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#what dreams may come (1998)
distantsonata · 1 year
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What Dreams May Come
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electric150 · 2 years
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What Dreams May Come
1998
Director: Vincent Ward
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lostandsedated · 1 year
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What Dreams May Come (1998)
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areladurell · 2 years
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Favorite Films | 1998 Dark City (dir. Alex Proyas) | The X-Files: Fight the Future (dir. Rob Bowman) | Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later (dir. Steve Miner) | Practical Magic (dir. Griffin Dunne) | What Dreams May Come (dir. Vincent Ward) | Urban Legend (dir. Jamie Blanks)
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bylerposting · 1 month
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okay but the set actually looks so beautiful like what are the chances we get some more beautiful ass shots like the ones in the desert
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mqctavish · 5 months
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leaving you
pairing: leon kennedy x reader
synopsis: leon, your boyfriend, was never the same after everything. despite the evident love still between you both, you could never quite seem to find the man you fell in love with behind those eyes as he fell more away over the years
warnings: angst, ptsd (poor coping mechanisms)
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He was never the same.
It was the average love story; meet young, fall for each other, move in together, etc. You were just about to reach the part of the relationship where you begun to plan your life with one another, already talking about a future marriage, when it happened.
September 1998
Raccoon city tore a life inside Leon that you never saw again. Distinguished a light that can never be lit again.
Living just outside the city at the time, due to your apartment deposits nearer his 'new work' being extremely late, you'd seen him off on his first day. He was already going to be late considering the drive into the station from where you lived, and you couldn't bear for his occupation to be jeopardised before it even starts.
Having met Leon while he was in the police academy, you knew better than anyone how much he yearned to be a cop and how hard he had worked for it, having been the one to spend all those late nights with him preparing for his theory tests, flicking through the never-ending index cards.
So when you were evacuated and were informed about the outbreak, your heart had never sunk so low. Your predominant concern was his safety. The idea of your Leon being taken from you in such situations was not something you could stand. In your mind, thoughts of him wandered as the night dreaded on. With each doubt that built on your sorrow, you waited for your boyfriend to return, completely blind to the fact he may never do so.
Until he did.
But he was never the same.
He wasn't the rookie cop that you had ushered out of your home the night prior, but he was a survivor. An uncharacteristic fog clouded his previously hopeful eyes, giving them a more greyish tint as opposed to the bright blues that would always welcome your gaze.
Leon never spoke much about that night. Only in his dreams. The terrors that drove him awake either made him scream endlessly into the pitiful night or caused mutters of pain hidden underneath tired breaths.
In fact, you cannot remember one night where you'd seen him peacefully asleep; and not one day where he didn't wear those heavy bags beneath his dull eyes.
Autumn 2004
You remained with Leon throughout the years, as promised in both your youths. Despite never getting your boyfriend back since he left for Raccoon City, you kept the candle of hope that he may one day fully return burning.
That candle flickered endlessly when he became a government agent.
Spain, like every other mission that weighed upon the mans shoulders, broke him apart even more. His training, juxtaposed to his police preparation, turned him cold. Merciless. It tested his strength physically as well as emotionally, making it harder and harder for your Leon to come back.
Some days it was like you couldn't even recognise the face you woke up to. Or most days, the face on the picture frame on your bedside table, as Leon was more often away on assignment than not. Some mornings he would 'wake' at early hours like four or five, after not even a blink of sleep.
Again, he was never the same.
Similar to everything else, you were never told what happened in Spain. Whatever it was, it had dug a hole deeper than anything else since Raccoon City. It was beyond unsettling to watch the man who almost cried at his academy graduation to be torn away from you in such a way. Such a cruel, slow, psychological way.
One of the only things of the Leon Kennedy you knew that stayed after it all was his determination. His determination to help the world, in whatever way possible. No matter what he goes through, he stays in the field. He keeps coming home to you, despite how far away from a 'home' it feels.
Then again, you never got around to planning that future, so what else could you expect from a place that still seems temporary?
But he did try for you. He always will. Raccoon City may overtake his memory and past, but it will never take you out of it. If there was one thing Leon could never bear to lose, it was you. Not after everything else he already had.
July 2013
It had lasted for months.
Whatever had happened, Leon was the shell of the man he was. His hair was darker, his wounds were deeper, his guilt was heavier. Behind his soulless eyes was the pleading of the boy you had met over a decade and a half ago.
Despite having dedicated his life to saving others, Leon always hung his head low. Praises were deaf to his ears as his anger was louder. The persistent mental strain was inevitable with his blame. His constant self blame.
The drink never made things better. Finding solace in the bottom of a bottle only made the guilt louder. It only welcomed the terrors like a warm bath, embracing the memories of the battles he has endured, replacing the ones of you.
You. Everything you had built, had promised one another. That was all destroyed with Raccoon City, despite how far away the both of you now were from that dreadful city.
There had been countless times where Leon had offered for you to leave him. Sometimes even begged. It broke him even more to look at you, knowing how much he had let you down. He wasn't some rookie cop that stole your heart, but was some traumatised government agent that had broken all of your promises together.
But you could never leave him. Not while your candle was still burning, let alone how small the flame had grown over the years. And, likewise, Leon could leave you, regardless how little he contributed to helping the flame burn.
The love was still there, but Leon was not. It had almost been fifteen years since you noticed him starting to leave you. He was a mere ghost of the man that had once been the love of you life. The occasional breeze in the summer that would chill down your spine, immediately unsettling you due to how unlikely it was, yet allowing you to reminisce on the previous season where there was constant wind, while simultaneously bringing a longing for the breeze back.
Despite the broken man that lay behind those eyes, constantly filled with a tiredness and dejection that can never be reversed due to the damage caused, no matter how many bars visited and bottles gone through, you waited. You waited for Leon to return. For that life that had always been imagined to be lived. You waited selfishly for the love of your life to be back. You waited worriedly after each and every mission for him to start speaking again.
But Leon was still leaving you. Emotions tearing by the day. The person he once was, was long gone; and you both knew that.
He was never the same.
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jamesunderwater · 8 months
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Tidbits:
you can call me james or jamie. transmasc autistic ace/arospec writer. lover of books magic music boobs and boys.
multi-fandom blog run by a multi-shipper. my main fandoms are: marauder's era harry potter, percy jackson, hbo's succession, bbc merlin, and stranger things
i do write and post smut, just as a content warning. minors be warned.
don't put up with transphobia/terf/transmed shit, racism, antisemitism, ableism, sexism, and the like.
itsjamespotter on ao3
**for anyone triggered by harry potter content, i try to tag all harry potter related posts with #hp, so you can block that tag**
Tumblr Fic Tags:
Jily
Prongsfoot
Dorlene
Smut
AO3 Highlighted Fics
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Dead to Me [playlist] [tag] - 91,625 words - jily, angst, hurt/comfort
I saw a quote once that said: "How many times have I loved a thing, just because you loved it? Including me." This story is about love, but is not to be confused with a love story. It's about the love we should have had. The love we don't think we deserve. The crooked love we settle for. It is about how, in letting others love us, we learn to love ourselves.
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Call and Response - 6,685 words - first war, hurt/comfort, minor jily
A series of vignettes showcasing how, despite his own personal tragedies, James Potter never fails to show up for the ones he loves – which might be his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. Set in a world where James and Lily never got together in school, the Marauders, now twenty, are fighting in the Order at the height of the war. Consider this my love letter to James “would have died rather than betray his friends,” “would have regarded it the height of dishonor to mistrust his friends,” “until the very end” Potter.
Bring Your Kid to Work Day(s Never End When Your Godfather is Sirius Black) - 2,012 words - good godfather sirius black
Written for Good Godfather Sirius Black Fest. Day 11, prompt: bring your kid to work day.
