#ON ONE SIDE i get maggie's tweets

[somehow-a-human]

The ineffables fell in love, and God & Satan decided to make a bet on true love.

DO NOT ASK NEIL ABOUT FAN THEORY

Okay so, this is kind of a crack theory. But if this blog is for anything, it's for divulging my crack theories, and not feeling bad about it. My other blog is where I act like a properly sane person.

I have had a lot of nebulous thoughts that led to this theory but there was one bit of dialogue that tied it all together for me, that we will discuss at the very end. I'm going to start by laying out each of my *Clues* for you below, and we'll tie all my threads together by the end. Shall we begin?

Sanctuary Lights

Warlock, Adam, and most interestingly Maggie all have a single red light displayed on their right hand side of their "rooms". The symbolism of the right hand side implies the sacred, good, right, and stable. It's also where we find Aziraphale in reference to Crowley when they are balance and harmonious, Aziraphale is on Crowley's right.

A sanctuary light, is a light that shines before the altar of sanctuaries in many jewish and christian places of worship. A lit Sanctuary Lamp signifies the presence of God in the tabernacle that contains the Eucharist, and are traditionally red.

It's interesting that these three characters are linked via this specific visual. The assumed anti-christ, the actual anti-christ, and the local record shop owner? All of whom were somewhat under the watchful eyes of Crowley and Aziraphale at some point, but more-so Aziraphale. The right hand sidedness of the lights is initially confusing as you might expect Adam's to be on the left given he is the son of Satan, but we do know at the end of season one that he isn't good or bad, but rather, very human. What is this telling us about Maggie? I am a "Greasy Johnson is Jesus" truther but my mind wanted to go, "Oh maybe Maggie is Jesus!"

Aziraphale & Crowley's Angelic Playlist

Not Aziraphale and Crowley's Earthly Playlist, no no no, their Angelic Playlist.

These songs definitely tell a story. They are full of heartbreak, and longing, misunderstanding and disagreement, all while flowing with an undertow of deep love. And don't even get me started on The Book of Love. I have loved that song for so long and when I saw that was one of Neil's 3 picks for this playlist I did tear up a bit.

These songs no doubt illustrate the final 15 minutes. Aziraphale wants to leave, he needs to go to heaven to fix things, to protect humanity, and Crowley is hurt, he wants Aziraphale to run away with him. But, could they also mirror something else? Could they mirror Crowley and Aziraphale's disagreement before the Great War and the Fall? I mean it is their Angelic playlist afterall. It could have very easily been their any-other-adjective playlist.

In the Before the beginning scene we are shown, Angel!Crowley wants to stand up for the universe, and protect his creations, and Aziraphale wants to put his head down and hide. Angel!Crowley tried to do what he thought was right, and it resulted in a boiling pool of sulphur. He doesn't think Aziraphale can succeed at what he has already failed to do. This time, Aziraphale is the one who wants to stand up to Heaven and protect creation and humanity, and Crowley knows what that looks like, so he just wants to run and keep Aziraphale safe.

Maybe that's why the final fifteen hurts so much, even if they might not remember it well, because maybe they've been through this before, before the beginning.

Magic shop Ventriloquist Dummies

Do you see the resemblance here? I really wish we could read their name tags clearly, I feel like that would give us a ton of information, and with time, hopefully we'll get that opportunity. And we do have information that each doll is named and they apparently had enough information for each of them and their dress that it warranted a spreadsheet so it must've been detailed and important. You can read that in this tweet from Mickey Ralph's twitter:

From Mickey Ralph, Good Omens graphic designer's twitter: "I need a list of all the dummies and their names with as much information as possible for each of them. I think it would be best to have a photo of each of them and establish some kind of spreadsheet so that we can make sure the dressers put the right names on the right dummies"

It has been vaguely stated the likenesses of the dolls was not purposeful here:

But I'd like to posit a guess that maybe this answer just means they didn't create the dolls to look like A & C, but maybe found ones that looked like them.

Do the dolls mimic the hierarchy of God and heaven? Why are there two Crowley's? Why is Muriel so far up? Was she a high ranking angel before she was possibly demoted and became a 37th order scrivner?

@noneorother has a more in depth analysis of the puppets here, if you'd like to read their take.

"Enough to Make you Believe in True Love?"

This dialogue is what set off the chain reaction that led to my ultimately writing this post. Don't remember this quote? It's easy to miss and seemingly unimportant. Just after Gabriel recovers his memories and Shax accuses Beelzebub of being a traitor we get this:

Beelzebub: "I didn't collaborate with Heaven, anymore than Gabriel collaborated with Hell. I just found something that mattered more to me than choosing sides" Maggie: "That's really sweet" Nina: "Enough to make you believe in true love?"

Maggie and Nina who are still in the bookshop and watching these events unfold have been silent, but finally share these two lines. And I finally noticed, it's kind of a weird thing for Nina to say to Maggie, no? Why wouldn't Maggie believe in true love? Why does Nina think Maggie wouldn't believe in true love? We've seen Maggie pining over Nina and saying she's in love with her earlier in the season so why might a romantic who's never even talked to the woman she claims to be in love with not believe in true love, and why might her and Nina have discussed that before?

Is this little aside a conversation really being had by Nina and Maggie?

The Job Bet

That's why he's perfect for the bet! This is the final piece to my puzzle before I wrap up my ramblings and try to coherently tell you how they fit together. God and Satan make a bet, to see if Job is really truly righteous, and loves God, even if She takes away everything she's given him. They aren't above making bets about their creations, and taking everything away from them, testing them to destruction.

Conclusion

Let me weave you a web... The Starmaker, and Aziraphale meet in what we see is the first scene of season two. Maybe in the time before the fall they become close, and fall in love. Angels shouldn't have free will so that shouldn't be possible right? God and Lucifer!Satan? (maybe?) take notice and talk about it, maybe how they did with Job? Maybe they disagree about true love. Maybe God insists that in the ineffable plan, Crowley and Aziraphale will always end up together no matter what. Satan disagrees, they can be driven apart. They make a deal, a bet. The fall is inevitable, its ineffable, so they ensure Crowley and Aziraphale end up on either side of the factions, God lets Satan destroy everything they have, and then they'll see...

Fast forward to The Great War, the Starmaker doesn't really want to rebel like the other angels but gets swept up on their side of things, on the losing side, maybe with a bit of divine or demonic intervention. All he ever did was ask questions! He and Aziraphale are separated. Later, the Serpent of Eden slithers up next to the Angel of the Eastern Gate and strikes up a conversation. They don't remember each other, maybe a vague impression of familiarity, but the demon can't help but be drawn to the angel.

God and Satan we now know must chat about the goings on of Earth, making bets about Job and all that. That's at least my possible explanation for why Nina and Maggie have those weird lines during the Ineffable Bureaucracy reveal. Maybe God and Satan popped in to check on their bet and see what was happening with their stupid free wheeling creations?

Despite everything Aziraphale and Crowley are still together after all this time, and they do love each other. But they can always continue to be tested, even to destruction, or so they may believe.

Hey look, I'm not saying any of this is at all accurate but it was fun to come up with hehe.

#good omens #good omens meta #good omens 2 #crowley x aziraphale #good omens theories #crowley #michael sheen #aziraphale #david tennant #good omens clues #good omens theory #good omens clue #good omens crack theory #you dont have to take this seriously #like at all i wont be disappointed #but it was fun to write

[fellthemarvelous]

Let's talk about Maggie and Aziraphale

Once again, I am just screenshotting my tweets and posting them here because I have more to say and Twitter's platform doesn't let me talk long enough uninterrupted.

Make way for more unhinged meta!

I cannot get this idea out of my head, and before you tell me that I'm crazy, just listen. Okay?

I think Aziraphale looks at Edinburgh as his Greatest Failure™️ because humanity and Crowley both paid the price for Aziraphale's mistake. It was a night that shook Aziraphale's confidence in himself, and it was a clear turning point for his understanding of shades of grey. He learned a valuable lesson at a horrific cost.

There is no possible way he has forgiven himself for Edinburgh.

When you are supposed to be the epitome of good, every single failure that carries any sort of weight sticks with you for the rest of your life because of the overwhelming guilt that comes with it. As someone who struggles with Catholic guilt...

Trust me. I know what I'm talking about.

