#the assumption was made that you hated the main couple???

[pickingbelovedoffthesofa]

The whataboutism in this fandom is actually crazy. The internet is big. Not every opinion can fit in one post. Some of y’all just want to get mad at something. “Oh you chose to talk about this one specific detail and the context surrounding it?!?! It must mean you’re too stupid to understand the actual important parts of the plot going on around it.”

Uh… Go touch grass.

[xjulixred45x]

I know I have to work on the requests, but I have to get this out of my head because now I have a rediscovered love for Invincible, bear with it.

(SOMETHING LIKE A CONTINUATION OF THIS)

SOME SITUATIONS WITH YANDERE AU MARK GRAYSON/INVINCIBLE

okay, I can definitely see that you two were a couple or at least liked each other before everything went to hell.

and although you were fine with Mark at that time, when he was being convinced to join the Viltrum empire, he was somewhat seeking your approval. although using very vague assumptions, such as "would you accept an alien race if it meant world peace?" "or if that would help with the development of medicine?" You know, like what Nolan wanted to do at the beginning with Mark. and obviously since you didn't have the context you said yes without hesitation, further fueling Mark's crazy ideas.

I may not have made it very clear in the first part, but you and Nolan definitely don't get along. I mean, he's nice to you in a way, but he treats you like a little kid who needs discipline, so he tries to push Mark into that. Not only that, but you also indirectly blame him for the sudden change in Mark's personality, you know that if Nolan hadn't gotten him into that shit, he wouldn't have so much blood on his hands. The Mark you knew wasn't like that. HE WASNT.

The main reason this Mark doesn't feel angry because of your traditional escape attempts or why he's so soft is because of something our Invincible doesn't usually have, and that's his ARROGANCE. This Mark does not believe that you are capable of running away from him, you are not capable of defending yourself from him, you are not capable of harming him and above all you are not capable of HATE HIM, because he sees you as a soft creature, who should be treated as such because you are confused.

He is delusional, SpongeBob and Squidward level of Delusional. You could perfectly tell him that you hate him, that he's the worst thing that happened to you in your life... and he thinks it's reverse psychology.

"fuck you"

"Is that an invitation?😚"

"I hate you"

"I love you too babe🥰"

"If we were trapped on a desert island I wouldn't hesitate for a second to make a raft with your limbs"

"Silly you, I would take you out flying😘"

Do you see what I'm saying? For the same reason, if you end up hurting him, he would be proud that now you can definitely defend yourself from the Revolutionaries who "kidnap you every now and then" (it's you on the run). dang it, if you hurt him probably even NOLAN would compliment you for doing it despite being "so weak" and would completely approve of you.

(I can already imagine you with a wedding dress and a bouquet of knives...you want to throw it at Mark...in the face)

I think the most Mark does to scare you into escape scenarios is to threaten to throw you and not catch you next time, that's the best he goes. He can't stand the idea of leaving you paralyzed because it would be very boring and sad to see only a shell of you.

He wouldn't kill Eve, but he would never hurt you...physically. Did you see that in the end in their universe they manage to imprison him and get rid of Omniman? you totally didn't let go of Fem! Cecil(Cecilia?) all the way to her base and thanking her with all your heart and tears. Cecilia comforted you awkwardly, but she understood that you must have definitely had a hard time with Mark.

Meanwhile, with Mark already locked up, even if the world is a bit messed up, you can breathe easy for the first time in years, you can leave the base without fear of what happens to the people around you, you can eat without a problem, you can CHAT with people! it's magic! It's like you don't even remember anything before Mark! out of pure fear!

Meanwhile, Mark in prison always asks about you AT LEAST once a day, even if they give him proof that you are WELL and HEALTHY, he just doesn't believe it and DEMANDS to see you to prove it, which they obviously deny him and only makes him think that even more. The guy thinks you must be dying of hunger and cold or being eaten by collotes while you live your best life🤣

"MY POOR BABE! She must be so confused and scared without me! How do I know they're not torturing her for information!? She must be so worried because we're not getting home!" and it goes on and on... meanwhile Darling: "happy~ happy~happy~" "OHHHOOOhhOO, I'M SO FUCKING HAPPY!"

For now that's all. I hope the Viltrum empire doesn't come to shit on Darling's happiness☠️

[suckerforbassist]

Short drabble

Warnings: NSFW (minors DNI, 18+ only), pussy eating (Sort of), cunnilingus, oral sex (f!receiving), swearing, pet names, not proof read

a/n: hello tumblr community! This is my first drabble and had been in my pc folder since 2021 :) originally, the character was a different person but due to my change of interest, I decided to choose logan as my main character haha.

Word count: 1.8k

“W-what are we doing here?” He dragged me back to his hotel room after the incident at the club.

The noise from the hallway of the hotel became inaudible as the door were shut by the Canadian man and oh shit-

I was left alone in this empty room with this maniac plus the surroundings of the room isn’t helping at all. We barely see each others face and the dim light shone through the curtain from the moon outside was the only source of light. His broad back faced the door, blocking the exit and his facial glinted due to the strangely gleamed by the moonlight. The pair of chocolate eyes bored into mine, not even glancing away from me. I looked away, knowing that he made me felt certain feeling towards him. Crossed my arms to show my confidence that he is not making me nervous even though my heart raced and butterflies fluttered in my belly. A pregnant of silence later, I heard he cleared his throat.

“We’re gonna have a conversation.”

I averted to him in confusion, “There’s nothing to talk about, Logan.”

“Yes there is, sweetheart! Whether you like it or not, you and I are gonna stuck in here- talk it out.”

He exclaimed, still staring into my face. I scoffed with the name he called me. I used to hate that name- but, when it came out from that lips, it just felt right. My eyes landed on his lips, I wondered how that pair of lips felt against mine. Would it felt soft as feather? What would it taste like? Hell, what was I thinking? We hated each other. Immediately, I asserted,

“Stop calling me that! I’m not letting out a single word. Starting from now.”

Logan sighed but he pursued anyway, “Why are you avoiding me?”

My eyes wandered everywhere except for his figure who was standing 4 feet away from me. Mouth was sealed not giving him the satisfaction. Made him frustrated but, it was replaced with a mysterious smirk.

“Fine, you wanna play like that, huh?” Pair of eyes staring into mine. “Then, let the lips do the work.”

“What-”

Swiftly, he took a couple strides towards me and I felt Logan’s right palm caressed softly my cheek as his other hand held onto my waist and pressed his lips against mine. Soft and delicate. So, my assumption about those lips was true. I was daze and my lips froze against his but quickly picked it up when I felt his lips pressed against me a bit harder but, still delicate. Our chests brushed against one another, I felt his heart beating rapidly and so was mine. Logan was about to pull away when I did not give him much response but, I instantly gripped lapel of his flannel shirt and pulled him for another kiss.

All I could remember was that kiss was hot and intense as we picked up the pace. My arms automatically wrapped around his neck as I felt Logan’s hand roamed my back and lower until he rested on my ass. Squeezed it, a squeal escape from my mouth and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue into my wet cavern. Exploring every inch of my mouth. Left the tingling sensation all over my body and down to the core. His tongue was erratic, eager to taste every inch of my mouth.

I was not even aware that he bend his knees a bit lower and felt both of his hands caressed the back of my thighs. Gasp escaped from my lips as I was being lifted and forced my legs to wrap around his waist, making the hem of the dress lifted a bit. Setting me gently against the soft sheet of his hotel bed whilst his lips explored to my jaw, few pecks were given delicately and down to the crook my neck. A rattle breath left my lips as the plum pair of lips were pressed on the particular spot on my neck. His sucking, bite and lick made me swoon and unmindful, my eyes were shut closed due to the unforgettably pleasure. Hands were roaming the back of his neck and unruly curls. Fingers were tangled in between the curls.  

“Lo- please.”

Biting the bottom of my lips to contain the sound as he moved towards south to my clavicle, leaving wet kisses behind. His left hand was grazing teasingly at the side of my breast and then, rested on the hip while his right hand propped next to my head. Absentmindedly, I lifted my hips against his. A friction gained between our crouch and immediately I jolted towards the excitement. A few bold grunt were heard by the man above me as I continued to tease. A second later, he halted and I no longer felt his warmth. The hand on the side of my hip was no longer presence. When I opened my eyes, he knelt in front of me with the eyes filled with guilt and lust. Panting and redden cheeks, ran his eyes away from mine.

“Logan?” I sat up on the sheet with him still between my legs.

“This is wrong. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kiss you o-or force you-”

He was not the broody-jerk Logan at the moment, he was so much vulnerable and subtle Logan. The one that I grew accustom to these past few days. Without second thoughts, I knelt in front of him and palmed his stubbly cheeks.

