”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t you need someone else along?”

Emerie locked her jaw again. “No.”

“Oh, you’re managing?”

“I am, lady.”

“You haven’t made a sale in weeks,” Nesta said. That much is obvious from the state of the store. There are autumn clothes alongside the winter ones.

The female steeled herself. “Lady, I ask you either make a purchase or leave.”

Nesta restrained herself from rolling her eyes and settled for crossing her arms. “Look. You need help here. I’m excellent with numbers and I’d ward off males like those. I need a job.”

“You need a job?” Emerie almost smiled. “You’re the High Lady’s sister. You live with the General Commander.”

Nesta was quite tired of being reminded of the facts. “That’s not my money, though, is it?” she snapped. Then she composed herself. “Well?”

Emerie tilted her head. “You’re good with numbers?”

Nesta’s heartbeat sped up. “Yes.”

“Show me.”

“Show me your books.”

Emerie led her behind the counter, pulled out a small brown notebook, and handed it to Nesta. She rifled through it.

It was disorganized. She didn’t have a good system differentiating sales and orders, and she was spending too much on things she didn’t need but (Nesta assumed) thought was befitting a clothier. And there was bargaining to be done, she thought. Her supplier for boots was overcharging her. Nesta told her this, explaining the changes she would make.

Emerie chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment. Then she sighed. “All right, then. You can start now. Organize that sales and orders bit you mentioned.”

Nesta sucked in a breath. She was hired. She had a job. And she’d get paid!

The females didn’t smile at each other--not the one with the scarred body nor the one with the scarred soul. But it was something close.

---

October 20 - 4 years after

Nesta stands at the stove, watching her children at the kitchen table. “Gigi Miri, look at my picture,” Nicky is saying.

“Oh, it’s beautiful, Nicky,” she says, looking over.

“Gigi Miri, please draw my hand,” Avery says, holding her hand down on her paper so Miri can trace it.

“Gaga Adil, please draw my other hand,” Avery says, switching her hands.

Adil and Miri exchange a smile. “Of course, Ava.”

The strawberry tea bubbles over on the kettle. Nesta turns to pour it into mugs.

It’s routine. Strawberry tea. Adil and Miri with her children at the kitchen table. Chattering, blissfully oblivious. Blissfully routine.

Nesta can almost pretend like Elain did not knock on her door last night.

Except then there is a knock, and Nesta can feel it in her bones, same as last night.

She stifles a sigh. Or a scream.

“Watch them, please,” she mumbles. Miri catches her eye and nods once.

She can feel Adil’s eyes on her as she leaves, but he doesn’t say anything.

Like last night, she opens the door only long enough to let herself out.

“Elain,” she says, sighing, “I thought I was clear--”

“I know, I know,” she says, interrupting her. “I shouldn’t have sprung myself up on you like that.”

To say the least.

“But since you know I’m here, it’s not really a surprise,” she says, her voice hopeful.

Nesta chews on her lip. She doesn’t want to hurt Elain. She never has.

And she has missed her. No matter how hurt or angry she is, Elain...she could never stay mad at Elain. Not truly, not forever. It isn’t because she was innocent or sweet. She is just her baby sister and she loves her too much. She is the first person she ever loved.

She was the first baby she ever loved.

“I want you to come with me,” she says. “Can someone be with...your children?”

“Someone’s with them now,” she says. “Where do you want me to go?” A part of her can’t believe she’s even entertaining the idea, but something in her soul won’t let her let her go.

“I...brought someone.”

Nesta’s heart stutters. “You brought someone?”

“Please don’t get angry,” Elain pleads. “She’s not here. She’s waiting by a park. She’s...we want to see you. Just for a bit. Just to talk. Please.” Her warm brown eyes are fighting back tears, and she’s struggling to keep her voice even, which Nesta greatly appreciates. Once she would have simply cried.

“Thirty minutes,” Nesta says. “Starting now.”

Elain nearly trips over herself turning around and setting down the street. She keeps turning ahead to look at Nesta, but she doesn’t say anything.

Sugar Valley isn’t too big and there aren’t too many places she could be, so she isn’t terribly surprised when Elain leads her into one of the parks.

And she isn’t at all surprised when she sees Feyre sitting on one of the benches.

---

October 24 - 1 year after

The fare to Gilameyva wasn’t too expensive. Then again, the carriage wasn’t very nice.

Montesere, she decided, was entirely ugly. The way the scenery changed the moment they crossed into Gilameyva was like magic. Perhaps it was.

Or perhaps she had been waiting for it for so long, it only seemed more beautiful.

Gilameyva boasted the largest export of berries North of the Wall, she knew. She hadn’t expected to see it everywhere, though. And she certainly hadn’t thought she’d smell it, but she did. A lovely sweet scent, a variety of berries mixed in. She couldn’t tell exactly which. She supposed she’d learn, if she stayed here.

“A little ways to Ciyaluck, lady,” the carriage driver calls back in his heavy accent. The Gilameyvan spoke the common tongue, but they also had their own language. Ciyaluck was their name for their capital city, Anvernessa.

She had much to think about, she knew. Sending a new letter to her sisters, in case they sent one into Montesere that she never received. Finding out exactly where it was she was going to go. But she was tired from her travelling, and she was in no state for heavy thoughts, so she simply leaned back and breathed in the sweetness in the air.

Better than salt and citrus. Better than pine. Better than anything.

---

October 20 - 4 years after

Nesta’s changed slightly since she last saw her. Her hair shines. She’s gained weight. Her curves are more defined. Yet there are dark circles and heavy bags under her eyes.

So Feyre gathers the years have been kind to Nesta, but not these past few days.

“Hi,” she says softly.

Nesta doesn’t say anything. Just stares at her.

Elain had said she was angry. She is probably even angrier at her. She supposes she deserves it.

“I’m sorry,” she says.

Nesta still doesn’t say anything.

“Please say something,” Elain says, her voice breaking.

Nesta turns to her head to look at her. “What do you want me to say?”

A tear slips down Elain’s face and she wipes it quickly away. “I don’t know,” she manages to get out. “I don’t know how I wanted this to go.” She swallows. “I know--I know you can’t forgive us. I know you didn’t even want us to come. But...I’m begging you, Nesta. We--we’re so sorry. And we love you--so much. Please, I know you can’t...but, please, if you could just try--” Elain’s voice cracks on her last word. She brings a hand to her face to keep herself from sobbing.

Nesta keeps her face impassive, but Feyre knows her. Nothing in the world could turn off Nesta’s connection to Elain. There’s no way this doesn’t phase her, even the slightest bit.

Elain takes a shaky breath. “I think we could bring more into your children’s lives. If you would let us. And it would be on your terms. Here, in Sugar Valley. They’re...a part of you, so...so they’re a part of us.” Here Nesta turns away. Feyre bites her lip. Elain continues, “We want to know them. We...please.”

Nesta’s eyes move upward, but not like she’s rolling them. “I...can’t.”

“Nesta,” Feyre says. Her sister winces slightly when she hears her speak her name. “I know we’ve...hurt you. But please. Please.”

It sounds pathetic, even to her own ears. But there’s just so much to say, and she doesn’t know how to say it. She’s thought for years what she would say to Nesta when she would see her again, and it’s like all of that has evaporated from her mind the moment she saw her.

“Just us,” Elain says, trying again. Her voice is stronger now. “Just the three of us. Slowly. Your children don’t have to know. Just...to try. We love you. And we know...we know you must still love us.”

Her voice is desperate towards the end, and Feyre feels her heart slip down. Because Elain’s right. She’s their eldest sister and she has to love them.

“Maybe lunch?” Feyre suggests quietly. That’s what Cassian had said they did. Perhaps she’d agree to that for them, too. “Just with us? For now...” she trails off. Hesitates. Then she says, in a small voice, “Emerie wants to see you too.”

Nesta closes her eyes.

“Please,” Elain says one more time.

Nesta looks at them both. Feyre is holding her breath. She can feel Elain do the same.

“No,” she says, and the air leaves the whole world. Elain gasps a little, a strangled sort of sound.

“I can’t right now. I’m...I can’t. S....”

And she turns right on her heel and leaves.

Elain gasps again, louder this time, and she breaks down into sobs, so Feyre can’t. She can’t cry because Elain already is and she knows Nesta is too and all the Archeron sisters can’t be crying at the same time. They just can’t.

Feyre sits down next to Elain and puts an arm over her. “She’ll meet with us eventually,” she says. “You saw, she’s mad, but she’s still our sister.”

Elain picks her head up and looks at her. “I d-don’t think we sh-sh-should come back until she asks us to,” she sobs.

“I know.”

“It was a mistake.”

“Oh, Elain....”

But she doesn’t contradict her. Because perhaps it was.

“We’ll do better,” she promises. She says the words to Elain but she’s thinking only of Nesta.

Elain doesn’t answer. She only weeps for the sister she fears she’ll never truly gain back.

---

Chapter Six

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

Museum of Mayhem Art Analysis

ahhh it’s finally here and it’s AWESOME. Lots of credit to @ifalnasminiatures for bringing this to my attention! Also credit to Hayder Hype for providing (nat zero six on gearbox forums) sources (Ashley Landry on twitter) in the description of his video because oh man it’s a lot

you can view most of these art pieces on the borderlands instagram as well

lots to talk about especially regarding the calypso twins so let us dive right in

tl;dr: tyreen has a weird red marking on her face in some old designs. i think troy used to be blind and missing his metal plates. more proof for my elpis/chemical sludge/lost legion theory that the twins are using said chemical sludge to give their followers psuedo-siren powers bc a dahl pumping station (hyperion pumping stations on pandora) but dahl had a presence on the moon

one of my favorites, it reminds me a lot of the Mask of Mayhem, but for villains.

