#we'll have to talk out if i/we want to change it???

[rainbowsky]

On GG's album, and hints of what was to come

As everyone here likely already knows, I'm completely losing it over the news of a full album from GG. There's a lot more to all of this that I haven't yet discussed, so let's dig into it. I have thoughts...

Disclaimer: Most of what's discussed here is rumor and interpretation, and could be inaccurate. We'll find out what's really happening soon enough!

I never dared dream that GG would put out an album. I have been begging for crumbs of a song for years now, it would have seemed completely outrageous to dare to dream of an entire album!!!

But now that it's on its way, and I've heard more info/rumors about the release (more on that in a bit), I can look back over the past year and see some signs that have been there all along, of what's to come.

More on the release

Promo has already begun, and we now know more about the release schedule based on what's posted on the streaming platforms.

The songs will be released in 3 waves, with the first wave happening on the 12th, the next one on the 19th and the final one on the 26th.

The physical album is going to be coming in December, and there are some tantalizing rumors about what that will include:

The album cover was drawn by GG.

A Xiao Zhan Studios red gift box containing various items including postcards, t-shirts etc.

There will be a CD version and a limited edition vinyl version.

A music video is also rumored to have been completed. This has been confirmed, and will be premiering on the 12th.

Clues we've had all along

What's interesting to me is that for months I've been posting updates about changes to XZ Studio's business license, that have been clues to what GG might be up to.

In January a license was obtained to establish a domestic performance agency.

In March that license was expanded to include services for film production and live performances.

In June there were some legal trademark applications made, pertaining to office supplies, calendars and paper gift wrapping.

And now we know that he's releasing an album, at least some editions which will likely be sold with bonus gifts, paper products and packaging (I think this is a very credible rumor because if he's going the physical album route, it's likely designer GG will want to do special editions like this).

Licenses recently purchased protect the studio's exclusive rights to produce and sell such items.

We also know GG and his studio love to produce stunning high quality videos. Was there ever any doubt that he'd make a music video? Maybe even more than one.

Licenses purchased earlier this year give the studio the right to produce such commercial videos.

And there's another license that is associated with live concert performances! I think it's highly likely we'll see a concert from him in the coming year or two.

Generous GG

As Fat Shrimp mentioned, the songs will be free on streaming. This has made a big impression on some fans, and there has been a lot of discussion about it, and about how much this album will have cost to produce, for GG to give it away for free (here's a compilation of some of the comments via Nili, and another from Estefanita).

People have expressed so many thoughts about this. Everyone agrees that it's almost unheard of to give an entire album for free. One or two songs, maybe, but just as a teaser for the full album - which must be paid for.

A lot of people have talked about the 'old days' (ack, I feel old!) when people would buy physical albums, often after having heard only one or two singles on the radio (although where I'm from people could go into a record store and listen to the full album before buying).

They say that he's opening himself up to that evaluation before people are expected to commit to paying for it, and that it's very generous and honorable, but that it will also open him up to being heard more by passersby who wouldn't otherwise be willing to pay for the music - therefore expanding his possible audience.

I personally think there are a few possible factors contributing to why he chose to share his album for free:

To me, this feels almost like GG's bigger 'debut' as an independent solo singer. He's finally releasing music entirely on his own terms. He wants to share and celebrate that with the world, as a gift to the world and to the fans. "I'm here. Please enjoy."

He's inviting people to listen to his music and judge for themselves whether it's worthy of their investment. It goes along with his personality as someone who wouldn't want people to associate any sort of 'buyer's remorse' with something he's sold them. He's always saying, "people are free to like or to hate," and this is his way of giving people that choice without judgment. "Listen and if you like it, buy it. If you don't, that's fine too." By doing this he's likely to build a bigger audience than by doing a traditional release, because everyone has a chance to hear and evaluate him without any up-front investment.

He wants to avoid any possibility of a repeat of what happened with Spotlight, where he was criticized because fans were buying dozens of copies as a means of boosting sales, and then bragging that their idol was the biggest seller of all time. He doesn't want fans to spend all their money on his songs or on boosting his 'sales', nor does he want any perception that the success of his album was bought by fans.

He could be bargaining on making more overall sales via charging for only the physical copies than by selling both, due to the expanded interest a free release is likely to generate.

He has confidence in what he's created, and is happy to share it openly.

He's doing this out of the joy of it more than anything else, and money isn't a central factor for him.

To me, this approach, along with the stated plans for rolling all of this out feels like a marketing plan, and we all know GG has a professional background in that kind of thing.

Yes, all those other elements of artistry, generosity and magnanimity come into it as well, of course. Marketing is treated as a dirty word, but we must remember that every marketing plan is based deeply in the values and intent of the individual/organization doing the marketing, and is focused on their goals.

I feel that his plan will have considered the factors I mentioned, and will be aligned with his values, intentions and goals.

This is just my take on it, of course. Only GG and his studio really know for sure what his plans and goals are.

Can't wait!!!

Whatever his feelings or plans are, I can't wait to hear this album, I can't wait to buy it, and I can't wait to see what kind if interest and critique it generates!!

I also hope that this is just the beginning - that he will be releasing more music, and hopefully doing concerts in the future.

[inawickedlittletown]

Oh boy. This is the last text post I write tonight. I swear. I just...I have a theory.

First off, Oliver Stark...what the hell is wrong with you? Those interviews...and the IG story he already deleted. eek.

And okay so people saying he wasn't happy with bucktommy and even with working with LFJ...maybe you were all right about that. But I think this is actually deeper.

I think something changed as late as this week.

We know that 8x06 was shot before 8x05 and every interview coming out after 8x04 about both 8x05 and 8x06 (yes the ones from Oliver) had some pro-bucktommy stuff in them. He was vague and he talked about how much he enjoyed those episodes. He said "if Buck and Tommy were ever on a break" and he talked about not knowing if Tommy was his forever partner or something...everything was there's hurdles and things for them to deal with and it just didn't imply break up or that things wouldn't be worked out...

So here's my theory now that I've had time to think about it.

I fully think the break up in 8x06 was written as temporary. I think we weren't going to see Tommy in 8x07 or 8x08 and we were going to be left wondering about Buck's decision on if he wanted Tommy back over the winter hiatus. And Oliver sort of says that too...that Buck will struggle with blocking his number or reaching out type of thing...so maybe we'll see that.

I think the decision was made...and maybe it came from the network...maybe it was the writers and Tim who knows but I think sometime between last episode and this one they decided to shift paths and not go forward with the bucktommy storyline...the romcom. This could even be as a result of the election. It's possible.

LFJ in his interviews comes off like he didn't expect it to end here. But if those interviews were already set before the decision came down then he had to do them and firmly close the door and explain his exit. It's what he was probably told to do. Doesn't change how odd it is for a non-main actor to do an exit interview. Has anyone else ever done one for a side-character?

As for Oliver...I find it very interesting how he went down the line of Buck is free to sleep around. Like it's such an interesting talking point. In no way am I condoning what he said or defending it, but it is a big switch from how he's talked about Buck being bi before...it feels a little like since bucktommy isn't happening Oliver is jumping at the only non-buddie thing for Buck to do. And as a straight white guy why wouldn't he say something like that without a second thought.

