#who thought that it being released in 2022 was so far away

[margareturtle]

Idk what I’ll actually do with a tlkof release date?!!

Like you mean to tell me it’s real?!!

[rachelzeglertruther]

Why You're Wrong About Rachel Zegler

This is a long post, but there's a lot of context missing from the Rachel Zegler "discourse" that I thought I could add with my history of watching this unfold from the beginning.

The Snow White Thing

You probably know this part. There's a curated video of Rachel going viral, framed to make her seem like she's never seen Snow White, she hates the story, she hates the character, she's ungrateful, and single-handedly ruined Disney's brand. The clips from these videos are not new— they were released nearly a year ago in September 2022 and nobody cared about them at the time. Why? Because all the full interviews she did that day at the Disney Exo in 2022 showed a young, charming woman who was excited and proud to be cast in an iconic role. The interviews were very well received and it was a non story. Now that it's been edited down and cut together in a malicious way, and the people sharing them are purposefully misquoting her, they've twisted the context. Normally, this would be a non controversy. Even if that video wasn't taken out of context and spliced together to make her seem like she hates the film, most people wouldn't care. The issue is the response to the video.

Let's get this out of the way: Rachel Zegler doesn't hate Snow White. She relayed that she was afraid of the forest scene as a child and didn't revisit it again until after she was cast in the role. She has since then watched it several times and has expressed for YEARS before that interview came out that she was incredibly honored and grateful to be playing such an iconic Disney princess. If you watch the full videos that those clips came from, this comes across immediately to anyone with their own mind. If you hate someone for being scared of something as a child, I don't know what to tell you. If the role was being given to the biggest Snow White fan, you would be correct that she doesn't deserve it. Unfortunately for you, this role requires talent and Rachel has the Golden Globe and critical acclaim from people who matter within the industry (her peers and critics).

You know who does hate their beloved characters in beloved franchises but the general public still applauds them? Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Daniel Craig, and Robert Pattinson. They've all expressed outright contempt for the roles and the films they were part of, but nobody cared. People had fun with their quotes but they still respected them. Rachel said nothing even closely resembling their remarks, but she's being torn to shreds. Are we seeing a pattern here?

Rachel never said a single bad thing about the character or the animated film— she said that it was outdated and that set people over the edge, foaming at the mouth to have her burned at the stake. If you think it would be perfectly fine to have a movie about an abused 14 year old girl run away to play housemaid for a bunch of men, get kissed in her sleep/death by an adult man, and then wake up to fall into his arms in 2024, that's certainly a hot take. If you're against remakes, direct your ire at Disney. But if you truly think that plot would work with young girls today, you're the one who's out of touch. It would do far more harm than good to portray a young woman in that light.

She also never said that there was anything wrong with romance or love. She said that the new Snow White wasn't only dreaming of that. I can't stress enough that this wasn't her decision… she was describing the plot of the new film that was written by Greta Gerwig and approved by Disney. There's a prince in the film and he will also have a more developed personality and storyline. If you have a problem with the writing, wait until it comes out so you can write your strongly worded letter to Greta. If you have a problem with the concept in general, take it up with Disney. There's no need for you to be defensive over hurting the legacy of a multi-billion dollar company or a 87 year old cartoon written by a proud racist antisemite. This is the most confusing part of the hate campaign to me because it wasn't even her opinion— she was literally describing the plot of the film she had nothing to do with. It also isn't a new thing. Disney actors have been promoting their newer films this way for years.

It's perfectly okay to like things that are problematic. It's becoming an issue that we refuse to acknowledge that maybe some things we love are harmful. What we can't do is justify why it's not problematic, and in fact everyone who calls it out is the problem and NOT their precious cartoon. The 1937 Snow White was an amazing feat of animation. It's a classic for a reason. But it was also Hitler's favorite film and was directed by a white supremacist (the one who is "rolling in his grave" due to Rachel's existence, according to his son). Things don't exist in a vacuum and we can't ignore the bad parts.

How We Got Here:

The thing that everyone is missing is the source of this campaign. This started in September of 2020 when transphobic actor Gina Carano made fun of trans people by changing her pronouns to beep/bop.boop. Rachel indirectly called her out by coming to the defense of the trans community.

She never called out Gina by name (though she rightfully could have). Mind you, Rachel's first film hadn't come out yet. Nobody knew who she was outside of those of us who were anticipating West Side Story and were fans of her covers on YouTube. She was a "nobody" in the industry. Take this part with a grain of salt because I can't confirm it, but Gina and her fans directly blame Rachel for her being banned from Twitter. Again, I really don't think that matters as she's harmful to the trans community and shouldn't have a platform. What does matter is that fans of Gina (which, let's be real, are just fans of transphobia) have been stalking Rachel's every move since then. Unfortunately for them, there wasn't much they could use against her other than to call her woke and #snowbrown when she was cast a year later as the Disney princess. The noise has always been there, but unless you were a fan of hers, you probably didn't hear about it. It wasn't until two years after this that they had something else against her.

If you've recently seen a video of Rachel crying circulating that claims to be her reaction to the recent Snow White backlash, it's an old video. It's from a vlog from her youtube channel posted in June 2022. It was in response to these exact same transphobic anti-woke conservatives who thought that they had something when she did an interview on the red carpet of the Shazam premiere. When asked why she joined the DC universe, she responded "I needed a job." It was generally well received by most people who thought it was cute and funny, but those who were waiting in the shadows latched onto it as an excuse to send her death threats.

The video was also about a month after she was invited to present at the 2022 Oscars and was made to seem like she bullied the Academy (as a no name newcomer, mind you) into letting her attend. In reality, a fan left a comment on her Instagram asking what she was wearing to the event. She responded that she wasn't invited but would be rooting for everyone from her couch in her boyfriend's pajamas. It was the public who demanded she get an invite and the Oscar's must have agreed that it was very odd that the lead actress of a film that was nominated for Best Film wouldn't get an invite. Whether it was an oversight on their part or a scheduling issue with Rachel's filming, I truly think there was no malicious intent from either party. Keep in mind, she used to be very active with her fans (she's a huge fangirl of things herself and has always had a strong relationship with her fans) and she wasn't used to her comments becoming articles and national tv segments. This was the first time it happened to her. It appears she learned that she's not just a girl who posts on YouTube anymore and she's going to be put under a microscope for every move she makes. She has since shut down her Instagram comments and rarely interacts with fans outside of liking comments these days because of this.

I know this is long, but I need people to understand where this is all coming from. It didn't just happen out of nowhere. It's an orchestrated campaign built by violent conservatives, and thousands of women who saw Barbie this summer are hopping on the bandwagon to beat another woman into submission because they have a lot of internalized misogyny to deal with. She's not smug, you just hate women. It's okay to find people annoying, but it's valuable to look into why you think that. If you see a confident young woman expressing views that don't actually harm anyone and you think she needs to be "humbled" and "put in her place" by the entire internet dogpiling her, you've lost your mind. Using "body language experts" (fake job) to diagnose her as a psychopath is so vile. Everytime someone mentions her name online, the comments beneath it are full of the most violent, misogynistic, racist things I've ever seen. If you're contributing to that, you've chosen your side. Reevaluate or seek help.

I'm tired of seeing this happen to young women. We let this happen to Jennifer Lawrence, Brie Larson, Millie Bobby Brown, Halle Bailey, and Jenna Ortega. It's one thing to call out celebrities and hold them accountable when they're doing something actively harmful, but that's not what this is about. That's never been what this is about. We pick these girls to pieces and examine them and pull them apart to justify our hatred of young women who rise to success too quickly for our liking. We dogpile and try to stamp out the flame before they burn too bright. Barbie is still in theaters and you all loved it, yet you're demanding that a bright girl with a big future be small and submissive and humbled because you have issues. That's not feminism. You're just the girls who would have bullied Weird Barbie for using her hands too much when she talks.

[marmixedwithabitofintellect]

Chapter Six: New Adventures

Surprise Surprise! 🥹🥹🥹 I have missed you all so much and I am so happy to be back writing! This chapter has tested me in ways I could have never imagined, but I am so glad I finally finished and I'm sharing it with you guys 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼 I hope you enjoy it and I promise there won't be so much time in between postings ✨✨✨ As always, my inbox is open for you guys and please come talk to me about what you thought of the chapter! All the love, Mar 🤍

May 14, 2022 – June 13, 2022: Month Six

May 17, 2022

Harry. New York City, New York. 7:20 P.M.

The house hadn’t been this loud for a while, probably since Coachella. While Y/N was busy getting Pippa ready for bed, I was in the kitchen with Lambert and Jeff finishing dinner while Pauli, Niji and Elin helped us by setting the table. Mitch went to the airport to pick up Sarah and Glenne, while Ny Oh let us know she would be here later.

After placing the pizzas in the oven there were strong knocks coming from the door which had me laughing, as soon as I opened Glenne kissed my cheek quickly while removing her shoes and pouring some antibacterial gel, “Is she still awake?”, I smiled and nodded, Glenne reached in for Sarah, and they started making their way to the nursery.

I greeted Mitch while leading him to the kitchen, then made my way to the nursery. Once inside, I smiled and went to hug Y/N and kissed her temple, she squeezed my side and turned to kiss my chest, Sarah and Glenne were busy cuddling Pippa who was all smiles.

Y/N cleared her throat and started making her way to grab Pippa, “Okay little miss, say goodbye to your aunts, okay?”, Sarah and Glenne pouted and kissed Pip, then handed Pippa back, exited and closed the nursery door; Y/N settled into the rocking chair while I floated around the room making sure the monitor and fairy lights were on, then sat down next to her and kissed her knee.

She smiled and ran a hand down my face before turning to look at Pip before whispering, “How is she six months old already? It still feels surreal, like six months ago we were learning to give her a bath”, I smiled, and nodded, “Time has gone by so fast, and doing this with you has been the best experience ever”, she smiled and blew me a kiss, “I love you Harry”, I squeezed her hand, “I love you too Y/N”.

Once we settled Pippa in her bassinet, we closed the door and went back into the living room to have dinner with our friends. Once everyone had their dinner plates served and found a place to seat, I reached for my glass and cleared my throat, “Well hello everyone! Thank you for being here; I am glad to have you all here, especially because we still had to celebrate and welcome Jaffra to the band!”

Cheers were heard all over while Jaffra gave us a smile and a silent thank you; once the cheers were done everyone was looking at me again, I smiled and sighed, “So… we’re just three days away from the release of the new album- “, I smiled as cheers and hollers were heard around the living room.

I cleared my throat, “And once the album is out, chaos will surely ensue; between the One Night Only shows and the beginning of tour, this will be a few busy weeks, but I am forever grateful to have you all here with me”, Mitch then said “Here, here!”, I smiled before placing my glass at the table.

“We are about to embark the biggest year of tour so far; with the residencies, Latin America, Australia, Asia and back to Europe it will be a hell of a year, but I trust that we have a great team and things will go on smoothly”, everyone nodded while I took a deep breath, “However, I really feel the need to ask a selfish favor from you”.

Everyone, except for Jeff and Y/N nodded, “I need you guys to promise that you will have the best time, that you will enjoy everything, the good, the bad and the worst, to give your everything into every show, every rehearsal and every travel, because… because I honestly don’t know if this will be the last time we will do this”.

Y/N squeezed my hand and kissed my cheek, “This has been, a very wild ride, and to be honest with you... life has changed so much this last year, and I really don’t know where we’ll be tomorrow, but what I do know, is that right this second, this is where we are supposed to be”, there were nods all over the place, “So once more, let’s cheer to welcome this last adventure with Love On Tour!”.

May 19, 2022

Harry. New York City, New York. 11:55 P.M.

“Drive safely guys! See you tomorrow!”, Glenne and Jeff gave me another wave as the elevator closed, I also closed and locked the main door and leaned mt forehead taking a deep breath, I then walked to the kitchen, made sure that all lights were off, and trash was put away then made my way to the master bedroom.

I expected for Y/N and Pip to be sleeping but was surprised when I opened the door and saw Y/N sitting up and looking out the window and the anxiety I felt when Glenne asked me to go with her to the nursery returned. I sat next to her in bed and reached to run my hand down her face, she turned to see me and gave me a small smile.