Promises to Keep - 1,142 words - dorlene; canon first war; angst
Marlene and Dorcas have run out of ways to say goodbye.
Just This Once - 6,196 words - jily, muggle au, gratuitous smut
When they were teenagers, James Potter promised his best friend, Sirius Black, that he would never, ever touch his sister. Lily Evans promised herself long ago that she would never, ever give into her feelings for her brother's best friend. But maybe…just this once?
Completed Fics August '23 - Present
Jily: Sweet Seventeen - oneshot - 792 words - canon school years, fluff
James is dating an older woman. She loves snow. He loves... well, it's too soon to say it.
Prongsfoot: here comes a thought - oneshot - 634 words - psychiatric unit AU
sirius is just one of those kids you can't fix. no one has ever thought otherwise. until james potter.
Jily: you are my heaven - oneshot - 1,815 words - soulmates AU, jily reincarnated
What, you thought all they got was a few years together? this is for anyone who has watched what dreams may come (1998) and it's a wonderful life (1946) and is also a pisces. 'cause you get it.
Jily: Happy Holiday, You Filthy Potters - oneshot - 6,098 words - fix it fic, jily never died AU, married smut
"jily christmas family fluff!" but with sex on the stairs.
Prongsfoot: "truth is i'm so damn in love with you i don't know what to do with myself" - oneshot - 804 words - canon first war, one bed
prongsfoot + near death experiences + trapped with only one bed + gay pining
Prongsfoot: "you have no idea how long i've been wanting to do that" - oneshot - 1,017 words - muggle AU, transmasc Sirius Black, bathroom smut
prongsfoot + a locked door public bathroom on my knees trying to make you scream vibe
Prongsfoot: not going anywhere - oneshot - 2,341 words - song fic, canon death, grief
when they were boys, james potter made sirius black a promise. and not even death can make james potter break his promises.
Prongsfoot: i don't even know where you end and i begin - oneshot - 482 words - first war, canon death, grief
Remember when we were such fools? And so convinced, and just too cool? I wish I could touch you again. I wish I could still call you, friend. I'd give anything.
Jily: Tall Dark and Glasses - oneshot - 3,292 words - coffee shop AU, fluff
Tall Dark and Glasses (or TDG as he is more affectionately known) is the mysterious, painfully good-looking stranger who has been frequenting Lily's favorite coffee shop for months now. But despite having an embarrassing acronym for him, Lily, a burned out STEM major, is too comfortable being a wallflower to go up to him herself. Thank god for playing cards, I guess.
Prongsfoot: I Only Breathe When You Breathe - oneshot - 643 words - first war, angst, hurt/comfort
Sirius and James and a nearly fatal order mission. Don't worry, it isn't gay at all.
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mcflymemes · 1 year
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THE PARENT TRAP PROMPTS *  assorted dialogue from the 1998 film
what's going on?
i have class and you don't.
i'll tell you what i'm gonna do.
what was your mother like?
i agree. it totally sucks.
we actually did it!
still biting those nails, i see.
oh, don't do this to me. i'm already seeing double.
any of your pictures ruined?
it's time to break up this little love fest.
you're young, beautiful, sexy...
i may never be alone with you again.
what do you expect? to live happily ever after?
what did you call me?
yes. to all of the above.
ooh, let me help you with that.
you know, sometime if we're ever really alone maybe we could talk about what happened between us.
i'm sorry, it's just i've missed you so much.
get the picture?
it ended so fast.
wow, suddenly you're so interested in math!
have you seen your father?
i would pay big money to see that woman climb a mountain.
who are you, robert de niro? yes, i am talking to you.
you probably don't remember me...
if that's the way you want it, then let the games begin.
this arrangement really sucks.
come here, we have to talk.
i think there's something on your head.
i love oreos. at home, i eat them with peanut butter.
okay, sorry. got a little nervous!
the man went completely ashen like i was the bloody ghost of christmas past.
can one of you get something cold for my head?
this is so scary.
i promise i'll make your lives miserable.
i think it's an awesome idea. inspired. brilliant, really.
i know. it seems like it's been forever.
okay, on the count of three, we'll show them to each other.
this is beyond coincidence. this is beyond imagination!
i know she was really beautiful.
most people find that totally disgusting.
totally, it's like a dream come true.
will you stop thinking about your stomach at a time like this?
i'm really thirsty.
i think you're kind of missing the point.
hey, you sounded just like me!
i learned it at camp.
it's me or them.
let's discuss this calmly. calmly and rationally.
this is so scary.
i've never been so happy in my entire life.
i have a brilliant beyond brilliant idea!
excuse me?
may your life be far less complicated than mine.
that's where i have to go.
what are you doing here?
we were so young. we both had tempers, we said stupid things so i packed.
i made the mistake of not coming after you once. i'm not going to do that again no matter how brave you are.
what has gotten into you?
you didn't come after me.
that's perfectly... perfect. have fun.
you can't get married!
i'm not so hungry anymore.
that really doesn't matter anymore.
i suppose you just expect me to go weak at the knees, and fall into your arms, and cry hysterically.
don't shut your eyes!
i'm going to take the lead.
we have a butler?
we decided to switch places.
honey, you never looked better.
this is where we're eating?
that girl is without a doubt the lowest most awful creature to ever walk the planet.
can i hug her?
how exactly are we paying for this?
i'm supposed to, aren't i?
start unzipping.
go on, just do it.
i'm crawling back into bed, and sleeping 'til lunch.
i'll make you a little deal.
i didn't even know you spoke french.
nobody. forget i mentioned it.
i've loved you your whole life.
that does not sound like a possibility, babe.
it'll totally ruin completely everything!
you wanna know the real difference between us?
how did you know that?
that would be correct.
you have no idea.
mine's a pathetic little thing.
i just hope that one day you could love me as me.
thank you, thank you very much!
don't look at me. i don't know a thing.
you're g ood, but you're just not good enough.
what are you rummaging in your trunk for this time?
don't you realize what's happening?
this is so freaky.
if i didn't know any better, i'd say it's almost like you were... forget it. it's impossible.
i hope you're not mad because i love you so much.
loser jumps into the lake after the game.
i changed a lot over the summer.
i've never seen you and i've dreamt of meeting you my whole life.
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draco dreams of flying
written for the @drarrymicrofic prompt wings
Sometimes Draco swears that he can fly. Usually he writes it off as a silly daydream he slips into when he's sweeping the driveway at work, but sometimes it comes over him out of nowhere as he's going about his day. It's a similar sensation to being on a boat and then feeling the water and the waves under your feet for hours afterwards, even lying in bed. Draco's never been on a boat, but he thinks he's heard people talk about the feeling, in books and on the television maybe - or it could just be something that everybody knows. His foot slips off the curb and in a breathless moment, he feels a familiar floating sensation. He's often convinced he knows what it's like to be next to a treetop, to pass neatly arranged flocks of birds. The guys at work tell him he watches too many cartoons when he gets weird. But when a passing student drops something on the floor, he swears that he can feel it fly into his hand - but when he looks, it hasn't moved an inch. Draco isn't sure if other people walk around feeling like this too - doesn't have many close friends, not close enough to ask. He thinks it might be lovely if he wasn't the only one. It makes life fun, between cleaning out cluttered art cabinets and fixing screwed up sinks. And if, after hours, when he's locked up the school and there's no one else around, he lingers by the fence of the bridge he takes to get home, eyes closed, one foot poking through the railings - no one has to know. No one has to know that in his small and unfamiliar world, the air feels solid and inviting underfoot, almost like a promise, almost like an invitation - almost like a friend.