So yeah...I think they pulled the plug on bucktommy for one reason or another and that's why the interviews are like that. But narratively...they'll do some hand waving and make Buck decide he actually didn't love Tommy instead of following the threads they've left there.

[palenutbasement]

(all scenes are depicted as platonic)

So every Inktober I try to do something more challenging, and this year I thought I would make a short comic/fanfic. I think I got the idea for this one a year ago but I was already wrapped up with another Inktober. Eventually I solidified the idea by making my own prompt list some time ago.

This comic is split into three parts with 10 days focusing on each of them, 30 in total, everything is compiled here. I wanted to post them after October in case I wanted to change anything.

This first part takes place in the summit.

The comic is basically all improvised, that means no planning for the composition, plot, or sketching any drawings. The most planning I did was write a few scripts ahead of time within the month to save me some time but most of them would be changed last minute anyways.

As for the plot, I won't go too deep into it because I don't want to talk too much, so you'll just find commentary on the making of the comic and stuff.

This first part is a little gimmick-y compared to the next two, with new elements appearing almost every day. It’s because I relied a lot on the prompts (dog, milk, etc.) to keep things happening, eventually I move further away from them.

What is surprising to me is how much the art changes as the days go by especially within the span of one month. I did refine a few things to keep it more consistent but this is nearly indistinguishable from the original drawings.

I should also mention that my favourite aspect of this project was adding references to the game and subtle details (if you can find it all, awesome!!) This may have been done quickly but I like to have those things and put at least a bit of effort into the dialogue.

Part 2

Eventually I figured that drawing the same setting for 30 days straight would drive me insane, hence why this comic is split like it is. I’m glad I did because it makes the story a little more interesting, seeing the characters have different attitudes in different places and whatnot.

This one takes place in the cave directly after pt 1. Admittedly I do better drawing outdoor settings, it's what I'm used to, but the cave wasn't so bad to figure out.

I remember these two days I was streaming drawing the comic to my friends, so I kinda zoned out while we were talking lol

One of the prompts was about napping, so I made Dwarf sleep. I believe I was tired that day too and it was therapeutic to draw and include that. Also they look cute, I think.

18 & 19 have some of my favourite drawings in the comic. The campfire lighting is what we'd get if I had a bit more energy each day, and I like the perspective in the first panel of 19.

I find this last section interesting, because of all the 30 days, it’s the only one in Dwarf’s POV. I felt like it was fitting to do something like that at the time.

Part 3

Since we were approaching Halloween, I wanted to have a special part for it. It’s related to the other two parts but it takes place some time after. I’m really sorry it’s out of season, if it were up to me I would have had this post out earlier (thank my midterms for the delay)

Out of all the other parts this one is my favourite. Maybe because it’s more recent I’m inclined to think that way but it has some of my fave moments that I've written here.

Other than that I don't have much commentary for this part. More thoughts at the end!

I was caught up everyday atp, but I didn’t have much spare time to prepare for the ending (I wrote it the morning of that day). I think this is a decent conclusion though.

I intend on coming back to this story, maybe next year to make a continuation but we'll see what happens. There are definitely things that I want to come back to someday.

Thank you for making it this far btw. It's been an eventful month for me beyond this (Untitled) comic, but there wasn't a single aspect of this that I didn't enjoy doing. It's a silly project and I care about it.

Also, I'm not going to neglect the 31st of October! That day will get an illustration, where I will pick my favourite panel and redraw it. I want to take my time with this one so it's not out yet, but hopefully I can finish by Christmas.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Is there a reason Marinette’s lying to Adrien about Gabriel doesn’t make sense to you from a character-standpoint? She’s lied a fair bit in the show for reasons other than keeping her identity or crush on Adrien a secret, and her love for Adrien has consistently created a blind spot for her in terms of her “general” morals/behavior.

Is there something more specific to Marinette’s pattern of behavior that indicates how her lying about Gabe would be OOC, or is the lie something you believe Canon!Marinette should recognize as too egregious to take part in?

(The closest alternative explanation I’ve seen thus far is that she shouldn’t have any reason to lie for Gabe because they share zero good will, but if we interpret it as lying for Adrien, then I’m not sure if that explanation fits.)

I have, admittedly, not gone through the show and tracked every lie that Marinette has ever told to see if I can weave together a pattern that backs Marinette's behavior at the end of season five. It's possible that there's a lie that I'm forgetting that would totally change my stance and, if you think that's the case, then feel free to respond to this with a comment or an ask on that topic! My "this is BS" stance is based on the overall story of the show and the ways that I've seen people try to justify the season five lies as those are the arguments that I've thought through and found lacking.

We'll start by discussing the two lies people use to try to back Marinette's behavior at the end of season five: the scarf and Chat Blanc. Then I'll talk about the story's lead up to the season five lies and why it makes for a horribly unsatisfying story in my eyes. If someone gave this to me, I'd be suggesting some major edits to make it work on a technical level.

The Scarf

For those who don't remember, the season one episode The Bubbler sees Marinette make Adrien a scarf for his birthday. She drops the scarf off at the Agreste mansion with a note for Adrien and the hope that this will get him to finally notice her. Nathalie then takes the scarf and uses it as a gift from Gabriel instead. Marinette learns about this during this exchange at the very end of the episode:

Alya: Yo, nice scarf, Adrien. Off the chain. Adrien: Yeah, can you believe my dad got this for me? (Marinette looks surprised) it's so awesome. He's been giving me the same lame pen for three years in a row.... Alya:(to Marinette) You gotta tell him you were the one who knitted the scarf. Marinette: But he seems so happy about his dad. I don't want to spoil it for him. Alya: Aw, Marinette. (they hug.) You're amazing, girl. You know that, right? And someday Adrien will figure it out too. Promise.

I can see why someone would look at this and call it a setup for the end of season five. There are some parallels here. The problem is that there are a lot of massive differences, too. Differences that make this a really crappy setup:

Marinette does not lie in this scene. She simply overhears a lie and doesn't correct it. Remove her and Alya from the scene and nothing changes. The lie still exists. Meanwhile, without Marinette, the season five lies would never have come to be.

Marinette knows about the scarf lie for about a minute on screen. She hears about it and tells Alya to let it go within the same scene. That's a gut reaction, not a carefully planned and considered deceit. Once again, wildly different from what season five gives us.

Adrien and Marinette aren't shown to be close friends in season one. They rarely talk to the point that I didn't even know that they were supposed to be friends until we got to Origins. That complicates correcting the scarf lie. How does Marinette approach a random classmate and explain a situation that she doesn't even fully understand herself? That's very different from Ladybug telling a lie to a civilian or Marinette lying to her boyfriend.

Season one Marinette has no idea how messed up Adrien's home life is. All she knows is that Adrien liked her gift, but that he thinks it came from a different person. She doesn't even know that a lie was involved in this confusion! As far as she's aware, this could just be a minor misunderstanding that she'd rather let go because does it really matter who the gift is from? This is extra true because the scarf never comes up again, meaning that this is not an ongoing or damaging lie as far as canon is concerned.