“Hi baby, everyone gone?”, I nodded and kissed her cheek before whispering, “Yes, everyone asked me to say goodbye and that they can’t wait to see you tomorrow”, she nodded and sighed while reaching for my hand and giving it a squeeze.

I placed another kiss to her cheek before whispering, “You okay?”, she nodded and turned to see me, “Yeah, just tired, all the excitement and the long nights drained me”, I nodded while she continued to talk, “Let’s go to bed yeah? You need your rest too”.

I sighed defeatedly and nodded my head, then made my way to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Once outside I leaned into the bassinet to see Pippa, I smiled then leaned to kiss her cheek softly before pulling back and getting into bed, Y/N joining me a few seconds later.

We both made sure our alarms were one before cuddling into our pillows, I pulled her by the waist and nuzzled her neck, she made sure she was comfortable before letting out a breath and kissing her cheek before whispering, “I love you, and I’m here for you baby, whatever you may need”.

May 21, 2022

New York City, New York. 7:30 A.M.

The smell of fresh coffee pulled me from the slumber I fell into after feeding Pip at around three. I got out of bed and made sure she was still sleeping then left the room, leaving the door was ajar. I then started walking to the kitchen where I could hear Harry humming and cooking.

When I entered, I started making my way to stand behind him and placed a kiss between his shoulder blades, then wrapped my hands around him, he reached down to kiss my hands before whispering, “Good morning baby”, I smiled and placed another kiss, “Hi you, I missed you in bed”.

He laughed a little and turned off the stove, served breakfast and grabbed the plates while I grabbed the coffees before making our way to the table; we started eating in silence, placing little kisses in each other’s hands before he cleared his throat, “How are you?”, his eyes were hopeful on me talking to him.

I sighed and wished I could ignore the elephant in the room but knew it would not be worth it, “I’m not okay, I’m very sad and disappointed”, I sniffled, he reached to clean my tears, “Baby, maybe you should talk with Ellie, or even your dad”, I shrugged my shoulders, “What good would it do? She still belittled me and my baby”, I sniffled, “I get it, I am her disappointment but that little girl sleeping in her bassinet is not guilty.”

He nodded and kissed my temple then rested his forehead against it, I continued to speak up, “I just don’t understand, how can she see her and still pretend she doesn’t exist; isn’t she curious? Like doesn’t she want to know who she is, who she looks like, if she has any personality quirks from me?”

Harry ran his hand down my back then whispered, “I wish I could go back in time and give her a piece of my mind, be sure to protect you both from her; above all I wish I could take away your pain and sadness because you don’t deserve it, and I’m sorry that I couldn’t.”

I smiled in appreciation and reached for a napkin, “I will be okay, I promise you, but I need to feel sad and process this, okay?”, he nodded and squeezed my arm, “However you Mister should start to finish your suitcases, okay? Us girls are already packed, and we leave in about seven hours”, he laughed, then stood up and started clearing the table, “Fine, I will pick this up and will finish packing, okay?”

I nodded then left the kitchen and went into the room and smiled when I noticed that Pippa was slowly rousing form her sleep, “Oh hi baby! good morning my girl how are you?”, she cooed once I pulled her into my arms and started leaving slobbery kisses on my face, “Are you hungry? Yeah? Let’s go eat, then we will have some tummy time and then we’ll get ready, and you’ll nap before our flight because we are leaving for London!”

Pippa smiled and we switched sides, “Oh look at that smile! You’re so happy to go to London huh? I am too, I miss our family so much”, our family, as warmth spread through my chest I turned down and smiled at her, “Yeah baby, our family, the one who chose me and love you because you are their blood, the ones we deserve and will love us forever.”

May 22, 2022

Harry. London, England. 12:45 P.M.

We had been back in London for less than 48 hours and it felt so good just to be home. Even if there was so much chaos and things to get ready, being back with family made the whole travel worth it. My mum had made sure that our fridge and pantry were stocked as soon as we arrived then left some dinner ready for us.

I was finishing setting the table while Y/N got Pippa ready while we waited for our guests to arrive; after setting down some wine glasses the doorbell rang and I smiled when I opened it and saw our first arrival, “Dad! Welcome, come in!”, my dad smiled and hugged me, then proceeded to remove his coat and hang it on one of the available hooks.

“Harry! How are you son? I hope I am not too early?”, I shook my head and we started making our way to the living room, “Not at all, just finished setting the table and waiting for my ladies to be ready, little one woke from her nap a little ago”, he smiled and before he could speak, a voice carried over from the stairs and into the living room.

“I hear that someone is asking for the girl of the hour?”, Y/N appeared with Pippa in her arms and gave my dad a smile while walking to where he was standing, “Des! Welcome! It is so good to see you!”, my dad met her halfway and pulled her into a half hug, “Hello darling, it’s so good to have you guys back here.”

I smiled when I realized that Pippa was giving my dad a very curious look, but still held on to her mum’s arm, she laughed a little and bounced her while my dad offered her a smile and coo, Y/N spoke up, “Who is that baby? Is that your grandad? Do you wanna say hello?”, my dad reached for her and started kissing her cheek, while Pippa patted his cheek.

The doorbell rang again and as Y/N went to open I went to stand next to my dad and Pip, she offered me a smile and I chuckled a little, my dad ran a hand down her head, “Oh she’s definitely a daddy’s girl huh?”, I nodded and reached to kiss her cheek, then turned to look at him, “I mean yes, but as soon as she sees her mum, dad is out of the picture”.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Y/N come into the living room followed by Gemma, Michal and my mum; we all said our hellos and sat down in the living room for a little, Y/N left to check how lunch was coming along and when she came back she sat next to me, I kissed her temple and continued talking with Michal.

Gemma cleared her throat and reached out her arms to grab Pippa, who was still happily being held by my dad, my mum going to sit next to him and cooing at her hoping to coax a few smiles and giggles, “Okay can the grandparents share her with her fave aunt?”, my mum shook her head and my dad placed a kiss on Pippa’s forehead before handing her to Gemma, who was smiling so big and kissing all over her face while the baby cooed at her.

“I can’t believe she can laugh now”, my mum nodded along with my dad who was smiling at the baby as he spoke, then added, “Before we know it she will be crawling and walking and talking”, I shook my head and pouted, “Nope, not happening, we have been discussing the fact that she needs to stay this little forever”, Y/N shook her head but before she could add anything else left for the kitchen to get the pasta out of the oven.

“H! It’s ready!”, I nodded to the direction of her voice then turned to our guests, “Okay everyone lunch is ready, so let’s go to the dining room”, we all started walking towards the lovely smells and took our seats at the table, Y/N went to grab Pippa and promised Gem she would give her back as soon as she ate, the took her seat next to me and settled Pip in her lounger.

After a delicious lunch and an even better conversation, we all moved back to the living room to have some dessert and tea; Gemma laid with Pippa, Y/N, and my mum on her little playmat for her tummy time while the rest of us scattered in the couches around. My mum then turned to look at me and asked, “Is everything ready for your show?”

I nodded while I sipped on my tea then left it on the coaster, “Pretty much, we will do a visit to the venue tomorrow and Tuesday will be packed before the show; I’ve arranged for a van to pick you all up so that you can all come together, is that okay?”, everyone nodded then continued to enjoy their dessert.

It was around seven that we said our goodbyes and once I made sure my mum was distracted, I nodded at Gemma, who came to stand next to me and whispered, “So, still up for babysitting tomorrow?”, she nodded then turned to make sure mum was not coming, “Yup, will be here tomorrow at around 5 okay?”, I nodded and then we said our goodbyes; once I made sure they were all on their cars I licked the door and went upstairs to join bedtime routine.

May 24, 2022

London, England. 10:30 P.M.

I closed the nursery door and made sure that the monitor was on before making my way downstairs where friends and family were digging into the catering we had ordered for after Harry’s concert, which by the way, had been such an eclectic event.

Once I entered the kitchen, I was greeted with a plate served by Anne, I smiled in appreciation and she squeezed my arm before taking a sip of her drink, “Baby went down, okay?”, I nodded and finished chewing before answering her, “She did, I was worried she would wake up once I transferred her, but she must’ve been so tired.”

She chuckled in agreement and gave me a soft smile, a few seconds later I felt someone pull me into a chest and kiss the back of my head, I smiled and settled myself against his side and kissed his peck, “Hello superstar! Enjoying your party?”, he nodded and opened his mouth, I fed him a bite of my sandwich and while he chewed Anne and I continued to discuss our plans for the weekend.

After swallowing his bite, he gave me a soft squeeze and then turned to look at Gemma and asked her to come over, Anne gave us a curious smile and I reached to squeeze her arm, she then asked us, “Is everything okay?”, we nodded and Harry spoke up, “We just want to talk to you all, is that okay?”, they both nodded and we made our way to the foyer, where we knew we could talk privately.

Des and Michal also joined us, and Harry cleared his throat before speaking up, “So… we have been keeping a secret from you guys”, my mum gasped before excitedly whispering, “Are you pregnant?”, we both chuckled and shook our heads, “No, we’re not pregnant, but we hope to have more babies later on.”

Anne nodded and asked us, “Well, are you guys okay?”, Harry nodded and smiled, “Yeah mum… uhm we have been speaking about our future as a family, and where we want to settle”, Gem was smiling while my mom gave us a hopeful smile, Harry continued, “So… we have been viewing a few properties in different locations, and…”

Anne gave us an excited but careful nod and harry turned to look at me, I smiled and kissed his hand, which was laying on my shoulder then turned to look at our family, “We just put an offer for a house”, before they could speak up, I added, “Here, well actually, a few blocks down”, everyone’s eyes opened so big, Anne was stuck in her place while Gemma pulled us into a hug followed by everyone else.

Anne stood frozen in her place with some tears falling from her eyes, Harry walked carefully next to her and as soon as she could she pulled him into her arms, and a few seconds later she pulled me into her arms too, then whispered, “I cannot believe this! I honestly had made pace with the idea of only seeing you three every few months, but the fact that I will be able to see you when we feel like it? It’s just priceless.”

We pulled back and turned to look at everyone, Des spoke up, “So what’s next?”, Harry smiled, “Well, we have to wait and see if the offer will be accepted, Olive our real estate agent said it could take anywhere from weeks to months, so it’s a waiting game”, Gemma smiled, “Well, I cannot wait for us to be able to go house shopping”, I laughed, “I’ll definitely let you know Gems”.

May 28, 2022

Harry. London, England. 10:30 A.M.

“See you in a few mate!”, Jeff nodded and continued to walk with the personnel from BBC while I made my way to the entrance to collect Y/N and Pippa, as soon as I saw her she gave me a big smile and I pulled her into a kiss and hug, then we started to make our way back to my dressing room.

Once inside I lifted the blanket covering the stroller and smiled at the sleeping baby; not wanting to disturb her sleep I let the blanket fall again and walked to sit with Y/N on the couch, once I settled her on my lap, I started kissing her cheek repeatedly while she let out some squeals and little laughs.

A ping from her phone had me pulling back and reaching for my phone to see if I had any new notifications. She took out a deep breath and squeezed my arm before chuckling, I turned to look at her and gave her a questioning look, she settled on my lap and whispered “Harry…”, u hummed and kissed her nose with my eyes closed.

She whispered again, “They accepted the offer”, I opened my eyes and smiled at her, my eyes asking her to confirm what she just said, and she nodded before speaking up, “We got our house H”, I stood up and pulled her into a hug while we spun, making sure to keep quiet for the baby. I stopped and whispered against her lips, “We got our house baby”, she nodded and placed a chaste kiss then whispered, “We got our house”.

June 11, 2022

Glasgow, Scotland. 7:30 A.M.

A whimper coming from the monitor pulled me out of bed, I grabbed my sweatshirt then made my way to the adjoining room where we had created a nursery for Pippa, turned on the lamp and cooed at the crying baby, “Oh no baby what are those tears for huh? We’re here for a dress-up party for your daddy!”

I settled on the bed and removed my sweatshirt and shirt so I could feed Pippa, who latched immediately, “Oh you were hungry huh? I’m sorry baby I am such a meanie huh?”, she turned to look at me and my eyes watered, I still could not understand how I could love her so much.