“Hey, non of these are your fault. You didn’t force me to do this. I wanted it, Logan.” His orbs directly staring into mine, looking for sign of discomfort in mine.

“I want you.”

He croaked, “Are you sure?”

I leaned onto him and pressed my lips against his. At the moment, I don’t even care what’s going to happen between us tomorrow, tried my best to ignore all the wrong thoughts after we happened to sleep together. Shifted onto his lap with my thighs straddled him. He was a little hesitant and tried to assure with my decision. He broke the kiss and opened his mouth tried to say something but I beat to him.

“Lo, shut up and unzip me.”

He grunted while his hand wandered behind my back and skillfully, dragged the zip down. Instantly, I lifted from his lap and stood in front of the man. Sensually, my hands roamed the side of my body, purposely touch the tits without leaving my eyes from him. His eyed me lustfully while licking his lips. I reached both of my dress’s straps with thumbs and slowly dragged it down my shoulder. Soon, the satin fabric dropped and pooled around my feet. Leaving me in only strapless navy blue lace bra and panties. A groan left from his lips and a prominent bulge could be seen from his jeans.

“Twirl slowly for me, bub.” His husky voice made me shuddered and my tummy fluttered.

I complied to his order and as I was about to face him, I felt his warm hands on the side of my hips. Pulled me onto his laps, straddled his thighs. Without seconds thought, he pulled me into a desperate kiss and mumbled.

“You’re a goddess. So beautiful.”

His praise made me even wetter and a moan slipped from my throat.

“Tell me, what do you want?”

“I want you. All of you.”

Hastily, he flipped me and my back was against the soft mattress. I felt his lips everywhere and I kept whining as I felt his lips on the braline, one of his hands snaked behind and skillfully took off the strap. As the piece of flimsy fabric came off, Logan was stunned and his throat bobbed. His brown eyes scanned my chest delicately and then averted to my eyes asking permission to touch them but, I pouted.

“Why am I half naked and you’re not?” He chuckled and asked me if I wanted to undress him. Hell, yeah gladly.

When he stripped to only boxer, my hand sneakily went down to his crouch to touch the prominent bulge but, he was quicker. Grabbed, my wrist and brought it above my head. When I asked him why, he said he wanted to taste my skin first. I moaned and begged for him to touch me there.

“Patience, Princess. You’ll get what you want.”

With his a hand still locked both of my arms above my head, he began to explore my chest. Left a trail of wet kisses, licking and sucking the skin around the nipple. I huffed in frustration and tried to tug my hands from his grip. Logan let out a deep chuckled and continued sucking.

“Lo, please.” I whined. “Want you-” Gasped as I felt his tongue licked my left nipple, circled it and then playfully bit the nipple. Wrapped his lips around it and started to suck. Moaned at the sensation and it sent straight to my heat, damped my panties. He did the same to my right nipple, took his time whilst I was squirming mess underneath him.

Logan finally stopped and sat up straight while letting my hands free, stared at his masterpiece that he just created. His mouth was agape, cheeks were flustered and his eyes were blown in lust. At the same time, that pair of eyes were filled with adoration and I dared to say was love. But I can’t, falling in love with him was a huge mistake.

All of my doubts disappear as I felt his fingers trailed my inner thigh delicately, his other hand rested on my hip. Pleasure sent all over my body as his forefinger and middle pressed at the front of my panties, rubbed the wetness up and down. I moaned and fists the pillow underneath my head. Logan mumbled ‘beautiful’ but I was too busy to acknowledge his vocabulary.

“So wet for me, baby.” He leaned between my crouch and continued pressing and circling my covered bundle of nerves with his thumb. I felt a couple of pecks on the hem of my panties and suddenly the pressure on my clit’s gone. I sighed in frustration and sensed Logan was smirking.

“I swear Logan, your balls gonna be blue if you don’t hurry up.”

He chuckled, “No need to be mad, bub. I was just taking my time.”

Both his fingers curled at the hem of my panties but halted as his gentle yet lustful eyes met mine, asking for permission. I lifted my hips as allowing him to take off the flimsy piece. A groan escaped from the bassist lips.

“Fuck baby, all this for me?” He was inches away from my dripping cunt and sniffed, “Smell so amazing, I bet you taste wonderful, sweetheart.”

The way he talked made my face heated in embarrassment and hid my face in my palms. He tutted and removed my hands, placed them both on the duvet. Knowing those hands will gripped the duvet tightly or flying around his hair or back.

“Wanna see you.” He winked, “Just scratch me or anything, alright? I don’t mind.” He dived into my cunt like a starved man.

Gasped as he licked clean-

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

I’m personally a bit mixed on the senti-kid stuff.

I like it in concept because I’m a big fan of angst and existential horror, especially involving the “am I really a human/person? Am I a monster?” character arcs. Then you add in the horror of “they can have their free will taken away incredibly easily” (and be killed at someone’s whim) and that adds a whole other layer. I know that’s part of why a lot of people don’t like it, but I like the angst stuff a lot.

Having said that, I am still on the fence about it, because as much as I like the aforementioned reasons, I really hate how it was handled narratively. They do address the “can be killed easily” part a little, with Sentibug and Felix, but I think they don’t expand much on it, and don’t really stay consistant with it (like how they treat other sentis- LB controlling Sentibubbler, for example).

But the most glaring part of it for me is: having Adrien be a senti feels more like yet another reason for them to take him out of a significant action role in the story. They already did this with Chat Blanc: “oh he can’t know his dad is Hawkmoth bc he’ll destroy the world!” Then again with Ephemeral, though this time with the obvious use of the amok (Gabriel twisting the ring as he akumatized him). S5 shows him using it more and more, and has the finale with him still in control of the main villain, making it incredibly risky for Adrien to even have the Miraculous. Astruc and other fans can talk all they want about how feather kids are just magical IVF babies, and while I agree that they are human still, it blatantly ignores that having them be controlled by someone that dangerous makes them a huge risk, even if they get their amok (which is why I think there should have been some way to at least break them free of the control aspect, even if not their lives being tied to an object). (It’s also incredibly scary for the senti kid themselves.) Someone whose free will can be taken away so easily can’t be trusted with one of the most powerful objects in the world. It’s harsh, but powers like these, despite how they’re treated sometimes, can’t just be given out like candy to anyone, they need to be given selectively and carefully. Something like this can’t just be put in the hands of someone who isn’t even in full control of themselves. That’s so much responsibility to have. The narrative gave us two huge reasons that the narrative gave us for why Adrien can’t be a part of defeating his father and isn’t fit for the miraculous: 1) he’ll destroy the world, 2) he can be magically controlled and they can’t do anything about it. Why are they trying so hard to come up with reasons for why one of their main characters shouldn’t be in the role they gave him? The senti story would fit far better if Adrien wasn’t Chat Noir- I’ve read a lot of fics where things do work out, but they usually always take it in a direction that the show wouldn’t (in terms of story style and episode outline), so I don’t really think it can be successful in a canon style (though fic writers always surprise me, so I’m happy to be proven wrong).

That’s not even bringing up how Adrien’s arc was all about him obeying his father because he wants approval, not bc of magic, which… I guess can be explained away by Gabriel acting on the assumption that they made him perfect, therefore he doesn’t need to be controlled (like why Tomoe let Kagami keep her amok), but they don’t really address that on the Agreste side- how far is Gabriel willing to go? Why is he using it more now? Did Emilie use his amok? What for and why? Did the couple have a discussion beforehand? There’s just too much left open for the giant hole they created.

Sorry if this came off as ranty, but I wanted to share my thoughts as someone who does like the senti plotline, but still has frustrations with the show’s writing quality and inability to pull it off.

In another show, the sentikid stuff would have been amazing, so I don't fault anyone for liking the concept! It's a fantastic setup for a dark and twisted take on the genres that Miraculous is playing with. I could easily see that more serious show being considered a sort of sister show to Madoka Magica in terms of what it's trying to do.

The problem is that Miraculous isn't Madoka Magica. It's not trying to be a dark fantasy for teens and adults. It's trying to be a rom-com for little kids and the sentikid plotline has no place in a rom-com for little kids. It's way too serious for many of the reasons that you brought up.

For me, the biggest one is probably this point:

Someone whose free will can be taken away so easily can’t be trusted with one of the most powerful objects in the world.

Because sentimonsters do not have true free will, Adrien is a massive liability who should never be trusted with a miraculous. The risk is simply too great. He should also never be with Marinette or anyone else whose job is high stakes as he's a massive liability to them. A perfect sleeper agent who could be commanded to fool everyone until it's too late.

