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ladyanput · 4 years

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Seeing Green Ch.15 {End}

Warning: light gore.

Once they landed back in Paris, Marinette felt a sense of finally being home, but it wasn't as overwhelming as it used to be. Part of her yearned to go back to Gotham, to be with Damian and the others, there was a sense of belonging there, now that Paris was once again safe.

Oddly, no one once mentioned anything about Marinette being Ladybug. In fact, when she talked to them, playfully suggesting about Ladybug's identity, they all began saying their thoughts, but not once mentioned her. Odd, but she didn't push her luck. Maybe the Miraculous Cure had been extremely generous and wiped their minds? One less thing for her to stress about.

Once she got back to school, her, Miss Bustier, Lila, and Marinette's parents were immediately summoned to the principal's office. Mr. Arquette did not look the least bit pleased, his hands folded neatly as they all shuffled into his office and took a seat.

"I received many disturbing reports while you all were in Gotham, reports that I should have known would happen since I left those children in your care." Arquette spoke, his voice firm and cold as he glared hard at Miss Bustier. "You abandoned a student in the middle of a dangerous city, you left your students roam as they pleased with no supervision, one student stole the money from another, a student was kidnapped and you never once reported it to myself or her parents, much less the police. You even had the audacity to say that her kidnapper did nothing wrong. Caline, you've been on thin ice for quite some time now, but this gross negligence is the final straw. One of the students was even assaulted at the Wayne event and you did nothing to break it up and just stood back and watched. I don't believe we have a place for you here at Saint Louis anymore, not after your behaviour."

"Please, you don't understand, it's all a misunderstanding! Marinette manipulated Adrien and-" Lila began, looking tearful.

"And you," Arquette turned his steely gaze on Lila, cutting her off before she can try and spin another flimsy web of lies. ", You have crossed many lines. Lying about medical records, of how to contact your mother, long series of absences, and I heard much about your deeds in Gotham. Your mother is almost here, Miss Rossi."

"What?! No, she can't-" Lila was on her feet within seconds, her body trembling. Caline, herself, looked quite shaken as well, as if she were about to be sick.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng, I am greatly sorry for what you've had to endure all of these years. I should have taken a more firm stance on things, I should have gotten someone else to attend the trip with your class." Arquette turned to Marinette, his expression turning to one of regret. He stood, then rounded his desk, kneeling next to her chair. "I take full responsibility for what happened to you in Gotham."

"No, Mr. Arquette, please. No one thought I would be kidnapped, and luckily Batman saved me." Marinette put in quickly, feeling a sense of relief, now that Miss Bustier would no longer be around. That pressure of being the perfect example was finally lifted from her shoulders. "You're a great principal, you couldn't have known. But I appreciate your actions now, you're more than making up for this."

His shoulders seemed to relax and he nodded before returning to his desk. It wasn't long before Lila's mother showed up, and then the show truly began.

"You've been lying to me? Me?! Your own mother?!" Mrs. Rossi screamed at her pale faced daughter, before pulling a few brown envelopes out of her bag and holding them up. "Do you know what these are?! These are court orders! Court orders from Jagged Stone, Clara Nightingale, and the Waynes! What were you thinking, having your friend slander their names all over her blog?! You basically accused Jagged of being a pedophile by saying he wrote a song especially for you, that you're his muse!"

"She is also saying she's the personal muse to Gabriel Agreste, ever since she became his model." Marinette put in helpfully, and sat back as she watched Mrs. Rossi got red in the face and continued to berate her daughter.

"And now you'll be going to live with your aunt back in Italy, if these lawsuits don't bankrupt me! I'm only a secretary, Lila, what made you think we could travel like that?!"

Marinette merely watched as Lila was reduced to tears, and expelled from the school. Mrs. Rossi dragged her daughter out and Caline Bustier was promptly dismissed to go and collect her things.

"What will happen to my class?" Marinette asked the principal once she and her parents were about to leave.

"Well, they will get a new teacher, it might be a bit difficult with only a few months left before you all graduate." Mr. Arquette admitted, looking thoughtful. At the tense silence, he cleared his throat. "Miss Césaire will be thoroughly punished for her actions as well, in Gotham. Assaulting another classmate is completely u acceptable. I was told by her parents she is already being punished as we speak."

Marinette left that school, her parents figuring that she needed a day off after all that had happened. So she silently went up to her room and collapsed onto her bed, finally processing it all.

She was finally free of Lila. Hawkmoth was defeated, and she had both Nooroo and Duusu back, after having fixed the Peacock Miraculous.

When she heard her phone buzz, she picked it up and smiled to herself.

{Damian} I miss you, Angel, I hope your flight landed safely.

{Damian} I miss you already Angel. And Plagg's taste in cheese is the smelliest ever. Alfred is threatening to throw him out.

The smile on her face didn't drop for the rest of the evening, as she spent the entire evening messaging Damian.

…

Ladybug stood firm at the podium, her teammates standing with her as they faced the flashing of cameras with stoic expressions, press members shouting out questions. She merely stared at them, waiting for them all to quiet down. The crowd quickly got the clue and did such.

"Today, I am here to announce that Hawkmoth has finally been defeated. The terror he reigned over Paris for so long is finally over." Ladybug announced, and this only caused the crowd to go into a bewildered frenzy once again. Ladybug waited, and the media was quick to quiet again, realizing they had to be polite with this one. "Gabriel Agreste, formerly known as Hawkmoth, has been arrested and placed into the custody of the French authorities."

"What about his son, Adrien Agreste? Was he in cahoots with his father?" A reporter blurted out, and it took everything in Ladybug not to flinch at that name.

"Adrien Agreste was not in league with Hawkmoth, he and his mother are innocent." Well, as innocent as one could be. Adrien had been arrested, but anyone could see the boy needed mental help due to all of the mental abuse and grooming that had been forced upon him by his father. So Adrien and his mother, who had indeed woken up, had moved out of the country, where Adrien was getting good care in a good facility, not that he'd ever leave it, not after all he had done.

"What happens now?" A young reporter asked. Ladybug recognized her from her school, Estelle Desrosiers, a sweet girl who always sought out the truth, but was respectable about things. So Ladybug gave her a gracious smile.

"Well, Miss Desrosiers, the Miraculous will be retired and I shall be leaving the city. There are dangerous villains in the world and the world needs the help of the Miraculous to stop it. They're here to keep the darkness from taking over." She spoke firmly, and everyone could see the hero they had all grown to love and admire. There was much outcry at her stating she was leaving, but she stopped the noise and set a hand over her heart. "I love Paris, I love France. This is my home more than anything, but I cannot stay, cannot sit by as the rest of the world suffers. So thank you, Paris, and embrace your newfound freedom. And here's my final Bugout!"

With that, she and the rest of her team took off, followed by the cheers.

Back in her family apartment, Alya was seething as she sat between her parents on the couch, watching the live broadcast. That should be her up there, basking in the glory of defeating Hawkmoth with Ladybug, if Ladybug had actually used her head and gave her back her Fox Miraculous! No one was better suited to be a hero than Rena Rouge! Or it should at least be her at the front of that media stand, asking all of the important questions, getting the big scoop. But her parents had made her delete her blog. She had lost every single electronic she'd had, due to her actions in Gotham and her recent attitudes towards everyone. She had even screamed at her little sisters to the point she had made them cry.

The future was not a bright one for Alya Césaire.

…

Graduation had quickly arrived and when Marinette left her class, she didn't once look back. Sure, they had all apologized, save for Alya who had been expelled and needed to repeat her senior year, but they had thrown her aside so easily for a complete stranger. The kind of trust she had had with them was never going to exist again.

As she arrived back at her place to pack her bags, she saw Luka, Kagami, and Chloé in her room, waiting for her. They each gave her a grateful smile, before they began giving the Guardian back their Miraculous.

"I'm going to miss you." Chloé whispered as she nuzzled Pollen, then handed the hair clip over to Marinette, who tucked it safely into the Miraculous box. "And we'll miss you too, Marinette."

Marinette smiled and opened her arms, Luka, Chloé, and Kagami moving in for a group hug. The four of them held onto each other tight, before finally letting go.

"Have fun in Gotham." Luka whispered, ruffling her hair gently before he kissed her temple. "Keep in touch."

"I will." Marinette tucked the Miraculous box into the hidden compartment in her suitcase, then made her way downstairs, embracing her parents tightly, tears welling up in her eyes. She was finally leaving the nest, leaving the home that was full of such love and happy memories. But she still felt something deep inside of her calling for her to go back to Gotham, her new home.

Once she got in the taxi, she settled back and glanced down at her phone buzzed, biting her lower lip to hold back a giggle.

{Damian} Once you land in Gotham, go to the Wayne Botanical Gardens. I have a surprise for you, Angel.

"I'll be home soon, mon prince.."

…

Marinette stepped into the greenhouse and grinned at the sight of Damian standing there, next to a checkered blanket and a picnic basket. She dropped her purse and ran towards him, hugging him tightly as he lifted her up and spun her.

"I missed you, Angel." Damian whispered into her ear as he set his giggling girlfriend back onto the ground, then motioned towards the picnic. "I thought I'd surprise you, to welcome you back home."

"And here I thought you and your brothers were gonna throw me a party." Marinette grinned, taking a seat beside him. When he began setting out the food, she felt her smile only widen. "You really spoil me."

"Well hopefully I don't spoil your appetite too much. Jason decided to go into the kitchen today and bake you a 'welcome back' cake. Pretend to like the inedible mess." Damian gave her a wry smile as he poured them both a cup of sparkling juice, before holding his up as a toast. "Welcome home, Angel."

"Glad to be home, mon prince." She tapped her plastic cup against his and took a long drink, unable to wipe the smile from her face. The hour passed with them joking and eating the food Damian had brought, Marinette glanced at the time and sighed. "We should get back. I really want to see everyone, I've missed them."

Marinette stood and stretched her body, groaning softly as she managed to loosen a few tense muscles, then took a step towards the exit.

"Marinette."

She turned towards Damian. Damian met her gaze, then raised his gun. A shot rang out and Marinette stumbled back a few steps, clutching at her chest as a bewildered look on her face.

"D- Damian..?" She dropped to her knees, then was jolted onto her back when he shot her again.

"I thank you, Marinette. The Miraculous are much more powerful than I would have ever thought." He smiled thinly as he made his way over and knelt down next to Marinette, who was choking on her own blood.

Marinette stared up at the boy she thought she was so deeply in love with, tears beginning to slide down her cheeks as she tried to reach up for him.

"I'm glad you were at least useful. You really are a ditz, aren't you?" He stood and ground his foot into the gunshot wounds, making her let out a choked scream.

Marinette's mind was in a whirl, struggling to breathe as her world began to dim.

So she had just been a pawn…? Been used to get the Miraculous…?

He had lied to her?

How could she have been so stupid?

As the light left her eyes, the only thoughts were on betrayal, and the fears of what would happen to the Kwami, to Tikki.

When her body went limp, Heretic grinned.

…

Damian rushed his entire way to the Botanical Gardens, silently cursing Mr. Freeze with every inch of his being. Because of the bastard, he was two hours late in meeting Marinette. He knew she'd understand, but still, no one deserves that. He feared she was angry because she wasn't answering her phone.

He rushed through the roof doors, when a strong coppery smell hit him, a smell he was very familiar with. His body instantly tensed as he reached down the small knife in his pocket, carefully making his way into the greenhouse as his eyes darted this way and that.

And what he saw made his heart stop.

Marinette was sprawled out on the floor, staring skyward, with two gunshot wounds in her chest, a puddle of blood beginning to congele around her. Hovering over her was a loudly weeping Tikki.

"Tikki,what happened?!" Plagg burst from Damian's coat pocket and rushed towards her, hugging her close as his dearest friend broke apart in his arms.

"I- I don't know! I was asleep, I was so tired because I- I'm still trying to help Nooroo through his trauma, and I just woke up! What happened to her, Plagg? She can't be dead, she just can't be! I can't lose her, please, tell me she's not dead!" Tikki wailed.

"Marinette…?" Damian knelt next to the body, cupping her face ever so gently. He felt tears burn his eyes as he rested his forehead against hers, desperately wishing for the reality to not be true. She was gone, he had lost her and he hadn't been here to protect her. The tears began to flow as he let out a sob and hugged the body close. "No, please, Angel, please don't go.."

He sat there and rocked as he sobbed. Eventually, he got the will to call his brothers. They'd have a horrible call to her parents.

…

Tom and Sabine wept as their little girl, their only child, was lowered into the ground. Damian felt numb, like nothing was really worth it anymore. But beneath that numbness was an angry ready to burst forth and cause the death of whoever caused this. The police hadn't found anything, no DNA, no fingerprints, nothing except for Marinette's. Why couldn't they do their goddamned job and find the murdering bastard?!

"Diana, what are you doing here?" Bruce's surprised tone brought Damian's attention, and he watched as Diana Prince approached them, looking grim.

"I am here to honour a brave and dutiful Ladybug. My mother had wished to attend as well, but we did not want to cause much ruckus." Diana admitted, looking down at the casket being slowly covered in dirt. She let out a long, defeated sigh. "But one so young… No one should ever die so young."

"Why would your mother care about this?" Damian snipped, but Diana took no offense, seeing how torn up the boy was. Many people lashed out in their grief.

"She was a previous Ladybug." Diana admitted, noticing Plagg peeking out from Damian's coat pocket. She smiled down at the Kwami and knelt, pretending as if to tie her shoe. "Hello Plagg."

"Hello there, Princess, you've certainly grown." Plagg said rather sadly, before looking away. "Tikki.. She's not doing so good."

"I have no doubt." Diana nodded and stood once again, turning towards Bruce. "What will happen with the Miraculous now?"

"They need to ensure somewhere safe. You said that your mother was once a Ladybug, yes? Perhaps you can take the body back home? I know it would be greatly protected there." Bruce glanced over at his son, who was staring at his ring. "But the Black Cat Miraculous…"

"It can stay here." Diana assured him softly. "You never separate a Black Cat from their Chosen."

"It was the last thing Marinette gave to me." Damian murmured and Diana felt her heart break at how defeated he looked.

"Keep the ring safe, Damian. And Plagg, help Damian as well." Diana reached down and stroked Plagg's head gently once she was sure no one was watching. "I shall take the box home to Themiscyra."

"Thank you, Diana." Bruce turned his gaze back to the grave, his hands curling ever so slightly into fists. "I know Marinette would appreciate it while we hunt down whoever is responsible for this."

"Once you do find out who it was, make them suffer." Diana hissed, a dangerous threat in her eyes. "Or I shall."

…

That night, Diana took the Miraculous box, sans the Black Cat ring, and returned to Themiscyra.

That night, in a graveyard in Paris, several people approached the grave of Marinette Dupain-Cheng and began to dig.

…

Marinette felt as if she were floating, the entire body full of warmth and strength.

She opened her eyes and realized she was seeing nothing but green.

Then something took hold, something indescribable. She burst forth from the green water, letting out a scream of rage as memories began flooding back, memories of her murder. Eyes almost blind to anything around her, she charged towards a faint figure in front of her and body slammed them. When another person came forward, she flipped them over her head. She broke another man's arm and leg.

"Hold her down!" A feminine voice snapped out, and quickly Marinette found herself being restrained on a cold floor, snarling and snapping, screaming out for Damian's blood.

But eventually, that madness faded and she found herself staring at a beautiful woman who knelt over her.

"Who… Who are you?" Marinette croaked out, her entire body still shivering, tears beginning to flow from her eyes.

"Oh Marinette, do not weep. My name is Talia." The woman stroked the hair from the young girl's face, smiling kindly down upon her. "Do not fret, I shall take care of you from now on. You are in safe hands."

{To Be Continued in the sequel}

Taglist: @realrandomposts @interobanginyourmom @ladybug-182 @ladylb @zalladane @mochinek0 @persephonebutkore @urbanpineapplefarmer @vixen-uchiha @angelofmusickaterinapetrova @thewheezingbubbledragon @northernbluetongue @thequestionablyhuman @ginamarie1512 @maude-zarella @2sunchild2 @saphiraazure2708 @ayuchan07 @virgil-is-a-cutie @thepeacetea @miraculous786 @enchanted-nerd @ficsforthestars @emo-elaine13 @caffeinetheory

#Seeing Green #maribat #daminette #damimari

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stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale · 4 years

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I’ve owned this blog for over 2 years now. I’m sick, emotional, and got shit to say...

In my sickness I haven’t been able to do much other than lay in bed and watch youtube/start a replay of twdg, but I also decided to go back through my blog.

It kind of just hit me that I’ve had this blog for over 2 years now.

I created it back in August of 2018 when I was literally just a ghost- liking, sometimes reblogging, and sending anons but too afraid to post anything of my own. I was starting to dabble in writing for this fandom but didn’t dare post any of the small stories I was writing.