Once she finished, I changed her diaper and we left her room and ordered some room service, the turned to pull out the little cake, candles, and balloons I bought yesterday while sightseeing with Glenne. As soon as I finished setting up room service arrived, and I went into our room to wake him up.

With Pippa in my arms, I walked to my side of the bed and settled with her on the bed, once she saw her dad she squealed and I laughed, then placed her next to Harry’s face, “Come on baby say, ‘Dada wake up!’”, she started aggressively patting his cheek; he let out a deep breath and chuckled, “Morning baby girl! hello you!”, he turned around and pulled her into his lap, she smiled and he pulled her in for a kiss then turned to look at me, “Hi baby.”

I smiled and leaned to kiss his lips then whispered, “Hi, breakfast is ready, wanna come out?”, he nodded then handed me the baby, went to the bathroom and as soon as he came out, we headed to the living room. He stopped on his tracks and smiled at the decorations I set out for him and pulled me into a hug.

We sat down and started eating breakfast, then I lit up the candle and before he could blow it I cleared my throat, “I just want to say that I’m so proud of you, it is amazing to be a witness to your radiance and happiness and to be able to love you at the end of everything”, I sniffled and he squeezed my hand and reached for Pippa.

“I know that we won’t be able to be with you every single date physically, but I need you to remember that we are always with you here”, I placed my hand over his heart and he sniffled before whispering, “I love you Y/N more than words are able to express it, and I know I repeat it a lot, but I truly will never ever be able to repay you for everything.”

I pulled him in for a kiss, then left a bunch of smooches on Pippa’s head before pulling back and whispering, “Now before you blow your candles, I want for you to make a wish for this tour, okay?”, he nodded and closed his eyes, then blew out the candle. Pippa and I clapped a little then kissed his cheek before speaking up, “Okay my love, you have about four hours until we have to be at the arena, so take your time getting ready, okay?”, he nodded then pulled me up, “How about we settle her for a nap then enjoy the tub for a little?”, I nodded then followed him.

June 11, 2022

Harry. Glasgow, Scotland. 7:45 P.M.

The murmur of the crowd was enough for my hands to tremble harder than they already were before and I could feel the sweat falling down my spine; I had been ready for a while and met my band for our pre-show ritual, and hugged my family, but right now the only thing I wanted was to hug my girls.

Speaking of, they have been on my dressing room for a while because little miss Pippa had an explosive accident, so I knew that’s where I would find them. As soon as I entered Y/N offered me a smile, however it disappeared when I started sniffling and making my way to them, “Baby what’s- “, I didn’t let her finish before I pulled her into a hug.

She started running her hand down my back while cooing at me, “Baby it’s okay, take a deep breath”, it took me a few moments, but I calmed down and we pulled back; she ran her hands down my cheeks and cleaned my tears.

Before I could speak up a shriek had us looking at the baby laying on the cushions next to us, Y/N laughed and pulled her into her arms kissing her head, “Were you missing us baby? we could never forget you huh?”, I smiled and handed Pippa my fingers to chew on, Y/N whispered, “Feeling better?”, I nodded, “so much.”

We stayed like this until Jeff came to get us, I pulled her up with me and we walked all the way to the side of the stage, we turned to look at each other and smiled, she spoke up, “We’ll be watching from the box, yes?”, I nodded and kissed Pip’s cheeks and her lips three times, “I love you baby, I’ll see you after okay?”

She nodded and I started making my way to the back of the stage and stopped on my tracks when I heard her scream my name, I turned to look at her, “Yes?”, she smiled, “Welcome to Love on Tour 2.0; break a leg handsome.”

Taglist @adoredeanna @alienorknight @be-with-me-so-happily @behindmygreyeyes @cherrylovesblog @karenarella22 @daphnesutton @dayxoxodreamer @dirtytissuebox @futuristicpalacegardenpsychic @goldenlouvr @groovychaosavenue @harrysficreblog @harryspirate @hoya122 @imaginesofdreams @i-got-the-cinema @infinitely-yellow @irelilien @itsgabbysblog @itsgigikay @itsmytimetoodream @jgoff717 @kathy522 @last-saturday-night @michellekstyles @msolbesg @shawnsblue @sunshinemoonsposts @tinydeskwriter @tinydestinybear @tpwkstyles1d @voosa @watercolorskyy @wherethehellhaveyoubeenharry

[elvisabutler]

she's there watching for me

fandom: elvis 2022 | elvis presley rating: m pairing: elvis presley ( big daddy flavor ) x female reader word count: 2593 warnings: p in v sex ( unprotected ). insecurity regarding weight. the word fat being used in the narrative. implied breastfeeding kink. light sub elvis. mommy kink. light dom reader. implication that elvis is girthier than normal when he hasn't had release in a while. brief mention of pills/detoxing. elvis is a selkie. bit of fingering. use of the words mama and baby boy. a hefty chunk of belly worship. author’s note: welcome to day 3 of ally’s wet hot smut summer, mommy kink with selkie elvis presley x reader. so for context i feel like i need to make it clear, so the original selkie au i wrote was set pretty much in a timeframe of about 1971 to 1973. basically allowed y'all to read it and decide which age you wanted elvis at. i erred more toward '73 in my mind mostly because that was pretty close to 40 and i had made the comment in the fic about him being surprised he got that close to forty. that being said, this means the more time that passed in the universe the closer i was getting to 1977. i— have never intended this to have a sad ending. honestly if y'all must know out of all the series i've inadvertently written, this has the most gentle ending other than spark for elvis as far as when he eventually dies. so this takes place in an alternate 1978 where elvis is still alive and is about big daddy build. there is also a hint to the future breastfeeding kink fill and a little surprise in here. know that— the fact that a certain name does not have the middle name attached to it is important. also if you have no idea what this series/verse is, the masterlist is right here. beyond that long winded author's note, special thanks to @stylespresleyhearted and @eliseinmemphis for being my feral little gremlins. to @prompted-wordsmith for being seal!!! always and to my discord wives, birdy, christi and marina, y'all know i love you till the end of time. also once again, i really do love how y'all liked this and received it and live to see your thoughts on my writing.

"Mama." A sleepy murmur leaves Elvis's lips, a pout firmly planted on them as he feels your side of the bed. It's empty and starting to chill, a common occurrence when you're not occupying it. You always forget that he's a bit of a light sleeper until a certain hour of the night when you think his brain and body finally shut off. That hour of the night was at least two hours away but you were for once experiencing your own sleeping issues caused by one Lisa Marie, one John Baron and one little Jesse. A bit of a bug had found itself circulating around the younger three in the house and you found yourself taking care of your little seal pups. After all you were if nothing else, a good seal wife. A good seal wife who happens to be sneaking into your own bedroom like a guilty woman.

"You should have already been sleeping. Didn't you keep telling me how exhausted you were?" You ask, sliding into bed next to Elvis, your hand cupping his face. "I think you dozed off on the way home from the concert."

Elvis can't help but flush a bit in embarrassment as he looks at you, trying to come up with some excuse. "Can't— Feel all keyed up...ya know how I get 'fter a show. Can't go swimmin' to burn it off." He licks his lips, watching the way your chest moves up and down in your nightgown, "jus' worried 'bout how the paper's gonna talk 'bout me."

"It's Memphis, Elvis. They're not going to talk about you like everyone else, you're their son. Honorary King of the city," your hands move to his front, brushing against his stomach, marveling at the feel of the silk of his pajama top and how it reminds you of his skin. "That why you're wearing a shirt to bed? Hiding it away from me?"

It meaning his stomach. Elvis looks away and shrugs. "Mama— don't. I know 'm still packin' on some weight." He had thought when he met you it was just his body betraying him, trying to blubber up like a true seal and it had fluctuated enough as you helped him sweat out his uppers and his downers and everything that wasn't strictly required. He thought maybe you'd get something resembling the man you met all those years ago.

But you always take such good care of him and he should have realized that when you made sure he was well fed with his pups that his own body— his genetics would rear their head and he'd stay a stocky and fat sort of man no matter what exercise he did. Damn human body seems to think he needs blubber as much as he does as as a seal.

"And? Are we not married? Did I agree to love you no matter what?" Even as you try and answer a little flippantly your eyes dart across his face and his body looking for a tell-tale sign that you pushed too hard with that retort but only see a shrug. "I know my pussy doesn't have your tongue, so Elvis— you want to answer?"

"Yes, Mama," he whispers, shifting in the bed a little at the way your tone shifts from purely loving to one that's just commanding enough that he has to focus on breathing and willing his cock to stay down. You're both exhausted but damn if lil Elvis isn't wanting to bury himself so tight in your snatch that he has no choice but to sleep afterward.

At the word Mama you feel your toes curl just a little bit at how it sounds leaving his lips. It's not the first time he's ever called you Mama, after all, you are the step mother to his daughter and the mother to his sons. There's something in his tone though, something that has your body strumming with what you've affectionately dubbed your seal wife sense that tells you something is off. This is different. "You don't have to call me Mama when we're not talking about the pups, Elvis."

Elvis's tongue darts out to lick at his lips as one of your breasts finally makes an escape from the top of your nightgown. You hear the sharp inhale of his breath before without warning his face burrows into your chest frowning at how they don't feel full of milk and pulling you close as his arms wrap around you. "Ain't callin' ya it 'cause of the pups, Mama."

A shiver passes through you at his hot breath against your chilled chest. He's not just calling you Mama because of the pups. You're— you take care of him as well as anyone would take care of a baby boy, don't you? You make sure his meds are taken, make sure no one takes advantage of him when he doesn't want to bother with particulars. You make sure everything is in tip top shape with him and everyone around you. You're his Mama too, aren't you?

Your words come out a unintentionally a little shaky, your nerves starting to get the best of you before you finally ask a simple question. "Do you want Mama to take care of you? Show you how much she loves you?"

Elvis very rarely sounds like a seal when he's in his human form. He very rarely can make the specific vocalizations he needs to in order to achieve it but sometimes even with his body in his human form, he can manage it. You swear you see a flash of his skin, almost as if he wants to shift before you hear the whimper and whine against your skin in between kisses to your chest. "Please."

Denying Elvis isn't something you're good at since you came back together and especially since you've been married. He is the love of your life, the seal to your seal wife but you need to have the control today, he needs to cede over his control to you for you to take care of him. It's with that knowledge in hand that you push him away from your chest even as you hear a growl and a whine fall from his lips. Your hands push on his chest, forcing him to lay down even as one hand moves to unbutton his shirt, exposing his chest hair to you first and then exposing his stomach— that filled out out swell that tell the story of how you're taking care of him and damn anyone who'd say anything different about it even if you know sometimes his body acts up and makes things twist and turn and hurt him. Your hands run through his chest hair as you move to kiss his lips and down his neck to his chest where you nip at both his nipples earning two short barks of surprise. When you reach his stomach you feel him shift more, his hips bucking just a little as if to distract you and get you to move down to his aching cock that you haven't even touched but is pressing against the bottom of his stomach. Precum starts to smear against the underside of his stomach and he needs you do something to it.

"Did Mama say you could move, baby boy?" You coo as you rub his stomach, hands forcing the silk of the shirt completely away and exposing his bare torso to you. "Let Mama show you how much she loves this. How she has to stop herself from grinding her beaver on it. You'd like that, wouldn't you, baby? Want Mama to come on this big stomach of yours? Have the hair on it all shiny from my come?"

As you talk you feel yourself growing more and more aroused, your underwear quickly becoming drenched despite him not even touching you. You can't help but grind a little against him, leaving a little wet spot where your nightgown and underwear block your body from his. A whimper that almost sounds like an angry growl leaves his mouth as he tries to keep himself from moving. His hands itch to grab your hips, to tear your panties off in a fit of animalistic fervor and bunch up your nightgown so he can sink his cock between your folds and feel just how drenched for him you are. What he does do is move to take off his pants only to have your hand grab at his wrist. "Patience."

