#I love rainbows writing but the world doesn’t really exist

[azullumi]

i don't know if this counts as a request or not but i just want to know how do you think thoma, ayato, and tighnari say "i love you" to their s/o without actually saying it? it could be about love languages or anything, you're free to do what you want! i'm just really curious on what you think :) also, i love your writing so so much im in love with it <3

summary — there are many ways to say "i love you" and he has his own ways of saying it.

characters — ayato, tighnari, and thoma (w/ gender neutral reader)

tags — fluff, different love languages; headcanons

word count — 1116

a/n — hooray to the very first request that i have done! please don't hesitate in sending me more requests because ideas are not unlimited inside my head. anyways i hope this was what you wanted anon! ^^ i tried to do the best that i can in executing this idea because god it's hella cute

“What do you want? I'll get it for you.” — Kamisato Ayato

Gift-giving is definitely his love language. He’s the type of man to always spoil you with gifts, ranging from simple to extravagant ones. Even if you have never asked for those things, he always will and I mean what I mean with always when he has a gift for you daily. It can be a bouquet of flowers from another land or just your favorite ones or it can also be an accessory customized only for you. Nevertheless, he always has something to give you whether small or big.

If you ask him for something, he’ll immediately get it for you. Just mention it and you’ll have it at once on the foot of your doorstep. No cans, no ifs, no buts, it’s always a will. He will always find a way to get it even if it’s at the end of the world as long as it will make you happy.

You told him once how you would like to have the heart of a rainbow, an item that doesn’t exist in the continent of Teyvat nor in other lands and you only made up on the spot to see how he would react. But he… He fell into a deep thought and went: “Alright, however, it might take me a long time as that's the first time I have heard of that.” You couldn’t help but panic and explain that it was just a joke and the item actually doesn’t exist.

He remembers everything about you, especially what you like even if you only have mentioned it once in all of your conversations. You’ll suddenly find him giving you something, an item that you said you would like to have from a conversation that happened 4 months ago, and would apologize for only attaining it just now. It just renders you speechless whenever he does that.

Giving you all that you want is just one of the ways he shows his love for you. He has different means of showering you with affection but gift-giving just tops everything. It’s also one way to tell you that he is willing to do anything and give you anything, anything to make you stay, anything to keep you happy.

“You mean so much more to me than you think.” — Tighnari

This statement was an explanation for his actions that he has done and the words he has said. Tighnari might have never explicitly said those three meaningful words in a relationship but he finds ways to say it to you in different forms and would show it through his actions also. After all, saying “I love you” without having any form of base just feels so empty for him like promises that aren’t going to be kept. He prefers proving himself through a variety of words and acts.

He doesn’t mind anything as long as it’s you. He doesn’t mind teaching you everything that he knows as a Forest Ranger as long as it's you. He doesn’t mind accompanying you every time you have the urge to go deeper within the forest—he reasons that it is part of his task and he’s also there to look for some things but honestly, he just wants to be there with you. He also sometimes can’t help but overthink that something might happen to you once you go in alone because what if you encounter a dangerous situation and he’s not there. He just wouldn’t be able to rest easily. If ever he wouldn’t be able to accompany you, he’ll send Collei out with you.

He doesn’t mind doing anything as long as it’s for you. However, it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have any boundaries that he has set and as long as you respect and understand it, everything is fine. He doesn’t mind having his ears touched as long as it's you though, just ask for permission.

As such, neglect happens to himself especially at times of danger just to keep you safe and away from harm. He reasons that he is used to those things because of his work but seeing that look of worry and sadness on your face made him swear to not do it again.

He worries that you think that he always focuses on his job and would abandon you because of it so he tries his best to show you that you hold so much meaning to him and the thought of losing you has already made him overwhelmed with fear. 

“I always have time for you.” — Thoma

Thoma and his everlasting loyalty and consistency with his actions and words. Despite his busy schedule with his constant running around and assistance, he would always find ways to spend time with you. Even if his day is rough and he’s exhausted, he always finds his way to you and your arms. It just feels like he has an empty slot on his schedule saved just for you. 

One minute, you’ll find him all around Ritou, talking to the shopkeepers and helping them with any issues that they are experiencing, then the next, he’s having a walk with you on your side while holding your hands as he tells you about what he has learned from that day, all the stories and gossips that he got from the citizens that he has helped and gotten close with.

Of course, on his day-offs and breaks, he will always have it dedicated to you. He’ll take you out on his day-offs on a date that he has planned for a long time or he will seek you out on his breaks and invite you to lunch with him. He loves having picnics with you outside while you two are watching the scenery as the sun sets and when he’s free by the evening, you two would often have dinner together and would go on a walk to your favorite spot to watch the stars.

When he’s really exhausted, however, plans are canceled— if there is one—and you two would instead spend your time holding one another in each other’s arms while being lulled to chase after the much-needed rest. Those moments of peace and tranquility are greatly appreciated and are meant to be cherished.

Although, it doesn’t mean that he’s being pressured to always have some time on his day saved just for you. Being a housekeeper of the Kamisato Clan and a well-known “fixer” in Inazuma sounds like a really tough job so you do understand that there are times wherein he gets really busy and you two can’t spend time with one another. You simply love the fact that he always has time for you despite everything.

— navigation | masterlist

#kamisato ayato #genshin ayato #ayato x reader #genshin impact headcanons #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin #genshin impact #tighnari #tighnari x reader #thoma genshin #thoma fluff #genshin fluff #thoma x reader #genshin headcanons #genshin imagines #genshin x you #tighnari headcanons #azul.writes

[setaripendragon]

Cress - Part 3

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 I really enjoyed writing this one and playing about with just the entire concept of dreams and the Dreaming and... I love the world building in Sandman so much, okay, and playing in this sandbox is just -happy author flailing- The Princess of the Dreaming comes home.

The Dreaming is in ruins. Ever since the library disappeared, there’s been nothing for Lucienne to do except watch the rest of the Dreaming crumble. She’s tried, as best she can, to hold it together, but she’s only a dream of a memory in the end, even if she has been favoured by their Lord. She hasn’t got the authority to order anyone to stay, and she doesn’t have the power to shape the dreamstuff back into what it was.

It’s an exercise in futility, and though Lucienne has never fallen prey to the fear that their Lord has abandoned them, has always believed that he will return when whatever is keeping him is done, she still finds it all exhausting. Even just existing these days is exhausting. The dreamstuff that makes her up is just as inclined to crumble back into its base state as the dreamstuff everywhere else, and holding herself together has become its own chore these last few years.

“Uh… Loosh?”

Lucienne sighs, and turns away from her consideration of the ruin of her Lord’s castle to face Mervyn with a forced smile. “Yes? What is it?” she asks. Back to business. Someone has to try and keep order while their Lord is away, and it might as well be her.

Mervyn makes a sound like clearing the throat he doesn’t actually have, and looks down. “We’ve got a new dreamer,” he tells her. Lucienne grimaces. Once upon a time, that wasn’t even an event to be remarked upon. These days, it’s an ill omen. How broken must everything be, for a new dreamer in the Dreaming to be a bad thing?

“Well, we may as well do our best to make them comfortable while they’re with us,” Lucienne says briskly. It’s the last kindness any of these dreamers will ever know. As the mortal world has – presumably – grown better at dealing with people who cannot wake, they survive longer, but they still haven’t discovered a way to convince the Dreaming to let them go again. So many dreamers have died in the Dreaming in the last seventy years, and if their Lord were here, perhaps that would grant them a second life here in the Dreaming like it had for Lucienne, but… There is no Dream Lord to claim them, and so they can only go with Death when she comes for them.

“Yeah…” Mervyn sighs. “That’s gonna take some work with this one.”

“Oh?” Lucienne prompts, suddenly wary. “Why is that?”

“Cause it’s a baby, isn’t it?” Mervyn asks, shoving his hands into his pockets with an air of deep discontent.

Lucienne doesn’t blame him one bit. She closes her eyes against the news. They’ve seen their fair share of children, toddlers, and even infants since their Lord left, but it’s never gotten easier to bear. The Dreaming is meant to enhance the lives of the dreamers, not steal their entire span of years away from them.

She caves to a moment of weakness, and takes her glasses off to rub at her eyes. She’s a dreamthing; she shouldn’t get tired. And yet. “Where?” she asks on a heavy sigh.

“The shores,” Mervyn tells her, and so off they go; leaping across the rubble and fragments of the bridge, across the now barren plains where Fiddler’s Green once lay, through the Gates of Horn and Ivory, which blessedly still stand, and out onto the soft shores of the Dreaming. Raw dreamstuff stretches out endlessly, waves of the Sea of Sleep lapping at its edges, and Lucienne finds she doesn’t need a guide any more.

The sight before her punches a soft ‘oh’ right out from the depths of her lungs. She’s not sure if it’s joy or sorrow. There’s no missing their new guest, because she’s wrapped up in a dream. A soft-edged infant’s dream of rainbows, bright primary colours fuzzing into each other, making strange shapes as they drift around their dreamer, tipping the babe from one vibrant cradle to another and sending sparkles of pure joy into the air.

Lucienne hadn’t known any such gentle dreams yet survived.

“Huh. Thought the little ones were all gone by now,” Mervyn says, echoing Lucienne’s thoughts with uncanny accuracy.

“I suppose we missed one,” Lucienne says helplessly.

She doesn’t know how long she stands there just watching, unable to bring herself to interrupt and end this moment. It’s such a small thing – such a small dream, for such a small dreamer – and yet that tiny thing lodges in her chest and grows until it threatens to burst. So she stands and watches as an infant dreams of rainbows, until quite suddenly, the babe is tipped from amorphous blue to bubbling orange, and falls right through the bubbles and into nothing.

Mervyn swears, covering the sound of Lucienne’s gasp.

“She woke up,” Lucienne says dumbly, staring as the dream twists in on itself, condensing down into a little blob of ever-shifting colour. It shifts, sliding around on the dream-sand of the shores, as though it’s looking for its absent playmate.

“Ah, damn. Come here, you,” Mervyn says, striding – more like staggering – forward to catch the attention of the dream. “Better get you somewhere safe, before you dissolve like the rest. What’s your name, then? I don’t recognise you t’all.” He sounds very indignant about that last part, which is fair enough. Mervyn was generally well acquainted with most of their Lord’s creations. Perhaps this one was made right before he left, and it never had the chance to become known to the other denizens of the Dreaming.

The dream fluctuates indecisively for a moment, and then turns a startlingly uniform shade of vibrant yellow. “Aureolin,” Lucienne says, when Mervyn flounders. The dream sparkles. “It’s very good to meet you, too,” Lucienne agrees. “I’m Lucienne, the Royal Librarian, and this is Mervyn Pumpkinhead, the… Royal Caretaker.” Mervyn humphs, but doesn’t contradict her “Now, let’s get you settled somewhere a bit safer, shall we?”

Aereolin agrees, and dutifully follows along behind as Lucienne turns her steps not back towards the Castle, but further into the Dreaming, towards the Houses of Secrets and Mysteries. These days, it’s safer there than it is in the Castle. One never knows when another set of rooms is just going to disappear in there.

Abel is absolutely overjoyed to see another dream, while Cain is significantly more disgruntled about being asked to babysit. Lucienne, having expected this, blandly suggests that if it’s too much for him-

“Don’t be ridiculous! It’s not as if we’ve got anything else to do around here!” Cain snaps, cutting her off before she can even begin to suggest Aureolin comes to the castle with her, and Lucienne smiles smugly.

“Of course. Thank you,” she says indulgently.

“Gregory! Look, Gregory, a new friend for you!” Abel calls to the gargoyle nesting on the roof. Gregory chirrups in confusion, and hops down, scattering roof tiles as he goes, to nose at Aureolin curiously. Aureolin blooms into a riot of colours in the air around Gregory, who yelps and rears back, turning on his hind legs to try and look at everything all at once, only to fall back on his rump when he overbalances.

Aureolin flares around him in a riot of sunshine yellow and neon orange and crystal white. Gregory shakes himself, then wriggles with more intent. Abel has just enough time to shout, “Gregory, no-!” before Gregory pounces. He catches most of Aereolin under one large paw, right up until Aureolin bleeds itself into the ground, turning the grass coquelicot and heliotrope and gamboge.

Then it springs back into the air like a mist rising out of the ground, coalesces into a rainbow, before darting off into the trees, a rippling ribbon of colour against the dreary Dreaming, with Gregory in hot pursuit.

“Where’d you find that one, then?” Cain asks suspiciously.

“On the shores,” Lucienne says blandly.

“What was it doing down there?” Cain demands.

“What we’re all doing these days,” Lucienne says, a little harder now. “Getting by.”

Cain harrumphs, but ceases attempting to interrogate her. Good, because Lucienne does not want to see what frenzy the last few residents of the dreaming might be driven to by the notion of a dreamer who isn’t stuck. They’d swamp the poor child, and probably cause no end of trauma.

She returns to the palace, for want of anything better to do, and catches herself looking mournfully at the once-vibrant stained glass windows of the throne room. They’re dull, these days. Even if there was more than the watery light of their non-weather, the glass is no longer jewel-toned and ready to glow at the touch of the sun. Lucienne hasn’t seen colour like Aureolin’s here in the dreaming for at least the last twenty years.

Somehow, she’s not surprised when Mervyn comes to fetch her again what feels like mere moments later.

“She’s back, Loosh.”

And so she is, when Lucienne goes back down to the shores to see. The child has called Aureolin back to her, and they’re playing on the sand together. And it happens again. And again. Lucienne begins to track time by days instead of years again, keeping an eye out for the infant. Sometimes Aureolin doesn’t come, and Lucienne will pick the child up and carry her back through the gates and into the palace, just because it’s better than leaving her lying on the dream-sand.

Some many days and nights later, Lucienne finds the infant on the shore again, and while Aureolin isn’t there, another dream is. Or, rather, a nightmare. An infant’s nightmare of cold and sharp, with no finesse to its form. To Lucienne, it looks a little like a soap-bubble, covered in pulsing spikes like shards of broken glass, surrounded by a glimmer of diamond-dust.

The infant is being cradled by the spikes, and her tiny little hand keeps closing around one, and then letting go with a whimper, and then trying to close around it again. And the nightmare, for all that it is what it is and it’s fulfilling its purpose in allowing the child to explore these things that scare it in a safe environment, is being so incredibly gentle with her as it holds her aloft, shards tip-tapping over the infant’s skin as it explores in turn.

It is not… typical, of her Lord’s creations, she has to admit. Neither is Aureolin. Even the children’s dreams and nightmares have had forms beyond their function, as far as Lucienne can remember. Human dreams with human shapes, the better to know those they’re meant to serve, and to communicate with the aspect of their Lord in charge of them.

These… are not human.

Perhaps, Lucienne dares to think, this is the Dreaming beginning to heal around their Lord’s absence? After all, their Lord is the Dreaming, and the Dreaming is him. It is not a creation that bears the mark of her Lord’s experienced hand, but… it must be of him, else it could not be. So perhaps they have simply been born of some part of her Lord that is… less than intentional. Impulse over artistry.

It keeps happening, too. The child grows, and as she does, more complex dreams bloom out of the dreamstuff as she needs them. Tesseract joins Aureolin and Dearth, as she discovers shapes, as she grows strong enough to operate her limbs properly and finds the world has substance, and then Schism, as she begins to walk and learns to fear falling, learns to dream of flying.

The first new dream to have a recognisable form is a spider, large enough for a small child to ride, covered in a thick fuzz of glowing white fur, and graced with a pair of magnificent translucent wings coloured like stained glass windows. Its eight eyes are all different sizes, from huge and liquid to small enough to be freckles, all of them black as night, all of them with eyelids far more like a human’s than any kind of insect.

The girl rides it across the dream-sand, sometimes shrieking with glee, sometimes yelling in triumph, and sometimes talking to it. Lucienne exchanges a look with Mervyn when they realise. It’s been a very long time since either of them has been around children. She’d forgotten they start talking that young.

“Should we…?” Mervyn asks. Lucienne looks to the girl, and after a moment of teetering indecision, nods sharply. Mervyn grumbles a wary agreement and, together, they start across the sand.

No matter where she is when she wakes, Lucienne notes, this girl always returns to the Dreaming here, on the shores, where all is raw dreamstuff like shifting sands, nurtured by the shushing shores of sleep. It’s curious, because most dreamers used to slip straight to whatever dream or nightmare called to them that night. But this girl never appears in the Houses of Secrets and Mysteries, nor in the palace rookery where Schism had taken to nesting, nor in the library where Tesseract tends to follow Lucienne around like a faithful hound.

They always come to her, instead.

On spotting them, the girl gasps in delight and immediately makes grabbing motions in their direction. In response, the dream immediately begins to skitter in their direction, wings flapping hard enough to lift it off the sand by a few feet, and then stopping, and then starting to buzz again.

“Pun’kin!” the girl cheers, as the glowing white spider skids to a stop at their feet, kicking up a cloud of shimmering golden dream-sand. “Birb!”

“Hello, little one. Little ones,” Lucienne greets, smiling a little tightly in her confusion.

“Hi! Hi, hi, hi,” the spider returns in a truly beautiful voice, while spinning around in a circle in its excitement.

“Up, pease!” the girl demands, raising her arms. Lucienne sighs, then bends down to pick her up and settle her on her hip. The spider scuttles up her legs, around to her back, and perches there like a backpack, front legs clinging to Lucienne’s shoulders.

Lucienne takes a moment to study the girl. She looks, perhaps, to be from somewhere in the Mediterranean; with warm skin, eyes such a dark brown they look nearly as black as the spider’s, and hair as glossy black as a raven’s wing. Mervyn leans in to study her, too, eyes narrowed. “Did you call me Pumpkin?” he asks.

“Pun’kin,” the girl agrees.

“This is Mervyn,” Lucienne corrects, refusing to laugh only because she knows it would annoy Mervyn. “And I am Lucienne. Who are you?”

“I’m Kess,” the girl says firmly. “Kessida!”

“Cressida?” Lucienne guesses. The girl nods in a full-body bobble. “That’s a lovely, name,” Lucienne tells her. “And who’s your friend?” she adds, turning her head to try and look at the spider still clinging to her back.

“I’m Arthur,” the spider announces sweetly.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Cress, Arthur,” Lucienne says entirely by rote.

“Luffly t’meechu, Looshen, Merfy,” Cressida echoes dutifully.

Mervyn winces. Lucienne doesn’t blame him. That’s a little bit too close to one of their Lord’s names to be anything but painful at the moment. “Maybe stick with ‘Punkin’, kiddo,” Mervyn suggests dryly.

“Kay,” Cressida agrees.

#The Sandman #Lucienne the Librarian #Mervyn Pumpkinhead #The Dreaming #kid fic #next gen OC #dream OC #nightmare OC #is it significant that Cress's first sapient dream #is a spider that can fly? #yes of course #she's the daughter of Eloquence Dreams and Hope #of course her first intentional creation is a Weaver with Wings

[seaside-writings]

Hello, all you wonderful people!

I hope you're all ready for another super long prompt list because today is the 10th anniversary of the one and only "Gravity Falls" which to this day is still one of my favorite shows in existence.

The world-building and the characters are top-notch in my opinion, and it doesn't matter how many times I watch it, it never gets old and I doubt it ever will.

This amazing show that touched so people first aired in 2012 on June 15th, where it completely stole my heart thanks to a gnome puking up a rainbow.

Since then it's become one of my comfort shows and never fails to put a smile on my face, so celebrate "Gravity Falls" and all its weirdness, I've made this prompt list of all of my favorite bits of dialogue from every character.

I do hope you all enjoy this prompt list, and if it doesn't help you write, I at least hope it makes you smile and gives a little bit of nostalgia.

I hope you all stay blessed and safe throughout your day.