Daily Prophet Archive, June 2009, Issue 4
[...] the International Criminal Tribunal for the Second Wizarding War has released another batch of documents pertaining to the activities of the junta that held power over the Ministry of Magic from May 1998 to September 1999. The overwhelming 200-scroll data dump sheds even more light on the corrupt practices used in the Prune, Purge, Preserve doctrine that dictated the clean up of British wizarding society in the years immediately following the War. Most notably, a classified memo from the stand-in body for the Auror special forces reveals a policy of obliviating and stripping the magic of younger Death Eaters and then releasing them into Muggle settlements around the country with no resources, no magic and often no memory of who they were. The current Minister for [...]
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will80sbyers · 1 year
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What Dreams May Come (1998) directed by Vincent Ward.
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charmsandtealeaves · 2 months
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Pretty average week this week as far as reading goes. Interested to see how next week goes as my partner will be back at work so might be less reading time.
Read this week:
Jily Week 2023 Drabbles by @kay-elle-cee Complete (805), Jily, Rated T
Drabbles and Double Drabbles for 6/7 of the Jily Week 2023 Prompts.
And it feels like home by kay-elle-cee
Complete (1.8k), Domestic Jily fluff, Rated G
A little moment after a long day. The first moment of the rest of their lives. Or: James and Lily's first night in a flat that's theirs.
You are my heaven by @jamesunderwater
Complete (1.8k), Jily Reincarnated, Rated G
What, you thought all they got was a few years together? this is for anyone who has watched what dreams may come (1998) and it's a wonderful life (1946) and is also a pisces. 'cause you get it. written for the jilychallenge 2023 december advent calendar -- prompt: A is not dressed for snow, B lends a shawl, hat, gloves etc.
Call and Response by jamesunderwater (itsjamespotter)
Complete (6.6k), James Potter, Rated T
A series of vignettes showcasing how, despite his own personal tragedies, James Potter never fails to show up for the ones he loves – which might be his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. Set in a world where James and Lily never got together in school, the Marauders, now twenty, are fighting in the Order at the height of the war.
Promises To Keep by jamesunderwater (itsjamespotter)
Complete (1.1k), Dorcas/Marlene, Rated T
Marlene and Dorcas have run out of ways to say goodbye.
Midwinter Magic by @practicecourts
Complete (2k), Canon Divergent Jily, Rated G
Midwinternight is said to be different. a night on which Magic flows free and strong and the divides between separate worlds are as thin as ice, or so Lily hopes. She hopes that’s true because she can't go on like this.
Do you want to build a snowman? By practicecourts
Complete (2.9k), Jily , Rated G
A young James Potter feels a little lonely and there is snow outside so really he should be outside having fun. Eleven years later he finds himself home again, and the world outside very white. And yet again on a winter's day eleven years after that.
Mind Games by @mppmaraudergirl (ch.1-3)
WIP, Amnesia + secret relationship Jily, Rated M
A cauldron explosion erases the last six months of Lily Evans' life at one of the most critical times in her career. As she struggles to not lose focus on all she has worked toward, a nagging voice inside her mind urges her to piece together the tattered memories of her past.
The Road Back To You by mppmaraudergirl
Complete (64.8k) Jily Muggle AU, Rated M
This is a story about second chances. A story about coming home and finding friends who become family. And most of all, perhaps, it is a story about the inevitability of falling into—and out of—love, even when you fight against it.
And You Heard About Me (Ooh, We’ve Got Some Big Enemies) by @wearingaberetinparis
Complete (12k), Fake Relationship Jily, Rated M
Lily Evans is a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and global superstar, who recently broke up from her latest and long-term actor boyfriend Amos Diggory. James Potter is a professional football player who plays as a forward for Manchester United and has never been quiet about his celebrity crush: Lily Evans. When Lily Evans thus plays at Wembley Stadium - a place he is more than familiar with due to his being part of the England team - he just has to go and see her perform, embracing his inner, besotted fan boy, while the woman on stage is completely oblivious to his presence. Or is she?
Quest for Camelot by @petalsinwoodvale (ch.3-5)
WIP, Quest for Camelot AU Jily, Rated T
All Lily has ever wanted is to be a knight, like her father, Sir Lionel. After Camelot is attacked and the magical sword Excalibur is stolen, she finds herself teaming up with James, a young blind hermit, as they embark on a quest to find the lost sword. Together, they face the threat of the evil Ruber, navigate challenges with a two-headed dragon and an ogre, and discover that they're more alike than they initially thought. Will they manage to return the sword to Arthur in time, or will they lose not only each other but also their dreams and the precious Excalibur?
Pinky Promise (Tummy Hurts) by petalsinwoodvale
Complete (3.1k), Hogwarts Jily, First Kiss, Rated T
He was just too smart for his own good. It’s what got him into trouble the most. It got Lily in trouble too. Turns out, she had a type, and arrogant jocks with good grades were it.
Toerag (Affectionately) by petalsinwoodvale
Complete (1.1k), Hogwarts Jily, Rated T
"You'd defend Lily even if she kicked you in the balls," Peter chuckled, prompting Sirius and Remus to conceal their knowing grins behind their food. "I'm a strong supporter of women's rights," James hastily defended himself, "including Lily's right to beat the shit out of anyone who irritates her."
Lying in wait by @missgryffin
Complete (part of short stories), Jily, Rated M
Randomly listened to some Hamilton over the weekend, ended up with "Wait For It" stuck in my head, and wrote this in a couple hours today. I think it's angst, but with a nice dash of crack? Idk 😅 But I hope it makes you smile! 🫶
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duhragonball · 6 months
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The Future of Dragon Ball
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I was going to play Mega Man X5 tonight, but it's acting kind of buggy and I'm not in a mood to try to troubleshoot my copy of Legacy Collection 2, so I'll write about Dragon Ball instead. Specifically, what happens next?
Let me make this clear up front: I don't actually know the answer to this. I'm not an "insider" claiming to have "leaked" information. All I want to do is discuss the possibilities, and the culture of speculation that seems to persist in the fandom.
I tend to call this "modern" era of the Dragon Ball franchise a "renaissance", because very little official material came out between 1998 and 2012, and then after Battle of Gods ushered in this new wave of Dragon Ball movies, TV episodes, web series, and comics. I've been covering this all year in the #2023dbapocryphaliveblog, in case you're new to this blog, and while much of it hasn't been very good, there were a lot of bright spots. Battle of Gods, Broly, and Super Hero were classics, the Tournament of Power basically saved and otherwise lackluster Dragon Ball Super anime, and the Granolah Saga in the DBS manga is a fun read with a great cliffhanger.
However, things have slowed down a lot this year. The Granolah Saga ended and the manga began a long, long adaptation of the Super Hero film. There was some hype about a new Tenkaichi Budokai video game, but there's been no word on when it'll come out what we can expect to see. I get the sense that the fans are champing at the bit for some big announcement, like a new movie or anime series, but it hasn't happened.
Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but back in my day you just had to wait and see, and accept the possibility that you may never get what you were hoping for. The vibe I get from DBTwitter is that people think they can somehow manifest a new animation through sheer force of will. News will spread of some Toei panel and fans will cling to the hope that there must be some big Dragon Ball announcement, and it must be nothing less than a teaser trailer for Xenoverse 3, a DBZ remake, and release dates for the next five movies. Then the panel will come and go, and it just ends up being a fluff PR thing where a spokesperson says "Dragon Ball is very fun and Goku is cool." and that's it. And all the fans get upset until the next panel, where they put their clown makeup on all over again.
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"No, this can't be happening. Dragon Ball 2uper is real..."
When I was still new to the fandom, I always wondered how Dragon Ball AF could be such a potent fantasy for so long. But now I've lived through the Dragon Ball Super era, and seen fans chasing similar dreams. People have been waiting for Xenoverse 3 for over six years. They've been expecting "Dragon Ball Super II" ever since Dragon Ball Super I ended five years ago. And I'd say it's a pipe dream, except fans held out hope for Tenkaichi 4 since 2010, and it looks like we're actually going to get that one? You never can tell with this franchise. My kneejerk reaction to Dragon Ball Magic is to dismiss it as fake, but I can't be completely sure.