Punk Girl is shown again twice, probably further proving she’s tied in with the CoV somehow

we also got some crazy looking villains such as

baby face. which is all kinds of extremely fucked up

this dude who looks like he could be a miniboss with the glasgow smile and the cool goggles

this guy who i legitimately thought was dr zed for a hot second there

could it be

the evilest brother?? pfft nahhh

this girl who seems like she could be a unique character with a baseball cap. wondering if maybe she’s related to Punk Girl in any way. What’s the verdict on the other band members? 🤔

uhh let’s give it a solid maybe and move on

this piece! very interesting to me

so, the very first thing i noticed is zane’s eye patch being on the other eye lol

amara’s tattoos are also gone, however that might’ve been for reasons similar to the japanese cover art of the game. 

most interestingly is a point @ifalnasminiatures made and it’s that the calypso twins are actually palette swapped! you can see Troy is the one with the white hair and Ty is the one with the darker hair. which I think mayyy play into a few things we see later about the twins

we also see a tiny ship in the background. i can’t tell if that’s sanctuary-iii or the blue/yellow ship, it all blends together a lot due to the quality of the pic. but it is next to the calypso twins, which makes me want to believe it’s the blue/yellow ship we see with red markings all over it. you know this one from the mural of mayhem wallpapers

you can see the reddish markings on the back right next to the engines

then we have ummm

this cover art

😬

thanks for not using this one gearbox cuz 

oh my god

she just reminds me of suicide squad, that’s not a good image you wanna dredge up from the deep recesses of your fans’ brains

she might be a unique character given the clothes/hair? cuz you don’t normally see psychos with stilettos on. or yknow, shoes in general. the hair also seems way to clean and neat to be a psycho/cultist

i just feel uncomfortable looking at this, so moving on

a different logo. also not my favorite cover art, but at least im not physically uncomfortable looking at this. that poor girl’s pelvis... anyway

lots of silhouettes

interestingly, i feel like the roses might have been a thing they just put in for the new cover art. haven’t seen hide nor hair of them across any of the pictures i’ve seen.

we got a lot of figures. out of them i most definitely recognized amara, salvador, maya, another salvador?, zer0, moze (maybe?), and axton. i thiiink one of them is maya as well, but im not 100% on that. 

i can guess why they didn’t pick this one: it’s hard to tell who’s who. a lot of these poses make the silhouettes kinda hard to see and the merging together at the bottom makes things even worse. i do think it’s interesting there are some bl2 characters on here as well, but hayder hype mentioned they very well could be placeholders, and given that i can’t make out fl4k or zane, im inclined to believe him.

this art which was used during the promo for this event

rip elpis i guess LMAO

a better look at the psycho himself from the promo released by the borderlands twitter.

there’s a new red planet which hasn’t been shown off before, looks like a gassy planet kinda like jupiter, but interestingly it has this green crack in the side?

very reminiscent of pandora’s eridium scar. i am wondering if this is because this planet had a vault opened, or if it is tied to the Eridians at all. be interesting if it was their homeworld.

also i have no idea what the symbolism is in the homeworld destroying another planet but maybe we shouldn’t think about it too hard e_e

the other planet that’s being destroyed... idk fellas

it doesn’t match up to me but like, this is only one shot

i don’t know 🤔 if you really squint, maybe you can see that hint of purple at the bottom there?

here

tbh, i thought this was elpis the first time i saw it due to the cracks, but i figured elpis doesn’t have like continents across its surface, just craters. and wayyy more cracks.

so it’s probably not pandora and it’s probably not elpis.

huh...

i do think the actual shot is suspended above promethea, you can see the familiar asteroid belt surrounding it

there’s also a planet in the background,

which i imagine isn’t pandora bc no eridian scar

could be elpis or eden-6, or the 5th planet we don’t know about. i kinda get the feeling the 5th planet may be that gaseous red planet tho. which is probably going to be super weird to traverse now that i think about it. they said oz kits weren’t coming back, right? i wonder how that would work. hmmmm

there’s also this redder planet here which i actually DO think is Pandora. if you squint real hard u can see the purple from the eridian scar. plus the color matches up pretty well with the pictures provided above.

there’s also these two bodies over in the corner where the light is coming from. i can’t tell what they’re supposed to be

there are also these little dudes in the top right

i assume they’re maliwan? they remind me a lot of the maliwan drop ship things that fly overhead when you enter promethea

YESSS okay this is the start of some PRETTY WILD twin stuff

troy: missing his tattoos, blind in one eye, has a weird mark above his eyebrow. also, no metal bits!

Tyreen!!! with a red stripe across her left cheek going up to her eye??? no tattoos on her left arm as far as we can see, but that might be for marketing reasons (she’s also covering up part of her bicep). she’s also missing her coat and chains and wearing a different glove.

we also have a bunch of bl2 VHs taking up space. again i think hayder hype is right in that they’re simply placeholders. not much else to say, but 

this trend of Tyreen having red markings on her face and Troy being blind in an eye (or both) actually continues through a fair amount of these posters!!!

more cover art. one of my least favorites again... i just think it looks like the psycho is puking out the VHs. also, seems to be an older version of the psycho mask.

fl4k seems to be less rendered than the rest of the cast? like they have less detail, especially on their coat

also you can see an older looking space shuttle up at the top, which reminds me a lot of the one we use in TFTBL to get to helios. except less caravanny and more rockety

the splatter also reminds me of siren powers, with the purple and the glitter. it’s cool that it’s showing a different shot than what’s behind it. maybe a hint to siren powers because it’s sort of like a portal.

more puke! 

this time troy is blind in both eyes it seems,

tyreen seems to still have a mark on the left side of her face, im wondering if this ties into her scars at all? it doesn’t seem as prominent as the previous red mark.

Zane seems to have an actual eye patch instead of his more high-tech eye patch, which reminds me a lot of the leaked character concepts from like january i wanna say

amara seems to be dual wielding lol i wonder if originally that was going to be one of her 3 skills but then they were like “wait salvador. wait. nisha. FUC-”

also fl4k is being obscured by this weird saturn-like planet. let them be free!

moze is missing, the saturn like planet shows up 2 times total, and that blue/yellow ship is seen again behind troy

as for the purple stuff? you already know my theory that the twins are going to be using the chemical sludge on elpis to empower their followers. it could also just be straight eridium/slag. you know, like the testing from the WEP with bloodwing and even krieg. we’ll have to see. it would be interesting if they tied krieg into the story through there.

i do lowkey think it’s chemical sludge though, because some of it is actually glowing blue in places, you can see it clearly below amara’s feet. maybe some tie in to siren powers cuz they glow the same blueish color. who knoooows not i

big shot of this psycho here, looks like he’s crumbling. 

i really like the 4 VHs standing at the base with the elongated shadows. very dark vibes from this tho, probably not suitable for the series as a whole. i can see why maybe they decided not to do it. 

i wonder if we’ll see this giant psycho statue somewhere on pandora. it would certainly be a sight to behold. 

also i kinda wish we had cloaks like the concept art shows. cloaks are cool

more sketchy art. this one is also kinda strange, i definitely get why they decided not to go thru with it.

possibly tie-in with the ‘mother’ imagery we get on the propaganda signs across pandora.

lmfao the foot

very bl2 like, im glad they didn’t stick with this. i like that they decided to change things up

troy seems to be blind and also missing his metal implants on his face. his jacket also looks a lot different, it looks more like tyreen’s with the spikes and stuff across it. we also can’t see his metal arm at all, tho we do see his sword! which looks a lot different, im glad they decided to revamp it to be more visually interesting lol

tyreen is more interesting to me. it looks like her right arm has like a silver coating over it? unless that is a metal arm as well. she also is wearing a different kind of glove. her tattoos are missing as well, but again, it’s probably because of the cover art. her scars also definitely seem to have reached her left cheek at some point.

zane also looks a lot different, tho amara, moze, and fl4k look about the same.

another shot of the ship, this one is definitely the blue/yellow one. there’s gotta be some significance with that, right? either we’re getting skins for sanc-iii, we’re going to be painting it a new color, or it’s a different ship.

what the HECK

maybe the twins stole sanc-ii and we’re using sanc-iii. idek. this ship is driving me up a wall lol

gun head.

not a lot to say here. i actually like this one lol it’s very mellow and straight to the point. it’s nice that the logo is right in the middle, not at the top like most of them.

game. buy it. okay? cool.

similar to the other background we did, a bit different. again, like @ifalnasminiatures pointed out, the twins are actually palette swapped here. 

Zane also has the old eyepatch on his right eye instead of his left eye, and his jacket is black instead of blue. fuckin’ edgelord.

one of my favorite ones out of all of them. it’s beautiful, i really wish they had kept it. Fl4k is missing but i assume they were meant to go next to Amara? i also think it’s interesting Moze is in the front, as I took Amara to be the leader this time around. Zane is also an older design, with the eyepatch back on his left eye again (starting to think this is an aesthetic thing lol) and a black jacket instead of blue.

We see the twins on the top. Tyreen has that mark on her face again, and Troy is the same as the last few covers.

