#to be clear: I'm spreading this as a fan of the show! not an official affiliate or anything like that

[thecindercrow]

Pretending to be People is a mystery/horror/comedy actual play podcast using the roleplaying systems of Delta Green and Pulp Cthulhu. Created by a group of best friends with prior experience roleplaying together in this system, it's able to dive right into the action and take off running. And boy howdy, everything sure does happen so much.

Features homebrew stories written by the GM and an original soundtrack created by one of the cast. With a completed season 1, an ongoing season 2, (both of which are separate campaigns) and several 3-4 episode mini-campaigns, there are a lot of options for choosing a spot to stick your feet into the water, so go check it out on their website or wherever you listen to podcasts!

[subjectsmile]

Well, I saw this question posted on Reddit, and I really thought it was an interesting question.(Letting it be clear, I'm not doing this to convert anyone, much less to attack, but because I'm tired of reading so many lies just to hide an obvious prejudice on the part of the fan base,and for the Sonadow fan, do you have arguments to refute these fans who take your peace, just search, this post has everything you need to deny these false fan statements)

And I decided to read the reasons why people attacked Sonadow/fans and to the surprise of 0 people, these were the justifications for attacking those who like the ship (I'll just summarize it in sentences)

"They hate each other, they don't even like each other, it doesn't make sense"

"they are both enemies"

"The people who ship this have enemies-to-lovers fetishes"

"there is no chemistry, people ship characters who only fight"

I think it goes without saying that nowadays these excuses have already been killed and buried by their current canons, right? And from what I've seen, this post is at most 7 to 8 months old, that is... is it serious that there are still people who really believe these lies? Or are they just empty excuses for not admitting that prejudice is the real reason for the attacks on this fandom and this ship? Anyway, I'm posting this to clarify what's true and what's not, making it clear I'm not trying to convince anyone, I'm just exposing the lies of uninformed fans

I responded to this person's post and made a point of gathering all the official evidence refuting these false excuses that the fandom gives to say such nonsense about the characters and attack the fandom:

They both don't have Chemical?: Sonic Prime is living proof that the two are incredible as a duo,the voice actors of Sonic and Shadow admitted that they think their ship is really cool (this on Twitter), Ian Flynn and whoever animates Sonic Prime They practically implied that they think it's a good ship too (in Ian's case he made a podcast on his YouTube Talking about how Sonadow would work as a couple during Pride Month, he practically confirmed that the two work well together in Cannon ) Of course, even after all this, depending on your personal taste, you might not like their chemistry, and that's okay, you don't have to, but saying that the two of them don't really resonate it's a lie

Do they both hate each other?: No! It has been denied several times, quite the opposite, if they care about each other it is canonical that they both care about each other

Enemies?: Also a lie! It exists in several products and interviews making it clear that they friends and allies! (Also a lie from an annoying or uninformed fan)

In other words, most of the excuses used to attack this ship have already been officially denied, for me all that remains is the prejudice of the fandom as a justification for attacking those who ship both.

And before someone annoying comes and says I'm lying, I have sources for what I'm talking about!

Proof that the two never hated each other, that is, they don't spread lies around, do some research first (Honorable mention for Sonic Prime, with this series I can dig into the argument that they two don't hate each other, go watch the series) but for those who aren't satisfied with Sonic Prime : https://sonic.sega.jp/SonicChannel/special/sidestory/coverstory/20210628_002603/

https://twitter .com/LadyLoveMoon/status/1737503549842485703

https://x.com/LadyLoveMoon/status/1657854808273965056?s=20

https://youtu.be/yJ8boVrPHEc?si=bCBrhNnsV5C9JJeq

https://www.tumblr.com/pastelspindash/ 735274368949698560/trazendo isso de volta porque não posso parar de pensar? ?source=share https://www.tumblr.com/ratjamtime/730643439809593344?source=share

Scenes from Sonic prime showing Shadow's care for Sonic:

Wow, what a bloodthirsty rivalry the two have, can you see the hatred in both of them? I can:

Are they rivals? They are, but they are friendly rivals, that is VERY CLEAR IN YOUR FACE, even in the Shadow game One scene is enough to prove that "hate" is definitely not what they have:

The voice actors of the two make it clear that they think the ship is cool (they make jokes and interact with the community (they even like things on the ship): Sonic voice actor previews the first release: https://x.com/DevenOClock/status/1631062456205299712?s=20

Even Sonic's former voice actor (Ryan Drummond) doesn't see a problem with the ship: https://www.tumblr.com/pastelspindash/734454772064714752/this-tiktok-driving-me-insane-ngl-they-are-so?source=share

Shadow voice actor:

https://x.com/IanStuartHanlin/status/1723764525843828828?s=20

https://x.com/paracosmicence/status/1736125901211902396?s=20

https://www.tumblr.com/krysissy/736943763953516544/it-was-probably-a-normal-tuesday-for-mr-hanlin?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/niyana-the-ambiguous-mobian/733807770348011520/oh-my-gosh-ian-stop-playing-with-our-emotions-rn?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/nesonkin/727469580436619264/good-evening-everyone?source=share

There is a statement from the two voice actors stating that they had fun dubbing the two of them together:

https://x.com/Drey_Blanc/status/1593535566288547840?s=20

Ian Flynn on Pride Month:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH46JnEUvZw

https://x.com/LadyLoveMoon/status/1676027477682946050?s=20

(The ship is so terrible that it was honored twice because it was so bad) Bonus: https://x.com/nenemyun/status/1703775474089132132?s=20

Sonic prime animators (The ship they referenced is so horrible): https://x.com/MAM_Imaginary_F/status/1679646368485494786?s=20 https://x.com/Lunatyk__/status/1677445528378900480?s=20

The animators hated the two-two scene so much that they posted it on Instagram: https://www.tumblr.com/corffee/734658327775215616/shadow-originally-had-his-eyes-open-i-repeat?source=share

Even Netflix Latinoamérica got into the ship's hype and interacted with the ship's fans (just so you can see how horrible the ship is): https://www.tumblr.com/tailstism/725737231497773056/oh-btw-for-people-who-dont-use-tiktok-i-just?source=share

The ship is so toxic it's bad, that even Jason Griffith paid homage to the ship for a fan,wow what a terrible ship, my god!: https://www.tumblr.com/paracosmicessence/733796577422016512/this-absolute-legend?source=share https://x.com/LadyLoveMoon/status/1723715163436536043?s=20

Even the mascot got in on the fun once: https://www.tumblr.com/shadthemadlad/731770142653136896?source=share

Even Discord doesn't see a problem with that, who knew:

https://x.com/mouseygalore/status/1736922478323106214?s=20

Anyway, turning off sarcasm mode, just stop making up lies and false excuses to hate a ship and attack people who like it just because it's not what you like, don't be a bad fan and above all

(stop creating reasons that don't exist to hide your internal prejudice, let the fans enjoy their ships in peace,If even the big names I mentioned ships sonadow and have normal fun with the ship then why do fans have to be criticized for having this taste for ships too? let everyone be happy in their space )

[skekheck]

Do not buy/pre-order the Jim Henson’s the Dark Crystal: Card Game.

I am going to make this a separate post because this is important. Please reblog this to spread awareness.

Most of the art for the card game are referenced from official material, however some of the characters (skekSa, urSan, and skekLi) were based on fanworks. The most egregious of these is the skekSa design.

While her head is based on her illustration from Tides of the Dark Crystal, the body is blatantly taken from artist SkeptiBee without their permission (I have contacted the artist to verify this).

(Art by SkeptiBee)

As you can see, it's nearly an exact copy save for the gemstone on her neck and the netting.

SkekLi and urSan were likely inspired by people's fanarts. UrSan's color scheme seems to be inspired by my depiction of her but with a more saturated color scheme.

SkekLi's in particular (the one with the orange and red stripes I'm assuming) seems to be a mishmash of different people's designs, but if you simply google skekLi you can clearly see who the artist took the concepts from. EDIT: Forgot to include skekLi's card, my apologizes.

EDIT 2: Let me clarify that the purpose of the two previous examples are showing a pattern of the card artist using fan work. This is not me claiming that the card artist stole them.

As a reminder, urSan and skekLi don't have official colored designs outside of book descriptions. SkekSa, on the other hand, has a design in the Mayrin arc comics so there is no reason for the artist to be using someone's fan design.

It's very clear that the artist who made the art for the cards googled the characters, but didn't do their due diligence in making sure what is official work and what isn't. It's horrible when someone's fanart is being used by companies for profit.

EDIT 3: Because I see people keep liking this post, the company thankfully canceled the product and took it off their site.

[theofreakingbell]

forgive me if I'm a little late to this? but let me get this straight: 

Neil Gaiman asks for fans coming to his events to please mask for everyone's safety

when asked why he isn't mandating them he says he tried but the venues won't allow it

many people don't listen, or don't see the ask bc it isn't official from the venue, and show up maskless

Neil now has COVID (for a second time, which means his risk of complications is higher) along with anyone else who got infected at that event

I just. y'all. please. 

If you are going to a fan event, especially a big one like a con where there will be tons of people, you need to be wearing a mask right now. Actors and other people who work in entertainment who meet with many people and frequent large gatherings or are part of con staff for instance are at significant risk of COVID from the sheer amount they are being exposed to, not only from acute infection but cumulative damage from multiple infections or long COVID and post COVID complications. COVID levels are nearly as high as they were in the first wave in 2020 and being vaccinated does not guarantee u cannot catch and/or transmit it(this study from this year says it's around 1 in five). Please be excellent to each other and do your best to not get your faves, their staff, or other fans sick. 

why and how masks work and what types are the safest (you can get good masks in all sorts of colors now btw if u want to match ur cosplay or stuff, ProjectN95 is a good source, and Jelli has clear masks if u want to have ur face visible)

I wish Neil a speedy and full recovery, and I hope more people listen to him and others trying to keep fans and creators and staff safe right now ❤️

#FansMaskUp

[tymime]

I'm very alarmed by how many people are dismissive of the lost media community, even going so far as to spread misinformation about them. I've seen them characterize lost media seekers as ignorant whiners and brats, and that they're wasting their efforts. Do these people have any idea how difficult it actually is to find this stuff? It can take years, if copies even exist. Don't they value art preservation?

You'd be astonished by how many shows that are barely twenty years old that have simply vanished, with no clear indication of whether or not the copyright holders kept a record of it. When fans try to contact the people involved in the show, they often refuse to answer emails. These aren't old, aging shows from fifty years ago, decaying in some film can. These are shows from as recent as the 2000s and 2010s.