That last point and the issue of Marinette never actually telling the lie herself are probably the biggest points in Marinette's favor. If Adrien wore the scarf all the time and used it as a comfort when he was fighting with his dad, then you'd have a solid case for Marinette needing to say something because the lie is arguably doing actual harm. This is especially true if you let Adrien say things like, "I wear this to remember that my father loves me," to Marinette. But that's not what canon did.

As far as canon is concerned, the scarf lie exists for all of a minute. A minute in which Adrien expresses delight in the gift, but gives it very tepid weight in terms of what it means for his relationship with his father. (Adrien's room is full of nice gifts, I don't think a scarf was going to make-or-break their relationship.) After that, the scarf never comes up again, meaning that Marinette's gut reaction to not immediately destroy Adrien's happiness is all we get. That's hardly a great setup for her being the source of massive ongoing lies about Adrien's personhood and the truth of his father's abuse.

I'll also remind you that this all happened at the very start of the show. The Bubbler is one of the first episodes people see. If this is your best argument for Marinette's behavior five seasons later, then we have a major writing problem on our hands. You should not have to dig back to the very start of the show to justify a major character beat like this. There should be more relevant material. We'll circle back to that problem in a minute. First let's quickly touch on lie two and why it also falls flat.

Chat Blanc

Another thing people point to as foreshadowing for the season five lies is the fact that Ladybug kept Chat Blanc from Chat Noir and, if Chat Blanc was actually affecting her, then I would agree with this take. However, that doesn't seem to be the case. The official story is that Ladybug's actions in season four had nothing to do with Chat Blanc. It was just guardian stress! If that's true, then I don't think she should tell Chat Noir about Chat Blanc.

Why?

Since when do we tell people about all the awful things they did while they were akumatized? There's no point to that. It's cruel. Do you think that Ladybug also needs to walk him through everything he did while under the control of various akumas like Dark Cupid? If no, then how is Chat Blanc any different? What's the value in telling Chat Noir the gory details of what will happen if he ever has a moment of weakness and becomes akumatized? He already knows that it will be bad! Why tell him exactly how bad it will be? I can't come up with a single good canonical reason.

Ladybug has no idea what caused Chat Blanc, so she can't warn Chat Noir what he needs to avoid. You can't even use the "he should know about Bunnyx" argument because that wasn't Bunnyx's debut. Canonically speaking, the only reason that Ladybug should talk to Chat Noir about Chat Blanc or any other bad thing that he's done while under the power of an akuma is if it's effecting her or their partnership and it's apparently not! That's why Marinette never reacts to Chat Noir getting a white makeover (see: the Paris special & Jubilation) and why Chat Blanc is never discussed in the show outside of that one brief nightmare callback in Sentibubbler.

To be clear, I think that's an asinine choice as Chat Blanc's memory hurting Ladynoir would have been semi-decent foreshadowing for the season five lies, but the writers decided to go another route. They also let Chat Blanc haunt Adrien even though he doesn't know about it, which I don't even know how to dissect because it's such terrible writing! If you don't know what I'm talking about, this is the official explanation for why Adrien couldn't make it to the final fight. The reason for the white-and-blue Chat Noir that haunted his nightmares:

Mélanie says that he "could become Chat Blanc" and the others add that even though he does not remember and has never lived it, Chat Blanc still has an influence on his actions.

Quality writing here folks. Quality writing. At the very least have season five Adrien be freaked out about the fact that he cataclysmed a human! That would make this make at least a little sense, but we don't get that. Instead we get Adrien almost cataclysming several akumas like it's no big deal while having nightmares about a thing he's never even been told about (see: Derision and Jubilation and probably other's I'm forgetting.)

The Events of Season Four and Five

As you can hopefully see, we don't have a great, ongoing pre-end-of-season-five lie to point to as proof that Marinette would decide to tell the massive lies that she does. That's a pretty big writing flaw, but it's not a show stopper. A lie like this could still fit her character if the story sets it up right.

The problem is that the story doesn't do that. It actually sets Marinette up to be primed to want to tell the truth.

For all Miraculous' nonsensical and wacky writing, the season five lie still comes at the end of two seasons with relatively clear messages. Those messages were to trust others and avoid lies. Let me show you what I mean.

While season four's writing is an absolute disaster, we cannot ignore the fact that the stated lesson in Strikeback is that Marinette learned to trust others, give up control, and stop lying:

Ladybug: Why don't you just give up on me? I've lost ALL the Miraculous! I'm the worst Guardian EVER! I wanted to control everything, I didn't listen to you, I lied to you, I kept you at a distance! Every time you offered me a helping hand, I never took it! I really made a mess of EVERYTHING! (continues sobbing)

This is what Marinette says to Chat Noir directly after losing the Kwamis. This is the lesson that she supposedly learned. The end note of the season. The word of god meant to be internalized by children everywhere. The show even goes so far as to have Ladybug give Chat Noir more responsibility in the first episode of season five (Evolution):

Cat Noir: Catch, m'lady! (throws the Rabbit Miraculous at Ladybug and she catches it) Only the holder of the Rabbit Miraculous can open a time portal. Ladybug: (contemplates shortly then places the Rabbit Miraculous on his chest, smiling) You do it, kitty. Cat Noir: You want me to control time? Ladybug: It's you and me, remember?

Really driving home this idea that Ladybug is going to be more trusting and open with others moving forward.

The meat of season five sees Marinette and Adrien start dating. During this arc, Marinette learns to be more open with her feelings around Adrien while also being confronted with the reality of just how messed up Adrien's home life is. Marinette and Gabriel clash with each other over Adrien with Marinette fighting for Adrien's freedom and Gabriel trying to control everything:

Gabriel: I don't think you understand, child, so let me put things differently. Life is like fashion. You think you have a choice, but all you have is the illusion of choice. And I decide what choices are given to you. Marinette: You're wrong! (Shows Gabriel her sketchbook.) Fashion is about listening to people, it's about understanding who they are, what excites them and creating the clothes that will help them express their inner world. Help them connect with others and make their dreams come true.

This conflict means that Marinette and Gabriel do not have a single positive interaction in the entire season outside of maybe the final. We also see Adrien defy his father more than ever before. This is not the kind of setup you write if you want Marinette to tell Adrien that his father was a hero. Why in the world would she think that he'd want to be told that kind of lie? Why would he even buy it after all of the things that Gabriel has done? The final literally sees Adrien locked in a padded prison cell!!! Writers, what are you doing??? Why did you write this???

There's also the fact that season five has a major theme of lies = bad. It's the season where Lila's lies are finally outed, but only after they almost cost Marinette's friends their futures. For those who need a reminder: Lila tried to mess with the forms that stated where everyone wanted to go for lycée and would have succeeded in pulling off that harm and blaming it on Marinette were it not for the lies being outed.

On top of that, we also see Adrien keeping the plan to ship him off to London from Marinette, ending in this exchange:

Marinette: (on the video call) Adrien! Adrien: (voice breaking; in tears) Marinette, I should've told you sooner, but... up until the last minute, I thought I'd find a solution. I tried everything, I swear. Marinette: (on the video call) Adrien, what's... what's going on? Adrien: I have to leave Paris. (his voice breaks) I'm not worthy of your love. I feel terrible for hurting you.