The weird thing is that 2uper, Magic, and XV3 have been hyped up during a boom period for the franchise. Dragon Ball Super had a 131 episode run, followed by two feature films. It's still going, but people want 2uper to animate the Moro Saga. People want a new web anime, but there's already a web anime. Super Dragon Ball Heroes has been running since 2018 and it's still going. Xenoverse 2 is still releasing DLC packs. I recognize that some of this content isn't what everyone wanted, but it's weird how fans are demanding new projects before the old ones have run their course. At least when AF became a legend, there weren't any official works to compete for its attention.
It occurs to me that maybe this is just part of the fan culture, and every so often fans will collectively agree on some imaginary premise and Goncharov their own series. Maybe that's what AF was then, and what Magic is today. They're not hoaxes, but rather some sort of mutually-agreed-upon daydream. I'm not sure I get it, but it is what it is.
Anyway, my position has always been that Dragon Ball has ended before and can end again, so there's no reason to assume that there will be some new anime or movie or video game to look forward to. I watched Super Hero fully believing that this could be the last one, even though the box office numbers suggest that a sequel is probably inevitable. But nothing is guaranteed. Dragon Ball GT started strong in the ratings, only to get canceled about a year later.
And yet, there seems to be some kind of guarantee, because of this guy:
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I think there are a lot of fans who believe that Dragon Ball Super has a lot of loose ends to tidy up, and the series can't end until Goku and Vegeta surpass Jiren, Beerus, Whis, and Orange Piccolo. And maybe this is true, but I'm not so sure. But Black Frieza isn't just a loose end. This seems like a pretty big honkin' deal, and it would be pretty weak if they wrapped things up without some kind of reckoning here. Frieza's the main villain of Dragon Ball Super now, and in his most recent appearance he revealed he can defeat Goku and Vegeta with frightening ease. And yet, he spared them. Why?
So that seems like the obvious direction going into 2024. This is why fans are so burned out on the manga this year, because they know a Black Frieza arc is coming, but they have to wait for Toyotaro to retell Super Hero before we can even find out when it's happening.
My guess is that Toei/Shueisha decides to tease this out even longer. We get to chapter 100 of the manga and it starts some bullshit arc about Goten and Trunks playing superhero park rangers on 17's island. Or... that dumb android from the Moro Saga comes back and they jerk around with that guy for 18 chapters. They'll get to Black Frieza eventually, but I suspect that they're holding off until they can set up a Black Frieza movie. Then the manga can just adapt that movie and everything gets paid off around the same time.
Either way, I'm a little skeptical about it just being Goku and Vegeta training to beat Black Frieza. I keep coming back to how he let them live at the end of the Granolah arc. Ostensibly, he just wanted to frighten them, and make it clear that he no longer sees them as a threat. But maybe there's more to it than that. Maybe Frieza needs them alive for some reason. Like he plans to use them to achieve some goal, or he needs their help to stop some even greater menace that we haven't seen yet.
Maybe that's what Frieza was talking about at the end of the Broly movie when he said he wanted "one other". I kind of thought he meant to use Broly as an ally against Goku and Vegeta, but maybe he's planning a campaign against some other guy, and he sees Broly as a potential resource. And maybe that's why he spared Goku and Vegeta on Planet Cereal. If he kills them, he might not be able to find Broly when the time comes. Or maybe he just needs all three Saiyans, so he has to pull his punches.
Or maybe I'm overthinking this, and it just turns out that Black Frieza ends with a manga arc where Goku turns "Ultra Instinct (Defined) (Remastered)" and wins a paint-by-numbers battle. Or Roshi beats Black Frieza, because that sounds like something Toyotaro would do.
So what would happen after Black Frieza? See, that's where I wonder about the future of the franchise, because so much work has gone into mining past arcs. The first DBS movie was about bringing back Broly, Bardock, and Gogeta. The second movie brought back the Red Ribbon Army, the androids, and Cell. Frieza will almost certainly get another turn, and then what? What's left?
I mean, let's break this down by the major antagonists we've had so far.
Pilaf Saga. The Pilaf gang are still living in Bulma's house, apparently, so that comic relief bit from Battle of Gods shows no signs of ending.
Red Ribbon Army. DBS Super Hero brought them back and opened some interesting doors for future Red Ribbon stories. It's hard to imagine the Army making another comeback since Cell Max destroyed their secret base and all their top leaders were killed. But the Red Pharmaceutical Company still exists and someone must have taken over after Magenta's death.
Tien Shinhan. Tien never left, and while I'd be down for a Tien-centric saga, it seems pretty unlikely after all these years. At best, he gets a prominent role in a story featuring some more important player.
King Piccolo/Piccolo Junior. Piccolo never left either, and now he's got his own movie in Super Hero.
Saiyans Saga. Vegeta never left, and DBS: Broly pretty much covered the idea of "here are some new Saiyans we didn't know about before."
Frieza Saga. Resurrection F, Tournament of Power, DBS: Broly, this upcoming Black Frieza thing, I think this has been covered.
Androids/Cell Saga. 17 and 18 never left, and the idea of more androids and a new Cell was already covered in Super Hero.
Majin Buu. It's been 27 years and no one seems to want to do anything with this guy. Maybe 2025 is the year when Akira Toriyama finally does some big Buu story to justify keeping him around this whole time.
Zamasu. I mean, the dude got erased, so it'd be pretty bullshit to bring him back. Then again, it was pretty bullshit of Toriyama to create this idea in the first place, so I can't rule it out. "Whoops, more Zamasu" might be the storyline that would force me to quit the Dragon Ball fandom for good.
Tournament of Power. I mean, they could do another Tournament of Power for funsies, but it probably wouldn't live up to the spectacle or the novelty of the original. More likely, I could see some adventures featuring prominent characters from the event, like Jiren, Hit, the U6 Saiyans, etc.
Moro. I did not enjoy the Moro arc much at all, so it kind of bums me out when people suggest that Toei should do an anime adaptation of it. To me, that would be just as big a waste of time as the DBS manga doing the Super Hero adaptation that's going on right now, but it would be even worse because Moro kind of sucks. In the same vein, doing stories that follow up on the Moro arc would be difficult because you'd have to refer back to the Moro arc, which only appeared in the manga, which not everyone read. So it's this difficult spot where you'd have to animate the Moro arc first, just to do a new arc about Merus and Jaco or whatever. It's probably not worth it.
Other Z Movies and GT: The success of DBS: Broly sort of opens the door for similar reboots of guys like Cooler, Turles, Janemba, Baby, etc. But honestly, this seems pretty far-fetched to me. Broly was a much, much bigger star than any of those other characters, so what worked for Broly isn't necessarily a road map for a guy like Bojack or Omega Shenron.
Looking over all of this, I kind of wonder what's left to do. Maybe something with Majin Buu, or the big shots from the Tournament of Power, and after that, I think they'll have used up all the viable nostalgia. After that, Dragon Ball will probably have to come up with something brand new, which is kind of a dicey proposition, because they've been hit-or-miss with that. Granolah and Tournament of Power were good, Moro and Zamasu were bad, so when I hear they're doing something all-new, I get kind of nervous.
But in the end, I don't know what will happen, which brings us back around to where I started. We'll just have to see what shakes out.
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focsle · 2 years
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Things I was thinking of last night.
It’s hard to visit the grave of a whaleman. One whose bones rest beside the countless old leviathans he and his kin sunk, where now-rotted whale lines connect them in a twin tragedy.