Lots of Love & Wishes: Celia 💙

Prompt List:

"You think the world makes sense? NOTHING MAKES SENSE! SO YOU MIGHT AS WELL MAKE NONSENSE!" - "You're scared. Of growing up. And who could blame you; I'm scared, too," - "Remember! Reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, bye!" - "Three, four, five, six," "Your wife is going to be beautiful!" "Yes!" "Come on, we've got a big break in the case!" "Let's go!" "But will she love me?! - "Romance is like gum: Once it's lost its flavor, you just cram another one in." - If you accidentally eat the prize that comes inside your cereal, does that make you a specially-marked box?" - "He's looking at it, he's looking at it!" "Uhh, do you like me? Yes, definitely, absolutely?" "I rigged it!" - "Do we have a ladder?" "Studies show owning a ladder is more dangerous than a loaded gun. That's why I own ten guns, just in case some fool tries to sneak in here with a ladder," - "You! You can't even imagine what you just cost me! Do you have any idea what I'm like when I'm mad?" - "Is this legal?" "When there's no cops around, anything's legal!" - "Dude, am I a side character?" - "Hey, hey! Let go of my sister!" "Oh, hey there. You know this is all really just a big misunderstanding. You see, your sister's not in any danger. She's just marrying all 1,000 of us and becoming our gnome queen for all eternity. Isn't that right, honey?" "You guys are butt-faces!" - "The future is in the past. Onwards, Aoshima!" - "For one trillion years I've been trapped in my own decaying dimension, waiting for a new universe to call my own," - "Ugghh... I'm never gonna eat or do anything ever again," "Hey! There's still some left!" "EVIL!" - "But you can call me your new lord and master for all of eternity!" - "Songs are like hugs that mouths give to ears!" - "Now, who wants to put on some blindfolds and get into my car?" "YAY!" "Wait, what?" - "I must warn you, these statues come at a terrible price," "Twenty dollars?! I'll just take 'em when you're not lookin'," "What?" "I said I was gonna rob ya," - "You can't force someone to love you. The best you can do is strive to be someone worthy of loving," - "Time is dead and meaning has no meaning. Existence is upside-down and I reign supreme. Welcome, one and all, to Weirdmageddon!" - "Maybe that old guy was crazy after all..." "He did use the word "scrabdoodle"..." - "I don't know. I was in the friend zone, and then he pulled me into the romance zone! It was like quicksand!" - "He thinks there's no heroes in this world, but if we work together and fight back, we can defeat him. You wanna be her hero? Stand up to that psycho, and let us save her!" - "How many of these did you eat!?" "Beleven.. teen..." "Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man," - "You really think you can outwit me, boy? I'm Sherlock bleeding Holmes! Have you seen my magnifying glass?! It's enormous!" - "Face the music, kid. You got no muscles, you smell like baby wipes, and let's not forget last Tuesday's... incident. - "Child, why have you come here? "Multibear, I seek your head! Or, one of them, anyway. There's like...six? Six heads?" - "What was that about?" "Nothing. I don't want to talk about it. Talk about what? Why is this table wet?" - "Food!" "Thanks there, sugar pot. I-I mean honey wasp, kitten baby, b-baby cow," "Ha! Silly... so silly," - "Okay, I'm not actually laid back. I'm stressed, like, 24/7. Have you met my family?" - “Stay curious, stay weird, stay kind, and don't let anyone ever tell you you aren't smart or brave or worthy enough," - "I'm legalizing everything!" - "We're gonna have to break in," "And here are your balloons; blue and pink!" "We're in," - "Oh, look. The "constable!" What are you gonna do? Throw me in "ye stocks?'" - "If you're watching this, you are one of eight people in these United States with clearance to view this information. In fact, I myself will be shot once the filming is complete. What? We're not doing? Ha! Well, that's a relief!" - "He is such a jerk," "Yeah, but he's a jerk with tight pants and a guitar," - "I just wanted to tell you that everyone makes mistakes. And when they do, you should forgive them. And also that tight pants are overrated," "Dude. You lost me," "I know," - "You're under arrest for violation of the Time Traveler's Code of Conduct," "It was those kids! And their leader, Waddles!" "That's a pig," - "You can hide, but you cannot hide!" - "I'll get you for this! I'll go back in time and make sure your parents never meet!" - What's going on out here, dudes? I heard a ruckus. Heh-heh, that's a funny word. "Ruckus"," - "I ate a man alive tonight," - "No, buts except yours out the door. now shut your yap and get to work," - "Well, we're still here," "Guess he forgot to go back," - "A darkness approaches. A day will come in the future when everything you care about will change... Until then I'll be watching you! I'll be watching you..." - Today, I learned that morality is relative!" - "I think I'm gonna go stare at a wall for a while and rethink everything," - "Why sweetheart, I wouldn't hurt a hair on your itty-bitty head. If you agree to be my queen!" "NO! Never! I will fight you till the day I- Gummy Koalas!" - "Oh yeah, this is gonna be your worst plot yet. They're fine; I saw them playing in the yard minutes ago," - "I was awoken by the sound of mockery. Where is it? Show me the object of ridicule!" - "Ow!" "I high-five hard," - "You know, kids? I've been thinkin'. At the end of the day, Summerween isn't about candy or costumes, or even scaring people. It's a day when the whole family can get together at one place and celebrate what really matters... PURE EVIL!" - "I'm giving none of this to charity!" - "YOU CAN RUN, BUT I'LL STILL BE IN YOUR NIGHTMARES!!" - "Maybe this is one story we should keep to ourselves," "Agreed," - "Yeah, dude. That sounds science-y enough to be true," - "Ah, the pool! Sparkling oasis of summer enchantment!" "Yeah, nothing like sitting in a moist tub with strangers. It's like the bus but wet." - "I am the lifeguard. I make the rules, sucka! Boosh!" - "Why would a sun need to wear sunglasses?" "It's best not to think about it," - "Wow, you work here?" "I found out lifeguards get free snack privileges. Plus I get the best seat in the house," "Yeah, you do!" - "Yes, yes... burn the child!" - "How long ya in for?" "Two hours for roughhousing, but I'm innocent!" - "Finally, a good reason to punch a teenager in the face! Let's roll!" - "I have never met anyone like you," "Me too. Except for a zombie, a gnome, and a couple of cute vampires," "I don't remember the vampires," "I don't tell you everything!" - "Well if it makes you feel better, the apocalypse is comin' soon! Bury your gold. You've been buying gold, right?" - "Me? Nothing. This? I was just eating some sour candy...so my lips did that...because the candy was so sour," "Can I have some candy?" "...No," - "Road safety laws prepare to be ignored!" - "Wait a second! Is something rooting through our trash? Hey, hey! Get outta here! Darn beautiful men always eating out of my trash. Wait what?" - "You can't put him outside! There's predators! And barbecues!" "That's just the natural order. It's not my fault your pig's potentially delicious!" - "Oh, I get it. You're trying to guilt me! Well, it ain't working, pal! Who cares if you're her favorite thing in the world? I can live without the kid talking to me all the time. Telling me her jokes... making me laugh," - "I've been cheating the last eight turns," "Haha, that's my girl," - "Here! Deer teeth! For you, kid!" - "Gimme that back or I'll..." "Or you'll what, boy? You'll what? Huh? Huh!? No muscles, no brains - face it, you're nothin' without this!" - "The entire lower half of your body is on fire," "Shhh... we're having a moment," - "Karaoke isn't about sounding good. It's about sounding terrible together," - "All right, you undead jerks, you ready to die twice?!" - "What is the ONE thing I asked you NOT to do tonight? "Raise the dead," "And what did you do?" "Raise the dead," - "Hey, well at least you can't deny that magic exists anymore, right? "... Kid, I've always known," "What!?" - "The only wrinkly monster who harasses my family is ME!" - "I'm not an idiot, kid, of course, this town is weird and the one thing I know about that weirdness is that it's dangerous. I've been lying about it to try to keep you away from it, to try to protect you from it. Looks like I didn't lie well enough," - "They're slow! Just power-walk away from them!" - "Dude, you're laying on my bra," - "Man, these movies are a lot less scary when you've actually fought real zombies," - "They sure are taking their time in there," "Didn't he say something about a monster!?" "Oh, no! I thought he was joking!" "You know his jokes are terrible!" - "You think you're so clever, don't you? But you have no idea what you're up against. You will never find the author! If you keep digging, you'll meet a fate worse than you can imagine," - "Would it be wrong to punch a child?" - "Don't stay up all night. The last time you got this sleep-deprived, you tried to eat your own shirt," - It was just a job, kid! No hard feelings. And I've been keeping an eye on you since then, and I must say, I'm impressed! "Really?" "Yep, in fact, you deserve a prize! Here, have a head that's always screaming!" - "I'm gonna stop you! I'm going to find that journal before you do, and I'm gonna stop you!" "Heh, but how can you stop me...if you don't exist?" - "Did he just make out with his puppets?" "I might've dodged a bullet there," - "The point is, I like you. How's about you let me give you a hint, huh? I only ask for a small... favor in return," "I'd never do a favor for you! Don't forget who defeated you last time!" "Right, you "defeated me". Well, if you ever change your mind, I'll be here for you, ready to make a deeaaal," - "Movies are great! You watch the movie, you scare the girl, the girl snuggles up next to you - next thing you know, you gotta raise a kid, your life falls apart... Forget that last part," - "Well, that just put me 90 minutes closer to death. Time you kids learned to watch the classics from my day," "Ooooh, old people movies! Get ready for references we don't understand and words we can't repeat," - "Love God! sign my face!" "Only if you sign mine, baby! LET'S GET WEIRD!" - "You're the worst," - "Just gotta splash this sucker with some anointed water and he should be out of your probably fake blonde hair," - "I was right about you all along. You're just as bad as your parents. Another link in the world's worst chain!" - "Look at who you're talking to, boy. I'm hosting a party for the most powerful people in the world. You think they'd come here if they had to rub elbows with your kind?" "My kind?" - "A forest of death, a lesson learned! And now the manor will BURN!" - "Hey, ugly! Over here! You want me to let in the townsfolk? 'Cause I'll do it! Just change everyone back!" "You wish to prove yourself? Pull that lever and open the grand gate to the town! Fulfill your ancestors' promise!" - "Is this thing broken?" "Our family name is broken! And I'm gonna fix it!" - "Ow! Hot Belgian waffles! Wait, I'm alone. I can swear for real! SON OF A..." - "I wanted to say that you're gonna hear some bad things about me, and some of 'em are true, but trust me—everything I've worked for, everything I care about, it's all for this family!" - "Is this the part where one of us faints?" "Oh, I am so on it, dude," - "What...? W-who is that?" "The author of the journals... my brother," - "You owe us some answers: What's the deal with this portal? Why did you keep this a secret?" "And what happened between you and your brother?" "I hope all of this aligns exactly with my fan-fiction. If not, I will be very disappointed," - "Greetings. Do kids still say greetings? I haven't been in this dimension for a really long time," "Whoa, a six-fingered handshake? It's a full-finger friendlier than normal!" "Heha, I like this kid. She's weird," - "Look, you gonna explain what's going on, here? You're acting like Mom after her tenth cup of coffee," "Listen, there isn't must time. I've made huge mistakes and I don't know who I can trust anymore," "Hey, uh, easy there. Let's talk this through, okay?" - "I'd lost him. I didn't know if he was dead or alive in some distant galaxy, but I knew his journal must have the answer to getting him back. Somehow," - "No, no! You don't understand what I've been through! I've been to prison in three different countries! I once had to chew my way out of the trunk of a car! You think you've got problems? I've got a mullet!" - "That's IT?! You finally want to see me after ten years, and it's to tell me to get as far away from you as possible?!" - "Have you come to steal my eyes!?!" - "My boy, do you know what this means? We must stop everything I've been working on at once... and PLAY!" - "Kids, if I die, make sure I get a bigger tombstone than my brother," - "Look, it's time we stop trying to be so "perfect" and be who we really are. We're crazed, angry, sweaty animals! We're not unicorns, we're WOMEN! AND WE TAKE WHAT WE WANT!" - "You lied to me! Where does that portal really lead?!" "Hoho! Looks like Mr. Brainiac finally got smart! Let's just say that when that portal finishes charging up, your dimension is gonna learn how to party! Right, guys?" - "MONEY!" - "TV lied, man! If you can avoid growing up, do it! I'd give anything to be twelve again," - "Well, it's a horrible opportunity for me! I had the worst day of my life! When we turn thirteen, summer ends and I have to leave everything behind. You're the only person I could count on, and now you're leaving me too?!" - "Look, things aren't gonna stay frozen this way. It's part of growing up. Things change. Summer ends," - "At last! At long, long last! The gate between worlds has opened! The event one billion years prophesied has come to pass! The day has come! THE WORLD IS FINALLY MINE!" - "I'll die before I join you!" - "Open up! This is the police. Time Police!" "Just play it cool, ditch the time-punch. Let me do the talking," - "This is crazy! I'm sorry about our fight, and I'm sorry things aren't great right now, but that doesn't mean you can stay in here forever!" - "Look, real-life stinks sometimes, okay, I'm not gonna lie. But there's a better way to get through it than denial, and that's with help from people who care about you," - "I thought you were living a fantasy, but look at me! I actually thought I was gonna stay here and be his apprentice! Spend my entire teens cooped up in a basement with a lab coat? How ridiculous is that? I don't know what's gonna happen in the future, but whatever it is, you don't have to fear because we'll do it together. I'm not taking his apprenticeship. We've traveled to Heck and back to get you and we're goin' back together. Leave this fantasy world. Let's beat this and grow up together," - "You mean it? You're really coming home with me?" "Yes. Definitely. Absolutely. Awkward sibling hug?" "... Sincere sibling hug," - "Aw, man, I never noticed how bright this place is, ugh! Have I actually been listening to the same song for an entire week?" - "Since the Mayor got captured, I elected myself de-facto Chief. The plan's to stay in here and eat brown meat until we run out. Then I vote we eat the gnomes," "Hey! I'm short, not deaf!" "Shh, shh! Stress will make you chewy!" - "You're insane if you think I'll help you!" "I'm insane either way, braniac!" - "Well, would you look at that! Those kids really care about you. And you care about them. DON'T YOU?!" - "Ohh, I can't believe this! The kids are gonna die and it's all my fault! All because I couldn't shake your stupid hand! Ugh, Dad was right about me. I am a screwup," "Don't blame yourself. I'm the one who made a deal with that psycho in the first place. I fell for all his easy flattery. You would've seen him for the scam artist he is," "... How did things get so messed up between us?" - "Do you really think he's gonna make good on that deal?" "What other choice do we have?" - "Heh-heh! Do a pretty good impression of my brother, don't I? Switch clothes and no one can tell us apart! Welcome to my mind. Surprised you didn't recognize it," - "Oh, yeah. You're goin' down. You're getting erased. Memory gun. Pretty clever, huh?" "Y-you idiot! Don't you realize you're destroying your own mind too?!" "Eh. It's not like I was using this space for much anyway," - "You're making a mistake! I'll give you anything! Money, fame, riches, infinite power, your own galaxy! Please! No...! WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME...?!" - "Hey, look at me! Turn around and look at me, you one-eyed demon! You're a real wise guy, but you made one fatal mistake: you messed with my family!" - "MY TIME HAS COME TO BURN! I INVOKE THE ANCIENT POWER THAT I MAY RETURN!" - "Heh. Guess I was good for something after all," - "You're a hero," - "We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when, oh I know we'll meet again some sunny day," - "Being a hero means fighting back even when it seems impossible," - "If you've ever taken a road trip through the Pacific Northwest, you've probably seen a bumper sticker for a place called Gravity Falls. It's not on any maps, and most people have never heard of it. Some people think it's a myth. But if you're curious, don't wait. Take a trip. Find it. It's out there somewhere in the woods, waiting,"

#gravity falls #welcome to gravity falls #happy anniversary gravity falls #happy 10th anniversary gravity falls #gravity falls 10th anniversary #writing #writing prompt #writing prompts #writing prompt list #writing prompt lists #dialogue #dialogue prompt #dialogue prompts #dialogue prompt list #dialogue prompt lists #gravity falls prompts #family #family prompt #family prompts #adventure #adventure prompt #adventure prompts #action/adventure #action/adventure prompt #action/adventure prompts #10 years of gravity falls

[eolewyn1010]

Dragging Frankenstein - Chapter 18

Which is about Victor doing what he does best - nothing!

Well, except maybe moping. Sure, take weeks to get off your arse. What could possibly go wrong? Eh, people might die, but whatever. Victor is back to health, so who cares? IT’S ALL ABOUT ME: 18

The world revolves around him again; all is well. Why is nobody grieving anymore? They had a couple pretty hefty losses.

Mary Shelley’s insistence that good weather is all that’s needed to cure unholy rage or depressions is getting weird. Well, if that doesn’t do the trick, get engaged!

“You were attached to each other from your earliest infancy” – which makes for a healthy romance, I’m sure. INCEST VIBES: 12

Frankenstein sr. even spells it out.

Though it doesn’t get spelled out in the text enough to give it an incest count, I find it interesting how not only Victor holds power over the Creature’s love life – it’s entirely on him to give the Creature a partner – but also the Creature holds power over Victor’s love life – Victor notes that he can’t enter marriage before he has fulfilled his promise. Kind of “a bride for me before a bride for you” lindworm prince dealie.

Gotta love how he secretly wishes for the Creature to just die in some accident so poor widdle baby Victor doesn’t have to bear the consequences of his actions any longer. How inconvenient that this guy exists! Wonder whose fault that is.

How does he wanna make a new Creature in about a year? Didn’t he need at least two for the first?

“he had in concert with Elizabeth arranged […]” – once more, I’m getting the impression that Elizabeth is less Victor’s partner and more his father’s in raising the kids, so, both counts. INCEST VIBES: 13

EVERY WOMAN IS A MOM: 9

“Nay, Henry might stand between me and the intrusion of my foe.” -.- Sure he does. Does Victor not have a brain, or does he just not give a fuck? I’m inclined to go with the latter.

“I might claim Elizabeth” … *throws up in the corner*

Then Victor goes and beats me with a dead herring. “Oh, good that he’ll come to England with me – can’t think of what he would do to my clueless family if he were around them!” Dumbfuck. Also, not good writing of foreshadowing, Shelley.

“she was filled with disquiet at the idea of my suffering, away from her” – of course. IT’S ALL ABOUT ME: 19

It couldn’t possibly be that, perhaps, she’s unhappy because you leave her alone in a time of grieving.

There’s our old POV fail again, mentioning the beautiful and majestic scenes and then saying he didn’t even notice them.

“…where I waited two days for Clerval. He came.” DAS GAY: 25

Geez, Victor, you need two days for that!? You’re really not good at that, are you? No, I’m not sorry.

Henry is sunshine personified. I wanna give him a lil’ kiss. What a cutie patootie himbo.

And then Shelley channels her travel experiences for a while, I guess. And waxes poetic. Fair enough. The thing about the priest and his mistress is running away from me, ah well.

“the most verdant islands that relieve the eye by their gay appearance” – what, are they swathed in rainbow colors or something? Happy Pride!

Victor begins gushing about sweet, sweet Henry and how deserving he was of any and all affection, which of course does not bode well.

“your form so divinely wrought, and beaming with beauty” o.O DAS GAY: 26

Victor, you’re gonna make Cpt. Walton jealous.

Is it possible Mary Shelley is putting too much time into these travels in an attempt to be historically accurate to a time before her lifetime? This “we need four freaking months to go anywhere” feels kind of medieval, if even that. But there’s London, here’s the fan, and the shit is already incoming.

While Frankenstein is a brilliant piece of literature, it occasionally shows how young Shelley was when she wrote it. The poor time transitions, the heavy-handed foreshadowing, the POV lapses here and there, the occasions when the plot just screeches to a halt to give us a ton of exposition, the way detailed descriptions. Kind of typical for a new writer, even in our times. I'm still blaming the husband for the purple prose and thesaurus syndrome tho.

#Frankenstein #personal opinions #disclaimer: this is just for shits and giggles

[illusion-reality-steve]

Reaction to “I escaped the Darkness” and “Steves acting suspicious” - Rainbow Quest Eps. 136 and 137

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrp7_Wq9moE

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

I apologize for the delay with this reaction series. I really had to take a break to mull over my Thoughts about Shadow Sabre and his discussion about love. But now I’m back.

I’m going to pay more attention to Shadow Sabre, Sabre, and Violet’s characterization since it means a lot to me that I figure out Rainbow Quest’s view on people who love and people who don’t love. I’ll be writing textual evidence in a file and writing my analysis in a separate file, for a future post, while my general fresh reactions will be documenting in the “Reaction” series.

So as a forewarning: I might be taking more breaks as I bingewatch Rainbow Quest as I work on taking notes and over-thinking the tiniest quotes for my analysis project, which means I’ll be slower with catching up on the series. Thank you in advance for your patience!

Anyways, resume the reactions!

The clock ticking noises in the intro makes me wonder if Time will get a more significant, potentially scary, role in this series.

[Screenshot of the destroyed giant statue in the destroyed original Rainbow hub]

Why do I have the mental image of the Darkness biting that statue as if it were a gingerbread man?

Shadow Sabre is starting to radiate the “Are you winning, son?” energy. Except he’s saying “Are you falling into the darkness, son?” instead.

**

Sabre: I’d rather have friends and then lose them, then to have none at all.