Like... once upon a time, good ol’ dingus CJ was terrified to post her writing.

Shit, terrified to post anything.

I mean, I legitimately thought that if I posted any of the short stories I was writing, I would either be mocked due to my lack of experience within the community, or ignored completely because what I was writing wasn’t good enough compared to the other fics out there.

That was more than enough to make me trash everything I wrote.

Fun Fact: The very first story I wrote for the fandom was after playing ep1 for like the 5th time, back before ep2 released. It was about Clementine wandering down to the music room the night Marlon died to see Louis playing the piano. It was from her POV and how she watched him in the doorway. She wanted to make things right with him only for Louis to have a break down and start slamming on the keys. Eventually he grabbed a chair and smashed it over the piano. It ended with Clementine sneaking away undetected back to the dorms with plans to leave with AJ in the morning.

Angsty and bitter, yes. Anything I’d write today? Nooo.

I spent days going back and forth on whether or not I should post it only to delete it because bad.

I wrote other little fluffy drabbles that I never posted for similar reasons all while remaining a ghost in community.

Then ep2 came out.

Do y’all know what my very first post was...?

Which says a lot that it took them murdering Mitch for me to finally make my own nonsense and kick start everything. Thanks Telltale.

That was also when I wrote a story that y’all probably either forgot about or never heard of [which might be for the best tbh]: [when he smiled].

Oof.

Hahaha

There’s a whole story behind that one that involves hours of “Should I post it? No, I shouldn’t- well....” Then, a blog that to this day I deeply admire made a post asking for fic recommendations and I took it as a sign.

After spending another hour doubting myself, I finally quit being a baby and messaged them. We chatted, they read my story and honestly.... that really started everything.

As of today, I have written 51 individual stories.

I also have 4,685 posts on this blog, and yes, more than half of those are tagged #twdg louis. On top of that, we’ve done over 50 different themed nights and 4 challenges. Hell, we’ve even done a contest!

I have more friends and followers than I ever imagined like... what the fuck, y’all. When did that happen? This isn’t me being stupid or anything, I’m just a little overwhelmed looking through all this shit, remembering how this all started and realizing everything we’ve done in the past two years.

Like... I was so scared to talk to anyone in August 2018 hahaha

Now I’m constantly answering asks, chatting with buddies over messaging, I fucking stream games on Twitch [rip mixer] which is something I NEVER thought I would EVER do, and while I still have a lot of anxiety when it comes to posting stories it’s not nearly as bad as it once was.

What a fucking journey...

I don’t know why I’m writing this. I mean, I want to say thanks to everyone who has stuck around, to those who participate in the themed nights, to those who send me asks, and to those who merely follow me and enjoy the content. But I don’t really know if a small “thanks” really covers it, y’know?

When shit has really hit the fan here in the real world, whether it was shit with school or work or family or the scary shit going on right now, I’ve always had this blog to come to when I needed it. I’ve taken breaks when needed, too, and days where I thought about abandoning the blog because my anxiety tells me I’m not doing a good job, or I get a handful of nasty asks, or whatever.

But I’ve always come back because this is like a safe-space. It’s not perfect, but I love it. I love you guys. I love these games. I love the community.

I don’t think a simple “thank you” is sufficient but fuck, it’s what I got. I’m here for you guys, to chat about these games and discuss their characters, to gush over Louis and Clouis and everything else. I’m hear to work on my writing skills and finish my fics, even if I’m slowest dingus ever haha.

I’m just... I’m here. I’m here for you. I love having you here and I hope that while you’re following me, you’re enjoying the content, whatever it may be.

❤️I love you, and thank you ❤️

...Also, side note- going back and reading posts from when the episodes were coming out is so nostalgic. Like, it makes me smile but want to cry haha.

Reading through those posts brought up a lot of names that I never see anymore and that’s so bittersweet, y’know? I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the thriving within the community of everyone theorizing about what would happen next and gushing about Louis and being so excited to see him again.

It’s so crazy haha

I miss it, but hey, it’s a good memory. And there’s always things to gush and theorize about here, so even if the community isn’t at the peak it once was, we still have fun here.

Okay, I’m done rambling.

I’m gonna go through my ask box and answer some stuff now. I just had some nostalgia while going through everything and well.... yeah. Hahaha

#hi i'm here to ramble about the blog #read my early posts from 2018 and it got me feeling things #bringing up memories and shit #excuse me i'm emotional #hahaha #gonna answer some asks now #because i've been asleep for most of the day #now i'm wide awake with nothing but muh piglet and tfs soundtrack to lighten the night #well and y'all

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aegor-bamfsteel · 4 years

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Hello! I’m a big fan of your blog and I’ve got a question for you. Consider an AU where Daemon Blackfyre is born from Aegon IV having an affair with Rhaena rather than Daena, how do you think he’d turn out? I’m curious on your thoughts as to how having a different parentage might change Daemon.

Hello! I’m glad you’re enjoying reading my blog :)

The scenario you propose is one I haven’t thought of because Rhaena is far and away the least developed of the Targaryen characters of her generation. I’m not going to say “she would never have an affair” because as it stands most of the information on her is from semi- or non-canon sources: the 2006 SSM and the MUSH RPG tree that reveals she was the sister Daeron I betrothed to the Sealord of Braavos. She gets about one and a half sentences to herself in The World of Ice and Fire, which itself contradicts some of the information in the SSM: the SSM states that she never chafed at her confinement whereas twoiaf says she protested Baelor’s Maidenvault along with her sisters; depending on which one is true (for obvious reasons, I prefer the universe where she doesn’t agree with being imprisoned for a decade), leads to vastly different interpretations of the character. We know more about Rhaena’s breast size (that they were fuller than Daena’s at 14; thanks a lot, George) than her interactions with her siblings and cousins. All we know for sure is that she was pious and became a septa later in life.

The question is then whether Rhaena would still become a septa if she had a child, or be like Elaena and have to leave him behind (it’s nearly impossible from what we know about illegitimate children of noblewomen that Elaena brought Jon and Jeyne Waters with her to Plumm lands). If Rhaena did become a septa soon after Daemon’s birth and Aegon’s ascension, and left him as a baby to be raised by Daena (as I think might’ve happened with the Waters twins), then perhaps not much would change: Daemon is still raised mostly by the Targaryen-loving Daena, who probably encouraged his athletic pursuits, and spends time training with master-at-arms and Aegon IV’s ally, Quentyn Ball.

Daemon might’ve felt unloved by Rhaena in the “why didn’t she stay with me?” sense that some of the illegitimate children feel in asoiaf (thinking about Jon Snow’s fantasies of his “beautiful, highborn, kind-eyed” mother, and he had a decently happy childhood in Winterfell). Since in canon Baelor starved himself to death "in penance” for Daena’s child, switching the sister to Rhaena could have devastating psychological effects for the both of them, since the SSM implies she and Baelor were close (that her piety was influenced by Baelor, and even twoiaf compares her piety to his); a plausible scenario could be Rhaena joining a motherhouse and leaving her child as a form of penance, as she blames herself for Baelor’s death.

Without Daena’s loving act of self-sacrifice by refusing to name the father at the cost of her reputation, and instead an absent mother mourning the death of her jailer “Baelor the Beloved”, Daemon might’ve even felt unwanted despite Daena’s best efforts (again, thinking of Jon Snow, who still internalized the “bastard prejudices” despite having a loving father and half-siblings). So perhaps a Daemon-son-of-absentee Rhaena is a little sadder, more jaded from early childhood, and less willing to get hurt reaching out to abrasive family members (by which I mean Aegor and Brynden Rivers).

But supposing Rhaena does put off becoming a septa to raise her son (and you could argue that sewing the Mother’s face on her clothing indicates that, like Aelinor Penrose, she did want children) and successfully opposes Viserys and Aegon’s attempts to marry her off (as Daena did. GRRM’s SSM says Rhaena was “meek and passive”, but I’m going with the twoiaf version that stands up for her freedom). Considering what happened to Falena Stokeworth at Viserys II’s hands for daring to have sex with Aegon IV, I’ll assume that she refuses to name Aegon IV as the father.

A Daemon raised by Rhaena at King’s Landing would perhaps be more openly interested in fashion; Rhaena loved to sew and embroider, and I could see him taking an interest in this because his mother was and encouraged him. We’re not sure how pious Daemon was in canon (although according to his supporters, he was blessed by the Seven), but as Rhaena’s child he might be more so, and might’ve wanted to serve the Warrior’s Sons instead of the Kingsguard as a boy. It might even be possible that as in the real-life example of Princess Rotrude daughter of Charlemagne and her illegitimate son Louis, that he could’ve followed Rhaena into the Faith and become part of a guard for a particularly high-ranking Septon.

However, I don’t think this Daemon’s new interests would have made Aegon stop being interested in him, especially after Aegor and Brynden proved to be “unsuitable heirs”; and I don’t think they would’ve endeared the grudge-prone Da3ron II to him either. So I don’t think their schemes regarding Daemon would’ve changed.

What I think the most important change in Daemon’s character would be having Rhaena as a mother is that he’s introduced earlier on to the Targaryen legacy is not a shining ideal to protect. Rhaena is the only known Targaryen to have abandoned their name for a higher calling by choice, rather than being given to the Faith or Citadel by her parents or married off (although they technically are still part of the Targaryen House) or forced to run away. Most of the Targaryen women are proud to be born of the house of “fire and blood” and dragons, but unlike Daena and even Elaena, Rhaena did not have any explicit connection to that legacy. Daemon knowing that his mother could’ve become a septa and give up her name, seeing her honoring the Mother and the Maiden over Rhaenys and Visenya, having her tell him tales of the Warriors’ Sons over those of brave Targaryen warriors, would have radically changed his idea of who the Targaryens are. With that he might be more open to criticism of Targaryen brutality and egotism, at least with regards to burning septs and trying to rewrite the laws of the Faith to suit their own ends (Jaehaerys and the Doctrine of Exceptionalism allowing incest, Baelor’s misogynist laws on chastity and moving the Faith’s capital to King’s Landing where they became a tool of the Targaryens). That might result in a Daemon that doesn’t hold onto Blackfyre and his sigil as symbols of identity and strength, but the chivalric code and Faith precepts. That might have serious political implications if the reason why he rebelled (if rebel he did, and wasn’t just arrested based on a rumor) had something to do with Aegon IV and Da3ron II making a mockery of the Targaryen legacy as related to him by Daena.

tl;dr depending on whether or not Rhaena was there to raise him, I think were she his mother Daemon may have been more wary of the Targaryens as a family and his place among them as an illegitimate prince. He may have cultivated different interests that Rhaena encouraged, and might have been more outwardly serious and guarded at court. Whether that meant he’d be less popular or less effective in combat is anyone’s guess, but I don’t think Aegon’s plans and Da3ron II’s counter-plans for him would’ve changed much.

#ask #what if #asoiaf #asoiaf headcanon #daemon blackfyre #Rhaena Targaryen #house targaryen

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enduringsea · 3 years

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( rules: you can usually tell a lot about a person by the kind of music they listen to! put your music on shuffle and list the first 10 songs, then tag 10 people! no skipping! ) / tagged by @yellowcrumpet ╭( ･ㅂ･)و )))

Thanks for the tag! I LOVE these things-- I don’t rlly have a playlist either though, just a mess of music files on a device I haven’t updated so I’ll be checking my YouTube history too lol. There’s a uhhh.... pattern to be found, mainly relating to Code Vein or other OCs.... which isn’t surprising ._. ;; I made it a separate post bc I knew this was going to get long and rambly with lyric snippets and crying about fictional characters, sorry :D

1. Repeat Until Death - Novo Amor don’t go / you’re half of me now / but i’m hardly stood proud / i said it, almost oh i’ve been low / but damn it i bet it don’t show / it was heaven a moment ago oh i can’t seem to let myself leave you / but i can’t breathe anymore This one gives me Loubeth vibes ok, partially bad end route ;-; While Elizabeth is a very strong person, her friends are the most prominent reason she tries to do anything at all & isn’t living day-to-day in a monotonous grind to survive without a solid purpose other than ‘help random ppl bc it’s the right thing to do’. If she loses them, it’d ruin her & hammers into her head how everything she’s ever done has been a failure. She suffered a major betrayal by her boss before the Collapse, she was unable to fully participate in proj. queen despite her incredible test results, she failed to defeat Cruz and take her blood during Operation Queenslayer, and if she fails to protect the people she’s finally found meaning with? She’d break down completely & destroy herself to save them. She’s always had some level of abandonment issues, and without her family around it’s so much worse, even if it isn’t the most obvious because she’s generally seen as very well put together-- I really can’t express how much it would hurt her to lose Louis, Yakumo, and the others. She’s just not one to show just how bad it can truly get for her mentally and emotionally-- she’s resilient as hell, she’s been through hell repeatedly and survived it all, so it’s easy for others to assume she’s fine all things considered. It makes her feel weak and ashamed of herself if she shows any level of vulnerability, so she doesn’t; she swallows it down and is afraid of disappointing those who look up to her as a fighter and friend-- of course, no one at Home Base would blame her for being vulnerable, they all have their moments, Bethy just sets herself to such a high standard it’s difficult for her to talk about her own suffering in spite of how well-versed she is in getting her thoughts and feelings across otherwise. Louis is the one most keen to how deeply she’s hurting, but he doesn’t understand just how deeply until she finally does fall apart. The final swell of the song and its desperate lyrics really relays the pain they both feel-- Louis too would not fare well if something happened to Elizabeth, because he blames himself she was even involved in Operation Queenslayer for a long time, I honestly did so bad in explaining coherently, this song just has so much emotion and hurt behind it adklfjdfdff </3

2. Looking Out For You - Joy Again this is a love song for a girl who will never know it’s about her she's beaming that smile / all the while i’m all tripped up on my own throat i guess there is no hope This song reminds me of Elizabeth & my friend’s character Takashi Fujioka, who gets-- vERY...FRIENDZONED, for lack of a better word, by Elizabeth in his story, it’s really summed up best as tragic (;﹏;) Before the Collapse they were hitting it off, then the Collapse happened, they were separated, he lost his sisters, Mido happened, he was experimented on + became a revenant, etc, etc; years have passed since then & she’s gotten her life together as much as one can in a world like Vein, but for Takashi it’s like no time has passed at all. Elizabeth is subtly older in appearance, she’s been working w Lou & Co. for a long time; Loubeth blatantly have a connection, & rather than bringing up his feelings + making it awkward bc he values their friendships, he just kinda. chokes on them & does his best to help out the team. It doesn’t help he can’t even be jealous bc Louis is a really solid friend to him too, IT’S JUST A MESS OF A SITUATION & the death of what could have been if things were different.

3. Closer - Teagan And Sara ( no lengthy explanation for this one thank goodness, I’ve just been watching BoJack Horseman again and I really like some of the songs they add in, I like listening to this one on loop when mindlessly coloring something )

4. Brutal - Olivia Rodrigo all I did was try my best / this the kind of thanks I get? they say these are the golden years / but I wish I could disappear ego crush is so severe / god, it's brutal out here I have it on a playlist for Elizabeth somewhere, not all of it applies to her but it reflects some of her struggles she has both before & after the collapse. She’s-- always kind of been a mess while under immense pressure + has serious self image issues, this song hits that side of her well. She’s been held to humanly impossible standards by both herself and her family bc frankly? She can reach them, she’s NOT exactly human. She was born into her position as a hunter & intends to keep it for as long as she lives (like revenants, her kind is very much ‘either gets killed or lives 5ever), even if some days she really feels how heavy the burden can be. She didn’t have a normal childhood and she’s fine with it for the most part, but it alienates her from most of her peers-- she never got to date anyone, never had a close group of friends, never went to parties that weren’t formals, etc., while she feels a little childish about it, she does envy ‘normal’ and understands the pressure she’s lived under her entire life has caused damage-- she has been exploited for her abilities, there’s just not much she can do about it but to keep going, rlly.

5. Freaks - Surf Curse don't kill me / just help me run away from everyone i need a place to stay / where i can cover up my face don't cry / i am just a freak / i am just a freak UhhhHHH this song really makes me think of Oliver Collins :D;; thank TikTok for showing it to me. It makes me think of how scared he was, of both the world and the revenants who captured him. The song’s use of the word ‘parasites’ really makes me think of Revenants and the BOR parasites XD I’m hoping when I poke my video editor again, I can record some Oliver footage to make a short video to this song. Oliver deserves so much better, I wish you could save him, but that’s what AUs are for, hahah.... The second half of the lyrics make me think of the AU I have where he lives and has to grapple with the guilt of surviving and the things he did to other revenants to get by too.