We also see Maya, Zer0, and for some reason Brick? Which is weird to me considering we have a few other characters who initially feel much for important to the story (cough Lilith cough), but I’m not complaining. 

the purple splatters again make me think this is a tie in to eridium/slag/elpis’s chemical sludge. i also like the logo being worked into the design instead of just thrown on top, i think that’s a nice detail

i couldn’t find a great shot of this poster which is a shame because it’s one of my favorites

a lot of baddies to go around on here. i love the dude up top, he reminds me of the Anchormen from the captain scarlett dlc in bl2!

these dudes

we can see Punk Girl on the left again

and this guy who appears to be in some medieval armor

i have no idea what’s going on there but i am EXCITED

i’ve been thinking and tbh i think the multiple planets thing was just an excuse for gearbox to go absolutely ham on the character designs/settings. 

i mean why should they have to hold back all their medieval armor designs for another dlc like tiny tina’s? all their pirate/sea-fairing designs for a pirate dlc? fuck it! go WILD. i think they did, anywho

there’s also this post which... tbh i can’t make out much at all. again, seems like an older psycho mask design. it looks like there are characters in the splatter on the bottom left, but it’s very hard to tell who’s who, especially at this angle and image quality lol

if we get a better shot later on i may return to this piece and try to figure things out!

we also have this piece which is giving me huge ‘Happy Together’ vibes. very trippy

moze looks like she’s using an untextured atlas gun? dunno what’s going on with that tbh lol

i really like this one too. it’s cool. i get why maybe they wanted to go a little crazier tho, feels too simplistic for the MAYHEM vibe they’re going for.

oof! can we get an F in chat for whatever planet/moon this is

lots of pink floyd vibes going on here as well

we see a different looking blue/yellow ship flying away from the explosion. it seems to missing a lot of the parts that make sanc-iii so recognizable including the engines/wings

i like the destruction vibe they’re going for here, really sells the “universe destroying power” the twins are supposedly going to get. 

anyway, in addition to the cover art pieces, we also got a few concept art pieces as well!

this bit which looks like a gun

you see the aiming mechanism up there? you see how it’s aimed at that planet/moon? yeah i 100% timed this so you’d see the above concept art with this immediately after :P (im kidding i didn’t but hey now you don’t have to scroll)

fuck yeah babey

we also have seen something similar to this in the gameplay trailer!

i didn’t actually think it was a giant fucking GUN tho. can we get an F in chat for Promethea and/or whatever else this thing gets aimed at

yooo

i thought this was opportunity at first cuz of the bridge but it’s more likely promethea

when u go meet zer0 you can see some water surrounding the city so i would guess this is somewhere else on promethea

im mostly interested in the giant fuckin triangle in the middle of that courtyard looking area

oh also the giant trench of destruction on the right there. that’s probably important, too.

more concept art!

i think the bottom of the 4 VHs is actually what was leaked in january.

some art of the twins on the left there, tyreen is so much shorter than troy omfg

and this does indeed looks to be a younger version of angel so credit to @prettypinkdork for mentioning that on my angel post. it is nice to see those tech-y wings in action, definitely does prove it’s her.

we can also see this art of what i think is Punk Girl, which is interesting to me because she looks to be doing something with her right hand. possible siren powers? maybe! 

we also get a much cooler, bigger version of that maliwan ship people were talking about, with what look to be maliwan... eye bots? surrounding it. this is soooo fuckin awesome to me because it reminds me of a sailboat. and airships are fucking COOL

but something interesting is that i don’t think this ship was actually always maliwan

we got an A in the back here... for Atlas? i mean... you know it’s coming... the colors would match up. Yeahhhhhhh...

more interesting is that it actually looks like maliwan covered it up with their flags/tarps. i would not be surprised if this was claimed by maliwan possibly during the takeover.

a cyclone, with a whole fuckin lot of detail. just... holy shit.

not much else to say here though. i like the stuffed animal on the side, though

a better shot of jakobs manor which holy shit looks badass as fuck

big turret/observation thing on the right there? im not sure

pretty sure this is eden-6. also more tropical trees? possibly a water planet? but maybe just ocean on eden-6. also there seems to be like webbing on whatever is on the road, so maybe some spider-like wildlife?

most important to me is this

yeah i would bet that’s eridium/slag/the chemical sludge from elpis

im pretty convinced this is something on elpis mostly because the DAHL logo on the side. which again, they were on pandora yes but they were mining for iridium not eridium. if this was pandoran pumping stations, that would be hyperion.

i do think this is elpis. and i do think the twins are using the chemical sludge that mutated the lost legion into those fake siren things to give their followers superpowers.”holy holy holy” indeed.

this, plus the rakk wings on the psycho in the mask of mayhem are just convincing me more and more

that’s all for now folks. i gotta run

[warehouse13pod]

Show Notes 107 "Implosion"

Evil is afoot, Agents.

As always, you can click on this link or by clicking play on the embedded player below to listen to this week’s episode while reading the show notes.

Also, don’t forget that you can support us on Patreon!

This week's Writer Appreciation Corner focuses on Bob Goodman, a true asset to the Warehouse 13 writing staff. We love Bob Goodman and even featured a quote from his io9 article in our "Bonus 01 - Podcast 13 Season 1 Trailer,” linked here and embedded below.

You can follow him on Twitter as @b0bg00dman.

The episode starts with Pete imitating a dubbed Japanese samurai movie. This week's episode dealt a lot with a lot of ~heavy themes~ related to Japan and WWII, and interestingly those themes tie directly into the media history of samurai cinema. Pete was almost certainly imitating the action-packed samurai cinema films that were popular after WWII. And, in fact, most samurai cinema was set during the Tokugawa/Edo Period--exactly when the Honjō Masamune was crafted. You can find a list of some seminal works of Samurai Cinema from The Criterion Collection.

It's interesting that the episode focused on a Masamune being given as a gift to a US president after WWII, because a Masamune was actually given to President Harry S. Truman after WWII and currently resides in the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum. That's a pretty direct allegory to a sword being given to Woodrow Wilson and residing in the Woodrow Wilson Museum of Peace.

Incidentally, there is no actual Woodrow Wilson Museum of Peace, but there is a Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum, and it is (at least partially) a house!

And since the episode got to the Honjō Masamune pretty quickly and led to an early introduction of our expert in the podcast, let's give her the same treatment here in the show notes! We are so grateful and honored to have had the highly illuminating Dr. Nyri Bakkalian as our Artifact Expert this week. She shed so much light onto a subject that I have just…no other knowledge of whatsoever. It was fascinating to hear all she had to say about the Honjō Masamune and about Japanese swords post WWII more broadly. You can find her on Twitter as @riversidewings, check out her blog, or support her on her Patreon for more information.

Dr. Nyri Bakkalian shared a cringe-worthy story of someone who stripped a samurai sword to the tang. If you know nothing about swords (like me) then you probably didn't know what a tang was--or that there are so many more parts of a blade than the hilt, tsuba, and that long stabby bit. For my fellow sword novices, here's some info on the anatomy of a sword. Here's some information specifically on Japanese swords. And here's some information specifically on tsubas and other Japanese sword mountings.

But guess what?!

Dr. Bakkalian was kind enough to give us even more information after Miranda's interview. She sent us a link to a Japanese resource that discusses the real Honjō Masamune--and that even includes a diagram of the sword itself. Dr. Bakkalian added that "the sword was appraised many times, but it was designated a National Treasure of Japan in 1939, so we're fortunate that we at least have a paper trail if not the blade itself."

While I don't know much about swords, I do know a bit about kitchen knives. And what I know about kitchen knives ties in--very slightly--with the history of swords. Specifically, the layering technique of forging Japanese steel blades. Here's a bit more information on how Japanese kitchen knives are made and how that ties into the history of sword-making in Japan. Not that anyone asked, but I'm a big fan of my hybrid knife set that has a Japanese steel blade but a piece of thick metal that extends all the way down through the hilt like a German blade. The knives have a nice thin, sharp edge like a Japanese blade but a comfortingly weighty, solid handle that makes me feel more in control as I cook. I've included pictures of them, because I love them and this is the closest I can come to being useful about anything related to blades.

This episode dealt a lot with the frustration that can come from poor communication between friends and coworkers. This is something that Artie struggles with a lot. Here is an interesting blog post for any managers or team leaders out there looking to foster better communication in their workplace.

In the stakeout scene in the parking lot of the Japanese Embassy, Pete makes a joke about how the goggles make him look like Kermit the Frog. I couldn't find a pic or gif of him in the goggles, but here's a pic of Kermit.

As we get further into the series of Warehouse 13, we're starting to encounter more and more artifacts per episode, which means that we may not have experts on to discuss every single artifact that an episode references or features. That said, we love this fan wiki as a resource to look into the artifacts that don't get as much airtime on Warehouse 13 or on our podcast.

In this episode, we don't spend a lot of time on it, but Artie uses a 14th Century Firework called an "Ice Flower" that mesmerizes onlookers by triggering a feedback loop in their optic nerve. You can find out more about mesmerism in our show notes for 103 "Magnetism." The fan wiki points out that the firework resembles  a type of firework known as a Catherine wheel firework. Here's some more information about the history of fireworks.

In the hotel room with Artie, Pete, and Myka, Myka demands that Artie tell them exactly what the sword does. We learn that the sword turns the bearer invisible but splitting light in half. The bending and manipulation of light to essentially mimic invisibility is actually a thing that scientists are researching. There are lots of techniques they try, and you can learn more about them here.

In this same scene, we got another great detail from the brilliant art department on this show. As Artie is explaining the history of the Honjō Masamune, he pulls out a Japanese handscroll. Japanese illustrated handscrolls are a beautiful and intricate form of visual storytelling media and you can read more about them here. Personally, I learned about them from the video lecture series from Sunday at the Met entitled "Storytelling in Japanese Art." You can click the previous link or click play on the embedded video below to watch that lecture series.

You can find more lectures about art and history from The Metropolitan Museum of art on the museum's website or more directly, from its YouTube channel. I've found some truly amazing information there.

We made a reference to Kluger getting "dusted" (RIP Kluger). That was, you guessed it, a Buffy the Vampire Slayer reference.

Miranda referenced using the Oxford English Dictionary to look up the origin of the word "kabosh." The OED, as it is affectionately called is an amazing resource at whom's alter Miranda and I both worship. It's so much more than a dictionary. It gives the history and first use of every word you can imagine.

You can gain access to it with your library card number, so please: support your local library. Go and sign up for a card, so you can access this awesome resource.

Now that you have a library card (I'm assuming you dropped whatever you were doing to go support your local library and get a library card), you can now check out the books where the phrase "to put a kabosh on" were first used. The first was Sketches by Boz by Charles Dickens and the second was The Wheels of Chance by H.G. Wells.