Me: Well, good news, Sabre! You will lose all your friends after what you do in the Rainbow Quest finale! You have to say goodbye to all of them!

Yup, RQ is going with the one vs many theme.

**

Consider this: Rainbow Quest, but every time a character says “want,” the video plays .25x faster

**

Now it sounds like Sabre is agitating a super edgy Internet man by telling Shadow Sabre he is afraid. Shadow getting emotional doesn’t help lmao. The emotional “WE CRAVE NOTHING” is hysterical.

This is satisfying me. Sabre’s Steve-content is at its absolute best when its storytelling criticizes the idea that “edginess = superiority.”

**

Sabre: What we want is for everyone to have their own choices. Not be stripped of their own will, but be given their own will, so that they can avoid this right here!

Heck yes, go Sabre!

But of course, with every discussion of free will, someone will eventually ask the question: “But what about the people who decide to use their free will to cause irreversible damage?” I’m curious to see if RQ will explore this question.

I feel like that question will best be explored in an environment where Darkness doesn’t exist to manipulate Steves. What will Steves, without any manipulation of Darkness, do? Will some of them decide to do damaging things?

So far, the only characters that I know of that don’t get manipulated by Darkness are Sol and Origin Steve. So I’m curious to see what their character arcs will be like and how they explore the idea of free will and a manipulation-less world.

**

Sabre is so freaking badass. Shadow is threatening him. Telling him that he can either embrace the Darkness and give up all emotions, or be stuck reliving painful memories for eternity. And Sabre just went like “bring it on.” And that is epic.

Side note, in a meta sense, it’s odd to see Sabre declare how he’ll always remember the lost loved ones from his adventures. Because in Steve Saga, he spends season 2 forgetting everyone. Four main characters (Rainbow and the Galaxy Fam) also forget their loved ones in the Steve Saga.

We went from Steve “who?” Saga to Rainbow “I will remember” Quest, and I like it. Let the forgotten be remembered!

**

MY BOY LEATHER CHESTPLATE YELLOW. COME HERE, SON.

AND HE’S OPEN-MINDED AND ACTUALLY LISTENING TO SABRE. YESSSS

MY SON, IF YOU CONTINUE BEING SO NICE TO SABRE, YOU WILL BE MY #1 FAVORITE CHARACTER IN THIS SERIES.

Leather Chestplate Yellow: *helps Violet Leader arrest Sabre*

...

:(

**

Shadow in the intro: “Are you sick of being powerless?”

Well, we’ll figure out how Sabre feels about being powerless against the Steves now with his tainted repulation.

**

Sabre: I thought Violet Steves were all about peace because you guys represent love!

Me: Sabre, I’ve seen fandoms tear themselves apart with drama because of their protective love over their favorite IPs. Love. Is. Not. Peaceful.

**

Darn it, now I can’t figure out Shadow Sabre

Is he actually vulnerable and legit got scared when Sabre broke out? Or did he pretend to be scared and give Sabre temporary control just so Sabre can get bullied by the Steves? Reliving the past didn’t work to break Sabre, so Shadow Sabre thought on his feet and through accepting the present would do the trick?

***

The Shadow Sword is a weapon formed from all the destruction Sabre caused? So the Shadow Sword basically has a lot of dead people’s energy inside of it?

...gross.

***

I know plot-wise, they’re avoiding him because they need the Steves to trust him. But if we’re going with the “Darkness is a metaphor of mental illness” interpretation, I get odd vibes about Sabre’s friends wanting to avoid him because he got infected.

Time gets a “good boy” sticker for being understanding. Though I’m wondering why Time didn’t ask Elemental to put Sabre in a pocket dimension though, like with Yellow King and Orange Leader.

And Elemental, you’re strong. If you’re so upset at Sabre, why didn’t you destroy him earlier while Sabre was possessed? I’m guessing Time stopped you, because he knew Sabre would eventually come through.

#rainbow quest #reaction #shadow sabre #rq!sabre #rainbow quest spoilers

[simonsnowichooseyou]

This excellent essay was posted by @goodbyedandelion and reposted on Instagram—however their account sadly seems gone now. But it is in rememberence of their Tumblr spirit that I post a continuation to their essay!

EVEN MORE Reasons Why Carry On is so groundbreaking as a YA Fantasy/Romance

Misconceptions/Character Complexity

A large topic in YA Contemporary is gossip, but I feel like fantasy doesn’t touch on this as much. Think of how others perceive one another in Carry On. Early on we learn that Simon, for example, saw Penny as different because of her race. But of course, we quickly know this isn’t true.

But what about Agatha? In Harry Potter, for example, Lavender Brown and other feminine characters are often looked down upon because of their femininity. We often as a culture perceive beauty as overcompensation for what’s inside. Sometimes Agatha is looked at in the same light in Carry On, but when we see things from her POV, we realize that Agatha is perhaps the smartest one there. Maybe she’s not Penny Bunce-smart, but she has the survival instincts that Penny lacks.

Agatha isn’t the only one. Baz looks cold and unfeeling from others’ POVs, but we quickly learn that he is a boy with a soft heart that’s been hardened by his past. Everyone thinks he cares about nothing but we know he cares about his mother and how she’d feel about him; his father and step-mother and siblings; Simon, of course; Bunce, in his own way; he even cares about flowered suits and dramatic entrances! We think Bunce is nerdy and perhaps annoying, but we learn she’s very sweet and like a mother to Simon. And the mage. Ugh, the mage. We think he cares about Simon but we learn that for every bit he cares about Simon, he cares about the war more.

Rowell doesn’t allow any character to be simple, stereotypical, or as they appear. My sister, for example, was saying that Baz sounded like a stereotypical gay man in the media. But he’s not, is he? He might love fashion but Rowell does not make him simple or stereotypical. Everyone is so complex, and she uses the multi-POV to not just show us their complexity but also the complexity of how they are viewed by others.

Woman on Woman Drama/Anger

For years and years, only one woman was allowed to have a true seat at the table in films. Take Indiana Jones, the original Avengers, and Star Wars for example. This woman was often made to be the sex appeal or romantic interest, but I’ll save that for another day. Because of there only being one spot, it set a precedent that women in media needed to fight with each other to take that spot, thus depriving us of women getting along!

At first, I was worried Rowell had fallen into this trap. Bunce thinks Agatha is simple and too feminine, Agatha thinks Bunce is a major pain in the ass. Their dislike for one another is complicated in that they’re essentially two different types of feminism battling it out, and half of their fight was about Simon and their roles in his life.

But in the end, Penny and Agatha create a relationship that exists outside of their relationship with Simon. Penny sees Agatha’s strength and resilience; Agatha recognizes Penny’s harsh exterior for what is is. When Agatha moves away, they text without his even knowing. Penny is the one that decides they need to check on and save her. In the end, penny and Agatha fight alongside one another.

Rowell didn’t just give us a feminine friendship—she showed us what we’ve been doing, and how to get from Point A to point B. I think it’s the most underrated part of the series.

True Friendship

It might sound bad, but I truly believe a lot of today’s media ruins the idea of friendship. I just feel like none of the portrayals are realistic. Friends are either joined at the hip and have never fought (toxic) or never get along (also toxic). The fact that Baz and Penny and Simon and Penny and Agatha and Penny can get into fights but still continue to love one another platonically is really heartwarming to me.

Trauma/Mental Illness

I remember getting to the end of Harry Potter and thinking “he went through all of that and we’re just supposed to leave him now?” We see some remnants in the most cursed play ever: The Cursed Child. But more than trauma we see someone who looks back on the days they risked their life everyday with *longing.* While that’s about the most Harry Potter thing Harry Potter has ever done (and the most canonical part of that play) it’s so unrealistic. You’re telling me Harry grew up with nothing and was an amazing father—minus a few spats with his son. You’re telling me Harry was able to hold it together emotionally after fighting for his life from ages 11-18 without a therapists help? You’re telling me Harry lost two father figures in the ministry of magic AND spent 7 years going through what amounted to a lesson titled “the government is corrupt” just to be a part of that government!?

Wayward son isn’t like that. Wayward Son shows us what happened to Simon afterwards, and it’s not peaches and cream. He had therapy, he quit therapy. A lot of us have been Simon on that couch, and we all needed the Baz in our life to drag us across a metaphorical America. Wayward Son is hands-down my favorite book. Realistic depictions of mental illness, check. Subverting our expectations of after the end, check. Reading it feels like taking a road trip, check.

As OP mentioned, Simon is a beloved chosen one because he’s just so wrong for the role. He’s not levelheaded where he should be, he’s bold in all the wrong places, he couldn’t possibly maintain a professional relationship with the coven. Meanwhile his super-hot enemy Baz was the absolute perfect choice to be chosen, but he was completely passed over. And part of this chalks up to how Simon became so powerful—fate isn’t twisting its whims this way and that. Simon is only chosen because he was a Petri dish experiment-gone-wrong baby. When Simon asks the fates why, really he should be asking the mage. There’s something delightful about the fact that Simon was made. The chosen one was made, and in the same process, so was the greatest threat.

De-escalation

I think it’s clear by now that Carry On is a great book, Simon Snow is an amazing series, and Rainbow Rowell sure can write. But I feel the need to point out that the end of Carry On wasn’t well-received by everyone. I recommend the series to everyone I know and some people are really disappointed you don’t get a big magical battle at the end. Some people think Simon filling in the humdrum was a cop out. But I disagree. I felt it was thrilling to witness a book where war was as stupid in fantasy land as it can be in real life. This is the first fantasy I’ve ever read where they find a better way to handle conflict than senseless fighting. It’s emotionally rewarding, to me, to see de-escalation. To see conflicts fixed before they start to be huge problems. It was a risky choice for an end, you have to admit. But Rowell pulls it off amazingly.

Nothing is Wrapped in a Bow

A day will never go by without me thinking about the fact that Simon Snow Salisbury doesn’t know who his parents are. Or how Baz will never know what exactly happened with his mother—whether she really ended herself to avoid vampirism and whether she would’ve done it to her too. We’ll never even quite understand the mage’s plan behind fix the humdrum and get an all powerful boy wizard on his side. Rowell doesn’t wrap everything up. She gives you closure as often as she gives you something to ponder. The ending of Harry Potter was so controversial, I think, because it spelled out so clearly much of what was happening. And what you didn’t learn in that epilogue, Rowling released later through Pottermore and interviews. That’s fine and dandy—but there’s something to be said for ending Simon Snow’s books with questions. Not infuriating questions but rather things that I’ll always ponder—that will shed new light on different situations depending on how I look at them. Rowell sets a precedent that you can fill in Simon’s world with your imagination while also reminding us that life doesn’t have endings. Not really, the way books to. Rowell is one of the few writers of today’s fantasy, I’d argue, who’s okay letting things go unanswered. There’s always a thread of fantasy and magic going. It’s something that will keep Simon alive in my heart for many, many years to come.

So yeah, that’s what I think about when I think about Simon Snow. It’s not nearly as coherent as the original post but I hope you enjoy it.

#carry on rainbow rowell #simon snow #simon snow series #baz grimm pitch #carry on #simon snow salisbury #baz #any way the wind blows #baz pitch supremacy #co/ws #simon snow supremacy #penny #penny bunce #shepard from omaha #shepard #agatha wellbelove #fiona pitch #lucy salisbury #awtwb #carry on wayward son #wayward son

[sheraphic]

hiii could you do one of these instagram things with eve.frsn and harry, i just love her style xoxo ♥️♥️♥️

𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝

◃────────────────────────────────▹

author's note; hi there anon, sorry for the waiting but here it is your request, hope you like it.

warnings; there can be a few mistakes with the grammar.

「 REQUESTS ARE OPEN 」

It would be wonderful If you ~reblog it~ that help me a lot, it inspire me for write more.

// masterlist //

◃────────────────────────────────▹

Liked by nickjonas, barbarapalvin and 3,633,820 others

yourinstagram walked all day and couldn't find the rainbow

View all 32,712 comments

harrystyles I'm looking at one right now

⤅ynfan992 he calls her rainbow 😩

⤅harryfan672 who gave you the right to be the most perfect boyfriend in the world?

⤅harryfan888 @harryfan672 only on this world?

⤅harryfan672 @harryfan888 you're right, let me correct it; the most perfect boyfriend in the whole universe

barbarapalvin love how you guys match in a heavenly way

yndaily I'm not gonna say who took this picture bc y'all know it already

⤅yourinstagram a stranger

⤅harryfan623 @yourintagram omg hahaha poor harry

⤅ynfan018 @yourintagram like, who's harry?

harryfan540 but- her eyes... so damn beautiful

stinegoyastudio lovely lady

yourbffinstagram saw it from my window 🌈

harryfan092 PROOFS!

⤅ynfan176 @harryfan092 what do you mean?

⤅harryfan092 @ynfan176 that they walk all around the city and no one saw them

⤅ynfan176 @harryfan092 uhm?? it's not like every single person in the city gonna be looking for them... You know, everyone have their own bussines

⤅harryfan800 @ynfan176 exactly! Why someone have to confirm that they were walking?

⤅harryfan092 @harryfan800 bc then it's not real

⤅ynfan176 @harryfan092 omg... Get outta here

lookitsnyoh i'm the blurry spot behind you

ynfan388 everyday passed by without being blessed to be beside you

ynfan729 ok but I want the beanie and the scarf

Liked by yourinstagram, gemmastyles and 8,629,820 others

harrystyles In the middle of a rainy june

View all 52,913 comments

yourinstagram all that green and your eyes are still my favorites

⤅harrystyles @yourinstagram I'm blushing. On my way to... Where am I going?

⤅harryandyn guys stop, i can't cry all day

⤅yndaily she's a poet and he's her inspiration

⤅harryupdates @harrystyles love, i think you got a little bit flustered

⤅harryfan723 i want what they have!

harryfan811 when it will be my turn?

kaiagerber can she be my photographer?

harryfan402 everybody, say thank you to yn for took this picture of a lovely man

⤅harryfan331 @harryfan402 just imagining that he posed for it 🥺

alessandro_michele what a cutie

harryfan101 can- can i be god's favourite for once?

cazoff model material, naturally

adamprendergast_ what a pretty boy smiling at the void

⤅harryfan699 now i now that adam is the annoying friend of the gruop

emiozmen @harryfan699 don't even doubt it

harryking may a offer you an umbrella, my lord?

⤅harrynews one fan said he had an umbrella, but he just doesn't use it

⤅harryfan782 let the boy get wet

⤅harryfan226 @harryfan782 YOU DIDN'T

⤅ynfan335 @harryfan782 this is my favorite comment ever

troyesivan my life is brighter now

⤅harryfan602 @troyesivan we need a collab

⤅columbiarecords indeed

⤅harryfan602 @columbiarecords wait wtf

Liked by gemmastyles, emmalouisecorrin and 5,290,214 others

yourinstagram contrast 🔹🔻

View all 30,171 comments

florencepugh = 💜

⤅yourinstagram :)

harryfan222 omg i get it now

ynfan889 this is so adorable

yoursisterinstagram this is a lot of chaotic energy for my board

yndaily we love their eclectic little world

zendaya big fan of your hair

ynfan022 how can i not love this two weirdos?

harrystyles you said crazy pose, not dramatic

⤅yourinstagram @harrystyles your smile it's crazy delightful

⤅harryfan700 @yourinstagram can i be you girlfriend too?

⤅harryfan191 @harryfan700 same, i fell in love because she knows exactly what she's doing

⤅ynfan748 this man won the best woman ever

harryandyn god, i see what you do for others

charlotteanneclark a mood

harryfan882 i really love that he feels so comfortable with her and their relationship to let us see this.

⤅harryfan525 @harryfan882 ikr he finallt let us see this side of him and I'm an emotional mess

⤅harryfan106 @harryfan882 i think we finally understand that he has a life and can love whoever he chooses

rosalia.vt happy but confused at the same time

harryfan441 ugh, they are so foolishly in love

t_chalament it's a yes from me

⤅harryfan722 timothee represents me

ynfan831 she matches his personality so perfectly

annetwist lovely pics!

⤅ynfan029 she loves her 🤍

Liked by dualipa, harry_lambert and 8,190,644 others

harrystyles The route was traced, the playlist was ready; and even like that we get lost.

View all 76,882 comments

yourinstagram told you to give the map and you said no

⤅harrystyles @yourinstagram I wanted it to be a surprise!

⤅harrynews i can't bear too much cuteness

⤅ynfan551 these two are the only couple that made me belive that true love exists

⤅yndaily ow, an older couple having a disagreement🥺

⤅ynfan670 @yndaily i have high hopes for them getting married

mitchrowland I explained to you three times how the gps works...

⤅harryandyn harry and technology doesn't mix well

harryfan661 @mitchrowland he's a baby, you know?

⤅ynfan771 I'm from the future, and i came here to tell everyone that mitch doesn't know how a gps works either

⤅harryfan880 @yourfan771 I CAN'T WITH HITCH

pillowpersonpp oh, to get lost with great music in the background because your boyfriend it's too stubborn yo let you be the guide... Yes, it happened to me too

⤅yourinstagram @pillowpersonpp i hope god receives us both in paradise for having dealt with these men

⤅harryfan720 stoooooop mitch and harry twins

⤅ynfan182 @yourinstagram you're just a genius with your comments! 🖤

⤅harryfan788 @mitchrowland you gf exposed you, what are you gonna do about it?

⤅lookitsnyoh @harryfan788 the best thing he can do it's to bake some bread for her

helenepambrun so that pic was while you guys stop for indications or...?

⤅harryfan693 HELPPPPPPP

harryfan this it's so harry you can't tell me otherwise

harryfan ok but her dress, the vintage car and the vibe of being lost with your lover-💗 ugh, please leave alone with my singleness

mrbenwinston "the route was traced"

⤅harrystyles It was.

⤅harryfan837 HAHAHAHAHA STOP

⤅harryfan681 all his friends are roasting him lol

⤅harryfan716 he's upset, someone quick give him a lollipop!

⤅ynfan682 i really love this side of his fans

⤅harryfan346 @ynfan682 it has to be this way, otherwise he'll throw a tantrum

zanelowe harry mate, you better start listen to your girl

harryfan380 i'm laughing more than i should, sorry for them, but this it's golden comedy

Liked by harrystyles, jefeazoff and 3,190,644 others

yourinstagram excuse the sunburn

View all 38,672 comments

harrystyles sorry, didn't know the lipstick would be waterproof

⤅harryfan806 did he just say that he kissed her cheeks while wearing lipstick?!

⤅traceeellisross @yourinstagram your boyfriend burned you sweetie haha

⤅harryfan992 i need the name of that lipstick, no matter if i have to give all my money

⤅harryandyn I can't, i just can't stop thinking about harry pecking kisses all over her face

⤅yndaily @harryandyn just thinking how funny It was the moment she realized that the kiss prints couldn't be wiped away and give harry a look like 😠

⤅harryfan714 @yndaily shut uppp! And he just giggling like the fckin demon that he is

harry_lambert ok guys you need to stop because i can't spend the whole day liking all your comments...

⤅harryfan782 then tell them to not be this iconic 🤧

dovecameron it's like seeing an angel in her own heaven

ynfan602 this queen and her eyes are the only reason i'm still alive

reiflerpaige you and italy are old lovers

harryfan503 i love that her hair it's the exact same color as her eyes! It's insanely accurate!

harryupdates you dind't hear this from me, but someone said that harry made that neacklace for her

⤅ynfan101 please don't do this me, i don't have enough tears to express how happy that makes me

⤅harryfan559 I KNEW IT!

⤅harryfan883 @harrystyles do you ship internationally? I would like to order one piece, pretty please 🤍

Liked by arianagrande, annetwist and 7,380,721 others

harrystyles Malva thoughts.

View all 82,110 comments

gemmastyles I'll never share my favorite color with you again.

⤅harryfan733 this is so funny

⤅harryfan892 yep, that's something aquarius would do

⤅harryfan019 @harryfan892 no proof but i have zero doubts

yourinstagram Isn't that my white tablecloth you're painting on?

⤅ynfan129 someone is in trouble

⤅harryfan899 no in a white tablecloth harry!

⤅harryfan782 i can see a storm coming

⤅harryfan673 @harrystyles hey lad, i think they looking for you

⤅harryfan018 @harrystyles that's it, you'll sleeping on the bathtub tonight

zoeisabellakravitz Try periwinkle.

⤅harrystyles It's already in my notes

⤅harryfan820 most iconic interaction

anthonyturnerhair need to know where i can get those flower pots

⤅harryfan675 omg me too!