6. All Eyes On Me - Bo Burnham you say the ocean’s rising / like i give a shit you say the whole world’s ending / honey it already did you’re not gonna slow it / heaven knows you tried got it? good / now get inside I haven’t seen the Netflix special yet but I’ve had this song on repeat since my move started. The lyrics hit too hard & resonate with my existential dread, covid exhaustion, and extreme burnout in my 20s, but bc I have Damage I can also relate it to CV ._. ‘you’re not gonna slow it, heaven knows you tried. got it? good now get inside’ makes me think of--;; the bad end route again, and Elizabeth’s desperation to keep her found family together. It’s not like her to completely stop caring about an issue, but in the moment she realizes what’s being taken from her? She doesn’t want to save all of revenant-kind if it means she’s going to wind up alone all over again, her world is effectively over if she’s forced to be alone again. The MC frenzying means the only immediately identifiable hope she had of saving everyone else is gone, so why not just go home? If they’re all doomed, she wants to at least be together for a little while longer, it’s fine if they use her blood to survive & everyone else in the mist is out of luck, it’s soul-crushing bc I’ve never had her in a situation where she’s been this reckless, despondent/hopeless, and thinking irrationally where it’d impact more than herself-- especially when she’s normally goal-oriented, organized, meticulous, so on so forth: she’s not one to act without thinking something through first, but that last breath of light just got sucker-punched out of her. All she wants is home, comfort, and family, and ultimately in the bad end route she does manage to preserve their lives, maintain the mist, and supply blood beads, but her own condition leaves her on the throne-- it’s a mix of the bad, neutral, and true ending rlly ldkfjdf BUT YEAH enough rambling on that :D;; This song’s really good and touches a lot of different thoughts and ideas both in real life and my ocs, kind of embarrassing--;; thank u bo burnham for ruining me with this beautiful song

7. Yellow - Coldplay look at the stars / look how they shine for you / and everything you do your skin / oh yeah, your skin and bones / turn in to something beautiful do you know / for you I'd bleed myself dry Does this song make me think about JackEva? Yes. Yes it does. Star / night sky symbolism? Bam. Sappy lyrics about love and finding the person you’re with absolutely mesmerizing and worth dying for? BAM. If JackEva were capable of using their own blood to save each other, I can see it-- hJNGn they just care about each other so much, Jack cries for her even though they both knew that eventually one of them would succumb to their duty, and if the roles were reversed I can see Eva doing the same, I adore them beyond human language. On my CV RP blog, my Jack’s not shippable bc-- Eva, my friend even have them looking after his nephew (an oc--) at one point. I should seriously drop some headcanons down eventually....

8. Louder Than Thunder - The Devil Wears Prada are we meant to be empty-handed? / i know i could, i could be better i don't think i deserve it / selflessness, find your way into my heart all stars could be brighter / all hearts could be warmer

LMFAO throwback to my middle school playlist, I’m old-- I’ve applied this song to a lot of things back in the day, but I really connect it to Loubeth now, especially Louis. Lou & Bethy are both functional idiots who are too hard on themselves & have trouble recognizing their worth beyond what they can do for others. They’re trying to be better-- to make up for what they perceived wrongs they’ve done, but it’s hard, they don’t believe they’re worthy of the love and support the other gives, but they still yearn for that sense of security. After Louis’ memories are returned, he finally understands the guilt he’s felt since he became a revenant and it really skews his self-perception; he blames himself for so many things & Elizabeth, who has always been able to kill when necessary, sets it straight-- “It’s not your fault”, and it takes Louis some time to properly absorb that message. He thinks she’s just trying to comfort him, which she is tbh, but she’s not wrong: “It’s not your fault you couldn’t kill someone. It was never your job to kill anyone.” It’s up to people like her to do those sort of things-- Elizabeth may not have been present when Cruz frenzied, but if she had been? It would have been over before it started, that’s something she has regrets over, even if nothing could have been done since she was already on the field. Actually, she’s actually really quite angry that security failed to monitor Cruz properly and has a few select words for the ones there who could have actually done something before it got out of hand-- civilians and doctors are exempt from her shtlist bc they’re not meant to be killers (so don’t worry Artorias, she’s not ready to bite your head off!), but they had to have some kinda security detail rite o-q??? They’re probably hiding from her wrath-- BUT ANYWAY, she insists she’ll never blame Louis for not being able to do something as serious as killing another person. He was a normal human being who cared about his friend, not a failure, and he couldn’t have been expected to do something that shouldn’t have fallen on his shoulders in the first place. As many times as it takes, she’ll reaffirm that it wasn’t his fault, she’s not angry, he’s always done his best and her opinion of him hasn’t changed. He’s a good person and she loves him through all the hurt, though she doesn’t drop the word ‘love’ for a long time. It just-- takes Louis a while to accept she views him as someone worthy of the love and respect she has for him. It’s kind of ironic she’s so adamant on Louis not blaming himself considering she’s the one privately blaming herself for-- wow there’s too much to unpack, she feels guilty she was even born?? im so broken over these two. I love them and yet they SUFFER...

9. What I’ve Done - Linkin Park i'll face myself / to cross out what i’ve become erase myself / and let go of what i’ve done today this ends / i'm forgiving what i’ve done

I have Louis Amamiya brainrot and I’m so glad I’m not the only one who thinks that this song fits him super well & it needs to become an AMV dsjfkldsfd. I’m a near life-long Linkin Park fan and this fits with Lou so well thematically. As much as I’ve gone on about Louis’ guilt, he does steel himself to keep going forward in spite of it and make things right, for everyone. Maybe it wasn’t really his fault, but at the end of the day his inability to kill Cruz in that moment left a disaster in its wake that got a countless number of people killed-- the MC included with Karen and Aurora. He doesn’t want to run away from the truth, doesn’t want to make excuses, he wants to take responsibility for it and he’ll work himself to death if it means things will be better-- it’s both admirable he’s got a strong resolve and VERY concerning with how willing he is to die for the cause, please don’t overdo it, Lou, you’ll break mine and Bethy’s hearts ._.;; It won’t always be easy, there are moments the grief gnaws at him, but in the end he does overcome it (and uh. as in the bad ending, we know he can actually do it this time). I know we can’t see everything, but I would have loved deeper character interactions, especially with Louis with an emphasis on grieving + forgiving himself properly-- but this song really is nice with the whole ‘I’m going to face my mistakes head on, forgive myself, and keep moving forward’. It’s what Louis deserves: self forgiveness and a damn break ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚

10. Call of Silence - Hiroyuki Sawano you will know you're reborn tonight / must be rough but i’ll stay by your side even if my body's bleached to the bones / i don't want go through that ever again so cry no more / oh my beloved ngl idk if those are the correct lyrics, buuuuuuut....... im a weenie and am internally weeping abt loubeth after midnight, what else is new lmfao- i’ll at least try to be brief :D I also used to really like Attack on Titan when I was in high school, I dropped the anime years ago because I was waiting for s2 and never got back to it once it started airing again, I thought I’d finish it once the anime was complete since I eventually caught up with the manga, such a good series BUT ANYWAY-- I think it’s a really pretty song and Loubeth fit with the tender lyrics. IT’S LATE, idk what to say about them other than what I’ve said already dsklfjdslf im sorry I really ramble a LOT and I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t had the chance to >w>;;

#i do not know how 2 b quiet #long post #personal text #yellowcrumpet

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benhardyisdaddy · 5 years

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Love Of My Life - Part 16

MASTERLIST

(hi guys welcome to the last part of loml ugh i loved this series so much with all of my heart and thank u to everyone who supported it!!! i hope you all enjoy this <3)

Word Count: 1,710

You rushed through the airport and ignore all of the odd expressions everyone around you were giving. You had your mind set on one thing and one thing only. You gripped your luggage tight and hurriedly search for the exit, finally spotting it. Before you’re outside, the loud sound of thunder booms everywhere around you. The sky was starting to form large, angry and dark clouds. You finally made it outside and you could practically already smell the rain. You weren’t going to let that bother you. You look around frantically and spot an empty taxi parked just down the sidewalk. You zoom towards it as the driver spins around and spots you, a grin on his face.

“Bonjour!” he says sweetly.

You smile to him and try to catch your breath.

“Bonjour! I apologize, I don’t speak much French.”

The man smiles and bows his head a bit, understanding.

“No worries, madame. Would you like a ride?”

All you can do is smile as you jump inside and quickly tell the kind man where exactly to go.

***

On your way back to the hotel, you find yourself and the man talking about your situation. You explain everything as he sympathizes with you. His wife passed away too.

“Sadness will always be there.” he tells you. “I never thought I would love again, but it’s what my Bella would have wanted. You feel this sense of abandonment. Like you’re forgetting who they are and what they were to you. Like their existence will become one with the shadows, but it won’t. You’ll always have them in your heart and they’ll live on forever.”

You couldn’t help but shed a few tears as he spoke. It was so fluid and beautiful. It was exactly what you needed to hear. Who knew the kindness of a stranger is exactly what you needed at this moment.

“Thank you, Louis.” you say, sniffling a bit. “You have no idea how much I needed that.”

Louis looks into the rear view mirror and smiles.

“It’s something I wish someone had told me when my Bella left. It’s the truth. You don’t have to thank me, madame. Let’s just get you to where you need to be.”

And he kept his promise. He was driving like a madman as he zoomed past cars and hurried. You started noticing familiar sights and knew you were close. Suddenly, seeing everything became difficult when an angry and sudden storm hits. Rain is pouring down in buckets as Louis slows his speed. You can barely see anything up ahead. You were antsy and impatient, worried you wouldn’t make it on time. Worried Roger would be gone.

“Ah, he we are.” says Louis.

You lean over and look out your window, spotting your hotel. Your heart is racing and your stomach is flip flopping. You’re so nervous. Just as you’re grabbing your purse, Louis speaks.

“Madame, is that him? The man you were telling me about?” he asks fast.

You look up and lean forward, suddenly spotting Roger. He’s still here! He has his luggage and is speaking to another taxi driver. The trunk is open as he’s placing his items inside. He’s about to leave. You gasp as the trunk closes and Roger goes to open the back door.

“Go!” says Louis to you.

You jump and fling the door open. You get out of the car and the rain is soaking you. You squint your eyes and move the damp hair from your face. Roger’s about to get in the car as you yell out to him.

“Roger!”

He doesn’t hear you.

You begin running and yelling again.

“Roger!”

Just as he’s about to get inside, he stops. He slowly turns his head towards you and freezes. You stop running and just stare at him. He has a confused look on his face as he takes a step forward.

“Y/n?” he calls out.

You smile at the sound of his voice as you walk towards him. You both were drenched.

“I’m so sorry!” you shout against the loud rain. “I’m so sorry for everything! For how I acted, for leaving! I regret it all!”

His face falls slightly.

“You regret it all?” he asks.

You smile and shake your head as you walk up to him.

“I don’t regret you.”

His face slowly turns into a sweet smile as he fills the empty space in front of you. You both are looking at each other as he leans his hand forward and moves some hair from your face.

“Are you sure?” he asks.

You nod your head and gently place your hand over his.

“I’m sure. Will you forgive me?”

“Will you forgive me?” he asks, his face going sad.

“A million times over.”

He smiles and leans in slightly.

“Then me too.”

And with that, he leans in all the way and places his lips on yours. His hands cup your face as the rain pours over you. He leans away and kisses your forehead. You wrap your arms around him and hug him tightly, not wanting to let go. You turn your head against his chest and open your eyes. Across the street, you spot John. He’s standing there with rain all around him, a smile on his face. He nods his head to you, giving you his blessing. Tears well up in your eyes as you smile back to him. Suddenly, he drifts away and disappears completely. Your John was officially gone and you have finally accepted it.

Roger pulls you even closer to him and back to reality. You lean away and look up at him, admiring every feature on his face. His arms are around your waist and for the first time in a long time, you finally feel at home.

***

2 Years Later

***

“Look at him.” you whisper.

You’re sat in your hospital bed as your tiny baby boy is fast asleep in your arms. Roger’s sat beside you as you both stare down and admire him.

“I can’t believe he’s ours.” he whispered back, making you chuckle.

“Good team work.” you tease, making him lean in and gently kiss you.

There’s a quiet knock at your door as it slowly opens up. A nurse tip toes in and smiles widely at you as she walks up and looks to the baby. Her heart melts at his little face.

“How precious.” she says.

You all agree and you can’t stop smiling.

“So, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, have you came up with a name for him yet?” she asks.

You and Roger looked at each other and smile sweetly, giving each other a knowing look.

“We have.” you say looking back down at your baby. “John. John Meddows Taylor.”

The nurse smiles and ‘awwws’.

“What a lovely name.” she says.

You and Roger smile as you nod your head. You gently run your finger over your babies brow, causing him to squirm slightly and smile, making your heart melt.

“Named after a lovely man.” you whisper, your eyes never leaving your baby.

***

It was late in the night and your baby had just fallen asleep. You place him in his tiny bed and make yourself comfortable in the hospital bed. You pull the blankets over you as Roger walks up with something behind his back. You smile at him and then squint your eyes, knowing he’s hiding something.

“What do ya got there?” you ask curiously.

Roger says nothing as he slowly moves his hands in front of himself and reveals an envelope. Your heart drops and you know.

“It’s for you.” he says, placing it on your lap. “I’m gonna walk around for a bit, give you some time to read it.”

He kisses you on the head and then turns around and walks out. You’re left with a letter on your lap as John’s handwriting is looking up at you. You’re nervous. You’re heart's racing as you gently open it and slide out the paper. You begin reading.

My Darling Y/n,

If things had gone the way I planned, you’re with Roger. You have no idea how happy I am with the idea of you two loving and protecting each other. It makes my heart happy, please believe me. Also, thank you. Thank you for opening your heart and loving again like I had asked of you. You deserve all of the happiness in the world. If I could be the one to give it you, I would. Believe me.

Please know that you’re everything I had always wanted. You’re the greatest gift in my life. It was an honor being in love with you. You made my life better in so many ways and I thank you for that. Loving you was the greatest gift I could have ever gotten and I see myself as the luckiest man in the world, just like Roger is now.

I told Roger to give you this note when you had kids. Something inside of me said it would be with him. I just know. I need you to know how lucky that baby (or babies) are to have you as a mother. You make every life worth living. You will be an amazing mother and I just know it. I’m just sorry I was never able to give you a family like we had so desperately wanted. You have no idea how embarrassingly happy I am for you. For you both.

I must go, my love. This is my last letter to you, for I’m getting more and more tired every day. Thank you for being my wife and best friend. Thank you for choosing me to love. I love you beyond words.

Goodbye For Now,

Your John

P.S. You’re the love of my life - forever and always, no matter what

You were smiling as you finish the letter. Tears streamed down your face and for the first time in a long time, they weren’t sad. You couldn’t have been more happier in that moment. You were choked up as you run your fingers along John’s handwriting, gasping slightly, trying to calm down. You smiled down at the letter as you nod.

“Mine too, John.” you whisper. “Mine too.”

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slashertalks · 5 years

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some vampire meta shit, and the theoretical societal balances which must be, and often are, struck within narratives depicting a carnivorous pseudo-human species (or, some thoughts about Daybreakers)

So it may not be well known here, but it’s a pretty obvious fact on my blog dailyhudson that I love the movies Near Dark and The Lost Boys. I’ve always been interested in the mythology of vampires, especially the scientific facts behind their origins, and I think the varying structures of vampiric societies within film narratives can be very interesting. So, that’s what I’m going to discuss here. I’m not sure how long this piece is going to be, but we’ll see as we go along.

I’m going to start with a little dissection of varying vampiric traits. Picture a vampire; I’m guessing the image your mind conjured up had fangs and drinks blood. Yeah, just fangs and blood— that’s all I can give you, because vampiric traits are so wildly different that at this point, there’s really no comprehensive list of universal features. Not even fangs are universal; in Near Dark, none of the vampires are shown to have them. However, there are recurring traits. Fangs are the most wide one, but there are also: altered eyes (commonly red or gold); pointed ears; bat-like feet or noses; the ability to shift their appearance between something human and more monstrous; flight; shapeshifting; a member of the undead. Why is “a member of the undead” not universal? Ignore the fact that I’m about to call upon Twilight, but it is a vampire narrative; within the plot, Bella gives birth to Edward’s baby and is turned in the process— the child is born a vampire, and therefore I don’t technically qualify it as “undead.” Alongside that, within the majority of narratives it is not a corpse which is reanimated, but a human that is turned. Vampirism is simply another state of being alive, though it can be used to prevent imminent death. Vampirism being conflated with death, in this meta discussion of morality and societal structures, would likely originate from a fear of what’s more powerful, more animalistic than ourselves (humans); how often do we think of ourselves as predators, when stronger creatures exist? To become a vampire is to lose your humanity but to gain the characteristics of what I will refer to as a “true predator,” not unlike a lion. Whether or not our actual humanity, our empathy, is lost varies on the narrative in question, and even then is questionable at best, considering the point of view of the narrative is nearly always a human one.