It is taking literally everything in my power not to post a spoilery gif of H.G. wells right now, but I'm committed to keeping major plot developments out of the show notes until we discuss them on the podcast, so instead here's a picture of me right now trying not to spoil things.

We also discuss how Artie's file said he was suspected of espionage but was actually arrested for treason. Small fact check, but espionage and treason are different crimes.

Outside the Wilson Museum, Pete and Myka have one of their patented heart-to-heart and Myka unintentionally reveals--much to Pete's delight--that she is a fan of Star Trek: The Original Series. Specifically, she and Pete discuss the trope of "red shirts."

We talked about how the orange vs. purple Tesla reminded us of lightsabers in Star Wars and Priori Incantatem in Harry Potter.

Miranda gave a Mini-Actor Spotlight on the actor who portrays Mrs. Frederic's bodyguard, Jung-Yul Kim.

Meanwhile, our main Actor Spotlight of the week focused on James MacPherson himself, Roger Rees. His IMDB is incredibly impressive, but his credits extend far beyond his work on the big and small screen.

Miranda recognized him from his turn as Lord John Marbury in The West Wing.

We also gave a shout out to Rees' husband, Rick Elice, an accomplished writer and actor in his own right. Sadly, Roger Rees passed from brain cancer in 2015. He was a powerful and talented actor who left an enduring mark on Warehouse 13. Rest in Pease, sir.

We referenced this hilarious scene with Pete and Myka's gesture-based discussion about needing to shoot unsuspecting Secret Service Agents with the Tesla...

…and how it reminded us of Spike knocking over the "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign every time he entered and left town in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (Another reference #TakeAShot)

We also take a moment to appreciate the importance of Leena to the Warehouse. She's great, and we want everyone to remember that she's great.

We also talk about how Artie's unwillingness to address the source of his closed-off nature ends up putting Pete and Myka in danger and making Myka very upset. She says that Artie needs to address his emotions instead of allowing his emotional scars to hurt those around him. Miranda and I support mental wellness and therapy. Please see our show notes for 103 Magnetism for a list of crisis resources.

The episode ended with a couple of quotes from the Talmud. You can learn more about Jewish Sacred Texts here. I haven't personally used this resource so I can't very translations or commentary or anything, but we always link to books we reference in the podcast--so, if you want, you can read the Talmud online here.

That's all for this week.

See you next time, Agents.

[merlinthoughts]

Season 1 Episode 4 - The Poisoned Chalice

- god fucking dammit here we go again, i'm bloody done with my life and do not, at all, want to see merlin die bc i don't remember anything except that, yeah, he dies and someone has to get off their ass and save the motherfucking day and kiss him

- i realise how much i swear in these posts bc 1. when do i not? 2. i'm emotionally invested 3. i have no other excuse i just like swearing

- AAAND NIMUEHS IN CAMELOT SHE THINKS SHE'S SO SLY WITH HER HEAD THING

- id recognise her in a split second tbfh, she aint subtle

- *heterosexual tension*

- merlins skin be looking so smooth this episode, this boy be wearing lots of Dove

- he looked so excited to be in the banquet, then arthur just fucking slashes him with “not quite” and his hopes and dreams are destroyed

- “wanna see what you’ll be wearing tonight?” arthur says as he's behind the fucking changing curtains, about to get undressed and show merlin his birthday suit

- i honest to god thought that was where he was going, but no, he was just getting something from behind it

- “tonight you’ll be wearing the official ceremonial robes of the servants of camelot” IT'S A FUCKING DRESS ISN'T IT

- aw damn id have preferred a dress

- that smile shared between them was the most adorable scene

- god

- i

- fucking

- love

- their

- smiles 

- sm

- best thing ive ever seen

- i mean… hunty look at that piece of glistening butter beauty

- wow ok back to the episode:

- bros being bros and giving each other a handshake to destroy the mortal enemy pack and put together a family, we stan.

- as if a servant who has only had eye sex with another servant ONCE would trust them enough to say that one of the chalices were poisoned. like??? “ur the only one i could tell” LMAO NO?

- she's a sly fucking dog tfbh

- “if he kills arthur, uthers soul will be broken and camelot will fall” at this rate uther prob wouldn't care if his son dies or not, look at him, he's already mentally broken. he has anxiety and paranoia over magic. child services where u at in the medieval ages?

- i wouldn't believe a word she said, or well, id have believed it was poisoned but id say yeah no damn way you aren't in on it if you know which one it is. bayard wouldn't tell a fucking servant.

- HE'S GONNA SNAP ISN'T HE

- MERLIN FUCKING SNAPPED

- yknow what we say here folks? U DO U MERLIN

- okay i was fine if uther made bayard drink it but like the moment uther said “mmmh… no.” and slowly turned to merlin i think my arteries just crunched together and died so

- “if it is poisoned, he’ll die” HE'S FUCKING SCARED MERLIN WILL PASS AWAY ISN'T HE?

- “it's fine” he says, then starts to fucking choke

- ah fuck he's down

- my boy is down

- FUCK ME SIDEWAYS WITH A CHAINSAW

- ARTHUR CROUCHES NEXT TO HIM LIKE “BB NO”

- lmfao bayard looks so shocked, his face is in disbelief and confusion, he's like who tf done me bad

- arthurs carrying merlin fireman style this is what i live for folks

- did like nobody notice the flower stuck on the inside of the cup? like honestly if you take a sip you’d kinda spot it or perhaps even the person pouring the drinks would have been “is this chamomile tea? no? then what the fuckery-doo is this leaf in here for?” yknow. it's like that scene in Matilda when the angry buff lady completely missed a fucking salamander in her cup when it was the size of her bloody hand. it brings out the same mood honestly

- does gaius have an index for these books or does he just have every page memorised and know exactly what page to go bc I FUCKING NEED THAT it would make bio so much easier if i knew what page it was on instead of looking back and forth from the homework sheet to my textbook, then closing it by accident and having to find the index again for that specific page i need

- arthur wants to fucking go on a life-or-death journey to save merlin i've never been so happy

- this is honestly my favourite episode, like it may be really fucking angsty but i love it so much

- arthur betrays his dad and leaves his room even after being told not to just so he can save a servants life is literally my new moto

- NO IT WON'T LOAD MY NETFLIX IS STUCK ON 99%

- okay so while i'm waiting for my shit to load, i just discovered the new fucking tumblr rule starting dec 17 and i'm like 0.2 inches away from just spamming NSFW pics on here just for laughs

- like hunty, that won't stop people from posting elsewhere or for thinking about sex bc like??? whatchu gonna do tumblr?? get the fbi to erase it from our minds

- i think nOT thot

- watch me get flagged for just using the fucking term “NSFW”

- i'm gonna end up asterisking everything (is asterisking a word? wow it has red under it so like probably not but i just added it to my dictionary so uhh it is now)

- by asterisking i dont mean furry kin shit ew no

- i mean like N*FW, s*x, t*mblr, m*rthur

- god it took me like 20 minutes to calibrate my fucking wifi and fix the connection problem

- wow the stage for the poison increased by 75% in 30 mins, damn

- merlins like like having a conniption on his bed lmao, chanting arthurs name and sweating lot

- do we ever find out how uther gets that scar bc i'm like 100% positive arthur was a little child and swayed his fucking sword too hard just as uther rounded the corner. the sword then collided into his fucking brain and destroyed a good part of his intelligence, targeting especially his morals on how to accept people and how to be a good father

- that’s my theory

- merlin starts talking enchantments in his sleep while gwens watching, and gaius is just there like wtf merlin ur blowing ur cover “oh! gwen!! uhhh sorry. he’s just... in a latin study group in his pastime and has an oral presentation in minutes”

- omg, nimueh, stfu

- i didn't know dinosaurs existed back then, this reptile be whack

- y’know what's funny? ppl thinking dinosaurs didn’t exist. i find creationism very very very intriguing bc how fucking stupid could you be

- that sword throw was faker than my moms tits

- arthur could have done better

- k but like what if merlin’s hand wasn’t under the covers? like he was just throwing that blue ball around right in front of gwen

- can arthur like not hear her? nimuehs literally enchanting the rocks right behind his ear lobes and arthur acts nothing of it until those said rocks collapse and he gasps and suddenly he realises shes evil

- also his fucking hair in this scene looks glorious. perhaps bc it's pushed back rather than his bowl cut, but its doing things to my abdomen

- i thought for a second she was pulling off her mask to say “nimueh” and arthur was gasping bc he only recognised her after her hair was shown, just like in that scene with joker and harvey in the hospital

- OH RIGHT THE SPIDERS I LIKE COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THOSE SONS OF A GUNS

- i’d be dead if those spiders came crawling up to eat me lmfao

- k so nimueh went from :) to >:D in half a second

- i'm smelling up those symbolisms, boys

- watch out pals cause here are some of them:

- merlin is the LIGHT of arthur’s life

- he LIGHTS up the party

- he gives arthur a BRIGHTER future

- he's the GUIDE for his path

- hahhahahaha

- i'm serious when i say i have a huge fear of insects (spiders count in that too, no discrimination) so i'm just putting that there, saying to yall id be fucking terrified

- gaius would be so confused, like we don't see his face here but merlins close-up sweaty concentrated frown, but he’s literally just screaming “ARTHUR!!” “FASTERRR!!” “YESS!!” “CLIMB!!!” gaius would be looking like he walked into something he wasn't supposed to. prob thinking he should just let the kid die so he doesn’t have to deal with this shit anymore

- UTHER LOCKED HIS SON AWAY I'M FUCKING QUESTIONING HIS PARENTING SKILLS

- that's grounding???? throwing ur child in prison???