Adrien kept the truth from Marinette to try to keep her from being hurt and ended up hurting her more than he otherwise would have because they don't even get a proper goodbye.

None of this is a solid setup for Marinette turning around and lying to Adrien about his father. Why would she do that after all of the harm lies and Gabriel caused in season five? Between this and season four, she has not been setup to want to lie to Adrien. Season five needs massive rewrites to make that choice work! (Note: I have yet to see the London special, but based on everything I've heard, I think it's just going to cement my annoyance at Marinette's wishy-washy writing by continuing to ignore the plot of the seasons leading up to the final and the special.)

Final Thoughts

I don't think that Marinette lying to Adrien about his dad is a terrible idea. It's a believable struggle! It just doesn't fit her character's journey. They've failed to have her tell that type of lie before and they had her tell this lie after two seasons where the main lessons were how much lies have hurt her and the people that she loves. If she hasn't gotten the message that you shouldn't lie by now, then when exactly is she going to learn it? It's incredibly hard for me to get invested in characters that aren't allowed to grow and learn from their mistakes and Miraculous has made it abundantly clear that it will not let these characters grow if growth messes with the plot that the writers want to tell.

I will openly admit that I think that Marinette's lie was a last minute retcon to make there be a cliffhanger to season six, but let's ignore that and give a quick three-point plan of how you could make this ending work:

Really lean into the negative consequences of people knowing the truth about things. Nino knowing Alya's identity outing Alya. Luka getting shipped off to Brazil. Make the truth hurt Marinette at every turn. Basically remove all lies = bad consequences and have Ladybug see losing the miraculous be the result of trusting others because she trusted "Adrien" and lost, leading her to keep pushing people away

Don't let Lila be outed. Have Lila be a good president and make that part of her big plan for the next season.

Have Gabriel and Marinette get along. Gabriel has said that Adrien is like Emilie, let Gabriel see himself in Marinette, leading Gabriel to trust Marinette to be Adrien's support should the worst happen. Let the final fight be a heartbreaking moment between two people who have an actual relationship built around loving Adrien. Have Adrien going to London be a "convenient" trip to get him out of the way on the day of the evil plot and not a prison sentence so that Gabriel doesn't look cartoonishly evil. Make it feel like he cares! Sell the redemption!

Do that and, yeah, I'd buy Marinette's choice even without setup lies because you don't need setup lies! Setup lies don't matter anywhere near as much as selling this lie and the writers simply didn't do that. I don't believe for a second that Marinette would lie for Gabriel or think that this was what Adrien wanted based on the relationship season five gave us for those three characters. It is so glaringly obvious that this is nothing more than a stalling tactic that has nothing to do with Marinette's character and everything to do with the show's rule that "there must always be a secret between Adrien and Marinette." I genuinely struggle to understand how anyone sees it as anything else.

[vickytaa]

You are not alone.

summery: You have a toxic relationship with a guy named Harry. But since you entered, you knew there was no way out.

wc: 4k

a/n: please, if you are or know anyone who is in this situation, please do not hesitate to talk to someone to get out of there. Communicate with a helpline for victims of violence, talk with a friend, family, professor, or someone who you trust. It's important to remember that you are not to blame for what's happening and that you deserve to live free of violence.

I didn't really want to be at that party, but my boyfriend, Harry, insisted so much on coming that I ended up accepting. He.. wasn't the best, under everyone's gaze he was the best boyfriend we all would love to have, but every time we were alone, the only thing he would do was mistreat me and tell me anything he wanted.

His clothes weren't ironed? Slam. The food wasn't ready? Slam. Isn't the house clean? Slam.

That's my day to day.

I knew I had to stop this. It wasn't good for me. But I didn't know who to tell this, everyone thought he was perfect, including my best friends. But Matthew was the only one who noticed the discomfort in my eyes every time Harry was near. Matthew and I were just friends, we weren’t so near, but I knew I could count on him whenever I needed it. He was the only person who was there when I was at a bad moment.

“Come on, let's just go!” Harry shouted from the living room. I heard him sigh hard, making me understand that he was angry. “Oh my god, you take too long. You are useless!” He shouted again.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror, just to make sure I was presentable. I was wearing a mini black dress and a pair of black leather boots that matched my dress, with my hair in a ponytail. I walked down the stairs quickly for him not to keep complaining.

“That's how you are going? You look like a slut” I was speechless. I looked at him without believing what he had just said, even though he always used to tell me things like that, but they always hurt the same way, even more. After standing still for a couple of seconds, I was able to say, “Uhm.. I can change into something else if you wa-” “No, it's already too late and if you change again the party will end. Come on.”

We both got in the car when a huge silence started to invade the interior. “You must behave well. We'll be the perfect couple, just like usual, alright?”. He said while he took off his hand from the wheel to let it rest on my thigh, making pressure, a bit, too hard.

I nodded my head. I feared what he could or would do if anyone found out that we weren't the perfect couple that we said we were. The suffering I experienced day by day, crying every night, without being able to leave this endless loop.

We arrived, and before we got out, Harry grabbed my arm firmly and looked me in the eyes. I felt a strong pressure on my chest that prevented me from breathing easily. I knew what was going on.

“You know that I love you, right?” He said while smiling at me. It was all so fake. I knew he didn’t like me not even a little bit, he was just doing this to have a ‘good reputation’, but why? I didn’t know, don’t want to know either. I didn’t answer him, turned my head to try again on opening the door. Harry grabbed me stronger than before to the point it seemed like it was going to leave a mark on me. “Auch! Let me go!” I whined. “You love me to, don’t ya’?” “Yes Harry.” Disgusting. How could I lie that much? I didn’t want him even nearby. I wanted to get away from him as much as I could. But I replied to him just for him to let go my arm and finally get somewhere with more people than just the two of us.

When we entered, the tension I had before, a little freed. I had decided that I was going to enjoy tonight, and what was happening after I wouldn’t care. I just wanted to feel good, at least for a while.

“Hey babe, I’m going there with my friends, if anything happens just tell me” He finished and gave me a kiss. I smiled and went directly to the bar to drink something and clear my mind. I needed to find a way out of the relationship with him.

“Just a Margarita please” I asked the boy who made the drinks. “Make it two” I heard someone say behind me. I turned around to see who it was, and there he was. Matthew Sturniolo, the one and only. “Hi, what’s up? I didn’t know you were coming tonight” Before I could respond to him, I had to look at him. Matt was everything that I wanted, brown hair, tall, handsome, he knew how to dress up, gentleman, but, above all, his smile was the most beautiful. He was wearing a black jean with a black shirt, and obviously with his pinky ring.

“I would have worn something better” he said, seeing that I hadn’t said anything yet. He knew how to make me smile naturally. “And.. Why did you decide to come here today? From the little we talked; I think you don’t like coming to parties at all." Matthew said, sitting next to me.