⤅harryfan772 i bet he has really cool items all around his place

⤅harryfan099 @harryfan772 i bet he was an interior designer on his past life

⤅ynfan681 @harryfan772 those are yn's flowerpots actually and you can find them on amazon! 🤎

⤅harryfan772 @ynfan681 wait, really?? They're sooo cool omg

⤅harryfan388 @ynfan681 so that means they're living together?!

mollyjane_x Prodigy

⤅harryfan819 he can sit on a rock and we'll say he's a fucking legend

⤅harryfan912 where's the lie?

claraamfo music, reading, painting... Leave some for the rest of us, the mortals.

⤅harryfan891 right? It's like, why he has to be so good at everything?

⤅ynfan723 And he's also @yourinstagram broyfriend 😩

⤅claraamfo @ynfan723 that's what hurt the most

sammywitte I never knew you knew how to paint.

⤅jefeazoff leave the kid explore.

⤅harryfan662 hahahaha i can't with jeff's comment

⤅harryfan982 @harryfan662 it's like they just comment to roasting him

⤅harryfan222 @harryfan982 and we are loving it!

⤅harryfan116 true friendship it's this

flammedepigelle inspired.

⤅harryfan671 oh, well...

⤅harryfan927 now e news it's going to write a ridiculous post about a love triangle between yn, harry and sharon

⤅ynfan813 @harryfab927 don't give them ideas! 🤫

⤅harryfan927 @ynfan814 omg you're right, I'm gonna delete it!

jennynails delivery will be this wednesday!

⤅harryfan712 harry's nails will be malva?

⤅harryfan991 omg that's so cute

Liked by tchalamet, zendaya and 4,375,092 others

yourinstagram I'm Malva.

View all 42,713 comments

harrystyles In fact, you're the whole palette, my darling

⤅yourinstagram 🤍

⤅harryandyn he loves his little rainbow

⤅harryfan881 yep, that's my heart full of happiness to see him be so in love with her

⤅harryfan092 she is perfect for him. I mean it.

⤅harryfan330 she will take him to the moon for us.

⤅harryfan445 @harryfan330 and all we can say is thank you to the wonderful yn.

⤅harryfan672 @harryfan330 you should stop with that because it's ridiculous... She already took him to the whole milky way 🌌

⤅ynfan168 @harryfan672 omg i thought you were about to say something nasty about their relationship

⤅harryupdates @harryfan672 we thought that too, we were ready to reply back

⤅harryfan610 @harryupdates to fight back*

⤅harryfan777 @harryfan672 your comment was genious

⤅harryfan672 @harryupdates omg, didn't expect my comment will attract so much attention.

⤅harryfan672 @ynfan168 the only nasty thing i could say about their relationship it's that i'm deeply jealous

yndaily yeah yeah, so cute. When is the wedding?

massimobottura Undeniable expression of love.

⤅ynfan220 now i picturing them eating massimo bottura's delicious food... leave me alone please

⤅harryfan688 @ynfan220 this warms my heart

selenagomez Oh, he draw you ❤️

⤅harrystyles He indeed did it

⤅harryfan672 I can't with this man referring to himself in the third person

⤅harryfan339 @harryfan672 he's a weirdo

⤅harryfan980 thank god it's yn's problem now

⤅harryfan100 we finally can have some peace

⤅ynfan764 good luck honey @yourinstagram

⤅harryandyn this comment section it's gold

glenne_azoff now is when you decided to post in b&w?

⤅yourinstagram aesthetic

⤅harryfan771 I'm laughing more than i want heeelp

⤅harryfan821 @yourinstagram idol

annetwist I will need a copy of it

⤅harryfan111 guys I'm crying and it's just 8am

⤅harryfan337 if queen anne loves her, y'all need to do it as well. No excuses

⤅ynfan008 @harryfab337 has been decreed

harleyweir Didn't know i needed to see this, but I'm happy

charlotteanneclark You two put my expectations so high

⤅harryfan723 someone finally say it

⤅ynfan092 now i need a harry to my yn

spaceykacey lovers in their little birdhouse

tylersamj I see a stubble :)

⤅mitchrowland don't give him hopes, @tylersamj

⤅jefeazoff don't crash his hopes, @mitchrowland

⤅gemmastyles stop defending him, @jefeazoff

⤅harrystyles I want to grow a lumberjack beard :)

⤅yourinstagram we already talked about this, Harry.

– comments have been limited –

#harry styles blurb #harry styles fake ig #harry styles fake instagram #harry styles fake social media #harry styles fluff #harry styles imagine #harry styles one shot #harry styles fanfiction #my wtiting

[kitchenscene]

four chambers buck/eddie (minor), eddie centric, an analysis of the diaz house, (home is about the people, not the space), 1.6k ______________

Eddie holds his heart in physical spaces. Frames, photo albums, ticket stubs. It’s less about the sentiment and more about the proof, evidence of the better moments, and a tangible reminder that they won’t be the last. He carries an old photo of Chris in his wallet and a yellow sticky note from Buck in the back of his phone case, scratchy, all caps writing — “Had to leave early, didn’t want to wake you up. There’s coffee on the counter for you. See you tonight.” — with a heart scribbled at the bottom. He carries his love outside his chest, but hides it in his pockets, under his shirt, and around his neck.

It’s scattered throughout the living room, his heart is in a comfortable place. The warm brown coffee table and throw pillows on the couch. Soft lights, lamps in every corner. An ash filled fireplace and charred brick, as if to say, “yes, there is life here, believe me when I say there’s life.”

[ao3 link]

Out in the living room, his love is most evident on the bookshelf. Loved ones held not by the hand, but by mahogany frames and canvas wrapped photo albums. Two albums, to be exact. The first is from Texas, from his childhood. Family photos year by year, some members disappearing, new ones flooding in, staying whether they want to or not. Some people who only continue to exist in these four-by-six slots, neatly encased in plastic, notes and dates scribbled over the back.

There’s photos of young Eddie cradling a baby Sophia, photos of Sophia and Eddie with Adriana spread across their laps, and a particularly memorable one of Eddie spoon feeding baby Adri ice cream when a baby her age definitely should not have been eating ice cream. First days of school, weekend trips, and middle school phases he’d rather forget. Newspaper cutouts of his baseball stats, team photos with trophies in hand, and senior pictures of him in his jersey. Team captain. He never really wanted it, but he accepted the offer all the same.

Shannon starts to appear around this time, prom photos together, though she wasn’t his date, just a friend of a friend with some sort of connection. Selfies taken on an old film camera from her mother, candid shots of Eddie, smiling, laughing, free, a side of him kept hidden from everyone but her. A few more photos strangers were kind enough to take for them, some strangers proving to be better photographers than others.

Another family photo, this time with Shannon in frame. Off to the side, attached only by Eddie’s arm around her waist, but in frame all the same.

A sonogram of Christopher before they had a name, engagement photos because that’s what they were supposed to do, and a single wedding picture taken from a courthouse bench.

Shannon still makes herself known in the last few pages, though her and Eddie no longer exist in the same frame. Her and Chris. Him and Chris. Chris alone. He’s off to Afghanistan.

Blank pages, accidentally skipped. A photo of him accepting the Silver Star he never wanted, added to the album despite his better wishes, alongside a handful of army memories he’d rather not look back on.

It’s in his heart, all the same.

The last few pages are filled with the only pictures Eddie took himself. Every one, every single one is of Chris. The time lost in those skipped pages finding its way back into the album, one day at a time. First days of school, weekend trips, and all his childhood interests coming and going in phases.

The second photo album carries his second chances. It’s not a memento from Texas or a gift he’d rather not receive, no. This one he chose all on his own. He chose Los Angeles, he chose Chris, he chose the 118, and with them, he chose a fresh start, a blank page. Family photos of a different kind.

Second page, third slot down, Buck makes himself known. He first exists in Eddie’s heart somewhere along the bottom shelf. Three, four, five pages in, Buck never disappears. In the firehouse, after work, trips to the zoo, he never disappears. Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years, he never disappears. The couch, dining room, and kitchen, Buck never disappears.

It always comes back to the kitchen. Before there was a home, there was a kitchen and dirty dishes. Eddie washes the dishes by hand, one by one. Buck sits on the countertop, stacking dried plates, sorting cutlery in the drawers. He leaves every cabinet open — “it’s way more efficient, Eddie,” — and carries three mugs in each hand.

His heart skips in the kitchen. Flinging soap bubbles while rinsing plates, stealing from simmering saucepans on the stove, his breath hitches when Buck swipes a thumb across Eddie’s cheek, brushing away the suds. His breathing stops altogether when his hand lingers a moment too long.

New beginnings are also found in the kitchen, heavy palpitations bleeding from the sink onto the dining table. Anticipation exists between the tiles, melting the glue he’s used to desperately hold himself together. Buck plays music while he cooks, varying from swing to classic rock. On the good days he sings, out of key, but he sings. He whistles along with the guitar or the saxophone or velvety voices he doesn’t dare to replicate. Buck dances too, waiting for songs to end and timers to ring.

Anticipation flooded the room when he asked Eddie to dance along, a soft blues tune playing over the speaker. Hand to the waist, to the shoulder, hand draped in gentle hand. It was an easy choice; Buck leaned in and he leaned back, holding Eddie like he would never have the chance to do it again, kissing him like there was no sweeter air in the world. The first, “I love you,” was breathed against the counter, just above a whisper. “I always have,” followed shortly behind.

The brightest piece of his heart is held in Christopher’s hands. Rainbow carpets and terrariums, posters plastered on every wall, solar systems and galaxies hanging above. Buck pinned the mobile to the ceiling, Earth, Venus, and Mars dancing around each other, glowing as the room fades to black. The planets spin and spin just above his bed. It makes sense, really, that Buck would hang the stars for Chris.

Eddie didn’t decorate his room, unlike the rest of the house. No, the color, the light, the books lining every shelf, all chosen by Chris, constantly shifting as his interest wean and wane. He’s more than willing to provide, because who is he to deny an action figure on the dresser or plant on the windowsill?

His heart is full with Chris. His heart is empty in his bedroom. Everything Eddie has he gives to Chris. (Where else would it go?)

Barren walls and flat sheets. Empty walls, empty frames. Clock on the nightstand, a lamp on either side, nothing more. A dresser, a closet, it’s a bedroom, nothing more. Most days the curtains are drawn. Most days the door is kept shut. It’s best to keep this hidden, best to leave it bare. He had a rug once. Never managed to unroll it.

It functions as a space, that’s all he needs. Eddie sleeps, and sometimes he dreams. Sometimes he wakes in a sweat, sometimes his hands shake until he’s too exhausted to shake anymore. He resorts to self soothing then; counting ceiling tiles that don’t exist and pacing about the room until holes bleed through his socks.

Buck moved from the apartment to the couch, and eventually made his way to the bedroom. They started out two feet apart but always woke together, somehow making contact and swearing it meant nothing. Even in his sleep, he finds his way to Buck. (Of course it means something).

He first kisses Buck in the kitchen. He kisses him again in the bed. His bed, their bed. He sleeps with his head against Buck’s chest, this time with intent, counting beats instead of ceiling tiles as he sleeps, no sweeter lullaby to be heard. He sleeps through the night, no dreams at all. Buck opens the curtain when he wakes up. Eddie leaves it that way.

The changes are subtle at first, and Buck plays it off like it’s all accidental. “Your room has the best sunlight,” he says, moving plants from the kitchen to the dresser. The ivy cascades down the sides and the cactuses bloom in the new light. In the silence, his heart begins to beat again.

Buck covers his own nightstand with receipts and chargers and photos and reminders. “Printed this for myself,” he claims, filling a picture frame with him and Eddie and Chris, “but I made an extra copy.” He leaves it on Eddie’s side of the bed. It’s less and less barren each day.

The rug under the bed is a welcomed addition. Soft and full, Eddie doesn’t question where it came from. A mirror makes its way to the wall. He can count his scars in the reflection; two in the shoulders, one on the hip. Wrist and thigh, hand and head. With each day the sight is more bearable.

Buck ripped off the sheets, the dark navy sheets, and swapped them out for something brighter. He claims they’re softer, claims they’re more breathable, though Eddie knows the truth, the truth being that they’re lighter on his chest and make his heart beat even. One, two, three, he can climb out of bed each morning a little easier.

“Good morning,” Buck whispers, and Eddie, half awake, half dreaming, feels his lips brush against his temple before moving to the kitchen. One beat, two beats, three, he can climb out of bed each morning a little easier.

#nonsense plotless words but hey they're words !! #911 fox #911 #911 fics #911 fic #eddie diaz #the diaz house #evan buckley #christopher diaz #mine:911 #texas.fic

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Into The Unknown, Part 5

First

Previous

Tim finished up pretty quickly.

After all, all the baby toys seemed to just be different variations of each other. Some crinkle, some make sounds, some squish, some… do nothing at all? Tim had no clue how he used to get by as a kid.

He ended up getting Damian three toys:

A tiny rubber duck. He’s almost completely sure that Marinette would have bought one if Tim hadn’t. At least when he was the one buying it he could opt to get the Darth Vader one (Damian had always been woefully uncultured, this was his one chance to make the kid watch sci-fi without risking getting stabbed).

A plush cow with crinkly ears. He had to hope that this could maybe jog memories of Batcow and, in turn, everything else. Tim had tried to think of something a little more relevant but all he could think of were things related to Batman, to Superboy, to the League of Assassins (did their lives really revolve around vigilante-work that much?)... and, unfortunately, this reality didn’t have merch that he could give the kid.

And a squishy plastic baguette. Because that was all he could think of to get back at Marinette for the duck thing.

When it came to little kid books he hesitated for just a bit before getting the basics -- stuff like animals and the letters and Spot The Dog. He wondered, vaguely, if he’d have to teach the kid numbers since they already used the Arabic numeral system. He got a book on it just in case.

Then he got a couple of books on parenting.

He checked out and then walked back to the sitting area where he was supposed to meet Marinette.

… she was taking forever.

He sighed quietly and skimmed through a book on parenting.

… oops they were supposed to breastfeed until Damian was about two. No clue what to do about that. Maybe the kid was already used to a bottle? He hoped so. He’d watch him more carefully while Marinette was holding him to see. In the meantime, he’d get a bottle and some formula on top of the baby food they’d been getting so far.

Alright so the kid was supposed to learn behaviors and language through observation. Good. That, hopefully, solved that problem. Tim probably would have just given the kid a textbook and said ‘good luck’. Marinette… he didn’t really know what Marinette would have done, but the woman wasn’t a teacher as far as he could tell and asking her to teach the kid properly was a little unfair.

Babies around his age are supposed to speak in something called… protowords? Like… a baby language? Damn, he has a miraculous and it seemingly allows him the power to understand every language but apparently ‘baby-speak’ didn’t count as a language. Tim called bullshit.

He felt a weight settle down on the bench next to him and absently glanced over.

Marinette sent him a slightly tired smile. She was wearing a new, dark red scarf.

He opened his mouth to say something only to have her shake her head and adjust her scarf a little to show him something.

Ah. It looked like Damian had fallen asleep on her shoulder so she’d fashioned the scarf into a makeshift baby sling.

“Could’ve used the stroller,” he whispered, setting his receipt in the book to mark his page.

She snorted. “And risk waking him? He cries every time he wakes up, I’m not dealing with that right now.”

He bit his lip. “You know… this book says he’s supposed to cry for, like, an hour to an hour and a half a day.”

She tipped her head to the side a little. “He’s cried like… three times.”

“Yeah, and he was really easy to shut up. Decidedly not normal.”

They looked back down at Damian, identical frowns on their faces.

“Does it have an explanation for why he’d be like this?” Marinette asked, her voice soft.

Tim hesitated.

“The only reasons I can think of are that he doesn’t think we’d help him if he cried or he thinks crying is something he’d be punished for. Considering how he was raised… it could be either. Or both.”

~

Marinette yawned as she sat back on the hotel bed. She leaned back against Tim, leaving him to bear the weight of both her and Damian.

He, to his credit, barely even blinked. He turned slowly until they were both leaning back against each other.

She tipped her head back to rest on his shoulder.

She could fall asleep like this, she thought. Propped against Tim. Damian, in her arms, watching an episode of something called True and the Rainbow Kingdom… it was nice.

Or, at least, it would be if Tim could stop that infernal tapping.

“Ugh, could you stop that? Some people actually sleep.”

He gave a tiny puff of laughter that acknowledged that he heard her but, alas, he continued typing.

She groaned a little and reached a hand behind herself to give him a tiny bap to his side.

“Hm. This may shock you, but hitting me really hasn’t helped your case.”

She huffed and twisted around to try and see over his shoulder. She’d given up on sleeping, anyway.

“What are you even doing?”

He shrugged just slightly. “Trying to figure out what to do about money.”

She nodded slowly, looking over his shoulder as he scrolled through jobs they could do with zero experience or degrees. That could sustain a family of three and pay for the daycare they would have to take Damian to. The options... weren’t great.

Damian tugged on her shirt for her attention and she looked down as he pointed at his screen with a bright smile. There was a black cat on the screen. She didn’t really know what he wanted until he kept saying ‘ma’ over and over. She nodded and said ‘cat’ in both Arabic and English, which seemed to sate him as he went back to watching… the giant green yeti monster stealing a basket of candy? What the fuck was even going on on this show? Were kids’ shows like this in her own world, too? Or was this one’s shows just especially weird?

A thought occurred to her and she looked back over at Tim.

“You exist in this world, right?”

He nodded absently and opened a tab that, despite its claim that it was an entry level job, apparently required two years of experience and a degree. He closed it quickly.

“Why don't we just mooch off of the other you?”

Tim sighed. “Because that’s illegal?”

“You’re a vigilante. I don’t think that ‘borrowing’ money from your alternate self is where you should draw the line on illegal activities.”

“I draw the line when it harms innocent people.”

She laughed at that. “He’s rich. It’s not like he’s going to miss it. Think of it as… giving the money to people who need it.”

“You’re a regular robin hood,” Tim said sarcastically.

“I know. I’m so kind,” she agreed, grinning.

There were a few moments of silence.

Then, finally, he shook his head. “Even if we could somehow do that -- which I can’t guarantee because I’m not completely sure I could guess my passwords -- the fact that we’re in Texas… he’d notice.”

She shrugged. “Then let’s move back to Gotham.”

He blinked and finally looked up from the computer. “What?”

“We don’t have much of a life here, really, so why not move?”

He considered this for a while before sighing and flopping back on the bed. “Let me see if I can even get into the account. There’s nothing to say that I even have the same social security number here...”

She nodded her understanding and laid back next to him. Damian whined a little at the sudden displacement but just ran a hand up and down his back absently until he was watching his show again, completely silent as he stared at the screen. Now the main girl was reaching into her bag for a weird orb of light that was, apparently, sentient. Was this the Dora of their world? God help their children.

Speaking of helping their children...

She picked up a parenting book to read while Tim tried to guess his otherworldly counterpart’s passwords.

~

Tim managed to get in.

He rested his head in his hands, cursing quietly.

She glanced over and smiled at his slightly flushed face.

“What was the password?”

He grumbled under his breath.

This only seemed to encourage her more because she started nudging his shoulder, the soft smile morphing into a cheeky grin.

He sighed and took a moment to gather himself before looking over at her. “It’s… ‘<3Richard<3graysons<3little<3brother<3’.”

“... I don’t get it.”

“Good. So you can’t tease me about it,” he said, sticking his tongue out at her.

She scoffed. “That’s not fair.”

“Totally is.”

He set the computer down beside himself and stretched his achy old bones. He’d had a baby for approximately two days now and he could already feel the bad back setting in. Tomorrow he would have gray hair.

“I’m going to look it up if you don’t tell me.”

“... he’s a celebrity,” Tim said quietly.

Her grin wavered back towards that genuine smile for just a second before spreading into an even wider grin. She reached out and pinched his cheeks. “Awwww, Tim, that’s so cute --!”

“Shut up,” he complained, batting her hands away.

She snickered. “No. I’m going to write that password on your tombstone.”

“You’re assuming I’m going to die first.”

“I have an extended lifespan. You’re only going to have that for another fifteen years. After that? Unless I’m really stupid you’re gonna die first.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m going to find out how to be immortal now. Purely to spite you.”

She snorted. “Okay. Good luck with that.”

“Thank you.”

With that, he pushed himself up with a groan. “I’m going to get him ready for bed.”

She nodded her understanding and continued with her reading.

Damian whined a little when Tim tried to take him away from where he had curled up next to Marinette but that seemed to be more because he was tired and cranky than genuine distress.