"Ya teasin', Mama," he grunts out a warning, trying to act as if he's not cededing all control to you. You aren't focusing where he needs you to and that just won't do. "Gonna come in my pants if ya don't do somethin'. Wanna feel that tight—"

His words are cut off when you use the grip you have on his wrist to bring his hand to between your legs, his fingers easily gliding into your glistening cunt. The only thing that leaves his mouth is a groan of pleasure, his head falling back as he allows himself to play with your clit. You don't stop him.

"So needy, my baby boy." You tease as you maneuver to take off his pants, pulling them down just enough that you can hear the smear of his cock against his stomach. Hear how he's leaking so much already that you won't really even have to prep yourself. You had originally planned to suck at it, to put it in your mouth until it managed to stand at attention but that isn't needed tonight, is it? No, he's ready and aching and throbbing in your hand as you grip it. Your other hand moves to lift up his stomach just enough to fully expose his cock as you slide the foreskin down to reveal it in all its glory. You can't help but lick your lips and clench around Elvis's fingers.

"Christ, Mama." He curses as his cock twitches, begging to be buried inside of you. He pulls out his fingers and moves them to his mouth, watching you with hooded eyes and labored breaths as he sucks on them, tongue taking in every last bit of your juices. His fingers leave his mouth with a pop. "Taste so fuckin' sweet. Please help me out."

"Don't I always?" The words slip from your lips with a smile as Elvis's eyes look up at you through his eyelashes and he gives you the same answering smile. You take a moment to pull yourself on top of him and situate yourself before you sinking down ever so slowly. Your breathing sync up, becoming shorter as you get more and more of his cock inside you. This isn't the first time you've had sex, far from it but it's the first time Elvis has truly given you this much control over what's happening between you. A whisper of his name escapes your lips as you move down to kiss him softly at first before worrying his bottom lip between your teeth. It reminds you of your first kiss with him and from how he shakes underneath you— you think he remembers too. "Baby boy, you're— you feel bigger than normal. You've been needing Mama that bad all night? Got it all pent up inside you?"

He nods, not trusting how his voice is going to sound. Figuring it'd take on a high pitched quality it hasn't had since he was first starting out or even from before then. You might be his Mama and he's your boy that you take care of so well but— he can't let ya hear him like that. Almost as if you sense he's holding back, one of your hands moves to cup his face, brushing your fingers against his sideburns until you reach his hair. You yank just a little at some of the strands and force him to look at you. "Don't— don't hold back for mama. Let it all out, baby boy. It isn't healthy to hold back. Let me hear you while I help lil Elvis feel better."

It's then that the floodgates open, a string of curses and growls and every noise in between leaves Elvis's mouth as you bounce in his lap, clenching your cunt every so often in between bounces. Elvis's own hips can't be contained as he thrusts up against you, earning more than a few shouts from you as you feel him deeper than he ever has been. You know from how keyed up both of you are that neither of you is going to last long, but you don't want Elvis to come before you. No, you want to come on his cock, drenching it with your release before you feel his warm release coating your insides.

"Mama— gonna come. Gotta— gonna burst. Fuckin' beaver so goddamn tight and ya tits just bouncin' like that all empty, can't even suck 'em." His words are practically gibberish but you can't help but huff out a laugh even as you grab his chin and force him to look at you, his pupils blown, lips shiny with spit and forehead with a sheen of sweat.

"Not till Mama says. Be a gentleman. Be a good boy for Mama," you practically croon at him even as your voice lilts up just a little. "Mama wants to come on your cock. Can you help Mama do that?"

"Yeah, Mama, I—Wanna help ya. Do so goddamn much for me, let me—" His words get eaten up by your lips on his and the moan you let out against them when his hand moves past his belly and your own to play with your clit, the calluses on them adding just enough friction that you don't even have time to warn Elvis before your orgasm comes, your pussy squeezing his cock tighter than it ever has as your release covers his fingers and his cock. You haven't felt the warmth of his come yet, though, and you know he's being good. Being the best boy he could be for the best mama he thinks you are. You struggle to catch your breath but manage to say one word.

"Please."

Somehow he knows what you mean by the word. Somehow he knows it's you giving him permission to finally come and release every bit of tension and insecurity that's kept him up tonight. He comes with a roar— or maybe it's a bark, but all you know is that it sounds so animalistic that it had to have done something good. It had to have achieved something for him just from how you see his head flop back against the pillow as you watch his chest and belly rise and fall with deep breaths.

After what feels like a lifetime you manage to get up and use the bathroom, grabbing a warm washcloth on your way out to try and clean up the mess between you two. Elvis practically looks like he's passed out as you clean up his cock, marveling at how it twitches just a little in your grasp— almost as if to say it wants another round. When you finally slide under the covers, you feel Elvis shift beside you and pull you closer to him, to where your head is over his chest. You can hear the steady but still quick beats of his heart.

"Thank you, Mama."

That whispered bit of thanks puts a small smile on your face. "Any time for my baby boy."

taglist: @ab4eva , @blurredcolour, @butlersxbirdy, @precious-little-scoundrel, @eliseinmemphis, @prompted-wordsmith, @missmaywemeetagain, @lookingforrainbows, @araxw, @thatbanditqueen, @ellie-24, @austinbutlersgirl67, @heartbrake-hotel, @ccab, @18lkpeters, @slutforsomegoodlettuce, @dkayfixates, @kendralavon7 @chasingwildflowers, @notstefaniepresley, @wanderingelvis, @kxnnxy, @powerofelvis, @stylespresleyhearted, @be-my-ally, @mooodyblue, @pixiedustcosmos, @jessicarcates, @amydarcimarie, @flwrs4aust, @myradiaz, @adaydreamaway08, @elirobin, @goldieharry. wanna be added to the taglist? go here and follow the directions. if i tagged you in this and you didn't want to be, give me a heads up/clarify what you really really don't wanna be tagged for. also if the tags messed up i'm sorry i hate tumblr sometimes because of it.

[sugawarassoulmate]

i had a thought where mean!reader's sister suddenly cant find bokuto anywhere, who's usually following her wherever she goes. but then finds him hanging out with someone else and gets jealous!! yanks him away from whatever to shove him in a closet and gives him a bj just to show that shes capable of being nice too. then promptly throws him out when theyre done

for context, this is the younger sister of the mean!reader who bullies kuroo sksksk (keep up with the pcu)

also, this is like the third time we've written about blowing bokuto this week 👀

words: 493 cw: fem!reader, oral (m receiving), college party, name-calling, dubcon, minors dni

bokuto jumps when he feels an arm wrapped around his bicep. he's unceremoniously dragged away from the conversation he was having with the very nice girl at the party. it takes him a few seconds to get his bearings and realize that it's you dragging him into the hallway.

he slightly remembers your sister saying that you were coming to the party but bokuto lost her once she met up with kuroo. he isn't able to get a word in until he's suddenly pushed into a hall closet.

"h-hey, cutie, what's—"

"so you immediately go talk to someone else the second i'm not around?" you accuse, arms crossed.

bless his heart, bo is genuinely confused. "y-you said you didn't want me to bother y—"

"that doesn't mean you can talk to another bitch, are you serious?" you're much smaller than him but your intense, intimidating aura has bokuto pressed against the wall of the tiny closet. he doesn't know what to do so he apologizes—anything to stop you from being mad at him.

"i don't even know her, she was just nice..."

"i can be nice!" you snap, dropping to your knees and tugging at bo's pants. he doesn't have time to think before you've pulled his cock out and shoved it down your throat.

"haaa, fuck," he curses, feeling the warmth of your mouth on his length. anything else he wants to say dies on his tongue as you suck him, drooling all over the length of his cock and stroking the areas your lips can't reach.

bokuto whimpers when you give small kitten licks to the head, collecting the pre-cum in your mouth before taking him as far as you can once more. it's the best head he's ever had, it's not even close. he can feel his legs shaking, his fucking knees are about to give out. the only thing keeping bo standing is his hand on the wall next to him.

"shit, ahhh shit, y/n," he gasps, feeling his release come faster than he hoped. "you need to st—i'm gonna!" without another word, your mouth is full of bo's thick cum. he hears a noise of surprise under him and you pull off his cock with a cough, swallowing and licking as much as you can. "so—i'm sorry, fuck." he says, trying to reach for you but you slap his hands away.

bo watches in awe as you lick his cock clean, a few stray moans fall from his lips from the sensitivity. once every last drop of his seed is gone, you re-dress him.

"now get the fuck out and get me a drink," you order, opening the door and shoving him through it. bo's immediately overstimulated by the loud music of the party and is still in a haze from the head he just got.

but god damn it, the first thing he does is go to the kitchen to get your drink.

©sugawarassoulmate 2022 all rights reserved - please do not repost/translate my work on other platforms!

[taylorrepdetective]

We went from “still just getting to know each other” to full on fanfic courtesy people mag in exactly 14 days. Do you think this could mean it will be short lived? Seems to be moving fast.

I don’t know what is going to happen because I don’t know what her goal is beyond simple publicity for the movie and 1989 tv (and just in general being seen dating a man which is important for her image and for selling music) and we’ll have to wait to see how it goes. I still stand by it likely to be short lived but whether that means November or March, your guess is good as mine. I think I’m currently leaning more in the March direction as being most likely, but it could be tomorrow or it could be forever or whatever she said in Blank Space.

In case anyone’s keeping count, I also have pretty much settled on all of this being well planned out in advance, including his appearance at the July KC tour in the first place. I wouldn’t be surprised if it had been planned for a very long time, just like Matty was.

1) have them linked publicly (for Travis it was the concert and friendship bracelet digits story). Sit back and watch the reaction, and give it a bit of a push in the right direction. With joe this was all done retroactively, after their relationship was “accidentally” leaked we found out they hung out in Oct. With Matty this was done over the course of late 2022-early 2023.

2) soft launch it by announcing an appearance ahead of time to get all eyes on it, while planting stories that they’ve hung out a few times, to establish a timeline back into the summer (august 1ish). Have her publicly meet his mom and get her approval. Again, with joe this was done retroactively, where we found out she had pined over him all summer and their anniversary was sept 28, and we’ve even now got a hook up on Aril 29. For Matty, she met his mom in stage 1), then this stage was her announcing the break up on Matty’s bday, and then planting stories that they were dating, that he’d go to Nash and there’d be PDA, and then stories that she thought maybe he was the one who got away, and had quietly been in love with him for almost a decade.

3) launch, but keep it casual. There’s still time to back out if things go poorly. People have time to get used to it and talk about “are they or aren’t they” serious, and you can control the narrative via media outlets and inside sources to set people up the way you want them to lean, all without even having them seen together more than once or twice. Set up a casual photo of them that seems to taken without their knowledge in a private moment. (Balcony with joe, private club with Matty, after party in KC with Travis.) This is far as she got with Matty then she cut her losses. Or I guess you could argue they had spilled into step 4). It’s a spectrum. With joe, again this was done retroactively but also the summer of 2017, no one knew how serious they were until secret sessions/rep came out.

4) hard launch during movie opening weekend. WE ARE HERE. For Matty this was probably supposed to happen during speak now release. But who knows. For joe it was reputation’s release.

5) Optional: push things hard until enough people seem to be generally getting tired of it. I assume this is next with Travlor. No idea how long this will last. Days or weeks I think. With joe this wasn’t a big deal because of the privacy narrative. No one could get tired of something they never saw (though they could get bored of it which was ok at that stage but boredom is the opposite of what she wants now.) With Travis I think this stage will be more of an important thing. If you go back to Calvin, this stage was most of their relationship.

6) cool things down so then people talk about “are they or aren’t they still together?” This was a constant with joe. I think this was just at the end for Calvin and the answer was they weren’t still together.

7) relaunch so everyone is excited to see them again. Steps 6-7 happened a lot with Joe naturally because of the privacy narrative. Will travlor get to this stage? I think so but it will be much accelerated. Like nothing for a week and people will wonder. Then, bang, she’s there again. Something like that.

8) ongoing: periodically lightly escalate the seriousness of the relationship. We’re already in this stage and it will continue. There is current chatter about her house shopping in KC. The usual (she actually BOUGHT a house one time for a man. And remember her Scottish castle, and how she and joe were constantly buying a London house for 6 years including furniture shopping right before they broke up?) And there will be constant talk of settling down and getting engaged.