It’s hard to visit the grave of a whaleman buried on a desolate stretch of sand. It didn’t feel right to sew him up in canvas and sink him in the Pacific with a bag of brick round his ankles. Not when there’s proper land on the horizon…no matter how thin and empty that bit of land may be, where he’ll be attended only by the wheeling birds who never needed to fear the unknown that was ‘man’. Gouge his name on a wooden board that will bleach into oblivion as the sea rolls on. Sometimes another whaleship will lay off here, sending a boat’s crew ashore for water, for eggs, for those all-too-fearless birds as a brief respite from salt junk. Maybe one of those men—a stranger on one hand and a whaler on the other—will pause at that somber plank before it’s taken by the sand. He’ll wonder if there was anyone who mourned him, and if there’s anyone who will mourn them all. But over the years those ships stop coming too. The fleet will be filled with stone and sunk to choke the mouth of Charleston Harbor. It’ll be crushed in pack ice and each freezing crew will strike their flags and give the endeavor up to the Arctic. This hungry American industry will burn through itself, and find a new one sixty-nine feet below ground in Titusville. One that’s even hungrier, bloodier, and will come to set the world on fire.
Cenotaphs raised at the Seamen’s Bethel try to make it easier to visit the graves of whalemen. Their last moments are carved into something real and solid to make sense of what happened in a distant ocean. He fell from aloft, he drowned, he died of his wounds, he was taken by consumption. Captains, mates, entire crews, boys in their 18th year of age. The dark letters try to offer closure and certainty for a death that was anything but. Did he truly drown, are they sure it was him, are they sure?
In Paita there is a whaler’s cemetery where a part of the cliffside once fell into the sea. Longboats come to deposit the dead. The consul calls it Cabo Tranquilo, but no one knows or remembers that name now. And the graves are too shallow, the sand is too soft, and the wind sometimes comes to bare them to the sea and the animals. Five miles south the life they departed carries on, too far away for reflection or remembrance and too caught up in the continuation of the voyage. Ships loll in the harbor. Recruits of both provisions and men come aboard. Public houses open their doors to a transient but constant clientele and serve sensations to those still lucky enough to be living that day.
It’s hard to visit the grave of a whaleman when it’s not a grave at all, but a small clipping in a Honolulu newspaper. There are letters waiting for him with the chaplain, delivered there on the off chance his ship comes to this harbor. How long does the chaplain or post hold onto those letters as they warp and yellow, as it becomes clear that their intended party is no longer here to receive them?
“Late twenties, twenty-eight?” I say, half dreaming. “I think I was twenty-eight. I was…older.”
“That’s still quite young,” the facilitator says.
I laugh, and I’m not sure how much of that laugh is mine: wry and one hundred seventy years old, threaded with that fine-honed gallows humor you had to have in order to keep existing in that world. That world that was inseparably your hardship and—more importantly—your home.
“No such thing as an old whaleman,” I say. “You either leave it young or die in it young.”
I find their graves in the coffin of a whaleboat angled beneath the curated bones of a sperm whale that died on a beach in 1998. They’re presided over by casual onlookers following the flow of the exhibit in the twenty minutes they choose to spare between ice cream and the Ralph Lauren store, not really seeing it. Not stopping to think of the pull of the long oars. Of the burning hiss of the line running past one’s side fast enough to tear flesh from bone if given the chance. Of a sea churned purple.
I find their graves in the careful diamonds and hearts and stars they punch out of a strip of bone to make a busk or needle case, a craft they turn in their hands during the doldrums, made for some far sweet memory living ashore.
I find it in the delicate drawings of ships and seabirds and islands observed from the bulwarks. He leans his elbows there and sketches what’s before him. He catches the living sweep of a wave or the bend of a tree pushed by a wind those two centuries before.
I find them in every note left in the margins of a battered journal. They ask its quiet pages ‘do they spare a thought for me, does anyone spare a thought for me today?’
I spare a hundred thoughts for all those lonely places, all those ink smeared pages. I find a memorial in the words of lost men that ring against my own bones and fill my chest like seawater as I sit safe and dry on land, as I weep at whalesong and the ruin we wrought on something so beautiful just trying to come up for air, and I think on every fellow on board who tried to find a way towards some kind of home.
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╰┈➤ STARTER PROMPTS : Legally Blond : the Musical a set of starter prompts, all from the musical's libretto !
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❝ i’m, like, gonna cry — i’ve got tears coming out of my nose ! ❞ ❝ are you psyched, or what ? ❞ ❝ oh my god ! oh my god, you guys ! ❞ ❝ no one should be left alone to dress and to accessorize. ❞ ❝ i’m not about to wear last year’s dress at this year’s price. ❞ ❝ i may be in love, but i’m not stupid. i’ve got eyes. ❞ ❝ see ? dreams really do come true. you never have to compromise. ❞ ❝ we both know why we’re here; i see it in your eyes. ❞ ❝ i guess it calms my fear to know it’s not a surprise. ❞ ❝ i’ve got some dreams to make true ! ❞ ❝ you want the moon and sky ? then take it, don’t be shy ! ❞ ❝ you’re breaking up with me ? i thought you were proposing ! ❞ ❝ i have a completely brilliant plan. ❞ ❝ what you want is right in front of you ! ❞ ❝ you can’t just barge in here with singing and dancing ! ❞ ❝ what are you doing here ? ❞ ❝ all that pink you’re wearing. is that even legal ? ❞ ❝ we girls have to stick together. we shouldn’t try to look good by making each other look bad. ❞ ❝ i’m sorry, i just hallucinated. what did you say ? ❞ ❝ honey, this is a tragedy, and every tragedy needs a greek chorus. ❞ ❝ keep it positive ! as you slap them to the floor ! ❞ ❝ you can take them in a fight ! ❞ ❝ they might stab me in the gut with the stick that's up their butt. ❞ ❝ all this trashy carrying - on ? that's the reason that they're gone ! ❞ ❝ you're with me, so you're in good hands. i'm sorta like Allstate, but for hair. ❞ ❝ my grandfather should have just shut it. every story he told me steered me wrong. ❞ ❝ it's days like this that i miss my dog the most ... he's my angel ... see ? this is our annual glamour shot. we're little sailors. ❞ ❝ tell me something i don't know. ❞ ❝ [ name ] , i'm completely cognizant of both those facts. ❞ ❝ woah, [ name ] ... what's up, doc ? ❞ ❝ i put my faith in love. i followed where it led ... to my personal circle of hell. ❞ ❝ man, what rich romantic planet are you from ? ❞ ❝ forgive me for not weeping at your tale. ❞ ❝ excuse me, just because you've got some kind of chip on your shoulder ... ❞ ❝ there's a chip on my shoulder, and it's big as a boulder. ❞ ❝ i'm sorry, but that sounds highly negative. ❞ ❝ i haven't slept since 1998. ❞ ❝ seriously, how do you do it ? ❞ ❝ what you need is to get to work. ❞ ❝ make yourself at home ! ❞ ❝ what, are you angry ? good, so get angry ! ❞ ❝ if you're going to mediocre, you've done great. ❞ ❝ look, they laughed at me like they're laughing at you. we can't win if we don't follow through. ❞ ❝ why do you always have to be right ? ❞ ❝ let's not chase them away, let's face them and say, 'hey, punk, let's dance' ! ❞ ❝ anyone who bakes their dog a birthday cake deserves nothing less. ❞ ❝ this is the nicest thing anybody's ever done for me, bar none ... ❞ ❝ i have turned my entire world upside down trying not to let you go. ❞ ❝ watching you walk away is like a fatal blow. ❞ ❝ i am so much better than before. ❞