Tim was the one to bathe him. It wasn’t a bubble bath, he wasn’t eager to repeat the previous night’s mistakes, but he did give Damian the rubber duck. This seemed to work for all of them, since Damian now allowed them to take him out of the bath as long as he got to bring his duck.

Marinette grinned when she looked over at where Damian was chewing on his rubber duck as Tim struggled to click the annoyingly difficult buttons of the onesie into place.

“Told you he would love it.”

“We both know that wasn’t why you wanted to get it.”

“And we both know you didn’t get that squishy bread-thing just because you thought he would like it, either.”

He smiled. “Maaaaaybe.”

The onesie finally allowed itself to be buttoned and Tim picked Damian up so he could get into bed.

Marinette frowned. “This book says we shouldn’t let him sleep with us every night. Says it creates a bad habit that’s hard to break.”

Tim raised an eyebrow at her but, reluctantly, carried the kid over to the crib so they could sleep separately.

“Fine. But I’m going to sleep before him so I don’t stress out all night.”

She snickered. “Fine. Fine.”

He climbed into bed, set a pillow between them, and promptly dozed off before he could get woken up by Damian whimpering through the night.

… Tim woke up a few hours later -- his body wasn’t quite used to sleeping through nights just yet -- to find that Marinette had brought the kid into bed with them again.

He smiled a little and moved the pillow out from between them. Even if Damian was currently too trapped in Marinette’s arms to even reach it, it was best to make sure it couldn’t happen.

Damian whimpered a little in his sleep again and Tim tipped his head to the side. He reached over and gently combed his fingers through the fuzzy little tufts of hair that the kid had so far. Damian relaxed.