Great stuff if you like psychological horror, terrible stuff if you're here to see the power of love and friendship triumph over all!

There's also the issue of when the sentitwist was introduced. Madoka Magica goes from classic magical girl team show to psychological horror within the first few episodes, which is perfectly reasonable. Shows often take a few episodes to establish their tone. Miraculous doesn't introduce the sentikid stuff until season four, well over 24 hours into the show's runtime, way too late for a massive tone shift!

Add in the issues with how the sentitwist is used to downplay Gabriel's abuse and Adrien's reactions to it and, yeah, this was not a good move. I have no idea how the writing team got the higher ups to approve this twist. I'm still stunned that Disney okayed it.

I do think that Miraculous could have kept its lighthearted nature and done the sentitwist, but it would have required the sentikids to have a way to truly break free. After all, Pinocchio is a children's story and it has similar elements, but we didn't get Pinocchio. Instead we got Ephemeral, the episode where our hero stared his love in the eyes and doomed the world because he is totally incapable of being her hero when someone else has even one of his rings. That isn't a love story. It's a tragedy.

[egoioist]

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒 jungeun's relationships with, exes & relationships

── ⟢ main masterlist ⭑.ᐟ ⟢ jungeun's masterlist ꪆৎ

── ⟢ JISUNG⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀. ♬ ܁˖ now playing ⟡ puzzle piece ・ nct dream

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⊱ ۫ ׅ ✧ jisung + jungeun › jijung

⠀⠀⊱ ۫ ׅ ✧ info... ⸝⸝ when? : 2016 - 2018 ⸝⸝ relationship status : rumored to be dating

⊱ ۫ ׅ ✧ about jijung ꪆৎ

⸝⸝ while these two never dated, the fans could have fooled you. they grew up in sm together and due to this they developed a bond closer than most of the other members. they were always the cutest of the group, always the babies, always being smothered by the older members, so of course they bonded over this. they were always seen laughing with each other and most of these moments were caught on camera, which made fans speculate a relationship between the two. there may have been some feelings here and there but they never developed into a relationship, but the constant rumors and assumptions caused them to get distant for awhile. since jungeun was most times the punching bag for online hate, jisung felt guilty for this and their friendship faltered for a little bit. thankfully, the rumors have died down since 2018 and these two are able to be the same giddy best friends that we saw before.

── ⟢ ERIC⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀. ♬ ܁˖ now playing ⟡ past life ・ ariana grande

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⊱ ۫ ׅ ✧ eric + jungeun › jungeric

⠀⠀⊱ ۫ ׅ ✧ info... ⸝⸝ when? : 2019 ⸝⸝ relationship status : privately dated

⊱ ۫ ׅ ✧ about jungeric ꪆৎ

⸝⸝ although nothing was ever confirmed by either company, rumors of these two lasted almost all year. after jungeun and jaemin's friendship began to strain due to the unrecognized feelings for each other, jungeun started meeting with eric more and eventually they ended up dating for a few months. they also began dating while jungeun was on hiatus so they had more time to see each other which brought them closer. over the course of their relationship the signs of them being together became more obvious and almost everyone was talking about the rumors. they were often seen with each other out in public, and when saesaengs got ahold of their schedules they noticed most of their schedules were perfectly aligned so they could see each other. as the saesaengs got more invasive the couple began to worry if being together wasn't the best idea at the moment. they talked about this decision for a few weeks and ultimately decided to part ways but decided to stay friends as there was no issues within the relationship. they can still be seen interacting with each other often and were even on a variety show in mid to late 2023.

── ⟢ JAEMIN⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀. ♬ ܁˖ now playing ⟡ pink matter ・ frank ocean, andré 3000

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⊱ ۫ ׅ ✧ jaemin + jungeun › jungmin

⠀⠀⊱ ۫ ׅ ✧ info... ⸝⸝ when? : 2020 - present ⸝⸝ relationship status : publicly dating

⊱ ۫ ׅ ✧ about jungmin ꪆৎ

⸝⸝ when they were trainees, they made a promise that if neither of them were married by 40 they would marry each other and live together. it was very obvious to everyone else during smrookies that jaemin and jungeun were extremely close and the other trainees would always tease them about it. over the years they got closer and pretty much became each other's #1, anytime jungeun had something exciting to tell someone she'd tell jaemin first, and the same goes for jaemin. as mentioned before, their friendship began to strain around late 2018 / early 2019, which led to jungeun getting with eric. there was no argument between the two, nothing extreme had caused them to become tense every time they saw each other. jungeun knew she liked jaemin more than a friend, and jaemin knew the same, but they didn't know exactly what that meant and what to do about it. as idols, they were limited on options, and having little to no prior romantic experience it made it hard for them to relay the way they really felt. but after jungeun and eric parted, her and jaemin had begun to talk more again, mentioning how they had missed their bond and trying to remember why it even faltered in the first place. over only a short few months, jaemin had gotten the courage to tell her how he had felt for years, which ended in them getting together in early 2020. the two years that their relationship has been public has been heartwarming for fans to see. they're often seen with each other on their respective instagram accounts and occasionally mention each other on bubble, they keep their relationship mostly private but don't mind sharing details here and there.

©️egoioist

[colorfulraven]

My 25 Most Reread Books

thanks to @francesderwent for starting this, and @cakeyouareoh for typing up rules so i could just copy them

rules: everything on the list is fiction. the books listed are not necessarily my favorites, they’re the ones i’ve reread most often. some of them i haven’t read in decades, but i read them over and over as a kid. mine are not ranked, and are in random order. i chose one most-read book by each favorite author. i will add more clues if needed, and update the list as i go with the answers.

anne of green gables by l. m. montgomery - reading this feels like coming home. despite the pain, there is always hope and wonder if you look for it. (dr hq)

the murderbot diaries (yes the entire series) by martha wells - redacted (@drharleyquinn-medicinewoman and @cakeyouareoh)

pride and prejudice by jane austen - the most perfect couple isn't even the main one in this story. but the main one is perfect to me. (drharleyquinn-medicinewoman and @cakeyouareoh)

fruits basket by natsuki takaya -sentient calendar falls in love with a girl. the calendar is multiple people, and the book is a manga series. (cake)

jane eyre by charlotte brontë - proving goth was never just a phase. also he's terrible idk why i reread this book so much. (dr hq and cakeyouareoh)

uglies by scott westerfeld - maybe she's born with it. maybe it's mandatory. there was a movie made about it recently. (fran)

curses, inc. by vivian vande velde - fantasy short story compilation from my youth. it’s by an author i asked cate and cake about. (cake)

the locked tomb series by tamsyn muir- spooky scary skeletons (@sparrowposting)

the lunar chronicles by marissa meyer - what if the real fairy tales are the friends we made along the way ( @cakeyouareoh )

twilight by stephenie meyer - it makes no damn sense. compels me though. takes place in the pacific northwest, mostly. (cake)

if we were villains by m. l. rio - theatre kids scare the living shit outta me. (@sparrowposting)

elantris by brandon sanderson - i recognize it makes no sense, but i still think she should have chosen the priest instead of the god. (@justanawesomeowl)

she was an artist girl, he was a biker boy

"surely *i* can mess around with forces i don't know anything about, because i know everything" says the main character

humanity is always with us, but perhaps it's also learned. 3rd in a series that I highly recommend.

enders game by orson scott card - what if up is sideways? you need to rethink your assumptions. (@ontheedgeofgreatness and @snailthimbles)

redwell by brian jacques - local monk becomes hero and is kicked out of his order. he’s still an integral part of the community, though. (fran)

harry potter by hatsune miku - whoops, my millennial is showing. i very much dressed up for midnight book releases as a kid. also movies as a teen/young adult. (@scrunchie-face and cake)

the hobbit by jrrt - the heroes journey. and then unjourney. (fran)

the hunger games by suzanne collins - the film adaptation was very much life imitating art. (cake)

this is how you lose the time war by amal el-mohtar and max gladstone - star crossed lovers in spacetime (@sparrowposting)

what happens when you get your doctorate in architecture, but don't have to study humanities. alternatively: a clock hand cures asthma.

the mediator series by meg cabot - what if melinda gordon were a teenager? written by author whose other series was turned into a much beloved movie. (dr hq)

from the mixed-up files of mrs. basil e. frankweiler by e. l. konigsburg - siblings take the ultimate field trip. Also learn clerical work. ( @ontheedgeofgreatness )

contraband diary at a dig site. If you’re reading this, I already hate you.

[eddo-tensei]

"YOU JUST WANT HER TO STAY THE SAME!" - A short essay on the misconception of why people wanted Chloe to be redeemed.