❝ aw, why'd you pause it ? ❞ ❝ it's more than just a workout, it's a defensive weapon, too. ❞ ❝ what does not kill us makes us hotter ! ❞ ❝ put me on the stand and i'll be forced to lie. ❞ ❝ my fans are counting on me, i can't let them down ! ❞ ❝ you gotta take care of me, [ name ] ! you swore ! ❞ ❝ my word means something, and i know yours does, too. ❞ ❝ no one's called me a butthead since third grade. ❞ ❝ didn't your mother ever teach you about not judging a book by its cover ? ❞ ❝ you trust me, don't you ? ❞ ❝ why can't we leave things the way that they were ? ❞ ❝ guys who wear that get beat up on my street. ❞ ❝ don't worry, this is my treat. ❞ ❝ that's the best part. the outside is new, but now it reflects what's already in you — couldn't change that if i wanted to. ❞ ❝ here's your chance to make it, so take it like a man ! ❞ ❝ when your Bend and Snap has that much snap, it's been known to alter all laws of physics and logic. ❞ ❝ it also has real world applications: the Bend and Snap is 99.99% effective on straight men. ❞ ❝ no, wait ! before you walk away ! ❞ ❝ that is the elephant in the room. ❞ ❝ that's the eternal paradox. is he gay ... or european ? ❞ ❝ back to the sun, back to the shore, back to what i was before ... ❞ ❝ thanks for your help and for all you've done. ❞ ❝ maybe someday you can visit me. ❞ ❝ why ? where are you going ? ❞ ❝ is it too late ? ... can i just say, how much i want you to stay ? ❞ ❝ i need you to stay. ❞ ❝ you're not making any sense right now. honey, what happened ? ❞ ❝ i said i'm not wearing that again. i'm wearing this ! ❞ ❝ thanks, greek chorus, but i don't need voices in my head today. ❞ ❝ did you think i was actually gonna let you just get away ? ❞ ❝ i thought losing your love was a blow i could never withstand, but look how far i have come. ❞ ❝ without anyone holding my hand, i had to find my way. ❞ ❝ the day you broke my heart, you handed me a chance to make a brand new start. ❞ ❝ granted, not a complete surprise ! ❞
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kobitoshiningneedle · 4 months
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I've spent a good amount thinking about Ikuko Hachijo = Sayo Yasuda theory, but not from the point of whether it has basis in canon or not (there are some strong nods that could be interpreted as hints; as much as there are some contradictions to it), but from the perspective of how it would recontextualize the entire finale of the VN. And to be honest, I'm not sure whether I myself would fully subscribe to this theory, because both point of view make a cohesive interpretation of the story itself
1. Ikuko isn't Sayo
So it just would be as taking Ikuko/Featherine's character and purpose at face value - a sort of the author's self-insert who is an outsider of the story and who literally and metaphorically gives the reader a chance to make the final choice. These types of character are expected in sich a multilayered work as Umineko
So in the final episode she was revealed as someone who was helping Tohya process Battler's memories through making the forgeries. In a sense, the forgeries are Battler's journey to Beato's heart, and in the end, after facing various oddities, the Battler "piece" that was locked in Tohya reunited for good. Incidentally, the manga's final frames illustrate that better: there is meta-Bettler (the one who drowned together with Beato) and the Tohya/battler who fuse into one on the end
In a similar vein, it's also interesting to think about what's going to happen with Tohya himself after the party in Gospel House. Will his new and old selves be finally at peace (logically, it would mean a some degree of the recovery)? Will he be starting to gradually his Battler's memories (this is more of a pro-magic explanation, but no problem about that, it's the magic ending after all)? Will he suddenly die just there (this one is a rather gritty scenario, considering the sequence takes place in an orphanage with a hall full of kids)?
But anyway, ultimately, the whole story was about understanding the story and the main character behind it. So Ikuko/Featherine, at least in some form, was an intuitive way to make some sort of a foothold - both for Ange (the other outsider who wants to understand the story) and the reader. They gave the name Virgilia to a wrong character, heh
2. Ikuko is Sayo
With few tweaks there can be made a case that, much like Tohya, Sayo survived the drowning. Taking a new name and appearance (wouldn't be the first time for her), acquiring a house and servants (she's super-rich) she really could trick Tohya/Battler into thinking she is an unrelated person. But why would she do this?
Well, first of all, being together with Battler and discussing mystery novels was her dream. There's a big but about that, because it just couldn't be the same way she imagined in her childhood - it was accentuated that Tohya and Ikuko have platonic relationship, and that may be because she doesn't want Battler to "know the truth about her cursed body". Despite her self-doubt, it really could be that Battler's words in the boat scene were heeded, and Sayo reconsidered her stance, leaving her self Beatrice dying instead, probably as a way to finally put behind her past.
In this case the meta-narrative is still working, since now it's both Beatrice and Battler become some metaphorical figures in the Forgeries, both abandoned by their bodies/shells. The forgeries are still meant to help Tohya to come in terms with his memories and losing Ange (like meta!Ange's death in ep4 was tied into her disappearance in 1998)
This is a less tragic and more positive ending for Sayo, and I don't really think that she doesn't deserve it. Among other reasons this is why I think the Ikuko=Sayo theory has some merit
So, I'm not really sure? Battler finding (and fighting through) the way back to Beatrice is a very beautiful narrative for a sucker for angsty romance such as me, but the idea of them also having at least some resemblance of contentment on a more mundane level is pretty attractive too
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succubusphan · 9 months
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The Knight of Wands
Summary: Phil had always had dreams that he couldn't quite comprehend and a certain intuition about what was truly important for his future.
Rating: G
Tags/warnings: No warnings that I can think of. Psychic Phil, fluff, yearning.
Author's Note: This fic was written for @ttlmt for the Phandom Fic Exchange! Hi Bee! I hope I did your prompt justice, it was very very fun to write and even though it isn't really that long I put a lot of care into it. Enjoy!
There is a video linked at the bottom of the post or on the final notes in ao3 you may light. I found it hilarious and very helpful for the story.
Thank you @effingmeteors for being my life saviour and beta as usual.
Word Count: 3.7 k
Read on Ao3
1995
“Where is your bear, Phil? Where is your bear?” Asked Phil’s mum in the video, baby Phil not knowing the answer yet.
Phil kicked his feet as they dangled from his chair. He really liked watching his baby videos even though he was now 8 years old. He sipped on his hot chocolate and added even more marshmallows, suddenly staring intently into the cup and wrapping his hands around it, enjoying the warm feeling.
He grabbed his dream journal and wrote down “Warm” at the bottom of the list. He didn’t really know what it meant exactly, but he knew that the items on the list were related somehow. He had decided to write it in his dream journal because he could sometimes see them in a dream. Well, not actually see them, but - he didn’t know. It was like a feeling, like he knew this person, but he also knew that he didn’t know the person.
He read the list over, trying to piece the puzzle together. 
Bear
Malteesers
Coffee
Will  Wheel
Warm
His grandma had said that he would know in time, but he wanted to know now! Now! Now!
Letting out a sigh, he fished one of the marshmallows from his mug and ate it happily.
“Phil! Don’t eat too much sugar or you won’t be able to sleep tonight!” his mum called from the doorway to the kitchen.
“I need it to think!” he whined.
“Dinner is almost ready!” 
“I will finish it, Mummy! Promise!”
She just shook her head and went back to making dinner.
Phil popped the last scone loaded with clotted cream and jam into his mouth and smiled. Still trying to chew around the big piece, he hopped from the chair and went to switch the video cassette for the ThunderCats one. He made sure to put the tape with his baby videos safely back in his personal collection before hitting play.
As soon as the song came on, he started running around the dining room, swinging an imaginary sword around, yelling “Thunder! Thunder! ThunderCats Ooooh!”
He ran another lap around the room until he was met face to face with the mirror and paused. After staring at himself for a moment, he decided that to truly become a ThunderCat, he needed something, but what could it be? Phil paid attention to his face and if he focused, he could almost see a glimpse of cat whiskers coming out of his cheeks in the reflection. He gasped, happy to have figured that out and made a quick run up the stairs to his bedroom and returned with a black marker. 