- yes 999 can i have child services on his ass

- gwens so smart honestly i love her

- pretending to be a maiden for the food, god what a queen

- arthur buying it and saying “yuck you say this is food?! disgustang!”

- the fact that i misspelled disgusting but it autocorrected to disgustang (which is originally what i wanted but autocorrect shouldn’t have known) makes me consider if i should really check my dictionary…. who knows what words are on there

- they’re so smart

- and then this fucker ruins it all while eating his food, checking her out and saying yeah arthurs a prick, hyuck hyuck, realising only that wait fuck u aint the maiden

- how’d they know GWEN was the one not supposed to have delivered the food, what if it was that chick right there???

- welll….. maybe it's because gwen took her sweet time up those steps, staring as if she couldn’t blink at the guards below

- i forget what happens at the end of this episode besides the kiss, and there's like 9 minutes left my fingers may rot at this point

- wake him up! wake him up!

- OH WAIT HE DOESN'T FUCKING WAKE UP DOES HE AND EVERYONE PANICS

- YEAH OKAY I'M SEEING THAT NOW

- MERLIN STOPPED BREATHING

- LMAO GWEN IS IN TEARS

- “HE'S DEAD” SHE SAYS

- ARTHUR BB COME IN HERE TO KISS UR HUBBY ALIVE

- OH WAIT UR IN FUCKING PRISON

- WAIT UP, HE'S ALIVE AND SHE KISSES HIM AFTERWARDS????

- FUCK ME I THOUGHT FOR THE WHOLE EPISODE THE KISS HAPPENED BC HE COULDN'T WAKE UP THAT'S FUCKING WITH ME I DIDN'T KNOW

- i keep forgetting to switch up the cap locks, sorry if it seems im screaming im legit using my inside voice for most of the time just emphasizing my words a little more

- goddamn, everytime they say mercia i just think of “murica”, like those americans on the 7th of july or whatever date the “we love our country” day is, chanting it as they throw around beers and fireworks as people gather round in jerseys or crop tops

- it's not that hard to spot the european on here

- the most celebrated holiday here which contains a lot of beers and big pub gatherings (besides every fucking night honestly) is either new years, lowkey stereotypically correct saint patricks, and ig easter monday but that's more for the kiddos

- i mean ofc christmas and all that shit but im not the most devoted christian, i just like presents and small gatherings among good friends

- wow okay it wasn't the 7th of july

- i mean at first i looked up “USA day” (i couldn’t remember the name) and it popped up today’s date, and i was like no thats not it at all. dec?? its in like july i think. and i was close! it was july 4th.

- uther damn knows it's nimueh!!!

- i mean, he just overheard morgana and arthur talk about it, and initiated himself into a convo about it once morgana left, as his sneaky ass just slithered up like “hey man, u know that woman? yeah uhh, what she say? anything about me? no? k i know who it is tho”

- i thought he was going to apologize or like explain to arthur what's the sitch, but he just waits for five whole seconds before saying. “those who practice magic know only evil. they despise and seek to destroy goodness wherever they find it.”

- arthur, confused: sounds as if you know her

- uther, walking away: i do

- arthur:

- wow k lots of fucking quotes here cause it's the merthur reunion

- get ready babs

- arthur: still alive then?

- merlin: oh yes, just about… i understand i have you to thank for that

- arthur, leaning on the chair merlin is sitting in, stifling a smile: ah it's nothing, a half-decent servant is hard to come by. i was only dropping by to make sure you’re alright… i.... expect you to be back to work tomorrow

- merlin, watching arthur as he slightly walks away having embarrassed himself: arthur... thank you

- arthur, slowly: you too

- they stare for like 5 whole seconds

- arthur, uncomfortable: well… get some rest

- there we go folks: my eulogy.

- hope someone reads it at my funeral

[pendles-is-friendles]

3. A favorite picture of your muse. And explain why. (you can pick which blog/muse)

Munday!: Accepting!

I... don’t have a lot of pictures of the current set of muses (’cause humans are really hard for me to draw and the nature of OCs and such), but I do have a fave pics of their prior verses.

Also, gonna do all of them so I’m gonna toss that under the cut for length.

Let’s start with FL4K, since they’re the active canon I have right now.  This gif’s my fave pic of them because it’s the first real look we’ve had into their personality and it’s just adorable.  This gif is why I hc the Jabbermon as being a mischievous little punk.  (It’s taken from the twitch ext. btw.)

As if people aren’t sick of seeing this one, I drew it and I’m still proud of it. I just wish I had the foresight to pick yellow over orange and blue over a different shade of purple or grey (drew it like.. right when they were announced and prior to the discovery that they’re NB.)

Ludwig, who’s currently in universe dev at the moment (and may get launched at Borderlands!verses soon might just make him a new blog specifically for that though since the oc universe needs its own place), doesn’t get a lot of love, but this is my fave pic I’ve drawn of him.  Just the ridiculousness of the pose and the fact that it’s kinda canon that all of the design changes for him are sudden mutations.  It’s also one of the few pics where my messier sketchlines really work with the piece instead of distract, imo.  

Though, I’m really proud of this one ‘cause it took me weeks to find out what colour this horse is.

Torque’s gotten the most art focus in the Blands!verse and has one of the best pics in the Battleborn!verse.  He’s also the most changed between the verses personality and looks wise, not just because of the change between species.  Specific things I like are the decision to use blood red as the shader for that bone mask and the details on the armour in the second one.  It took me a long time to get those lines exactly how I wanted them.

I only have the one pic of Blands!Rictus, but I got to show the glowy tentacles and his eyes.  He typically wears sunglasses to cover them and keeps his tentacles tucked in, but around friends he let’s them down, so to speak.

The second one is cropped, but it shows both some of his original design and also how the tentacles still work/attach.  They’re rooted along his spine and when I say they sink into his skin, that’s what I mean.  They legit look like tattoos until he pulls them out of his skin.

I spent forever looking for the full one of this, but this is the fave pic I’ve drawn of Vocatia.  Efforts to draw her human version hasn’t produced satisfying results yet.

Though, she still has this outfit, no matter the verse.

This is the most accurate human!TZ and it still doesn’t have half of his apparent scars.  

Though fave pic goes to this one when he was “stunt princess” for a day in his original universe.

I don’t have an accurate picture of human Bravo, but these two (with an extra TZ) show off her facial scarrage and a bit of both sides of her personality.  She’s always been deeply conflicted, but very good at hiding it when she wants.  She’s also always had her hair longer and favoured pink makeup as well. 

FU doesn’t have a lot of pictures, but her’s one with her original Battleborn armour and a little sketch of her face (also, bonus TZ... he pops up everywhere also it’s easy to do sketches of all of the clones together).  Yes, she literally taped glasses onto her armour in that verse to show she’s also a therapist. 

Whew, if you got to the bottom of this, you get a cookie.  I don’t have any pics of Argiope from either verse, sadly.  She’s really tough to draw because she has a human face that opens up into a split jaw kind of thing.  

[seriouslyblacklikemysoul]

Between the Shadow and the Soul - Hermione Granger x Draco Malfoy

Request: @cute-yet-dangerous could you write a fanfic where Hermione falls in love with Draco instead of Ron. You can choose the time-frame and the "ending" is up to you just like everything else ( though if you feel like it just a liiiitle bit of smut wouldn't be bad 😇) Thank you ❤

Warnings: My English, language. Gifs and pics aren't mine. Credits to their original owners. Also, I am very sorry if it’s not that great. 

A/N: Happy -early- Birthday, Ria. May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears. Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.

Word Count ~2.6k+

MASTERLIST

Pending Requests

Falling in love was not rational. It was madness. A beautiful, wonderful moment of magnificent insanity. His sharp edges, somehow only made him softer in a way that she could never understand...not entirely. His broken heart only beat louder in the silence and it would be easier, to not love him if she didn’t know how bright his smile could be, if she didn’t know that his touch could be gentle... it would be easier, to not want to save him if she didn’t know how reassuring his words were, if she didn’t know that he’d sacrifice himself so she could live. One thing was for sure... It wouldn’t it make it easier for him, not to love her if she wasn't all those missing pieces that his soul was longing for.

She touched him and it was like war. The burning sensation in her bones overpowered her mind and her heart pounded like the drums that were calling soldiers to join, willingly, the bloodbath. It felt violent and visceral and she sensed some part of her was latching onto to his skin - a mark left on her for the stars to find when they would uncover their r sad, epic, poetic... mad story. He smiled at her and the stars became surpassed in what could bring her light. It was all teeth but there was a hint of joy in the way his mouth moved around her. The sun’s blaze turned to ash and she felt warm and wanted. She was living in the darkness until his grin found hers and from that moment, everything in her was created by his echoes.

Her voice became his compass, his true north. His voice was the one she could pick out in the middle of the crowd, in the middle of the battle because it was the map that led her home. The sound of his name coming off her lips was his anchor and without her voice, he would drown, down to the bottom of the endless ocean, and perhaps he deserved it but he was selfish and couldn't lose her too. Her eyes were dark enough to fall in. His eyes held the torment he had been through and she wished that she could heal his scars but she knew that she could only try to take away some of the ache. Her eyes would make the deities of the ancient world throw themselves into the pit to prevent any more loss. His eyes found hers and the colors of the universe seemed brighter, seemed softer, seemed more beautiful, seemed not enough to describe the flames that consumed them.

She loved him. That was what the pounding of her heart was singing. He loved her from this universe to the next one and the constellations would yearn to chart their story and the history books would place their names side by side and it will never be enough, because they loved each other and even after death, they would find their way back to each other's galaxies. It was all so brutally fake and honest at the same time. When she saw him for the very first time, she suddenly felt like the earth wasn't spinning on its axis but instead, somehow, he had conjured the stars and a whole new sky had replaced the old one. When he saw her, he began to question everything he was 'taught', every single socially constructed stereotype about her kind. What if things weren't just black or white? What if there were more?