Why does Maggie have a connection to a pub called the Resurrectionist, located in Edinburgh not far from the Gabriel statue in the cemetery where Wee Morag died and Crowley was sucked down into Hell? The Resurrectionist representing both Jesus Christ and Mr. Dalrymple.

Why does Aziraphale insist on taking the Bentley to Edinburgh with him?

He's scared to go back, and he's not risking Crowley's life again by bringing him along, but he takes the Bentley because it's an extension of Crowley, it makes him feel safe, and neither Heaven or Hell care for material objects and won't end up separating them again. It's a lifeline to Crowley while he's doing something without him and ensuring that Crowley won't be able to jump in and save him at the last minute if things go wrong.

He's scared to go back but he was getting extra copies of Every Day from one particular location nowhere near his bookshop before he even heard Jim singing it in the bookshop. And all of this ended up bringing him back to the statue of Gabriel where it all went wrong the first time Aziraphale and Crowley went to that cemetery together.

But I think the connection to Maggie is Elspeth. I keep going back and forth between her and Wee Morag, but Elspeth currently makes the most sense to me. I briefly wrote about the idea of lost souls and second chances here, but I'm still on the fence about it.

We don't know what Elspeth did with Aziraphale's money, but we know it was enough to turn her life around. We don't know who Maggie's great-great-grandmother is, but she has been keeping a little corner of the bookshop to "sell records" for Mr. Fell since the 1920s.

But if you look at the record art for Maggie's bookshop, some of them include all their tracks on the cover and they are telling actual stories. I've talked about Maggie's record shop before on this post. I'm still not sure what I believe, but the idea of it being Aziraphale's personal records keeps sticking with me. He's been around for a long time and there is a lot to keep up with.

Why is it so important to him that Maggie gets to dance with Nina? He told Nina he threw the ball so she would see that Maggie is in love with her, the same way he was going to use it to tell Crowley he loved him, but he was so delighted to see Maggie and Nina dance together.

And Aziraphale's love for Maggie isn't one-sided because she stays behind to help him even though she's up against something more powerful than herself. She refuses to leave him alone. She might be annoyed that he was interfering in her love life, but he's always been good to her and is probably the closest thing to family she has (we only ever see Crowley, Aziraphale and Nina talk to her).

She said she "had" brothers. Past tense. She stands up to Shax because she's no longer scared of...something. Nina tells Shax that Maggie is the bravest person she knows. Maggie comes up with the idea to spray the demons with the fire extinguishers. It might have been silly but it proves that humans are ready to fight back using whatever tools we have at our disposal.

Why didn't we know of her existence in season 1? We saw Maggie's chattering nun die onscreen. Was she one of Adam's additions to Aziraphale's bookshop? Where did she come from? Does Adam remember her face from when he was an infant? Sister Mary Loquacious (formerly) told Aziraphale and Crowley that the nuns had been very good at keeping records, but they all burned in the fire.

But Adam got a very good look at the faces of Sister Mary Loquacious and Sister Theresa Garrulous. He was an infant but he was still the son of Satan.

So is Maggie an Adam creation? Is she somehow related to Elspeth's existence? Why is she so important to Aziraphale?

#good omens #good omens meta #crowley #aziraphale #maggie and nina #elspeth and wee morag #chattering nuns

[homosociallyyours]

I WANT TO YELL ABOUT ALL OF YOUR WIPS!!!!!!!!!!! Can I be greedy and pretty please ask about Tax Preparer Marcel/Stripper Louis, Cinema/cinnamon 80s- times square red, times square blue, AND Upper West Side (girl direction)???

OMG YES of course Maggie!! Thank you for asking!!

Tax Preparer Marcel/Stripper Louis: This was actually supposed to be part of last year's Reverse Bang, with art/prompt by @becomeawendybird and it's. SO GOOD!! I basically just took on too much and couldn't make the deadline, but the fic kinda just needs another ~500 words and final editing.

It's based on a tweet by H&R Block saying they can help strippers figure out tax write offs (but in a cute, catchy way), and I set it in SF with Louis dancing at the worker owned, union-led Lusty Lady (which is closed, sadly). Here's a snippet, and the rest of the answers, behind a read more:

“I just wanted to say it’s been a real pleasure working with you, Lou. And if you have any questions you can call me any time and I’ll help you out if I can.” She slid a copy of her business card across the desk, her personal number written carefully across the top. “I hope I’m not overstepping, I just--” 

“Oh, you’re not at all! I was actually taking my time with these papers trying to figure out how to ask if you wanted to get coffee sometime. Or a drink, whatever.” Louis swiped her hair across her forehead, letting it fall artfully back into place. Her smile was soft and delicate, and Marcel felt like anything she could say in return would come out clumsy and awkward, but she had to try anyway. 

“I’d do whatever you wanted.” Her glasses slid down her nose as she looked down at her desk, not wanting to meet Louis’ eyes. “At least once tax season is over.” 

“So-- after April 15th, then?” Marcel nodded. “I’m going to hold you to it, Marce. Might even drag you to the Lusty one night since you said you’ve never been.” 

“Oh!” Marcie’s cheeks flamed, the thought of sitting in a booth with Louis in her lap filling every available space in her mind. “I did tell you that, didn’t I?” She was pretty sure if she saw Louis actually dancing she’d spontaneously combust, but that was the image that came to her mind next. She widened her eyes, trying to bring herself back into the moment. 

“You did, and you said you’d been meaning to do it for years.” Louis tightened the strap of her messenger bag, swinging it around to her back. Marcel refrained from staring at her tits, even if the strap pressing between them made them that much more prominent. “And honestly? I’ve told everyone I work with about you, so they’re all dying to meet you.” 

Cinema/Cinnamon/Times Square Red, Times Square Blue: So this is one that's just a fleshed out idea, but I REALLY wanna write it, so I hope I can make it happen. Basically when I first heard Cinema my first thought was that it sounded like Harry was saying "this enema" or "the cinnamon" instead of "the cinema" and of course that "you bring the pop" was about poppers. All of that plus cinema had me thinking about Samuel Delaney's Time Square Red, Times Square Blue, which talks about 1970/80s Times Square NYC and the porn theaters there as a gay space (I'm definitely oversimplfying; it's been years since I read the book and would wanna re-read before writing!)

Soooo. The plot is that Harry goes to the Times Square porn theaters regularly to anonymously get off with men there, but there's one guy in particular who it's always really good with-- a guy in a cap with long-ish hair who manages to keep his face hidden but who's always chewing cinnamon gum. It gets to the point that even smelling that warm cinnamon scent makes Harry's dick interested. Meanwhile, he takes a job in a restaurant kitchen in midtown. It's grunt work, and he mostly just keeps his head down until a new guy gets hired as a dishwasher. They strike up a friendship, and while walking downtown together after work, Louis pops in a stick of cinnamon gum as they pass the theaters (definitely a Pavlovian response).

Immediately Harry realizes that Louis is his cinnamon guy, but when he points it out Louis kinda freaks out and bolts. They do work it out, and it's not long before they're really getting to know each other/dating. After they've been together a minute they re-create their anonymous hook ups in the theater with Louis bringing poppers and the two of them fuck in the back. THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT

Upper West Side: This is a VERY old wip/start of a fic that's based on the King Princess song of the same name. It's set in NYC in the 90s. Here's the start of it:

They met at Clit Club on a Thursday night, the room more crowded than it should’ve been and “Push It” pounding out through the shitty speakers. Louis was high on the success of her drag show and covered in girls, but all she really wanted to do was dance. Find someone with a tight little ass and grind against her, taste the sweat rolling down their neck before she sucked a kiss there. Her favorite kind of calling card. 

She was about to go to the middle of the floor and let herself get lost in a sea of dykes, maybe find someone for a quick fuck in the bathroom, when the door opened, bringing a rush of cooler air from outside and grabbing her attention. A woman stood there, backlit by a streetlight and with long curls that made Louis want to get tangled up and pull. Louis squeezed her thighs together, thinking about getting this woman-- tall, femme, over-dressed for a bar like this, --up against the graffitied walls of the bathroom and finger fucking her until she was an absolute mess. 

There was no use wasting time. She walked over to the woman, who was still standing in the doorway, her eyes searching the crowded club as if she’d be able to find anyone she knew in the shadowed mass of dykes, and introduced herself. 

“You look lost. Like you might need a guide for the night,” she said, going on tiptoes to reach the woman’s ear. “I’m Lou.” 