Now, what spurred this on was my viewing of the movie Daybreakers: an apocalyptic, near-starvation look at an imbalanced vampiric society— essentially, a worst-case scenario. Turning to both the Lost Boys and Near Dark, in these narratives we are shown two small groups of vampires coexisting in a world where they are unrecognized by humans (except in very rare cases, like that of Grandpa and the Frog Brothers). This is the ideal vampiric society, and one seemingly acknowledged by elder vampires; Max keeps a tight reign on the boys, only permitting David to turn a human when the human is approved. Jesse is angry with Mae for having turned a human without consulting them first. There is an understood need to keep the vampire population small, and to train them: Caleb is supposed to learn how to be a vampire, how to avoid attracting attention, how to recognize where and who to target. Even when they kill the bar patrons, the bar itself is mostly empty; a stark contrast to scenes like Daybreakers’ human farms or the blood rave in Blade. Even in the Forsaken, where the vampires are especially predatory and violent, they target very few people: our specific main characters and a small party of frat boys.

Within these narratives, there is an understood balance between vampires and humans. Not unlike any predator and prey; if prey cannot subsist, neither can predators. Vampires are an especially delicate predator, in that even if they can live off of animal blood, it is often not nutritionally fulfilling, leaving them weak and acting only as a bandaid until human blood can be obtained. Particularly within Near Dark, there is also a clan mentality: a desire to protect and safeguard your sired family; while Homer sired Mae, it’s easy to assume Diamondback and Severen were both sired by Jesse (who sired Homer is unclear). They are loyal to each other, a metaphorical pack of wolves; even Mae, who is turned back human (though that scenario raises questions of consent, since she never expresses a desire to be human and is, in fact, fearful when she awakens), is torn between staying with her family and defending the man she loves and had sired. The basis of a sustainable vampiric society would, as evidenced by Near Dark and The Lost Boys, require vampires to live as small, nomadic clans, keeping a tight control on the size of their groups and even killing off those who cannot successfully make the transition (whether because of fear, like Caleb, or because they cannot control themselves and feed without abandon, risking exposure). It’s also notable that there’s at least one older “alpha” within each clan; Jesse and Diamondback in Near Dark (though Severen is stated by both Bill Paxton and Jenette Goldstein to be older than Diamondback, his personality is naturally more immature and so he defers to Diamondback without issue), and Max in The Lost Boys. An older vampire within these clans would also be key to continued clan subsistence; until the younger vampires understand the need to maintain small, manageable groups and can go off on their own, the “alpha” vampire is there to guide them through vampiric adolescence.

What about Daybreakers, then? Even in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the high vampiric population is an explicitly-stated anomaly; Sunnydale is the location of the entrance to hell, naturally attracting supernatural beings— as such, we can assume within the rest of the world vampires exists either solitarily or within small familial groups (like Spike, Angel, and Drusilla did). Daybreakers is interesting to consider, since the transmission of vampirism is... unclear. It did start as a disease, considering the search for a cure, but based on the societal structures implemented in previous examples, one can assume that the disease struck out of the blue and spread quickly. Yet, at the same time, it can be transmitted via a bite. So, how did it start? Who was patient zero? The global nature of the disease and disregard for traditional vampiric societal structures put forth by previous narratives would suggest to me that there were millions of youthful vampires at once with no mentors to learn from. Even in the terrible Lost Boys sequel, the oldest vampire is (likely; that film is nonsense and I’m not going to dig too deep into it) thousands of years older than any other vampire. Even mad with power, the alpha is explicitly against the idea of turning all the humans at DJ X’s (another vampire’s) raves; he understands that too many vampires will lead to starvation and extinction. Following this logic, there can be no alpha vampire within the narrative world of Daybreakers; there’s nobody to pass along life lessons to the young vampires, nobody to teach them to keep their familial packs small and their destruction to a minimum.

What, then, is the morality of vampires hunting humans in Daybreakers? Clearly there’s a dichotomy between non-sapient predators and vampires: lions and wolves do not have the ability to reason, they act on instinct and drive alone. Vampires have the ability to reason, have some sense of morality, as do humans; therefore, it’s unfair to strike a “true predator”/“true prey” dichotomy. What about the fact that the vampiric society is facing starvation, then? What about humankind’s status as an endangered species? There’s no fair settlement between humankind and vampires within Daybreakers’ universe; human societal structures built around individualism and capitalism cannot make the transition to vampirism. Extinction is a guarantee without an alpha to lead the pack, so in a world where the vampiric agent was spontaneous and widespread, as is implied by Daybreakers, there was no other option for vampiric society.

I found Daybreakers interesting but unsatisfying. I’ve briefly touched on the attraction of vampirism from a specifically queer point of view, but I think that’s an important consideration. Growing up without knowing yourself, losing your childhood, losing members of your family because they can’t accept you, and having to rebuild your life in a society where you don’t know who you can trust... it’s a deeply disheartening way to come into yourself as a young adult. The vampiric societies depicted within films like Near Dark and the Lost Boys, where the vampires are fiercely loyal to one another, and in the case of the Lost Boys near-flirtatious with each other, are very attractive. The thought of a family you can’t lose, drawn to each other by attraction and bound by immortality; no fear of losing the most important people in your life to suicide or violence— I’ve often joked that only straight people turn down vampirism within films, but is that joke really that far off? Michael in the Lost Boys struggles with accepting the attraction the boys have for him, fleeing to the comforting heterosexuality of a relationship with Star rather than confront any potential queerness. Mae is completely comfortable in her skin, but Caleb can’t accept her identity as a vampire, and fears the implications that has for him (what does it say if he’s dating a bi woman?). Louis in Interview With The Vampire slowly learns to accept himself, but not without struggles and denial (a true statement of many “coming out” narratives). These parallels come easy to vampiric stories, and combined with the attractiveness of vampirism to a group who struggle with acceptance and often rely on found family rather than blood relatives (and what if your found family could become your blood family through vampirism?), it would be a disservice to leave this out of the discussion.

My dissatisfaction with Daybreakers originates, I think, from its overt heterosexuality. There’s a lack of nuance to the narrative, an almost propaganda-like ignorance towards the point of view of an equally sapient species. Take this with the smallest grain of salt, considering the queer parallels with vampirism are generally unintentional, but how often has the “h*mosexuals are destroying good christian families” argument been used? How often have people said that if society accepts gayness there won’t be any straight people left? Not that I’m particularly sympathetic towards this corrupt vampiric society, nor the majority of the vampiric characters, but in light of the connections I’ve drawn between queerness and vampiric stories the saving grace being “they gave up vampirism and turned back human” is... tiring (you can pray the gay away, after all). The statement above, and the statement that Daybreakers’ vampiric society is corrupt and unsustainable, can mutually coexist. After all, Blade is a vampire who essentially serves as population control against a corrupt vampiric society— good vampires and corrupt vampires are also not mutually exclusive, as Daybreakers would indicate (the character Frankie can’t stop himself from feeding on a human as soon as there’s not a crossbow in his face).

Perhaps I’m digging into this a little too deep— perhaps there’s nothing beneath the surface of these narratives, but I’m loathe to believe that. After all, I’m here running this blog because there’s very often a deeper layer to horror narratives, a breaking-down of norms unattainable with other genres. For example, while it wasn’t a fantastic film, Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker did depict a gay man who was a sympathetic character and a caring basketball coach who worried about his students, was realistic about the challenges of homophobia, but still did what he could to look out for the main character when things began to go off the wall. It’s not so unreasonable, then, to say that many vampire narratives (intentional or otherwise) are steeped in queerness and the antithesis to upper-middle class, white, heterosexual familial values— a found family of misfits, loyal and protective of each other, which Good Heteros can do nothing against? How terrifying! This is why I feel so apathetic towards Daybreakers: where it could have explored and played against structures the way many horror films do, it slotted itself right into the mold of “normal” (read: white, able-bodied, cishet, middle+ class) people = good, Others = bad, and the hottest take the movie had was “maybe unchecked capitalism is Not Great.” Which, duh, of course unchecked capitalism is bad, but that’s a subject for another day and a different blog. The difference between the other vampire narratives I talked about and Daybreakers is the difference between good barbecue and the McRib; between real blood and a substitute: it’s edible, but something important is lacking.

#daybreakers #near dark #the lost boys #vampire meta #I’m back at it!!!! back at it again at Krispy Kreme!!!!!!!

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runaway-train-works · 5 years

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11/11/11 Tag 📝

Answer 11 questions, come up with 11 more, tag 11 people.

Thank you @a-brighter-yellow for the tag! 💕

It’s long so I’ve popped it under the cut....

I’ll tag @jacaranda-bloom, @bringmetheharry, @sadaveniren, @got-stars, @louandhazaf, @lululawrence, @haztobegood, @hi-larrie-ous, @chloehl10, @disgruntledkittenface and @toomanylarrytears if any of you want to answer my questions found at the bottom!

✍🏻Can you listen to or watch anything while you write? What?

I definitely cannot watch anything, I get too distracted. I have a writing playlist I usually stick on which is actually linked on my blog if anyone wants to check it out, but it’s pretty chilled music, I can’t listen to anything too crazy.

✍🏻Is it important for you to describe what your main characters are wearing in every scene? Do you try to pick canon outfits?

It depends on whether the clothes are important to the story/character. In my Ad AU, Harry’s clothing is used as a factor as to why Louis ‘hates’ him, and is, therefore, something that was crucial to describe often. They were canon outfits, mostly his suits from his solo tour/promo. In other fics, it’s not been something I actively think about for every single scene.

✍🏻What’s your favourite comment you’ve ever received?

Pretty sure I cried when I got this one.

I've probably already said this on one of your other fics, but I just adore your writing style. I don't know how to describe it really, but it's kinda like listening to a piece of music from your favourite artist - you already know you're going to like it, so instead of analyzing it you just sit back and enjoy the way the piano comes in so pretty it makes your chest ache a little, and then the violins swell at the perfect moment, just the way you KNEW they would, and at the end you're just smiling and clapping like fuck yea she's done it again! With most fics on here I have to get a ways into it before I decide whether I can settle in and enjoy it or not, cuz I'm analyzing the writer's skill and stuff which is kind of awful but anyway the point is that I don't do that with yours, you've always got me hooked from the start.

✍🏻Are you a re-reader?

Yes, there are a few fics I have re-read but not I wouldn’t actively call myself a re-reader. I have too many new fics waiting to go!

✍🏻What’s your favourite AO3 hack?

Ummm….

✍🏻Is there a character in your fandom you’ve never really written and want to?

I don’t think so? I wrote a Shiall fic that I wanted to do for a while, but apart from that I don’t think there is anyone I’m keen to write that I haven’t, although I do want to write a Dark Louis fic one day and have him be this charming psychopath that you love to hate and hate to love. Need a decent prompt for it first though!

✍🏻Tell me about a fic writer who has a distinctive style that you admire.

Uh, I guess I like anyone that pushes the boundaries, that’s not afraid to try something new even if it might not be that well received by the fandom. Anyone that’s good at unconventional world building too.

✍🏻Do you write chronologically?

Normally no, but I am really trying with my current WIP as I have people reading it as I write and feel like it needs to be written that way as the emotions between the pair change and develop.

✍🏻Are you an outliner or do you like to wing it?

I wing it. I wrote an outline for my My Fair Lady fic because I was struggling so much with it, but in a way, it made things worse because it was written down in black and white how much I had to write and it felt overwhelming in a way so ended up leaving it. I’d rather go into things a bit blind 😂!

✍🏻What do you do when you need to get away from your laptop and out of your head?

Just stick on some Netflix usually.

✍🏻What’s your favourite fic promo post you (or a collaborator) has ever made?

I don’t really have one as they all follow the same style so they are a bit boring! My next fic will be different though because a very talented artist is working on some stuff for it which I am super excited about!

✨Here are my 11 questions:

What fic/trope do you really want to write but haven’t yet?

What was the first ever fic you wrote and what made you decide to take the plunge and write it?

Is there a writer that you love that you think needs more attention and kudos in the fandom?

Have you got any long abandoned WIPs lurking?

Do your close family/friends outside the fandom read your fics?

Do you ever re-read your own fics after posting them?

If you had to write a sequel to one of your fics tomorrow, which one would it be and why?

What kinds of fics/tropes do you think we need more of in the fandom?

How often do you spend writing in an average week and is there a certain time of day/day of the week you do it?

What are your tips for getting out of a writing funk?

What can people expect from your next fic?

#11/11/11 tag #fic writing

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sweetenoughandfaraway · 5 years

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Blind Gossip: A One Direction Speculations Masterpost

(Tumblr took this down ‘cause BG’s legal team is whatever, but I wanted it to live on so I removed the screenshots. I abandoned this in 2013 because the amount of time I spent on it was unhealthy, LOL, but here it is for those that may have wanted to see it)

Blind Gossip: A One Direction Speculations Masterpost (Ace’s “Dark” Period: Added Nov. 8th, 2013)

Alternatively titled “You’re pretty ace, Ace”

Disclaimer: The analyses contained within this post are all personal, so I’m not claiming to be right in anything I say. I am certainly not Ace and I do not have all of the answers. I did, however, spend a great deal of time organizing and researching in order to put this together, so it is my sincere hope that you enjoy it should you choose to read it.

Note: This post will be continually updated as new blinds surface.

Welcome! This post will include my own speculations and educated (or maybe not-so-educated) guesses about certain Blind Gossip entries. It is important before you read on that you are aware that I believe Harry and Louis are in a relationship, and will be analyzing these blinds with that belief in mind.

At the end of the day, it’s your choice whether or not you believe any of this. You are welcome to your own opinions and analyses.

Now, before I begin, let’s explore a little bit about Blind Gossip and how it works.

What exactly is Blind Gossip?

Blind Gossip is essentially a celebrity gossip site that is run by the anonymous “Ace.” The stories featured on the sites are called “blinds,” a word derived from the term “blind item.” A blind item is defined as “a news story, usually gossip, in which the details of the matter are reported while the identities of the people involved are not revealed.“ Basically, posting blind items is a way to release information about celebrities/PR stunts without the risk of lawsuits or otherbacklash because no names were used. However, there is normally a plethora of hints provided, which can usually guide the reader to make an educated guess about the subject(s).

The blinds that the site posts cover a wide range of topics (pregnancy rumors, drug addictions, and PR/closeting, to name a few) and their subjects represent a wide range of celebs (athletes, singers, actors, reality show stars, and so on). BG features two types of blinds - solved and unsolved. When posting blind items, Ace normally does so in the form of a “BG12345,” which consists of 5 blind items being presented, one per hour, beginning at a certain time that Ace will often previously announce. Some blinds never get solved (any unsolved blinds are stored in the “uncategorized” category on the site) and are left to forever be a mystery. Those that are solved, however, can be further divided into two types - those that present concrete proof and those that do not. Sometimes Ace will link a major news source reporting on the content of the blind, or present other evidence that proves the solved blind to be true. When this happens, other sources usually pick up the story and it morphs from a rumor into news. Oftentimes, Ace’s blinds are the first to hint at a scandal in a celeb’s life before it even hits the papers. But sometimes (like many of the One Direction blinds) the blind is solved with no real evidence and you have to take Ace’s word for it. Assuming Blind Gossip is truthful on matters that were never concretely proved is pure speculation, andit is crucial to always keep this in mind before one starts taking Ace’s word as gospel.

It is very important to remember that first and foremost, BG is a gossip site. Its entire point is to get hits and make money, whether that is achieved through exposing the truth or concocting/perpetuating lies. To further your understanding of this, please read the following disclaimer from the site, including crucial parts I have bolded for emphasis:

Disclaimer

1. This is a gossip site. Information published on the site – especially information republished from other sites – may be inaccurate or contain errors. BlindGossip.com makes no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy or reliability of the site’s content.

2. The materials on BlindGossip.com’s web site are provided “as is”. BlindGossip.com makes no warranties, expressed or implied, and hereby disclaims and negates all other warranties, including without limitation, implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement of intellectual property or other violation of rights. Further, BlindGossip.com does not warrant or make any representations concerning the accuracy, likely results, or reliability of the use of the materials on its Internet web site or otherwise relating to such materials or on any sites linked to this site.

Secondly, now that we have been properly disclaimed, I have organized some resources below that will serve to explain some things about Blind Gossip’s reputation, and what sets it apart from a typical, trashy gossip site.

This post was originally written by my lovely friend Stefania (she used to have a blog at couldnotspeakasloudasmyheart), and explains a few things about BG’s reliability (scroll down past blog header to read):

Why is Blind Gossip considered a reliable source?

As well as this blind, which demonstrates how seriously Ace takes the content of all blinds & the credibility of BG’s sources:

A Liar Gets Caught

And an ask by gossip-candy that further clarifies Ace’s professionalism:

Gossip Candy

And now that you know what you’re getting into, let’s begin!