Tim sighed and shifted in the bed until he was closer to Damian, then maneuvered through Marinette’s mess of limbs to press a tiny kiss to the top of his head. The baby smiled in his sleep and, though the kid couldn’t see it, he returned the smile. He rested an arm around the kid as well in hopes that it would keep the kid feeling safe before allowing himself to drift off.

~~~~~

Next

@nathleigh @peachmuses @unoriginalmess @hammalammadamdam @astrynyx @laurcad123 @927roses-and-stuff

#into the unknown #maribat #tim drake #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #red robin #timari #timmari #shutterbug #timinette

[tobiogf]

𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐝

suna

word count: 1632

warnings: drugs????? 

from the moment suna’s tongue pressed a tab of LSD onto your tongue, you knew this was going to a night like no other. five hours later, the two of you were perched atop his window sill, suna lazily leaning back with his eyes staring up at the ceiling while you rested your chin atop your folded arms and stared at the swirling lights of the city beyond the window. they blinked and glowed like halos, but also danced and swam like tiny fireflies. your heart was racing, so blissfully aware of how beautiful the city looked from this angle, and underneath the black curtain of the night sky. 

the clarity sent a smile upon your lips and your eyes shifted to look at suna. he had been staring at the ceiling for the past hour. you, curious as to what was so intriguing about it, followed his gaze and felt your jaw fall slack at the sight above you. the cemented designs that were engraved on suna’s ceiling were moving. they swayed this way and that, like white paint diluted in water. it was breath-taking and alluring. 

“y/n,” suna said and the sound was like a melody once it touched your ears. neither of you removed your gazes from the ceiling. “ever thought about how materialistic we are, like as humans. we’re always chasing something.”

you sucked in a deep breath, spreading your suddenly sore knees so that your feet rested atop suna’s lap. “i think this is where we’re supposed to be,” you told him with a dazed smile. “indulging in the little things and finding meaning in things that don’t make sense.”

suna nodded in agreement, twisting his body to retrieve the joint he’d pre-rolled and the lighter that was sitting right next to it. “we think too much about it, like what is our purpose here... why can’t we just be.”

“right,” you said with a chuckle, watching suna this time like he was some beguiling scene in a movie; the way he placed the joint between his lips, the way he dipped his head down to light it, the way those warm, chocolate strands of hair fell over his face and you were mesmerized by the sudden spark of fire that lit up those mellow features of his. 

“because just being doesn’t make you money and money makes this world go round,” suna murmured, lifting his head now and smiling at you as rhythmic slurs of smoke fell past his lips. “when’s the last time you’ve felt happy?”

you extended your fingers as suna handed you the joint and blinked at him while inhaling sharply. you could feel the smoothness, the fluidity in the way the smoke traveled past your throat and warmed up your lungs.

“probably when you invited me over and cured my boredom,” you answered your friend with a giddy grin. 

suna shook his head, you entranced by the way his hair rippled around his head as he did so. “no, i mean truly happy.”

your response was an instant shrug. you didn’t want to think about something like that -- it felt like some tangible thing that you could see if you looked closely but was impossible to reach. 

“i don’t know, suna... when have you been truly happy?” you questioned him, the room between you two hazy and lucid at the same time as you two passed the waning joint back and forth. suna grit his teeth and you blinked at him as he stared down at his lap. 

“i-i’m not sure either,” he said lowly and you hummed, feeling the need to take a look out the window again. the sight was practically dragging your attention toward it, with the flickering lights dancing in colourful, psychedelic motions. 

“i guess that’s why we end up doing things like this,” you stated, your words encompassing the comfortable silence that hung between yourself and suna. you felt his fingers trace the shape of your calf and shivered at the delirious provocation of it all. “getting to see life in a different perspective... overthinking, like you said, but in a different way,” you continued, sighing contently as your brain began sinking away from the city before you and became more focused on the pads of suna’s fingers, touching you so delicately. 

“in a good way,” suna whispered. “i could be happy with this; the lack of inhibitions anddd...” he sighed and bit his lip. “the rush that comes with it.” you smiled, languid and at ease and when you traced suna’s gaze, you came upon the mildly surprising discovery that you’d been rubbing suna’s hardening length between his legs with your foot this whole time. 

you gulped. “i-i didn’t notice.”

“don’t stop,” suna groaned softly, eyes falling closed momentarily before shooting open. “you know, there’s peace that comes with the unfamiliar... how you know when something doesn’t make sense and it’s out of your control so...” he leaned toward you, “so you ride with it.”

“yes,” you breathed, even though you had no idea what he was on about. suna exhaled and a crest of smoke fluttered past his parted mouth and slipped between your lips before they were unstoppably connected with his own. “suna rintarou, what are you doing...?” you said, pulling away from his wet lips and grinning at him like this was the funniest thing to ever happen. in fact, giggles were threatening to spill past that bubble in your throat and suna’s narrowed, silver eyes seem to flash with ecstasy. 

“kissing you,” he purred, lips grazing yours and your hands seemed to magnetically find the amicable ridges of his chest beneath his shirt. it was like heaven to touch and the space between your legs suddenly felt warm and... inviting?

“wait, wait... you’re my best friend,” you told him, dragging your knees toward yourself and pushing your legs together. suna grinned. 

“and?”

“it’ll make things weird.”

“how?”

you shrugged. “i’m-i’m not sure... i know friends aren’t supposed to kiss.”

“supposed to,” suna repeated with a nod, his body still hovering over yours, one hand meeting the dip of your waist and sending wild sparks of excitement all throughout your system. “why do you care? you could live by each and every rule you’re accustomed to... or you could shut the fuck up and enjoy what i’m about to do.”

you weren’t really thinking. he’d given you options but, like raindrops on glass, they’d both blurred into one another once they’d left his lips and god, those lips were beautiful so you decided you’d choose later and kiss him now. 

you wouldn’t be able to describe the taste of his mouth pushing down on yours, his lips, and the captivating intrusiveness of his tongue... if you looked back, you wouldn’t be able to describe how perfectly his body fit with yours, how his chest was nice and stiff and almost made your own ache, how his slender fingers gripped you in ways you couldn’t imagine, or the feeling of his dick right between your legs like a missing puzzle piece that you’d finally unearthed. 

“i-i don’t wanna hold back,” suna’s stammered right into your ear and you shook your head as your hands already reached for his belt. 

“then don’t...” you assured him, moving to sit upright while removing your own pants and underwear. suna licked his lips, raw yet simple temptation in his otherwise indifferent expression. “lack of inhibition, right?” you said and suna smiled, fingers pressing into your hips, lips on yours before pushing his way inside of you and holy fuck, there’s a fucking rainbow exploding right against your closed lids. 

“ohmygod,” suna gasped against your mouth and you felt the same way, out of breath and totally in a different dimension. every movement of his hips seemed to ignite fireworks inside of you, everywhere. 

it feels so fucking good. you hadn’t said the words but they danced around your brain like some kind of tame impala song as you threw your head back and let out a dream-like moan. suna’s lips were beside your ear, making wonderful sounds that you swore you were able to taste, sounds that had you starving for more. 

every thrust was profound and seemed to transcend the plane of reality that you’d always been familiar with. no, suna was right; having no control was an entirely different peace in itself. mind-blowing was an understatement -- you were becoming one with the phenomena of simply existing and suna was right there with you through it all. 

“i’m...” you weren’t sure what you wanted to say, each thought was moving so rapidly before you had the chance to verbalize it. you wanted to cry out -- maybe you already were -- you wanted suna deeper inside you than physically possible -- even now, he seemed to be setting every cell of your body aflame and it was so fucking good. 

“d-don’t stop...”

“y/n.. fuck... you’re gonna fucking kill me....”

“harder...” “faster....” “deeper...”

“you feel-- you feel fucking amazing.”

“suna... i-i love you...”

“i fucking love you too...”

it wasn’t long after that. you’d never orgasmed so quick in your god-damn life, you felt helpless but in the best way possible. something about suna right then, after coming inside of you, seemed so otherworldly. he was exhausted, face-flushed, and hair sticking to his forehead but he looked like an angel. and the way he looked at you... he must have thought you were one too. 

twenty-four hours later, in separate bedrooms at your own houses, you and suna both cringe at the sudden remembrance of saying “i love you” in the heat of a moment that would be imprinted in your heads forever. 

awkward and unforgettable? perhaps. 

would you do it all over again? fuck yes. 

damn i almost got high flashes writing this god damn. i kinda wanted to do this to a boy once on acid but life isn’t a fanfiction and he probably would’ve felt violated and im no sex offender. 

#haikyuu #haikyuu smut #anime #anime smut #suna #suna rintarou #suna rintaro oneshot #suna rintaro fluff #suna rintaro x reader

[goldenpixel]

The scene with Wilbur in Quackity’s latest lore stream made me Think some Thoughts, and I wanted to get all of my SBI family headcanons together in one place, so here’s this post

First thing, this is their age order:

Philza -> Techno/Wilbur -> Tubbo -> Ranboo -> Tommy

- Techno and Wilbur were born on the same day, so most of the family refers to them as “the twins” but they are not blood related

- Philza did not know how old Techno was when they were ruling the Antarctic Empire, he thought that Techno was around 21 when he was actually around 14-16

- this is a fact that haunts Phil to this day, because he committed a massive amount of war crimes with an actual child, and also for reasons that will soon become very clear

Philza and Techno

- they’re married

- they got married with them each thinking that the other was close to their own age (Phil thought Techno was in his early 20’s, Techno thought Phil was in his late teens)

- for more on their marriage, check out this post

- despite Techno and Wilbur being the same age, Techno is mentally much older due to his past and his general status as the Blood God

- Phil did most of the work raising the older kids, but Techno did his fair share, and you can definitely see his influence when you look at the kid’s behaviors

- both of them are immortal

- Techno is a new immortal, the Blood God has only just come into existence, but he isn't leaving anytime soon

- Philza is an old immortal, he was there when the world was born, and he'll be there when it dies

Wilbur

- Wilbur and Philza are the only blood relatives in the whole family

- as much as he loves him, Wilbur has always been a bit bitter towards Techno, because when they were teenagers, Techno was off ruling and adventuring and having fun with Phil during the AE, and Wil was left home with a young Tommy to look after

- Wilbur’s hair is naturally blond, just like Phil and Tommy’s

- no one knows who Wilbur’s mom is (unfortunately mpreg is the norm on this server, so Phil carried him, and he’s got some ideas on who Wil’s mom is, but he honestly doesn’t care enough to look into it)

- Wilbur has wings

- they’re much smaller than Phil’s, he can barely fly with them, but they’re the same color and shape as Phil’s

- because of how fragile his wings are, Wilbur should not technically be able to fly, but he literally sheer force of will-ed it and threw himself off the roof of their house so many times that he can glide when he jumps from high places, and if it’s a really high place, he can get in a few good flaps of his wings to get him some extra distance

- Phil doesn’t learn that Wilbur can semi-fly/glide until one day they’re off adventuring together and Wil is being dramatic and theatrical and walking backwards while he talks, and he falls off a cliff

Tommy

- Tommy has been with them since he was a few days old

- because of his light features, most people assume that he is Phil’s son by blood, and he just didn’t inherit the wings

- (at ages 10 and 16, Tommy and Wilbur did the blood-brothers handshake where they cut their palms and then shook hands, so if you ask them, they’re blood brothers through and through)

- Techno taught Tommy how to sew

- Tommy is a young god, but he hasn’t grown into most of his powers yet

- Tommy is a god of death, the future Death himself, Kristen is his mother

- (this is how Phil comes into possession of him. Phil, being the Angel of Death, was really the only reasonable choice when it came to Death herself finding someone to raise her son)

- Tommy has light features, even though Mumza has dark features, because she purposefully made him out of the light, she wanted him to be good and kind, so she created him from the literal light that you see when you're dying

- because he was born from the actual moment of death, despite Tommy's eyes being blue, they hold the void itself in them

- if you look too closely into Tommy's eyes, it can be easy to lose yourself and fall right in

- sometimes Mumza comes to visit, these are very bittersweet moments for Tommy

- he loves his mom, and he loves seeing her and seeing Phil happy to see her, and she usually takes him along on her next trip, ever so slowly teaching him how to be Death, but he also hates that that is his future

- he doesn't want to be the next Death, he doesn't want to outlive all of his friends and his brother, he just wants to be normal

- because of this, Tommy represses pretty much all of his godly powers, trying to seem as normal as possible, the one he represses the most is his automatic healing, when he gets hurt, he wants to stay hurt

- he represses everything so well that its years before Tubbo finds out that his best friend is a god

Ranboo

- Techno raised Ranboo more than Phil did

- (because of this, he’s the only kid who actually views Techno as his father. Despite him literally being their stepdad, the others see Techno as more of a brother or an uncle)

- Techno found Ranboo when he was around 12 years old on the edge of a warped forest in the nether (if you want some more nether-boys hc’s, check out this post)

- at that age, Ranboo hadn’t hit his growth spurt yet due to malnutrition, so he was much smaller than the average human 12 year old, and everyone thought he was around 8-10 (because of his memory issues, Ranboo thought the same thing until Tommy kept pestering him about when his birthday was and he remembered the year)

- Ranboo is brought into the family when he’s 12, Tommy is 11, and Wilbur and Techno are 17

- as I said before, Techno may have been 17 when he took in Ranboo, but he was definitely a father to this anxious amnesiac preteen

- because of his height, Ranboo is constantly slouching to fit through doorways, inside houses, and to make himself appear smaller, so he grows to need a cane

Tubbo (and Dream)

- street cat

- they fed him once and he just kept coming back

- sometimes he’ll disappear for a few weeks, but he always turns up eventually

- boy’s got some family issues, some real bad family issues

- his dad is Schlatt, who left him and big brother Dream to fend for themselves when he and Dream were 6 and 11

- luckily Dream has an excellent sense of direction and memory, and got them to Aunt Puffy’s current port before she pushed off on her next adventure (but not before getting briefly separated and making some friends)

- (the few weeks they spend separated are when Tubbo first gets found by Wilbur and Tommy and forcibly adopted by Phil, and Bad lures Dream home with food and he meets Sapnap)

- both boys have ram features - floppy ears, horns, etc., Dream also inherited their Aunt Puffy's rainbow hair (he dyes it blonde semi-regularly. It's dyed when he meets sbi, and Wilbur and Techno have the exact same reaction to it when they finally see his natural hair: relentless teasing. Like father like son amiright?)

- Tubbo and Dream are half brothers (same dad, different moms), Tubbo is 1/2 ram and 1/2 human, Dream is 1/2 human, 1/4 ram, and 1/4 what he and Sapnap think is demon (basically Dream had a human-ram hybrid dad, and a human-demon(?) hybrid mom)

- when Tubbo introduces Dream to his new brother-in-law, Dream feels a bit of a kindred spirit, but he quickly brushes it off

- Dream spends most of his time either with Bad, Skeppy, and Sapnap, or on the sea with Puffy, so Tubbo mostly fends for himself

- Tubbo is more than happy to fend for himself, he actually prefers it most of the time. He doesn't like people fussing over him and sheltering him, so whenever his mood switches and he decides that he does, actually, want some family time, he just appears on sbi’s front porch

- Tubbo first meets Ranboo when he comes to visit after a few months away. No one told him that Tommy was with Mumza for the weekend, so when he arrived at 3am, 2 days before he told Phil he’d be there, he just let himself in and threw himself on top of the sleeping figure in Tommy’s bed, only to be met with a startled enderman screech that woke the whole house

- (Ranboo was in Tommy’s bed because he might not be a part of the official Clingy Duo, but the boy is as clingy as they come. He regularly sleeps in his family’s beds, both when they’re home and when they’re away, because his sense of smell is heightened as an enderman and he needs to be surrounded in their scent when he misses them or when he’s feeling sad (especially because these are the only scents he knows, he doesn’t remember any of the scents from before Techno found him))

Big brothers being friends

- one day, after Tubbo’s near-constant raving about how great the Minecraft family is, Dream agrees to visit with him

- this visit happens to fall during the AE, so the only ones home are Wilbur and Tommy

- Dream and Wilbur take one look at each other and their similar situations in raising their chaotic, problem-child little brothers, and never let go

- the four of them live together for a good 5-6 months before Dream gets a letter and he and Tubbo need to leave

- after this visit, Dream and Wilbur stay in contact, and they visit each other even without their brothers around to drag them along

- I know I said that Wilbur makes fun of Dream for dying his hair, but that’s only in public

- in private, Wilbur confesses to Dream that he also dyes his hair, that his hair is naturally blond and he dyes it darker. After this, Dream and Wilbur start dying their hair together, it becomes something scheduled that they both look forward to immensely each month

- the next time Dream and Tubbo visit together, Wilbur is off with a water spirit who stole his heart (I refuse to write about fish Sally, fight me), and Phil is showing Ranboo some cool builds in his current hardcore world, so it's Techno and Tommy who welcome them in

- Techno starts out pretty hesitant of Dream, but Dream almost instantly is like

- "I'm gonna annoy the blood god into being my best friend"

- and whatever Dream sets his mind to, he achieves

- so the visit sort of ends with Dream and Techno making Tommy and Tubbo promise not to burn the house down, and leaving them home alone to go off to cause some chaos together

Father/son relationships

- As I said earlier, Phil primarily raised Wilbur and Tommy, and Techno primarily raised Ranboo, with Tubbo coming in and out like a feral cat

- to Wilbur and Tommy, Techno is more of a cool uncle who brings them valuable trinkets from his adventures, and they want to be like him one day

- Ranboo and Phil’s relationship is almost exactly the same as Wilbur and Tommy’s relationship with Techno

- when Techno brought Ranboo home, Phil pretty much decided that he had his hands full enough with raising his two chaotic boys, and he declared that it was finders-keepers, Techno found Ranboo, so he gets to raise him

- after L’Manburg, Ghostbur and Phil learn sign language, because the explosion blew out Phil’s hearing in his left ear, and Ghostbur’s so soft-spoken that it’s sometimes really difficult for him to hear his son speaking

For more random hc’s I have about these characters and the characters of the smp in general, check out this post

Some quick tags for people who commented on my post asking who wants this post, thanks for the support guys :’) @anotherweirdohere @haveadayasgreatasyou @jupiterjordan

#man this isnt even all of my hc's #I genuinely couldn't remember a lot of them #so I'm probably gonna add to this at some point #this honestly isn't nearly as long as I thought it'd be #so yay for me #I hope the links work #I've only linked posts in one other post before #so I'm not positive on how to do it #that's it I guess #my sbi family headcanons #I hope you like them!! #mcyt #dream smp #tommyinnit #philza #wilbur soot #philza minecraft #technoblade #ranboo #tubbo #sbi #dreamwastaken #captain puffy #jschlatt #dadschlatt #sleepy boys inc #clingy duo #bench trio #rivalsblr #aj writes

[longitudinalwaveme]

Worst Flash Storylines and Plot Ideas of All Time

As you’ve probably ascertained from the general contents of this blog, the Flash is my favorite comic book series. I love the characters and most of the stories. However, just like any series that’s been around for eighty years (counting the Jay Garrick stuff), the Flash does, unfortunately, have some truly terrible stories and plot ideas. 

In terms of terrible plot ideas that didn’t completely ruin the surrounding stories: 

1. Barry Allen uses the Mirror Master’s mirrors to manipulate Iris into agreeing to start dating him again (Flash #109). Creepy, Barry. Just creepy. The story is great Silver Age fun otherwise. 

2. Iris West: meanest woman alive. Iris was, by and large, incredibly awful to Barry up until maybe about a year before their 1966 marriage. Almost every time she shows up in an early Silver Age issue, you will admire her daring and independence (this is good) and be bewildered as to why on Earth Barry would want to spend time with a woman who is constantly calling him slow, lazy, and ambition-less (this is not good). It doesn’t really affect any one issue too much, but when read in a conglomerate, she starts looking really awful. Although as bad as Early Silver Age Iris seems as a romantic interest, she’s got nothing on Silver Age Superman and Lois Lane, the most dysfunctional couple in the DCU. 

3. Wally West’s zero-effort code name and costume (Flash #110). It really could not be more obvious how little effort the writers were putting into creating this character. The duplicate origin is also pretty cheesy, but there are enough differences from Barry’s origin for it not to frustrate me. But the name “Kid Flash” and the fact that his first costume was literally identical to Barry’s just feel incredibly lazy. Barry and Wally do have an adorable dynamic in the issue, though, so it’s by no means all bad. 

4. Barry Allen waiting an entire year after his marriage to tell his wife that he’s really the Flash. Frustrating and unnecessary; especially since Joan Garrick had been in on her husband’s secret since the 1940s. 

5. Iris Allen is FROM THE FUTURE. I both love and hate this idea. It’s so perfectly comic-booky, but at the same time, it opened the floodgates for the Allen family being a confusing, time-displaced mess. 

6. The Trial of Barry Allen. This one’s weird. I like many of the individual issues in this arc, and I actually think the last two issues are really great as an ending for Barry Allen’s original run, but this storyline dragged on for waaaaaay too long. There’s a reason I call it the Arc that Never Ends. Also, the titular trial is actually the least interesting part of the entire storyline. His battles with the Rogues and Kadabra are far more interesting. 

7. Wally West’s borderline creepy, chauvinistic attitude towards women under Mike Baron (and, to a much lesser extent, William Messner-Loebs). There’s being a hormonal twenty-something, and then there’s going through girlfriends at the rate other people change their socks. Messner-Loebs mostly avoided this issue by making it clear that Wally was under intense psychological stress that was negatively impacting his behavior, but under Baron and in some of his JLE appearances, he comes across as a real creep around women. 

8. Kadabra overkill under Mark Waid: I like Kadabra, but when he’s the main villain in like four distinct arcs, it gets to be a bit much. It’s like modern Eobard. He is legitimately written well, though, so he doesn’t drag down any of the stories too much. 

9. Pointlessly Dead Rogues: Killing off the Rogues in Underworld Unleashed for no good reason (the rest of the story is great, especially the Trickster). 

10. Pointlessly Dead Rogues 2: Electric Boogaloo: The Golden Glider’s pointless death to build up a character who was himself killed two issues later. (The rest of the story is decent.) Also, the treatment of Lisa in general post-Crisis is frustrating, since she becomes considerably more unhinged than she was before. 

11. Any time Waid tried to write McCulloch, with the exception of Flash vol. 2 #105 (and even there, he seemed off). It’s like he forgot Evan wasn’t Sam. 

12. Apparently, the Top trying to blow up both Central City and half the world makes him a loser? Also, he suddenly hates Piper for no readily apparent reason. (At least the story had some good Piper and Wally bits.) 

13. BARRY ALLEN HAS A SECRET EVIL TWIN! DUN DUN DUN! (The rest of the story, where we get to meet a whole whack of interesting future Flashes, is actually pretty good, but whoo boy, the Malcolm reveal feels like it came straight out of a soap opera.) 

14. In order for Captain Cold to ANGST, the Golden Glider’s pointless death remained in place for over ten years. It did give us a really, really good Capt. Cold story, at least...but it’s still fridging. 

15. Rainbow Raider’s mean-spirited murder by Blacksmith. Poor Roy. 

16. Albert Desmond becomes Hannibal Lecter, only twenty times as rude, for a Gotham Central arc that would’ve been terrific without him as the main villain. 

17. Owen Mercer is an idiotic child murderer and gets killed by the Rogues. Why was this necessary? (The rest of Blackest Night: The Flash is pretty good.) 

18. Josh Jackam-Mardon’s murder. The murder of small children for shock value is pretty gross. Especially since nothing was ever really done with it. 

19. Barry’s PARENTS ARE DEEEEAAAAD! (Okay, it’s really just his mom, but still. This is a very frustrating retcon, since originally his parents were alive and well until after his own death.) 

20. Albert Desmond was Barry’s jerk coworker; which never impacted the plot or led to anything. As a result, it’s just another frustrating retcon. 

21. Sam Scudder murdered someone before becoming the Mirror Master. Yet another Johns retcon that never went anywhere and only serves to darken the Silver and Bronze Age stories after the fact. 

22. Flashpoint (a decent story) wiped out a whole bunch of characters I really liked from existence for several years. Evan McCulloch’s still not back. 

23. Giving the Rogues metahuman powers doesn’t suit them, on the whole. They work better without them. 

24. Roy’s second pointless, brutal death in (I think) Forever Evil. 

25. IT WAS MEEEEE, BARRY! After serving as the main villain for like six arcs in eight years, I’m glad that Eobard finally seems to be getting a rest. The level of bad things he was responsible for was getting ridiculous. 

26. Sam/Lisa. WHY? (The only time it even kind of worked was in Forever Evil.) 

In terms of entire storylines I didn’t like: 

1. The Flash: The Most Terribly Written Man Alive. Poor Bart is aged up with no adequate explanation, loses all the traits that made him a likeable character, fights some awful villains, and then is murdered by the badly OOC Rogues. Meanwhile, Inertia goes from an at least somewhat sympathetic villain to a complete psychopath with little explanation, a murder is retconned into one of Captain Cold’s reformed periods, the Pied Piper and the Trickster completely forget that they’re supposed to be reformed, Abra Kadabra inexplicably teams up with the Rogues despite generally being a solo operative, and all of the Rogues act like total morons, willingly following a teenage speedster for no adequately explained reason. UGH. 

2. Countdown to Infinite Crisis: Even though Piper and Trickster were probably the best part of Countdown, that isn’t saying much. Both of them are uncharacteristically stupid (especially James), and James is a grade-A jerk to Piper for no reason. Also, both of them continue to forget that they reformed, and then James gets brutally murdered and Piper almost loses his mind. Also, the other Rogues cameo, and continue to act like idiots. Countdown: it really does ruin everything it touches. 

Superboy Prime will kill you! He’ll kill you to DEATH! And after you read Countdown, you’ll wish he had killed you to death. 

3. The Identity Crisis Tie-In Retcon: So, you know all that awesome character development the Rogues have had over the years? Well, forget all that, because it was all just Roscoe brainwashing them! Which was something he could definitely do before this story! And why did he do this? Why, because Barry Allen, one of the most upstanding men in the DCU, brainwashed him! Also, apparently, the Top had a huge bodycount that we never heard about back in the Bronze Age, because we need even MORE grimdark retcons for our cheerful Silver/Bronze Age history! I like Geoff Johns’ work, I really do....but BOY HOWDY does he need to lay off on the retcons sometimes. 

4. Identity Crisis: With the exception of Owen’s introduction and the establishment of the relationship between him and Digger, this story was pretty awful all around. More specifically, as far as the Flash was concerned, it was responsible for Digger’s second pointless death. It also killed off poor Jack Drake and poor, mistreated Sue Dibney, who deserved MUCH better. And the Justice League, including Barry, are A-OK with brainwashing, apparently. Comics are fun! 

These last two stories are pretty recent, and they did have some parts I liked, but on the whole I felt they also belonged on the list. 