“Harry,” the woman said, giving Louis a sidelong glance. “Don’t need a guide, but maybe you could get me a vodka soda? And a dance?” Her smile was a coy stretch of her wide, cherry red lips and a dart of her tongue, and fuck, that was enough to convince Louis she’d made the right move talking to this woman. 

#this is so long #!! #my wips #wip game #1d #my fic

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Recent Social Media Odds and Ends

@galadrieljones

Also, Gimple has been nostalgia posting on twitter a lot lately, talking about how he got his start on the show and about the end. He posted this tweet which I don’t think is any sort of smoking gun but it just reminded me of one of the most mysterious quotes of the entire show, which is when Sasha says, “We don’t die.”

In those big moments for Rick, the quotes seem to be teaching him something. Shane gives Rick strength by talking about Judith and loyalty and inspiring in him the darker side of survival where things get done. Shane is interesting as the anti-Rick but the most compelling message comes from what he says about the Third Man. “There was a third man,” which he says “changed everything.” Then, Hershel assures Rick that he doesn’t need to worry about Maggie, that he knows it’s been hard, but doesn’t need to worry because “We’ll get there. All of us.” 

After that, it’s Sasha who delivers the final message: “We don’t die.” I don’t know why it’s Sasha. But it is. All the messages seem to be telling us not to worry, but to pay attention, because there’s something at work that we don’t see, and it will change everything (the CRM). But they’re also telling us that everybody is still alive? In some way. It is a message about the kingdom of Heaven, God’s house, just like Gabriel’s sermon in WHAWGO, which is also about that which goes unseen. Idk the messages just seem to be about a reunion. Or telling Rick that this is all some sort of illusion. That they’ll all be together again someday, or that they never were actually apart? It’s so mysterious.

@wdway:

Does Gimple substitute numbers in his Twitter post often? 442. S4 series episode 42 was Dead Weight, the second Governor episode. Might not mean anything but the numbers just stood out to me.

@galadrieljones:

He did it a lot in this thread. Here’s the whole thing:

@wdway:

First block 1:4. S1e4 Vatos. Second block 12 series number 12 was Secrets. 2/3, s2e3 wastage the Last One.

@galadrieljones:

I have no idea if he’s put code in his tweets. He could be referencing 1.1, 4.12, 4.4…

Also I am once again thinking about Blair/Gina and morphic resonance. Like that there are multiple “tries” at work here, multiple threads of reality under the surface. In one of those threads they’re all still alive and together. They get the happy ending because they make the right choices. It’s what WHAWGO is all about. Martin tells us that our choices matter. He doesn’t get enough credit for that.

Bob seems to represent fate (It happened because it had to, because it was always going to), Martin represents free will (maybe if you’d made better choices, Beth would still be alive), and the Governor represents karma (you have to pay the bill). It’s sort of like A Christmas Carol, in which Tyreese sees the ghosts of the past, present, and future. Beth and the girls just represent temptation, ie: “It’s okay, Tyreese. It’s better now.” Innocence achieved through death, a clean slate, an indication that if you die, it will all just go away.

Idk where I’m going with this. It’s just ideas.

A Christmas Carol is also about getting a do-over, and alternate realities and causal loops.

Re: It’s a Wonderful Life, Lexmas, etc.

Groundhog Day, Mystery Spot, all stories of causal loops that have to be broken

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Also, I’ve been following the AMC account that has been counting down the top episodes. I’ve wondered what their number 1 would be. I didn’t really expect it to be Coda or anything super Beth related, but they went with 9x05: What Comes After, when Rick leaves. 

That seems very strategic to me. Like, it’s less the “best” episode of the series (even though it was definitely a very good one) and was probably chosen more to kick us into the CRM storyline. 

Also, let’s remember that Emily’s voice is in that episode, but she’s not identified as Beth but as a weirdly mysterious “woman.” And of course we also see her lying not far from Daryl in Rick’s dream, with blood on her arm. So, it feels significant that they chose that episode.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ClMUGlBOg5T/?igshid=MWI4MTIyMDE=

@twdmusicboxmystery:

People are sending me this on IG. This video was posted by the official AMC account about 6 hours ago. I’m not sure if it’s the one I sent you above, but they’ve posted a whole bunch of montage videos today. For this one; it has lots of stuff in it. Not just Bethyl. But they used Daryl carrying Beth as the thumbnail that shows in the wall. 

Hint: IG will pick a default image to the be the thumbnail of the poster doesn’t pick one, but it always asks you specifically if you want to pick one. Which means either way they specifically picked or agreed to using this as the thumbnail. I’m just saying.

Next, @katkhaos posted an interview Norman gave to Vanity Fair in the group. You should both read it when you get a chance. Lotss of good stuff in it. But here are some things that jumped out at me. First, Norman uses the term "coda," which is always nice to see. He's talking about the Rick and Michonne bit of the finale, but still.

Next, I really loved this, even though it's not particularly TD. He talks about a small, angry group of people who are convinced he and the other actors and AMC are lying about why Melissa is not in the spinoff. He says they're simply wrong. But it also shows that they know these are just the outliers, not most of the fandom. That's nice to have confirmation on.

 Finally, what Kat points to in the group is that he zeros in on the line Judith says about Daryl deserving a happy ending. He says that, more than any other line in the show, will lead into the spinoff. Honestly, Gals, I've wondered a bit if the spinoff will truly be about Beth. Not that I'm doubting her return, but rather I'm just wondering if the spinoff will be about something small and then we'll get Beth at the very end, and have to wait until the next thing to get their story or something. But this definitely shows that the spinoff will be about Daryl's "happy ending," and we all know that will include Beth. ;D

@galadrieljones:

Not really news but some confirmation on Rick’s location in the coda.

https://twitter.com/twalkingdworld/status/1595205710530289664?s=46&t=Ra_ilvCGb2OAMY3oVgK1kA

@wdway:

Rick is on the opposite side of the Delaware River.

 The first time I actually sent the painting with Washington this one is actually Rick. And who is that behind him, Jesus or some would say Christ and who is the Christ figure=Beth..

@galadrieljones:

Hey everyone! Hope your night before Thanksgiving is going well Here’s a Gimple tweet I appreciated. Not Bethyl but he has been tweeting a lot lately so I’m hoping this trend continues!

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Lol. Love it! I wish Gimple was on social media more. Glad to hear he’s tweeting.

@wdway:

Hopefully what they are doing is making it obvious for us. Here's our bone. I hope they keep coming and get meater as time goes by.

Guys I hope this means just as Michonne stumbled across Rick's boots and cell phone Daryl will have a similar parallel in finding Beth things. My bet is one of them will be her necklace. Her boots are very distinctive but would that be overdoing it, way too obvious or are we at this point of be damned let's go for it.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Let’s hope they continue to go for it! I’ve been thinking about Rick/Silas parallels and how the actor who plays Silas jokingly suggested we would see Rick in the TWB finale. I can’t help but wonder now if it was less a deceptive tease and more a hint. Like maybe the TWB actors already knew more about the Rick/Silas parallels than the GA does. No way to know either way, but it seems really convenient for him to have said that, with what we know now.

@boltthrutheheart:

I know that I have told you before that I sometimes play the Walking Dead Slots game. I believe I have even shared something similar before. In the game, they have a mini game featuring characters from the show that you can level up and send on missions to get free coins. They call the different collection of characters “seasons”, each of them have a cohesive theme, and each season lasts a couple of months. 

Beth was included in a season before that was themed for the farm. It has been a while since she has been included in the mini game because they focused on the Whisperers, Alexandria, and some other themes, but she is in the latest season (which has been going on a few month’s, I have just been a little absent minded in sharing it). 

So Beth is currently in a character collection called “Fallen Heroes”. The funny thing about it is, not all the characters in it are “fallen”. The characters included are mostly characters that there is no doubt about being dead. They were very very dead the last time we encountered them. There is Glenn, Abraham, Carl, Enid, Jesus, and Hershel. 

Then there is Beth. She of course is in a grey area since we didn’t see her in a very dead state or buried like we saw the other characters. The final “Fallen” character they included is Rick, and Rick is very much alive. I just thought that this might be of some interest to you. I have some screenshots to share, but I don’t play enough to have all their characters leveled up (although you can tell who they are in the silhouette that is there).”