There's been a toxic attitude going around big media companies for a couple decades now, treating their IPs (and their customers) as disposable, moving on to the next thing as soon as profits dry up. This is a big part of the reason media becomes lost in the first place. Old show not getting enough ratings? Need to make room for a new show? Just get rid of it! Now, some of these examples aren't lost media, admittedly- but they definitely could have been, if not for an on-the-ball internet pirate downloading and backing them up. There's a series from 2002 called Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? which hasn't been on the air in about twenty years. The original audio track was missing for many years, and had to be pieced together from several sources, with the video elements coming from a foreign dub. There was a music track heard in an episode of SpongeBob called "Humpback Hop" with several minutes cut from it, unheard of for two decades, and even the composer had lost all of his copies of it. It seemed like even Nickelodeon didn't have it in their archives, because they rerecorded it for a DVD menu. It's a miracle somebody finally tracked it down. There's a series from 2007 called Out of Jimmy's Head, whose original English version is still half missing. Even though by all accounts it's a crappy show, I still want to see it. (update: This show has been found, thank goodness.) And even though I'm not a fan, there are dozens of 2010s Cartoon Network shows that were once on HBO Max, that are simply gone. They're not in reruns, they're not officially streaming. You have to resort to piracy to view them. I wouldn't wish this fate on anybody. The Willow series from 2022 was taken off Disney+ mere weeks after its debut, just because not enough people watched it. It's stuck in the middle of a storyline.

Nintendo has been notoriously bad about this. They don't want you to play any NES, SNES, GB, or N64 games that aren't the most iconic best-sellers. They take down ROM websites, even if most of the games there aren't first party or being sold in any way. The only way to legally play a game that isn't available on the Switch is to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a working console and cartridges. Most people can't afford to do that.

If it hadn't been for the efforts of unofficial programs like Ruffle and Flashpoint, thousands of flash games and cartoons would be unplayable and unwatchable.

Even if the cartoon is safe and sound locked away in some vault, instead of missing entirely, it still winds up unseen that way. The public has a right to see a show they used to be able to see and enjoyed, instead of it being unviewable for all eternity. "Oh, but they have a right to not let us see it! They own the rights to it, after all, and can do whatever they want!" some might say. What if WB went out of their way to destroy every DVD, Blu-ray, and video tape of Looney Tunes, and locked away all their copies? Would you feel the same way then? Would we not have a right to see them? Would you just roll over and take it, and let corporate overlords tell what you can or can't watch? Just shrug it off and say "Oh well, guess I'll never see it again"? How would it not irritate you? TV and movies aren't the same as some painting or statue where usually only one version of it exists in some museum or private collection. Media is meant to be distributed and seen worldwide, for everyone to enjoy in their homes. If they're stuck in some warehouse on some hard drive, they may as well not exist.

It extends out into other aspects of our lives- old buildings get torn down instead of getting restored, vintage interiors get torn out or covered up by something modern or ugly. There was a time when films and video tapes were routinely destroyed to make room for new ones, because nobody thought anybody would want to see them again. We need to get past this destructive pattern.

Am I grateful for streaming services and the content they make available? Of course I am. But as many have said before, they could take it all away, and a show can simply vanish, leaving fans to resort to piracy just to see it, if anyone even bothered to save it beforehand.

Being dismissive of these efforts is the sort of attitude that's part of the reason media gets lost in the first place.

[zadig-fate]

Me and my Poland tour bestie (noriko_743 on ig) were reflecting on our insane week following the guys around and realised that we basically did a speedrun on the entire JO fangirl checklist.

It was Nori's first in-person JO gig ever at Warsaw 1 (!!!)

We got barricade for the first time in both our lives

Nori got photos and hugs with ALL the guys

I got a guitar pick in Wrocław!

We sang Umazane Misli with Bojan at Warsaw 2

Bojan actually recognised me in Poznań and Prague and remembered what we'd talked about in Wrocław 🙀

Nori got handwritten lyrics from Bojan for a tattoo

Nori's ig story got reposted by Kris!

We both ended up in Vita's photos on the band's official account

We ran into the guys "in the wild", i.e. out in the city during the day

We got the live debut of a new iconic outfit (all-white Kris)

We saw all (I think all?) the Stožice outfits in person

We saw the Demoni scream and Kris NGVOT in person

I was the numbers person / unofficial "queue manager" for the pre-wristband queue at Warsaw 2 and Poznań

We participated in fan actions that the guys really appreciated (shoutout jokeroutpolska for organising)

I met lots of tumblr mutuals 🥰

I met a bunch of people I have plans to see again in Munich, The Hague and Amsterdam

Like... it's crazy just how much happened in this last week. And there was no one show where we got everything, or nothing. Every single gig had something special to offer. So if you're wondering whether it's "worth" following JO around on tour... it really, really is. The experiences you have and the people you meet are incredible.

Speaking of, here are some other unforgettable tour experiences that will stick with me for a long time to come:

Nori and I only met at the hostel before Warsaw 1, and she wasn't even planning to come to that show, she only had a ticket for Warsaw 2! But I talked her into getting a cheap resale ticket for Warsaw 1, and she queued with me, and she loved it so much she immediately bought tickets for Wrocław and Poznań too, so we booked hotels together for the rest of the tour.

I literally just met Nori last week?? But we spent nearly every minute together between Warsaw 1 and Poznań, dealing with the highest highs and lowest lows of tour life, and it now feels like we've been friends for ages.

After the fucking absurd queue situation at Wrocław (4:45am and #45, WTF????) we decided that after the show, we would wait outside for the boys and then head straight for Poznań in my car. So we literally drove through the night with our new friend Safursey and formed the start of the Poznań queue.

Our hotel in Poznań wasn't ready until 2pm so we literally just took turns queuing and sleeping in my car. Nori and Safursey let me have the first sleeping shift since I drove us overnight.

I think we only slept between 15-20 hours total over 8 days???

I'm actually glad I got to experience a cursed gig (Prague) where everything went wrong. Seeing how professionally the guys reacted and how smoothly things were resolved made me appreciate just how experienced and calm they are.

Nori and I were unknowingly the centre of a major Twitter outrage after Warsaw 2 because someone accused us of stealing the microphone after Umazane Misli. Neither of us are on Twitter so we didn't even know about this controversy, but someone was clearly accusing us (and it was definitely us from the context) of stealing the microphone to sing, even though we had a sign asking to sing UM and Bojan was obviously pointing at us to get the microphone next (which is clear to see in all the videos of that moment).

Our friend Safursey deleted her Twitter account after Prague because people who were not there were spreading all kinds of insane rumours and unfounded accusations about the queue and Bojan's ig stories and refused to be corrected by the people who were actually involved. She got so much hate for explaining what was actually happening on the ground that she left the platform entirely, so that should tell you how toxic Twitter is.

I was feeling like such utter shit after the drama in Prague that I didn't even want to attend the concert anymore, but Safursey and @thisismyobsessionnow (Nori didn't come to Prague) came to comfort me and convinced me to still come to the gig, and I really appreciate that.

Overall an emotional roller coaster, but one I wouldn't give up for anything. We had SO much fun and met SO many people. I would do it again any time.

[chaos0pikachu]

I just want to say I still appreciate you for being one of the few people I see and agree with re: Only Friends about Sand being everyone's babygirl and SandRay being everyone's ship. There's A LOT of meta, which I vary in liking, agreeing with, disliking, and not agreeing with, but no matter how many essays are written, I will go down believing a vast majority of the love Sand gets is cause of First and the overwhelming majority of love SandRay gets is cause of FirstKhao. It's the exact same thing that happened with Moonlight Chicken. I'm not even sure people realize they're doing it, but I see it. So, again, thank you for still talking about it cause sometimes I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. lol

firstly, thank you <3 <3 you're def not crazy or wildin out lol It's funny you mention this actually b/c I recently saw this tweet:

With a lot of replies and quotes from OhmNanon fans saying the tweet is spreading "misinformation" and to take it down. Also that it's "not true unless gmmtv makes an official statement".

but what's not true here? That Ohm and Nanon aren't going to do another BL together? Who cares? Or is this about "couple content" and "couple merch"? What's the issue here really?

GMMTV sells "couple merch" & does "couple fan meets, events" which shows to me they're not selling Bad Buddy, or Moonlight Chicken what have you, they're selling OhmNanon and EarthMix and FirstKhao and ForceBook. Contrast that with idk Riverdale, WB doesn't sell Cole/Lilli merch it sells Betty, Jughead merch. Or Squid Game, the merch is for the show itself, you might find Kang Sae-byeok, but you won't find HoYeon Jung (the actress) merch.

This all reminds me more of how kpop companies sell their idols; you buy merch for either the group or individual idol. You buy the BT21 items, or a Jimin blanket etc. And these companies bank on fans loving their idols so deeply they'll buy sixteen albums for the chance of getting such-an-such photocard of their bias member.

The way gmmtv promotes their "acting couples" is very similar to me - right down to the lightsticks even.

I can believe that some fans don't fall into these para-social relationships but it's pretty clear, to me from my observations of gmmtv fandom specifically, that a lot of fans do. The grow found of the actors, and the acting couple which influences how they'll feel about the characters they play to, at the least, a certain extent.

Like, I've seen people say their bias for Khao has influenced their feelings towards Ray. It can even be subconscious. B/c you don't just like Khao or FirstKhao you watch their "contents" of them together, see them being cute, want to support them as a couple, buy their merch or share things about them; that level of investment in them as people is going to effect how you view their work specifically the characters they play. Even more so b/c that's what gmmtv wants.

They knew what they were doing casting EarthMix in Moonlight Chicken even though Earth was a miscast - I stand by this, but someone like Peter Knight should've played Uncle Jim. Earth is to fucking young to play an 'Uncle' convincingly give the man some comedies pls he's so funny.

They knew what they were doing putting two of their most recognizable and popular acting couples (FirstKhao, ForceBook) in Only Friends to offset the "risk" of a high sexual series.

This got away from me but yeah, I don't think all fans feel that para-social connection to the actors, but gmmtv especially wants their audience too. And it absolutely starts to effect how fans engage with the media in question completely b/c they see the actors before they see the characters.

anyway that's my hot take

[eerna]

Hello! This is incredibly random, but as a fanartist, enjoyer of critically examining media, and critic of capitalist corporations (*cough* Disney), do you have any thoughts about fan art being a form of unpaid labour?

Context is I’m writing an essay about digital labour and how fan creation is basically kind of like free PR for big corporations… and now whenever I do fanart I can’t get that thought out of my head uGH. I want to believe that drawing fanart is my own form of creative expression and way of showing love for the media, but at the same time I’m like “am I being exploited???” since I’m helping advertise smth for free and these corporations are just capitalizing on my love for said media??? and I can’t reconcile these thoughts 🥲🫠

Also I’m struggling with the essay LOL my eventual conclusion is that we as fans do have agency but we kind of still are being exploited… so it’s not a very optimistic outlook haha. Doesn’t help that the scholars’ articles I’m reading are all very negative about this digital labour thing. Help.