It took him almost until the end of the song, but he managed to finally look like a cat. One day he would add a sword to the costume, but for now, he felt at peace.
“Are you done, Child?” his mum asked. “Oh! Who’s this?”
“I’m a cat!” said Phil, showing her his claws.
“Oh my!” she said, opening one of the drawers in the china cabinet and pulling the camera out. “What a handsome and brave cat you are!” She snapped a picture.
“Could I get a sword for my birthday?” Phil pleaded.
“We’ll see, love.” She always said that when the answer was no.
Phil pouted but rushed to his chair and drank more hot chocolate. He looked at the opposite side of the table and saw someone sitting there, or the idea of someone. He smiled. “Mum?”
“Yes, Phil?”
“Will I ever have a best friend?”
“Of course! Everyone has a best friend,” she assured him.
“I can’t wait!” Phil said, and added cat whiskers to the list.
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1998
Phil opened his birthday present and smiled when he saw the Final Fantasy VII game he’d asked for. He was going to enjoy it so much!
He had dreamed about this game for long, even longer than it had been out to the public. It was as if the game was calling to him. For some reason, it felt important to have an item from his list; and he had added "FF" to his list months ago.
He waited until all his school friends had gone home and started the game. After losing three times in a row he decided to watch Buffy instead, but his eyes kept escaping back to the game case on the floor.
His dreams that night were plagued with dark brooding men dressed in black, but Phil wasn’t scared; he knew they were friendly.
---
2005
Long gone were Phil’s magic dreams. He still loved his grandmother, obviously, but repeating things she had told him always got him in trouble, or mocked by his friends, so he had eventually stopped trying to connect with that side of himself.
It was as if he had lost a part of himself, a part of him he didn’t know he loved so much until it was gone. He knew it was the right choice for him, his so-called gift hadn’t done him any favours. 
Nowadays, Phil felt nothing but sadness when he opened his old dream journal and saw the list of things that had no way of being related to each other. The last additions had been only drawings: a few sticks in an orange background and a weird circle with mixed colours. Nothing made sense.
None of his friends were a good fit, and, if he was honest, he didn’t even know if this person existed or not.
He was leaving for Uni soon and his mum had asked him to clean his room out and throw away anything that he wasn’t using. So Phil stood by the bin he’d placed in the middle of the room, contemplating his life and trying to decide what part of his childhood he wanted to discard forever. 
He looked at the journal in his hand. It was stupid, but he couldn’t just throw it away. Instead he walked over to his bookcase and removed 4 random books, setting the journal flat against the backboard and putting the other books back in their place to conceal it.
Nodding to himself, he continued rummaging through his very messy room. He groaned as he stuck his hand under his bed and touched something sticky; it was all the uneaten candy he’d accidentally dropped, melted by the passage of who knows how many months. He would need to get his shit together or his future roommates would kick him out for being a pig - if the ants didn’t eat him before that.
Then he came across his tiny lion plushie and smiled before putting it in his bag. Lion was definitely coming with him.
---
2006
Phil was back in his room, in the comfort of his family home and somewhat inspired by this new website called YouTube. His friends said he had a bit of a problem with social media because he was constantly on the internet, but everything was just so fun. The idea of uploading a video of his own had been floating around and around in his head for a while, but when he opened a new box of cereal and was met with the prized prize of a black and white little camera, he took it as the ultimate sign that he should do it. 
His first Videoblog was a bit all over the place, but that was just who he was. If he wanted to make new friends, what a better way to go about it than to show who he really was, right?
Once the video was recorded, it took him a full day to edit and upload it but it was worth it. He got some comments and video replies immediately! He even got his first subscriber!
Posting that video had definitely been a good idea, no matter what his mates said.
---
2009
Phil’s YouTube channel was quite a passion project for him and he tried his best to continue posting regularly even if he never lost focus on his studies. Uni was obviously more important, but since he would be majoring in video post-production and visual effects, he could pass it as a learning experience.
In February he received a package from his grandmother with a cryptic message. Among the usual ‘take care, be careful and avoid being run over on the 10th of this month,’ she also added her tarot cards with a note that read ‘Use them well.’
He didn’t exactly know what that meant, but in the spirit of being his true self on camera, he decided to talk about the psychic side of his family in a video, passing it as a funny thing more than something that had been a bit of an obsession all his life.
To downplay the importance of tarot reading in the video, he called it “Robot Death Machine,” referencing the electric heater he’d had to rely on because the heating was broken again, instead of anything related to divination.
To begin, he shuffled the cards a bit and laid his hands on the full deck, trying to really focus on transmitting his energy into it. He looked up at the camera and said “Edit that out.” He would pull three cards: one for the past, one for the present and one for the future, with the little booklet with the meaning of each card firmly at his side. He truly needed it, because despite his grandma’s protests, he had never learned that by heart.
He looked into the camera as if he had just begun touching the deck. “My grandma is a psychic and apparently she could have passed the gift on to me, right? Who knows! So let’s look into my future. I’m going to do the following month, so I’m hoping this month will be good.”
“Before this month: it’s the Nine of Cups reversed!” He pulled the card and showed it before reading the meaning. “I was vain, complaisant, over-sentimental, and careless - and I neglected my partner,” he said, wincing at the implication. He didn’t think he had neglected his cheater ex boyfriend, if anything it had been the other way around.
He pulled another card and looked at it. “Currently, the Three of... Swords. Currently I’m entering into a dangerous three-way relationship where heartache is inevitable for one participant - or all.” Wow, he hoped that was not the case; he had enough drama in his life as it was. “Minor surgery is possible. That doesn’t sound good!”
He moved along and pulled the last card, a bit disappointed with the results of the reading so far. “The future: ‘the Knight of Wands. Some guy is going to have a big impact, an energetic warrior, he has a hasty personality and he’s very quick to love or hate.”
“Hmm. Interesting,” Phil said, chewing the inside of his cheek. “I’m glad it wasn’t, like, death! And, okay, I’m gonna go eat some crisps,” he laughed at himself. “That’s the first thing that came to my head. No! I’m gonna go change the world in ways you would not believe!” 
He waved and stopped the recording.
He sat back against his bed, thinking for a moment. Could it be? He would have to watch out for any new person coming into his life for the next month or so. It could definitely be something, but given that the first 2 cards made no sense, he didn’t have high hopes.
He grabbed his phone and called his grandmother just to be sure.
“Hi!” he said as soon as she picked up.
“Hello, Darling. Did you use my cards?” she asked, not wasting a single second, probably because she already knew he had.
“Yes. I have a question about what came up. The first two cards I pulled made no sense but the third one - I don’t know.”
“What cards did you pull?”
“Uh,” Phil hesitated, looking down at the floor. It was the Nine of Cups, reversed. Then I got the Three of Swords.”
“You were in a relationship, were you not?” 
“I was...” Phil said. “But they cheated.”
“Well, there’s the neglect and the love triangle.”
“Oh,” Phil said. “And the Knight of Wands?”
“Was that the last one?” she asked and Phil could swear he heard the smile in her voice.
“Yeah. I don’t think I know any energetic warriors.”
“Perhaps not yet, but you need to pay attention. The Knight of Wands is a very charismatic person, adventurous, competitive, a fiery lad; the salamanders in his coat mean he's resistant to flames.” 
“What does that mean? Is he a firefighter?” Phil laughed, not missing that the 'he' came from her first. 
“You are taking the cards literally, Philip,” she said, not appreciating the joke. “And I do warn you, the Knight of Wands… He may not be one to settle down, not at first.” 
Phil frowned. “Who is this guy?” 
“You were calling him, weren't you? For a long while now?” 
Phil couldn’t breathe. He blinked repeatedly and coughed. “This month?” he croaked. 
“Not necessarily, but it could be. You need to look at the signs.” She waited patiently for him to process what she had just unloaded onto him. 