@twdmusicboxmystery:

I just think it's a super cool clue that in the Fallen Heroes group, all of them are very obviously dead and could not possibly come back, except Rick and Beth. And Rick is very clearly alive. Yet another clue to Beth's survival. That's all. ;D

@wdway:

Loved this. All of these small hints/clues that keeps Beth's character front and center to a smaller to diverse TWD audience. I would never have seen this because I'm not a gamer. Gamers are an area that they're covering bringing in that fraction of the fans.

@galadrieljones:

I do enjoy how they seem to be keeping her alive here

@wdway:

I'm going to start off with something that has just been replaying in my mind since I read it the other day. I'll give you the whole little sections of question and answer from Gimple instead of just what I zeroed in on.

It's the last paragraph that stood out to me. They're talking about announcing early with the spin-offs and how Jeffrey was very upset about it. Gimple is saying that because so many people have seen Lauren and Jeffrey filming in New Jersey that people would have known about it anyway but then he goes on to say he would have been crazy enough to announce that it was going to be a sitcom between the two. 

What struck me is that he's actually admitting to lying about a certain story lines in order to keep what's going on on the down low. I realize we've known this for a long time or suspected greatly that he bends the truth to fit how he wants things to be presented or hidden but here we have him actually saying that's what he would have done if not for that fact it had already been announced.

https://www.facebook.com/1491451041161527/posts/pfbid04uLcRDhf46ugYX8rKexasJBqCJha32tQZCquoRFDDPYozaoP3xogc8BWSHsYzmYil/?mibextid=Nif5oz

This explains a lot about the people seeing older characters during filming. It also may explain why there was reportedly a script called Atlanta.

@galadrieljones:

Interesting. Personally I don’t like massive time jumps so I’m glad they didn’t do that. Just my opinion. Ofc I’m also glad the story isn’t over, and in a way, I feel they was perhaps why the shows ending felt strange. Because it isn’t over? It’s unclear which aspects will go away and which will continue to develop, especially outside the characters who we know will be in spin-offs.

I get they wanted to do the show justice with an appropriate emotional ending, but I feel as if it opened more doors and asked more questions than it answered.

Like Judith telling Daryl he deserves a happy ending, Daryl leaving, Negan just wandering off, etc.

@wdway:

I think the original plan ending for the series would have been to pacify the comic readers.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

This is all super interesting! Thanks for sharing it. I agree about Gimple bending the truth. We've known that for a long time, but it's nice to have some confirmation we can point to. 

It reminded me of the way they originally marketed the Carol/Daryl spinoff, calling it a "road trip" show. For me, I think that was a hint that Carol and Daryl would leave together to find Beth, like they did in S5. That's what they originally planned, but of course it has changed now since MMB backed out. But I think the "road trip" thing was exactly this. It was Gimple being satirical, as he would have been had he announced that the Maggie/Negan spinoff was a sitcom. 

I've said this before, but Gimple doesn't have the best comic timing. I think it makes him lovably nerdy, but it also means that sometimes, when he makes jokes--such as on TTD--they don't entirely land. And I think this is a similar thing. He'll say something tongue-in-cheek about some part of TWDU, but people have a hard time telling when he's being serious and when he's teasing them. 

I mean, they keep saying the spinoff will have a very different tone from the main show. And of course it will. How can it not, given that it's in France and deals with different characters than we've seen before (other than Daryl)? But that doesn't mean it will stop being TWD. Every episode of Tales had a different tone than the main show, but it's still very recognizable as TWD.

Anyway. As for the second article, I agree with you both. I'm glad they didn't go with that ending. For me, it would have been somewhat deceptive to viewers. We would have seen the grown kids, and most people would have assumed that Daryl, Rick, and Michonne never made it back to them. 

They shouldn't assume that. As 20-somethings, the kids could be out on their own looking for survivors, and Rick and Michonne and everyone could be back at Alexandria waiting for them. No reason to think all the adults didn't make it back only a few months after Daryl left. And that ending by no means suggests anything would have changed in the spinoffs and the way they're expanding the universe. It only would have suggested that the kids survive into adulthood, so anytime they're in danger in the show, we'd know they will be fine, lol. 

But if it didn't specifically show the adults returning, you know plenty of people would have assumed that and been up in arms about it. There would have been a lot of resulting drama in the fandom. So again, I too am glad they didn't go that route.

I’ll stop there for today. What do you think of these social media tidbits?

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

[wehelddarkness]

x

#mister impossible spoilers #ON ONE SIDE i get maggie's tweets #BUT ON THE OTHER #LIKE.... #like........ #MA'AM #YOU GAVE RONAN AND ADAM TO US ONA SILVER PLATTER!!! #IT WAS NOT LIKE SHE TEASED SOMETHING AND THE LET FANS IMAGINATION RUN WILD #she literally gave us pynch #she literally gave ronan something SOMEONE he truly loved and who loved him!!!!!!!! #i'm not saying she's obliged to give us a happy ending #but neither ahould people demand her that to the point of threatebing her #but.... but.... BUUUUUUUUUUT #taking pynch away from us is just CRUEL #if her tweets is to warn us that pynch will not be endgame IM GONNA BE REALLY UPSET #MY BOY RONAN WAS DEVASTAED THAT HE THOUGHT ADAM WAS IGNORING HIM #HE DREAMT OF A LIFE WITH ADAM!!!!!!!!!!!! #that can't be for nothing 😔😔😔😔 #i'm not saying im reading the dreamer trilogy only for pynch #bc at this point it's not bc i'm really into and intrigued by the whole deal with the dreamers #BUT... it's PYNCH MA'AM HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO US????? #anyway moving on #rant off

[daryl-dixon-daydreams]

Words: 6,765 Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Reader Reader pronouns: she/her Era: Alexandria Warnings: Language, coerced marriage, gore, violence, sexuality, typical TWD stuff (recommended NC17+) A/N: This part is LONG! This is part of a series! Find the previous parts on the Masterlist! Summary: Safe in Hilltop, Daryl worries about Y/N and rushes her to the doctor.

Your name: submit What is this?

Daryl looked desperately at Maggie. You were completely limp in his arms, your head lolled toward his chest. “Where’s the doctor here?” he asked.

“This way.” Maggie, Sasha, and Enid hurriedly led the way to the medical trailer. Daryl glanced down at your face as he walked. You seemed to be breathing okay, but you were extremely pale.

Dr. Carson spun around as Daryl busted inside. He immediately dropped the papers in his hand and rushed over as Daryl rested you down as gently as he could on one of the beds. “What happened?”

Daryl shrugged. “Dunno. She just went pale and then she was out.”

Dr. Carson grabbed your wrist and felt for your pulse, keeping his eyes on the second hand of his watch. “Her pulse is a little elevated.” He looked at Daryl as well as the concerned faces of Maggie, Sasha, and Enid gathered around on the other side of your bed. He grabbed a blood pressure cuff and returned to your side.

Daryl’s expression was overwhelmed with concern. He brushed your hair off your face and anxiously chewed on his bottom lip.

“Do we have any guesses?” Dr. Carson asked, watching the dial on the cuff. He noticed that Daryl looked like he needed some treatment, too…

Daryl paused thoughtfully for a moment. “We just came from The Sanctuary,” he said darkly. “Escaped. If I had to guess, I’d say she ain’t been eatin’ or sleepin’.” He ran a hand back through his dirty hair. “And, uhh… she’s—probably some… some trauma. I dunno about injuries.” He realized that it was entirely possible you had lied to him about not being hurt. He shifted his weight anxiously, avoiding everyone’s eyes, and grabbed one of your hands gently in his. It felt small, fragile. You’d always seemed to be made of such strong stuff, Kevlar. This wasn’t right.

Dr. Carson nodded stoically. “Alright. Could be in shock. Why don’t the rest of you wait outside briefly? Enid, help me get her changed into a gown and checked over. We’ll hang an IV and get her hydrated, get some nutrients in her. Hopefully all she needs is rest.”

Daryl was hesitant to release your hand and stared at Enid and Dr. Carson as they rushed into action. Maggie noticed his unwillingness to leave and touched him gently on the arm. “Daryl. Come on. Let’s just wait outside a minute.” He shifted his weight back and forth, still staring down at your closed eyes and pale face. “Dr. Carson will take care of her. She’s gonna be just fine, but they need room to work. C’mon.”