Sorry if this is unexpectedly deep!! 😅 just really curious to hear a fellow fanartist’s thoughts, and I respect you a lot for being unafraid to criticize media 🙏🙏

Hi! First of thank you for your kind words~ Second off, what a cool concept to discuss. Your message is pretty much how I feel. It is very frustrating to remember that so much of the media I love is so closely tied to the harmful cycle of capitalism. I grew up in a country that didn't have access to merch or much in the way of official media so piracy was my go-to most of the time. This means I was introduced to the concept of consumerist aspects of fandom via the Internet as a teenager and started feeling bad about "not supporting" stuff I love, but I told myself "Well I pay back by doing fanart and talking about it online". And then I found out about the way capitalism shapes the media landscape and started feeling bad for playing into it, the same as you. It gets even more conflicting when I am talking about something I dislike made by a company I dislike - yeah, I am probably preventing some people from interacting with the media for themselves, but I am also probably making others interested. What makes me feel better about the entire thing is that the "digital labour" I do is that I'm doing it for other fans like me, and to express myself. I love things so much that it makes me feel like I am going to explode, but pouring it out onto paper helps with it! Of course, I don't have to post it online for it to be worthwhile, but sharing it with others who feel the way I do makes the feelings even better. BUT one of the most important aspects of the issue is how willing those companies are to let me gain something monetary from the relationship. Are they ignoring fanworks being sold as fan merch, as commissions? It is illegal, but I feel like it should absolutely be allowed as a sort of unmentioned perk of being a fan worker, and the companies that don't allow that are evil. My audience gets bigger, I sell more prints, and so do they. (This is also why I never accept money for fanworks made by small creators, such as webcomics)

There's also the fact that lately I've been seeing the rise of "If you REALLY love this piece of media, it is your DUTY to consume it as much as possible and spread the word about it as much as possible and make the company as much money as possible if you want to see more things like it!" takes. These are utter bullshit and where enjoyment of media goes to die. The moment you reduce your love for something only to how much money it can make the evil capitalist overlords who allowed it to grace your eyes, you completely deny any kind of artistic worth. Media should exist because we deserve to have our hearts touched by stories, not because it makes someone money.

I don't have a clear answer or feel like my approach to the issue goes entirely along with my morality. But I don't think we can find a way to feel good about the entire situation as long as our media is dictated by capitalism. It's the sad reality of loving something in a system that will squeeze any money out of you that it can. But we gotta march on, remember that we are the ones allowing them to survive and not the other way around, and love while we do it. Good luck with your essay, stay positive!

[literallysatanofficial]

I gotta say, like. I haven't seen the ep 9 and 10 leaks, nor do I want to (I watched pine barrens early and I wish I hadn't) but I swear, at this point I'm convinced everyone's overreacting for no reason; like there is NOTHING that the show could possibly do that would disappoint me on such a level that ppl are saying they don't want to continue watching the show. Unless they kill off the entire cast, pull an X-files and replace everyone, I just can't see it being as dire as people are making it out to be. Like... let's all calm down. You're getting (at best) a choppy machine translation, and at worst what is essentially a silent episode with 0 actual context for what you're seeing. From my experience watching pine barrens in Russian, I can tell y'all that things were interpreted incorrectly (both in summaries AND by me while I was watching) and watching the actual english episode was an entirely different experience.

Maybe it's just because I haven't gotten my hopes up about nandermo getting together this season there have been PLENTY of clear signs that it's not happening but I legit can't even imagine a worst case scenario that could prevent me from enjoying the show at this point. It feels like so many fans have gotten swept up in fandom hype (which is totally fine and completely understandable, I'm not immune to this either) but it's almost like... there's a terrifyingly big divide between fanon and canon this season. It's just a silly dumb little show. If you wanted it to go one way and it didn't, bummer, I guess, but to write off an entire show because the conclusions you've drawn up with friends weren't the way it panned out is so odd to me. It's understandable when theories like there being something in the walls that colin is trying to get to or whatever spread, but at the same time it could just be a running joke about him being a little shit of a kid. If this isn't addressed, I wouldn't be surprised. I don't think it's really ever been pushed like that, it's just that it gained traction in the fandom and a lot of fans started clinging to it (as well as some other common theories like it) but is it REALLY being teased? Or was it not meant to be anything more than a surface level joke.

I don't think it's right to be disappointed when stuff like this has been hyped up by the fandom rather than like... official marketing material or something, and I think that can be applied to every prediction that seemingly didn't come true.

I just see a lot of hostility and accusations thrown around, and some truly bizarre takes, and it's just... it's a show. it's a show, guys. it's just a show.

[age-of-greta]

The Lovers

The Lovers represent relationships and choices. Its appearance in a spread indicates some decision about an existing relationship, a temptation of the heart, or a choice of potential partners. Often an aspect of the querent's life will have to be sacrificed; a bachelor's lifestyle may be sacrificed and a relationship gaine, or one potential partner may be chosen while another is turned down. Whatever the choice, it should not be made lightly, as the ramifications will be lasting.

Authors note: hey everyone :) here we are, officially at the end of The Lovers. To everyone who has been following along, thank you. I thoroughly hope you have loved reading it as much as I loved writing it. I’ll see you guys in 2023 with a new story. Happy Holidays and stay safe. Now without further ado, I present to you the final part in our journey, the epilogue. Enjoy! <3

Pairing: Jake x reader & Sam x reader

Warnings: alcohol consumption, cursing, tooth rotting sweetness

Word count: 4.6k

EPILOGUE:

ONE YEAR LATER:

“I didn’t know what color purple you wanted so I bought them all.” Jake said on the phone with you.

You laugh. “It’s okay, I'm sure one of them will work. Lana should be over to help decorate by the time you get home.”

“Thank god. I’ll see you later, I love you.” Jake says.

“I love you too.” You responded.

Tomorrow was your birthday. Jake and Lana had been planning for weeks as to what they were going to do for you. It was decided that there would be a pre-game party at your apartment and then you were all going to the bars together. Sam, Danny, and Josh were all flying in tonight and you all planned to meet when you got off work.

A lot has changed in the past year, yet a lot stayed the same. You and Jake were incredibly solid. There had even been talks of you two moving in together in Nashville, but just talks. When he wasn’t in Atlanta, you were in Nashville. You tried to go to as many shows as possible. The internet wasn’t kind, but every fan you had met in person was. They grew further and further in popularity and were so close with their newest album. You were so proud of Jake. He worked so hard to keep music in the forefront of his life, but he never neglected you in the process. The firm was thriving and you were happy in your career. Lana had been officially dating the guy from New Years for almost 7 months now. He was a friend of the boys, so it was nice. They had even made a trip to Nashville with you last month.

You and Sam were good. Things still weren’t the same, but neither one of you acknowledged that. You still tiptoed around Jake when it came to Sam, but after that night when you both agreed to put it behind you- Jake never mentioned it again. Of course sometimes he would get snappier with Sam than he used to, but he had come a long way. Sam also never spoke about his feelings towards you again, which you were thankful for. Since the incident, you had only seen Sam a handful of times. All of those interactions involved Jake. You weren’t nervous to see Sam, just nervous with how it would feel to have him staying at your apartment again. Of course you and Jake would be in your room, Sam and Danny in the guest, and Josh on the couch. But the last time Sam stayed at your place things were different.

You huffed and cleared your mind. It was your birthday weekend and you intended to enjoy it. When you got home Jake and Lana had covered your eyes and locked you in your room, they didn’t want you to see the decorations yet. That was fine with you, it had been a long week and you longed for a nice nap. Eventually, Jake woke you up so you could freshen up before meeting everyone for dinner. You reluctantly left your bed, but quickly changed into jeans and a sweater then touched up your hair and makeup. Jake walked you out with his hands over your eyes, you couldn’t help but giggle. When you made it to the restaurant your stomach turned a little seeing Sam. He looked… different. He now had facial hair and his hair was growing out again. You put on a smile and hugged everyone.

“So excited to celebrate you this weekend mama.” Josh said, mid hug.

“Me too. I’ve missed you guys.” You say with a genuine smile.

“Hi Sam.” You say faintly.

He gives you a smile back. “Hey there.”

Then Lana and her boyfriend walks in. Saved by the bell. You greet them with hugs as well then you all take your table. Many bottles of wine were ordered and it was so nice getting to catch up with everyone. Jake kept his arm around you most of the night, not out of defensiveness, but love (also wine). When dinner ended Jake explained that you had to be locked up in your room, so you said goodnight to everyone before you entered your apartment.

**

You awoke the next morning to music and an aroma of breakfast. You brushed your teeth and made yourself presentable before exiting your room.

“Happy Birthday bitch!” You hear Lana yell.

Instantly you see the decorations that her and Jake had been hard at work at. It was incredible and you couldn’t wipe the smile off your face. There were disco balls everywhere. The walls were lined with purple fringe streamers and backdrops with a white neon light that said happy birthday and your name. Balloons were in every corner along with party hats laid out on the counter.

“Oh my god. You guys! This is so amazing. I love it.” You say, still looking around at everything.

“Happy Birthday baby.” Jake says walking over to you. It’s obvious he’s been cooking. “Your birthday breakfast is almost done.” He says as he kisses you.

“Thank you Jakey. You two really outdid yourself.” You say, swooning for him all over again.

He smiles at you. “I’m glad you like it. I’m going to spoil you every year on your special day.”

That made your heart do a flip.

Josh, Danny, and Sam all told you Happy Birthday. Sam was a bit more reserved with hugging you. Your breakfast spread was impressive. Jake made pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs, hash browns, and cinnamon rolls with Danny’s help. Lana had been in charge of the fruit spread and mimosas. Josh and Sam had been sent out to get the coffees. You were genuinely touched by the amount of effort that had been put into today.

“Eat up everyone! We have a hell of a day planned!” Lana announced to the room.

You look up with curious eyes. “What are we doing?”

Lana looked at Jake, waiting for him to answer.

“Well” Jake starts. “We are going to the art museum and one of those boozy painting classes after. Then tonight we are going out bar hopping to any and every bar of your choice.”

You smile wide at that. “This is such a good day.”

Jake sits next to you and kisses your cheek. “Happy Birthday my love.”

**

The museum was entrancing to you. You loved going to art museums, even though you didn’t know all of the pretentious terminology, you loved admiring the paintings and mixed media. Jake held your hand and looked at everything that you wanted the whole time. Once you got there everyone sort of split off. Lana had wandered off all on her own with a bottle of champagne, while Sam, Danny, and Josh ventured off on their own. You were all given champagne on your self-guided tour and you had gone through about two glasses.

“Be right back.” Jake says, patting your hand. “I need to pee.” He says flashing the champagne glass at you and heading off.

You’re standing admiring some abstract painting before moving on. You wander around the empty gallery glancing at every art piece you pass. You enter the next part and partially freeze in your tracks when you see Sam alone. You swallow down the uneasiness and decide to approach him.

“Fan of realism I see.” You say walking up to Sam as he studies the painting.

Sam makes a shocked face when he sees you, but hides it fast with a smile.

“Yeah I guess. I appreciate the face value of it. There’s a lot to compartmentalize, but at least you can see what the artist is conveying. Abstract is too open ended.”

You chuckle at his expert analysis. “Well said Sammy.”

He gives you a sly smile. “Happy Birthday by the way. I got you something, but didn’t know when to give it to you. I don’t want it to be weird or anything.”

You laugh a little nervously at that. “It’s not weird unless you make it weird.”

Sam raises his brows and huffs a laugh before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small box. “I found this in New York in a local shop a few months ago.”

You try not to think about the fact that he’s been holding onto it for a few months before taking it from him and opening the lid. Inside is a keychain that has your zodiac sign on a mini bottle of tequila.

You look up at Sam and laugh. “This is so perfect. Thank you Sam.”

“You’re welcome. There’s actual tequila in there if you ever get in a bind.”

“Good to know.” You said meeting his eyes.

Sam looks down at you still wearing a light smile. You can tell there is more that wants to be said, so much unspoken, but both of you decide against it. Instead you hide behind soft smiles.