This masterpost will serve to organize any and all Blind Gossip entries that may involve certain One Direction members. I will analyze each blind by providing an explanation of any clues that may point to One Direction being the subject(s) of the blind, and which information may signify that the blind is not about them. Clues, you’ll find, can be found both in wordplay and general context. I also provide background for events the blind may be referencing, and try to set a timeframe for any blind that references a specific event/events that happened in the past.

The following blinds have been organized chronologically, and all the titles are linked to their corresponding blinds. On behalf of Ace, I ask that you please do follow the link to read the original blind, in addition to viewing the screenshots I have provided. All credit for any screenshotted blind goes to blindgossip.com.

We’ll begin our journey with the ever-famous (and my personal favorite) “Boy Banders Are Hiding A Secret,” which was posted to the Blind Gossip site on April 5th, 2012.

1. “Boy Banders Are Hiding A Secret“ - April 5th, 2012

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A fantastic place to start our journey! This blind has been analyzed to death, but if you’re not familiar with it, here is a list of clues people picked up on that clearly hint at One Direction:

"singing competition show" » X-Factor

stereotypes » The Bad Boy (Zayn), The Baby (Niall), The Nice One (Liam), leaving Harry&Louis to be The Gay Ones

"beautiful young men" » What Makes You Beautiful

"one" mentioned 6 times » One Direction

"one has a beard" » Louis was dating Eleanor, Harry was single

"up all night" » name of debut album

To me, this is still the most believable blind to date. I try to always remain skeptical with these situations, and I would have chalked it all up to coincidence… had Ace not thrown in “up all night.” All the hints add up, and the name of their debut album inserted so cleverly in the text really just seals the deal for me. Out of all the blinds, this would be one I’d place a bet on.

2. “Floating Pics of One Direction Singer” - July 23rd, 2012

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I actually have never seen a post about this blind, but that is because I am still relatively new to the One Direction fandom and this was back in 2012.

We don’t even have to speculate that this about 1D because hey look, they tell us right there in the title! Now, as we all know, Harry has been deemed the "womanizer" of the group. So personally, I’d venture to guess that this blind is aimed towards him.

3. “Tease and Announcement“ - October 15th, 2012

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So like I was saying, my blog and I weren’t around in 2012 when this was all going down. But this blind, according to my research, freaked some people out because they thought it was about Louis/Eleanor. I’ve also heard that there was a similar collective freak-out when Eleanor was sporting a fancy Forever 21 ring. So yeah, this is clearly a blind that’s going to warrant some freaking.

This article provides us with the fact that he is a "singer," which at least narrows it down a bit.

Some possible hints that were thrown around:

“one hot young singer” » Surprise, One Direction (This is mostly noteworthy because Ace could have just as easily written “He is a hot younger singer;” using “one” just wasn’t necessary and actually makes the word flow a bit awkward.)

2 mentions of ”beautiful” » What Makes You Beautiful, as well asevery single article known to man referring to Louis’ beautiful girlfriend Eleanor Calder

There’s a lot of speculation on this one and definitely not as many hints. And there’s also the fact that it is 2013 and Louis and Eleanor aren’t engaged or married.

So for now, we’re going to move on. Do not fear, this blind will be revisited in the fifth section. Also, keep the concluding sentence “More later” in the back of your brain.

4. “One of You Will Know The Truth” - October 16th, 2012

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And here comes some heavy speculation. This article is the least specific yet. No mentions of “performer” or “singer.” Just "young man.“

There are a few hints, though:

"teen/tween" » the majority of 1D’s fanbase, as well as their intended audience

“one day,” ”one of you will know the truth” » One Direction

4 mentions of "Tell her…" » 4 mentions of "Tell me" in Tell Me A Lie:

Tell me I’m a screwed up mess… / Tell me you don’t want my kiss… / Tell me anything… / Tell me a lie

(Special thanks to dlr99 on Blind Gossip for pointing out the Tell her/Tell me comparison in the comments… The paragraph originally made me think of Tell Me A Lie but I thought it was too far of a stretch. But now that I see the number of mentions match the chorus, it seems a little more likely that it was planned.)

Now, it’s funny how this came out a day after the “Tease and Announcement” blind. Actually, it’s not really that funny. These articles go hand-in-hand; that much is clear.

And that’s about all I’ve got on this one. It’s incredibly vague (on purpose, I’m sure) and I can’t say anything for a fact. I can say, however, that this blind will also be briefly revisited in the next section.

5. ”Heartthrob Proposed to Girlfriend” - October 22nd, 2012

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I’m sure you know this blind quite well, and you may be wondering why I am including it.

A lot of people threw around Jelena guesses in the comments section of “Tease and Announcement” and “One of You Will Know The Truth.” Justin/Selena were later revealed as the subjects of this blind (and this blind only). Now, it is very important to note the following:

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“While he was not the subject of those blinds”

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Blind Gossip basically just told us that these two blinds are not about Justin. Since he was the biggest contender, this now leaves more room for it to be Louis. But like I’ve been saying, this does not prove anything. All I can say is that one of the popular guesses has been more or less eliminated by Ace.

6. “They Won’t Make It To Valentine’s Day” - December 7th, 2012 (SOLVED)

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This blind is hilarious because Harry/Taylor had JUST been photographed as a "real couple" in Central Park Zoo on December 3rd, and people on BG were already guessing “Haylor” as the answer to this blind, which was posted just 4 days later. Some pretty obvious clues include:

“never, ever admit” » We Are Never, Ever Getting Back Together

“trouble fans” » I Knew You Were Trouble

photo » Taylor is known for making her hands into a heart at her concerts

Valentine’s Day » Taylor starred in a movie by the same name

So basically the answer was crystal clear, so no one was surprised when it was solved.

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Ace gives us a few pretty good gems about how fake this relationship was in the following paragraphs, including:

Why did they break up? Well, we’ll let you in on a little secret: These two couldn’t stand each other! That’s right. They didn’t even like each other! Each one thinks that the other is immature and annoying. Frankly, they are probably both right. While holding hands they grimaced in a way that kids do when they think that someone is giving them the cooties. They really didn’t like kissing each other (that New Year’s Eve kiss was staged), and they certainly never slept together. Yes, all that sneaking in and out of hotels nonsense was totally choreographed.

The purpose of this blind was basically just to confirm what we already knew; Haylor was nothing but a pitiful publicity set-up that wasn’t built to last. However, this would not be the last of the Haylor blinds…

7. “Relationship Runway Rant“ - January 15th, 2013 (SOLVED)

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Surprise! Another obvious one. Some clues that pointed to Harry/Taylor:

"a bad actor” » Let’s be honest here, Harry Styles is not a good faker; his facial expressions in the Haylor pics alone were enough to give them away

“his management team" » From what we have seen, whether it’s the rumored romance of Harry/Caroline Flack or the staged Emma Ostilly kiss, the One Direction management loves a good set-up

“needed the publicity” » Taylor’s album “Red” had been released back in October

“sweet, together girl” » Taylor Swift is, after all, “America’s Sweetheart”

“never getting back together” » We Are Never, Ever Getting Back Together

Now, at this point in the game, we must remember that it is important to take every Blind Gossip article with a grain of salt. This one was a little harder for me to believe because the quotes in the article are so specific; they would have had to come from a direct source that overheard the entire conversation. However, the hilarious commentary in the “Solved” section dissolved some of my doubts.

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A few notes to Tay Tay, who we hear reads BG:

1. Sweetie, the bodyguards that surround you don’t provide a magic invisibility shield or a soundproof shield. It might help to remember that the next time you are in a public place.

HAHAHA. So maybe a source did actually overhear her, who knows?

Also:

5. Act your age. Date your age. Oh, and try to date straight boys. They might actually like you.

WELL WELL WELL. Ace, are you trying to say that Harry Styles isn’t straight? Hm. How very interesting.

This is just yet another blind that shows the transparency of “Haylor,” while casually throwing in a hint that Harry Styles may not be the straight womanizer he is portrayed to be.

8. “Two Plus Two Equals Bedlam” - November 19th, 2012 (SOLVED)image

This blind actually didn’t do much to hint at anyone in One Direction originally, at least in the usual wordplay way. There were some context clues, but this wasn’t really on my radar until after it was solved. (This is out of chronological order because it was solved after the Haylor blinds, and only makes sense after reading them.)image

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If indeed true, this blind doesn’t do much except to reinforce the fact that One Direction’s management (and according to Ace, Taylor “Because we needed the f*cking publicity” Swift) will do anything to make sure the boys are always on the public’s radar, no matter the personal cost. (And it demonstrates that, to no surprise, Niall is a really great friend who knows when to say no.)

9. “Two Hotties Interested In One“ - January 18th, 2013

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This one’s a funny one. When it was first posted, there were quite a few clues the fandom believed pointed towards this being about Harry/Louis, such as:

"Two Hotties Are Interested in One,” “which one is worthy of her crush,” “which one she would want to marry”» One Direction

"two talented, under-25 performers” » Harry was 18 and Louis was 21 at this point

"just a couple of years” » One Direction officially started ‘working’ together in 2011, which would have been two years ago

There are also a few, less-concrete hints:

"they don’t look alike” » I mean, this certainly can depend on individual opinion. But honestly, Harry and Louis really don’t look much alike. Besides the obvious differences of short/curvy and tall/flat, their hair/eye color/facial structure are incredibly unique from the other.

“Set-ups with girls are fake” » Fresh off the Haylor train, this comes as no surprise.

The one thing that threw everyone off a bit was the pair being popular among the “young adult” crowd comment. Most of the One Direction fanbase is made of tweens/teens. As a young adult fan myself, I can vouch for our existence, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say that we make up the majority of the fanbase. However, the blind goes on to mention “young girls" being interested in them. So that disconnect is something to keep in mind.

Now, shortly after this blind was posted, it was updated to say that it was actually about two actors on a television show, and was correspondingly tagged as “actors, television.” A lot of guesses about Harry/Louis had already been thrown about in the comments section, which is probably why Ace added that it was not about any of the One Direction boys. But, BG still threw us a bone with a little side-comment “(although other blinds might be).”

Even though Blind Gossip says that it’s not about One Direction, it doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t. BG has lied before and said a blind isn’t about someone, and then it is solved to be that very person. So honestly, this one is pretty much up in the air.

10. “He Will Lose His Job If He Comes Out“ - January 24th, 2013

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This blind was interesting. One of the biggest context clues is that "The Gay One" is referenced, which of course was introduced in the very first blind "Boy Banders Hiding A Secret." But which one? The general consensus’ reaction was that it would most likely be about Harry, since no girlfriend/beard was mentioned. This article also uses the word ”one” many times, just like many of the previous blinds. So, to review the specific hints:

“The Gay One" »Throwback to "Boy Banders Hiding A Secret" blind

4 mentions of ”one” » One Direction

"He is not the only one in his group of colleagues to feel this way” » Also another throwback to the “Boy Banders” blind, referencing "The Other Gay One" (assumed to be Louis)

"sell an image” » We all know that Harry’s image is that of a womanizer, and his many high-profile setups prove his management wants that image to sell. He is certainly not alone in this, though; most management nowadays is all about image, so this doesn’t necessarily prove it’s about Harry.

"if he goes rogue” » It’s a bit of a stretch, but parsleybabe pointed out to me that this could be referring to Louis’ first band “The Rogue.” If the blind is about Harry, “going rogue” could possibly refer to “going for Louis.”

The rest of it is very general:

"cute, young celebrity" » Harry’s the youngest in the band, and he is certainly cute, but this description could apply to countless celebs

"part of a group" » this certainly narrows it down, but there are other groups out there it could apply to

substantially older management team » The founders of Modest! are “substantially older;” Richard Griffiths has been in the business for forty years, founding his first agency in 1974; Harry Magee has been in the industry for over thirty years, joining his first company in 1982. However, this is still quite general, as other groups may also have an older management team.

The thing that doesn’t sit right with me is the part that says the other members of the group are "content to play the public game of pretending that they are all straight as long as the paychecks keep rolling in." Perhaps it is just me being idealistic, but having been following the boys for quite a while, they’ve never struck me as the type that are just in it for the money. They are incredibly generous with their donations to charity, and are much more expressive about the fact that they are living their dreams, rather than focusing on the money/fame aspect. Personally, I wouldn’t bet on this one.

11. “He Already Has Someone” - January 31st, 2013 (SOLVED)

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This one was so deliciously obvious. First of all, let’s just take a moment to appreciate the crater of a dimple in Photo Boy’s face. Secondly:

“takes her home" » second album name, Take Me Home

"the blonde is just a friend” » The day before, Harry was spotted with his blonde friend Ellis Calcutt, and the next day articles like this were circulating like wildfire around the Internet:

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Lastly, the part that mentions he "isn’t ready to take it public yet" is reminiscent of the "Two Hotties Interested In One" blind, which mentioned "even if they can’t express it yet in public.”

So really, nobody was surprised when this popped up again on August 8th, 2013:

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Now, down in the solved section of this blind is a little blurb about actress Emily Atack admitting to a “fling” with Harry. The whole thing is emphasized to be very casual, never a “boyfriend and girlfriend” kind of deal. This struck me as quite weird, because even though it seemed BG’s intention was to prove that Harry is already with someone and the setups are fake, they still threw in something about a girl he was “seeing” back in the day. Like I said before, I’m not Ace, so I can’t really tell you what that means. It could have been BG’s way of trying to tiptoe around the subject so as not to get into trouble with any big wigs, or perhaps Ace was just trying to stir the pot a little.

What’s important to take away from this is that all of the clues pointed to Harry, and this blind ended up being about him just as we suspected. One might go so far as to say that a pattern is slowly, but surely, being established.

12. “Porny Reputation“ - February 7th, 2013 (SOLVED)

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This one got pretty hilarious, especially within the fandom. When this blind surfaced, the Internet exploded with the name “Jack Styles.” He does certainly resemble Harry, and the sharing of “Styles” is a pretty big clue. Take a look:

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The video in question is years old, from back in August 2009, but a video doesn’t necessarily have to be new to “surface.” And according to my research, Harry’s “look-alike” had been circulating through the Tumblrsphere before the blind was even posted.

A few context clues include:

"one of the world’s biggest young stars" » This isn’t specific by any means, but let’s be honest… Who in the world doesn’t at least know Harry Styles’ name at this point? He dominates the media, and he’s also the youngest in the band. We can assume he is at least a likely candidate. (Also, one of the world’s biggest stars » One Direction)

"a collective heart attack” » Heart Attack, track on the Take Me Home album

Now, if this is indeed about Jack/Harry Styles, BG made a few errors. Jack Styles has been Jack Styles since 2009, so he didn’t name himself after Harry. Secondly, he doesn’t even do porn anymore! According to his profile (WARNING: link leads to mature content), he only did five videos in 2009. (The Harry look-alike pictures come from the video with Sean Taylor). So this one is a bit of a toss-up. The details certainly check out, and in some shots he does very much look like Harry, but one can never be sure.

SOLVED! Well, look at that! Quite out of the blue, this blind has been solved on November 6th, 2013:

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I have no idea why this blind was solved at such a random time. Perhaps Ace was running dry on One Direction news and wanted some hits. Who knows? Anyway, this blind didn’t necessarily need “proof” to be solved, but it does demonstrate that we were right in our assumptions that it was about Harry. Porny case closed.

13. “Publicity Proposal Pending” - February 14th, 2013 (SOLVED May 7th, 2013)image

This one got an interesting reaction. It was posted just in time for Valentine’s Day, which is pretty funny when you consider the very first Haylor blind. No one missed Ace’s clue of “moving in that direction,” soa lot of Elounor guesses were thrown around, as well as Zerrie, and a select few for Payzer. The alliteration in the title was a more subtle clue (Payne/Peazer/Payzer), but it did indeed end up being about Liam:image

Once again, Ace emphasizes the management’s wish for the boys to push a straight image with his description of “Desirable, heterosexual young men.” We can observe that Ace’s comments in the solved sections are establishing a steady pattern of hinting (or blatantly stating) that one or more of the members may not be straight.

Now, do you remember the “Tease and Announcement” blind? It ended with the phrase "More later.“ Look how Ace ends this one:

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"You’ll see soon enough…" Hm. That’s a nice throwback to “More later,” eh? Since “Tease and Announcement” wasn’t solved along with the Payzer blind, and Ace informed us that it was not about Jelena, Elounor is still an incredibly strong contender. With comments like “More later” and “You’ll see soon enough,” it certainly seems like Ace is warning us to prepare for another engagement setup.

14. “Popstar Is Just Pretending” - February 22nd, 2013

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Not much to this one. The timing is hilarious, because Louis and Eleanor had just gone to the Topshop fashion show earlier in the week, on the 17th. If we want to get tinhatty, the girl in the photo is sporting a pretty Eleanor-esque bun. Also, the fact that the listed source is the Mirror is interesting, because we all know the Mirror loves printing any scandalous One Direction story, whether it’s true or not. This one is obviously meant to be pretty obscure, so I’ll leave it be for now.