He gave your hand a gentle squeeze and reluctantly rested it back down on your stomach, allowing Sasha and Maggie to lead him outside. When the trailer door closed behind him with a snap he flinched, and he immediately sunk down on the steps, hanging his head in his hands, elbows propped on his knees.

Sasha put a gentle hand on his shoulder. He tensed. “She’s gonna be fine, Daryl. Dr. Carson is really good. She probably just needs some fluids and rest.”

He showed no sign of having heard her. All he could think about was how this was his fault.

About fifteen agonizing minutes later, the creak of the trailer door behind him sent Daryl rocketing to his feet. He looked up to see Enid in the doorway. She stepped out as Sasha and Maggie, also waiting nearby, rose to their feet too.

“Her blood pressure and heart rate have stabilized but she’s still out. Dr. Carson says she’ll probably just wake up when her body is ready to.”

Daryl was pacing in front of the steps now, rubbing a hand over his mouth and the stubble on his face. “Is she, uhh—Did ya check her over? Is she—she hurt somehow?” he asked desperately.

Enid shook her head. “Nothing that we could see or detect. Everything looks fine. She’s probably just in shock and dehydrated.”

Maggie stepped forward as Daryl froze in place again, staring down at his boots. His face was dark. “Daryl—what happened? How’d you get out?”

His hands clenched into fists and he shut his eyes. He felt like he could be sick. “She, uhh—” There was a quiver in his voice. “She came there to get me out. She—before Alexandria—she was a prisoner there and, uhh—” He was having a hard time getting the words out through his emotion, his face screwing up and his jaw clenching. He looked up and met Sasha’s eyes. “She was one of his ‘wives’,” Daryl growled. “She did it to save her brother. But when I got taken, she went back.” He began pacing again, pressing a hand over his face. “She went back to him, to Negan. She went back in so she could get me out.”

That was all he could get out. He collapsed again on the steps and immediately began anxiously chewing his thumbnail again.

The gravity of what Daryl had just said was settling over Maggie, Sasha, and Enid. Maggie collapsed back against the planter behind her. “Oh my God,” she uttered. “I had no idea.”

Daryl shook his head and shrugged. “She didn’t tell anyone. She didn’t want anyone to know.”

Rage flashed in Sasha’s eyes. “That sick son of a bitch. Did he do something to her?” she asked Daryl.

Daryl shook his head, refusing to look at anyone, turmoil churning in his chest, guilt crushing him so much he felt like he couldn’t take in air. “Depends on what ya mean by ‘somethin’,” he growled.

“Oh my God,” Maggie said again, pressing a hand over her mouth.

Enid lightly touched Daryl’s shoulder. “Dr. Carson wants to look you over. At least the gunshot wound.”

“’M fine,” he barked back.

“Probably. But just let us check,” she said gently.

Daryl hesitated for a moment, but finally conceded and stood. “Fine. But I’m sittin’ right beside her ‘til she wakes up.” Enid nodded and Daryl followed her back into the trailer.

Outside, Maggie and Sasha exchanged another distraught look.

“I didn’t know. About her brother. About Negan—any of it,” Sasha said. “Did you?”

Maggie shook her head. “No. But she was always really private. Never talked about her past. I can see why. How do you even begin to explain somethin’ like that to someone?”

“Until she talked about The Saviors that day, here, I never—but even then she didn’t say—"

Maggie shook her head. “Goin’ back. To him. To that? Knowing what he’d done to our people. What he was capable of. I can’t imagine…”

Sasha nodded, wide-eyed. “Yeah… I mean, I knew she was a badass. I’ve fought walkers beside her but—” She shook her head again, her lips parting in disbelief.

“She did it for Daryl,” Maggie said quietly, smoothing a hand over her belly. _ _ _ _ _ _

Sometime later, Maggie went back over to the medical trailer to see how you were doing. When she got inside, Dr. Carson was taking inventory of the drugs in the cabinet and he nodded toward the far corner in response to her questioning look.

When she rounded the curtain divider, she saw Daryl sitting at your bedside, leaning forward in a chair, anxiously chewing his thumbnail. His gaze was fixated on your face, but his blue eyes seemed unfocused.

Maggie stepped forward and lightly rested a hand on your arm. “How is she?”

Daryl shook his head almost imperceptibly and shrugged.

“Has she woken up at all?” Maggie asked him.

He shook his head again and straightened up in his chair. “Nah. Not yet.”

Maggie took in the worn and exhausted look on Daryl’s face, the bruises, the layers of dirt on his skin. “You should go get cleaned up. I’ll sit with her. Enid can show you where you can stay.”

He shook his head, leaning forward onto the edge of your bed with his elbows. “Nah. I ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

“She’ll be okay,” Maggie said, but knowing better than to try to persuade Daryl to leave. Nothing short of sheer force would have moved him. “Are you alright?”

He shrugged vaguely. “Doc says I’m okay.”

“Good. That’s good. But not exactly what I meant.” She waited, but he didn’t respond. “I’ll bring you some food.” She rested her hand gently on Daryl’s shoulder and felt him stiffen beneath her touch, but he hardly acknowledged it. Once Maggie had disappeared around the curtain, he reached out and grasped your hand in his again. It felt a little cold, and he rubbed it gently between his palms. And he waited.

_ _ _ _ _ _

Dr. Carson came to check on your vitals again around midnight and found Daryl slumped over on the edge of your bed, his head resting on his arms. He jumped awake the sound of the doctor’s footsteps.

“Sorry,” Dr. Carson said softly.

Daryl rubbed the sleep from his eyes and glanced at your face. He rested his hand on yours again. “How is she?” he asked, his voice a gruff rasp.

The doctor finished listening to your pulse and your lungs, and reached for the blood pressure cuff. “All her vitals are good,” he said. “She went through a traumatic experience?” he asked, a glance at Daryl’s expression.

His brow drew down low over his eyes and his face darkened. He nodded.

“Then her mind and body probably just need time to be turned off for a while. And if she wasn’t sleeping or eating, she needs to recover the things her body’s missing.” He checked the level of the IV drip bag. “That’s what this is for.”

“Ya didn’t find—anything physical? She wasn’t beat up or—?”

Dr. Carson shook his head. “No. Nothing like that. Nothing like what you went through.” He paused, but Daryl showed no sign that he was going to respond. “You went through trauma too. Physical and otherwise. You should also get some rest,” he said kindly. “I promise she’s in good hands here.”

Daryl nodded. “I know. I just—she’d be here for me. So. I’m gonna be here for her.”

_ _ _ _ _ _

Daryl awoke to the sound of tweeting birds outside the next morning and slowly lifted his head off his arms, which were resting on the edge of your bed. He rubbed at his tired eyes and glanced over at you. He shot upright, his chair clattering back and squeaking on the floor. Your eyes were open. He grabbed your hand and you gave it a squeeze.

“Y/N,” he said, leaning over you. “Doc!”

You looked tired and a little groggy but you were awake, looking up at him. Your lips curved in a small smile at his reaction on realizing you were awake.

“Why the hell didn’t ya wake me up?” he asked you, studying your expression.

“Because you need sleep,” you said softly.

He rolled his eyes. “You’re the one in the damn hospital bed and you’re tryin’ to take care of me still? Stop,” he drawled. Dr. Carson arrived at your side and grinned down at you. “Good to see you awake,” he said, putting his stethoscope in his ears and listening to your heart and lungs. “How are you feeling?”

Daryl was standing anxiously at your side, rocking on his feet.

“Tired,” you said softly. “And a bit confused.” You looked back over at Daryl. “What happened? I remember getting here and then—nothing.”

He nodded, his nose nudging up slightly. “Ya just passed out all of a sudden.”

You frowned. “Oh. How long was I out?”

“Overnight,” Dr. Carson replied, letting the pressure out of the blood pressure cuff. “BP is normal.” He took in the color in your cheeks. “You look better. But I’d like you to stay here today and overnight again, just in case. We’ll keep giving you some more fluids and you need to eat and rest,” he emphasized. He put a hand kindly on your shoulder. “You’ve been through a lot. Take it easy.”

You looked back over at Daryl. His expression was disturbed and you felt a lump forming in your throat. You tried to swallow it but it didn’t budge.

“Are ya alright?” Daryl asked you. “Really?

You turned your eyes back up toward the ceiling and flashes of Negan surged forward in your mind. You could almost feel his hands on you, feel his lips on you. You shut your eyes tight and shrugged. “I don’t know,” you said softly. “But I will be.” You glanced back over at him. “Have you been here this whole time?”