Interpretations are important when it comes to understanding media and despite what some people may say, there's never "one true interpretation" of a piece of media. At this point, it's been at least a couple months since the fifth season of Miraculous had ended and it's been at least a month less than that since the movie had premiered. In both cases, even though she just barely qualifies as being a main character in the franchise, Chloe had become a hot topic in both iterations. In the show, she started out as your stock mean girl archetype, started to gain some depth in Seasons 2 and 3, and then suddenly nose-dived into being the resident Hate Sink come Season 4 and onwards while any bit of depth she had was stripped away from her. In the movie, she started out as relatively the same as she did in the show, but what's interesting is how her progression in the movie was handled in that there barely was any progression for her in either path. There wasn't a path of redemption written for her, but she wasn't thrown into the Hate Sink like what the latter half of the show did with her. In fact, even though the movie gave her an extremely petty motivation to bully Marinette, she's somehow better than how the show depicted her because she actually has a motivation, albeit a petty one, and yet she's somehow shown to be less of a monstrous psychopath that the show tried desperately to make her out to be. Granted, I do feel like something is lost with Zag retconning out most of Chloe and Adrien's past friendship, but the rest of the writing for Movie Adrien more than made up for that because Adrien actually feels like his own character instead of someone morphed into an accessory for Marinette. Same goes for Movie Marinette for that matter because even though they don't have a backstory together, Chloe's bullying of Marinette actually holds weight and Marinette felt more like a genuine introvert than the neurotically creepy mess she was in the show and to whom the writers spent the last season desperately attempting to justify the questionable actions of. All that said, the movie did a lot of right in terms of characterization and while Chloe, Nino, and Alya had reduced roles, they were still written pretty nicely and I hope to see this version of these characters again should Zag pen another sequel.

Even so, it led me to think about something that's been bothering me concerning Chloe and the discourse surrounding her. Even now, especially after how the fifth season's finale played out, the debate for whether or not Chloe should've been redeemed is still ongoing and it's very clear that the show had only served to strengthen those who said she never deserved to be redeemed to begin with. While there's a lot to debate over this, I do feel like there's one particular idea among those who are against a redemption for Chloe that's just completely wrong and deserves to be called out. Namely, a lot of people who argue against Chloe being redeemed seem to have this assumption that those who do want that are defending all of Chloe's actions or worse, that those who are pro-redemption actually just want Chloe to remain the same character-wise while she gets to be a hero again. Honestly, it's baffling that people would believe that Chloe fans who wish for a redemption just want Chloe to remain the same bully she always was even though that is literally the opposite of what most Chloe fans want and completely goes against the point of her having a redemption arc to begin with.

Now the reason I said this is the opposite of what MOST Chloe fans want is because there are indeed some fans of Chloe who do think she did nothing wrong and that she should be given the hero spot because Marinette is just being stupid. These fans usually come from people who get most of their ideas for Miraculous from watching goons like CyrusLovesOwlCity and to put it simply, these people are wrong and should not be taken seriously. Frankly, they're no different from any Marinette stan or Adrien stan who argue until they're blue in the face about how their respective characters did nothing wrong while violently salting any other character, including each other, that did something even slightly negative to their favorites. Those people do not deserve to be allowed in any polite conversation involving Miraculous regardless of which character they do it for.

In any case, despite what people might think, a lot of Chloe fans do want to see her change and stop being a bully. They want to actually watch her learn that what she's doing is wrong and thus improve herself. Of course, the showrunners seem to vehemently disagree with the concept of her ever becoming better and actively shoot down any possible hint of that happening. People will argue that there were never any hints to begin with and that Chloe fans are just being delusional, but that's where interpretations come in. While one could easily just say that Chloe is just impossible to redeem and one can even dive deep to even find reasons as to why that is, people can also look deep enough to find reasons as to why Chloe CAN be redeemed. While there's no true evidence that Chloe had a hidden heart of gold, there is evidence to show that she's much more sensitive and insecure than she lets on, primarily seen in any episode where Audrey is a primary character. Moreover, while Chloe is more of an overt bully in the movies, the scene of the ball towards the end of the movie does indicate that while Chloe still has a front, she does respect Marinette to an extent to the point of allowing her to dance with Adrien. This latter scene does seem to lean more into what Chloe fans actually want in that even though she is a bully, she's also starting to grow and it does seem like there's hope that she could get out of that role instead of just getting worse and being treated as a worse person than someone who attempted genocide and someone who wanted to erase reality.

With all that said, I feel like one more thing that needs to be addressed is that some people seem to believe that Chloe fans only complain about the show's writing when Chloe looks bad. While it may seem like cope, when people are complaining about it for multiple characters that arguably span the entire show, I don't think they're just complaining because one character is written in a bad light. Kagami, Nino, and Alya are just some of the other characters that come to mind when talking about how bad the writing is and of course, when Marinette and Adrien get their awful moments, a lot of their fans seem quick to jump to bringing up "bad writing" as a complaint as well with them often rewriting these characters to fit how they themselves view them. Frankly, if those fans are allowed to just create their own versions of these characters, I don't see why Chloe fans shouldn't be granted that same luxury for Chloe herself.

Overall, while the future of the show is uncertain, it's clear that Chloe's fandom is never going to truly disappear no matter how much people try to make that happen. All that said, you shouldn't just assume that a Chloe fan just wants her to get away with everything and be treated as a hero without having to change. Ultimately, you shouldn't just accuse a fan of Chloe of defending all of her bad actions just because they want her to be better. Save that negative energy for the people who unironically say that she did nothing wrong and then actively salt other characters for her. This is a lot to write, but I really wanted to get my thoughts out there and hopefully clear some things up.

Also, people who say that Marinette is somehow the true bully do not belong in the Miraculous fandom. Simple as.

[pixiecactus]

sorry nonnie for the second time, and thank you for your patience!

but i think that i need to make this a separate post completely, but i'll start putting up the first part of your ask here, if you don't mind (i really hope you don't!)

to get people on board of what i will be talking about here, let me show you the quote once again and give you the link to the fanfic.

the supposed grrm quote is this:

“Okay so GRRM, arrived in Toronto yesterday for a book signing and unfortunately because of an exam, I was unable to attend (BOO!) so I asked my friend to ask him about Gendry and Arya’s “relationship” and if they would ever reunite again. His response was that Arya and Gendry have separate futures but whether they’ll ever meet up again, you’ll just have to keep reading.”

the fanfic is called the lost wolf and in chapter 21, you can find the first time that this quote was posted.

About G/A and the separate futures phase. Whoever published it was a very dedicated shipper who got devastated by his response. I don't think anyone would lie about that because this fan was genuinely very upset over this.

what i can say about this (for the second time because i lost what i had written as a response completely before) is that i recognize the username of the writer, and yeah, the fic was published in 2012, so we can say it was a different time... but i made the mistake of reading the fic in which the quote was posted, and this is not me trying to discredit the writer as a gendrya shipper, but oh my god, how i wish i hadn't read that fic at all; i have so many problems with it and the characterization.

i'm going to put the link to the google doc i made here, in case someone wants to share the suffering i went through. no one is obligated to read it, but i think that is going to help to support a little bit of what i'm going to write next about the author. but then again, let's put a little reminder here that everything i'm going to say is my own assumption and that this person seems to no longer have a presence on the internet or in the asoiaf fandom to defend themselves.

now here's my opinion, so if you have read my ranting session, i think that would make sense for you what i'm about to write next: i'm like 95% sure that the author was pretty young when this was posted. why? you may ask because the characters act in ways that are nonsensical to an adult with a fully developed frontal lobe. here's where my own experiences come into play to defend this opinion of mine, but i did write a fic like this when i was a kid; i was around 12 or 13 at that time, i'd like to say that it wasn't this awful in comparison, because there wasn't a rape storyline in it, but the main couple surely had moments where they were hating each other and threatening to break up because of a stupid and idiotic misunderstanding like "you didn't look my way when i was talking to you... so you don't love anymore" and the classic "i love you but i kissed x person or x person kissed me and now i think that i may love them and not you, my honest mistake" thankfully i didn't have an internet connection available at the time and my home's computer was back in my house (duh!) and i spent most of my childhood at my aunt's house, so i wrote those fics the good old fashion way with a pen and a notebook, and now those notebooks are lost to time and the act of moving out.

another point that is more credible than my own word is that in the author's note this person talks about going to school most of the time; that's the chosen word, i believe if they were in university they'd just say so. also this person said that they have a job, and i know that child labor laws are different around the world, but it seems that this person was based in canada, since the "quote" mentions grrm in toronto, so the info i could find about it told me this:

the lack of any other people's accounts that could collaborate on this info as truth, it's what does it for me. i think that if it was a truthful statement, we would have a lot more info about it. since the author's friend wasn't the only one who was at this book signing, there would be a lot more people around them both and within hearing range... but everything you see about this quote is a short copy and paste.

after all this time, why don't we have any kind of official source? it's been 12 years; that's more than enough time for it to appear somewhere; a reputable source would be the most ideal of all, though.

it's just people lie for attention all the time on the internet, and it's more common for kids to do it too... so i tend to lean that this is the case here.

i can admit that this "quote" absolutely wrecked me during my teen years, but now as an adult, i see it more as asoiaf's very own "my uncle works at nintendo" type of rumor.

i know that i'm not making a strong case because i don't have the intellect for it, so i think that this post is more food for thought than anything else.

now i promise you anon that the next thing i'll post is your ask with my answer, and i'll give the little spoiler that i actually agree with you

[twig-tea]

City Boy, BL, and when Queerness is "Allowed"

Alright. @stuffnonsenseandotherthings tagged me in a post about City Boy and asked if I'd seen the show, because I hadn't mentioned it. I chatted with them in the comments for a bit and came around to what I want to say about this show.