Sam lets out a small sigh. “Well I better go find Danny. I’m excited for tonight though.”

You nod your head as he slowly walks off. It’s only a matter of minutes before Jake is back. When he returns you find yourself absentmindedly shoving your new keychain in your pocket quickly.

**

The drunken painting class has been a success. You all chose the beginners owl as your recreation. Surprisingly, Josh had the best painting. He really took his time with it and it looked great. Jake’s was a blob. You could tell he didn’t take it too seriously, he was more preoccupied with the wine and joking around with you. Once you all had finished you popped into a sandwich shop and went back to your apartment to get ready for tonight. You were so excited to go out and have fun. Jake had bought you a new dress that matched the decorations. It was a purple bodycon dress with silver glitter throughout. It was almost corset style, the way it held your breasts. You hadn’t tried it on yet, but you thought it was gorgeous.

“Okay we will be back in a few hours. Entertain yourselves and be ready by nine for pregame and pictures.” Lana announced when you all strolled into your door.

Jake cupped your face and gave you a light kiss before sending you on your way with Lana.

You and Lana sat down and started wiping off the light makeup you two had done for this morning. Lana has a huge grin on her face and you can’t quite place why.

“Are you excited for tonight?” She asks, very giddy.

You give her a strange look. “Yes.”

“Good.” Is all she responds, still wearing that grin.

You two finish your faces, full glam for the both of you. Lana insisted you do full coverage foundation and concealer for pictures. You did a neutral smokey eye, using black to smoke out a wing. Lana curls your whole head and fluffs your hair to the gods. Wow she is taking tonight extra seriously.

“What the fuck is that on your nails?” Lana spits out suddenly with a curling iron still in her hand.

You look down and notice a speck of blue on your middle finger nail.

“Oh I guess I got paint on it today. It’s not a big deal.” You respond.

“Yes it is. Give me your hand.” Lana demands yanking your hand up and immediately going to town on that blue speck.

You give her a strange look and she shakes her head at you. “Will look like shit in pictures. I didn’t take you to get your nails done three days ago for them to look like this.”

**

Finally, you were both fully ready. It took about an hour longer than normal but you looked stunning. The dress that Jake got you fit like a glove. It showed off every curve and made your boobs look phenomenal. You threw on some silver earrings and clear strappy heels. You thought maybe you looked like a high class disco hooker, but that wasn’t a negative thing. Finally you two made your grand entrance and the boys clapped and cheered. Drinks were already in hand and Jake looked… nervous? He was fidgeting with his sailors rope bracelet and kept on fumbling with his shirt. You shrugged it off and went to get yourself a drink from the kitchen. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Lana drag Jake into your bedroom and shut the door, while Josh made an attempt to distract you. What did they have up their sleeve?

**

“Do you have it?” Lana asks Jake in almost a whisper.

Jake lets out a shaky breath and nods his head.

“Let me see!” Lana exclaims.

Jake reaches into his inside pocket on his shirt and pulls out a small black box. He looks down at it and takes a breath before opening it and handing it to Lana.

“Holy fuck. Jake, this is absolutely beautiful. Oh my god.” Lana says looking down at the ring in the box.

It’s a gold banded huge diamond ring, emerald cut. So simple, yet so elegant. It’s a vintage piece that cost a huge chunk of change, but to Jake nothing was too expensive for something this important.

“She’s going to love it.” Lana says, smiling while handing Jake the ring back.

Jake takes a deep breath and accepts the box, shoving it back into his inside pocket.

“I hope so.”

**

“Josh, I'm not following the rules of this drinking game.” You say, taking a sip from your cup.

Josh huffs a laugh. “Well that’s because we don’t have the right supplies but-“

Josh is cut off when he notices Jake and Lana come out of the room. You see Lana give him a sly nod.

Josh returns his gaze to you and gives you a smile. “But, we can get it. I think Danny and I will go grab what we need from the corner store.”

Josh pats your hands and runs off to say something to Jake before grabbing Danny.

“Oh I think my date is here.” Lana announces. “Sam, will you walk with me to grab him from his Uber.”

Sam makes a face at Lana. “Why can’t you go get him by yourself?”

Lana rolls her eyes. “Safety first!”

“It’s a coded door and there’s always someone working in the lobby.” Sam retorts.

“Just get your ass up and let’s go.” Lana almost yells.

Sam throws his hands up and follows Lana out the door. Danny and Josh are next to head out, leaving just you and Jake.

“Damn, they all seemed eager to leave.” You say, walking back into your living room.

Jake laughs while fumbling with your record player. You hear the opening of “Until I Found You” by Stephen Sanchez start billowing out of the speakers. Jake gives you a smile and walks over to you.

“Dance with me my love?” Jake asks, extending his hand.

You smile back and oblige. Jake takes you and slowly starts to sway as he sings the words to you.

“Georgia” Jake sings.

You giggle at the lyrics also matching up with the state in which you reside.

“I'll never let you go again like I did” Jake rubs your arm at this part, which makes you want to cry and smile at the same time.

“I would never fall in love again until I found her.

I said, I would never fall unless it's you I fall into.

I was lost within the darkness, but then I found her.

I found you.”

Jake reaches out and lightly rubs his thumb over your cheek. You feel your heart swell at the sweetness behind his eyes. He continues to spin you around your living room singing to you. He dips you into a kiss as the closing of the song fades out.

“I love you so much.” Jake says, raising you up and looking into your eyes.

“I love you right back.” You reply, with a soft smile.

Jake stares at you for a moment, not saying a word before letting out a small sigh.

You study his face trying to figure out what could be bothering him. “What’s wrong?”

Jake softly smiles at you. “Absolutely nothing, my love. Happy Birthday.”

You give him a slightly confused smile. “Thank you.”

“Let’s dance again.”

**

All four of them returned at the same time. Josh and Lana keep strangely peering at Jake. He shook his head at them and you were so confused at the situation. You assumed it was some birthday surprise.

“Go take her to the kitchen and make her do a shot with you.” Lana orders Sam.

He didn’t need a lot of nudging on that, a few minutes later Sam approached you and pulled you into the kitchen.

“Okay I’m going to get creative here.” Sam says, pulling out a few ingredients.

You laugh at him but peer over at Lana and Josh what seems like interrogating Jake in the corner of your living room.

**

“What happened?” Lana asks Jake, almost bewildered.

“Did she say no?” Josh asks, equally as panicked.

Jake lets out a small chuckle. “I didn’t ask.”

“What?” Lana belts out.

Jake flicks his gaze over to you in the kitchen. “Today is about her and only her. My question can wait, I’ll wait forever if I have to.”

Josh lets out a small sigh. “Well good for you. You’ll know when the time is right.”

Lana nods her head, but she doesn’t agree. She clears her throat before making an announcement. “Okay everyone get to the wall for pictures!”

**

Jake proposed a week later.

4 YEARS LATER:

“Jake, stop!” You shout through giggles as he tickles you.

“Hey I have to get that baby to come out somehow!” He says still tickling you. “I read in a baby magazine that tickling can induce birth.”

You were pregnant with your first child. A daughter that you and Jake had agreed would be named Charlotte Joan. Secretly, her name was Charlotte because you and Jake believed that Charlotte, North Carolina was the city she was conceived in after a show. You and Jake had been married for a little over two years now. You moved to Nashville almost three and a half years ago, opening a new office there. You and Jake had bought a four bedroom home for just the two of you in the suburbs. The basement was obviously a studio. The band had skyrocketed, gaining a huge following. You had to admit it was hard to see thousands of women throwing themselves at your husband, but you knew who he came home to. Jake loved you so much, and he was so excited that he was about to become a Dad.

You and Sam never turned out to be quite the same as before, but you still spoke. He has been dating a fellow musician for almost a year now, he seems happy. Josh is still Josh. He has had flings here or there but nothing serious. He is more excited to be an uncle than he is about any relationship. In fact Josh is so excited that he bought a house down the street from yours and Jake’s. He wanted to be as close as possible to his niece. Danny was also still single. He had a few girlfriends throughout the years, but he mainly focused on golfing and drums. He came over often to jam with Jake downstairs.

Overall, life was beautiful. You married the love of your life and now you were about to birth a daughter. There wasn’t much more you could ask for. It’s crazy to think that if you hadn't paid Sam any attention on that fateful night that you would have none of this.

“Jake, I'm serious!” You say trying to remove his hands from your hips.

He holds his hands up. “Fine. Fine.” Jake lays next to you on the bed and kisses your cheek a few times before moving to your lips. “You know what else is supposed to help with inducing?” He says with a smirk on his face.

You roll your eyes at him. “I am super pregnant, I can’t even see my feet.”

Jake makes a face at you. “You’re absolutely beautiful. Right now you are growing our daughter inside of you. There is nothing more beautiful than that, there is nothing more beautiful than you.”

You grab his hand and smile bashfully up at him.

“Quite frankly I have never seen someone look so sexy pregnant. I can’t promise that a month from now you won’t be pregnant again with the way you look.” He says smugly.

You scoff. “Oh yeah in your dreams Kiszka.”

Jake kisses you multiple times. “Can you get pregnant while you’re already pregnant? You know, like reloading.” He says through kisses joking with you.

You giggle at him. “You’re really putting the moves on right here. Aren’t you?”

Jake continues to kiss your neck. “Oh in your dreams, Kiszka.”

Jake proceeds to kiss you for a few minutes before returning to your neck. It’s all you could think about, his perfect lips on your skin, his calloused fingers raking across your body, his…fuck.

You fling your eyes open. “Jake.” You say calmly.

He hums in response to you.

“Jake.” You say again with more urgency.

“Someone’s eager.” He says as he pulls back to look at you, his face twisting with concern when he sees you.

“Jake. My water just broke.” You say as calmly as possible.

He sits up and looks down at you. His face turns from concern to sheer panic. “I didn’t think it would work that fast. Fuck. Shit.” He says as he scatters off the bed and runs around the house trying to remember everything he needs for the hospital.

You breathe in deeply. “I need you to call Josh, my mom, and Lana in that order. Okay?” You say as Jake enters the room with a duffel bag.

He nods and runs to grab his phone. Josh is there in minutes.

“The hospital bags are in our closet. There are three of them.” You say, breathing deeply and shuffling to the front door.

“Jake, where are the towels and your keys?” Josh asks.

“Bathroom closet and hanging by the door.” Jake replies frantically.

Josh disappears for a few minutes before coming back and taking your arm. “Come on mama. Let’s get you to the hospital. Jake get the goddamn bags and let’s go!”

Josh helps you in the car where he has laid towels out all over your backseat and has two bottles of cold water waiting if you need it. Jake throws your bags in the trunk and gets in the driver’s seat while Josh sits in the back with you holding your hand and breathing with you. Jake is frazzled. He is speeding and cursing slightly under his breath.

“Shit. Hang on honey I’ll have us there in 10 minutes. Fuck.” Jake says bobbing and weaving out of traffic.

“Jake, your wife is in labor, you are not. Get your shit together.” Josh says softly for your sake.

Jake nods and takes a deep breath. “Josh, can you call mom, Sam, and Daniel?”

“Yes I will do that as soon as we get there. Okay mama squeeze my hand as hard as you need to, let’s just breathe.” Josh says.