He nudged his nose up twice in a nod. “Ya. And I ain’t leavin’. So dun even try.” He pulled his chair back over to your bedside again and sat down.

You studied his face, the bruises still glaring out at you. “You should go get cleaned up. And I hope you’ve been eating and—”

“I ain’t goin’ anywhere until you’re gettin’ out of here.” He held up a dirty plate though. “I’ve been eatin’. Sasha and Maggie keep shovin’ food on me.”

You nodded and sighed, feeling suddenly tired again. “Good. But you should shower, get some clean clothes that fit better…”

“Hey—” he said forcefully, grabbing your hand. You looked down at it in surprise. “I ain’t leavin’ ya in here alone.”

Your eyes flitted between his. “I’m okay. You can take care of you.”

He sighed heavily and shook his head. “Nah. ‘M good.”

Not too long after that, you drifted off to sleep again.

_ _ _ _ _ _

Daryl kept true to his word and slept slumped over at your bedside again despite your continued protests, waking every once and a while and studying your face, the relaxed pout of your lips. By the time you awoke the next morning and Dr. Carson came by, you were more than ready to get out of the medical trailer.

“You’re sure she’s alright,” Daryl asked, walking with Dr. Carson toward the door. You were changing into some clean clothes Maggie had brought by behind the curtain in the corner.

Dr. Carson nodded. “She is. She just needs to take it easy a while. Lots of rest and water. And you too,” he said, giving Daryl a sharp look. “You know where to find me if there’s anything you need.”

Daryl looked hesitant but he nodded. “Thanks,” he said gruffly. He pushed outside and found Enid waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

“Hey. Maggie sent me to show you where you and Y/N can stay.”

Daryl nodded, shrugging his hands into his pockets. “She’s just changin’,” he said. Enid nodded and they both patiently waited. The trailer door creaked open and you came down the steps looking like you were almost back to your old self.

“Good to see you up,” Enid said kindly, smiling at you. Enid showed you to a trailer that was sparsely furnished, but there was a bathroom and a couch and a large bed in one corner, along with a dining area and a little kitchenette. “We had other plans for this trailer but I think it will be better suited for you two for now, while you’re here. Unless you wanted to stay up in Barrington house,” she said.

“This is perfect.” You turned back to Enid. “Thank you.”

She nodded and smiled. “Maggie, Sasha, and I are just in the trailer right next door. It’s actually Jesus’ but he’s out on a run. But in case you need anything, that’s usually where you can find us.” She headed for the door but turned back with her hand on the doorknob. “I’m really glad you’re both here. And that you’re okay.”

You gave her a warm smile before she went out. The door snapped closed behind her and you suddenly felt completely lost, like you didn’t even know what to do with yourself.

You realized Daryl was standing close in front of you and you looked up, your eyes following up his broad chest, and landed on his face. He must have been able to read something in your expression.

He felt a constriction in his throat as you met his eyes and he finally realized how scared he actually had been when you had passed out. “Ya scared me,” he rasped.

You looked down toward your boots. “Sorry. I don’t know what happened.”

“I do,” he said. “Ya were so worried about me ya weren’t taking care of you.” His hands closed gently around your shoulders and as you looked up at him, into his blue eyes, you finally went to pieces, suddenly overwhelmed with everything that had happened. Tears poured down your cheeks and your shoulders shook as you tried to gasp in breaths, wanting to pull yourself together but feeling helpless to in that moment.

Daryl’s chest ached. He quickly pulled you against him and held you tight, feeling each hitch of your shuddered breaths. He just held you while you cried, squeezing his eyes shut against a few tears of his own born of rage and sadness and regret. And eventually your breathing evened out and smoothed beneath his hands, and you pulled gently back and wiped the tear streaks from your cheeks, looking up at him. He simply nodded.

You crossed the room and sank down on the couch, staring vaguely at the opposite wall, pressing a hand up to your forehead, leaning forward with your elbows on your knees for a long moment.

Daryl just stood a short distance away, chewing on his bottom lip… wishing he could read your mind.

At length you sat up again after rubbing both your hands down over your face. “I’m okay,” you whispered, seeing that he was still intent on you, his eyes narrowed. “Really.” You tilted your head in the direction of the bathroom. “You should go get cleaned up. I’ll be right here,” you said.

“Ya sure?”

You nodded. “Yeah. I’m sure.”

Daryl grabbed some clean clothes and went into the bathroom and shut the door quietly behind him. He stared at himself in the mirror for a long moment. It’d been so long since he’d seen himself. He sighed heavily and stripped off his clothes. He turned on the shower and stepped into the hot stream of water, gasping at the sensation of it pouring over his skin, leaning his head back and letting it run over his face, soaking his sore and bruised body. He hastily washed his hair and scrubbed all the built-up dirt and grime from his skin, wincing a little as his hands moved roughly over bruises on his ribs and back from his last beating.

At length, Daryl came out of the bathroom. His wet hair was sending drops of water down to pepper his shirt. He looked so much better, just having gotten the dirt and grime rinsed off his skin and out of his hair and you couldn’t help smiling at him.

“Better?” you asked.

“Mhm,” he hummed.

You were waiting on the couch with a first aid kit and beckoned him over with a nod. He licked his bottom lip and huffed a little but wandered over and sat down next to you. You grabbed some alcohol pads and took his hand, the one with the split knuckles and swelling, pulling it over onto your lap. You cleaned it up and put some ointment on his knuckles. The whole time you felt nervous with his hand in yours and Daryl was feeling an obnoxious flutter in his chest as your fingers floated over his skin. He couldn’t take his eyes off you.

“You should have had Dr. Carson look at this—make sure it isn’t broken,” you said, pausing with the bandage in your hand.

“Nah. S’fine,” Daryl said.

You gave him a knowing look. “It could be a boxer’s break,” you said, starting to wrap the bandage gently over his knuckles and around his palm. “Happens when you punch a hard surface. Like a wall,” you said quietly. Your words suggested you knew exactly how he had injured his hand, that night after he had been forced to see you on Negan’s lap.

Daryl gulped and avoided your eyes. “Ain’t broken.”

You nodded. “Okay. There. Done.” You looked up at his face and realized he truly looked exhausted. “You need real rest,” you said. “Not locked in a cell rest or slumped over at my bedside rest.”

“’M fine,” he said, getting up and going over to the table to grab some food from the basket Maggie had left for you both.

Your brow furrowed and you gave him a look.

“What?”

“No,” you repeated, shaking your head. “You’ve been sleeping, or not sleeping, on a hard floor as long as they had you. And you haven’t slept properly since we got here.”

He stared at you with narrowed eyes, getting ready to argue.

“Daryl. I’m fine. And we’re safe. You can rest.” It was like your permission was the last thing he needed. You watched his shoulders visibly slump. He conceded. “Alright…” He walked over to the bed and laid down carefully. You could tell he was in pain when he moved and your brow furrowed.

He adjusted the pillow under his head. “Well, what are ya gonna do?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe go fill in Maggie. Tell her what happened.”

A shadow darkened his face. “I told her a little. After you were, ya know, with the doc. But not much.”

You nodded. “Okay.” You started toward the door and he sat back up halfway.

“Hey. Just—ya ain’t goin’ outside the walls, right?”

` ` You shook your head. “No.”

“Promise me,” he growled.

His concern was clear. You nodded. “I promise. Get some rest.”

Daryl watched the door close behind you and sighed, sinking back onto the bed and draping an arm over his eyes. Part of him wanted to ask you to stay… but what would he say? That he needed you nearby? Needed to know you were safe? That he wanted you right beside him… He wasn’t feeling brave enough for that yet no matter how badly he wanted it.

You walked to the next trailer over and the door was propped open, letting in the sunshine and a breeze. Maggie was sitting at the table eating a snack and looking over some papers. Enid was sitting nearby.

“Hey,” Maggie said, giving you a smile. “You look better. It’s good to see you out and about. Where’s Daryl?”

You nodded and shoved your hands into your pockets. “I convinced him to try and get some actual sleep.”

“Good. He needs it,” she said, her eyes turning a little sad. “Ya know, he completely refused to leave your side while you were out.” She gave you a pointed look and you felt your cheeks flush but you pretended you hadn’t heard her. “What’s up?”