But they clashed in a storm of fire and ice and it took them what seemed like a lifetime to realize that they had changed each other in a way that no one could ever suspect.

"You filthy little Mudblood" he hissed at her. She had grown used to it by now, but it still hurt her. Not because somebody was calling her that name - something that she would never hear in a civilized conversation - but because he was calling her that. The disappointment in her eyes cut him like a knife that kept twisting inside the wound. He, however, couldn't help it. It was the only wall that she hadn't managed to burn down to the ground. He had to appear cold, evil... pathetic as Potter had once called him. He was. He was so damn -

She kept her mouth shut but her eye spoke louder than any word could have. She didn't know what to think of him. She truly wanted to believe that somewhere within him, a better him was hidden. She had seen it - seen him being gentle and soft. Something extremely rare when it came to the Prince of Slytherin. 

The seasons succeeded one another in a constant, never-ending, cycle. He was growing all the more distant. She was growing all the more worried.

They say that love comes easy. It took breaking, sobbing in the middle of the night, screaming without muttering a word. It was painful yet beautifully chaotic, mesmerizing like the sky that made them think that they were just two more souls inside that vast and evergreen universe. It was an accidental meet under the velvet canvas and the magic of the Astronomy Tower. It was one night that changed destiny's path. It was that moment, where he saw her looking at him, not like she could save him, oh, no. She wasn't that much of a fool. She was aware that she couldn't save him, not like that. But she was able to recognize the shadows that were dancing on his skin, on his arm, the faint bruises and clenched fists and the ache inside his heart. And the world grew quiet as if it was giving this moment the weight it deserved. The moon was hidden behind dark clouds and the stars almost burnt out. And it was in the darkness that they realized they could change the universe. A single phrase made her head spin.

"I am sorry" he whispered. For the first time, he looked at her without removing his gaze. She wasn't prepared for anything like that. The next thing she knew was his hand tucking a loose strand behind her ear. What was happening?

"I get it. Just... be less your father and more...you. I think you are yet to discover how truly magnificent each person can be" she softly told him. She had found the courage to talk to him like that - or at all. He was a bit shocked but he smiled at her, melancholy spreading through her veins. It wasn't a happy smile. She had never seen him happy. She forgot to ask logic, instead listened to emotions and offered him her cup of tea. A mixture of black and green with caramel and almond which was always able to calm her down and keep her company through endless nights. He was never shown any kind of sympathy and he truly believed he didn't deserve it - especially from her. But he was grateful.

They sat there, in silence at first, staring at the almost fairytale-like sky. As soon as they started talking, things could never go back to black and white. And it wasn't until a certain potion that they started to realize what was truly going on. It was just... not expected. They kept meeting each other every other night, talking or not, drinking tea or not, staring at the sky or at each other. But not that night. He was angry. Furious. Mainly because he didn't want to feel the way he did. Every time he saw her, something inside him was dying but in a good - a very good- and a bad - very bad- way.

"Why are you pretending? You grew tired of being called mudblood and you felt sorry for me? What are you playing at?" he feverishly accused her before her eyes made him weak again. Her eyebrows shot to the sky.

"Excuse me? Where is this coming from?" she fired back. She hadn't heard him calling her that in a very long time and it felt so...bitter. He knew that he was lashing out and she had done nothing wrong. Just because he had a mission that the Dark Lord had assigned him... He had screwed up his entire life. She saw the change in his eyes. She understood that something wasn't quite alright but she had also figured him out. He would try to hide it.

"I'm sorry. I'll just go to bed. Goodnight" he stiffly informed her and ran off. Literally. 

It was probably the worst decision she had ever made. It was probably the one thing she did right in her entire life. She wasn't thinking as she walked towards the Slytherin's dormitories. She was fully aware that it was forbidden by not only the rules but herself as well. Yet, she did it anyway. Thankfully, the common room was empty and thanks to Lucius' cockiness, Draco had his own dorm. Right before she knocked his door, she froze. What on earth was she about to do? She wasn't this person. She didn't do things... spontaneously. She was organized and had plans and goals and ... she thought she had her life figured out. That whatever she had planned would work out exactly the way she had imagined. Draco, on the other hand... he showed her what different meant. How not possible to plan your life was. He made her question her existence and everything she was standing up for. He showed her that things may not always be what the seem to. With her heart pounding in her chest, she just opened the door and walked in, ignoring every single rule. "You’ve felt it, haven’t you? Those feelings that seem to get so big in your chest, like something is so beautiful it aches?" she asked him before he could even register her presence in his room. "Go away. Please" he murmured, not once looking at her. He knew that if she stayed a bit longer in the room, if her perfume mixed with the air for just a second more, things would get out of hand. He craved her in a way he never believed possible. He bushy hair, sparkly eyes, and that beautifully chaotic mind... made him feel things he... didn't even know existed.

"No" she firmly answered, standing her ground. She knew how he felt because she was experiencing the same. He wasn't able to think before acting upon his feelings. He got up from his bed and pinned her against the cold wall of his room, in a matter of seconds.

"I told you to leave" he threatened her but his voice latched on to her like satin. "And I told you, no" she deadpanned but it was a mere whisper. It was now or never. He just crushed his lips against hers and that moment all the voices in his head stopped talking. And Merlin, her taste was intoxicating him - a hint of chocolate mixed with tea. It started out as angry and heated kiss but it slowly became gentle and kind and... they both had poured their hearts into. He carefully swept her hair off her neck and she gave a sharp intake of breath at his unexpected kiss. She would be lying if she was to say she hadn't thought about that moment over and over again. There was an urgency to his kiss, making her feel wanted and utterly desirable. His hands roamed her body, starting at her neck, running down her back until he grabbed her hips and pulled them closer to him. The thought of what followed terrified her but also excited her, it made her go weak at the knees. Her heart was beating furiously now and so was his. He took a step back, looking at her with a burning question in his eyes.

"I have felt it. I feel it every time I think of you. And trust me, the thought of you... doesn't leave my mind" he spoke softly of things she craved to hear. He kissed her again, but this time it was gentler with the need and desire more evident. Her hands found their way and got lost in his hair, roamed his back and her fingers fumbled with the buttons on his shirt but soon it just fell to the floor, revealing his pale and glorious torso. It came so naturally that it actually scared them but also made them realize how foolishly they had wasted so much time, hating each other. He took her hand and led her to his bed with soft and elegant moves. She wasn't even feeling awkward or anxious. She wanted this. With him. His mouth was everywhere, kissing her and undressing her at the same time. She was tracing patterns on his body when he slightly bit her behind her ear, making her question what was real and what was not. There was something else... She could actually breathe within the fire he had brought to her. He was a walking contradiction, a puzzle and she loved getting lost in a riddle. They just fell asleep afterwards, with her wrapped inside his arms. 

Things were not good. They hadn't even talked to each other. He ignored her and she put on her facade. Months passed them by. They had stopped visiting the Astronomy Tower. She thought that the stars stayed silent at their turning point because they didn't just want to watch them and witness their journey. No, they wanted to test infinity. Death Eaters and The Order. Good and Evil, supposedly. There were no good guys. They weren't able to break free from destiny. Not as fast as they would like. But what the stars hadn't quite understood was that loving each other had stopped being something that scared them. Therefore, the longing glances, the nights filled with tears and sorrow, the pain that became physical after a while. She had lost him to time and space, nearly to fate but he was going to grow as a fighter soon enough. He would come back to her. He felt it deep in his bones that their devotion to one another was greater than those of the fairytales because they were never guaranteed a happy ending, instead they had bent every galaxy to make that beautiful 'them' work out. But it didn't... Not yet. Lives were like lines. And some times, if people we're lucky enough, those line crossed paths. There, however, some exceptionally few... and their lines crossed paths over and over again. She always knew that in a crowd of thousands she would be able to meet his eyes and find you. He knew that the moment her name dropped from his lips, the story would begin again. They had to wait. Quite a while. They had to be tested by war and blood and other people. Just when they were both ready to give up, their lines crossed paths in the most unexpected way. No one was surprised in the slightest when Hermione decided to go back to Hogwarts... but everyone was left stunned by Draco's return.

Once their eyes met, their hearts were revived. Some emotions couldn't go away.

This time, the stars were in their favor. This time, they would be. No more wars and battles to fight, no more villains, no more heroes. Just them, picking up from where they had left off. Somewhere between the Shadow and the Soul. “Hermione...” his soft and shaky voice, his pained yet hopeful eyes, gave her purpose again. To live again. And be happy. 

“Draco”.

Tags: @orionsirivsblack @kapolisradomthoughts @nadinissavage @geeksareunique

[midnatt-heronweather]

2020 review

Disclaimer: You won’t hear much about the virus in this. I’m not a denier, I know the damage and destruction covid19 has caused and the death toll, therefore I am not yet cold enough not to realise this is going to sound completely selfish, but that is my decision.  My reviews focus on MY year. Just so you’re aware. “I accept chaos, I’m not sure whether it accepts me.” Bob Dylan.

2020... What can I say?