**

Labor wasn’t easy. In fact it was really difficult, but Jake was there with you. He never left your side as soon as you had gotten to the hospital.

The receptionist had said “one minute” when Jake walked up and he had yelled back “Absolutely not my wife is in fucking labor!” But other than that, Jake was composed and held your hand through it all.

Josh waited in the waiting room, so did Sam, and Danny when they arrived. Jake’s parents had flown out immediately when they heard you were in labor, as did your family and Lana. When Charlotte finally came out Jake cried more than she did. He was absolutely enamored by her and her tiny fingers and toes.

“She’s perfect. She’s absolutely perfect, just like her mother.” Jake said through tears as he held her for the first time, kissing your head.

You were also enamored by your daughter. You could already tell she had Jake’s nose and hair color, but your bone structure. She was beautiful and you never knew how much you could love something until she was placed in your arms.

After she was cleaned and you had rested you were ready to have guests come. Josh, Sam, and Danny were in first. You and Jake had both agreed that Danny was her uncle as well.

“Oh my god. Hi little one.” Josh said as Jake handed him his niece. Josh shed a few tears.

Sam got her next after you nursed her. “Lottie are you ready to meet your uncle Sammy?” You nod as Sam approaches you. You hand her off to Sam and he smiles brightly as he looks down at her.

“Hi.” Sam says as he takes his finger and lightly touches her little hand. “She’s beautiful just like her mom.” Sam says looking up at you.

You offer him a smile and Danny comes up to see her.

Both of your parents had arrived later and cried and rejoiced at their first grandchild. Lana and her now fiancé, which is the guy from the bar, arrived last and were so excited to be godparents. It was a beautiful day, one that you would never forget. Jake cried more that day than you had ever seen before, that touched your heart. You stared down at your daughter while Jake slept on the couch in your hospital room. You and Jake made her. This perfect bundle of joy. She was made out of pure love and admiration.

When you left the hospital a few days later Jake waited on you and Charlotte hand and foot. He didn’t sleep for almost three days. Josh was over every day, he even slept on your couch those first few nights. Sam and his girlfriend had come by and brought tons of food and Danny brought drinks and desserts. About a week after you had been home, it finally felt like you were getting settled. You had just put Charlotte down for the night while Jake was making dinner for you two. You melted into the couch and took a deep breath. It was nice to have a moment of much needed peace. Jake came to you a few minutes later with a plate of food. He had made you a steak, homemade mashed potatoes, and green beans. He also brought you a glass of sweet red wine, which you hadn’t had in over nine months. You smiled at your husband and thanked him.

“I will always do anything for my girls.” He replied, kissing your forehead.

After you had both eaten you sat cuddled up under a blanket on your couch. Jake had his arms wrapped around you while you both sat and stared at your baby monitor.

“I love this life.” You said with a smile.

“You and Charlotte are my life and I damn sure love you two more than anything.” Jake responded.

You move back so you’re facing Jake. “Forever and always Mr. Kiszka.”

Jake smiles at you and laces his fingers with yours. “Forever and always Mrs. Kiszka. My best friend, my lover, and my wife. It’s you and me until the end, then I’ll find you again in the next life.”

You beam a smile at him. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

**

Fin.

[starii-lins]

TW: N@zi shit

Hoo boy that's a. way to start for sure, but its a problem i want to talk about and make my stance clear on, as well as spread awareness bcs i'm not sure i can support anyone who still supports TSBS knowingly after this.

TLDR: A channel called "Hazbin Hotel -VRchat" run by the same people who run TSBS, or at least featuring the same people there, used a VERY sensitive topic (as mentioned im the TW) in a video, or at least in the thumbnail, to clickbait basically. I will no longer be watching the videos or giving them any money/interaction. I will only be interacting/making art of AUs and such fan content

Anyways, heres the video in question.

(Screenshot is from a mutual's friend, the vid is on their channel)

I have not watched the video, but from what Ive heard, the VAs involved are the ones acting in the Circus Baby & Glamrock Freddy show, and the Roxanne & Gregory show. Im unsure if any of the others are involved because there aren't any posts/links of who's voice acting in the channel, so if anyone is aware pls lmk

What theyre doing is gross, even if it is clickbait. This shit is a serious topic, not one to be used as a thumbnail in some content farm channel. No matter how the video goes, whether it does feature the person in question, it's still disgusting that they use him as CLICKBAIT.

I'm unaware if the actors in TSAMS, MGAFS and LAES (Davis, Kat, Reed, Matt) are involved, but even if they aren't, until there is news/an official statement, I don't feel comfortable supporting them. I will most likely be supporting aus and artists still as they are doing their own thing and are separate, plus the channel isn't exactly popular so i dont think ive seen anyone else speaking up about it.

HOWEVER. if there is any news about it at all (connecting to my point about not knowing whether the main popular channels are involved) please let me know. i do not want to spread misinformation or hate on people who aren't involved. Please don't attack artists/fans who are unaware of this and still watch the shows. This is simply what I know, and what I'm doing about it.

Again, I don't follow the VAs on social media, so if there is any information I missed or any response to this situation, please let me know. My DMs, replies and askbox are open.

[lady-corrine]

Unpopular opinion - as much as a lot of team black was cheering when harwin attacked criston I feel like harwin also made the situation a lot worse for Rhaenyra and the kids. Rhaenyra's life in KL was already hell and the moment harwin attacked criston basically proved to more people that Rhaenyra's kids are in fact bastards and that's why we see criston having that little smile on his face after he got punched it was basically a confirmation to more people. When Rhaenyra told daemon that her life without him was a droll tragedy I'm not sure why some harwin and Rhaenyra shippers got upset because both harwin and laenor were barely around to protect her and the kids Rhaenyra was basically a single mother for those 10 years and was constantly humiliated by alicent and criston and then you had people calling her sons bastards which not many fans talk about this but those accusations could've literally gotten Rhaenyra and her sons killed that's how serious it was.

Hi! Yes, I completely agree. And as much as I wanted to see Criston getting his deserved blows, that was exactly what he wanted and exactly why he provoked Harwin. His smug smile while the guards pull Harwin away is more than clear - that was the reaction he looked to get and he achieved it.

The truth is Laenor and Harwin both were useless in this aspect. The shippers can get angry as much as they want - it's the complete reality. They all made this headcanons about Rhaenyra's life during this period being a complete heaven. Uhm... Did we forget she was forced to marry Laenor? That she and Laenor canonicaly lived separately and only met at court for official functions? Laenor was her husband in name only.

As for Harwin - he was her lover and her solace, and good for her for finding someone that loved and desired her! (The Greens who want her to live like a nun, fuck off 🙄). But in this aspect, he also did not do much.

And yes, exactly! I get so angry when Harwin and Laenor's fans dismiss Rhaenyra's pain! This woman was abused for 10 years, slutshamed, humiliated, had her sweet boys called bastards! She nedeed protection, she nedeed someone to shield her and support her in all the ways! That was always Daemon.

Sara Hess can talk about Harwin being a "perfect angel" as much as she likes. I am so glad we only got one single episode of them because: 1) I couldn't bear to see Rhaenyra so crushed and sad much longer; 2) their relationship would bore me to tears.

Now if we're talking about the book - even though Laenor was away most of the time and Harwin couldn't do much, Rhaenyra was not alone.

She always had her admirers and partisans, the whole Court rejoiced at Jace's birth, she had her ladies in waiting, she had Corlys and Rhaenys who always recognized those boy as their grandsons, she had her father who would never allow that, and then she had Daemon and Laena who were always with her.

Was this any more ideal in the books? Of course not. Viserys was still an uncaring fool who forced her to marry a well-known gay man, when the perfect solution would have been to accept Daemon asking for her hand and marry them. Rhaenyra did the best she could with the situation she was placed in, and I am actually glad the show touched on that and the trauma she endured - as a woman forced into a marriage, as an heir placed in a difficult position, as a mother that has to hear her boys being called "bastards".

But at the very least in the books she had people that loved her around. The fact that Daemon betrothed his daughters with her sons speaks volume - he basically said: whatever rumours you all try to spread about them, I recognize these boys as her sons and her heirs.

But yes, Laenor and Harwin were practically just there in name only.

[ear-worthy]

Four Trends That Can Endanger Podcasting In 2024

 Let's begin with a fast review of 2023 in podcasting. Large companies like Spotify, which had stumbled into podcasting two years ago with no strategic business plan, were partially responsible for the boom and bust cycle that afflicted podcasting. 

As these large players flooded the zone with even more podcasts, more shows chased fewer ad dollars. Quality suffered, independent podcasters were hurt, and listeners grew angry and confused as chaos was the new frequency emanating from podcasting.

Cutbacks ensued, and spread to the entire industry. People were hurt, careers damaged, livelihoods suffered, and listeners baffled.

Perhaps a correction is in store for 2024, with large players like Spotify being more thoughtful and careful in their approach to podcasting. We shall see.

The economy itself is on firmer footing, with inflationary fires smothered, employment still strong, corporate profits healthy and the equity markets in a positive mood. 

I will leave the forecasts to podcast experts with far more insight into the industry than I have. I will, however, offer a warning about several incipient trends that could damage the industry -- two of which can have long-term, deleterious consequences.

So, let's cover these four trends that can endanger podcasting in 2024.

We'll start with the two that have shorter-term consequences.

1.  Celebrities using podcasting for reputational cleansing

 I'm not going to dump on all celebrities that have entered the podcasting space. Smartless Media -- Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes -- have been judicious and -- unlike their name -- smart about thriving in the podcasting space. Too many celebrities think they can use podcasting to repair their damaged reputations. Slept with someone's husband? Start a podcast to explain why I'm not a complete narcissistic douche. Acted like a total jackass on a TV reality show? Start a podcast and explain that producers edited the show in such a way that they never showed my better side -- like when I let that old woman have the last banana at the Hampton Inn free continental breakfast. 

So many social media influencers think that social media video time constraints are unfair and the unfettered nature of podcasting will let their true nature shine through to their fans. What we get is someone who knows way too much about nail polish and not enough about how the world works.

2. The continuing proliferation of true-crime podcasts

Let me be clear. I have nothing against true-crime podcasts. But true-crime podcasters on TV shows have become a meme, and not in a good way.

I've seen numerous TV shows where the true-crime podcaster is quirky, unbalanced, and will stop at nothing to solve a crime. Think season two of The Lincoln Lawyer as a prime example.

 It's ironic that podcast tracking surveys reveal that listeners find the comedy genre the most inviting, yet true-crime podcasts by large podcast networks appear almost daily with the crusading host either solving a cold case, proving someone who was already found guilty, innocent, or solving a murder when the "perp" has not already been identified or caught. 

One of the best ways to misinform the American public about current crime trends is to inundate podcasting with so many crime shows that most people are afraid to walk to their mailbox without a rocket launcher strapped to their back.

It's gotten so bad, that we now have a new true-crime podcast called, "Truer Crime." Now, that's jumping the shark. Today, most of the information spread by elected officials, cable news networks like Fox News, ideologically extreme podcasts like The War Room, is false. We are not even close to true, yet now we are at "Truer."

Let's pause at true until we can get that concept right.