“Harry forced me to come. I was looking for an excuse to go, but you came so…” “So, you’re going to keep pretending that your relationship with Harry it’s perfect just to please him?” I wanted to deny it, but in the deep I knew he was right. Besides, his blue eyes that shined despite the poor lighting in the place could make me reveal any secret. Matt looked at how my gaze moved down slowly, knowing that what he said was right, so he decided to put his hand on my shoulder, “Hey, it’s okey that you are afraid, but this is making you bad. It’s killing you. I don’t want to see you like this anymore. You know that you can count on me if you ever want to tell Harry how you feel” My gaze met his again and I smiled. How I loved him, it was indescribable, despite the little we talked, he was the person who I had most trust on. “Thank you” “You look beautiful today, you should be careful with the boys out there” His hand running over my body to my leg, and moving his thumb up and down, tracing patterns that, no matter how much I don’t want to admit it, they made me very hot.

When I came back to reality, I started to look for Harry with my eyes, I knew that if he found out that I was talking with his non-friend, he would he was going to punish me badly. But luckily, I saw that he was taking his ‘medicine’ with his friends’ drug addicts.

So, I brought my mouth closer to Matt’s ear and said “You know… you also look very cute today… I would like to take you somewhere..” I said seductively. “Oh yes? What are you doing with your boyfriend? He might get angry” “Shh.. I’ll take care of that later, for now, we should take this..” I said while grabbing his car keys that were too close to Matt’s clear budge. “And go to somewhere quieter”. Matt looked at me while I stood up from my seat and started going towards the entrance, every now and then looking back just to make sure he was following me. His eyes stuck at my ass, how that black dress accentuated my curves, and trying to guess what underwear I was wearing, just like he could see through my short dress.

“I love that plan” he said. He turned around to check if anyone was looking, and when he assured, he grabbed me and held me under my knees and behind my back. My lips curled into a smirk. He carried me all the way to the car. I loved how he could make me feel the happiness I’ve never felt with Harry, and he always does it naturally, just like he was meant to make people feel happy.

Matt grabbed the wheel with one hand, and the other one rested on my thigh. His gaze stayed on the road but sometimes strayed to me. I couldn’t stop looking at him. The way he would make me forget about everything made me happy. The tattoos embedded in his skin were exposed as he had rolled up his shirt sleeves. He was hot. One of the thousands of thoughts that ran through my mind were how delicate, brown, soft hair would look and feel in the middle of my legs, God, what’s happening with me? Harry must be worried because I’m not there with him. He would kill me if he knew I was going.. wait.. where are we going? I’ve never asked, and Matt just started driving. “Matthew, where are we going?” I wasn’t worried, I knew Matt would drive us somewhere safe, but just curious. “My house, darling, Chris and Nick, will come back on Monday, and I thought why not?” Oh god, home alone he said? I hope my whises will finally come true.

I knew it was fucked out, but I didn’t care, I needed a break from Harry. I needed to get away from him.

When we arrived, Matt got out of the car and ran quickly to open my door. He offered his hand and helped me to get out. “Wow, what a gentleman” I looked over my shoulder just to see a smirk on his face. We entered the house; it was my first time there. The place was very cozy, and it felt more like home than I ever felt at mine with Harry. Matt sat down on the couch and patted a place next to him, inviting me to sit there. I sat and hugged him gently, like a ‘thank you for this’. He turned on the TV and put on Netflix. “Wanna’ see anything, sweetheart?” “Anything is okay, I just wan’ be with you”. He looked into my eyes with that look that melted you, smiling with his light pink lips, and his white teeth were well aligned. I looked at him, and then at his slips, I’ve never paid attention to how good they looked, I wanted to kiss them.

He decided to put “Sister Death”. I’ve always been fan of horror movies, although I suffer a bit watching it, the sensation on my chest, little scares and the tension always, I loved it.

Matt grabbed a blanket next to him and covered both of us. Despite none of us were talking, the silence was comfortable, being with him relaxed me. He was always helping, listening and talking to me. Simply it was like having a person where you can be yourself and talk about things you don’t usually talk about.

We were watching the film cuddling, and every now and then a gasp leaves my lips, or I would get scared by something and jump a little. I was really into the movie, but every time I got a sight of Matt, anger was very visible, and it seemed like it was growing by everything I did.

“Everything alright?” I asked. “You should stop doing that” Matt turned his gaze to focus on me. “Do what? This?” I said before leaning forward his ear and started breathing heavily, moving slightly, simulating jumps. “You are driving me crazy” Matt said. “I know you love it”. I began to climb onto his lap. His hands that were previously on my shoulder, moved to my waist, squeezing it slightly and moving forward my ass. I cupped his face, my hands on his cheeks, smiling absolutely dazzled by his beauty. Every time I would get nearer to his face, I could feel his breath speeding up. “You are so pretty, y/n” “And you are so handsome”. He took one hand off my body to brush a few strands of hair away from my face. We stared at each other for a moment before I crashed my lips onto his, with a soft kiss that quickly turned into a much hungrier and fuller passion. His tongue licked my bottom lip to ask for permission. And that’s how we started to taste each other. My hips started to move back and forth, repeatedly and unconsciously, while he leaned me stronger and stronger on the clear bulge in his pants.

I took my lips off his to take a breath, Matt took advantage and began trailing kisses from my jawline to my collarbone, passing by my neck, leaving very visible hickeys. “Matt” I whispered. It was heaven, the delicacy with which he did it was unmatched. He never broke eye contact between the two. His hands started to explore my body until he reached the straps that held up my dress. He looked for approval, and I quickly nodded my head. Without thinking twice, he started to lower them, and he was taking his time, trying to make it the best way possible. The temperature rose faster and faster as our bodies met.

When he finally finished, he could see my body naked, only for him. His eyes traveled all over my body, along with his hands. “I need you” was the only thing I could think of.

It was a long, almost endless night. Every time our eyes met it was as if time slowed down. Our rapid breathing combined with my screams were like blessings to his ears. The bed being the only witness of the love and warmth between us. The fatigue never left, but the satisfaction was greater, making our experience endless. We both fell asleep in each other's arms, knowing that this had to be repeated, despite being prohibited.

☆

As the sun began to rise, I slowly opened my eyes to find Matthew sound asleep, holding me tightly as if he didn't want me to leave. But I had to. Harry must be worried because I left yesterday without telling him. So, I decided to get up, giving Matt a kiss on the forehead as a goodbye. I got dressed in my clothes but kept his T-shirt on over my dress. Before leaving his room, I looked back at him, and a deep sadness washed over me. I knew I couldn't be with him, no matter how much I wanted to. Harry was so toxic, and if I ever tried to leave him, he would chase me. I felt trapped. The feeling of not being able to break free haunts me every day.

When I got home, I saw Harry asleep on the couch. What did he want from me? I went to bed trying to figure out what I would tell him if he asked, but my mind couldn't stop replaying last night. All that passion between us. I decided to get some sleep, to wait for hell to come. A long time later, I woke up to Harry's yelling and pushing. He was always angry with me, but this time it was different, it was worse. I quickly got up, and Harry grabbed my hair, pulling my ear close to his mouth so I could hear his complaints. "Who the hell were you with yesterday?!" he yelled repeatedly as my eyes filled with tears and some rolled down my cheeks. The air was stuck in my throat, my body felt numb to the blows. "Answer me!" he continued to shout, but I no longer felt alive. Matthew's image in my head was the only thing keeping me awake. When Harry finally let go of me, after seeing that I was no longer crying or complaining, he walked away and went to the kitchen. He ignored me completely for the rest of the day, something I was grateful for.