9) and on and on until it ends. We could zoom through these stage over the next 2 weeks, or in seemingly endless loop of stages 6-9 for two years. No way to know until it ends or they get married, have 10 kids and teach them how to dream.

10) optional: black swan event. All bets are off.

I think it’s likely she’ll go to a couple of more games, and be seen spending as much time with him as reasonably possible before her next tour date. They need to “get to know each other” and “enjoy this fun honeymoon stage while they’re both smitten” while she can. Keep in mind her SA tour section is only 3 weeks long, and he could even potentially go to Argentina on his off week, so that’s not really enough time for the “their busy schedules were too much” excuse. Possible but you know not as likely. Then she’s off for for a couple of months again. Imagine the fun they can have over Christmas. We’ll skip the island vacation around new years or star-studded New Year’s party this time because he’ll still be playing football, so imagine her at playoff games. She’s getting literal millions of dollars in almost free publicity from this, and no matter how many people want to say she’s getting negative attention or being over-exposed or whatever, I don’t see it that way at all. It’s going very very well. All for the price of a few hours of her time and some jet fuel. So, like I didn’t see any reason for her to end it with joe because he was serving his purpose, I see no reason for this to end. Until she has reached her unknown-to-us goal.

There is a lot I can’t see or know, so these are just my best guesses based on what we’ve seen so far and what I see on their schedule for the next few months, and of course, my belief that this relationship not real.

[danosrosegarden]

Angel (Part One) - Edward Nashton x GN!Reader

Contains: mentions/descriptions of sex work (reader is a sex worker), toxic relationships, and smoking. Also, reader's gender is never mentioned, but they are bisexual (it is a very minor detail).

Note: this is my big series I've had planned out for a long time, and I'm so excited to finally release chapter one! A disclaimer: I do not intend to disrespect sex work with the reader's situation here. They are unhappy with their work and have had negative experiences in the past. This is not the experience of all sex workers, simply just one fictional story. I also want to make it clear: Angel Eddie is based off Paul Dano's 2022 interpretation of The Riddler, but will have minor differences.

It was the sort of bleak, frosty rain that splashed through your skin and absorbed into your bones, the bitterly icy water leaking drop by drop into your marrow. Your skin was prickled with goosebumps as you shivered through the cloud-soaked night.

He was just another client. God, how you tried to convince yourself Marshall was just another client. It broiled in your brain and screamed in your blood...he was just another client. But what other client had you lived with for five months? What other client held you ever so gently when the dark void of night fell and you felt the festering handprints of the past gripping your hips? There would never be another one like him.

You forgot how long you had been wandering the streets after Marshall kicked you out. There were times before when he would come home drunk and angry, yelling at you to get the fuck out of his sight. He would remember how used you were and want you gone. But there was a feeling burning inside of your gut, the flames licking the flesh of your stomach. The burning feeling this was the final time. He wouldn't have you back. You weren't sure what you expected, exactly...tears? A screaming match? Shattered glass? Tearing through his apartment and your shared memories, eyes scorching red with searing hot acrimony? You weren't sure. What ended up being was the rain-slicked streets of Gotham and the air around you soaked with a thick sheet of silence.

You searched the roads for an awning...any swath of dryness would do. You just wanted a cigarette, that's all. You adjusted your bag's strap on your shoulder and thought about the contents as the frigid rain continued to slice into your skin. Three packs of menthol cigarettes, your ID and debit card, and a couple hundred dollars in twenties. You couldn't remember if the money was yours or Marshall's. You couldn't be asked to give a fuck. You had grabbed it off the kitchen counter as Marshall screamed and tore the place apart. So what, you had seen a different client while staying with him? You didn't know things were so official that he would get so upset. You needed the money. You had to pay half the bills somehow, after all. Who cared now? You were out and on your own. That's all that mattered.

You spotted the car from across the street in the empty parking lot of Josephine's. God, you hadn't been to Josephine's in years. You wondered if she still had a special original pastry of the month. You wondered how disappointed she would be if she saw how far you had fallen away from yourself.

You felt as if you were morphing back into yourself when you had first started as you made your way across the street. Back when you would approach men in cars, girls at clubs, people anywhere, any time. You were hungry for experience, determined to scratch an abundance of notches on your bedpost. Maybe through taking on more and more clients, you could find something resembling self-worth if you held it in a certain light. It never did work, but that wouldn't stop you from trying again.

You knocked on the car window and waited.

It didn't roll down. You tried again.

The man sitting inside was startled by the noise, jumping in his seat and staring at you with wide, bloodshot eyes. His hair reached past his ears and was frazzled at the ends. He stared at you for a few more seconds before a gravelly bark came from him.

"What."

"Roll your window down."

Reluctantly, the man rolled down his window, continuing to peer deep into your eyes as you bent down to his window's height.

"Can I get in?" you tried. You knew you were being stupid, but you were past the point of caring about much of anything anymore.

"I'm not letting you in," the man said curtly.

For God's sake, could you catch any kind of break tonight?

"Please. It's raining hard, and I was just kicked out of my apartment. I have nowhere to go," you begged.

The man rolled his window up, and you felt the stitches of your heart tear apart. You felt as though you had run out of chances. A street cat who had run out of lives. With your heart split into two, your blood running rimy, and your bones shaking in your skin, you knelt down next to the strangers car and cried. You had never felt more lost in the wind than now, with even the sounds of your broken snivels drowned out by the pouring rain.

The sound of the car door opening and slamming shut made you jump. The man from inside the car popped the trunk and rifled through it for a moment before pulling out a clear umbrella. He shut the trunk and walked over to you, opening the umbrella and kneeling beside you.

"Here."

It was small enough to where only one person would fit under it. With a trembling hand, you took it from him. An instantaneous burst of laughter exploded from your chest as you felt the relief from the rain. The man jumped again at the sound of your laugh.

"What?"

You shook your head, coughing and strangling your laughter. "I'm very happy to not get rained on anymore, I guess. I've been out here for awhile."

The man nodded and ran a hand through his hair. You sat in silence for a moment before a wave of newfound warmth and confidence crashed over you.

"My name is Y/N."

The man looked down at his shoes.

"You don't have to tell me your name. But I wanted to say thank you for the umbrella. And for sitting here with me, I guess. Tonight has been...rough. It's nice to have a little bit of company."

"My name is Edward."

You peered at his features: the strong bump of his nose, the freckles dotting his cheeks, the violet bags tugging at the skin underneath his eyes, the pout of his thin lips. He was interesting to view.

"Hi, Edward."

He said nothing.

In the middle of this downcast, hopeless evening, something inside you was whispering that you had found peace. And maybe it was just for tonight. Maybe it was just for as long as Edward would stay with you beside his car in Josephine's parking lot. But it felt warmer than Marshall's touch. It felt safer than having to sit through his drunken outbursts. It was quiet, which you weren't used to in your life, but it was warm. Safe. Good.

You rested your chin on your knees and closed your eyes, letting the last drops of rain fall from your soaked clothes as Edward sat up and opened the car door for you.

"You can get in, if you'd like."

[thathartleykat]

A very lengthy letter before the series' departure.

Hey, everyone, Hartley here.

By June of 2023, it would be my 4th year in the Hilda community, and i'm still in disbelief that i've been active in the community for this long, as well as the animated series is coming to an end tomorrow.

I have been wanting to post this since then, but i've been extremely busy in my life, as well as my personal computer was broken for almost an entire year - hence why my activity in the community also got died down a little bit.

I have a lot of things to say to everyone, from people in the community to the people who worked on the show, as well as the past, present and future, so for the convenience of your reading, i'll divide what i want to say into chapters.

I. About me & how i got into the show ( Trigger warning: Deaths ) I've rarely talked about this to anyone, but... I live by myself, and there's a good chance i might not be around for much longer. It's sort of the reason why i got into Hilda from the first place.

I first found out about Hilda in October 2018 when i was browsing on Tumblr, but never really watched it until May 2019, when a friend of mine gave me a month free subscription of Netflix. I started to go down the list of things i wanted to watch on the platform, and when it came to Hilda, i never thought i would get fixated on the show. Well, guess where we're at now?

I was stunned by the show's colorful vibes, amazing plot writing and how the show built the characters and mythologies, especially how they portrayed the mentality of the children in the show when the kids interact with each other or with adults.

The one thing that i also extremely adore in the show is the relationship between Hilda and Johanna... because it deeply reminds me of my parents when they were still alive. I had a similar life and relationship with them. Every time i see Hilda and her mum together, it always makes me remember about my former childhood life, how kind my parents were to me, and how i wanted to be the adventurous kid that never disappoints them.

I had a pretty good life until my parents got cancer when i was 11 years old - the same age with Hilda in first & possibly second season. Things got worse since then, and they passed away a few years after that.

Now i'm pretty much alone, with a good chance that i might follow them, so if i ever just disappear without telling anything, well... at least i had a good run, i never thought i'd make it this far anyway.

The show had made a significant change on my life, as well as some of my future decisions and helped me through hard times.

It would be an understatement to say this series meant a lot for me.

Because of this, and the feeling of the show doesn't get enough attention that it deserves, i've been dedicating myself for the last few years to help the show and its community thrive.

II. About the animated series Sometimes, i feel really sad that they couldn't have done more for it. - As someone who lives in Vietnam, it's really sad to see the show lacks Vietnamese subtitles and audio language - despite there being a huge number of Netflix users in the country. Due to this, the series basically got hidden from anyone who's watching with their Netflix's interface language set to Vietnamese, which makes the show really hard to be recommended to anyone here. At the same time, many other animated series on the platform have either or both of those. - A lot of merchandise of the franchise has either never saw the day or short-lived. Hilda's GUND plushies only lived for 1.5 years, and by my count, there were 3 Hilda board games that got reported to the news, but never got released. - Hilda video games. The only official Hilda game we ever got was Hilda Creatures, and sadly, the company that made the game went defunct in April 2022, dragging Hilda Creatures along with it. - Netflix. Batch releasing the show and giving it the bare minimum marketing. The same thing happened with Jojo and we all know what happened to its hype. - The mishandling of social media pages, which led to Hilda's Facebook page got hacked for an entire month during May 2023, as well as a lack of interaction posts after season 1 to keep the community up.

I really wish the show got better treatment in a lot of stuff, but at the same time, i'm grateful for the crew's work to get the series this far. One of the directors at one point confirmed that the show got pitched to various networks like Cartoon Network, Disney, Children BBC, Nick... and no one accepted the show until Netflix came along. If Netflix never took the show in, or if it was another network that got it ( which i suspect it'd change the direction of the show by a lot ), where would we be now...?

Though the show will definitely not be reminded by Netflix every now and then as other networks do, but at least it is going out with a bang. Really wish the show would become a sleeper hit at some point in the future.

III. About the community Genuinely, it's one of the most amazing communities i've ever been in. People who are younger, same age, or even parents who are much older than me... I had amazing experiences with all of them. I've made many friends from here, which sometimes makes me wish our community would stay the same like this forever after the series ends.

Honestly, i don't know what else i could say about everyone, other than thanking you guys for making my days within the community, as well as your efforts in making it an amazing place for me and everyone else to stay in.

IV. About the future Well, i've been thinking about it quite a lot.

After the animated series ends, i'll try my best to continue sticking around in the community and do a lot more stuff for it. The franchise will still seem to continue for at least some more time, with the upcoming release of the new prequel Hilda comic series, "Hilda and Twig".

I'd be selfish for saying this, but if the current state of animations improves in the future... I'd want to see Hilda's world return as animation at some point - either following the same blue-haired girl that we all know and love, or just a spin-off from an entirely different character. It's hard to imagine how the worldbuilding we've seen in the last 12 years, where "there's so much we've never seen, so much we don't know" and "there's mystery everywhere you look" would potentially disappear after this... I really hope i would see it again, as well as be around long enough to see it.

As of now, this chapter is about to come to an end. So before it does, i want to say thanks to everyone who has been involved in this show.

Thank you Luke Pearson, the people who made Hilda the series possible, and especially - you. Whether you worked on it or are just simply a fan of the show, you have my sincere gratitude for all the great things that happened to the series in the last 4 years.

This is Hartley, and i hope everyone enjoys Season 3.