 *********************

Now, let's discuss the last two trends that can have serious long-term consequences for podcasting.

3. Infiltration of misinformation / disinformation

Podcasting is a fragmented medium, and podcasts exist across lots of different platforms and apps, encouraging all kinds of speech.

According to podcast consultant George Witt, it's harder to ferret out falsehoods and hate speech in podcasts compared with posts written on Facebook and Twitter.

But audio can be a powerful way to spread misinformation because of all the qualities that make the format so compelling to listeners, said Valerie Wirtschafter, a senior data analyst at the Brookings Institution.

"The podcaster is in your ear," she said. "It's a unique relationship in that respect, and so the podcaster gains a level of authority and a level of credibility among listeners."

Joe Rogan is one of the most popular podcasts and has been for years. Rogan did help to elevate the visibility of podcasts. Yet, the former MMA fighter periodically goes off on these conspiracy theory tangents as if he's overdosed on some of his own branded supplements. 

Remember the Robert Malone vaccine misinformation episode, or how Rogan was able to bypass the Spotify banning of Alex Jones and have him back on his show to again denigrate the parents of children killed at Sandy Hook. 

Or comedian-guest Tim Dillon claiming that Democrats created the COVID hoax to prevent "the private ownership of cars." Dillon needs more of Rogan's Alpha Brain. Or less.

On the January 18th episode, Rogan used the "Adam & Eve" magnetic pole conspiracy theory to downplay the climate crisis and calls efforts to address it “a moot point.”

Climate change is “this narrative that just gets repeated over and over and over and this fearmongering and everyone gets freaked out,” Rogan tells his guest, YouTuber Jimmy Corsetti, in the episode. “If the f***ing magnetic poles might shift, and we might get hit by a giant rock from space, we might have bigger problems.”

Then, we have the treasure hunt promoted by Rogan in that same month in the East River, off the Manhattan shoreline, prompted by a report by a guest, who is a fossil collector. No treasure was found, and the Coast Guard had to warn treasure hunters about potential dangers.

Then, we have the July episode this year with comic Jim Gaffigan when Rogan said, "The January 6 thing is bad, but also, the intelligence agencies were involved in provoking people into the Capitol building. That’s a fact."

That's not a fact, and Gaffigan poked holes in that "fact" without even working up a sweat.

Then, we have the most recent misinformation flub where Rogan went off on Biden's mental capabilities because Rogan claimed the president said, "the U.S. lost the Revolutionary War because they didn’t have enough airports.” As it turns out, Biden was mocking Trump, who was actually was the author of that crazed statement. When Rogan discovered his mistake, his on-air response was not to question Trump's mental acuity, but to say that he f***ed up and then Rogan's guest blamed Trump's quote on the media."

I think Joe Rogan can be a powerful, positive influence on podcasting. Only he knows if he wants to be.

There is an entire ecosystem of podcasts that thrive on misinformation and disinformation. On Steve Bannon's The War Room podcast, he is taking his own advice, which was his oft-quoted remark, "to flood the zone with shit.”

 Large podcast networks have given rise to these podcasts that spread misinformation and disinformation. The excuse the companies give is that these podcasts have "a passionate fanbase." 

Sure, so did white supremacists and neo-Nazis, but that doesn't mean you have to get them a platform in order to sell ads. Podcasting needs to clean up the detritus of junk science, political axe-grinding, outright lies, crazy conspiracy theories, and alternate universe theories. If it does not, it'll be like Elon Musk's X, a now comfortable landing spot for every hate-filled conspiracy theorist who got loose from his parents' basement.

4. Independent podcasts as an endangered species

Podcasting used to be a convivial, collegial medium where podcasters collaborated for the mutual benefit of the medium. Then Spotify, Amazon, iHeart and others, worried only about the bottom line and stock price, jumped into the industry full of cash and empty of any common sense. 

 Independent podcasts started podcasting. Podcasting began as a basement endeavor, not financed by Warren Buffett or despicable private equity types.

Despite their lack of money and resources, independent podcasts are often better quality. These indie podcasts don't pander to their audience like, say, Cumulus or SiriusXM podcasts often do.

Also, indie podcasts don't infect us with self-absorbed influencers, disgraced celebrities, and obnoxious "tools" to generate downloads and ad dollars.

However, independent podcasts are endangered, just like amphibians (frogs and salamanders). As the big boys (or girls) like Spotify trounced all over the podcasting industry in the last two years, attempting to dominate, something definitely expected happened. 

Podcast fans can choose independent podcasts over the large podcast networks in 2024. I know it's a "Big Ask," but without these valuable people who risk everything to follow a dream, podcasting is just another entertainment medium owned by "Big Media."

Let me introduce you to some of these indie podcast pioneers. 

Jenn Trepeck of Salad with A Side Of Fries, wants to help people live healthier lives.

Emily McElwreath of The Art Career podcast celebrates the arts, the people involved, and the value the arts add to the vibrancy of our culture. Most importantly, the podcast illustrates that the arts can be a solution, a coping mechanism, and a way forward when dealing with chronic societal problems such as domestic violence.Two adult adoptees, Sarah Reinhardt and Louise Browne, decided to delve into all things adoption, from their perspectives as adult adoptees, to DNA testing, to nature vs. nurture and beyond. It's a masterclass in the importance of family. Bring tissues to Adoption: The Making Of Me.

 Host Evan Stern of Vanishing Postcards is the connective tissue that illustrates how Americans revel in their distinctness but still have much in common. It’s a documentary travelogue that invites listeners on a road trip exploring the hidden dives and histories found by exiting the interstates.

And, since life can sometimes beat us down, host Matt Gilhooly of  The Life Shiftpodcasthas candid conversations with people about the pivotal moments that changed their lives forever. This podcast can help you through your "life-altering moment." 

These people often have regular, full-time jobs and do podcasting as  their passion project. Sure, they want to be successful and make money. But their passion is affecting the lives of listeners. The passion of Spotify is quarterly earnings, and the hors d'ouevres at the next Board meeting. 

********************

Viewers of TV and listeners of radio don't seem to have the same allegiance to those media as podcast fans. They care about podcasting. Studies show that podcast superfans nurture podcasting.

These four trends are a threat to podcasting. The first two -- celebrity overflow and true-crime excess -- are relatively minor considerations that may organically fix themselves. 

But the last two -- podcasting as a refuge for misinformation and the independent podcasts being on the endangered list -- have severe consequences for podcasting. Could podcasting become a trash pile for extremist viewpoints that advocate violence, authoritarianism, censorship, and punishment to certain groups of citizens?

Finally, podcasting has become famous for its large numbers and expanding universe. Yet, in reality, active, sustainable independent podcasts have crested and are falling faster than Elon Musk's sanity.

When you search the top podcasts, you quickly notice that most of them began as an independent podcast, including Joe Rogan. What has Spotify, Wondery, iHeart and others contributed other than buying indie podcasts and smaller podcast networks? 

Indpendent podcasters need our collective support. What happens if the growth of indie podcasts halts and the majority of new podcasts come from large networks? A new show about a minor celebrity that had an affair with another minor celebrity's husband? Another true-crime show with lurid details and multiple suspects? Another TV celebrity who thinks podcasting is a breeze and phones in a performance. 

The Life Shift podcast is about real people who faced a life crisis and met that challenge. So is Multispective. Both are independent podcasts.

Or, you can listen to a large podcast network show about a minor celebrity who had trouble finding room for her massive shoe collection. By the way, she had a large bunion on her left foot. True story.

[exhausted-archivist]

Early Thoughts and Feelings...

So, we got a look at the table of contents, the introduction, and a total of 13 recipes from the upcoming cookbook. I'm going to delve into my thoughts and preliminary feelings. I'm super excited but I have noticed a few things and I am excited to see how the book in its entirety pans out. This is going to be long so I will shove most of this under a cut cause it's long and yeah.

So lets start with the cover, easy, entirely picky of me and opinion based. The left is the final and the right was the early concept. We see that the red soup in a wooden bowl along with the gold font is really the only thing that stayed with the two covers.

Personally, and I know this is picky, but I like how the early concept reads better: "The Official Dragon Age Cookbook", versus the new one "Dragon Age The Official Cookbook Tastes of Thedas". The listing on Amazon has changed and the final wording is very clunky "Dragon Age: The Official Cookbook: Taste of Thedas".

It really comes down to how they arranged the words on the final cover, and there is probably some logistics to it and maybe some polling. But I think "The Official Dragon Age Cookbook: Tastes of Thedas" reads better and the arrangement would have looked nicer if they kept with the old formatting and added Tastes of Thedas below it. It's how my brain keeps trying to read it anyways.

Other than the title, I'm not a fan of the whole 4 blocks showing the individual dishes - images that are likely the same as their recipe page. It's definitely an improvement from the mock up which has a Lord of the Rings prop in the top left image. But I would have liked something more unique and interesting, whether that was a full table spread of all the dishes or something similar to the Critical Role cookbook where it's an illustration of a feast. But Insight Editions publishing does have a certain look with their cookbooks, and this is one of my more preferred ones out of their previous works.

General Page Layout and Structure

I do like the page layout over all, it's easy to read and fun. Little iffy on some of the font choices because they aren't too accessible. But overall, it's not too busy and is styled enough that it fits the theme and focus I think.

They also did this fun thing similar to what they did for the God of War cookbook, though less of the fun sketch style but still nice none the less. We see an outline of the map created for the Tevinter Nights anthology on the pages for the Starters and Refreshment contents list.

The images for the food are also charming in their own way. Some are very clear photoshop - the crab cakes with the photoshopped flames and smoke, the "lyrium" rock on the cave beetles spread. But I think it adds to this books charm and sort of whimsy.

Other than that, I noticed something within a couple of the recipe entries. The recipe blurb, essentially the section between the title and the recipe instructions, is rooted in lore. The recipes however are not. Best examples of this are the Eggs à la Val Foret and Fluffy Mackerel Pudding.

Here are their respective blurbs, emphasis text added by me:

Eggs à la Val Foret

Ah, yes. Tons of cream! Exactly what I've come to expect from Orlesian cuisine. Do I have any tips for creating the perfect poached egg? Well, ever since I heard that Solas's bald head was once likened to an egg, I simply try to make my eggs just as round and shiny! So far, it's worked wonderfully and never ceases to put a smile on my face.

Fluffy Mackerel Pudding

Can it really be Feast Day without fluffy mackerel pudding? No! In fact, there's no dish I associate more strongly with the holiday than this unique combination of mackerel, onion, celery, and eggs. Granted, I've heard stories that, several decades ago, someone once attempted a diet consisting entirely of fluffy mackerel pudding. Now, that I certainly wouldn't recommend. It stops being Feast Day Fish if you eat it every day, no?

When compared to the recipe given just below the ingredients don't match up. Eggs à la Val Foret is a play on eggs Benedict - which I will note there is also discrepancies between the image and the recipe; the image of this dish has bacon/ham, eggs, and hollandaise sauce on top of a pancake where as the recipe calls for an english muffin. Kinda funny honestly, but on top of that, this dish isn't one I would describe as having a lot of cream. So why would it be described as such? Well because of the note in Trespasser:

Yes, for Our Lady's sake, there was an official menu for the first day of a visit from the Inquisitor during an Exalted Council, but the paper was so old it fell apart in my hands! Our so-famous sous-chef needs to come out of her sulk, because we ARE doing Eggs à la Val Foret, and we WILL need enough cream sauce for tonight's course! The Council of Heralds and the Fereldans are in a pretty fit after the Inquisitor abandoned the talks. Dinner must be tremendous, or we'll hear about it.