5. The Trickster finally returns! Hurrah! Except it turns out that he’s way more like the Joker now than he ever was before, and he mind-controls the city in a super-creepy way. A very disappointing return for the character, especially since it was set up really well. 

6. Forever Evil: Captain Cold becomes a murderous dictator with a stupid Santa Beard, all of the Rogues get horrible costumes, and Sam completes his mutation into Evan-in-all-but-name. There are some good characters bits in the story (even for Cold), but on the whole, I found the story to just be unlikeable and depressing and thought Cold was pretty out-of-character. Poor Commander Cold....

So, what are your least favorite Flash storylines and plot ideas? 

#flash comics #flash rogues #dc comics

[path-of-my-childhood]

The Story Behind Every Song on folklore - According to Aaron Dessner

By: Brady Gerber for Vulture Date: July 27th 2020

The National multi-instrumentalist spoke to Vulture over the phone from upstate New York a few hours after the surprise release of Swift’s eighth studio album. (“A pretty wild ride,” he admits, sounding tired yet happy.) He was clear that he can’t speak on behalf of Swift’s lyrics, much like he can’t for The National frontman Matt Berninger’s either, or the thinking behind Jack Antonoff’s songs. (Here’s a cheat sheet: Jack’s songs soar, Aaron’s glide.) But Dessner was game to speak to his specific contributions, influences, and own interpretations of each song on folklore, a record you can sum up by two words that came up often during our conversation: nostalgic and wry.

“the 1″

“the 1” and “hoax,” the first song and the last song, were the last songs we did. The album was sort of finished before that. We thought it was complete, but Taylor then went back into the folder of ideas that I had shared. I think in a way, she didn’t realize she was writing for this album or a future something. She wrote “the 1,” and then she wrote “hoax” a couple of hours later and sent them in the middle of the night. When I woke up in the morning, I wrote her before she woke up in LA and said, “These have to be on the record.” She woke up and said, “I agree” [laughs] These are the bookends, you know?

It’s clear that “the 1” is not written from her perspective. It’s written from another friend’s perspective. There’s an emotional wryness and rawness, while also to this kind of wink in her eyes. There’s a little bit of her sense of humor in there, in addition to this kind of sadness that exists both underneath and on the surface. I enjoy that about her writing.

The song began from the voice memo she sent me, and then I worked on the music some and we tracked her vocals, and then my brother added orchestration. There are a few other little bits, but basically that was one of the very last things we did.

“cardigan“

That’s the first song we wrote [in early May]. After Taylor asked if I would be interested in writing with her remotely and working on songs, I said, “Are you interested in a certain kind of sound?” She said, “I’m just interested in what you do and what you’re up to. Just send anything, literally anything, it could be the weirdest thing you’ve ever done,” so I sent a folder of stuff I had done that I was really excited about recently. “cardigan” was one of those sketches; it was originally called “Maple.” It was basically exactly what it is on the record, except we added orchestration later that my brother wrote.

I sent [the file] at 9 p.m., and around 2 a.m. or something, there was “cardigan,” fully written. That’s when I realized something crazy was happening. She just dialed directly into the heart of the music and wrote an incredible song and fully conceived of it and then kept going. It harkens back to lessons learned, or experiences in your youth, in a really beautiful way and this sense of longing and sadness, but ultimately, it’s cathartic. I thought it was a perfect match for the music, and how her voice feels. It was kind of a guide. It had these lower register parts, and I think we both realized that this was a bit of a lightning rod for a lot of the rest of the record.

The National’s Influence On Swift

She said that she’s a fan of the emotion that’s conveyed in our music. She doesn’t often get to work with music that is so raw and emotional, or melodic and emotional, at the same time. When I sent her the folder, that was one of the main feelings. She said, “What the fuck? How do you just have that?” [laughs] I was humbled and honored because she just said, “It’s a gift, and I want to write to all of this.” She didn’t write to all of it, but a lot of it, and relatively quickly.

She is a fan of the band, and she’s a fan of Big Red Machine. She’s well aware of the sentiment of it and what I do, but she didn’t ask for a certain kind of thing. I know that the film [I Am Easy To Find] has really affected her, and she’s very much in love with that film and the record. Maybe it’s subconsciously been an influence.

“the last great american dynasty”

I wrote that after we’d been working for a while. It was an attempt to write something attractive, more uptempo and kind of pushing. I also was interested in this almost In Rainbows-style latticework of electric guitars. They come in and sort of pull you along, kind of reminiscent of Big Red Machine. It was very much in this sound world that I’ve been playing around with, and she immediately clicked with that. Initially I was imagining these dreamlike distant electric guitars and electronics but with an element of folk. There’s a lot going on in that sense. I sent it before I went on a run, and when I got back from the run, that song was there [laughs].

She told me the story behind it, which sort of recounts the narrative of Rebekah Harkness, whom people actually called Betty. She was married to the heir of Standard Oil fortune, married into the Harkness family, and they bought this house in Rhode Island up on a cliff. It’s kind of the story of this woman and the outrageous parties she threw. She was infamous for not fitting in, entirely, in society; that story, at the end, becomes personal. Eventually, Taylor bought that house. I think that is symptomatic of folklore, this type of narrative song. We didn’t do very much to that either.

“exile” (ft. Bon Iver)

Taylor and William Bowery, the singer-songwriter, wrote that song initially together and sent it to me as a sort of a rough demo where Taylor was singing both the male and female parts. It’s supposed to be a dialogue between two lovers. I interpreted that and built the song, played the piano, and built around that template. We recorded Taylor’s vocals with her singing her parts but also the male parts.

We talked a lot about who she thought would be perfect to sing, and we kept coming back to Justin [Vernon]. Obviously, he’s a dear friend of mine and collaborator. I said, “Well, if he’s inspired by the song, he’ll do it, and if not, he won’t.” I sent it to him and said, “No pressure at all, literally no pressure, but how do you feel about this?” He said, “Wow.” He wrote some parts into it also, and we went back and forth a little bit, but it felt like an incredibly natural and safe collaboration between friends. It didn’t feel like getting a guest star or whatever. It was just like, well, we’re working on something, and obviously he’s crazy talented, but it just felt right. I think they both put so much raw emotion into it. It’s like a surface bubbling. It’s believable, you know? You believe that they’re having this intense dialogue.

With other people I had to be secretive, but with Justin, because he was going to sing, I actually did send him a version of the song with her vocals and told him what I was up to. He was like, “Whoa! Awesome!” But he’s been involved in so many big collaborative things that he wasn’t interested in it from that point of view. It’s more because he loved the song and he thought he could do something with it that would add something.

“my tears ricochet”

This is one of my absolute favorite songs on the record. I think it’s a brilliant composition, and Taylor’s words, the way her voice sounds and how this song feels, are, to me, one of the critical pieces. It’s lodged in my brain. That’s also very important to Taylor and Jack. It’s like a beacon for this record.

“mirrorball”

“mirrorball” is, to me, a hazy sort of beautiful. It almost reminds me of ‘90s-era Cardigans, or something like Mazzy Star. It has this kind of glow and haze. It feels really good before “seven,” which becomes very wistful and nostalgic. There are just such iconic images in the lyrics [“Spinning in my highest heels”], which aren’t coming to me at the moment because my brain is not working [laughs].

How Jack Antonoff’s Folklore Songs Differ From Dessner’s

I think we have different styles, and we weren’t making them together or in the same room. We both could probably come closer together in a sense that weirdly works. It’s like an archipelago, and each song is an island, but it’s all related. Taylor obviously binds it all together. And I think Jack, if he was working with orchestrations, there’s an emotional quality to his songs that’s clearly in the same world as mine.

We actually didn’t have a moodboard for the album at all. I don’t think that way. I don’t really know if she does either. I don’t think Jack... well, Jack might, but when I say the Cardigans or Mazzy Star, those aren’t Jack’s words about “mirrorball,” it’s just what calls to mind for me. Mainly she talked about emotion and to lean into it, the nostalgia and wistfulness, and the kind of raw, meditative emotion that I often kind of inhabit that I think felt very much where her heart was. We didn’t shy away from that.

“seven”

This is the second song we wrote. It’s kind of looking back at childhood and those childhood feelings, recounting memories and memorializing them. It’s this beautiful folk song. It has one of the most important lines on the record: “And just like a folk song, our love will be passed on.” That’s what this album is doing. It’s passing down. It’s memorializing love, childhood, and memories. It’s a folkloric way of processing.

“august”

This is maybe the closest thing to a pop song. It gets loud. It has this shimmering summer haze to it. It’s kind of like coming out of “seven” where you have this image of her in the swing and she’s seven years old, and then in “august” I think it feels like fast-forwarding to now. That’s an interesting contrast. I think it’s just a breezy, sort of intoxicating feeling.

“this is me trying”

“this is me trying,” to me, relates to the entire album. Maybe I’m reading into it too much from my own perspective, but [I think of] the whole album as an exercise and working through these stories, whether personal or old through someone else’s perspective. It’s connecting a lot of things. But I love the feeling in it and the production that Jack did. It has this lazy swagger.

“illicit affairs”

This feels like one of the real folk songs on the record, a sharp-witted narrative folk song. It just shows her versatility and her power as a songwriter, the sharpness of her writing. It’s a great song.

“invisible string”

That was another one where it was music that I’d been playing for a couple of months and sort of humming along to her. It felt like one of the songs that pulls you along. Just playing it on one guitar, it has this emotional locomotion in it, a meditative finger-picking pattern that I really gravitate to. It’s played on this rubber bridge that my friend put on [the guitar] and it deadens the strings so that it sounds old. The core of it sounds like a folk song.

It’s also kind of a sneaky pop song, because of the beat that comes in. She knew that there was something coming because she said, “You know, I love this and I’m hearing something already.” And then she said, “This will change the story,” this beautiful and direct kind of recounting of a relationship in its origin.

“mad woman”

That might be the most scathing song on folklore. It has a darkness that I think is cathartic, sort of witch-hunting and gaslighting and maybe bullying. Sometimes you become the person people try to pin you into a corner to be, which is not really fair. But again, don’t quote me on that [laughs], I just have my own interpretation. It’s one of the biggest releases on the album to me. It has this very sharp tone to it, but sort of in gothic folklore. It’s this record’s goth song.

“epiphany”

For “epiphany,” she did have this idea of a beautiful drone, or a very cinematic sort of widescreen song, where it’s not a lot of accents but more like a sea to bathe in. A stillness, in a sense. I first made this crazy drone which starts the song, and it’s there the whole time. It’s lots of different instruments played and then slowed down and reversed. It created this giant stack of harmony, which is so giant that it was kind of hard to manage, sonically, but it was very beautiful to get lost in. And then I played the piano to it, and it almost felt classical or something, those suspended chords.

I think she just heard it, and instantly, this song came to her, which is really an important one. It’s partially the story of her grandfather, who was a soldier, and partially then a story about a nurse in modern times. I don’t know if this is how she did it, but to me, it’s like a nurse, doctor, or medical professional, where med school doesn’t fully prepare you for seeing someone pass away or just the difficult emotional things that you’ll encounter in your job. In the past, heroes were just soldiers. Now they’re also medical professionals. To me, that’s the underlying mission of the song. There are some things that you see that are hard to talk about. You can’t talk about it. You just bear witness to them. But there’s something else incredibly soothing and comforting about this song. To me, it’s this Icelandic kind of feel, almost classical. My brother did really beautiful orchestration of it.

“betty”

This one Taylor and William wrote, and then both Jack and I worked on it. We all kind of passed it around. This is the one where Taylor wanted a reference. She wanted it to have an early Bob Dylan, sort of a Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan feel. We pushed it a little more towards John Wesley Harding, since it has some drums. It’s this epic narrative folk song where it tells us a long story and connects back to “cardigan.” It starts to connect dots and I think it’s a beautifully written folk song.

Is ‘betty” queer canon? I can’t speak to what it’s about. I have my own ideas. I also know where Taylor’s heart is, and I think that’s great anytime a song takes on greater meaning for anyone.

Is William Bowery secretly Joe Alwyn? I don’t know. We’re close, but she won’t tell me that. I think it’s actually someone else, but it’s good to have some mysteries.

“peace”

I wrote this, and Justin provided the pulse. We trade ideas all the time and he made a folder, and there was a pulse in there that I wrote these basslines to. In the other parts of the composition, I did it to Justin’s pulse. Taylor heard this sketch and she wrote the song. It reminds me of Joni Mitchell, in a way - there’s this really powerful and emotional love song, even the impressionistic, almost jazz-like bridge, and she weaves it perfectly together. This is one of my favorites, for sure. But the truth is that the music, that way of playing with harmonized basslines, is something that probably comes a little bit from me being inspired by how Justin does that sometimes. There’s probably a connection there. We didn’t talk too much about it [laughs].

“hoax”

This is a big departure. I think she said to me, “Don’t try to give it any other space other than what feels natural to you.” If you leave me in a room with a piano, I might play something like this. I take a lot of comfort in this. I think I imagined her playing this and singing it. After writing all these songs, this one felt the most emotional and, in a way, the rawest. It is one of my favorites. There’s sadness, but it’s a kind of hopeful sadness. It’s a recognition that you take on the burden of your partners, your loved ones, and their ups and downs. That’s both “peace” and “hoax” to me. That’s part of how I feel about those songs because I think that’s life. There’s a reality, the gravity or an understanding of the human condition.

Does Taylor Explain Her Lyrics?

She would always talk about it. The narrative is essential, and kind of what it’s all about. We’d always talk about that upfront and saying that would guide me with the music. But again, she is operating at many levels where there are connections between all of these songs, or many of them are interrelated in the characters that reappear. There are threads. I think that sometimes she would point it out entirely, but I would start to see these patterns. It’s cool when you see someone’s mind working.

“the lakes”

That’s a Jack song. It’s a beautiful kind of garden, or like you’re lost in a beautiful garden. There’s a kind of Greek poetry to it. Tragic poetry, I guess.

The Meaning Of Folklore

We didn’t talk about it at first. It was only after writing six or seven songs, basically when I thought my writing was done, when we got on the phone and said, “OK, I think we’re making an album. I have these six other ideas that I love with Jack [Antonoff] that we’ve already done, and I think what we’ve done fits really well with them.” It’s sort of these narratives, these folkloric songs, with characters that interweave and are written from different perspectives. She had a vision, and it was connecting back in some way to the folk tradition, but obviously not entirely sonically. It’s more about the narrative aspect of it.

I think it’s this sort of nostalgia and wistfulness that is in a lot of the songs. A lot of them have this kind of longing for looking back on things that have happened in your life, in your friend’s life, or another loved one’s life, and the kind of storytelling around that. That was clear to her. But then we kept going, and more and more songs happened.

It was a very organic process where [meaning] wasn’t something that we really discussed. It just kind of would happen where she would dive back into the folder and find other things that were inspiring. Or she and William Bowery would write “exile,” and then that happened. There were different stages of the process.

Okay, but is it A24-core? [Laughs.] Good comparison. 

#Aaron Dessner #interview #vulture #about taylor #taylor swift #folklore album #folklore era #songwriting #producer #the national #bon iver

[piratewithvigor]

My first thought in regard to every band that gets played on my radio station

ACDC: Every dad’s favourite band

Adams, Bryan: Every mom’s favourite singer until Michael Buble came along

Aerosmith: haha they thought Vince Neil was a lady

Alice Cooper: he’s a Game Of Thrones fanboy and I have proof

Alice In Chains: my sister doesn’t like them because she decided AC were Alice Cooper’s initials ONLY

Allman Brothers Band: good music for dropping acid to

Allman, Gregg: That’s too many Gs for one name

Animals: House Of The Rising Sun, or who even cares

Argent: Sometimes Hold Your Head Up is really catchy

Asia: Tuesdays

Autograph: one of the members went on to be a pharmacist

Bachman-Turner Overdrive: There are just so many pop culture jokes about Taking Care Of Business that whatever I say won’t be as funny

Bad Company: with their song; Bad Company, off their album; Bad Company

Benatar, Pat: Always getting her confused with Patti Smith

Black Crowes: I like them for Lickin, but it doesn’t seem to exist outside of one shoddy video on youtube and my old CD

Blackfoot: this band name feels kind of racy

Black Sabbath: Dio was not better or worse than Ozzy; just different

Blondie: I like Call Me, but Blondie confuses me stylistically

Blue Oyster Cult: MORE COWBELL

Bon Jovi: Hello, childhood trauma, I missed you

Boston: ONE GUY. ONE GUY DID IT ALL AND NO ONE KNOWS

Bowie, David: Don’t let your children watch The Man Who Fell To Earth, or David Bowie’s will end up being the third penis they see in life

Browne, Jackson: Another musician ruined by Supernatural

Buffalo Springfield: Jack Nicholson was at the riot they sing about

Burdon, Eric: no ideas, brain empty

Bush: ditto

Candlebox: ditto once more. Who are these people?

Cars: This band feels so gay and so straight at the same time, I can only assume they’re the poster children of bisexual panic

Cheap Trick: I played Dream Police on Guitar Hero so fucking much because it was the only song anyone who played with me could keep up with

Chicago: Chicago 30 exists, but they do not have 30 albums. Fucking riddle me that

Clapton, Eric: 6 discs in one Greatest Hits is too many. That’s called “re releasing your discography”

Cochrane, Tom: For some reason, everyone thinks Rascal Flats did it better

Cocker, Joe: Belushi did it right

Collective Soul: who?

Collins, Phil: If his biggest hits were done by MCR, they would be emo anthems, but because he’s 5′6″ and from the 80s, they’re not

Cream: *Vietnam flashbacks on the hippie side*

CCR: *Vietnam flashbacks on the war side*

CSNY: David Crosby; meh

Deep Purple: THEY’RE SO MUCH MORE THAN SMOKE ON THE WATER

Def Leppard: the only music for when you’re a heartbroken bitch but also a sexy one

Derek And The Dominos: Clapton and ‘Layla’ broke up

Derringer, Rick: Tom Petty if he was from the midwest

Dio: You thought it was an anime reference, but it was me, Dio

Dire Straits: You can tell how bigoted a radio station is based on how much of Money For Nothing they censor

Doobie Brothers: I have yet to smoke weed, but I listen to the Doobies, and I think that’s pretty close

Dylan, Bob: I take back everything I said about him in my youth

Eagles: Hotel California isn’t their best song, but the memes that come from it are second to none

Edgar Winter Group: @the--blackdahlia

Electric Light Orchestra: Actually an orchestra and sound a fuckton like George Harrison

ELO: I really hesitate to ask what happens with the 7 virgins and a mule

Essex, David: no prominent memories of him

Fabulous Thunderbirds: cannot spell

Faces: Who on earth thought that was a good album name?

Faith No More: I got nothing

Fixx: One Thing Leads To Another is a damn bop

Fleetwood Mac: I ain’t straight, but I’m simply not enough of a witch to enjoy them to full potential

Fogerty, John: He got sued cause he sounded like himself

Foghat: Slow Ride slowly becoming less coherent feels like a drug trip

Foo Fighters: He was just excited to buy a grill

Ford, Lita: deserved better

Foreigner: dramatically overplayed

Frampton, Peter: a masterful user of the talk box

Free: dramatically underplayed

Gabriel, Peter: leaving Genesis changed him a lot

Genesis: if someone likes Genesis, clarify the era, because yes, it does matter

Georgia Satellites: sing like you have a cactus in your ass

Golden Earring: Twilight Zone slaps, but it doesn’t slap as hard as this station thinks it does

Grand Funk Railroad: Funk

Grateful Dead: I like their aesthetic more than their music

Great White: there are so many fucking shark jokes

Greenbaum, Norman: makes me think of Subway for some reason

Green Day: the first of the emo revolution

Greg Kihn Band: RocKihnRoll is literally the most clever album name I’ve ever seen

Guns N Roses: They have more than three good songs, but radio stations never recognize that

Hagar, Sammy: I’m still trying to figure out where he lived to take 16 hours to get to LA driving 55 and how fucking fast was he driving beforehand?

Harrison, George: He went from religious to rock, and if he had continued rocking, he would have gotten too cool 

Head East: I respect people who use breakfast foods as album names

Heart: Magic Man and Barracuda are played at least once every goddamn day. They’re not even the best songs!

Hendrix, Jimi: I have both a cousin and a sibling named after Hendrix references

Henley, Don: Dirty Laundry gives me too much inspiration

Hollies: Somehow sound like they’re both from the 60s and the 80s at the same time

Idol, Billy: he’s doing well for himself

INXS: Terminator vibes

Iris, Donnie: knockoff Roy Orbison

James Gang: too many funks

Jane’s Addiction: if TMNT had a grunge band representative

Jefferson Airplane: *assorted cheers*

Jefferson Starship: *assorted boos*

Jethro Tull: The only band to make you feel not cool enough to play the flute

Jett, Joan: icon

J. Geils Band: I requested them on the radio once and it got played

Joel, Billy: he really did just air everybody’s business like that

John Cafferty And The Beaver Brown Band: literally wtf is that name

John, Elton: yarn Elton sits in my basement, unstaring. Please someone take him from me

Joplin, Janis: Queen

Journey: Stop overplaying Don’t Stop Believing. It takes away from the rest of the repetoire

Judas Priest: literally started the gay leather aesthetic

Kansas: another fucking band Supernatural stole

Kenny Wayne Shepherd: the man confuses me to the point where he isn’t in the right place alphabetically

Kiss: Mick Mars and I will simply have to disagree on the subject

Kravitz, Lenny: runaway vibes

Led Zeppelin: Fucking fight me if you don’t think they’re the most talented band (maybe not the most talented individually, but collectively, no one comes close)

Lennon, John: My least favourite Beatle for reasons

Live: I got nothin

Living Colour: slap a decent amount

Loverboy: do you not get TURNT the fuck up to the big Loverboy hits? Who hurt you??

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Sweet Home Alabama is a Neil Young diss track

Marshall Tucker Band: no opinion

Manfred Mann’s Earth Band: VERY STRONG OPINIONS THAT THEY AREN’T GOOD

McCartney, Paul/Wings: Power couple

Meatloaf: I have nothing but respect for a man who willingly named himself Meatloaf

Mellencamp, John: voted cutest lesbian of 1987

Metallica: I liked their appearance on Jimmy Fallon

Midnight Oil: I get them confused for Talking Heads a lot

Modern English: who?

Molly Hatchet: Hollies vibes, but also Georgia Satellites vibes

Money, Eddie: DAN AVIDAN, IF YOU SEE THIS, COVER TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT

Motley Crue: Stan Mick Mars and John Corabi. They’re the only ones who deserve it

Mott The Hoople: no one loves them except for David Bowie

Mountain: props for naming an album ‘Climbing’

Nazareth: I want to make a John Mulaney joke here, but I can never come up with one

Nicks, Stevie: witch queen

Night Ranger: I get them confused with Urge Overkill

Nirvana: Kurt Cobain was the ally grunge needed

Nova, Aldo: he’s Canadian, at least

Nugent, Ted: *serves a ghost as jerky*

Offspring: nothing here

Osbourne, Ozzy: this bitch crazy

Outfield: Your Love is kind of a sketchy song, but it slaps hard

Palmer, Robert: low quality Eddie Money

Pearl Jam: *grunts in Eddie Vedder*

Petty, Tom: I have so many feelings about Tom Petty and they are all good

Pink Floyd: which one is Pink?

Plant, Robert: solo career is a crapshoot, but his voice is unparalleled

Poison: I want them to write a song called ‘Alice Cooper’

Pretenders: I want to say good things, but I have nothing to say

Queen: A doctor of astrophysics, a screaming girl, a disco queen and a diva walk into a bar. It’s Queen; they’re there to play a gig

Queensryche: neutral opinion

Quiet Riot: they got big because of a song they hated. I love that

Rafferty, Gerry: the second-sexiest sax opening in all of music

Rainbow: Ritchie Blackmore created something very magnificent

Ram Jam: one good song and they didn’t even write it

Ratt: I’m sure they have more than Round And Round, but I don’t know it

RHCP: funky, but if you have paid money to hear them, you’re going to The Bad Place (I don’t make the rules)

Red Rider: basically Golden Earring

Reed, Lou: Walk On The Wild Side would be such a cool song if it wasn’t so dull

REM: American Tragically Hip

REO Speedwagon: Props for having a dad joke as an album title

Rolling Stones: Never in my life could I imagine the drummer being named anything but Charlie

Rush: How to make being uncool the coolest fucking shit

Santana: The world needs more Santana

Scandal: There’s something really funny about The Warrior being my brother’s “song” with his girlfriend

Scorpions: Was Wind Of Change written by the CIA? Only the spotify podcast I got an ad for once could say

Seger, Bob: A different variety of Eric Clapton (frankly a better variety, but that’s just me)

Simple Minds: we ALL forgot about you

Skid Row: Sebastian Bach is prettier than all of us

Soundgarden: music that makes you feel like you dunked your head underwater

Springsteen, Bruce: my arch-nemesis. Maybe someday, he’ll find out about it

Squeeze: according to my friends, the stupidest band name ever, but they’re theatre kids, so you know

Squier, Billy: If he can make it through 1984 alive, you can make it through whatever bad day you’re having

Stealers Wheel: Yet another band who I always mistake for George Harrison

Steely Dan: my house’s nickname for the Robber in Settlers Of Catan

Steppenwolf: Either makes me think of Jay & Silent Bob, Jack Nicholson, or that time I had to cut 6lbs of onions

Steve Miller Band: when you’re in the right mood, they slap hard

Stewart, Rod: my soundtrack to summer 2015

Stills, Stephen: Love The One You’re With Is Catchy, but the lyrics are questionable

Stone Temple Pilots: the only band to write a song about goo you smear on yourself

Stray Cats: an obscene amount of merch is available for them

Styx: Supernatural would have ruined them for me too if I hadn’t been into them previously. 

Supertramp: I hunted for Breakfast In America for two years and it was worth every hunt

Sweet: I will never understand my two-month obsession with Ballroom Blitz when I was 15, but it was legit all I listened to

Talking Heads: you may find yourself in a pizza hut. And you may find yourself in a taco bell. And you may find yourself at the combination pizza hut and taco bell. And you may ask yourself; ‘how did I get here?’

Temple Of The Dog: I keep confusing them for Nazareth

Ten Years After: somehow still relevant

Tesla: not the car or the dude

The Beatles: Evokes a lot of opinions from people. Mine is that I love them

The Clash: I showed my sister the ‘Lock The Taskbar’ vine ONCE and it still kills her

The Doors: evokes teenage terror from deep within my soul

The Guess Who: Canada’s answer to confusing question-themed band names

The Kinks: kinky

The Police: wrote the theme of 2020 and everyone somehow forgot it was about a teacher resisting becoming a pedophile

The Ramones: playing all of their songs in a row wouldn’t take more than 2 hours

The Romantics: you don’t think you know them, but if you’ve seen Shrek 2, you have

The Who: If someone can explain Tommy to me, I’d be glad to hear it

The Zombies: I think they happened because of the 60s

Thin Lizzy: Could the boys maybe leave town?

Thorogood, George: blues, but make it modern

Toto: the most memed song behind All Star

Townshend, Pete: just makes me think of the end of Mr. Deeds

T-Rex: Mark Bolan is an icon

Triumph: The no-name brand of Rush

Tubes: like the yogurt

Twisted Sister: they did a christmas album and my mom does NOT hate it

U2: U2 Movers; we move in mysterious ways

Van Halen: RIP Eddie

Van Morrison: honestly, who’s named Van?

Vaughn, Stevie Ray: Steamy Ray Vaughn

Walsh, Joe: The Smoker You Drink The Player You Get

War: Foghat, but even groovier

Whitesnake: the most successful band to be named after a penis

Wright, Gary: the 90s thanks him for writing the song every movie used for the “guy sees cute girl and it’s love at first sight” scene