“Umm, I just thought—maybe I’d fill you in on what happened. And I wondered if you knew anything about everyone back in Alexandria.”

She nodded. “To my knowledge everyone else back home is alright. Rick’s been scavenging for the Saviors. They’ve been making pick-ups so far for Negan. But supplies are getting scarce.”

You nodded.

“Come on and sit down,” Maggie said.

“Do you want me to go? I could—”

“It’s alright, Enid,” you said kindly. “No reason for you to leave. I don’t have anything left to hide at this point…” You heaved a deep breath and let it out. “I haven’t even told Rick any of this yet because before I could Daryl was gone. And I just went after him, to get him back. I didn’t want to wait another second.”

Maggie nodded and her brow furrowed as she listened intently. “He told us. Just a little bit. About what you did. You don’t have to tell us anything more if you don’t want to.”

“It’s okay. I—I think I’d rather just get it out, you know?” You related your story to her and Enid. You were grateful they didn’t interrupt you because you were afraid if you stopped you wouldn’t be able to start up again. You explained what you had done to get Daryl out, going back to Negan and being one of his ‘wives’ again. Maggie reached out and grabbed your hand, giving it a squeeze as her eyes filled with tears.

“My God. Y/N,” she said when you had finished. “He could have killed you on sight.”

You nodded. “He could have. But I had a feeling he wouldn’t. And he didn’t.” She squeezed your hand again.

Enid was looking at you with round eyes.

You felt your cheeks turning pink and shook your head. “I just did what needed to be done. To get him out.”

Maggie grabbed you suddenly into a tight hug, squeezing a little of the air from your lungs. “Thank you. For bringing him back to us. And you came back to us, too.” She pulled back and gave you a teary smile, which you returned. “I can’t imagine what you went through. But I’m just so grateful you’re both here.”

“Me too.” You got up and Enid stood to grab you in a tight hug too. You smiled at her a little awkwardly. “I think I’m just gonna take a walk around a bit. Get some air,” you said with a small smile.

“Alright. Take it easy, though,” she cautioned. “Doc’s orders.” You nodded and headed back outside.

You ended up in the stables, petting the horses and brushing them down just to pass the time. You were grateful for the distraction. Your mind wandered to Daryl frequently and you sincerely hoped that he was getting some peaceful rest. He needed it. He deserved it.

You noticed Sasha up on the wall, standing watch near the gate and you headed over toward her.

“Hey,” you said, nearing the top of the ladder. You were a little winded. You still felt weak. Daryl’s guesses to Dr. Carson had been correct. You had hardly eaten or slept while you were at The Sanctuary, and it had taken more of a toll on you than you realized.

Sasha turned and helped you climb to your feet. “What the hell are you doin’ up here? You’re supposed to be taking it easy!” she said.

“Yeah, I know,” you sighed. “I’m trying.” You looked out over the wall, leaning on the top of the logs. A few walkers were staggering in the field in the distance and Sasha raised her eye to the scope of her rifle to watch them. You glanced over at her. “How are you doing? After everything? And Maggie? Really?”

Sasha gulped and lowered the gun with a heavy sigh. She shrugged and you saw pain in her eyes when she glanced at you. “I’m alive,” she muttered, before turning her eyes back to the field in front of you. “Maggie is too.”

“Yeah,” you said quietly, catching her meaning exactly. “We just—have to keep going.”

She looked over at you. “Daryl told us what you did. I can’t imagine—”

You sniffled and averted your eyes with a shrug. “I just had to get him out of there,” you said.

She nodded and turned again to stare back out over the fields.

“Have you been getting any trouble from Gregory?” you asked. Sasha scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“That man is a useless weasel. But he’s stayed away from me. Maggie’s been dealing with him.”

You picked at a soft spot on top of the log in front of you with your index finger. “He struck me as a nutless slimeball,” you muttered. It actually elicited a laugh from Sasha and you joined her in a low chuckle, shaking your head.

“That’s accurate,” she said appreciatively.

“Hey!” A familiar, gruff voice down below. Daryl. “What the hell are ya doin’?” he yelled up at you.

“Uh oh. Busted,” you said in an undertone to Sasha. She laughed again. You went to the edge of the lookout stand and peered down at him. “You’re supposed to be sleeping,” you said.

He shrugged vaguely and continued looking up at you. You turned back to Sasha. “See you later,” you said. You climbed down the ladder and were met at the bottom by the archer’s intense stare.

“What the hell are ya doin’ up there?”

You shrugged. “Just talking to Sasha,” you said.

Daryl scowled at you and shook his head. “Ya shouldn’t be up there. What if some of them are out there watchin’? What if they see ya?”

“They aren’t out there,” you said.

“Ya don’t know that!” he said angrily.

You sighed and put your hands on your hips, staring down at your boots. “Okay. Alright. I get it. I won’t go up there again.”

“Good,” he spat back at you.

You raised your eyebrows at him. “Did you get any sleep?” you asked. He started pacing back toward the trailer and you fell in behind him. He only grunted over his shoulder which you interpreted as an answer similar to ‘not much’. “How come?”

“I just couldn’t, alright?” he said, irritation evident in his voice.

“Daryl,” you said, reaching out and grabbing his arm gently. “What’s wrong? Why do you sound… pissed?”

He stormed into the trailer and rounded on you suddenly. There was clearly something going on in his blue eyes, turmoil. He paced in front of the couch for a moment as you stared at him, trying to decode his sudden agitation. “How could ya—how could ya do what ya did?!” he demanded angrily. “How could ya go back to him? Ya let him—how could ya let him—put his hands on ya? Ya let him—how—” his voice broke and the anger that was there a moment before was gone, replaced by anguish.

You felt a sinking feeling in the middle of your chest, right between your lungs, as you suddenly understood that his anger wasn’t really anger.

He froze and chewed his bottom lip anxiously. There was a long pause where you could feel a bubble of tension growing between the two of you. He couldn’t meet your eyes. “M’sorry. ‘M so sorry,” he said gruffly. “You were right about going after them, after Denise. I should have listened to ya,” he said. “But I was so damn angry... And now… S’my fault you had to go back to him. S’my fault he—he had you to—” His jaw clenched and he looked away, forcing in a breath. “It’s my fault Glenn’s dead. There’s a whole goddamn pile of things that are my fault.”

“Hey—” You shook your head. “No. No, you don’t get to do that. Even if you hadn’t gone out there, Dwight might have come back and found us and Alexandria anyway. And Glenn—you weren’t holding the bat, Daryl.”

“Ya weren’t there,” he growled. “It was my fault. It was.”

“No.” Your voice was forceful. “It wasn’t. I might not have been at the line up with our people but I’ve been at one before and there is no way to know how many people would have died anyway. Negan’s like that. His men are like that. Could have been more or less regardless of whatever you did that you think got Glenn killed.”

Daryl turned away. He stood stock-still in the center of the room, his shoulders tense. “You can be pissed at me or at the universe or whatever you want,” you said. “I really don’t care at this point because I’m just so damn happy you’re not in there anymore. It doesn’t matter what it took. I was gonna get you out. Nobody deserves to be treated that way, especially you.” You sighed heavily and stared at his back and broad shoulders. “You have to know that. It was my choice to go back.”

Just then, at possibly the worst time, there was a knock on the door and you turned to answer it with a heavy sigh. The so-called “leader” of Hilltop, Gregory, was standing there on the doorstep. “Well, hello,” he said, nodding his head. You stepped back and peered at him with dislike. Daryl spun around to glare him down. “Aren’t—can I come in?” he asked.

You stepped back begrudgingly so he could take another step inside. He cleared his throat a bit awkwardly and then put his hands on his hips, looking around the inside of the trailer. You noticed that Daryl picked up a crossbow he must have gotten from the armory and started fiddling with one of the bolts, purposely fixing his icy blue eyes on Gregory. “Well, now, Margaret—”

“Maggie,” you corrected him.

“Right. Maggie,” he started again, seeming to quail a little under the tone of your voice, “has said that you two escaped from The Saviors compound. Is that true?”

“Why do ya care?” Daryl snapped, leaning back against the dining table.

“Well, I care because this is my place and I am hoping to continue to have a peaceful working relationship with The Saviors and—and—and I,” he stammered, “don’t think that is possible if I am harboring fugitives amongst my people. Not safe for—for my community, you see.”

Daryl stood up, his chin inclined. “And?”