For those who haven't heard of it, this is a Korean BL framed as "real"; the four actors play characters with the same names as their real names, their social media accounts treat the events of the vlog episodes as real to their lives (both their personal accounts and the show accounts, as far as I can tell), nothing on the channel says this isn't real, and the show is framed as though it's actually happening and is filmed by the actors themselves as slice-of-life, with some 'found footage'-style additions. The season is over, but the accounts still post shorts with the actors acting as the characters, and they still do lives "in character".

First, I've seen the show, and it's very well done. The acting is good, the chemistry is good, the visuals are good, the kissing is good, the story is good. If they hadn't framed the show this way I would have been shouting about it. If you want to check it out, it's on YouTube for free with subs. Check out stuffnonsenseandotherthing's post linked in the first paragraph for more about the show if you're curious.

But I was uncomfortable with the way this show has been made and marketed, and so I've stayed quiet about it.

Here's the thing. In addition to the very real problem that fans have with separating the actor from the character, chemistry from real feelings, and business gay performances from being freed from the closet, there is also something really insidious about the way people are allowed to be gay in play only, but real gay men are often hated on by fandom. The things "straight" (I put in quotes because a lot of assumptions are made all the time about BL actors) actors are allowed to do that gay men are not is infuriating.

Several months ago two of the men who appeared on His Man S1 decided to create a BL together. These are two gay men who were "shipped" by fans but did not actually date in real life. They filmed a vlog in the style of 'what their 1 year anniversary date would look like' (clearly labelled that way, but the video itself was immersive), and they got so much hate that they took down the video and backed away from making any more, and made a public apology. The criticism was that it was "cruel" to the feelings of one of the men acting in the video--infantalizing, insulting, and just more evidence that fans do not understand the difference between reality and performance.

I should say, the main shipped couple from S2 of His Man who did get together also make vlogs--real ones about their actual lives--and they seem to be thriving, thank goodness. They have more subscribers and around the same number of viewers as Cityboy_Log. But they had the power of being promoted by the show they were on partially behind their success, and they get a lot of suspicious comments about whether they are 'faking their relationship for views'. They are affectionate but not performing any heat the way City Boy does, and while they both seem pretty shy and not like they're dying to make out on camera anyway, I'm certain they have to temper what they do and show on camera in order to maintain their paid partnerships and magazine spreads. Ironically the same actions that are getting the actors of City Boy attention are what would likely get SeongHo and JunSeong "cancelled".

Anyway. All this is to say, CityBoy_Log is well done but I worry about it as a concept, and what it's setting its actors up for (and what its encouraging in fans). One change of not using the actors' real names would have been enough to make me cool with it, but it is what it is. If you're going to watch it, please watch it knowing that it's not real, and knowing that Korean gay men would not be able to make it either as fake or real content without being rejected by the audience.

[pulim-v]

You convinced me to posy about my ocs so now i need an in-depth lore drop of your ocs please x (if you're comfortable obviously)

OKAY SO

Currently I have three OC stories, though two of them are much less developed than the third and as such they will be ✨ignored✨ for the duration of this post

MEET MY OC STORY - FOGGY GLASSES AND CORRODED COPPER

It follows two friend groups in a magic university, and their ongoing drama, which started when Spark (third left to right) caused an explosion in the chem lab and Mist (fourth left to right) was hit by it (though it only affected his hair)

MEET THE CAST

Mist Argentum (he/him)

A rules-obsessed perfectionist, Mist wears his academic success, born from a mix of talent and raw effort, as a badge of honour. Little does he realize, his perfectionism is slowly chipping away at his mental health, and he is rapidly approaching a state of burnout. Mist seems to hide some of his personal troubles from his peers - a rough breakup from high school still weighs on his mind, and his parents are an overwhelming presence on his mind that at times, somewhat contributing to his extreme adherence to rules

Spark Stratunimbus (they/them)

The opposite of Mist, Spark is just as good academically, but their success originates from less raw effort and more clever use of "shortcuts": a rule violation here, an assumption there, Spark's work is never truly foolproof, but they get the same results that Mist does. Truly, Spark was once much like Mist, but has long since gone through burnout, and never actually recovered

Rowan Lantana (he/him)

As much as a perfectionist as Mist, Rowan is the biggest hater that resides in the KIT (Kimoru Institute of Technology), and in turn is the most hated Chem course student. Extremely hard-working, he's consistently very near the top of the class, but almost always gets beat by Mist and Spark. That, surprisingly, isn't what bothers him most! He's usually content with Mist being better than him, but lately, having made his first friends in college, he has started getting weirdly attached to them - whenever he's near his friends he starts feeling a strange emotion, and he can't quite grasp what that is

Fern Penumbrae (he/she)

Fern is. A bit of a mess. A few years older than most 1st year students, she already had a stable job in Mount Kimoru, and sort of just... entered the KIT in a whim. An IT student, he doesn't have many friends, neither in nor outside college, and his family are residents of a far-away country , and is quite isolated in his community. Things are starting to change, though. She's made a couple friends, Spark and Octavia, and has developed a sort of crush on the former. All she has to do now is confess!

Dew Botanyuki (he/they)

Dew is honestly just taking it easy. They've gone through the KIT once and already have a degree, so he already understands what it's like and doesn't go through nearly as much trouble as the others. He should probably try and pay a little bit more attention, though, both to their own feelings as they aren't exactly aware of a crush that they're going through, and to their surroundings as the drama with his friends develops and stuff starts getting dangerous

Octavia Meringue (she/her)

A Sound Engineering course member, Octavia is in her 2nd year in the KIT, and as such, has already made some friends. However, due to taking Calculus classes again (as she failed them on her first year) she met up with Fern and Spark and the three of them became quite good friends! Things are getting a bit messy, though, Spark causing the lab explosion, Fern's developing crush on Spark and even Via's own crush on Dew have left her in a really complicated position and she's getting a tad overwhelmed.

And thats it! For the main cast at least. Sorry that this took 4 days LMAO

[24bughours]

Okay i just need to talk. I just wanna yap. Deltarune Chapter 3 spoilers below (i encourage interaction but FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S HOLY, DO NOT SPOIL CHAPTER 4 FOR ME PLEASE. I am abstaining from it for a day or two to think)

Okay, this chapter was pretty fuckin epic, and i think that most people agree. Im not gonna sit here and say that i would've written it any differently, because i dont have all the characters living in my brain 24/7 (shockingly) and dont know them as intimately as Toby Fox does, but this chapter felt a bit fanservicey? Idk how to word it, because i am TOTALLY the fan being serviced, but i could tell that this chapter was relying on previous stories a lot more than usual. I dont think thats inherently bad, but it was weird to me for a couple reasons.

For the sake of not letting this post become a million words long, I'll just talk about the main threat for the first 80% of the chapter: Mike.

Mike isnt a personified entity. Hes more of a concept. (My personal interpretation is that he just represents publicity. He is the collective public, and he can give and take as he pleases. "Mike" -> "mic" -> microphone? He COULD have connections to Gaster/Mystery Man, but at this point, i dont even understand what the fuck Gaster even is.) I prefer this over him being an actual person, but him being an unseen force limits how much the story should rely on him. Spamton was a successful tragic character because he had ties that were severed by his reliance on Mike. Even though he was unsuccessful, Spamton was once a complete person. When he took up Mike's help, he took it because he didn't feel satisfied with what he had, and Mike used that to use Spamton. Mike is like a pitcher plant, luring in pests with sweet rewards, and then trapping them and consuming them. Once Spamton ran out of new tricks, Mike chewed him up and spat him out. That's horrible, and makes you feel super bad for him even though it was technically his own doing, right? It's a fairly realistic representation of how fame crushes anyone who will let it for the sake of being remembered, right??