Yes: To Be Continued

Young, Neil: The best part of CSNY

Zevon, Warren: the album cover of Excitable Boy makes me deeply uncomfortable for reasons I don’t understand

ZZ Top: has been the same three guys since 1969. Lineup unchanged. 

3 Doors Down: They feel a little modern to be on a classic rock station, but whatever

38 Special: Why 38?

#I made this instead of doing homework #Classic Rock #Meme

[sailormoonandme]

Why does Usagi think Mamoru might leave/cheat on her?

Occasionally during Sailor Moon R, S and SuperS Usagi seemed to have these moments of insecurity where she was concerned that Mamoru was either interested in other people or else other people might make a play for him.

The real life reason for this I suspect is simply because Sailor Moon has a lot of sitcom sensibilities alongside it’s romantic elements, so milking comedy from a romantic topic by having our lead act over the top or goofy is a logical writing tool to reach for. Especially when you have such a large quantity of episodes to produce.

However, I have a more in-universe explanation to propose.

In real life Usagi’s behaviour would most likely be connected to trust issues with her partner, with other people or else concerns about her own inadequacies. However, I don’t think that’s the case here.

Rather, I think it’s actually far more connected to the numerous times Usagi has loved and ‘lost’ Mamoru.

Back in the Silver Millennium days there was this low key implication that romantic mingling between the Moon Princess and Earth Prince was somehow forbidden. After all when Endymion came to the Moon and tried to warn Serenity about Metalia and Beryl the royal guards chased him away and he needed to disguise himself. So from Serenity’s POV the social system she was living in was limiting her ability to be with the man she loved and made their future together at best uncertain.  

Now, I admit that’s perhaps a bit too big of an extrapolation to draw from, especially for the anime version of the characters where we got far less info about their past lives. However, the more significant part here is the fact that Endymion was taken from her when he was killed by the Dark Kingdom. Seeing her lover murdered in front of her whilst her home were also being destroyed (and her friends killed) would obviously be very traumatic, particularly if Serenity was mentally and physically the equivalent of a fourteen year old like Usagi.  

In her next life she was crushing very hard on Tuxedo Mask who routinely showed up to aid her and then rarely lingered. That’s not exactly traumatic, but the early days of their relationship would’ve still been founded by Usagi seeing the person she wants to stick around and spend time with her leave her when she wouldn’t want him to.

She also feared Tuxedo Mask had died in episode 13 when Jadeite announced that he’d killed him. True, he was revealed as alive and well shortly afterwards, but the horror of that moment (however brief it may’ve been) could’ve stuck with Usagi.

Then, in the iconic 34th episode of the show, Mamoru was violently impaled right in front of her. We can debate if he died and was consequently revived by the Dark Kingdom or if he was merely close to death before his abduction. But either way that’d inevitably be an instance where Usagi once again traumatically lost the man she loved, or at least came extremely close to doing so if not for the emotion of the moment re-awaking her old memories.

Speaking of which, as episode 35-36 make clear, the mere act of abruptly regaining all her memories would be emotionally wrenching all on it’s own. When combined with the tragic and traumatic nature of those memories, it’s far from unbelievable that subconsciously this would further mark Usagi’s psyche.  

The reveal that her lover is alive but no longer remembers her and is actively a threat to her now would obviously compound this. As would the fact that in episode 36 he uses a rose to hurt her. It’s not a serious wound at all, but he still hurt her and used an object that up until then he’d used explicitly to help and protect her. Within Usagi’s mind his roses would’ve likely been ‘coded’ with positive emotions, so seeing them used in that way would’ve been further upsetting for her, in essence a perversion of what they should  mean to her mind. The roses now being black are an apt metaphor for this point.  

Of course during the final stretch of episodes in season 1 Usagi almost  restores Mamoru. But that’s the key here, she almost  succeeds. First it the ski episode where he briefly seems to break out of his brainwashing and then again in the episode where Ryo (and the other Rainbow Crystal hosts) returns. In the latter she actually succeeds in restoring him to normal but he’s abducted immediately once again. Not only did Usagi lose Mamoru a few more times but her active efforts to bring him back to her failed.

We then come to the most traumatic events in Usagi’s second life (up to that point), episodes 44-46.

In episode 44, not only did she once again re-experience the tragic destruction of the Silver Millennium, but she got a ‘bird’s eye view’ of everything that happened, including the specific moments she, Endymion, her friends and even her mother died. True, her sadness or trauma over everyone else isn’t specific to her losing Endymion/Mamoru, however because these events happen so close together and are connected it’s not unbelievable that Usagi’s mind might’ve created an association. So her pain over seeing her mother die is associated also with her ‘losing’ Endymion as well. By that same token, the death of her beloved friends in episode 45 might’ve consequently become associated with what happened next.  

In episode 46 Usagi is outright attacked by a brainwashed Endymion. First she sees him loyally serving her enemy who (by proxy) murdered her friends like an hour ago. Worse she might’ve picked up on the obvious romantic undertones between Beryl and Endymion, including him kissing her hand, and let’s not forget in the flashback from episode 44 Beryl clearly desired Endymion. Whilst intellectually Usagi might know he’s not in his right mind, emotionally seeing him like that with Beryl in that context could emotionally upset her, almost as though he was betraying their love in the worst possible way.  

Endymion’s efforts against her are also significantly more violent and active than anything he did before since episode 36. Dashing a rose across the back of her hand pales in comparison to ensnaring her and shocking her with his roses. Not to mention trying to slice her up with the very same sword he would’ve used to defend her in the Silver Millennium. Even if you don’t buy into my point about perverting these symbols of their relationship, the mere act of him hurting her and trying to murder her like that is going to obviously be emotionally arresting.

In a sense in those horrible moments for Usagi Endymion/Mamoru really was ‘lost’ to her, he merely looked  like her lover. This I think is why it was significant that she actually fought  back against him with her tiara. But since he still looked like her lover and intellectually she knew he wasn’t to blame (and emotionally hoped he was still salvageable) her own act of self-defence horrified her.  

Of course she does save him, but then he dies again. Depending on how you look at it, from Usagi’s POV this is at least the second  time he’s really died and that number climbs higher if you include his presumed death in episode 13 and the number of times she had to re-experience his death in the Silver Millennium. And that isn’t even counting traumatic dreams about him dying in the aftermath of episodes 34-35. It doesn’t help that his mortal injuries in episode 46 are eerily similar to the ones he sustained in episode 34, namely a violent impalement.

We might even argue this is categorically the worst  instance up until this point of Usagi watching her lover die or seemingly die. In the Silver Millennium she herself died seconds later. In episode 13 they weren’t nearly as close as they’d become by episode 46 and she at least had friends and family in her life she knew she could lean on. This equally applies to Mamoru seemingly dying in episode 34 and even his abduction in episode 35. In fact with Minako, Makoto and Artemis Usagi had an even larger support network than before. In episode 46 though her lover has died in her arms, she’s left to go on and the Inner Senshi are dead, Luna and Artemis aren’t around and the end of the world is imminent. She’s truly all alone in her grief and intellectually she knows that even if somehow she resolves the crisis her support network has been mostly gutted. THEN she herself dies  to defeat Beryl/Metalia and save the world.

She gets her fondest wish, to go back to a normal life, but that’s also taken from her due to the arrival of Ail and An. Yay for Usagi, she gets to have ALL of those traumatic memories from the Silver Millennium rerun through her head AGAIN. And this time they’re complimented by the Hell she went through in losing her friends, her lover and dying herself in the Arctic.  

But hey, at least now she and her lover can finally be together right? Nope. He literally doesn’t know her. He isn’t Endymion. He isn’t Tuxedo Mask. He isn’t the Mamoru she knew and doesn’t even want to know her. Meanwhile a prospective romantic rival is sniffing around him and for all she knows he may well be interested in her. She gets a tiny ray of hope when Moonlight Knight shows up but that’s abruptly squashed when she receives (seemingly) hard proof this guy who seems oh so similar to the man she loves definitely isn’t that man. So her tiny hope of maybe  getting him back is taken from her almost as quickly as it came.

After Ail and An depart Earth Usagi finally   has what she wants…until two episodes later. This time in the cruelest twist of fate for her, it isn’t external forces that tears Mamoru away from her. This time he  takes himself from her. From a certain point of view this is sort of worse than him dying. Usagi knows death and reincarnation are a thing and that magic exists. She already knows that, as traumatic as it might’ve been, the pair have been given more chances than most people to get together. But how is that to happen when Mamoru, in his right mind and fully possessing all his memories, clearly conveys he doesn’t want her. In the same way Tuxedo Mask pulled a disappearing act early on, now Mamoru in normal life begins actively avoiding Usagi and even saying hurtful things to her.  

It is in episode 61 (the break up episode itself) that we arguably first see this insecure side to Usagi where she questions if Mamoru prefers a child under 10 years old to her. From there we also see Mamoru try to hint to her that he’s seeing Unazuki.  

Of course Usagi eventually learns that it WAS another external force pushing them apart again (well sort of but that’s for another day). However, to lose Mamoru again after all she’d already gone through to be with him was emotionally going to be a serious twisting of the knife for her, in addition to his efforts after episode 61 to push her away. The fact that his own desire to be with her caused him to still help and even hang out with her on occasion would’ve further confused her.  

But even after  this mess is cleared up, in Sailor Moon R The Movie: Promise of the Rose Usagi has to witness Mamoru nearly die for her again. And like on other occasions it comes via an impalement right in front of her and a consequent abduction to boot. And the abductee happens to be someone she and her friends suspect might harbor romantic feelings for Mamoru as well, someone who actively insulted her, actively tried to dissuade Mamoru from dating her and who literally  pushed her away from him.  

When taken collectively, I think all these traumas associated with Usagi ‘losing’ Mamoru or otherwise being prevented from being with him would make Usagi subconsciously on the alert for the next  thing that might take him from her.

I propose that this is the actual reason for Usagi’s concerns that Mamoru might like Chibiusa more than her, for why she gets concerned when Ami and Mamoru chat together in S, for why she goes all ninja in SuperS, etc. Deep down she does  trust him and deep down she trusts her friends and doesn’t actually  feel threatened by anyone who might try to hit on Mamoru.

It’s in reality a case of her gripping too tight precisely because the object of her desire has slipped through her fingers far too many times in the past.* Or if you like, from Usagi’s POV destiny might’ve pre-ordained that she fall in love with Mamoru but she may well be concerned that it’s also pre-ordained that they be allowed to enjoy  being in love, not for too long anyway.  

However, I think this in turn set up a great example of character development for our heroine.

First of all, in episode 132 we have Chibiusa outright warning Usagi she has a romantic rival and that if she doesn’t shape up she will  lose Mamoru to her, and yet Usagi shrugs this off. 

Of course, we could argue that this is Usagi trying to simply one up Chibiusa in this moment, or else she is dismissive of the warning precisely because it comes from Chibiusa whom is both a child and someone who makes a point of trolling her. On the other hand we might view this as an example of how Usagi has in fact grown and is more at peace with the idea that she isn’t about to have Mamoru taken from her for the umpteenth time.  

Granted her over reaction in episode 136, wherein she dresses as a ninja to ensure Rei and Mamoru don’t get up to anything, goes against that idea. However, we could just as easily argue that Usagi’s reactions in that episode were an example of her backsliding precisely because of Rei and Mamoru’s history. She might not worry about Rei and Mamoru deep down, but the idea of them living in the same place when they used to date and when she knows how active  Rei was in pursuing him back in the day? It’s not beyond belief that in these specific circumstances Usagi’s resolve faltered whereas she’d have been less concerned if it’d been a stranger or someone with no romantic history with Mamoru.ffff

More significantly though is Sailor Stars. Once more Usagi ‘lost’/nearly lost Mamoru. This time this was due to Queen Nehelenia, whose efforts poisoned the Earth and by extension endangered the life of her lover. Then she did that AGAIN, this time outright brainwashing and abducting him. 

Even if this didn’t remind Usagi of her horrible experiences with Evil Endymion and Beryl, it would’ve still been disturbing and upsetting, especially when Mamoru developed a mirror fetish. Usagi went through Hell and physical torture to try and save her lover and this time the stakes were even higher. Because this time losing him would also mean losing the other person she loved the most, (Chibiusa) a horrible event that she eventually witnessed happen.

Sure, she saved the day and got both her future husband and future daughter back, but she still had to live through those horrible experiences to get to that point.  

And yet, despite these fresh traumas regarding losing her lover, in episode 173 Usagi handles Mamoru leaving for America surprisingly well.

It’s made clear she’s upset by his departure and doesn’t want  him to go. But she comes mere inches from seeing him off with a smile as she intended, demonstrating her increased strength and maturity. 

And despite her tears, despite her not wanting him to go, she still sees him off, she doesn’t try to dissuade him, she isn’t worried that he’ll meet other people or that their relationship will get torn asunder once more. She is sad because they are going to be physically separated by a long distance for a long time, but that’s the only  thing that’s of concern to her. And her reaction even then is relatively reigned in (by her standards) even in the privacy of her own home.  

And from a narrative/emotional POV it is almost like the universe rewards  her for that growth via Mamoru giving her a promise/engagement ring, saying he loves her and kissing her in the airport.

Whilst the significance of the ring is obvious (albeit not to Usagi) we shouldn’t undersell Mamoru’s words or the kiss. 

I’m willing to be corrected on this but I’m fairly certain that episode was the first time Mamoru (not Endymion, not Moonlight Knight talking about  Mamoru, etc) had ever told Usagi he loved her. Of course, his actions spoke louder than words on this front. Even before Usagi knew Mamoru was Tuxedo Mask she suspected the latter rescued her because he was in love with her. Nevertheless, having your partner actually look you in the eye and say the words can be incredibly emotionally significant for a lot of people. In a sense it is the ultimate unambiguous proof of the other person’s feelings (in theory anyway). Even if Usagi hadn’t been waiting to hear him say the words (personally I think her expression implies she had been) it would’ve nevertheless been a significant development in their relationship all the same.  

And as for the kiss, I admit I only vaguely know about Japanese cultural norms regarding PDA, but it is to my understanding that kissing in public is frowned upon. Even if I’m wrong about that, Mamoru (as evidenced by the R movie) certainly doesn’t like to kiss Usagi when anyone else is around. If you go back to check most of their kisses, either they are alone or else it’s obvious Mamoru doesn’t think anyone is observing them. The fact that he kisses Usagi not only in a public space, but an airport of all places (when there are crowds there for three big celebrities no less) is a huge deal for him. And in turn it’s a huge deal for Usagi because, whilst Mamoru might have more reservations, Usagi clearly cared a lot less about PDA, typically being the one to initiate their kisses.  

Consequent episodes further demonstrate Usagi’s growth regarding her old insecurities with Mamoru. Putting aside how we never once see her worried about him seeing other girls, in episode 181 Seiya outright raises the idea of him seeing other people. Usagi casually, without a hint of aggression, dismisses the idea.  

The irony is that it is Usagi  who’s in the situation she so often worried about regarding Mamoru. She is the person being pursued by  romantic rival to her lover, namely Seiya.  

The cruel  irony is that Usagi having matured enough to accept Mamoru leaving (despite being deeply upset and lonely about it) actually had  lost him yet again.  

She just didn’t know it.  

*Not to mention…she is a teenager. Those people tend to be ever so slightly prone to emotional over reactions at the best of times.  

#Sailor Moon #Tuxedo Mask #usagi tsukino #Usamamo #Mamoru Chiba #Chiba Mamoru #tsukino usagi #pretty soldier sailor moon #pretty guardian sailor moon #bishojo senshi sailor moon #Prince Endymion #Princess Serenity #My Essays

[jisungsmochi]

rest your love - lee haechan

don’t worry!! i didn’t forget about this series hehe,, i personally really liked this one!! i’m probably going to try and write more often!

anyways pls enjoy,, i’ll link my masterlist for the other parts of this series (nct dream as ‘the vamps’ songs)

word count: 2.2k 

summary: “when the world gets loud, baby you can rest your love on me”

haechan never understood why people liked to be chased. he thought that all he needed to do was ask someone out and boom, a beautiful relationship. until he befriends you, and learns that sometimes people just need a shoulder to lean on, before they can rest their love on someone.

//

I see you move, so I do understand

Why you get attention?

I hear you talk, but I don't comprehend

Why I get no mention?

“it’s physically impossible to dislike me, i’m just a catch” haechan brags while walking to his first college class, his friends, renjun and jaemin trailing behind him.

“just because everyone liked you in high school, doesn’t mean people will in college. it’s a completely different ball game” renjun rolled his eyes at how overly optimistic and delusional his friend was being.

“ah let him live, he’ll find out soon enough” jaemin chuckles softly as he and renjun wave to haechan,  scurrying off to their own lectures.

haechan shrugs, not taking in any of his friends words. he stumbled into the classroom, scanning for an empty seat. he quickly made his way to a spare desk, pulling out all his materials. just as the tutor walked into the room, his eyes met those of, who he believed, was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. you flaunted your way to the last empty seat, which happened to be next to the awfully cheery boy, smiling at you.

you weren’t having the best day, immediately regretting your choice of a desk mate. as soon as you sat down, haechan was a blabbering mess. he shot questions left and right at you, despite the fact you barely responded to any of them. you just assumed he wanted to make friends fast, or he was just a chatterbox. “so how are you doing on this fine day?” he mutters to you, but received a stern glare in response. you tilted your head to the front of the room, zoning in on your tutor. haechan would lie if he said he didn’t feel slightly deflated. usually he had no problem making conversation with strangers. but you were so cold, so uninterested, it really hurt his ego. maybe renjun was right, not everyone would like him. but haechan was an unbelievably stubborn optimist. he was going to befriend you, no matter how long it took.

//

And you know, you know where to find me

Yeah, you know where to go when you're looking for love

And you know, you know where I'm hiding

Yeah, you know

it had been over three weeks since haechan first met you and you still wouldn’t budge. you only spoke to him during group tasks, other than that you continued to ignore his advances. haechan got the message loud and clear that you weren’t going to pay him attention. it took a toll on his own self confidence, until renjun gave him a stern talking to,

“god don’t let her get to your head, dude!! she’s awful for not wanting to be friends with you”

haechan pouted, “but she’s so pretty, i can’t just ignore her”

at that moment, he received a notification on his phone.

y/n: is this haechan? i think you took my notes by accident

his eyes widened, how did you even get his facebook account?

he scrambled around his room, looking into his backpack and surely enough, there were your notes, prettily written up.

haechan: hello! i do have your notes, i can meet you somewhere to hand it back? maybe the cafe? we can get something to eat!

renjun was now peering over haechan’s shoulder, too invested in this interaction.

y/n: no it’s fine, just give it to me next class, thanks

after reading your message, renjun bursted out laughing.

“dude that’s brutal, she’s something else” haechan fiddled with his phone, glaring at the other boy. he clicked on your profile, sending you a friend request as he scrolled through your posts. he saw that your friends had wished you a happy birthday, almost a year ago. he then realised it was in a few days...

“i have the perfect plan to get her to notice me” haechan smirks, renjun rolling his eyes,

“you’re ridiculous”

//

it was a friday afternoon, when haechan stumbled into class. you looked over at him, expecting some type of greeting, but you didn’t hear a peep from the boy.

strange, you thought to yourself.

as you were preparing for the lesson, haechan pulled something out of his bag. you looked over, noticing a small pink box now placed on your side of the table. you raised your eyebrow at him, in which he whispered,

“happy birthday, y/n”

your face froze. how did he know it was your birthday?

you looked back at the small box, slowly moving your hands to open it. to your surprise, there was a red velvet cupcake, decorated with a ton of rainbow sprinkles. there was a tiny picket that said:

“happy birthday, cutie!”

you couldn’t hide your smile, which only made haechan swoon even more. you weren’t the type to make a big deal out of your birthday, but this gesture from haechan truly made your day. you bit your lip softly, eyes meeting his.

“t-thankyou, haechan. i really appreciate this” you smiled at him softly, not caring that you were now on speaking terms with him.

“anything for you, y/n” he cheerfully responded, turning his attention to the front of the room.

maybe lee haechan was worth letting in...

//

the days following, haechan would spam you with random texts throughout the day. initially you would have been annoyed, but after his generous birthday gift, you started to enjoy his company. although you wouldn’t say it to his face, you silently appreciated him.

“how is my beautiful, y/n doing?” he smirked as he walked with you after class. he’d always compliment you, each time making you gush inside.

“i’m alright, have a ton of homework to do though” you sigh, thinking back to the stack of work you had on your desk.

“oh poor thing! do you want to copy my work? i have it here right now i ca-“

“no, haechan, it’s okay. if i need help, i’ll just...call you or something” you paused, looking over at the boy whose eyes just lit up like a christmas tree.

“of course you can call me! call me anytime you want!” he exclaimed. you shake your head softly at him as you both continued walking.

once haechan met up with renjun and jaemin again, he couldn’t stop gushing about you.

“...and then she said i could call her! well she said she’d call me, but same thing” he explained your interaction to his two friends as they were eating at a local diner.

“so romantic” renjun sarcastically comments, causing jaemin to elbow him slightly.

“i think it’s a good step! i mean atleast she’s talking to you now” jaemin chimed in, feeding into his friend’s cheerful nature.

“yeah! i have a lot of hope for us” haechan smiles to himself, in which jaemin and renjun looked over at eachother before rolling their eyes.

you did end up calling haechan that night, as you were stuck on the very last question of the homework.

“y/n, it’s hard to explain, let me just send you my answer” haechan insisted,

“no, i feel guilty” you sigh, placing down your pen.

“it’s really okay, i want to help you” you bit your lip, eventually giving in.

“okay fine, but i’ll owe you something in return” you agree, hoping whatever he wanted wouldn’t be too bad.

“hmmm how about going to the movies with me this weekend? i know you wanted to see the new zombie one that just came out” he suggested. although you were shocked he was practically asking you on a date, were more shocked he remembered you talking about this movie.

“do you really think that is proportionate to what you’re doing for me?” you roll your eyes playfully, finding his advances quite endearing.

“yep!! take it or leave it” you hesitated for a moment, what’s the worst that could happen?

“okay fine, you have yourself a deal” you replied. haechan quickly put himself on mute (or so he thought), letting out a loud ‘YES!’, before returning to the call. you had heard everything, softly chuckling to yourself.

he was pretty cute.

//

That when the stars go out, you can rest your love on me

And when the world gets loud, baby, you can rest your love on me

“that ending was terrible” you pouted as you left the cinema with haechan.

“it wasn’t so bad, it could have been worse” he shrugged, leading you to the next location.

“hm i guess so, by the way, where are we going anyway?” you questioned, walking alongside him, observing your surroundings.

“this cool burger place i found online, here i’ll show you some photos” he pulled out his phone, swiping through the photos. you nodded along, agreeing to let him lead the way.

“y/n? is that you?” you heard a deep voice call, you head shot up, so did haechan’s.

“who’s that?” your mouth went dry. your body froze up. why was he here? why did he have to call out to you?

“oh my god it is you! long time no see” the mysterious boy approached the pair of you, completely disregarding haechan’s existence. he noticed how uncomfortable you were, eyes flickering between the boy and you. he placed his arm loosely around your back, the other boy’s eyes following in suit.

“oh i see, you’re dating someone. dang, i guess i missed my shot. he doesn’t seem like your type” the boy scoffed, arms folded as he stared you both down.

“w-we have to go” you finally bring yourself to mutter, pulling haechan along with you.

“y/n who was that?” haechan kept repeating, which only made you want to cry.

“he’s my ex, okay? just take me home” you sniffled, haechan immediately became concerned. he didn’t ask any further questions, driving you straight back to your place.

as he reached your house, he looked over at you, tears brimming your eyes.

“i-i’m sorry that our day was cut short. i was really enjoying myself. my ex and i ended on pretty bad terms and i would just like some time alone right now, i hope you understand” you sniffled, which made haechan’s heart ache.

“you don’t have to apologise. you know where to find me if you need me. i’ll be waiting for you to open up to me one day, y/n. however long it takes” he assures you, leaving you with a warm feeling in your stomach. you just nodded back at him, making your way into your house.

haechan sat in his car for a while, wishing he could take away all your pain.

//

you invited haechan to meet you at the local park. with no further questions, he rushed out of his room, eager to see you again. you waited patiently on the small bench, swinging your legs back and forth. you heard heavy footsteps approach, your eyes meeting those of the boy who radiated happiness.

“are you alright?” haechan starts as he takes a seat next to you, leaving a small gap between you both.

“y-yeah, i’m ready to tell you everything” you began,

“he and i ‘dated’ two years ago. i say ‘dated’ because well, i thought we were, but turns out he was just another player and i was just another pawn in his little game. it was my first relationship too, messed me up pretty bad. that’s why i tend to keep to myself, not really letting others in too much. he made me feel like every guy who gave me attention just wanted me for their own selfish needs” you sigh, eyes avoiding haechan’s. he wanted to hold your hand, but opted not to.

“he’s an asshole, you didn’t deserve that. i-i could treat you so much better i promise-“

“haechan, c-can we just slow things down?” you finally made eye contact with him, his face contorting into a confused expression.

“i know you like me, and i would be lying if i said i didn’t have a slight interest in you too. but i don’t think i’m ready for a relationship yet” you admit, worried for his reaction. but to your surprise, he didn’t feel sad or dejected at all. instead he smiled widely at you, leaning in closer.

“i’ll go as slow as you want. you can rest your love on me, whenever you need. i’m just glad to hear you like me too” he batted his eyelids, making you softly chuckle.

“thankyou” you whispered to him, moving closer so that your shoulders touched. the rest of the day was filled with random activities from the arcade, to a bike ride along the park’s trail and finally dinner. haechan came to realise that being with somebody wasn’t black and white. there was a grey area that lied in between. he didn’t care how long he needed to wait, all he knew was that he finally got you to like him. and that was enough to make him the happiest man alive.

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