The nights that followed were pure hell. He beat and abused me mercilessly, paying no heed to my desperate pleas. His cruel words sent my anxiety and depression soaring. I called in sick to work that week, but I was really drowning in tears, trying to mend the damage he'd done. Matthew had bombarded me with messages and calls, but Harry had confiscated my phone to keep me isolated and silent. Matt must have known something was wrong, but he was helpless without knowing my whereabouts or who to turn to. I had vanished without a trace, and whenever anyone inquired about me, Harry would lie and say I was ill, keeping up the facade.

On Saturday night, Harry announced we were going to a party. After what felt like an eternity, I was finally going to escape our house, my personal hell. I grabbed a pair of jeans and a black top, throwing on a jacket to cover the worst of it. As I stepped into the bathroom to change, I met my reflection. The marks of my suffering stared back at me ��� the cuts I'd inflicted upon myself, as if the abuse he inflicted wasn't enough. I was a stranger in my own skin, a frightened stranger. I quickly changed and started applying makeup to conceal the bruises and scratches marring my face. Tears streamed down my cheeks, falling into the sink. My hands trembled uncontrollably as I worked. Emerging from the bathroom, I stood by the door, waiting for Harry.

He descended the stairs and approached me, his grip tightening on my arm. "You've been very sick, but you're all better now, aren't you?" he sneered. I nodded, trapped beneath his power. "You better not take that jacket off and show anyone those marks, or you'll never leave this place again," he threatened. I nodded again, fear choking my words.

We arrived, and as we stepped inside, Harry took my hand. I wanted it all to end—the relationship with Harry, the lies, the abuse, the pain, the anguish. "Honey, I'm going to catch up with my friends. It's been ages," he said before leaning in and whispering, "Don't do anything stupid, or there will be consequences." I felt my body go weak for a moment. He smiled and walked away. I forced a smile in return and headed to the bar. "A glass of water, please," I said, scanning the crowd for a familiar face but finding none. I was alone, as always. When the bartender handed me the glass, I gulped it down as if I hadn't had water in days.

I watched Harry from afar, his scent filling the air. That familiar cologne that would be impossible to forget. I turned to find him standing behind me. "Hey," he said. Tears welled up in my eyes as I threw my arms around him. "What happened? Why weren't you answering my messages or calls?" After a moment, I pulled back. "Harry took my phone. He's been abusing me, Matt. I need your help." I cried uncontrollably. "What? What did he do to you?" he asked, his voice filled with disbelief. How could I possibly explain the hell I'd been living in? "Ever since that night...when we... Harry's been terrible. He hits me, calls me horrible names, and won't let me eat. He took my phone so I couldn't contact anyone." I buried my face in my hands as I spoke. Matt pulled me closer, his eyes filled with anger and sadness.

He began to scan the room, his gaze darting from person to person. "What are you doing?" I asked. Ignoring me, he started moving through the crowd. I had no idea what he was up to, but I followed him. When he stopped, I finally understood.

"What the hell do you want, and what are you doing with my girlfriend?" Matt ignored him, standing there defiantly. Confused and high, Harry stepped up to Matt, their eyes locking. "I said, what the hell do you want and what are you doing with my fucking girlfriend?" "You're going to regret calling her that," Matt snarled, punching Harry square in the face. A brawl erupted, and a crowd quickly gathered around them. I wanted to stop them, but I knew it would only make things worse.

"Matt, stop!" I screamed when Harry fell to the ground, motionless. His face was a bloody mess, and Matt's hands were covered in blood. "I hope you learned your lesson. Do you understand?" Matt demanded, yanking Harry up by his shirt. Harry nodded weakly and collapsed back to the ground. The combined effects of the drugs and the beating were too much.

Matt finally released him, and the party resumed as if nothing had happened. He found me and pulled me into a tight embrace. I was shaking, terrified of what might happen to him. "Let's get your things. You can't stay with him after what he's done," Matt said. I nodded, and we rushed to my car. As we drove away, we sat in silence for a moment. "You didn't have to do that," I started, but he cut me off. "I don't care what he might do to you or me. What matters is that you're safe with me now, and we'll face whatever comes together."

I couldn't believe it; I was finally escaping this living hell. Euphoria washed over me. I turned to Matt and smiled, and he returned the gesture as he started the car. "You shouldn't have had to go through all that he put you through," Matt broke the silence. I didn't know what to say. For so long, Harry had twisted my mind, making me believe I was the worst person in the world, that everything I did against him was deserved, and that I was worthy of even harsher punishments. He'd made me believe I deserved more than just his abuse, which is why, whenever I was alone, I would rush to the bathroom and inflict pain upon myself.

So lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice Matt gently taking my arm and rolling up the sleeve of my jacket. When he saw the scars, his eyes filled with a mixture of sadness and anger. He was heartbroken by the damage I had endured, and even more so by the fact that I had been hurting myself to please Harry.

"Y/N... why did you do this to yourself?" I still didn't have a clear answer. The recent events had been overwhelming, and I guess I had found a way to externalize my pain. Matt took my hand and kissed it. "I love you, and I want you to know that we're going to get through this together." I looked at him and smiled. His words were like balm to my soul, soothing my pain and filling my mind with hope.

"Thank you."

I've been wanting to post this for soo longgg. hope you like it.

love ya :))

[tempo-tales]

"I see, but I'm glad the tradition will continue in future generations."

The subject of the mysterious WonderWatch is almost concluded for Tempo, as more information is needed to understand how it works, but the help of the two watchmakers has been much more useful than she imagined. The maestro accompanies the men to return them to their rightful place. The first went to Yejun, where Tempo, with a whistle, a door appears in the middle of the great tower under construction.

"Sun-Yejun, your destiny here was to pass the balance test with Balan, but because of your ill-intentioned criminal action, judged by me you were to proceed, but already the situation worsened by stealing my watch."

"I'm sorry, miss" - he regrets with his head down.

"I forgive you, but not the rules of WonderWorld. So unfortunately you will no longer be able to return here until a possible new life. Your Humanity was already admonished in this world, so, at least you have Tale here.

"Tale?"

"The Tales of WonderWorld"-Dominic interjects in the conversation-"They are those books that keep the history of our lives, that's what Balan said."

"I see..." The interested Yejun mutters.

"You won something. But...your evolution has deserved something...you know" The maestro of Opportunity mentions with a little pride in her "Thank you very much, Alicia...no, Tempo."

"I hope your dreams come true, you still have time, for changes to come."

The man waves goodbye gently waving his hands as he walks to the door. Once he enters it, it closes and disappears.

Now, only the two of them were left, and Tempo with a snap, opens a hole.

"Mr. Dominic, I am very grateful for your patience. You shouldn't have been involved, but you helped both me and Yejun."

"Forgive the intrusion, but... that earring..." The old man brings his fingers close to the jewel.

"Ah? This one? This, I'd like to take it out, but I can't."

"You wouldn't mind if I checked it."

"All right."

The tall lady bends down, pulls her long hair back and the old man, with his monocle checks the earring in Tempo's right ear.