Now, there's Tenna. I like Tenna a LOT!!! Hes SILLY. BUT!!! He is a significantly weaker character than Spamton, and I think it's BECAUSE of his personal ties to Spamton.

I know that any character connected to Mike is also gonna be connected to Spamton, but the way that Tenna is connected to Spamton kinda makes no sense to me? It has nothing to do with Mike. Spamton is supposed to be a personified scam email. He lives in a COMPUTER. Tenna is a TV that lives in a completely seperate room of the house (at least, if i remember correctly). They are not that similar. So, how do they even know each other? Tenna has his own little world, unrelated to cyber city. How did they even meet? Whatever. I believe in "the rule of cool", so I can let it go. Two personified electronics being gay little freaks is fine with me, i dont care

Anyways, they were close enough for Tenna to be in the same room as Spamton AS HE GOT THE CALL FROM MIKE THAT MADE HIM GO INSANE. ...Before this chapter, I was under the assumption that Spamton had secluded himself fully from everyone, and THEN got that call from Mike when he was at his lowest. Thats what made the call compelling to me: Mike's sinister timing. But Tenna was there. Why?

Im just confused why the story wanted to emphasize how close Tenna and Spamton were. I understand that Spamton didnt mention Tenna in Chapter 2 because Toby was probably still working out Chapter 3's story, but even so, they don't even seem like they would get along. TV and the Internet were rivalling industries (at the time). Hell, throughout the chapter that SPECIFICALLY was alluded to! It would make a lot more sense if Tenna and Spamton were rivals from the beginning instead of friends turned enemies. (Like, if Tenna hated Spamton from the beginning for being so successful, then Mike decided to prey on Tenna's loneliness/ego/preexisting hatred of Spamton, that would've been super cool. But in the game, Tenna makes it pretty clear that he felt betrayed by Spamton, due to him... running out on him after the phone call from Mike? Idk i might be remembering that wrong, but if I'm right, what the fuck? Dramatic ass)

Anyways, thats just my nonsensical rambling. I liked Chapter 3 a whole bunch, and this was just one of a few criticisms i had of the story. Im not saying i hate it, not at all. I actually think that Tenna and Spamton having a weird toxic past relationship is really fucking funny and based. I just thought that Tenna was on the shallower side when it comes to Deltarune characters, and wanted to yap about why. (Maybe this was caused by Toby being on a time crunch? I wouldn't know. Im not him.)

Thanks for reading my long ass nothingburger of a post

[controversial-blorbo-bracket]

Hey idk if honourable mentions via asks are still a thing (if they are and/or you find this ask to be too long) but godDAMN Alphys Undertale should've been in this I really regret missing the submission period

Okay so Alphys is like, a mess??? Like, I don't know how to explain it all so I think I'll get a previous writing of mine that explains most of the deal with her (the True Lab stuff isn't explained but that is a Whole Mess that would make this 8 paragraph-long ask even longer):

Context: I made a comment mentioning people hating on Undertale characters after appearing to express an enjoyment for a character that I like, someone asked me to rant about it, and I did, making a third of my analysis about Alphys (the rest was about Asgore, who's on the competition, and Toriel, whose hate is fairly minor compared to the others):

"I said it a couple times that Alphys is the least popular character in the game, and it's by a landslide. Why? Well, there are a few reasons, mainly the irredeemable crime of being annoying, because Toby Fox didn't think it through fully and made it so that the Texts in Hotland and the CORE repeated after each death and replay, so you're forced to see the exact same jokes every time you die to literally anything.

That's just the main reason, though, we still have to talk about her manipulation and compulsive lying! She manipulates Frisk through the areas where she's present in a way to act as a Cool Supporting Character, deliberately delays Mettaton's Gender-Affirming Surgery body finalization because she's afraid of losing her only friend, and makes small white lies to Undyne so she can seem cooler to her. These are the main issues, and seem to come from a place of bad mental health and some sort of mental disorder, but a lot of people really dislike her just because of that and then proceed to tell Undyne that Anime is real not to hurt her feelings despite that being a dick move to Alphys because it forces her to say that AGAIN WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU.

There's also the apparent incompetence of her actions in the True Lab but honestly those are like 5 cans of worms that I Do Not Want To Get Into, so basically a lot of people misinterpret Catty and Bratty's dialogue in a way that makes it seem like Alphys lied to Asgore to get the job, but that's a completely baseless assumption, and considering how Mettaton works and what was asked of her I don't think it makes much sense.

The issue here is that people are dunking on Alphys's questionable actions when Asgore has done much worse, and then completely missing the point of her character. It's annoying and pretty much omnipresent in the fandom, with a particularly bad case of it being in this video, that calls out the fandom's mistreatment of Asgore and then proceeds to literally call stuff that Alphys didn't do, or was forced to do, out, like lying to get her job (again, not true), or not warning anyone about Flowey (she was being manipulated by him). It's a huge mess that comes from a gameplay annoyance but turned into something way bigger."

Idk if she should qualify due to most of the feelings towards her being fully negative, but eh Mineta did and I'm yet to see someone who genuinely enjoys him :P

Tbh I had no idea Alphys was so controversial or so hated. Though I’ve only played Undertale once so I know I missed stuff

[toniko]

초심돌 478 very extended thoughts n theories

btw Hajun is not mentioned in the memories in any detail at all. We continue to know fuckall what’s going on with that guy really.

Okay. So when it said age 31 memory I thought he had a couple more months but you son ofa bitch IMMEDIATELY AFTER??? Because you could not have survived the sleeping pill downed with beer combo, come the fuck on. Seo Yehyun even bids you goodbye with a ‘see you next time,’ crazy flag to raise there

Okay. So the rest of the chapter, memory 2. I personally believe in the theory that each member had their turn with being the ‘regressor’ in each round. Like it’s such an odd action of ‘handing Yoon Eden a poorly remade version of All Right or Night’ to Yoon Eden. It’s his own song, so if he’s a regressor he can just remake it right? Like this has to be done with the assumption that they believe they’re the only regressor. Eden implies that Dobin & Jaehee have also done the same thing in previous rounds. If the other members remember the regressions then they wouldn’t have brought up the same idea either (considering that Eden says it’s been a failure every time). In the first place, it seems like only Eden fully remembered everything during the ‘Risk system era’ while the members on different regression turns/rounds would remember pre-regression but not the actual regression.

I mean, I think this is why Eden is so pissed too. Imagine if he really wasn’t a regressor and made the song based off of those notes. Wouldn’t some credit go to the member that brought him the song? I don’t think any of the member’s intended to steal Eden’s work or anything but it’s a bit much to hand him a sheet of his own music. And ‘All Right or Night’ fails anyway because it seems like they didn’t find or springboard off of ‘One Chance’. (Assuming he was still in his slump because only time/age was reset, it might not have been a great rendition of the song either)

Additionally, Eden really hates piggybacking off of other people’s hard work in the artistic sense. This may be his own song but at this time, it was given to Navy for their big break. As much as it is Eden’s song, it is also Navy’s. The members being outsiders in the creative process had no right bringing this song to Eden even if Eden made it with them in mind. I honestly don’t blame the other members, because this seems like pretty standard regressor plays or decisions.

Regressor stories love dodging the issue of achievements made by other people being stolen by a main character simply by making it so that the achievements were made by shitty people. There’s the additional smokescreen of it being a time that no longer exists.

Of course, ‘All Right or Night’ does become a Reve song. This decision is made alongside deciding he’ll make an even better song for Navy. And then he does. What a guy really.

Seriously, Yoon Eden is a fascinating regressor character because he’s so self/made he barely makes use of literally knowing the future and mostly just takes the chance to right the wrongs in his pre-regression days.

Well, final thoughts on the ‘Risk system era’ is how it seems like he lived through the full damn 7 years at least 5 times. It seems like ‘Beginner’ system comes in at 5th but there’s a mention of that same house and Ferrari. With how much Eden emphasizes his age as well, these didn’t seem like short regressions even if the number is small.

But it’s not all depressing, because our current Eden always picks the mood back up. Hahaha his final line really cleared my head, if he hadn’t done that, I would’ve been rolling around my bed in misery still…

[tarot-junkie]

Ive been perusing off and on. Making observations as I dabble in/do a pulse check on other fandoms. I’m curious. I’m working on energy to get back into reading. It’s been hard, because my mental energy is not in the right headspace for readings. I draw cards and go completely blank. And it’s super frustrating, because it’s not clicking right now. So I’m trying to occupy my brain in the meantime. And I’m sorry I’ve been awful about responding. Soon.