This was the year I decided to officially identify as Non-Binary, not that anyone actually cares or believes me or things i'm "(insert stereotype at will)" enough. except for those very VERY rare people who do and who actually listen and hear me when I speak

Anyway -It has been a trashcan fire of a year since February/March February when I saw the Hu and Counterfeit alongside Ally. And I say February/March because that was the weekend I say my year ended...the good part anyway. Because it was that weekend when I got the ultimate honour, privilege and miracle of meeting Jason Carter, After that it was like a Dementor had French kissed the year and I can’t be the only one who thought it? Conventions and gigs postponed, rescheduled and ultimately cancelled, masks, social distancing, lockdowns the works. And can I just say - I didn’t clap, and I don’t feel in the slightest bit ashamed for it. Despite or maybe because I have friends and a few family who work in the NHS I couldn't bear to be a part of the hypocritical BS idea. I live in a country that will clap for their 'beloved' life saving NHS but then stand silent when Pay rises are frozen and when the NHS is in danger, we as a country expect a lot but don't lift a finger to gave back, clapping doesn’t pay bills. But...Bright points in the year let’s try staying positive and leaving the crap outside shall we...well... The main one has got to be that the US finally found their sense and President Elect Joe Biden will b sworn in January 20, 2021. After that... I’ll have to get back to you. Oh...no..no that’s not one... seriously I’ll have a think and get back to you. Conventions: Just one this year, for me, because of the obvious... But what a convention FCD Events presents 2258 a Babylon 5 Conventions: Where, as well as finally being among actual self confessed fans and being able to tick a b5 convention off my bucket list after starting cons way too late to attend the OG cons I did the impossible... I MET JASON CARTER... have I mentioned this? Have I? Should I say t again? I MET JASON CARTER!!! Also Mira Furlan, Tracy Scoggins and Patricia Tallman, but I met him! Finally! And... Just a reminder I did warn you guys, several times that it was likely hell would freeze over if I ever got that particular honour, do not say I didn’t. I’d never done an FCD before, I’d meant to, even bought a ticket but it just never seemed to happen, but the second someone said b5 con, I was so there! Karan Robinson made my year by making me the Anla’Shok uniform. And Nadine added the cherry on top by making the belt buckle that ONLY Marcus and Entil’Zha Sinclair wear: D (for the record: Velcro still hates me) David one of the organisers of FCD kept randomly shouting “We live for the one.” And when people other than m actually knew the response and responded... dude kick in the feels I kid you not. Next Year (Angel Willing) Adam and I are attending the Teen Wolf conventions entitled “Howl at the Moon 4” in Paris, France... which is cool on so many levels not least of which being I get to meet JR Bourne and Daniel Sharman again and get to visit the church of St Julian of the poor. And yes, there are cons planned here in the UK. But... well. It’s already looking Grey, and not the good kind. Music and Gigs: Two gigs one after the other at the 02 Ritz in Manchester. The First:

The Hu a Mongolian band who Ally really likes and I think are pretty cool. They are amazing live there’s no doubt, can hold their own in England even in a room of idiots. The 2nd :

Counterfeit (also with Ally) I went VIP and got to meet the boys again, and listen to a Q&A with them. I will forever love them, not just because of Jamie’s acting side despite what people say. Didn’t realise how special until recently though because;  after keeping fans going and hyping up new singles during lockdowns, they recently decided to go their separate ways. Jamie’s gone solo and he’s put three songs out on YouTube. _ I was meant to be attending a one off gig by Ruelle and Fleurie both of who had music used on Shadowhunters, even talked my friend Lou into it, but it was a victim of the lockdowns and things and I’m not the optimistic type so I doubt it’ll ever happen now, will be lucky if even one of the ladies comes over here if I’m honest. Recently I’ve rediscovered a love for Black Veil Brides and their leader Andy Black’s solo stuff. Olivia Hyde of Bad Pollyanna recently killed everyone in her black unicorn’s fanbase with an amazing solo album, me included. Ally has introduced me to a few interesting bands this year, *Wingtips – very 80s Goth, very Ally (translation: very cool.) *Allegiance Reign – a Japanese Samurai metal band,  not sure what Ally actually thinks of these guys, she found them while perusing YouTube and thought of me :D Suggestions greatly accepted, I am always up for giving new stuff a try. Hopefully next year things will even out and gigs will be able to be put on again. TV and Fandom’s: *We FINALLY got Roswell: New Mexico in the UK, and ITV blitzed through 2 seasons in less than a month, but it was enough for me to decide I loved it, maybe more than I did the original. Alex is my fave, but obv Michael isn’t half bad, nor is Max when he’s not making goo-goo eyes at Liz. * Finally got to see 9-1-1 Lone Star and I absolutely love it, (I kinda knew I would from all the talk) * Decided to give the Charmed reboot a 2nd look and it’s proved addictive, now waiting for s2 to be downloadable on Amazon or something. *In march I was so, so excited for the return of The Expanse and the fact the main cast were coming to a con in the UK, then.. The verse went to hell. I still Love the Expanse, but I’m not as die hard as I was, not for lack of trying. Still love it for Anna of course, any excuse to see her. *After 15 years Supernatural finally ended in 2020 with season15: I stopped watching religiously at the end of season 6 but that does not mean I stopped liking the show just that I didn’t like the direction (like with The Expanse recently) I loved watching the reaction of the fans, and how much they (we if I’m counted) mean to the cast. * I have to mention Cursed... If only to say HOLY HELL DANIEL! 𝑴𝒚 𝑭𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑻𝑽 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒐𝒇 2020 Cursed 9-1-1 Lone Star & 9-1-1 Warrior Nun Prodigal Son Penny Dreadful: City of Angels Doctor who (Officially season12) Roswell s1&2 (it counts cos ITV only just got the reboots) Charmed s1&2(it counts cos E4 only just got the reboots) Call the Midwife (s9 btw) Our Girl Strike Back: Vendetta Friends: “Friendship ... is born at the moment when one man says to another "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .” ― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

My understanding of "friendship." is skewed, and I’m not saying that to be "Vulcan." it’s honest, and anyone who wants to know how or why just has to ask. But let’s leave it at that for this. It makes some things more stark... and I've said this recently, but this binfire has made even me more aware of who’s out there in my verse, whose pack, who’s potential, and who’s just pathetic. The last I’m not going to waste my breath on. The first two: Pack and Potential (read: new acquaintances /potential friends) Pack: Yes I go on about friends as 'Pack like a person whose OD'd on Teen Wolf... because I am so :P My pack as a whole are varied, and spread out across this country with a few dotted around Europe and Aus. hopefully they know who they are because I don't do mushy crap as they know. But if they do know, they know I'm there when I'm needed and more than willing to sod off when not. Yorkshire brass makes me frank and I’d hope fair. There are 2...mayb 3 who sit above the rest, in special place for the things they've done and things they've been through with me. I make no denial of that. But everyone is important to me. I wouldn't change them for anything.... Ok... tell a lie, maybe 1 or 2 when they do my box in, but that’s only like for a week maybe less. I've spent too many years and got too many scars and burned too many photos and bridges because of fake people and users to not be honest to a fault. It’s who I am. Potential: the Counterfeit gig in Manchester, 2258 and yes even Tiktok have given me the opportunity to make some interesting acquaintances this year, and some I hope will become friends in the real in the future, but for now I will say - "I am defensive, stand off ish, sometimes bull headed and of course opinionated, but I am by no means blind. Or blinkered despite what may be said of me. I am there when needed, if I can be of use, just poke me."   Ave Atqua Vale This section has its own post these days. Sadly. Pictures Will try and make one of my “a year in ten pics.” Posts later. Final words While I am not fond of this time of year, Enjoy your celebrations whatever for they may take, I will be watching The Magicians / Call the Midwife and plotting 202? Cosplays. I will be here when (fk knows why) I'm needed. Otherwise-  Compliments of the season, now go get a beer, i'm sure you need it after reading this crap.

in the words of The one and only Jason Carter  “Hindsight is 2020″

[xswhitetee]

Blank Space- The bearding analysis

*This is only my interpretation and everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

I originally started to write this to celebrate ‘Blank Space’ was about to reach two billion views on VEVO. The milestone has come and gone and it stayed put in my drafts until the recent interest in the meaning behind the lyrics.

This song is one of my all-time favorite pieces of music not only because it’s a pop masterpiece, but because Taylor oh so cleverly used it to expose her PR ‘love life’ strategy through a disguised satire.

Also take note that by now we immediately associate the music video imagery to the song (Call it a ‘Michael Jackson Thriller’ effect), so the message she sent through interviews about what the song was supposedly about got delivered with such a powerful force that people didn’t question it. 

In reality ‘Blank Space’ was never just a song. It is a masterfully crafted production (it even included an app for God’s sake) designed as a vehicle for Taylor to say ‘fuck off’ to the false image created around her. 

But that’s not all. What makes this production even more clever and mind-blowing is the deeper message that lies hidden just under the surface of the general public’s perception.

Let’s start first with what is common knowledge.

General public’s perception based on Taylor’s interviews:

- She’s making a parody of what people say/believe about her

- She’s cleverly profiting from that ‘false’ made up image

- She’s mocking the press’ obsession on her ‘love life’ 

- She’s punching back against those who think she only dates men to write successful ‘break-up’ songs

Quote from Taylor: “Essentially, it is a song I wrote about basically the fact that the media has kind of portrayed me to be this desperate crazy serial dater and so I decided I was just going to kind of continue the joke and take back the narrative.”

Interviews talking about the song: Link 1, Link 2

Grammy Museum acoustic performance and intro: Link

1989 Album secret message:

“There once was a girl known by everyone and no one." 

Lyric analysis:

Nice to meet you, where you been? 

I could show you incredible things 

Magic, madness, heaven, sin

Saw you there and I thought

Oh my God, look at that face

You look like my next mistake

Love’s a game, want to play? 

‘Blank Space’ is like a bearding manual and it perfectly starts with an introduction scenario where she first meets a guy and immediately type-casts him as her next mistake because she knows the relationship will have an expiration date. She sells the contract’s advantages and describes to her potential ‘love interest’ the relationship scenarios that will have to occur in the public eye. Taylor then confesses she has been playing the fake relationship game and makes a final offer at the end of the first verse: Are you in or are you out?

“I could show you incredible things” is the first clue that suggests this is not only a satire song about her being ‘boy crazy’. To me, the fact that she says it right after the introduction means selling the benefits of dating her is the first order of business. Not a romantic involvement. It also has nothing to do with sexual attraction. It’s what she can offer to entice the beard.