"No doubt about it...that's the earring my great-grandfather created."

"Huh?"

"Mmmm...I bet you got it from some relative of mine."

"Emmm...from my best friend...but, I lost the other one."

"I see, but I'm glad the tradition will continue in future generations."

"ª? What's that about?

"This jewel is made of a rare material of unknown provenance. He says it comes from a meteorite that fell on the house of an ancestor of mine. My great-grandfather created these earrings as a sign of marriage commitment. Ah, and now my eldest son gave them as a gift to his fiancée, and so it will be for the next generations."

Tempo, analyzing, realizes that Christopher is actually Dominic's direct descendant, since Guido, gave the earrings earlier to Lia, as a symbol of engagement without her knowledge. Tempo's white face blushes completely.

"Hahaha, so your boyfriend is my future direct relative?" What a coincidence, no?"

"No-no!!! He's my best friend...I guess...ah! He, he just gave them to me when we were kids!"

The old man pats the maestro's arm, looking at her proudly.

"Miss, I'm sure this boy still loves you. According to my intuition, there will be a time when the two of you will be reunited."

"Don't say that, if I see him...then, something bad will happen to him...and..."

"Oh? So it's a bad omen?"

"No, no. Well, it depends... mostly worse things happen when someone comes to my aid."

"If so, I know you'll help him, and try to talk to him if you want to so much."

"Mr. Dominic"-the girl sighs with disappointment-" I'm Tempo now. The Alicia you knew has already come to an end once a deal was taken. My mission will only be to help the visitors if it becomes possible."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Huh?"

"We'll let fate take its course, we'll be very excited to see."

"Excited?"-Tempo frowns in doubt before the old man's words.

"I retire to my stage, to my time. It was nice to hear that you are well. And...please make me forget everything that happened here. I don't want your past self and myself to feel confusion unintentionally."

"I will. May you be happy, in what's left of your life, sir."

"My pleasure, my dear lady. And I hope you find happiness with the man you love, my distant descendant."

"..."

The old man walks to the portal and disappears.

Tempo, heads for La Madriguera. Once seated in the tree where she always usually is, she sings while many tears turned Drops fall from her eyes, following the same circle of melancholy of a Maestro of Opportunity.

[pancho-pinto]

I think we'll be okay

gift for @lampinnit for @mcyt-trick-or-treat!

Fandom: Dream SMP Words: 1,089 Rating: General Warnings: No Warnings Relationships: Tommy & Tubbo & Ranboo Additional Tags: Tommy-centric, Hanging Out Summary: Tommy hangs out with Tubbo and Ranboo, and nothing really happens. After everything, that's all they can ever want.

fic under cut

Tommy looks at the sky, watching the sun set slowly. 

Ranboo and Tubbo are arguing about something dumb behind him, and the breeze touches his face, drying the sweat on his skin. He can feel the strain on his muscles, the weight of his sword on his hand feels semi-nice. His leather armor is light, and for once, he did not fight for the chance to live another day. 

No, not today. 

At Tubbo’s insistence, they rummaged through abandoned chests, pushed through cobwebs and got dirty under their fingernails looking for spare leather pieces. Worn and old and stained, but enough to make some armor. Their swords were chipped and wobbly, dull from having been inside chests so long, but they did not mind as they pulled them out, raising it to the air in an act of defiance. 

Things change, and one day, things are no longer what they were before. 

It’s still a sword, Tubbo’s words echo as they slashed the air carelessly, Ranboo hurriedly jumping out of the way for safety. Despite everything, it’s still a sword. 

Without its shine or its sharpness, without enchantments or engravings to claim ownership, they are still swords. 

So they grabbed a handful, rattling in their arms as they made their way through ruins. Memories flood their minds, yet the melancholy is replaced with something nicer, sweeter, softer. 

Ranboo gushes over a series they have been writing. Tubbo nonchalantly mentions some machinery capable of reaching the center of the world. And Tommy… Tommy talks about his sheep, a little friend he made a while ago. 

He looks at the horizon and remembers his cottage, something small and easy to keep-up with. For himself and his sheep. And he finds, after a while, that being alone is not so bad. He finds his friends when he wants, no interceptions, no fights. Just a couple hours together to goof around and be stupid. Then he goes home, then he comes back, then he goes home at will. 

He finds breathing easier. He finds existing easier. 

But the sun dips further, and the sky darkens. 

Tonight they will not go home instantly, rather, at Niki’s invitation, they will join her and Jack for supper. 

They do that often too. A couple hours together to eat and be. 

He looks forward to those nights, especially. Sure, being stupid with Tubbo and Ranboo is always nice, but a hearty soup and some warm bread beats anything. All day Niki and Jack would have spent in the kitchen to prepare this meal, and Tommy cannot wait for it. 

“Hey, big man, you alright over there?” Tubbo calls, voice followed by some footsteps. Closer, closer, and Tommy finds himself not flinching. He has not flinched for a while, none of them have. 

“Uh, not that I don’t care, but if you need a moment, maybe you could wait until we get to Niki and Jack’s place?” Ranboo adds, his tone always laced with worry. But there is that purr of an enderman under his voice, jarringly worried as always. “You– You know, mobs will start spawning and, uh, we don’t really– we aren’t really armed for that. Or anything, really.”

“What do you mean?” Tubbo questions, and his sword slashes the air as he unsheaths it. “I’ve my sword! And TNT! We’ll be fine, Ranboo!”

“Absolutely not to the TNT!”

“It’s good. Convenient. Clears up a wide area in a short amount of time. Do you know how well it is at clearing up space? And– And you shouldn’t worry, I have plenty of practice. I am practically an expert at TNT now. A– A TNT techni- tech… technizioner? No, that’s not– TNT techi… cian? TNT technician. That’s it. That.” 

“If Niki– Oh, if Niki finds out we got injured on the way, she’ll be upset! Plus, that’s just plain reckless. And, and– And unnecessary!”

Tubbo thumps with a huff, and Ranboo replies with enderian whizzing. 

These days, Tommy finds that he does not want to insert himself, even in petty, inconsequential squabbles. He finds, too, that watching is enough. Even fun, at times. Ranboo and Tubbo just have clashing personalities, and he is sure he would not trade them for anything in the world. 

They are worth it, after all. Despite it all. 

Tommy sighs, putting on a show of exasperation as he finally turns back to see them in a glare stand-off, and quickly tries to put an annoyed frown. He tries to clench his jaw and grit his teeth, but it hurts too much to hold for more than a second. In place, he crosses his arms. 

“Do you have to fight every time we hang out?”

“It’s not a fight,” Tubbo states with confidence. 

Then Ranboo adds quickly, an almost practiced routine between them, “Just a mere disagreement that will get resolved quickly.”

He rolls in his eyes, then gestures with his head towards the path, “Yeah, right, sure.”

They walk on rickety boards, the path rotting at the edges, vines and weeds slowly crawling over it. But it is familiar, and this is nothing they think about twice anymore. Just a path, the route to take them from one place to another. 

Tommy falls a step behind, allowing himself to reminisce despite knowing he should not. Because the bad comes with the good, but he cannot have the good without the bad, and he knows he is not ready yet to face all the bad like this. There is too much, so much that happened over a very long time, right on this path, this very world. 