15. “Boy Banders Are Hiding A Secret Trailer“ - April 24th, 2013

So after more than a year, let’s talk about how BG posted this fan-made trailer, which presents One Direction as the subject of their infamous blind:

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Tell me, why exactly would Ace post this if it was the wrong answer?

Like I said, this blind is certainly one I’d place a bet on. Convinced yet?

16. “They Were Involved Before the Show” - May 22nd, 2013

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I really don’t think this blind is related to One Direction. At all. I’m only including it because it was the subject of some speculation, mostly from people thinking that it may be suggesting that Harry and Louis had dated before the X Factor days. They were at the same Script concert, yes, but according to them, they didn’t know each other at that time. And if they had met and dated two years before the show, Harry would have been 14 and Louis would have been 17. I’m just not buying it.

The only clue I see is the ”one really cute couple.” That’s pretty much it. I really don’t think that One Direction is necessarily defined by their X Factor days (I know that’s how they began, but they didn’t actually win), and the blind is tagged as “television.” It’s true that the “Two Hotties Interested in One" blind was tagged as “television” as well, but that was long after it was posted, and may have been an attempt to throw us off. If anything, the rainbow of colors featured in the picture is making me think it’s Glee-related.

I’m not feeling this one, so let’s move on.

17. “Traveling In Different Directions“ - July 24th, 2013

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I am however, feeling this one. Ah, Ace. Could we get any more obvious? Some clues:

"Traveling In Different Directions,” “same direction”» One Direction

Two very prominent "1"s on road sign » One Direction

Salt Lake City on road sign » The following day, One Direction played at the Maverik Center, which is located in a suburb of none other than Salt Lake City

"boy banders" »Lest we forget “Boy Banders AreHiding A Secret!” (Also, none of the boy bands currently on tour have girlfriends who are publicized even nearly as much as Eleanor.)

“They won’t make it to the end of the year” » Reminiscent of "They Won’t Make It To Valentine’s Day" blind

There is no doubt in my mind that this is about One Direction. And since Zayn/Perrie were not traveling together (she left the USA just as 1D arrived) and Liam/Danielle were already broken up, Elounor is the last option left. This blind may as well already be solved.

18. “Winter Break” - July 29th, 2013

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This one is hilariously obvious as well. Ace is throwing us a lot of bones. The blind mentions “boy banders” right off the bat, and then goes on to pile on the hints:

“one of the boys,” “one of them,” “one prefers Speedos” » surprise, One Direction

“a bit more modest” “Forget modest!” » Modest! Management, anyone? With the exclamation point and everything!

It literally could not be more obvious, especially with Modest! thrown into the mix. There are also some speculations the fandom has made about which boy is which:

"one of them wants to hit the slopes” » Harry/Louis took a skiing holiday together back in 2011… Harry tweeted that Louis taught him to ski in Courchevel, so obviously Lou is pretty practiced at it

"the other wants to go to a beach” » Harry literally just said in a q&a on twitter on August 19th that he loves the ocean

“one prefers Speedos" » Let’s be honest, Harry’s never really been shy when it comes to showing off his undies (or what is under them) Here is a pic of Harry on the “pot yacht” for your viewing pleasure:image

"one prefers to be a bit more modest" » We have very few shirtless Louis pictures to speak of, at least in comparison to Harry. Here is a pic of him on the pot yacht as well. Spot the difference: image

If this blind is indeed legit, there is no doubt in my mind that it is about our dear Harry and Louis. The pieces fit perfectly, and the hints about an Elounor break-up are slowly but surely building up. Stay tuned!

19. “Ring Shopping” - August 16th, 2013

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So as it happens, Louis and Eleanor were spotted shopping together in Beverly Hills on August 13th, three days before this blind was posted. And it just so happens that they were photographed in what appears to be a jewelry store on Rodeo Drive.

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I heard many rumors about this picture: that it may have been photoshopped, that they were actually checking into a hotel, or that it was a Rolex store. I’m not sure how any of these theories check out, but either way, people were still freaking out like they always do. So yes, Ace. Of course it got our attention.

There are no wordplay clues in this blind to speak of. The only reason it immediately brings Elounor to mind is because it came three days after the picture was taken.

This blind just reinforces the fact that Ace is watching… Always watching.

20. “Third Time’s A Charm“ - August 21st, 2013

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I have to say that after making this masterpost, I saw this coming.

Ace has stopped using wordplay clues, and started giving it to us straight.

Forced Guy/Girlfriend » Liam/Danielle, as reported and solved in “Publicity Proposal Pending” blind

Ring Shopping Guy/Girlfriend » Louis/Eleanor, as hinted at in “Ring Shopping” blind

Now, the engaged couple is quite obviously Zayn and Perrie. Perrie was spotted with a diamond ring on her finger on August 20th at the This Is Us movie premiere. Sources report that Zayn had asked her the weekend before.

What this blind fails to do, however, is take us farther than that. We know that management was pushing for one of the boys to get engaged. What we don’t know is whether or not this one is a fake engagement.

Ace blatantly states that the Payzer engagement was for publicity, and that Louis/Eleanor are “definitely” not getting married. What Ace says about the newest engagement, however, is only that one of the boys "pulled off the engagement bit" and then goes on to say "Congratulations to the happy couple!”

To be honest, I am not sure where this leaves Zayn and Perrie. To me, it seems that Ace could be saying the two are genuinely and maybe even happily engaged, but that the union was sped up by managerial pressure. However, Ace could also be saying it’s all just another publicity stunt. (But if Ace wanted us to believe it was a publicity engagement, it begs the question: Why was neither Little Mix nor Perrie’s own celebrity image hinted at in the blind? A publicity engagement, after all, would benefit her as well.) We only got two sentences about the newest engagement that really only told us what we already knew. There is no mention of publicity, or the couple not being genuine, or the couple having problems. So what is Ace even trying to say here?

I think this blind was left open-ended for a reason. So let’s keep our eyes peeled for more info.

21. “Double Date Sleepover“ - September 3rd, 2013

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Okay, I literally don’t know why this was posted because there is nothing to figure out here. It’s common knowledge that Harry and Liam were offering an evening out in London to raise money for Trekstock for one fan and a friend. But Ace did throw in "best double date ever" as a hint just in case you didn’t get it. Sooo… blind solved! But will this lead to more? We’ll have to wait and see!

22. “Behind This Gorgeous Young Couple” - September 13th, 2013

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Never fear, Ace is here!! Here we have yet another BG clarification on the difference between real life and publicity.

On August 31, Harry and Cara Delevingne were spotted on a ”romantic theater date,” and reports are now circulating that they are dating and considering “getting serious.”

The photo is a nice starting point for a guess, because the girl is blonde, the guy is dark-haired, and let’s not forget how many pictures there are of Harry in that exact pose, giving a little side smooch to fans, bandmates, etc.!

There aren’t any wordplays in this blind that I can detect, but "hearts breaking all over the world,“ "cute young male performer" and "he has a lot more fans than she does" at least points toward Harry, before driving it home with the mention of "his famous relationship last year with that very pretty singer" and Ace wondering if he’s become a "better actor." This is, of course, a reference to the Haylor nightmare that began last December, and casts Taylor Swift as the "very pretty singer.”

A lot of gems can be found in the fourth paragraph. It makes sense that the two “don’t mind hanging out together,” because Cara and Harry have always got on pretty well. However, the jackpot is found in the mention of their respective reputations being boosted as “a desirable heterosexual celebrity.” Remember this?

If you’re unfamiliar with the above blind, last year there was heavy speculation that something saucy was going on behind the scenes with Cara (model) and Rita Ora (singer, UK).

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To sum things up, the answer Ace is looking for is clearly Harry, Cara, and Taylor Swift. I’m sure there will be more where this came from, so stay tuned.

23. “Faux Couple Photo“ - September 30th, 2013

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Ah, Ace. You never let me down.

So, as we all know, yesterday this photo was posted on Instagram by one waltermartinez3:

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This picture is of Paige Reifler, an aspiring “model” who’s been linked with Harry numerous times, and Harry, in a seemingly comprising position. I’m going to begin with my analysis of the blind. If you are unfamiliar with the background to this picture, please see the corresponding section below.

Beginning with wordplay clues:

"one thing that publicists never tire of” » Up All Night track, One Thing

"private moments” » What could be more private than closet canoodling? Also, could be a stretch, but let’s not forget that Moments is also a 1D song.

"the best staged photos,” “the best ones” » Best Song Ever

“one thing,” “best ones,” “the ones,” “one where” » One Direction (The overuse of “one” seems to be a favorite of Ace’s)

Now, for contextual clues:

The first hint we have is ”young male star on the floor, entangled with his girlfriend in a loving and 'spontaneous' embrace.” Harry matches this description, and he has certainly been linked to Paige enough in the past for her to qualify as his "girlfriend" to the ill-informed. And the embrace definitely does seem spontaneous… For poor Harry, at least, considering his defensive stance. Other (obvious) clues:

"faces cleverly obscured" » by the hanging shirts

his tattoo » Harry’s "Things I Can’t" tattoo is clearly visible on his left arm

Ace ends the blind in classic Ace-style, with yet another insinuation that Harry Styles’ straight, womanizing image isn’t who he really is:

"Are you buying the hetero image they are trying to give him? Well, you shouldn’t. Because the girl in the photo isn’t the true love of his life.”

This blind is tantalizingly specific in its clues, and it was posted within a mere 24 hours of the photo’s posting. Very few media sources picked up on it right away, but we were all anticipating something from BG. This tells us two things: 1) BG knows when to deliver and 2) Ace is always watching.

That’s all for now, but keep a wary eye on BG’s “Solved” section. You never know what might turn up.

BACKGROUND: Now, if you are unfamiliar with this series of unfortunate events, buckle in, because there is a lot to it. The guy that posted this picture, Walter Martinez, is one of Stephen Orso’s crew. If you’ll recall, back in late June/early July, Stephen Orso, Paige, and some friends met up with Harry in NJ. He gave them free tickets to his show and they proceeded to completely shit all over his generosity, taking a video of them in the audience pretending to sleep, filing their nails, and leaving early. Other things were revealed after the fact, such as the awful content of Stephen’s twitter. Harry then tweeted his infamous “You my friend, are not my kind of Pal” tweet. Basically, it was a huge mess for Harry. (You can read in detail about Harry’s first interaction with Stephen and his crew here.)

Now, as for the photo, this picture of Paige and Harry was posted to Stephen’s Instagram on June 30th. As you can see, their outfits are the same as the photo above. It’s definitely Paige, and it’s definitely Harry.

How do we know Stephen was involved in this Instagram pic? The asshole was tweeting the pic to TMZ down in the comments.

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Paige wasn’t having it, and commented the following:

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She later tweeted (her Twitter is private, or I would link it) “Revenge is childish. Hope you’re happy.“ So on Paige’s side, it was made out to be a big revenge plot.

As of now, the photo has been deleted from Instagram.

What I have presented above are just the basic facts of the situation. For more resources, check out gossipcandy.com.

You can also read a bit more about Paige here. In summary, she’s always looking for attention, and worst of all, she got what she wanted. Now that she’s been exposed, hopefully we’ll be seeing much less of her.

And that, my friends, concludes the background section. If you have any questions or need a clarification, feel free to message me.

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ACE’S ‘DARK’ PERIOD

These blinds get their own section because they demonstrate a complete turnaround in Ace, in both writing style and intention, that I am choosing to call Ace’s “dark” period. As of late, Ace has begun solving blinds dealing with very serious/sensitive content with no proof to back up his claims, and has targeted and attacked certain celebrities with absolutely no holds barred.

Brace yourselves, and let’s begin.

1. “Winter Break Is Going Downhill Fast” - October 15th, 2013

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Well, it had to happen eventually… Bad news blind. Let’s get to it. First, the wordplay clues:

“who don’t know what it is going on behind the scenes” » At first I thought this was a typo, but now I’m thinking it could very well be a hint at Louis’ “It is what it is” tattoo.

winter vacation » throwback to “Winter Break“ blind

"the first one,” “one of our boys” » One Direction, as per usual

Now, onto the context. First of all, Ace tells us that the couple’s relationship “has become increasingly difficult to manage.” Having followed their movements, there has been no visible change in behavior between Harry and Louis during these past few months that the fandom has observed. This is not to say there may not be trouble brewing behind the scenes, but I would think that if someone in the relationship truly did cheat, that kind of tension would certainly translate to the stage, subtly or not.

So, who is this other guy? Ace provides us with very few clues, besides the fact that he’s "not a member of the band" and "had a relationship with one of our boys." We also know that the lover scorned is not a big fan of this person, with Ace’s addition of ”Of all the people in the world, why did it have to be him?” at the end of the blind. The most popular guess so far among fans has been Nick Grimshaw. He does fit what Ace seems to be getting at, to a point; Nick and Harry did hang out a lot in the past/still do occasionally, and the media loves to label Nick "Harry’s bff" and speculate whether or not they’re in a some sort of secret relationship. However, Nick immediately coming to mind as the “other guy” in this blind is also due to timing. Earlier this month, Nick and Louis engaged in a bit of a Twitter war.

It began when Louis tweeted this:

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Nick then not-so-subtly commented the following on The Breakfast Show (credit to grincham-n-larry for the dialogue):

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Louis, seemingly having gotten wind of the comment, fired back with this equally not-so-subtle tweet:

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And Nick got sassy:

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It’s clear that Louis isn’t a big fan of Nick’s, which makes the Grims a likely contender for this blind. However, I’m not buying any of it. Why? This blind absolutely reeks of promotion. Not only does One Direction have a new album being released in November, the second season of “Sweat the Small Stuff,” a television program Nick is hosting, premiered on October 15th - the exact day of this blind.

Here are a few things we need to consider before we lend this blind any credibility whatsoever:

Assuming Nick is the “other guy” and even that Harry is the one that cheated is pure speculation. Ace did not give us any specific clues (which he certainly has in other blinds) to point to one or the other; this blind is open-ended. This probably means that we were meant to guess and make a fuss.

The lack of specifics in this blind could mean that the source was lacking in knowledge. The whole thing could easily be bullshit.

Promotion, promotion, promotion! As they say in showbiz, any promotion is good promotion. Ace is not immune to being fed false info, for promotional reasons or otherwise. True or false, BG’s blinds will still get hits.

Ace had implied that Eleanor will be gone soon, but now she is coming to Australia. This blind could be Ace’s way of covering up the fact that his prediction has yet to happen. (Credit to Lisa)

Also, keep in mind that One Direction just signed a new music contract and will most likely be dropping Modest! management when the (suspected) 3-year contract is up at the end of this year. With Harry’s “We don’t need no piece of paper from the city hall” tweet that spurred marriage rumors and the recent tension in the Twittersphere involving Louis’ family, Eleanor, etc., sending false info about cheating to Ace could be one last attempt by Modest! to push the heterosexual images they have worked so tirelessly over the years to perpetuate.

Just like any other blind, this one must be taken with a grain of salt. It is very generalized, and very open to interpretation. It was meant to get attention and it did.

As Ace has promised to “fill us in later,” keep an eye out for an update.

2. “Band Hotel Drama Part 1, 2, and 3" - October 16th, 2013

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After these blinds popped up, it certainly seemed like the “Winter Break Is Going Downhill Fast” blind had ushered in a new era of Blind Gossip that demonstrated a complete change in Ace. As I began to explain in the intro to this section, blinds began to be solved with absolutely no real proof (such as the Monchele scandal or the Jo Bros “Fake Bump” blind) and Ace’s writing style seemed to have changed. The writing even started getting a little sloppy - For example, Part 1 of this series originally had the “Two Guys who shared a room” bit attached to the bottom, when that blind hadn’t even begun to approach that particular topic. It was shortly removed.

But what is even stranger is that these blinds seem to have gotten their info from a rumor post on Tumblr… that went around in March. A Tumblr user (who has requested to remain anonymous) apparently had some personal connections that caused her to be privy to certain information about the boy’s stay in a hotel room in Cardiff, and she made a post about this information back in early March. (The boys were in Cardiff from March 1st-3rd, performing in four matinee performances - beginning with an opening show on Friday, two on Saturday, and ending with one final show on Sunday. {source} )

The original post (now deleted - if you have it on your blog, feel free to send it to me) about the Cardiff hotel incident contained the following info {credit to bromanceshmomance}:

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However, when all 3 of the blinds were released, it seems not everything matched up with what she had been told:

imageimageSo the coke clean-up was incredibly exaggerated (if it even happened in the first place), there were no fans outside, and no rooms were empty, contrary to what Ace claimed.

Now that we’ve covered the content, what about the writing style? There are very few wordplay clues - “one" is used a mere three times in total (one more story, one of the rooms, one bed) but it is not in the usual clever way; in fact, there’s really no other way to word these phrases, so they don’t even actually seem like clues. And that’s it. No other wordplay to speak of. Where is the clever wordsmith Ace, who planted hints in the text left and right, that we knew so well? This writing style just doesn’t match up with the other blinds - Even the “Winter Break Is Going Downhill Fast” blind had a few witty wordplays tossed in. Not to mention the complete lack of mentions of “boy band" that we’ve learned to expect. Hell, at this rate, looks like Ace might have picked up a coke habit too!