New money, suit and tie

I can read you like a magazine

Ain’t it funny, rumors fly

And I know you heard about me

So hey, let’s be friends

I’m dying to see how this one ends

Grab your passport and my hand

I can make the bad guys good for a weekend

In the second verse Taylor confesses she knows all about the type of man her ‘new boyfriend’ is. The fact she mentions “I can read you like a magazine” suggests she has sin him in publications and understands his ambitions.

“Ain’t it funny, rumors fly” is a very clever line that hints at amusement when the media get the first first leaks of info on the new couple.

“So hey, let’s be friends” is a key suggestion that she is not talking about a romantic interest. She is merely offering a partnership to her beard, a mutual-beneficial arrangement that won’t lead to heartbreak. 

The last part of the verse is a reminder that Taylor is first and foremost a story-teller  and writer. Here she is already figuring out how the ‘relationship’ will play out, imagining all the places she can take it to, and even going as far as dreaming the breakup scenario before it begins.

So it’s gonna be forever

Or it’s gonna go down in flames

You can tell me when it’s over

If the high was worth the pain

Got a long list of ex-lovers

They’ll tell you I’m insane

‘Cause you know I love the players

And you love the game

In “You can tell me when it’s over if the high was worth the pain” we can read ‘high’ as career benefits for the beard, and ‘pain’ as the months of media/public scrutiny and a hectic schedule of ‘public appearances’. 

“They’ll tell you I’m insane” I think is referring to her ‘need-to-control-every-tiny-detail’ and anxiety issues Taylor has confessed to in past interviews.

“You love the game” hints her ‘boyfriend’ is thirsty for fame and is willing to play the ‘celebrity love game’. 

'Cause we’re young and we’re reckless

We’ll take this way too far

It’ll leave you breathless

Or with a nasty scar

Got a long list of ex-lovers

They’ll tell you I’m insane

But I’ve got a blank space, baby

And I’ll write your name

Taylor continues to describe the ups and downs of the whirlwind ‘relationship’ her and her beard will play in front of the public eye. 

“We’ll take this way to far” suggest the feeding of rumors through ‘sources’ or not ‘taking care’ to deny false information in order to let the stunt grow bigger.

At the end she finally reveals the song’s title meaning: she has everything set up and ready for the bearding phase to begin. Contracts literally have blank spaces to insert names and initials. Enough said.

Oh, and btw, I don’t buy into the ‘pen click’ sound before “And I’ll write your name”. In her voice memos she does the sound with her mouth and I think it’s just the sound some people make when they wink and are trying to be saucy. 

Cherry lips, crystal skies

I could show you incredible things

Stolen kisses, pretty lies

You’re the King, baby, I’m your Queen

Find out what you want

Be that girl for a month

Wait, the worst is yet to come, oh no

In this part of the song Taylor goes on to describe the public image of the relationship: set up pictures of perfect settings, papped pics of a kiss that was ‘private’, ‘perfect couple’ hints. She was basically foreshadowing scenes of her two subsequent beards.

“Find out what you want, be that girl for a month” This is Taylor offering her image and power to the needs of the beard according to what was agreed at the beginning of the ‘relationship’.

“Wait, the worst is yet to come,oh no” suggest a warning to the beard of the media whirlwind to come when the ‘relationship’ runs its course.

Screaming, crying, perfect storms

I can make all the tables turn

Rose garden filled with thorns

Keep you second guessing like

"Oh my God, who is she?”

I get drunk on jealousy

But you’ll come back each time you leave

'Cause, darling, I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream

This last set of lyrics basically depicts an ‘insiders view’ on the bearding relationship where everything from the outside looks perfect, but inside of it is a mess and she confesses she’s the one in charge and can stir anything to benefit her interests. 

The last two lines are amazing and probably the one that sticks out the most of the whole song. To me they mean that even though it is exhausting and frustrating to be under her control, the beard doesn’t have a choice but to do what he is told because the ‘nightmare’ is worth the success ‘daydream’.

That’s it. The rest is a repeat of the same lyrics.

What do you think the song’s about? It’s kind of scary how after this was released her biggest PR stunts happened and basically followed the song to the ‘tea’ (pun intended). Maybe she was trying to warn us?

If you want even more analysis on the genius of ‘Blank Space’ I’ve added a couple of links below that I’ve found greatly interesting.

Bonus song analysis:

- all-my-possessions’s analysis of 1989 singles: Link

- Taylor Swift’s Songwriting Secrets: The Subtle Genius of Blank Space Link

[russellthornton]

How to Get Laid on Tinder: 11 Must-Follow Rules to a Sexy Hookup

The times when you got to meet someone at a bar and go home with them are over. Now, it’s all about how to get laid on Tinder and dating apps.

I don’t know what happened. Smartphones came out, and then apps, and then all of a sudden, I find myself sitting on the toilet swiping left and right.

What can I say? I’m guilty of pleading the fifth and being one of the millions who have that little flame glistening on their phone. Why do I use Tinder? To meet people. Ha, okay, that was somewhat of a lie. I mean, it’s to meet people… for… sex.

Now, there are people who are on it in hopes of finding love or meeting people who live in that city, however, it’s mostly used for getting laid. So, if you’re on it for finding someone to have sex with but you can’t seem to get past the virtual encounter, I’m here for you.

How to get laid on Tinder – 11 rules you need to follow

Tons of people are on Tinder, but sometimes it’s hard to score an, umm, date. Yeah, that’s it. A date. Yeah, I know, you want a date for sex. It’s time to put that app into use, and so here’s how to get laid on Tinder. [Read: Creative Tinder lines to snag you a date on the first try]

#1 Make your profile clear. If you’re only looking for sex, in a subtle way, state that in your profile. You can say, “adventurous and outdoorsy guy looking for fun.” There, that’s simple and everyone can understand what the word “fun” means. Same goes if you’re looking for a casual relationship. You really need to make it clear so that you’ll attract women who want the same.

#2 A picture says 1,000 words. I spend a lot of my time swiping left because the profile pictures are just horrendous. No, I’m not saying that the guys are ugly. I’m saying that I don’t want to talk to a guy whose first picture is their dick or who posed next to a Mercedes. It’s lame.

So, you really need to choose pictures that aren’t playing into some fantasy. Women can read that a mile away. Keep your photos of you doing something athletic, a face shot – something that shows who you are. [Read: Good Tinder bios that get you dates – 12 tweaks for a perfect bio]

#3 Swipe people who you actually find attractive. It seems logical, but if you want to know how to get laid on Tinder, then don’t you think you’d like to do it with someone you find attractive?

I mean, I’ve seen some of my male friends while they’re on Tinder… they’re swiping right constantly. But when it really comes down to it, they’re not attracted to those girls. Swipe on people who you’re actually sexually attracted to, because it’s just easier for both of you at the end of the day. [Read: Online dating woes – 8 most common Tinder horror stories]

#4 Message her. If you matched with someone, don’t waste your time – message her. She’s not hanging around on Tinder all day, and neither are you. Plus, the longer you wait to message her, the more obvious it looks that you’re only messaging her because the other girls didn’t work out.

You have to be a little smarter, fellas. No girl wants to feel like she’s your second option. [Read: How to start a Tinder conversation and snag a date every time]

#5 Use something from her profile to start the conversation. Don’t start the conversation with “hi.” Nothing’s going to prosper from that. Instead, look at her profile and use the information she gave you to come up with some witty line or opening. Or, if you’re visiting that particular city, ask her a question regarding where to eat or drink.

#6 She may not hook up with you right away. Just because she’s dtf, that doesn’t mean you’re going to have sex with her that night. It doesn’t work like that. You’re not entitled to having sex with her when you want, it’s a two-way street.

So, you’ll have to be patient. There will be some girls who’ll jump on you right away, while others need more time to be comfortable. Just remember that when you want to figure out how to get laid on Tinder. [Read: Signs a girl likes you on Tinder – 15 things to keep an eye on]

#7 No dick pics. Unless she’s hinting that she wants to see your dick, or she’s sending you nude photos of herself, don’t send a dick pic.

Do you know how scarring it is to be having a normal conversation with someone, and then all of a sudden, you see a dick on your phone? Know when to show your dick and when not to.

#8 Get her number. You don’t want to spend too much time chatting on Tinder. Your goal is to quickly move the conversation to Facebook or texting.

Listen, as a woman, there have been guys I’ve spoken to, and suddenly became uninterested, so I unmatched them. Did they have my number? Nope. Which was great for me because I didn’t have to do anything. However, for them, they were left with no options.

#9 Be yourself. This is very important, especially when doing the whole online dating thing. It appears that some men feel the need to act like something they’re not. Just be yourself.

At the end of the day, she’s going to realize that you’re not who you say you are. So, if you don’t usually throw money into the air, don’t show it on Tinder. [Read: The 9 best hookup apps for the hot and horny]

#10 Don’t waste your time. If you messaged a girl and she isn’t writing you back, or she is but her messages are one-worded, just move on. Unmatch her, and focus on someone else. Think of Tinder like speed dating… just keep moving forward. [Read: 15 Tinder tips you can NOT ignore if you ever want a date]

#11 Don’t suggest your place as a first date. Depending on how your conversation went, you may not want to suggest meeting at your place for a first date. Even if she only wants to have sex with you, it would be respectful and just nice to not treat her like a piece of meat.

Go out for a drink, even if it’s at the bar across from your place, just build a connection and be a decent human being. Now, if she says, “your place or mine?” well, that’s a whole different story where I suggest you pick a place – and fast.

[Read: How to get lucky on the first date – 15 secrets to get laid]

Well, if you’ve made it this far, you now have enough material to know how to get laid on Tinder. It isn’t as hard as you think it is. So, start swiping!

The post How to Get Laid on Tinder: 11 Must-Follow Rules to a Sexy Hookup is the original content of LovePanky - Your Guide to Better Love and Relationships.