He moved away long ago. Ranboo has too. Tubbo is still near. Niki and Jack are still the closest, seemingly able to move on readily. One of these days, he needs to ask them how they have drawn the line so clearly. And one of these days, he hopes he can move on too. 

Maybe he should gather his things and move as far as he can, far in the horizon where no one has been before. A change of scenery, putting distance between his past life and his future life. Start from zero. 

That is an option. 

Go the distance and never look back, that is an option. 

But those are thoughts for another day. For now, he looks back over his shoulder, looking at the spot where their broken swords and ripped leather littered the ground. A final look for tonight, for a moment. 

The sun falling under the horizon behind their bench.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

omgg lol [guy who won't stop going "more like scapeGOATED" voice] now hold! on!! lmao [same guy just saw encanto voice] Hold on!!!

[redpiperfox]

But mainly, and really:

[sakurarisen]

So just as a heads up! Please don't drop spoilers on me regarding Rebirth - I haven't preordered the game, but I'd like to play and form my own opinions when the game itself drops, just like I did with CCR. <3 I haven't even been following the trailers (THOUGH I NEED THAT LAST ONE, CISSNEI MY CHILD <3) because I dislike getting myself hyped about something I'm not going to be able to play right away, so I already know actually very little about Rebirth - And it'll probably stay that way until I play~!

I will say though, on behalf of @honorisen and myself, regarding our Remake verse/my blog's current primary 7 canon: Regardless of whats happens in Rebirth, we will be continuing to have Sunflower (ZackxSera) as our canon. Things will probably most likely be tweaked to take the new game's info into account, but as of right now, we've decided they will still be together and working together while caring for their sons, Shayan and Yuga. These tweaks will come only after we get a chance to both play the game, which may take a while due to Kasa's busy schedule and both of us having Genshin brainrot, but for the time being, this is what we've decided on going forward, for a lot of reasons.

Here's to hoping Rebirth is just as good as Remake! <3

~Pom

[fruitbatvalentine]

Making OC's for post WDGFIL Valentine to become friends with because he's a sad wet cat to me and deserves friendship

[mountaincryptid]

when will people learn to put songs on spotify as soon as they're out it's 2023

edit: okay greece is there now but i stand by the rest

[authenticaussie]

I think the reason I'm enjoying writing core4 so much is it's just, a bunch of only-child children with non-traditional family dynamics who are so sibling coded/we're roommates and have been for the past 63,136 years. DELIGHTFUL to me. They're all so goddamn stupid. I have decided Kon says traumatic things about Cadmus and Cassie/Tim/Bart turn to each other and play rock-paper-scissors for who gets to be angry about it this time.

[lupismaris]

No one gets under your skin and makes you feel sick quite like your siblings, and there's no numbness quite like the feeling of having to put a boundary firmly in place with a wide open door for them to walk through should they see it for one

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Fandom things I'm looking forward to:

Kingdom Hearts IV and Missing Link

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Final Fantasy IX Remake

Final Fantasy Tactics Remaster or Remake (whichever it is. I've heard both things)

The fourth Madoka Magica movie, whenever that comes out (seriously. Where is it? First it was announced as the Concept movie. Then it was re-announced years later with a new name, and it's still missing)

The Percy Jackson TV show

The Infernal Devices TV show

Maybe the Twilight TV show. Maybe.

The animated Smallville continuation that Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum are working on, whenever it comes out

I was going to put Baron and Toluca on this list (that's, like, a spiritual successor to the OG "Roswell" TV show. Majandra Delfino who played Maria in the show wrote the script, and she and Brendan Fehr who played Michael star in it. They're also planning for more Roswell cameos in later episodes), but it came out and I didn't even know it? But I have no idea how to watch it, though, as I guess it only came out in theaters in Albuquerque. Here's hoping it comes out on DVD or something...

The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

The alleged Firefly reboot

The new Daredevil show

The Batman Part II

The next part in Tom Holland's Spider-Man movies

The DCU, starting with Superman Legacy in 2025

The Five Nights at Freddy's movie and Help Wanted 2

The Iron Lung movie

The TV show that it sounds like Markiplier will be working on after he's done with the Iron Lung movie

The next Bendy and the Ink Machine thing being worked on

MAYBE the Hello Neighbor sequel. I know. I KNOW! (It's really only because the second game had to end on a cliffhanger.)

Five Nights at Candy's 4

Frozen III

Disney's "Wish"

The next and final season of the Clear Card arc of Cardcaptor Sakura

The new Avatar series (the one about the third Avatar in the cycle: the Earth bender)

The live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series, perhaps

The Chosen season 4

[mister13eyond]

still relationship ranting forgive me (it's all positive, more or less?)

it's also why it is really funny to me that people constantly talk about like 'i want to be in a relationship but i don't want [one specific part]' and it's like

you can just... you can just NOT do that part, then.

you can NOT cohabitate, if you think living with someone would take away your comfort with your living situation. you can not have sex if you don't want to have sex. you can use or not use any label, you can use or not use any terms of affection, you can choose your level of consistent contact you can choose your level of physical affection you can choose whether you want to make any long-term decisions like pets or marriage or children. you can choose whether you want to be exclusive or monogamous, you can choose whether you have multiple people involved, you can choose whether you make plans now or talk it out later, you can have an ongoing, long-term conversation where you check in periodically to see if anything has changed or if you want to change something.

like! i know the cishets tell us 'you fall in love with ONE person and you will KNOW when you are in love and you will ONLY ever love them FOREVER unless you FALL OUT OF LOVE and then you will be DOOMED TO A TRAGIC BREAKUP OR CHEATING'

but like in my personal experience... it's more like.... 'you will meet someone and you will feel like you are really connected to them and you get along well and you are attracted to them. you can then either nurture that feeling by spending more time together and testing out whether your initial connection is sustainable or you can let it pass through you and simply let things go wherever they go. then you can tell them how you feel, talk about what you think you'd like or not like, decide whether you want to prioritize your relationship and your time together over other, more casual connections in your life, and try it out. and you can talk about this any time something feels off. and you're not going to fall out of love spontaneously and for no reason when you were happy before; most of the time you'll notice that there's more distance between you and you're not as close or communicative as you were previously pretty early along that path. and you can THEN decide whether you want to say 'hey let's do more things together to help us bond and feel close and open up to each other' or you can say 'i think we've probably changed in a way where we're no longer on the same page with our relationship, do you want to figure out what we both need and adjust accordingly?'

which is like. it sounds so sterile and clinical but it's actually GREAT? feelings aren't this great big overpowering beast that you cannot wrangle; love is not a thing that will just spontaneously stop one day despite your desperate desire to still feel it. the more time you spend with someone and the more you support each other, the closer you will feel. the less time you spend and the less you support each other's needs, the further you will drift. you can 100% grow that garden to your own specifications and you can simply choose not to include sex or cohabitation or monogamy or labels or WHATEVER else and it's great because it's YOUR garden.

there is no one hard definition for any relationship and there is no one specific way to have a relationship. it's literally just seeing what feels right and then describing it in whatever terms feel right.