We don’t know if Ace found this post on Tumblr (which would be strange as the blogger informed me that it was untagged and hidden under a read more) or was sent some sort of tip about it (either from someone who read the post on Tumblr, or possibly someone who had firsthand knowledge of the incident, which honestly is pretty unlikely as it happened MONTHS ago). I honestly don’t know what to make of these blinds. It’s clear Ace wanted hits, and it’s clear he got them, but as to their credibility, I just really can’t say for sure. The timing is incredibly strange, the content even stranger, and there is absolutely zero concrete evidence. I’m just going to leave it at that.

2. “Backstage with Sniffy“ - November 4th, 2013

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*heavy sigh* Again, with the coke rumors.

Not much to this one, either. There are two references of “one” (one young singer and one of those fans), the reference of “in a private hotel room with friends” (probable throwback to the “Band Hotel Drama" series), and the picture of the very green, very Harry Styles-esque eyeball.

Upon first reading the blind, I immediately thought it was about Justin Bieber. But Ace clearly couldn’t have that, so he threw in the hint at the bottom that it was not the Biebs. The few clues we do have are at the very least pointing in Harry Styles’ general direction - Especially with the huge green eye staring you down.

However, I don’t give any of these blinds credence until I am presented with actual proof. (And I’m no drug expert, but I imagine a serious cocaine addiction would begin to show in Harry’s features/behavior on stage.) When Ace gets some actual evidence to support all these coke rumors, then we’ll talk. But for now, like any unsolved blind, it’s all up in the air.

NEW: Here’s an interesting theory by smokesandyou about Ace’s sudden personality shift, beginning with the “Winter Break Is Going Downhill Fast” blind all the way through “Backstage with Sniffy.”

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OTHER/MISCELLANEOUS

Blinds where Harry is mentioned:

The Seven Celebrity Dwarfs [Part 3] - August 23rd, 2013

Moody at the VMAs - August 26th, 2013

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Other past speculated blinds I did not analyze:

“Boy Bander Is Undecided“ - April 12th, 2012

This blind came shortly after “Boy Banders Are Hiding A Secret.”

“Beware of the Grouper” - April 23rd, 2012

Ish. My bets are on this being about someone from The Wanted. They’ve actually admitted to shit like this.

“Fake Relationship Starts Next Month“ - July 9th, 2012

This was speculated to be about Niall/Demi Lovato, but that ship never sailed!

“Pop Star Should Watch the Waistline” - October 2nd, 2012

Lol. Oh, Niall.

“Boy Bander Has A Secret Lover“ - December 3rd, 2012

I guess since the guy in the picture resembles Niall slightly, everyone thought this blind was about him? Who knows. If Niall was bedding a porn star back then, I’d give him props.

“Pop Star Can’t Decide” - April 8th, 2013

This one is much too general to properly analyze, but I’m including it because the source is listed as the Daily Mirror (of UK origin), which led to many people guessing the 1D boys.

—

So there you have it, folks! Keep an eye out for future updates. And if you have questions, comments, or want to submit a blind for analysis, feel free to message me!

xoxo, sweetenoughandfaraway

#blind gossip

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homosociallyyours · 6 years

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Rules: answer 30 questions and tag 30 blogs you would like to get to know better

Tagged by: @holmezyan -- thanks, you freeman-loving wonder! sorry it took me so long to get to this!!

Nickname(s): Bean, Meggles, Dottie, Beene, Milton

Gender: Genderqueer femme

Zodiac: Taurus sun & moon, Gemini rising

Height: 5′5″ (roughly)

Coffee, tea or hot chocolate: Lately I’ve been drinking Yorkshire Gold or Irish Breakfast instead of coffee (trying to have a little less caffeine), but I know I’ll return to coffee again sometime. I started drinking it when I was maybe 6 or so. Nice one, parents.

Fav band(s): The Indigo Girls, One Direction, Bikini Kill, Magnetic Fields, Le Tigre, The Butchies, Team Dresch (why are all but 2 of my bands not together and making music? what have i done to deserve this fate?)

Fav solo artist(s): Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Kaia Wilson, Joan Armatrading, Dar Williams, Dolly Parton, Mirah, Jens Lekman, Sia, Gillian Welch

Song stuck in my head: Bebe’s new song, Ferrari.

Last movie I saw: I watched Despicable Me 3 the other night on netflix. It was...everything I expected. The last movie I saw in the theater was Love, Simon

Last show I saw: Theater? I think it was Hamilton last year! TV? I’m currently watching the finale of Glam Masters. It’s...ok.

When did I create my blog: 2012? YIKES

What do I post: A mishmash of everything I find interesting. Currently: 1D, Johnlock, queer shit, femme shit, Martin Freeman, US politics, Janelle Monae, other women making music that makes me feel gayer, meme/meme culture posts, and definitely too many “ask me questions about myself” posts bc i spent too many years on livejournal.

Last thing I googled: Last night I was sitting with bander and wanted her to hear a song from my friends’ band, so I think the last thing I googled was “gaymous ross dress for less” which only kinda got me the result I wanted. Which was this amazing song. (Please listen, you won’t regret it!!)

Do I have any other blogs: Several! On here I have a cheese tumblr @heycheeselady (it’s mostly dead, i haven’t reblogged to it in ages) and a benedict cumberbatch meme tumblr that i used to co-run @darlingdomesticbatch that is now long abandoned (rip, it was actually really cute and fun while it lasted). I have a dreamwidth that used to be my livejournal where i really let my depression, anxiety, and emotional self-harm cut loose to like 2 or 3 other ppl (it’s a yikes-ass nightmare). ALSO i still have a diaryland diary (!!!) that is my private corner of the internet where i post inelegant poetic prose about my actual private emotions in ways that would feel dangerous to do in front of anyone but strangers. if i ever give you the info, you aren’t allowed to talk to me about it. i probably won’t give you the info. but i’ve had it since...2000? 2001? I definitely wrote about losing my virginity over there. embarrassing!!

Do I get asks: Sometimes when I ask for them nicely. I rarely get anons, but after my 1 day brush with fame (which i think of as 1950gate) I realized that’s a good thing bc it’s fucking exhausting to have multiple ppl asking you the same question that you already answered/never wanted to answer anyway. also ppl can be mean!

Why did I choose my url: I knew I was going to be blogging about sherlock and queer stuff, and I thought about what really connected those things. For me, it’s the homosocial-- social spaces and interactions that are focused on same gender relationships --that fuels the homosexual/makes me gayer. The description for my blog is “i am a homosocialsexual” because that’s really what i am. The yours part...I just liked the idea of signing off on everything. I remain homosocially yours,

Following: 720 (and that’s after i unfollowed all the dead blogs. what can i say, I like having a voluminous and varied dash)

Followed by: 920 (this number is...shockingly high, ngl)

Favorite color(s): Bright dark pink and emerald green. Deep royal purple. Cornflower blue. The color of sun through leaves in the woods.

Average hours of sleep: 6-12, there’s rarely an inbetween.

Lucky number: 13

Instruments: I play ukulele and I’m a good enough singer to consider my voice an instrument in its own way.

What I’m wearing: Buffalo check thermal pj leggings and my fave grey pizza t-shirt

Dream job: Basically my current job? Though I should amend that because my reality needs to shift...I’m probably never going to be able to do my job full time again. So. Dream Job would be teaching cheese tasting classes to groups of 10-20 people at a time, giving info about the cheeses and how to taste them, how to prep them for a cheese plate, what to pair them with (and how). Ideally I would do all of this with a team of 2-4 other people, making decisions cooperatively and collectively.

Dream trip: One month trip thru France visiting various cheesemakers and ending with a week in the south with my friend who has family down there.

Fav food: Cheese. Ha :)

Nationality: I’m Southern (from the US). My regional identity feels very important to me.

Fav song: Ummm I definitely can’t pick. Nope.

Last book I read: Y’all I haven’t read a paper book in a hot minute. I just haven’t been able to do it. I even have books to read. My brain says NO NO NO. But the last book length fic I read was Own the Scars, and damn was it good!

Last fanfic I read: We’ll Be Seamless, which was a really great slowburn that ended so sweetly (with lots of hot moments along the way)

Random fact: I met my best friend in preschool when we were 3 years old. I’m even in her baby book. We had a few years of not being quite as close, but now at 37 we’re somehow still BFFs. We’re also both queer and big geeks, which is a nice thing.

I’m tagging some random folks! Probably not 30 though, so if you see this and wanna do it, PLEASE DO IT & tag me in! (and really, I mean it, I don’t care if we’re mutuals or not!)

@yellinradios @swimmingbirdrunningrock @aprillikesthings @ann-fortunately

@miafi @always-aqua @valeria2067 @a-brighter-yellow @jaerie @yorkiepug

@yearofsolouis @suddenclarityharry @cumberbitchsandwich

#about me #meme time #i love these #no pressure if you don't wanna do it #but if you also love these #YOU ARE TAGGED!

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lcncasters-blog · 7 years

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hey everyone!!! i’m d, i’m 23, and i use they/them pronouns. super hyped about being here so i’ma just get right into it

so kai is my fave character and kinda notoriously The Worst while also being The Best, so i’m warning y’all before we even go in that he’s actually so sloppy and wild pls proceed w/ caution. i’ve been playing him for over 4 years. that being said, he does have a fuck ton of information, so while the bullet points are going to be as condensed as i can possibly make them, you should really check out the appearance section (or you can just look at my sidebar which is wonderful artwork of kai one of my close friends did for me --- give them love on their art blog nialls ok SO talented) of his STATS FRAMEWORK and then if you really hate yourself i have a DEVELOPMENT TAG too with a bunch of headcanons (feel free to RB the rebloggable ones from me btw)

LOUIS TOMLINSON? no ⏤ KAI LANCASTER, the DEMIBOY is TWENTY-THREE and was born with a GOLD soul, and now has a GREY soul. i would describe HIM/THEM as EXUBERANT + BRAVE, yet CARELESS + IMPATIENT. KAI spends HIS/THEIR time PLAYING AT SMALL VENUES WITH HIS ALT ROCK BAND AND WORKING AS A NANNY and has lived in seattle for TWO YEARS.

TW FOR TERMINAL ILLNESS/CANCER, SUBSTANCE ABUSE MENTIONS, ABLEISM, & MENTIONS OF SELF-HARM/SUICIDE.

kai was born a gold soul into a pretty posh, old-money typea family in manchester, uk. like i’m talking on his mothers side they’re all doctors, lawyers, scholars, etc, etc, and on his dad’s side entrepeneurs. his parents themselves built a fairly large business from the ground up together that now goes by the name of lancaster industries. their current biggest venture and pretty much what they’ve built the whole of their fortune on is a chain of luxury hotels that you can find basically in every major city in the world.

he had 3 younger sisters who he essentially raised considering his parents were too busy to be around during their childhood. only two of them are still living, his youngest sister having passed a couple years ago at the age of 7 from leukemia.

his mother is literally the devil? kai always hated school/struggled in it for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which were his not diagnosed adhd and his dyslexia, which he never got the help he probably needed for. he’s always kinda just thought he was extremely stupid, and that idea was reinforced by the way his mother always used to tell him the very same thing. “think harder, kai. use your brain.” is a phrase that’s essentially been reinforced so many times in his head, he p much hears her voice ringing in his ears every time he gets so much as vaguely confused now.

that being said, despite how he struggled in school, he was always a very vibrant, kind, charismatic, and magnetic young person. he tends to draw people into him with his silly nature and upbeat attitude, and he’s kind of the Eternal Optimist, so he was fairly popular when he was attending. to say he has eccentricities would be putting it lightly, and he’s loud, never seeming to run out of things to say or fail to command the interest of the room.

anyway things with his mum only got worse in his relationship with her when he barely managed to complete his a levels by the skin of his teeth (and with an absurd amount of tutoring), and then refused to go to the university of her choosing. she p much wanted him to “get his shit together” so he could take over the family business someday, but i am not kidding when i say kai would wilt away and probably legit just die if he had to work in a place like that forever – and that’s assuming he even got through business school in the first place.

his father was always a push-over and sort of was absent/bent to her will when he was around, so he didn’t bother to defend kai when his mother decided 2 cut him off from everything and essentially ex-communicate him once she realised he was refusing 2 be manipulated and forced into shit anymore.

that was at age 18, and by that point he had plans to move out and travel to london with his best mate anyway, so he was basically like “peace out” and got the hell out of dodge. he still harbours a lot of guilt for abandoning his younger sisters, particularly so considering his youngest one fell ill so soon after his departure.

he lives, breathes, and sleeps piano. music as a whole is something he’s passionate about, having taken the time to develop his somewhat unorthodox voice, but the way his fingers fly over the ivories is a living art form more than it is anything. it’s how he communicates, how he speaks his deepest truth and just like? put those feelings out there into the world that he otherwise wouldn’t be able to articulate in the common vernacular.

so what he wants to do with his life is to just? talk to people? through his music? to play for them and the be in front of a crowd every night and to feel the energy of them, to command them with his presence and to exist with them in that way. he almost gets high off of it? he’s been playing small shows since age nineteen with his band, but since he moved to america he obvi hasn’t had them and has been on his own.

SORRY I’M REALLY TRYING TO CONDENSE THIS so ok basically he was in love w this girl from the time they were 14. they lost their virginity 2 each other, they were on & off all through HS, & then through to age 20 after he moved away and all that. she was v v ill and struggled with mental illness and kai tried his best 2 take care of her, but he was always in over his head despite his dedication to like making her feel OKAY. she needed help that he could not give 2 her, and they ended up breaking up & him letting her go at the end. she died soon after that, and it remains unclear 2 him whether or not it was a suicide. it was officially ruled as an “accident”, but he knows different and yeah i mean. essentially like.... the most “smudges” on his soul kinda came from his sitch w her bc he was always coming and leaving and dropping her and returning when she needed him and like. he TRIED but he just COULDN’T? anyways

after that he got involved with this boy who was a substance abuser, addicted to H to b exact, and for a while he thought that he was getting better and they were building off of each other, building a healthy life together. the fact he called kai his “new addiction” was probably never a good thing, but kai didn’t recognize that at the time. they got engaged eventually, and kai was 100% convinced that he was the actual love of his life after caro. of course, in the end, it wasn’t built to last, and when it went bad, it went really bad. kai eventually felt like there was a chasm several miles deep between them, and he had no hope of getting to the other side again. he broke it off, broke the guy’s heart, and made his soul even darker.

THIS NEXT ONE IS KINDA AN OPTION CONNECTION OKAY SO IF ANY1 IS INTERESTED PLS PLS LMK!!!

kai has been posting vids on YT of him covering songs on his YouTube for like actual years, and when he was around 20 he met this person via the comments section on one of them. they seemed to be quite the fan of his interpretation of some of the songs he chose to play. they ended up talking more and more as time went on, exchanging contact information, and grew very very very close.

that was the start of the LDR that is what brought him to america/to seattle in the first place. they were together for about eight months and had seen each other in person three times for a total of about 3 weeks before he made the decision to get started on his visa and move to the states. the moment he was able to, he crossed the pond and moved in w them!!

strain on their relationship was created when at first kai was unable to find work and contribute to the bills and the household funds. they lived in a tiny flat, and going from barely seeing each other to having each other all at once and all the time was a lot. on top of that, kai was homesick and restless and felt trapped because that’s what kai does and it’s not okay and it’s totally wrong and he cheated on them soooo there’s another tick against his soul ig. within six months of his arrival, they broke up, and kai moved out.

he couch surfed w some friends he’d met 4 a while, and eventually found a decent paying job as a nanny for a well off family.

he plays live shows at small venues in bars/clubs and still seeks to make a living as a musician but it’s hard out there and plus his soul aint exactly the prettiest to look at any more. i mean he doesn’t have a DARK DARK grey soul, it’s more a lighter grey, not quite silver, but definitely not storm clouds.

he’s still working on getting his full citizenship though he’s v v v close 2 it & has been lowkey getting help from his cousin w paying for the process so!!

THAT’S BASICALLY IT

last but not least IM REALLY FUCKING SORRY ICOULDN’T MAKE THIS SHORTER I JUST HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHTS AND fEELIGNSA

SEND ME AN IM OR LIKE IF YOU WANT TO PLOT!

#soulintro #i fucking hate myself

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ruinedbygaysstylinson · 7 years

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Part 1: Hello, I've frequently lurked on your blog, first time sending an ask. I saw your 'overdue rant' and want to explain the other side respectfully. I used to stan Liam. I don't anymore, not that I don't appreciate what he did and how he and Zayn had (maybe have?) a great relationship. I think there is a difference between seeing something written in print and hearing it said. I like Z the most, I'll be honest so the fact that L dragged him 3 times (IRLnot print) doesn't sit right with me.