“Is this a friend or…” 
“That’s for you to decide. You will have to be patient with him, with both of you.” 
Phil groaned. “Thank you, Grandma.” 
“Of course!” she said. “You need to trust yourself. Even if you don’t want to share your gift with anyone, don’t try to smother it. It will hurt you.” 
“I - Alright. I won’t,” Phil said. “See you soon?” 
She laughed. “See you on New Year’s Eve,” she said and hung up.
Phil stared at the cards and began to put them back into the box one by one, just as he had picked them. He closed the box and instead of returning them to his desk, he put them in his backpack. Better to have them close.
--
By April, and with no news from this ‘Energetic Warrior,’ Phil had decided to move on and focus on the people that were actually making an impact in his life in the present.
It was exciting to interact with the people that watched his videos, especially as he started to be able to differentiate between them. A guy kept replying to his tweets and commenting under his videos with a random username and he looked cute, or at least that’s what Phil could tell from his profile picture. 
Phil tried to be friendly and treat everyone the same, giving them the same time and attention, but Dan (danisnotonfire) just kept trying to get Phil’s attention, always being one of the first to reply to his tweets, commenting on his YouTube videos, and even pointing out all the things they had in common, such as their love for Muse and the movie “Children of Men.” 
It seemed that Dan was determined to be his #1 fan at all costs. When Dan tweeted Phil saying he had a crush on him, Phil finally caved and decided to snoop around. After scrolling on Dan’s twitter profile for about an hour, Phil was set on getting to know him. He sounded like a fun guy and his observation about everything they had in common was fairly accurate.
He decided to follow Dan back and drop him a direct message. 
“Hey :) ” Phil typed, considering his next words carefully. “How are you doing?”
“omg! hi phil!
i can’t believe you followed me back! O__0 ” Dan said.
Phil bit his lip and typed a reply. “Haha why not?”
“i don’t know XD
you are so cool and i’ve been watching your videos for a logn time :] ”
“I think you’re cool too! ^.^ 
What’s your favourite Muse song?”
“ugh, don’t make me choose X__X”
“Come on! Mine is Newborn, or Exogenesis and Muscle Museum 
Those are my top 3”
“i hate you :/
i guess if I had to pick one it would be Citizen Erased”
“That’s a good one” Phil wondered if it would be too forward to ask Dan, but if he got too into his head nothing good would come of it. He had never been one to hesitate a lot about things. What could go wrong after all? 
“Hey, do you want to chat on skype?” He hit enter and waited for Dan’s reply eagerly.
“yeah! add me <;3 
i’m danisnotonfire there too”
“That’s a cool username
How did you choose it?”
“it was a random string of words I came up with a few years ago lol”
“Hahaha valid :) 
See you on skype”
---
September 2009
After days and eternal nights of non-stop chatting, Phil decided to invite Dan to his parents’ house. They had gotten to know each other enough for Phil to be sure that Dan was not a serial killer - probably. 
Not that it mattered, because Dan had yet to accept his invitation.
And even though they had often been flirty during their calls, Phil wasn’t sure if they would have the same chemistry in person. If their meeting went well, it would be the first time Phil had successfully transitioned from an online friendship to a real life one.
Somehow, this felt so different than anyone else he had met before, more important. Dan was special, and just being able to talk to him made him incredibly happy.
In October, after weeks of pestering Dan, he finally accepted his invitation. Apparently, Dan had been saving ever since Phil had invited him and wanted to surprise him which made Phil blush and smile like a crazy person.
When October 19 finally came, Dan took the train to Manchester, where Phil was already anxiously waiting for him. Seeing Dan in the crowd, walking towards him and the hug Dan pulled him into was something that felt so familiar yet groundbreaking, and Phil had no way of explaining it.
Just as the sun started to set, they got on the big wheel when as their cart made it to the top, Dan kissed him, the remnants of the last sun rays setting the mood, and enveloping Phil in a warm feeling. He felt like his stomach was flipping over and he knew then that he couldn’t deny having feelings for Dan.
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After frolicking around town, they headed home and filmed a video for Phil’s channel, which they were both super excited about. At one point, Phil saw Dan going through his stuff and stopped the recording to check what was catching Dan’s attention.
He had started pulling books out of the bookcase that hadn’t been touched in years.
“What’s that?” Dan asked with a curious smile, making the cat whiskers on his face curl upwards.
“What?” Phil asked.
“There’s something in the back. Is it your porn stash?” Dan smirked.
Phil snorted and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that’s where I keep it!”
Dan grabbed a purple sparkly notebook with childlike scribbling on the front. “Dream Journal”
“Oh,” Phil said, feeling a tug in his stomach. “I hadn’t thought about that in a while.”
“Can I read it?” Dan asked.
“I guess? I don’t think there’s a lot in there,” Phil said, pulling at the hem of his shirt when chills ran down through him.
Dan sat back down on Phil’s bed, his back against the wall, legs pulled to his chest and bottom lip burrowed between his lips. “Oh, this is interesting. You dreamt about meeting shadow people a lot.”
“Yeah,” Phil said, swallowing thick. He kneeled on the bed and shuffled closer to Dan to read from above.
“What’s this list?” Dan asked, tapping on the last page Phil had ever filled.
“Just things that used to... catch my attention.”
“Bear. Did you know my family used to call me Bear when I was a kid? My grandma still does.”
“I - no, you hadn’t told me,” Phil said.
“Malteesers? Obviously! They are the fucking best. Coffee? You have a real problem with that if you started having coffee at this age.” Dan laughed.
“I didn’t!” Phil laughed along as everything started to slot into place. “Starbucks,” he mumbled under his breath. “Wheel. That’s where…” he trailed off.
“Will? Oh, Wheel!” Dan laughed. “You had a little problem with spelling, I see.”
Phil scoffed. “Shut up!”
“Hmm?” Dan asked, but his eyes were trained on the list. He was barely paying Phil any mind. “Worm?” Dan raised his eyebrows, finally looking up at Phil.
“Warm! That’s an A. I was a kid, don’t judge. I was having hot chocolate with marshmallows when I wrote that,” Phil said, waiting for Dan to say anything that would confirm his suspicion.
“What does that have to do with warm?” Dan asked. 
Phil shrugged. “I - I don’t know. I liked the feeling of warm things against my skin.” 
“Cat whiskers. Well, we have those on already.”
“Do you know what these could be?” Phil asked, pointing to the drawings he didn’t even understand.
“They look like Muse albums, sort of? Wait, when did you do these?” Dan asked, his brow burrowed into a frown.
Phil’s mouth fell open. He got up and brought Dan the Tonberry plushie he had purchased as a gift for him weeks ago, Christmas surprise be damn. “Final Fantasy,” Phil said.
Dan finally set the journal down on the bed and opened his gift. “This is my favourite character!” Dan looked incredibly happy.
“Yeah,” Phil said. He shuffled the things on his desk and found the tarot card set his grandma had sent him. It didn’t take him long to find the card he had been looking for. He grabbed the journal and slid the Knight of Wands card inside, closing it and returning it to its hiding place.
“I don’t understand what the list was about,” Dan said, still clutching his gift. “Those are just things you liked?”
“Something like that,” Phil said.
Dan raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t keep secrets from me, Phil Lester.”
Phil shrugged. “It’s the recipe for the perfect best friend, I guess.”
“Get out,” Dan said with a laugh and threw the Tonberry at him.
Phil knelt on the bed and pressed their lips together, smiling into the kiss as Dan pulled him closer, smudging their cat whiskers. He had finally found the person from his dreams, his best friend, his Knight of Wands.
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Final Author's notes: I referenced this video for the tarot card and I would advise anyone with a few minutes to spare to watch it and marvel at how fucking accurate this card is to describe Dan. I found it hilarious. Maybe Phil is truly a psychic. VIDEO.
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