[avviss]

Roadkill - Statement 0121018

Statement of Lincoln Bolton regarding a car incident he took the life of an apparently unknown thing. Original statement given October 18th, 2012. Statement recorded by the Magnus Institute, London, directly from subject. Transcribed on October 24th, 2022.

---

[Statement Begins.]

You have to understand, I’m a good driver. Hell, the past few years I’ve been working as a delivery driver for this local pizza place, King’s Pizza, and as far as the other guys I worked with, I’d say I’m the best one. Sometimes when I’m driving I’d think about being one of those Formula One drivers, but it’s never made me hit anything before, let alone a human being. At least I think it was human.

Firstly what’s important to know is that as my job as a delivery driver, I have to drive pretty much anywhere at any time for the lazy people who don’t want to leave their homes especially at night. Usually, we’d get an order from the phone telling us when and where our customer is usually with some sort of simple note attached. I thought it was odd this last delivery had a note saying only saying, “Lincoln Bolton.” It unnerved me a tad initially but decided it was probably one of my friends playing a prank on me and wanting to make sure I follow up this specific order.

It had been pouring and thundering all day, the cliché of “On a dark and stormy night” and all kinda stuff. I set out for the address, 5 School Lane London if I remember, I don’t know how I remember, but I guess the mind has a way to attach to familiarity when things go wrong? Anyway, on the drive I had been going down these strange roads I’ve never seen before, a winding downhill road, no cars had passed me for what should have been a few minutes, but it felt so much longer somehow, not only that, but I couldn’t see any city lights in the distance, not even the stars.

I was getting impatient with the darkness and had the thought of increasing the speed just for a little while partly so I could break from whatever place I was in but also a slight hint of F-1 daydreams. As I pushed down the gas, I saw a flash of movement in the road and a hard crack under my wheels. Horrified, flashes of animal guts and carcasses flew into my mind, I hadn’t even thought that I must have hit a person before I stepped out of my vehicle.

The rain was at work washing away the mess, but I smelled that irony scent instantly. Blood covered the front end of my car as well as the wheels, a trail of that fresh blood trailed behind my car to a horribly twisted and mangled…thing. I knew instantly that whatever thing I hit must have been a person because of the wet bits of clothing hanging off of what should be arms and a torso. Panic set into me, this thing could not be alive, had I killed someone?

I won’t be afraid to admit that at that moment tears shed down my cheeks along with the rain. As I came to terms with the fact that I had to attempt to hide this mess, maybe I could say I hit a deer or larger animal, but then I heard it. A cracking sound came from the heap of flesh, and I realized it was clawing at the ground trying to move, it was muttering something.

Morbid curiosity caused me to approach where it then screamed at me. YOU HIT ME, YOU HIT ME it screamed with an impossibly raspy voice, YOU HIT ME, I NEED A HOSPITAL. I was stunned but horrified, by whatever impulse that took over me, I understood that I had wronged it and I must do what I can to help. There was no way a human being would survive that impact, but someone, that thought made me more prone to grab at it and pick it up, it felt like trying to hold up a bulging trash bag on the verge of splitting open releasing its foul innards to the world. I was covered in blood as well as my backseat.

It screamed at me the entire drive to the hospital where I let the doctors handle it. I ended up getting fired from my job for wrecking a company car, they didn’t know what to do with the thing I had hit. All I found out was that the doctors told me that whatever thing I brought them, died the moment I picked it up. I don’t know what I hit, but I know in my gut that it wasn’t human, at least not all of it.

[Statement ends.]

[jessenigma]

My Favorite Continuing Manga Reads of 2023

For the past few years on twitter, I've made threads of some of my favorite manga and light novel reads from the past year. This year, I decided I would move it over to two tumblr posts.

After the cut are some of my favorite titles that I started before 2023 and kept reading this year.

Basara, Yumi Tamura

The best thing Viz did for me this year was create a whole new cheap subscription service full of Shogakukan titles, which meant that I could plow through the last several volumes of Basara all at once. This series thrilled me, broke my heart, and made me so happy. Sarasa is such a good lead, finding the courage to fight for her people while still being a teenage girl who just wants to be happy and loved, and I would love to read more series with leads just like her.

Run Away with Me, Girl, Battan

When the first volume of this came out and Kodansha's marketing compared it to Princess Jellyfish, I thought it was going to be something at least a bit lighthearted - woman reunites with her high school girlfriend, they end up running away to live happily ever after, the end, right? - but as it turns out, it was more like the very good but very depressing series about domestic abuse, Sensei's Pious Lie. While it wasn't as heavy as all that in the end, I was fascinated by the relationship between the two leads and the struggle to deal with baggage left from their teenage years. (And Battan's art is awfully sexy, much appreciated.)

Tales of the Kingdom, Asumiko Nakamura

I am so sad that the English release of Tales of the Kingdom is nearly caught up with Japan, because that means that I have to wait a small eternity for more stories about this fantasy kingdom where all the men have complicated relationships with their brothers. Asumiko Nakamura really goes all out on the clothes for this one and it's just gorgeous. There's another volume set to come out early in 2024 and I will cherish every page.

Kowloon Generic Romance, Jun Mayuzuki

I have been in love with Kowloon Generic Romance ever since the end of the first volume completely recontextualized everything that went on before it, and each new volume fills me with even more delight and questions about what's going on with these characters in this very fictional version of Kowloon Walled City. Mayuzuki's art is also super gorgeous and sexy, and I am so ready for the next volume to set my head spinning even more.

10 Dance, Inouesatoh

Finally! A new volume! This series was on hiatus in Japan for a while, so it was understandable, but I rang in 2022 with the previous volume of my beautiful ballroom dancing Shinyas and wasn't entirely sure I'd get to see them at all in 2023. The events of the latest volume were more than a bit of a surprise (sex? in my very charged but not technically explicit ballroom dancing bl manga?), and now I'm even more eager to see what happens next.

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard (light novel), Nanako Tsujimura

I enjoy the Jeweler Richard novels a little more with each new book and this year brought the best part of the story so far to me. This series is such a thoughtful exploration of its characters, from the leads to the recurring side characters to the one-off clients and friends, and I appreciate how deliberately inclusive it is.

Witch Hat Atelier, Kamome Shirahama

It's basically illegal for me to leave Witch Hat Atelier off any yearly list of favorite titles as long as there's new volumes coming out for me to read. With each volume, it feels like we're moving farther and farther away from the bright and shiny new world of magic that Coco first joins, but there's still always this idea that people can and should help others. It isn't necessarily easy, and magic certainly isn't the cure-all, but there's still almost a kind of optimism. I like that, that it's possible to have horrible things happen in a story but there's still light out there.

Ooku, Fumi Yoshinaga

So I finally finished Ooku this year, only 6 years after I first picked it up at the library. Bless Fumi Yoshinaga for being the catalyst for me learning anything about the Tokugawa shogunate and for creating such a fascinating alternate take on history, complete with women leaders who were just as terrible as the original male versions. I can't believe they actually did an anime, however incomplete an adaptation, because I long had that pegged as something that would never ever ever happen with this series.

My Love Mix-Up!, Wataru Hinekure & Aruko

My most favorite cheery gay romcom title also came to an end this year, and going straight for the silliest soap opera trope in the last volume was both perfectly on brand and perfectly suited to the story. I just wish more stories would unabashedly embrace the ridiculous tropes and give me lots of humor alongside the romance.

Lost Lad London, Shima Shinya

Though the conclusion of this series seemed a bit rushed, I really loved how well Shima Shinya captured the feel of a British crime drama all the way through the story's three volumes. I want to see how much they grow with their storytelling in the future, because this was a strong first series.

MADK, Ryo Suzuri

How could my beloved eroguro demon manga end? Ryo Suzuri does such creative work with character design and it's such a shame that I won't get to meet any more cool-looking demons now. But that said, the story really stuck the landing with Makoto's obsession. I can't wait to reread all three volumes so I can fully appreciate just how much changed (and how much didn't change) for him.

[cha-ra-nui]

Awards Section

This is the awards section of my 2023 retrospective. The other parts of the retrospective are linked below.

Playlist | Prefix | Part 1: Music | Part 2: Anime and Other Media | Awards Section

Song of the Year:

WOODZ – Drowing: WOODZ has Album of the Year secured with OO-LI, no question about that. But when it comes to a single song, as good as Drowing is, I think I just love the EP more as a whole. If he’d just dropped Drowing as a single it might’ve taken the title.

Key – Easy: I can’t give it to Key again. Not three years in a row, and certainly not for this song. Killer or Heartless I could maybe justify, but I didn’t nominate them, I nominated Easy. I can’t even explain why I love it so much. Is it the best song I heard all year? No. But it’s my most played track anyway.

Sam Haft, Andrew Underberg, Alex Brightman – 2 Minutes Notice: I have half a mind to give it to this. Wouldn’t that be funny, a showtune from a YouTube cartoon taking SOTY? Ha. Haha. Hahaha. Haaaaaa… It would be funnier it wasn’t seriously a top candidate for that title.

Winner: King Gnu – SPECIALZ This is it. SOTY for a group I never expected to hand it to. Not because I disliked them or anything, I enjoyed every time they crossed my path. But because SOTY usually goes to an artist I love, and I only know King Gnu from their Anime tie-ins. And normally if a group delivers a song this good I would be digging my way through their albums, but I’m not. This song is special, and don’t want context for it.

Album of the Year:

Key – Killer: A stretch, I’m aware. In fact, the only reason why this isn’t getting the title is because 11/14 songs already released in 2022, and it got album of the year then. It’s by far my most played record of 2023 though, and one of my favorite K-pop albums period.

Onew – Circle: Yeah, I know, just nominate every SHINee solo, will you? No, I won’t. Taemin’s just missed out. See, I’m totally not biased, Circle was just that good. A stunningly beautiful album start to finish.

Ryugujo – 2 Much: Debut of the year, hands down. Ryugujo’s first EP is exactly as fierce as Avu-chan wanted, and I found this group impossible to look away from ever since.

Albums that I regularly listened to in full and therefore get my recommendation but missed out on a nomination, in no particular order:

VIXX – Continuum: Far from their strongest work, otherwise it would’ve taken the title by default. But even with half the members missing, it’s still VIXX, and it’s the best K-pop boy group record released in 2023.

æspa – Drama: I have no excuse; this is just fun. Sometimes you need an EP that isn’t ashamed of being batshit K-pop.

Red Velvet – Chill Kill: Very pretty and cohesive album. SM saves all their pleasant-sounding music for their girl groups.

Purple Kiss – Cabin Fever: Purple Kiss’ best EP to date.

Dreamcatcher – VillainS: Enjoyed this EP way more than I thought I would.

Kiss Of Life – Born To Be XX: These girls are going places.

Winner: WOODZ – OO-LI There was never any doubt about which release would take album of the year, because WOODZ utterly obliterated the competition. Every other nomination, including the Key album that is totally not from the year before anyway, at least has one song I don’t care for. But OO-LI never misses. Not even 7/10 misses. Every single song on this EP stands out, and they come together beautifully. WOODZ is enlisting this January, and I already don’t know what to do without being able to rely on him to deliver great comebacks for the next two years. Come back safely, and never stop making music.

Artist of the Year:

I keep struggling with this one because most of my favorite releases tend to be from tenure artists who drop one comeback and then vanish for the rest of the year. If you asked me who I admired the most, it would be WOODZ. If you asked me who I listened to the most, it would be Key. If you asked me who surprised me the most, it would be Ryugujo. If you asked me who had the most releases I loved though, I’m stuck. The list of artists who released more than one album which I enjoyed is short. Dreamcatcher, Kiss Of Life, æspa, and that’s it, I’m stuck. So you know what? Fuck it. I won’t get the chance to do that again for two years.

Winner: WOODZ Between OO-LI, a world tour, and Amnesia, WOODZ had a great year. He hasn’t missed once in his career, but right now he’s on a level of his own. No one else active this year has delivered this level of consistency and quality. WOODZ is a gem, and I don’t think it’s possible to lavish his music with too much praise right now.