Part 2: So I’m disappointed by what Liam said, and if he/his team just admitted they were shitty things to say, me and most Ztans would be cool with it. But what he said was so unnecessary and could’ve been avoided? Hell Niall did it with grace in billboard. I would never talk shit abt Liam or try to change people’s minds abt him but that’s what you’re all doing now, trying to excuse what L said instead of calling him out. 1 can still stan people and see why someone might have a problem w them!

_____________________________________

Hello! First off, thanks for sharing your concerns and feelings with me so politely. I enjoy hearing the thoughts of people outside my corner of the fandom. I agree that there is a difference between print!Liam and live!Liam, and it definitely upset me to hear how Liam’s team incorporated Zayn into Liam’s promo tour. However, after moping around for a bit, I was able to step back and consider the biggest motivating factor to all this controversy.

Liam has mentioned Zayn multiple times in the past month. A few were references to his appreciation for Pillowtalk, and the other 3 were the comments in question. Let’s break them down one by one.

1) Liam Payne sat down for a chat with our old pal Dan Wootton. Dan is a longtime friend of Simon, and has broken literally every exclusive for Liam’s latest relationship with Simon’s close friend and XF judge. How convenient. Dan also has slammed each of the boys individually and as a band on multiple occasions. Regardless of that, he has still received solo exclusives from Zayn, Niall, Harry, and Liam (and I’m sure Louis’ moment is coming as well). In this interview, Liam apparently forgot that several times in the 2 years from April 2015 on, he revealed that he had spoken with Zayn and everything was good between them. Let’s recall the infamous elevator pap clip where Liam said he loves Zayn with his own mouth, and would never rule him out of a future 1D reunion. Poof. That’s gone now, and replaced with Liam “confiding” in Dan that he isn’t sure what Zayn’s problem was, and there won’t be an OT5 reunion. Keep in mind, this interview was recorded without video, so we don’t even know if the final cut included Liam’s original words on Zayn. He may have had to “repeat” himself to get Dan’s point across. In my opinion, considering the close relationship between Dan and Simon, and Simon’s dislike of Liam following his solo signing and the 2017 Brits, I think this interview is highly suspicious at best. Moving on..

2) Shortly after the interview with Dan was released, we got footage of Liam playing a twisted game where he had to choose one of his close friends to condemn. First of all, this question should NEVER have been asked. It’s highly inappropriate and his team should’ve screened it out. The fact that it was allowed to be asked is interesting, and I will get to that in a bit. If you haven’t seen the clip, Liam has to choose between Ed Sheeran, Harry, or Zayn to leave behind, like in a scenario similar to the Titanic. Breaking down the choices is tough, because there is no good answer. Ed has been publicly friends with the boys for years, and helped write Liam’s new single. Ed also has a ton of fans who wouldn’t take kindly to the thought of Liam abandoning him after he generously helped launch Liam’s solo career. Harry was in the middle of his own album promo tour, and Liam had already said that Harry’s style of music isn’t his favorite. I doubt he wanted to make multiple negative comments about one of his closest friends. Zayn and Liam did not continue their public relationship after March 2015, and everyone is aware that he left the band. Liam also complimented Zayn’s music in interviews before and after this clip. Choosing Zayn was the lesser of 3 evils as far as the public is concerned. Still technically evil, but the best choice in the face of an extremely loaded question. As far as how Liam answered the question, I don’t think Liam was being malicious. His wording was very specific. Liam’s sense of humor can be dark at times, but he didn’t actually say he would leave Zayn for dead. For all we know, he meant leave him behind with a life ring or something. I don’t think it’s wise to assume that Liam was purposefully trying to hurt Zayn in a pretend game that was obviously setup to make him cast a negative light on their relationship.

3) This Tuesday Liam attended the Glamour awards and presented James Corden with an award. In his speech, Liam spoke of how James wanted to be in a boyband, and shared that James was in a band of his own that even boasted a slogan. Liam commented that maybe if 1D had a slogan, Zayn wouldn’t have left, and he would keep that in mind for next time. There are a couple things that I would like to draw to your attention. First, Zayn did leave the band (whether you believe it was willing or not), but that doesn’t seem to be the issue. From what I’ve gathered, people are mad that Liam basically claimed that Zayn’s depature could’ve been avoided with something as small as a slogan. In other words, Liam seems to be oblivious to how difficult Zayn’s time in the band was. Let’s turn back the clock a bit. Liam and Zayn were extremely close friends for the entireity of OT5’s existence. They shared interests such as the world of superheroes and comic books, and commented multiple times on their similar taste in music. They also most likely shared far more personal subjects, such as difficulties with public opinion or lack of musical input. If you weren’t in the fandom for March 2015 and the following months, you may not realize that Liam was literally devastated by Zayn’s sudden departure. He cried on stage multiple times and was generally less enthusiastic for weeks following the incident. The fact that Liam is able to joke about something that upset him greatly tells me that some of his scars are healing. Liam is making light of what was clearly a very difficult situation for everyone involved, not trivializing what Zayn went through. Second, let’s all ponder what “keeping it in mind for next time” means. The next time one of your band members decides to abruptly leave mid-tour, or the next time Liam is in a band with Zayn? Of course, there’s no way to know for sure, but one of those two options is way more likely than the other. Take from it what you will.

So what we wind up with upon further inspection is a couple offhanded comments and a questionable interview with Simon’s bestie. All of it was unnecessary, I agree, and that raises the question, why is Liam talking about Zayn so much after 2 years of near radio silence? His team is obviously on board with this bizarre strategy, but why? I don’t know the specifics of why Liam’s team is continuing to associate Zayn and Liam, but I have a couple ideas. Perhaps it’s to perpetuate the idea that Liam is completely free of 1D. We could be led to believe that Liam was not allowed to discuss Zayn while in 1D, but now he is. This idea is limited by the elevator clip I mentioned early though. Why else would he randomly change his stance on one of the most controversial situations involving his best friend of 5 years? Perhaps in the future there will be a public reconciliation in which Zayn and Liam have a heart-to-heart, and that leads to an OT5 reunion. Who knows? But from what I do know about Liam, suddenly bashing Zayn after all they shared together is extremely out of character, and something that I refuse to take at face value.

I hope that this helps you understand how I worked through my feelings towards this unfortunate round of promo. I personally don’t see Liam apologizing for any of the above instances because none of them were truly meant to hurt Zayn. I think they were meant to reassociate Zayn and Liam in the press, but it was poorly planned and the attempts at humor fell flat. In my mind, there is no bigger Ztan than Liam himself, and I completely understand why this has thrown a lot of people for a loop. Here’s hoping for a better round of promo in the coming month.

If anyone wants to continue this discussion, feel free to shoot me an ask or message me! I may take a bit to respond but I will answer eventually!

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firefaerie81 · 7 years

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Webtoon Reclist

So I discovered a bunch of webcomics on Line Webtoon recently. I keep binging things, so here’s a list of recommendations from what I’m up to date on. Links to the comics themselves are included.

Completed

Always Human - Sunati Raval lives in a world where genetic modification is easy and hip, and she loves changing her look. Meeting Austen, a girl whose immune system rejects mods, makes Sunati see a new angle of things. She and Austen are interested in each other, but they only just met, so making this relationship float will take work from both parties.

Girls Have a Blog - Sarah and Tara had a webcomic while they were in art school, but after Webtoon found it years later and asked to feature it, they decided to make a new version on the same premise: the two of them living together and having adventures in art, writing, and adulting.

My Boo - Yuri So can see ghosts, but ever since she was young, she’s made it a point to never let anyone know, not even the ghosts. No matter what, when someone finds out it becomes a burden for her. Unfortunately, a careless mistake leads to her moving into a house inhabited by a ghost named Jun Ko. Yuri’s only able to ignore Jun for so long, and it’s time she finally confronted her personal demons.

Note: My Boo is on Webtoon’s “Daily Pass” system. The first five episodes are freely available, then every successive episode requires a Daily Pass to unlock for two weeks, of which a user will only get one a day without paying for more.

Oh! Holy - Jamie Oh has had a hard time making friends due to his ability to see ghosts. The one friend he had, Holy Joo, moved away long ago, abandoning their promise to see the world together. After that, he gave up on trying to connect with anyone but ghosts. But after Jamie crosses paths with Holy again in high school, an accident threatens her life, forcing the two to make a deal with a reaper to stay alive.

Orange Marmalade - Mari Baek is a vampire who only wants to live quietly in one place instead of being run out of town every time someone finds out what she is. Unfortunately, the most popular boy in her school takes a shine to her after her instincts get the better of her in the presence of his strong-smelling blood. She doesn’t like attention, but maybe a few friends and a boyfriend wouldn’t be so bad. Assuming, of course, that she can trust them.

Note: Orange Marmalade is on Webtoon’s “Daily Pass” system. The first seven episodes are freely available, then every successive episode requires a Daily Pass to unlock for two weeks, of which a user will only get one a day without paying for more.

Shard - Shay is a witch on the run from her coven, desperate to keep out of their control and live her own life. There’s a certain spell she wants to cast, a portal she wants to open, and the missing piece is a virgin. Her best bet is one of a group of geology nerds she manages to come across, but the trick will be getting him into the ritual before her coven can get their claws back on her.

Super Secret - As far as Emma Ji knows, she’s just very close with her next door neighbors. But the truth is that her parents signed a Rapunzel-esque contract with this family of supernatural beings after wronging them before Emma was born. The son of the family, Ryan, developed feelings for Emma over the years, but he’d rather do things on her terms than because of some contract.

unTouchable - Vampires have evolved over the centuries, moving from consuming blood to absorbing energy through touch. Sia Lee is one such vampire, and Jiho Shin – the best target she’s ever set her sights on – has extreme OCD, so she decides to help him get over it. Is Sia really going this far just for a meal, or is there actually something to her claim of feelings for Jiho?

Where Tangents Meet - Landon Takahashi was left cynical and bitter by 17 years of people pretending to like him for his money and balking at his geeky hobbies. Rachelle Fletcher is a year older, yet so sweet and flighty that she blows away all of Landon’s preconceived notions about people. They grow close quickly, and decide to navigate the foibles of their first serious relationship together.

Ongoing

#Blessed - Joanna is young and frustrated with her love life. She thinks playing around with a dating app will improve her situation, but things only get worse when a mistaken swipe locks her into a contract with a gaggle of godly beings who all want a chance at dating her. She has to choose one of them in the end, and they won’t leave her alone, but the rest is in her hands.

Aerial Magic - Wisteria Kemp is a textblind mage who dreams of doing aerial magic professionally. Her only hope of joining a guild and being officially qualified is an apprenticeship. Apprentices are a dying practice, so the only person who would take her on lives in a city far away from her town. Wisteria has to not only learn as much as she can from Cecily, but navigate interacting with Cecily’s son Lachlan and her employees Amal and Killian.

Assassin Roommate - Mags isn’t the most adept in social situations with new people, but she needs a roommate to afford her new place. She’s read all about the problems of being too close to one’s roommate, so she’s determined to be strictly professional. And as friendly and gorgeous as her new roommate Kurt is, he could never know about her job as an assassin even if they did get close.

Castle Swimmer - Many of the underwater kingdoms of merfolk have prophecies, but they all have one thing in common: they center around a golden mer called The Beacon arriving and bestowing some boon upon the kingdom. The shark kingdom is a cursed community, hoping against hope for The Beacon to arrive and fulfill their prophecy… of being killed by their prince to lift the curse. But what happens when neither prince nor beacon want any of this prophecy burden?

The Croaking - Humanoids with the wings of birds populate an island civilization. As an Osprey, Ky Cedoc is an unusual recruit at the Roost military academy. As a Crow, Scra Eldwode is even more unusual. How perfect, then, that these two misfits are placed as roommates on top of having met right before the semester started. Well, not so perfect, since Scra is hardly around, sneaking out every night, and there are whispers among the city gangs about something called The Croaking.

Crumbs - Urban fantasy meets easygoing slice of life. Every Friday, Ray makes a trip to her favorite magical bakery, where customers can buy pastries imbued with confidence, inspiration, anything you can imagine. Every week, Ray walks in and has her favorite flavor: romance. And one day, the baker’s nephew reaches out to her.

Empyrea - Soul-stealing demons known as keres plague the twelve realms, and only the Aetherborn knights have the power to combat them. Tristan, otherwise known as Hawk, is a strange knight who refuses to serve a lord. Kira is a young inventor straining against the expectations of her family. The two cross paths one night, and their lives begin to change.

Freaking Romance - Zylith is striking out on her own after being thrown out of her parents’ home at age 18. The only apartment she can afford on her savings was reported by previous tenants to be haunted, which only intrigues Zylith more because of her fondness for the paranormal. She’s excited to start seeing a boy who seems like a ghost around her apartment, until she and her friend do some digging and find out the last girl who lived there disappeared after seeing him.

I Love Yoo - Yoo Shin-Ae couldn’t care less about romance. She cares way more about food and making ends meet, and she loudly rejects any sort of advances. Through a series of shenanigans at a party, Shin-Ae’s life ends up entangled with two boys, one who takes a shine to her immediately and one who’s just as prickly about girls as she is about boys.

Ketchup - Soulmates aren’t necessarily a romantic relationship, but they do have a link that can pass glimpses of the five senses as well as emotions between the pair. Riley and Kelyn were childhood friends, but right when Riley was figuring out that they were linked, one wrong move destroyed their friendship. Years later, they’re reunited when Kelyn finally discovers their link. Kelyn wants to rekindle their old bond, but Riley still carries a grudge from their falling out.

Lackadaisy - In a version of prohibition-era St. Louis populated by anthropomorphic cats, the Lackadaisy speakeasy was once a booming beacon of night life. But with its owner dead, his widow Mitzi is left with a ragtag handful of employees and not enough booze to go around for her few customers. Mitzi will be damned before she sees the place her husband built die, and she will do whatever it takes to put Lackadaisy back on top.

Lore Olympus - This modern retelling of the Taking of Persephone sees the mythological Greek gods and heroes in a metropolitan setting. Persephone is a country mouse at her first big city party, and Aphrodite decides to play a trick on her and grim Hades. Persephone and Hades end up thoroughly embarrassed, but also oddly enchanted.

Mage & Demon Queen - The demon tower is a gauntlet where adventurers of the highest order test their mettle, but very few make it to the top, where the demon queen Velverosa dwells, and no one has ever managed to kill her. Many have died trying, respawning back in town to tell the tale. Malori is a young mage who climbs the tower countless times. She faces the demon queen over and over, in hopes of wooing her.

Melody of Orange - The Curse of Eve binds soulmates together, not by a love link but by a death link. When one dies, the other will die in the same manner, no matter the situation. While love isn’t explicitly part of the curse, soulmates are generally encouraged to be together. However, when Mikan meets a scary boy she finds to be her soulmate, she wants nothing to do with him. It’s not for the reasons you might think; it’s Mikan herself who’s carrying an intense guilt that makes her feel unworthy of happiness.

Nothing Special - Callie doesn’t think of herself as anything special, not when there are fairies, demons, and all sorts of magical creatures just beyond a doorway. A boy from her school disagrees when he’s freaked out by his sudden ability to see spirits and impressed by her knowledge of the supernatural. Together, they embark on a journey through the spirit world to save Callie’s dad, and maybe learn a little about themselves and each other along the way.

Siren’s Lament - Lyra is a bit of a wallflower, content with her ordinary life, content to run her flower shop and silently pine for her friend Shon while he dates someone else. But one night, her emotions get the better of her, and she ends up involved in a curse with a siren named Ian. Ian is the opposite of helpful, and the curse he brought with him is nothing but a burden, but he does challenge Lyra to seize the day and ask for more from her simple life.

Strawberry Seafoam - The Delphic Academy teaches magic to young mermaids who hope to one day become powerful Delphiniums. Frasei is one such mermaid, eager to follow in her mother’s footsteps, and her life does not at all go according to plan. Dark forces begin to mobilize around the academy, and Frasei finds herself the only one able to combat them with her newfound unique ability to transform her tail.

Tyran Awakening - Zoe is an average teen living in the not too distant future. When she picks a fight with some bullies, however, something unbelievable happens. She survives certain death, and she begins to feel powerful. Almost like a dragon. Ancient forces are awakened, and the only one Zoe feels she can trust with all this is her friend (or maybe more) Marthe.

unOrdinary - It’s a given in this world that just about everyone has some kind of superpower. John Doe is a rare exception, having no ability at all yet somehow going to a school with a high premium on abilities. He firmly believes that might shouldn’t make right, but it’s only due to his high-tier friend Seraphina that he hasn’t been beaten to death several times over for ignoring the hierarchy in place. (Warning for repeated use of the word “cripple” to describe John’s lack of powers)

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