I was reading around the internet on this topic before, and said I would have some feedback. Consider this part 1.

When I look at other fandoms I see the same examples of:

Proof of location via some surrounding item in a social media post (a countertop, a bed frame) and not always posts by the main character, either.

Checking into relationship validity via follows on social media. Sometimes follows of follows….and watching their updates to keep tabs.

Confirmation of location via time that the social media posts are made.

People looking at/for reflections and what they contain.

People emailing/contacting normal folks to verify data when a “sighting” happens. Pretending to be someone or something they’re not bc…well that’s just too much.

Hate accounts that cross-pollinate from one social media platform to another, and are well-known.

The assumption that the females are “bad” for their dudes (ok some might be… but STILL).

Some people who gatekeep data BUT I will say, some fandoms explain (pretty rationally maybe?) WHY they gatekeep and they discuss how they validate their sources. This is interesting.

The threat of doxxing is high on the lists for almost all, in some respect or another.

The assumption that either the actual celebrity OR some of the significant others are on tumblr, and loose association that “proves” it. It’s usually some rando Carol Burnett ear-tug scenario.

In most cases, wild conspiracy theories abound about the love lives, usually in the form of some succubus ingenue…who needs press and persuasion to MAKE IT BIG in the business.

Or this person is dating a racist (hear me out) based on 10 yr old tweets or affiliations dug out of the abyss. Can cite Jakey G, Henry C , Chris E and Ben B as examples where this was brought up. Which is not to say things don’t REEK from the disgusting posts made, but it is absolutely something people look for. Is it more gross that it’s not that hard to find, sometimes? Sad. Gross. Check check.

Or sexuality is ambiguous, which encompasses some part of the discussion. (This happens a LOOOOOOT too). Saw this for years in the Jakey g fandom, and dozens of others.

They always date some random midwesterner 😂😂 apparently the Evan Peters fandom is experiencing this knee-high-by-July uni-CORN bread gf now? Idk.

People automatically assuming a new couple is “endgame” regardless of the rumor starting yesterday or 2 years ago. lol. I’ve seen this seeeeveral times.

Some, not all, have either particular tarot readers- or are asked about frequently.(I find the ones asking about Leo D…I think that guy is who he is. And that’s that. Snooze).

This is barely scratching the surface, considering I’ve not ventured into the Styles and BTS dumpster fires. ✌️

If I’ve forgotten any items, feel free to let me know in the comments.

[quicksilverblue]

So as promised, a little fun thoughts of the trip.

If I believed in signs, I'd be...

well, confused.

After what felt like a good day, where I had great conversations and (hopefully) at least made it a "difficult choice" if they are leaning toward someone else, I had dinner with a couple of the committee.

But the good restaurant in the town had burned down and would be a while before it was back. So we had a catered meal in the President's Dining Room.

Now, I had told them that I'm a pescatarian/vegetarian. And there is a common assumption, in my experience, that all vegetarians like mushrooms.

I don't. I hate them. I detest them. (It's a texture thing. They're slimy, and I only have a total of one data point out of gabazilions that suggests they don't have to be.)

So the gentleman serving us informs us that the main dish will be a bit because it is best served warm, so he will give us some time to talk before telling the chef to cook it. The mushroom main dish.

And my stomach bottoms out.

Then I look at the formally set table and see what desert is.

Carrot cake.

I also hate carrots. And while carrot cake doesn't usually taste like carrots, it often has shreds in it, causing yet another texture problem.

At this point, I want to cry.

Here, I believe I have made a good impression all day and had good conversations, and now it may all be ruined.

I know I have to be gracious and show hospitality on my side as the guest. Expressing that I literally detest the nice--perhaps even gourmet--meal that they are providing for me, would make me look like an ungrateful brat.

But that's fine. I can control my expressions, and work on doing so immediately.

My worry is that the texture will trigger a gag reflex.

So I say a silent prayer along the lines of "God please make this palatable."

Fortunately, the mushroom was breaded so the slime didn't have to touch my tongue. And I managed to do ok with the carrot cake.

But honestly, if I believed in signs, this would be a sign of:

Outlook not so good.

Well... fudge.

But the conversation goes well and everything's fine, but still... the meal was in many ways my most detested foods. (Charred carrots were one of the sides, and turned out to be the real danger, though I managed that too.)

The next day, as I'm getting off the airplane, there's a conversation right near me, and I decide that it's actually a socially acceptable one for me to join--since it involved my seat mate and we had already talked some and it was kind of generic about how much they like the two cities they flew between.

And they both tell me how much they like the area and that yeah it gets hot but really it's great. And if I get the job I should 100% take it and good luck we're rooting for you complete stranger we just met... which was nice. And here's my card, no it's ok if you can't buy property, just hit me up--I can help you figure out what's to do in the area.

Once off the plane, someone catches up with me with, "I couldn't help but overhear you interviewed for a job at [college]. My wife went there. She loved it." Here's some information about the town. "You'll love it there. I hope you get it."

So, if I believed in signs this would be:

Yes, Definitely.

So basically, when I got home, I was like... "well, I don't know what to do with any of this... the signs seem to point to: Reply hazy."

Thanks magic 8 ball of life.

[totallyuseless-ugh]

Pretend it's only Us

A Bonus chapter for the "You rocked my Heart" story.

***

Darnell stood in the living room, his hands clenched into fists as he had no choice but to keep his head tilted up and stare straight ahead. "Mom, please, how much longer will I have to wait?"

"I'm sorry, Nelly. It's been ages since I had to fix someone's bow tie," Karen muttered as she focused on the task at hand. Though, her answer did not seem to satisfy her son, as he let out a heavy and frustrated groan. With the tie tightened and in place moved Karen her hands to lay on Darnell's shoulders. "Give me just one more second to look at you properly."

She finally let go and took a couple of steps back, letting her eyes wander up and down a few times to catch every detail. In front of her stood her second oldest child, wearing a dark rusty red suit jacket over a white tuxedo shirt with a bow tie. His black dress pants matched with the equally dark leather shoes which he wore only for special occasions. The leather was not fully broken in yet, but still comfy enough to wear for this evening's occasion.

While Karen absolutely adored the look was Darnell still not convinced. "Are you sure this is good enough?.." he asked as his hands nervously shot up to fix the long curly strands despite them resting in place perfectly. If it were not for his mother gently grabbing his hands and moving them away, he might have started picking at everything on himself. "Baby, believe me when I tell you that you look perfect. Not over or under dressed. It's just right."

Darnell looked at Karen for another moment. The anxiety in him was strong. But her caring, calm look managed to make him let go of the breath he had not even noticed holding in. He took another moment to calm himself down before they both left the house to get into the car.

It was already visible from a distance how big of a crowd was coming to the high school. Cars parked anywhere possible to drop off kids that were dressed up in formal attire similar to Darnell's.

The near traffic jam made it not exactly easy for Karen to find a spot to stop at. But if someone knew how to be tenacious, especially on the road, it was her.

She turned to her son who had gotten only more nervous upon seeing the amount of people wandering around and making their way to the gymnasium. "You alright?" she asked, despite knowing what type of answer she would get, a hasty shaking of his head. Karen just smiled, stopping the car's engine before she got out to open the door on the passenger side and offered her hand to Darnell. He reluctantly accepted her help and walked with her towards the main building of the school.

"Everything will be fine. It's just prom, and your final one, too," Karen told him in an attempt to calm his nerves.

Meanwhile Darnell looked all over the school grounds, searching for a familiar face, but to no avail. "What if they don't come here. Got too anxious and stayed home?"

"Then you're still staying here and having fun with your other friends." Her answer seemed to not convince her son to stay. She grabbed his shoulders, turning him to look right at her as she continued to speak. "If you were to leave now, what would happen if they showed up just the moment after, hm?"

"They.. would think I ditched 'em.." he muttered.

"Exactly. Only difference in that case, they would be right with that assumption."

Darnell hated it whenever his mother was right and gave him no chance to take the easy way out. Though, he was always appreciative of it afterwards. He slouched his shoulders with another sigh and eventually nodded to agree with her. Darnell was getting lost in his mind, trying to think of ways to enjoy the evening with just Nene and Pico. That was, until Karen gave him a small nudge. "Well, look who's just now coming over here."