Miscellaneous Music:

Best Music Video: Heartsteel – Paranoia

Best Choreography: Le Sserafim – Eve, Psyche & The Bluebird’s Wife

Best Debut Single: Ryugujo – 2 Much

Top 15 B-sides (no videos, only one entry per artist):

Key – Heartless

WOODZ – Busted

Taemin – She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not

Infinite – Time Difference

Kim Sejeong – Jenga

Red Velvet – One Kiss

Onew – No Parachute

VIXX – Savage

Purple Kiss – T4ke

Dreamcatcher – Propose

æspa – Don’t Blink

IVE – Blue Blood

SHINee – Identity

ATEEZ – Dune

U-Know – Tarantino

Best Insert Song: Helluva Boss – 2 Minutes Notice

Other Media

Game Of The Year: The Legend Of Zelda – Tears Of The Kingdom Not the most creative pick, but sometimes Nintendo delivers, and their games are magical when they do.

Anime Of The Year: Link Click Season 2 Since I didn’t watch everything I wanted to get to, this might change in hindsight, once I feel better and catch up with shows like Oshi no Ko, Vinland Saga, and Tengoku Daimakyou. Jujutsu Kaisen also had a strong season, and Shounen does not get much better than its Hidden Inventory and Shibuya Incident arcs, but ultimately Link Click is the show I cared about the most. Everything in this show feels intentional. Every mystery has a satisfying pay-off, and that earns it enough trust from the audience to expect a satisfying continuation (and hopefully conclusion) in the already confirmed third season. I for one can’t wait to see what happens next and considering the time travel aspect of the show and season two’s final twist, what already happened. I love the characters and want to see them get out of this story safe and sound.

Opening Of The Year: Link Click Season 2 There was competition, certainly, but in the end, nothing touched this masterpiece. They made a song that would sound good played forwards and backwards, just so they could rewind the opening. It looks great and is a great fit for a time travel mystery. I got to respect the craft that went into this.

Ending Of The Year: Oshi No Ko I didn’t have much opportunity to mention Queen Bee in this retrospective, but they delivered on this ending theme.

Movie Of The Year: Oppenheimer I have half a mind to praise Puss In Boots more, but Oppenheimer is a staggeringly well made movie, and I would be remiss if I didn’t give it the crown.

[peculiarmarsu]

"Something completely different" continues, as I was about to throw away a comic reading challenge sheet that I snatched from Keski-Suomen Sarjakuvaseura, but decided to think through the prompts before doing so. So under -read more- you'll find some musings of mine about comics I ended up reading this year. There's some pics too!

I'll start with some comics that were the topic for book talk meetups arranged by the aforementioned comic group. I've never attended such meetups before, and these turned out really interesting! Even I babbled away my thoughts despite usually being on the silent and shy side. Way to go me!

The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck - Don Rosa Prompt: The protagonist gets older during the events of the comic. Donald Duck comics were a part of my childhood, and I especially loved the works of Don Rosa. It's been ages since I read any though, so it was neat to jump back to this big chronicle and read it properly in its entirety. This time I read it in English, which was something with the different accents.

Valotusaika - Avi Heikkinen Prompt: Features a pet/other house or farm animal. I had read this before but had another go for the session. Interesting comic that uses edited photos, yet not in any stiff way I think - the posing and expressions are great! It tells a story about a man who's been kicked to the head by life a lot, who finds a camera that can show the past. The first part of the comic has quite heart-wrenching climax ;u;

Anne Frank's Diary - Ari Folman, David Polonsky Prompts: People oppose the leading powers & the comic tells of loneliness. This was my first touch on Anne Frank's Diary, and I think the comic form works well here and helps to visualize things such as how cramped the attic space really was. The art is really pretty too, and many panels look like frames straight out of an animated movie (which there later was).

Now onto comics I read outside of the book talk sessions.

This shelf used to contain art supplies...

4. Bird in Wonderland - Taiga Sassa Prompts: Comic is a travel story, comic is relaxing, comic where people are nude, comic where sweets are eaten, comic where something embarrassing happens, comic where a celebration is held. Many prompts... They started releasing this in Finnish this year, and I thought to give it a go! This year in general has felt like I wanted to try out more comics, and find new ones to follow to fill slowed down schedules of some. I hadn't heard of this series beforehand, but it's been a nice travel story to read, based on real journey by Isabella Bird. So far emphasis is definitely on comic is relaxing, as it really is joy to read.

5. Emma - Kaoru Mori Prompts: Includes a speech or public performance, comic that's been on your reading list for long, comic includes cleaning or laundry (definitely!), visit in a park or garden, includes hugs or kisses, includes travel by train. Many prompts again! This got a new release this year in Finnish, and I wanted to catch that because I was too much a teenager in its first run. I actually just today read the last two books :D This was another comfy read. Emma as a protagonist is fairly odd and distant as we hardly get to see her thoughts, her antics are rather followed from the view of the myriad of other characters. Yet I was still as invested how her love story develops as her maid colleagues and others :'D I was suprised to find out the later volumes were mostly side stories, some quite whatever but couple more interesting.

6. Night of the Living Cat - Hawkman, Mecha-Roots Prompts: Released 2023 (started 2022 but on-going... :D), series has an interesting name. A comic that I ran into here on tumblr, just from seeing one page with cat paws, that intrigued me enough to seek where this art was from. Amazing zombie parody, where people turn into cats upon contact. I love this, probably my THE COMIC of 2023. Apparently someone who's worked on the English publication is here on tumblr too *waves*

7. Hevosjumala - Sami Makkonen Prompts: The events aren't told in chronological order, interesting name. The name means 'horse god'. This randomly caught my eye in a book store, and on first glance I was little sceptic about the art style if it looked little too messy to comprehend, but took it with me anyway. Aside couple character mess-ups, the art didn't prove a problem after all, fits the feeling and themes definitely! And by that I mean it's a paranormal horror story with some nice folktale twists.

8. Candy & Cigarettes - Tomonori Inoue Prompts: Protagonist is a child/youngster, includes a crime. This was actually a recommendation at a panel in Tampere Kuplii. I'm not normally one for crime genre, but the art style spoke to me in this. Some of the goons remind me of early Toriyama's work :D Protagonist duo is made of a child assassin and an elderly ex-cop who has to join forces with the former to earn money for his grandson's treatment. Graphic violence and heavy themes, but also a lovable protagonist duo trying to help each other out.

9. Ilmarin Koijaiset - Jenni Välikangas Prompts: Features rainbow family or couple (is that term commonly used in English?), less than 100 pages, features pet. I got interested in this comic after seeing the original pages up on an exhibition - the paintwork is GORGEOUS. Tells a story of a guy who moves onto her aunt's island to take care of it and the dog while aunt is away. Turns out the island isn't quite what it seems!

10. Delicious in Dungeon - Ryoko Kui Prompts: Includes hunting/fishing/foraging, something surprising happens in the comic. Yep, been reading this too, and the volumes 11 and 12 are ordered. Idk what to say here, great and interesting story and worldbuilding, lovely and distinctive characters and great art! Even with the rather "monster of the week" style the chapters often have going on, the in-depth approach makes it interesting.

11. Fullmetal Alchemist - Hiromu Arakawa Prompts: Comic features a border, travel via train, features a pet. A classic that I re-read again this year after scavenging all the books from my folks' attic :D But I.. sure don't like... how the title is upsidedown when stacked like that... and it doesn't make sense to me to have the back up.. augh.

I read other titles too as well, but these listed here were the ones that came to mind for the prompts. Annnyway, congrats I guess if you read all that? Feel free to comment and babble your opinions if you will~

[butwhatifidothis]

I did a quick look around the other day and noticed edelstans have been digging through blogs pulling up old buried discourse

Ofc r/axis jumps on that bandwagon cuz he openly admits he loves toxic behavior arguing . His behavior has so many red flags and to top it off it screams stalker. (Btw your username appears under his 2022 most reblogged from list)

Then he acts like it's not his creepy behavior that's wrong its everyone else who is wrong. Like boy, are you even self aware?

No means no. Block means stop interacting with the person who blocked you. It does NOT mean "oh I've been blocked so let me stalk them and use every other means to reach them!!"

But what can I expect from edelstans who are so obsessed with their imperialist waifu and can't let her go while the rest of fandom moves on. Its like they're so mad people have lost interest that they're resorting to digging up buried discourse to get attention.

Most users who have criticized their fav imperalist warmonger have blocked the edelstans and moved on to other things. (even r/axis openly admits he's been blocked by like... everyone) But the edelstans are on their knees begging yall not to leave and screeching for attention.

I've noticed that too. I had a post from almost two years ago get a random reply on it, and I heard that others had something similar happen to them too. Given how relatively silent it's been for a while, most assume it has something to do with Engage's upcoming release and how these folks don't want attention from 3H to fade, so they decided to... annoy the shit out of everyone. As per usual of Edelstans lmao.

And it does seem like ol' Raxxy-poo has hopped on along, cuz like I said far as I was under the impression of he was mostly doing nothing, until recently. If nothing else the worst thing he was doing was clogging up the Dimitri tag with hate, because he's just a swell guy like that, but I thought he was at least movin' away from fuckin' around with other people outright.

But, nope. Took a peek over on his blog to see if maybe, for once, he took something out of this, but, nuh-uh. He's still the same asshole as ever, goin' on about how "no one has the right to silence me!!!" in response to people telling him to respect other people's boundaries. How he was totally right to harass n*lsh off of tumblr because n*lsh was being mean (and how it totally wasn't harassment, he swears, it was n*lsh who just folded under the pressure... that r/axis forced him under... for an extended period of time... long after n*lsh made it clear he wants nothing to do with him... but it's not harassment he promises). How he totally had nothing to do with moonlitboar's harassment since he was "at work" at the time of moonlitboar's extended period of getting harassed - guess r/axis is just a hard little worker bee who is given no breaks for multiple days, cuz moonlitboar's situation was not over the course of one day like he makes it sound like it was. And how if people just ignored him he leave them alone, totally (aka "it's their fault I decided to keep bothering them")! Which is why he still evidently kept looking at my blog to look for more people to fuck with, despite me almost never talking to or about him ever.

The guy acts like it would literally, actually kill him in real life if he stopped talking to/about people who don't want anything to do with him. Or that his "right to speak his mind" would be irrevocably snatched from him forever if he left the people who blocked him alone - you know, showing a basic respect for other people's boundaries? Really doesn't seem to like doing that, looks like.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, that does seem to be at least a plausible reason - if only because nothing else is really going on that would suddenly cause the uptick. And on one hand I do get the want to stay on 3H - I love the game to bits and would love to keep seeing others make content for it. But if that really is the motivation as to why their doin' this shit then I'd be... theoretically baffled, though not really surprised given everything that's happened in this fandom. I cannot think of a more self-defeating method of getting people to stay on 3H like "Maybe if we bother and annoy and poke and prod at everyone who doesn't like/critiques Edelgard, they'll ignore the new game coming out and keep talking about 3H!" Like my brother in Christ that ain't it

[cosmixsoupmix]

A Deep Dive into Gorillaz's "Hallelujah Money" (repost)

I have already written this post on my main blog (@cosmixbun) but I am putting it on this one so I have it here too !! (originally written in 2022-2023)

For those who don’t know the song ‘Hallelujah Money’, it is a song released by the band, ‘Gorillaz’ on the ‘Humanz’ album on January 17, 2017. Or more known as the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration (keep this in mind, it’s very important.). The majority of the vocals were sung by Benjamin Clementine, the rest of course, was 2-D. The lyrics can be found here, if you want to read them. The music video can be found here. I suggest watching and reading both before really looking into this.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a big music person, I only find music video interest in the Gorillaz music videos. If I say something that you do not believe or have differing opinions, great. This is just what I bring to the table all these years later. There’s plenty more where I come from.