Hollandaise sauce is described as a "creamy" sauce but it doesn't actually use cream, butter yes but not cream. It's mainly egg yolk, lemon juice, and melted butter with salt, white pepper, or cayenne pepper. There is a derivative called Sauce Bavaroise that does use actual cream as well as horseradish and thyme. There are also a few other derivatives that use cream and are considered a cream sauce.

Then with the Fluffy Mackerel Pudding, the recipe in the cookbook doesn't actually have onion or celery. It has egg and mackerel, but it also has potatoes in it. Something the original recipe, derived from the weight watcher recipe, didn't have. The original ingredient list we see in Origins is: celery, pepper, mackerel, diced onion, mustard, salt, Antivan pepper, ground mace, cardamom seed, eggs.

Now, it's obvious why they didn't keep the exact same recipe, but it is a little funny they didn't mention it to be a derivative of a classic recipe or the like, as they did with the Crab Cakes from Kirkwall - which are just fried shoft-shelled crab instead of your typical crab cake.

I'm not complaining about the differences though, I'm grateful and pleased to see the recipe blurbs being used as something to share more lore and create an atmosphere with and then have the recipes be a little more grounded in the realm of not only realistic, but also convenient for time, abilities, and skill. Eggs à la Val Foret even directs you to use store bought hollandaise sauce and the Snail and Watercress Salad calls for canned snails, I appreciate that it is going for something more realistic for the instructions and not being overly thematic and such. After all this should be a functional cookbook before its a lore book.

The way everything is organized and the recipes we see are really well varied to me, they're also not something one would consider "typical" western cookbook food - nettle soup, lamprey cake, blood soup (though I think this is likely the red, beet looking soup on the cover). These three have my big interest so I'm eager to see them. But they're also seemingly well varied in catering to not only different skill levels - beginner to more advance (One recipe is grilled chicken and another is a rather elaborate cake called blancmange.)

My initial impression is that this book is a step away from what this publisher has usually put out and I hope that remains true when we have access to the full release.

I think the only other thing I wrote down when reading the sample was that: I will continue to "not my canon" travel times provided, even though Devon was using a carriage, traversing all of Thedas in a year? Sus.

The other thing is in the Stuffed Deep Mushroom recipe where Devon is citing an example of why to be wary of lyrium being consumed by people without resistance, they cite Fenris. Who... I understand why they might have made that connection but also, that was a choice of ingesting lyrium and I just feel like using the templars would have been better? Especially Cullen, or if tying to Devon's hero worship and adventurer streak, King Alistair would have been a good example as the BioWare default has him as king and also taking lyrium again.

Fenris just felt like an odd choice on the whole "example about why ingesting things too close to lyrium is a bad idea" angle. Not wrong, just not the first one that comes to mind for me personally.

[igotanna]

Is this a bet??

Summary: Jinyoung takes your words seriously. And he loves proving his point. You should think twice before teasing him again.

Warnings: smut, sort of orgasm denial

Genre: fanfiction, smut

Pairing: reader x park jinyoung

Rating: 18+

A/N: pic is mine

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

"Please tell me you didn't just eat that popcorn that fell into your bra..." Jinyoung sighed as he heard you munch again after a long time. He sat in his favorite armchair and didn't bother to look at you. The movie was more interesting.

"Shut up I can’t hear it now."

One would say that after three years of dating and living together, you two would stop bickering. But that was the dynamics of your relationship, and you still kinda enjoyed it this way. But sometimes he got on your nerves with his lecturing.

The movie ended and Jinyoung got up to stretch and to put the dirty dishes in the sink.

"Y'know, it was really goo-"

"It was bullshit." you cut him off.

You scrolled through your phone and didn't really pay attention to him when he came back to look at you with his 'what did you just say?' face.

"Come again?"

"I said it was bullshit. It was absolutely unrealistic during the sex scenes," you explained and sighed like him.

He frowned and sat down, now actually interested to hear your thoughts "What do you mean?"

"I mean c'mon! One could never make woman cum without touching her clit - when they were together for such a short time! You couldn't do that and we’ve known each other for quite some time now!"

You were so serious, and didn't really see the shadow of deep shock that flew over his face. He blinked a few times in disbelief. "Do you really think that?"

Putting the phone down you looked at him "Yes, it's really hard - maybe even physically impossible for a woman to cum completely without touching her clit. It's the most ac-"

"Wait," he stopped you, picking up his words and thinking your statement through "is this a bet?" His eyes pinned at your face.

You had to laugh - this was more of a "scientific" discussion for you and here he was dirty minded as usual thinking you're teasing him.

"I'm just saying,-"

"Is this a bet?" he repeated, voice lower. Now it was you blinking quickly to adjust. When he said it out loud you were even more sure - it is impossible.

"What would be the prize for the winner?" you narrowed eyes suspiciously. You knew he was able to pull your leg all the time.

"Anything." he said deadly serious.

"Anything?"

"Anything. Completely free options. If I don't make you cum without touching your clit you can make me do anything you want. One time. Make me go up on stage and do stand-up comedy, make me say something stupid in front of your mother. Whatever you say."

"And if you do make me cum?"

His expression darkened, a low-key sadistic smile flitting across his face. "Anything as well."

You laughed again, shaking your head "This is too.. too much you. I don't trust you."

"What? Whyy?" he looked at you like a surprised puppy with his big round eyes.

"Because!" you exclaimed and got up, almost shoving him off the couch. He followed you with his eyes and regained confident expression. He already knew you're in.

"Because games like these never end up in my favour!"

"Well, if it won’t end up in your favour now, I don't know when it will!" he laughed and left to take a shower. Jinyoung was well aware to give you some space to consider his proposal after presenting you a new idea or assumption.

While he was showering, you had a moment to consider your options - either way you were going to have some solid sex. And that was all you needed to head to the bathroom and lean on the shower door.

"Alright."

Jinyoung laughed and looked to where he heard your voice "So is this official?"

"Yes." you sighed, almost like he pushed you into doing it. Which he did. In his own way. "It is a bet. If you won't make me cum without touching my clit-"

"But I can be inside." he demanded

"Of course, that's not the point. Apart from touching my clit you can do whateve-"

"Careful with your words," he smirked.

"You can do almost whatever might help you make me cum." you finished strongly.

The water stopped. A muscular torso appeared next to your face and with it Jinyoung's fresh scent combined with the soap.

He looked at you, satisfaction written all over his face and dried his hair like nothing happened. Continuing to your bedroom he put the towel down and raised his voice as if he was looking for you "Are you coming?"

You walked to the room like if you were about to do a job interview, even your stomach was slightly squirming with excitement and partly with nervousness.

Jinyoung was busy adjusting the light and pulling down the curtains.

"So," his voice was low and muted, intimidating.

"I don't know what game are you playing...you simply cannot win this." you laughed and started to unbutton your shirt.

"Ah-," he stopped you before pointing at your hands – you were obviously stealing his job "Don't." his eyes found yours and he tilted his head a bit "But do repeat what you just said. C'mon."

You laughed as he got near you and slowly touched your arm with index finger sending a shiver down your spine "I said you won't make me cum."

"That's it." he whispered to himself.

You felt his body behind you, heard his breath, your hair swinging in its rhythm. By stopping you from undressing yourself he was showing you who’s in charge. You wanted to stay strong, not willing to submit to his methods you knew all too well. Something in Jinyoung’s demeanour changed, he’s going to outperform himself today you were sure of it. He's going to come up with something new, trying out stuff he always wanted to but never did. And most importantly - he’s going to take advantage of this.

His fingers moved inch by inch up to meet the inner elbow and to the hips.

"Say it again." he muttered through gritted teeth, daring you. As if searching for reasons to punish you. His warm hand roughly pushed the shirt fabric aside, forcing its way between the buttons by stealth.

"I said you can't make me cum." you said clearly, but it was undermined by the breathless gasp that escaped your mouth unwillingly. At that very moment, his hand undid the buttons and your shirt landed next to your ankles like snake's skin.

Despite the intensity he barely touched you yet.

His arm rested on your shoulder and with tips of his fingers he drew over your chest up to the collar bone. His face was so close to your ear you heard every breath and even movements of his tongue in his mouth.

The goosebumps raised across your skin excited him so much, but he kept his head clear. He knew exactly what to focus on. Having a mental list of your erogenous zones he needed to use, and saving few new ones to try out. He dug his face in your hair and kissed you below your ear. Your body reacted faster than you wanted. You crumbled into him as if he pushed some button, your knees bending a bit. But he didn't want it to be this fast.

He bit your earlobe in warning.

Surprised by his nip, your hand went up for revenge but his was quicker, smacking yours away like annoying insect.

Sliding his palms down to your panties he slowly pulled down. You felt a sudden gust of coldness as he kneeled down and your back were left unprotected. His heart started to beat faster as your panties revealed your bum. He couldn’t stop himself from pressing his lips on your left butt cheek. It took you by surprise – he never was this gentle. Still only with the tips of his fingers on your sides, he got up. Parting your hair and putting them on one side he uncovered his most favorite part of your body – the nape of your neck.

He pushed you to the bed.

Enough of warming up.

"However bad it's going to be..." his voice was dark, wild and almost aggressive because of the long silence "Rule is- you can't touch your clit either." he said locking eyes with you.

"It's either me making you cum," he continued and leaned on his elbows above you, only inches above your face, "or nothing." you opened your mouth to kiss back, but he pulled away. Pressing lips on your neck and going down, between your breasts, your belly.

You felt yourself getting wett, heat pooling in anticipation.

The thing is - it was usually never this slow - Jinyoung was more of a rough, fierce sex type. He didn't need any time to prep and wasn't really a fan of foreplay. Lube was always there to fix everything.

But now- he was careful, sensual, paying attention to details - dancing with his fingers on the inner side of your knee. You almost forgot this place was so sensitive. He harmonized the feeling with his lips on your thigh, temptingly close to the clit.

Closing your eyes you didn't watch what he's doing - just bathed yourself in the feelings.

He was already almost rock hard, given the sight of you closing your eyes with pleasure. He had to focus on the edge of his limits. It was so tempting to imprison you in his arms, to thrust into you, deeply and fully.

But a bet is a bet, and he had his plan.

You felt like you were ready for him, so much so you unknowingly spread apart more. His hand moved your leg up to rest on his hips, facing you again. Still not opening your eyes, you turned your head a bit to make him space for more neck kisses.

As his hands pulled yours up above your head, his fingers intertwined with yours.

Jinyoung left the best for last – he finally pressed his body fully on you, and inch by inch dived in you. You heard him smirk as he found it amusing how easily he could slide in as you were already so wet and open for him.

He moved slowly. Not just because he knew it’s stimulating, but because he focused on your nipples. He knew you were sensitive, and it helped him on many occasions to make you cum. Kissing, licking and carefully biting them he took you on the edge of pain and pleasure. Your fingers found his hair and you wanted to pull it, to participate somehow. But he was the leader here and immediately put your hands back in place – above your head.