Walking up the path came Joane with her oldest child. The two were still in conversation with each other until CJ stopped in their tracks at the sight of Darnell. Their mouth stood open as they had apparently lost the ability to speak. CJ wore a dark grey suit jacket, hanging unbuttoned from their shoulders as if to show off the matching waistcoat, white button-up and red tie underneath.

Joane had to give them a gentle push forward to help break them free from their paralysis.

"You look.. amazing," the young couple said almost in sync to each other. They both were at a loss for words, not knowing how much they should say while standing out in the open.

"Come on, go and enjoy your prom now," Joane tried to keep her giggles down as much as possible while talking. Darnell and CJ slowly nodded and each gave their mothers a brief hug before walking off, awkwardly shoving their hand into their pockets.

Karen and Joane watched in a soft smile as the two left before they headed back to their cars.

The walk over to the gymnasium was not long from where the two had met up, but it felt endlessly far away regardless. Neither of them knew how to speak up, what to say or do. It took a lot of courage for Darnell to open his mouth, “Y’know, I was scared for a bit you wouldn’t come. Leave me here all dressed up for no reason..”

CJ shook their head, chuckling softly. “I would never. How could I pass up on the opportunity to go to prom with you?” The grin on their lips softened slowly into a weak smile the longer they looked at Darnell. “.. But I know what you mean, I kinda had the same fear.”

Darnell nodded to himself for a moment. He then offered a loving smile back to CJ before both stopped in front of the gym's entrance doors.

Many more teens walked past the couple completely unbothered. It baffled CJ every year again how many students would be graduating at the same time as them, how many of the faces they wouldn't be able to recognise as someone from their school. Music was pouring from the speakers all the way outside along with sounds of chatter and laughter, heels and dress shoes clicking on the usually squeaky floors, all coming together as a big cacophony of the average school noise levels. Minus the songs, on most days.

Neither of them noticed how they ended up being swept inside and sat on the bleachers. And even if someone had spiked the punch they both drank, it would not have helped ease up the tense mood between them. While all the other students were dancing, drinking and just enjoying themselves stayed Darnell and CJ away from the crowd and shared somewhat forced smiles.

Nobody was ever paying attention to either of the two, yet it felt like too high of a risk to even hold hands. Even while talking, they both kept a low voice and chose their words carefully. Just to be on the safe side.

The party continued with not a single interruption. No fights broke out, nobody ran out crying dramatically. And as nearly everyone kept on having a great time, the music eventually changed as well. The fun and booming songs from before had become slow and romantic. Though, they both only really seemed to notice this shift when the dance floor was crowded with slow dancing pairs instead of the wild mass of students jumping around for fun.

Something about the sight must have bothered CJ. They let out a heavy sigh, muttered a barely audible "'scuse me" and headed for the nearest exit.

Darnell hesitated at first, but decided soon enough to follow them outside. Just a couple of steps around the corner stood the blonde, one hand cupped before their mouth while snapping their lighter for a flame with the other hand.

"Parties ain't your thing, huh?.." Darnell asked with a cautious laugh.

CJ swayed their head a little as they took a drag from their cigarette. "Of that size? Yeah, not my thing." The few lights around them in contrast to the dark surroundings only highlighted the smoke escaping their mouth at every word. "I prefer to just be around people I know and trust."

"Me too," Darnell sighed a little. "Don't gotta hide who you are then. Just.. do your thing and have fun."

CJ agreed in a low hum. They looked onto the shadowy school grounds, taking their time to think and have another drag of their smoke. "I could give less of a fuck about the others in there, I won't see most of them again after tonight anyway.. but I can't, for some reason."

"It's scary, never knowing how everyone might react.." Darnell let the silence linger for a little longer before he took a couple steps, standing shoulder to shoulder with CJ now to snag the cigarette from their fingers.

They gave him an exaggeratedly shocked look when Darnell took a drag himself, making him grin back at them smugly.

"I have seriously ruined you," CJ joked. The soft smile on their lips filled Darnell with joy, seeing them genuinely have fun for at least a brief moment again.

"Don't worry, I was a lost cause already. If it weren't for you, it would've happened in college at the latest."

They both chortled lightly as their eyes met. CJ reached their hands out to gingerly hold onto that of Darnell. And while they quickly reclaimed the cigarette for another puff, their other hand still held onto his.

Darnell did not want to break the gaze for even a moment. He felt enchanted by those soft, grey doe eyes looking back at him.

In fact, their eyes were so captivating, Darnell did not notice CJ dropping their cigarette on the paved ground to then lay their hand on his waist. He instinctively rested his head against their shoulder and his hand on their back.

They both gently swayed from side to side. But neither cared all too much about matching the rhythm of the muffled music. For as long as the songs kept playing, Darnell would just let himself be held and forget everything else around him.

When he felt the faint kiss on his temple, Darnell was reluctant to pull his head back from its resting position. Though, he was not really upset once their eyes met once more.

"Wanna go back inside?" CJ's voice was just barely above a whisper. "I think a bunch left already."

Darnell took a second before he nodded. As soothing as their little dance had been, he had to admit that the air outside was growing colder. He was lead by the hand back into the gymnasium. And to both his and CJ's surprise, a lot more students had left than expected. Maybe they had spent more time away from the prom than they had thought.

The crowd thinned out even more while the couple stood off to the sides to warm themselves up. And still, the same type of music was playing over the speakers. Most, if not all of the popular kids had already left, probably to party elsewhere without supervision. Those who were still scattered around the dance floor were the quiet ones, the nerds and outsiders, taking the opportunity to just be amongst themselves without being harassed by some bully.

Darnell watched the peaceful mingling take place in front of him. He silently rested his head against CJ's arm and did not spare them even a glance to come off as nonchalant. But he got flustered just a moment later, feeling their arm wrap around his waist with a small squeeze in a similarly casual manner.

"Not your type of prom?" CJ asked in a teasing voice.

Darnell huffed. He briefly turned his head away to hide the amused smile on his face. There was no need to enable CJ's behaviour. "Yeah, not really my type of crowd, y'know?"

"Then tell me what your type would be."

"Oh, I really love the silent, nonexistent type. The ones we had outside, remember?"

CJ chuckled softly, taking the opportunity to subtly pull Darnell just a tiny bit closer. "Fair. They do be a great crowd. But they can be horribly cold, too."

"Ah, gotta make some sacrifices sometimes," Darnell shrugged.

CJ looked around the room. Based on how the principal kept checking his watch and then glancing over to the DJ, the prom was going to come to a close soon enough. And the small bunch of students left did not exactly seem to be the kind CJ would need to be careful around.

They took another glimpse at Darnell and how he comfortably leaned against them still. "Well," CJ muttered before fully pulling him into their arms. "I suppose you might have to make a sacrifice tonight. Because I am not going outside again."

Darnell was staring up at them, dumbfounded at the sheer boldness of his partner. "I am a horrible dancer though," he tried backing out of the situation with a nervous laugh.

"We just do the same we did before." CJ grinned, following their words with a gentle squeeze to his waist.

"The others might notice us, though."

"Those people wouldn't dare even now to speak up against a teacher."

Darnell still looked unsure. He wanted to take this one opportunity, but the knowledge of other people seeing them was almost terrifying.

CJ's grin did not falter for a moment. "Close your eyes then."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Trust me on this one. Please, Nelly."

After a short moment of hesitation, Darnell gave in. He did not need his eyes to notice CJ leaning close to his ear.

"And now," they spoke softly to him. "We are going to dance. Just.. imagine this room entirely empty. Pretend it's only us."

Darnell had to fight the instinct in him to open his eyes for a moment. His arms moved up to lazily hang around CJ's neck, resting his head back on their shoulder once more. And although it took him a bit to fully allow himself to rely on CJ's lead, he noticed himself becoming more calm over time.

Maybe he should take more of their advice in the future.

The song itself might have been no longer than a couple minutes. The dance, however, felt as if they were not even close to ending yet. If the music were to just keep on playing, both of them would probably not stop any time soon, nor notice that everyone else already left to go home. But it was not hard to tell that the prom was going to end rather soon after this last song.

The last verse was starting to play, prompting Darnell to look up at CJ again.

"Hey, I didn't tell you to open them again," CJ giggled softly. Their toothy grin made Darnell's heart flutter even stronger in his chest.

"Thank you, Jay-Bee," he said. "I wouldn't have had this much fun without you tonight."

"The pleasure is all mine."

Darnell could not stop smiling as his eyes stayed locked on CJ. This chaotic dork was just too lovable. That person who had suddenly made school life not just bearable, but actually fun again.

He just had to kiss them on the spot. It would have felt wrong if he had not. Even though they both knew this was just one of the hundreds of thousands of kisses the two would share throughout their life.