THE VIDEO:

I’m going to explain as best as I can with both parts so bear with me. Again, it would help to watch the video to see the background and the emotions in the video as portrayed by Benjamin. So, in the music video upon opening, we see the only person who will be the center of the whole music video, Benjamin. We see him in a shiny, gold building. This hallway, in the building, is a reference to the Trump Tower and Benjamin is portraying Trump, or at the least his ideals. The background images that are used in the music video are disturbing and can sometimes set an uneasy feeling. I’m not going to go super in depth on each image or video because there’s a lot but you can find the breakdown somewhere. In the music video we see flashes for symbols or things that symbolize power, such as the pyramid with the eye on the back of the US dollar bill (which is said to represent God or the illuminati, so pick one), a cowboy, and even a creepy clown video (not really a ‘power’ in a societal sense, but they affected how we lived for a while.) While the videos and pictures are shown in the back, the lyrics are being said. The majority of the time, the video and pictures have somewhat no connotation to the lyrics being sung. The end of the video ends with a clip of Spongebob screaming and crying, this was taken from the episode called ‘Karate Choppers’ from season one. The clip is right after Mr.Krabs, his boss, tells him that he’s fired. “You’re fired.” is one of Donald Trump’s signature quotes.

THE LYRICS:

Going into the lyrics I will also tie into the things that I had talked about in the music video. The lyrics in the beginning are more of acknowledging that the US is a growing country and that everyone is allowed here, except for `The scarecrows that come from the far east”. Benjamin then sings that to keep them away “Is by building walls, Walls like unicorns In full glory and galore” making a reference to the wall Trump had promised in his campaign that he was going to build. A lot of people in the states were looking forward to this and as it states, it was going to be a big project that would be looked at by many. Benjamin at this time in the music video is calm and collected and seems to be confident in what he is saying. He is also singing his thoughts about the American Dream, and how it is only for the starving, To me, this is saying that the people who don’t have it bad in this country don’t even have to think about the American Dream because they think they are already living it. Those who are struggling to get by everyday dream about the day where they won’t have to get up and wonder what their next meal is or even if they will see next week. Those people have their own dreams about the American Dream. He then thanks the people for trusting him, a reference to the fact that he is going to get inaugurated the next day. I’m going to skip 2-d’s parts for now and skip to the next time Benjamin starts to sing. The next verse that Benjamin sings is ‘Trump’ saying that even though this is how life is, we can’t do much about it, everyone in the world just wants power. We can’t be upset over something that is bound to repeat itself. He even says, “And the whole beasts of nations desire, Power”. In some way or another we want power. Trump definitely understood this and had taken it to a whole new level.

Now going into 2-d’s parts he sings both bridges in the song. In both parts that he sings he is singing directly to Benjamin. He’s asking these questions that we still ask today, “When the morning come, We are still human, How will we know? How will we dream? How will we love? How will we know ?” These questions are from the people and they are asking that if the world is so corrupt, how will we ever be able to love each other if all we can do is fight and argue. The first time 2-d comes to ask these questions, all Benjamin can do is listen. 2-d sits in Benjamin’s silhouette and Benjamin stays still. The second time he sings the same lyrics, Benjamin seems uneasy and  worried, scared, and fearful. Benjamin’s hands are shaking and the book he’s holding, he is weary about. The music becomes more, ‘anxiety filled’. Then not too long after 2-d is done, Benjamin goes back to normal. Symbolizing that in his campaign and unknowingly, the years to come, he was going to be questioned and under heavy watch because not only was he a public figure, but a lot of allegations and scandals came up about him. In the same moment, he starts to sing, “Hallelujah Money” and rub his hands together in a way that you would say money, with your thumb, pointer, and middle finger. This was then showing that even after all of that, he still had support and his fame, all the efforts did nothing to him. He wasn't phased by a single thing that came towards him.

MY THOUGHTS:

So what are my thoughts on this music video? Three words.

Absolutely.

Fucking.

Incredible.

This music video was not only amazingly made, but Benjamin did the entire music video in one take. But coming away from that, the message that this brings to the table about how the former president saw the American Dream? How he felt about power and wealth? I think it captured it perfectly. The imagery that was used in the back of the video is stunning. The way they used the analogies in this was so intricate, but it worked and fit so well. The way that they went into it and went, ‘Ya know what. Let’s give it to em’.’ My absolute favorite part of this was the lines used to describe the different sides of the American Dream. The way they also used the tree analogy in the beginning to describe the idea of western prosperity just really sold it for me.  The way this song was produced and how it sounds like a choir is singing with Benjamin to me is just the opinions of the people who agree with Trump and his ideals and them being like, ‘yeah, for the money.’ The kind of tone that song has is kind of 'rejoiceful' but having that hint of that ‘uneasiness’ that I had mentioned earlier. It just makes you think that it’s a normal Gorillaz song. The entire song is just powerful to me and after seeing it once again and hearing the song once again, and celebrating 4 years of the album...My appreciation only grows for it.

That’s pretty much it but I would like to close out with a quote from none other than Murdoc Niccals himself:

"In these dark times, we all need someone to look up to. That's why I'm giving you this new Gorillaz song, a lighting bolt of truth in a black night. You're welcome."

[cadybear420]

My thoughts on the 2022 Choices releases so far

Even though it's long past 2022, I still wanna do one for its books I was active that year. Not for 2021 though, since I was still very new to the app starting in that year. I am currently working on a masterlist for all Choices books though.

Some of these books, I have not fully read or caught up with yet, but I'm still providing my opinion on what I anticipate for them.

Surrender

I'll put this as briefly as I can. They try to push the story as being about a MC who escapes a toxic partner and rediscovers herself through BDSM. Except the love interest in question Reagan is toxic towards her from Day Fucking One. And the writers say it wouldn't make sense for MC to dom right away, except they had no problem making her want to be Reagan's sub right away.

Ms. Match

The MC and LI's banter was fun, but other than that, this one was really forgettable and flavorless.

Untameable

Nope nope nope. This book was just so empty and filled with forcing high stakes where there are none. Kit has zero personality to me, and the only thing that makes the romance "forbidden" is that Austin will throw a baby temper tantrum once he finds out.

It wasn't even the "dumb fun smut" kind of bad that TNA 1 was. It was just... nothing. Heck, it didn't even feel all that smutty outside of like those CGs. No idea why it got a sequel but hey, Unbridled so far seems like it will be much better.

Crimes of Passion

This one was alright. The MC's character and their dynamic with Trystan was certainly very refreshing to the usual Choices formulas. And the story was interesting enough. But besides that, I found it overall mostly lukewarm and there wasn't much that stood out to me.

The Princess Swap

It's exactly what it was on the title, and I think it did that job alright. A little more effort could have gone into it but it was still a sweet and fun little "Prince and the Pauper" story.

The Cursed Heart

This one was alright. I certainly could have done without Kieran's more abusive behaviors, but it was otherwise a pretty solid story. Definitely one of those books that's much more interesting when played as anything other than wlm.

And I think we can all agree that this one is visually just gorgeous. The backgrounds, the outfits, etc.

The Nanny Affair 3

This one has to be the worst of the 3 Nanny Affair books. The whole drama with Addison reads like an r/AmITheAsshole post made for validation purposes. And the Jenny/Aditya plotline was so blatantly a proxy affair so that PB could have that accidental pregnancy plot that they couldn't have with Sam and MC. Cause let's be real, they totally would have had Sam knock up MC at the gala in Book 1 if not for the fact that they're GOC.

But I'll give them one thing though. This is probably the first and only book I have ever seen that allowed a female character (MC in particular) to penetrate her male LI's bootyhole. Yes kiddies, in the first smut scene in Ch 1, you get an option to play with Sam's ass, and they describe you slipping a finger between his cheeks. Sucks that we're still waiting for some proper cheek-clapping one and a half years later though.

Immortal Desires

This one was pretty fun. Definitely another one where playing anything but wlm (well, 100% wlm) will be a more interesting experience.

I don't think it's quite as brilliant as Bloodbound, story-wise. Though one thing it does do better than BB is not being pointlessly genderlocked. That being said, it does have a sequel coming soon. So it's not exactly complete enough to be fully compared.

Murder at Homecoming

Definitely one of the better, if not the best, release of 2022. The story is a bit linear, but it works. And I do love how they incorporated queer themes into the story, like with how your MC can talk about (if any) their own queer experience and how romantic dialogue with Tyler changes if your MC is male or enby to talk about how he used to think he was straight.

My only real problem is that it didn't feel like Perdita had as much importance in the story as the writers clearly wanted her to have, and that made it harder to get invested in it. That being said, I think not learning what really happened to her was a fairly nuanced ending and while I'd love a sequel to the story, having us find out what really happened would be a major disservice to that nuance.

The Phantom Agent

Ohhhh this one is such a guilty pleasure for me. I'm a total sucker for secret agent/spy stories and James Bond-esque stuff and this one was great for that. Is it one of their best-made stories? No. But it's certainly a very refreshing and enjoyable one.

Also props to this for being probably the only GOC-LI romance story I've ever seen where the wlm version is actually refreshing for once. It especially shows with the interactions with characters like Nurse Lou and Alexis Reid, but Agent Grey and even Rowan have a few good moments too.

Slow Burn

This one was such a dissappointment holy god. It's just 95% helping out a bunch of randos with their restaurants and MC barely gets to do any actual cooking.

[timetravelersdoctor]

Blind! Starscream part 5

hello I finally managed to finish this part yay me! I hope you enjoy reading! ( I don’t know how many parts of this Au are left if I had to guess after this one maybe 2 more parts mostly because I think I can complete the main events of this Au’s Timeline in these next parts.) Edit: I started writing this part on april 21 2022 and its been an entire year since. I just recently look at this and finished it up. I am extremely surprised and a little embarrassed it took me this long to get this part out.

I left off where the Decepticons informed the Autobots of Starscream capture and Optimus learns that Megatron has no idea Starscream is blind. Optimus demands Starscreams return and Megatron tells him the only way he would return Star is if they give the decepticons Predaking.

The Autobots at first deny the request but after Predaking gives a nod off screen they agree. (the decepticons don’t know that Predaking has evolved past being a ‘mindless beast’) so they plan to bring Predaking to the meeting place and get Starscream back then fighting the decepticons to get Predaking free.

Both teams (Autobot and Decepticons) choose who will go to the meeting. On the Autobots side: Optimus, Bulkhead and Ratchet. On the Decepticons side: Megatron, Shockwave and Breakdown. They all gather to the meeting place in the middle of nowhere, Starscream being pushed towards the front and Predaking walking (in his four-legged form) side by side with Optimus. Megatron demands that the Autobots hand over Predaking first and Optimus refuses saying the trade needs to be at the same time.

Megatron (who is currently on a dose of dark energon) agrees and he orders Breakdown to release Starscream as Prime leads Predaking to Megatron. as soon as Starscream is far enough away Ratchet speed walks to get to him and a ground bridge opens up. when that happens Predaking immediately strikes towards Megatron while Prime handles Shockwave, Bulkhead and Breakdown Quickly make their way towards each other to battle and Breakdown goes down after a few punches and kicks.

Shockwave fights hard but unfortunately (fortunately) he is no match for the Prime. Megatron being caught of guard and pretty much high makes the battle easier to win. (not that it was too easy mind you, after all due to a lack of inhibitions he was stronger then usual.) The Autobots manage to make it Back to base and everyone is glad that Starscream and Predaking are both safe.

After a day or two Starscream asks to talk to Prime in Private and he tells Optimus about how Breakdown and Knockout 1: know that Star is blind and 2: want to join the Autobots but can’t at the moment as it is extremely unsafe. Prime tells Starscream that while he thinks the others would want to know about this he thinks it’s best to keep it from them for a little while longer just until they can slowly ease them into the idea of having Breakdown and Knockout as allies.

Starscream leave Prime satisfied with the conversation and goes in to the main room where he finds Predaking waiting for him and they both talk about how weird it was for both of them to be on their own for a while. Starscream tells Predaking that he is glad to be back at the Autobot base and no longer with the Decepticon that caused him so much pain over the course of the war.

Predaking transforms into his bipedal form and carefully places a hand on Starscream as to not startle him and promises Starscream to always be by his side and never let him get taken ever again. Starscream Shocked by Predakings Promise chooses to return that Promise with one of his own: to always do his best to treat Predaking as a sentient being. ( just so this isn’t misunderstood I am not shipping Predaking with Starscream in this Au I just like the thought of Starscream having a BAMF Friend and I decided that the friend was gonna be Predaking.)

I hope you Enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed making it! ( and so i keep my promise @deleta-20 )