It was all so good.

His breath so close to your neck, the heat from his body. The precision he moved with, how much attention he paid to you. How he held your jaw like he needed it to breathe.

But something was missing, the tension just kept cumulating and piling up, peak nowhere in near sight. You could even feel yourself stretching your arm up, as if to grab the orgasm that was just inches away.

But apparently your other hand headed down again because Jinyoung smacked it angrily "Don't even try it." thrusting in over and over.

"Fuck the bet, I want-"

"Rules!" he hissed as his movements quickened. Placing hand on the concave of your neck and shoulders, he squeezed a bit as a warning.

You bit your lip in frustration and pleasure. He bend down and kissed your jaw, following with his mouth parting yours, being dominant even now. Leaving you only to wait for his next move. Pulse racing, he repeatedly broke the kiss to look at you, to burn this exact picture of you into his mind.

Feeling him inside, holding your hand up, your breasts on his chest... everything felt like a flash of a fire, but the flame didn't appear. You almost fell his heart beating in your own veins.

He was close, so close.

Face next to yours, his lips found the spot below your ear again, biting the earlobe.

Breathing faster you knew it was coming.

Was he right? Can he do that? C'mon just a bit more- it's so close.

But he suddenly stopped moving, head buried in your hair heavily breathing. You tried to keep up with the wave of pleasure that was inside of you, waiting to be released, you tried so hard to slide it on your own. But it was gone. He was gone, leaving you in the water searching for a way out.

As he rolled down from you letting you alone with the helplessness and frustration he propped on one hand and looked at you "You were right." he caught his breath and put away lock of hair from your neck.

"You did it on purpose! You knew I was close!" you cried out loudly, hands rubbing your face.

"Yes." he admitted, glad you revealed the truth.

Looking directly at you like a teacher wanting his answer he asked "Lesson?"

After the minute of silence you gave to spite him, you felt a quick, light smack on your thigh. "Never. Try me out again."

[nicobaka]

CLEARING UP AND EXPLAINING SOME THINGS THAT PEOPLE TEND TO MISUNDERSTAND ABOUT GRAY, JUVIA, AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP

(warning: spoilers. It's also gonna be some LONG ass shit lmao. Sorry for typos in advance)

I heard a lot of people hating Gruvia for things that they misunderstood (or just straight-up dismiss/ignore) about the ship, and so I thought I'd clear up and explain some of those here because I just think all this hate towards the ship is unnecessary especially when most of their reasons of why they hate the ship aren't really valid or reasonable.. I mean, yeah, you can dislike and hate it all you want, we all have different preferences. But the level of hate Gruvia gets for reasons that are already proven false and untrue is just unbelievable. Like people saying Gray is somehow "controlled" by Juvia, or that Gray has "Stockholm syndrome" when Juvia never even tried to kidnap Gray... And worse is when people start to spread misinformation and slander the ship, spreading hate and negativity towards the ship for reasons that are again, proven to be untrue.

[ GRAY'S BIG TSUNDERE ASS ]

Gruvia is not one-sided, it's just that Gray's a big frickin Tsundere and that he refuses to show affection, so he may come off as cold to her sometimes. Although later on he realized that he should accept his feelings for Juvia rather than pushing her away and trying to run away from his own feelings before he regrets it, so now he has become less of a Tsundere and is trying to become a better person for her (but still a Tsundere lmao)

[ GRAY'S PAST AND CHILDHOOD TRAUMA ]

Gray does not dislike nor hate Juvia, even from the very beginning after they just met. Hell, even right after their fight in their first meeting. After their first actual meeting, Gray even helped her, saved her, made her happy, and even smiled with her. He wouldn't have done all that if he disliked her. He wouldn't have said he has no problem with Juvia joining the guild if he disliked her. He wouldn't hang around with Juvia inside and even outside the guild if he disliked her. He wouldn't have worried and felt bad about her not passing the exam of he disliked her. He wouldn't have carried her running away from danger even though she already said she can run away by herself if he disliked her. He wouldn't have agreed to going out with Juvia, which clearly meant as a date to her, if he disliked her. He wouldn't have lived with her for half a year if he disliked her. He would have agreed with Juvia leaving him alone if he disliked her, but instead he hugged her, thanked her, and cried on her arms. He wouldn't have sacrificed himself for her safety if he disliked her.... I can go on and on for hours with this honestly. But the point is, he clearly doesn't dislike nor hate Juvia. He even said he's grateful for having Juvia always by his side.

It's just he didn't wanna get too attached to her. He has always thought ever since as a child that it's his responsibility / fault whenever someone he cares for dies. He blames himself for it, consciously or unconsciously, and puts the burden upon himself. He feels like whenever he gets too attached to someone, they would leave him and when that happens it'll be his fault. That's the reason why he seemed cold to her sometimes, it's that he doesn't wanna get too attached to her, afraid that she would just leave him like the others...

"I'm going to avenge my mother and father!"

"I wasn't... able to do anything..."

"It's your fault, Gray." (Lyon)

"It's my fault that Ul died 10 years ago"

"No matter how much time pass, it won't change the fact that it's my fault Ul's dead!"

"I lost both mother and daughter..."

Him trying to push Juvia away by being cold to her is most likely something he did unconsciously, since he himself wasn't really sure about his feelings for her and having the fear of loosing his loved ones before, at least when it was just starting. But as we already know, his attempt of trying to not get too attached to her wasn't successful. It didn't have any chance of being successful to begin with since the reason why he didn't want to get too attached to her and why he had developed the fear of loosing her in the first place is because he's already attached to her from the beginning. He was the one to save her, worries about her a lot, cares for her, protects her, and spends a lot of his time with her, which made him even more attached to her. Which explains his expression at that one recent official Gruvia art which some fans didn't like... He looks like he feels like he shouldn't fall in love with Juvia, but he really just can't help it.

And when it actually almost happened, when Juvia almost killed herself for him, it finally became clear to him what he feels about her, and he realized that it was stupid and cowardly for him to try and avoid Juvia and his very own feelings, because of his damned childhood trauma. He could've lost all the chances he had with her forever, with all those efforts she spent on him all be put in vain. And now that he realized this, that doesn't make the fear of loosing her disappear. It can't be erased just like that. But instead of avoiding, hiding, and keeping his feelings like before, he's trying to improve and be a better person for her that can protect her no matter what.

[ THE LOVE POTION THINGY IS NOT CANON ]

The episode about Juvia buying potions made her look bad for some fans. It was not in the Manga. It's not canon. The part where Lucy expected Natsu to confess (which was seen in the same episode) is canon, since it is from the Manga. But the part where Juvia buys love potion and uses it to try and get Gray is not in that chapter, nor is it in any chapter in the manga, meaning it's not canon and is an anime-only part. Well personally I found it quite funny, but some fans really hated Juvia on that one.

[ JUVIA IS NOT A YANDERE B*TCH ]

I saw a lot of people referring to Juvia as a "yandere" and portraying Juvia as such.. Juvia is NOT a yandere girl who will kill you if you reject her and shit. If anything, she's the opposite. She can NEVER hurt Gray. She'd rather kill herself than hurt Gray. When she thinks she's making Gray uncomfortable, she immediately apologizes. When she thought she disrespected Ul's death anniversary by saying it should be a happy day for Gray because it's their anniversary (she didn't know it was Ul's death anniversary at first), she felt very sorry and disappointed in herself. The reason she couldn't approach him at the start was because she didn't want to make him and his friends uncomfortable, and because she isn't used to socializing with other people (add the fight with Phantom Lord which caused the guild a lot of trouble, plus how people always disliked and pushed Juvia away). Basically, Juvia has, or at least had social anxiety. At first, she couldn't approach Gray because she was extremely nervous. Juvia also wasn't as bold as she is now towards Gray at the start, she was shy and was shown to even stutter a lot trying to express her thoughts to Gray and the guild members. Yeah, she becomes extremely mad when someone threatens Gray's life, but that's just like Natsu being mad when someone threatens to kill Lucy. Or Gray being mad when someone threatens Erza's life. Or Mira being mad when someone threatens her siblings lives.. But Juvia didn't even actually kill Meredy (the one who did threaten to kill Gray), but instead even became friends with her! A yandere would do the total opposite. I think that if Gray ever rejects her, she wouldn't even be mad at him, but would probably be very depressed and think a lot about what she did wrong.. She was even willing to give up on him in Tartaros Arc, when she had to kill Gray's father, she thought she doesn't deserve to love him anymore after what she did so she was willing to finally give up and leave him alone... When yanderes are the kind of people who'd go as far as to kill every other person close to you just so they can have you for themselves...

But Gray himself does not want her to leave. Even though he seems annoyed with how Juvia is clingy towards him and all that, in reality, he doesn't want her to leave. He hugs her and says "thank you" to Juvia for being the one to "kill" Silver, saving his father and finally letting his father rest in peace, so that Gray didn't have to kill his father himself. Silver himself wanted to die and even thanked Juvia for that so I don't really understand why people hate her because of it. And if Gray disliked or hated Juvia, he definitely would have agreed about her leaving him alone.

The main reason why Juvia acts like this is because she's trying to show her love for others that she wasn't able to show before, since she was always rejected, avoided, disliked, and even hated by others. She's always pushed away by others. So now that someone (Gray) didn't push her away and showed care for her, she didn't want to miss the opportunity of finally feeling loved and being able to share her love.

And Gray, together with the guild, accepted her. She wants to feel loved and accepted, so she's trying all her best to not be seen as someone gloomy or unlikable that others used to think she is. She does things that she thinks would make them happy, she does things that she thinks would make them accept her. But since she never really knew how to interact with other people before she joined the guild, and the people she used to be with were toxic as hell, she comes off as awkward sometimes. But she's growing, together with Gray and the guild, she's growing.

[ THE LOVE RIVAL" THING IS JUST FOR COMIC RELIEF AND WAS NEVER SERIOUS ]

She may say "Love Rival!!" when someone's getting close to Gray, but it's only put as comic relief and she was not actually serious about it. Even Lucy, the one whom she always calls her "rival", never took it seriously. If Lucy did, she would have never approached Gray ever again, or hated Juvia for it. If Juvia was really serious about her so called "threats", they would have kicked her out of the guild long ago. Plus, she may act like that, but in reality, she cares for and is willing to sacrifice for her friends, including Lucy. And Lucy herself knows that. Even Gray knows when she's just joking around and even called her out for joking at serious times.

It's sad that people say that they are concerned about Gray and Juvia "forcing" herself into him when they don't really actually think about and consider what Gray is actually feeling towards her.. Gray loves her, she loves Gray. Just let them be happy. Gray has lost too much, at least let him enjoy being with Juvia.

Anyways, I'M NOT FORCING YOU TO LIKE THE SHIP, WE ALL HAVE PREFERENCES. But I'm just trying to make you understand both characters, their relationship and development a little more. Well, this is mainly just from my perspective tho. Especially with all the hate this ship gets and how misunderstood both characters are and the things they do. And if you got to this part, thanks for reading all of this lmao this is my first time posting something like this in Tumblr, I hope it wasn't that confusing.