“And,” he said, raising a finger, “and I came to tell you that—you’re welcome to stay the night but I want you gone tomorrow. I have to do what’s right for my people.”

Daryl stepped forward his chest puffed up. “Who’s gonna throw us out? You?” he growled. “Ain’t no peace with The Saviors. You’ll figure that out eventually. Or did ya forget ya made a deal with us to get rid of ‘em?”

Gregory leaned back away from Daryl, who was getting right up in his face. “We haven’t had any trouble until—until you people showed up,” he said.

“Really?” you asked, crossing your arms over your chest. “Remember Craig? Your man that they took? Who got him back? We did. You would have just let him die.” You scoffed.

Gregory glared at you and gestured vaguely with a hand. “Aren’t you his—his wife? Don’t you have some loyalty to—”

“Ya better fuckin’ watch what you’re about to say,” Daryl growled, poking a finger into Gregory’s chest and posturing at him. Gregory stepped back. “Ya don’t know what the hell you’re talkin’ about,” he growled.

“It’s alright, Daryl. He’s obviously an idiot,” you said.

Gregory looked affronted. “What? I don’t have to stand for this! I’m the leader here! This is my place,” he said, puffing his chest out now. “If you both aren’t gone tomorrow, I’ll—I’ll tell Simon about all of you when they come for their next pick-up!”

Daryl hauled a fist back and punched Gregory hard across the face. His head snapped back and to the side and he let out a moan and groan dramatically. “Kal!” he yelled, for one of the guards. “Kal!”

Maggie and Enid appeared in the doorway as you were holding Daryl back from hitting Gregory again, your hands on his chest as he yelled at him over you. “Ya threatenin’ us, ya son of a bitch!? Ya don’t know who the hell you’re messin’ with!”

“Daryl! Hey! Daryl! Stop!” It was taking all your strength to hold him back. You could feel every muscle in his strong chest tensed beneath your hands.

“What’s goin’ on?” Maggie asked, her eyes wide.

“This prick threatened us!” Daryl roared. “Threatened to tell The Saviors about all of us here unless Y/N and I leave tomorrow,” he spat.

“Daryl!” you yelled again. You finally clasped his face in your hands and made him look at you. “Enough.” He softened immediately, his chest heaving. He stopped trying to push through you and instead paced a short distance away after your hands slipped from him.

“You threatenin’ us now?” Maggie asked him. Gregory was a pitiful sight, clutching a hand to his face where Daryl had punched him. “Do I have to remind you who exactly is trying to solve your problem with The Saviors?” Maggie drew herself up to her full height again. “We aren’t goin’ anywhere. And you’re not tellin’ The Saviors a damn thing. Ya know why? Because you need us. Things are gonna go bad for you soon enough. And when the time comes, you’re gonna need us to save your ass. You’re gonna need us to save your community because we actually know how to fight.”

“Get the fuck outta here,” Daryl snapped at him.

Gregory gave everyone a parting glare and laid it on thick, actually limping down the stairs and moaning about going to see Dr. Carson. You rolled your eyes and exchanged a look with Maggie.

“Ya alright?” she asked you. You nodded.

“Fine.”

“Alright. We’ll talk tomorrow. Goodnight,” she said. You slammed the trailer door shut and turned to look at Daryl, who was still fuming.

“Ya shoulda let me hit him again,” he growled, grabbing his crossbow again.

“I think the one you got was good enough,” you said. You gulped at the lump in your throat. “Thanks for that. For standing up for me when he—”

“S’nothin’. That asshole dunno what the hell he’s talkin’ about.”

You nodded. “I’m tired,” you mused aloud.

Daryl nodded. “Ya. Ya need more rest. I’ll take the couch,” he said, setting his crossbow down and heading toward it.

“Seriously?”

His confused eyes snapped back at you. “What?”

You sighed. “Daryl, you’re not sleeping on the couch. Come over here,” you said, tilting your head. You walked over to the bed and pulled the covers back on one side, slipping underneath them. “I’ll take this side. You take the other.” You climbed into bed.

Daryl watched as you settled into the pillow, exhaustion settling over you. You could feel his eyes on you and you propped yourself up on your elbow. You anxiously chewed your bottom lip, wondering how much of what you were thinking that you should actually say.

“It’ll help me sleep… if you’re right here,” you said softly.

Daryl’s heart raced in his chest. How could he deny you that? And in truth, that was all he wanted, to be right there with you, knowing you were safe, asleep, beside him, out of the reach of Negan and his wandering hands. His mind wandered to what it would be like to have you fall asleep in his arms. He nudged his chin up a couple times. “Alright.”

“Thanks,” you murmured. You sighed and settled back into the pillow. You kept your eyes closed, but didn’t sleep yet, listening to Daryl softly moving about the room for a little while longer. Eventually you heard the soft rustling of fabric beside you and felt his weight on the other side of the bed.

He propped up the pillow and sat back against it on the headboard, his legs stretched out on top of the blankets, crossed at the ankles.

You smiled to yourself and finally allowed yourself to drift off.

#daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon twd #the walking dead #twd fanfics #daryl dixon drabbles #daryl imagines #daryl dixon x reader #fanfics #writers of tumblr #twd drabbles #sacrifice #daryl dixon series

[paradisetemporarilymisplaced]

Book recs: Similar to but less sad than TSOA

Hello everyone! @lordeteams requested some book recommendations that are not as sad as The Song of Achilles so here we go. I read a lot of books and since 2019 I've kept a running list of what I've read so honestly I'll take any excuse to subject people to my interests🤗 List is below the cut, not in any particular order (except from the first entry which is my current favorite), and includes NA, YA, and adult fiction. If you're curious about the distinction I'll refer you to this (sadly, now-deleted) tweet from Maggie Stiefvater:

One Last Stop (Casey McQuiston, NA): This one is brand new and instantly became a favorite. F/F romance in which August Landry, newly transplanted to Brooklyn, meets Jane Su on her morning commute. Turns out, Jane is stuck on the train and has been since the 70s, but has no memory of how it happened or of her old life. Part romance, part time-travel mystery, but entirely a love letter to queer communities everywhere. Found family trope abounds with August's roommates and coworkers, which include drag queens, people of every flavor of queer, and a real life psychic, all of whom are ready and willing to help solve the mystery of why Jane is on the train and how to fix it. In the process, August learns things about her own family, as well as events in American queer history that few people remember today. I really cannot express enough how much I love this book. Please read it.

Red, White, and Royal Blue (Casey McQuiston, NA): Odds are, if you've heard of Casey McQuiston, it was because of her first book (this one). M/M romance about Alex, son of the first female US President, and Henry, prince of England. Enemies to friends to lovers, featuring queer self-discovery, coming out, PR/corporate closeting (hello, larries!) and just a delight. This is a very different queer story from OLS - OLS is a romance, but more plot-heavy and the romance isn't the entire focus. In RWRB, the romance is the plot and it reads like fanfiction which is very fun.

The Raven Cycle (series, Maggie Stiefvater, YA): This series is a character-driven, coming-of-age, found family story about a bunch of weird-ass teenagers (affectionate), magic, prophecy, and Welsh kings. This is the rare story in which every single main character plays a critical role in the plot and grows and changes with the story. You will fall in love with all of them and their relationships with one another. Plus, the worldbuilding is incredible and has such an intricate mythology that you'll want to reread just to get the details. Followed by the Dreamer Trilogy, of which two books have been published, but I've only read the first one so far.

All for the Game (series, Nora Sakavic, YA): This is the series that got me back into reading for fun five years ago and as such it holds a special place in my heart. The plot is wacky and convoluted - college athletics, a made-up sport, a kid on the run from his mob boss father - but don't let that discourage you. Hella found family. (Are you seeing a pattern?) I will warn you, this deals with some pretty heavy stuff, including torture, abuse, addiction, sexual violence, and more. Here's a comprehensive list of trigger warnings, with detailed descriptions at the bottom. It's intense, but the friendships and romances make it worth the read imo.

Grishaverse (series, Leigh Bardugo, YA): This is actually three series: the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, and the King of Scars duology (which I haven't yet read). If you've seen Shadow and Bone, the S&B trilogy covers the Alina storyline, while SOC covers Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Nina, and Matthias. S&B is a chosen one/coming of age story, while SOC is found family committing heists. It's great.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Benjamin Alire Saenz, YA): Coming of age M/M romance. Set in the 1980s in El Paso, it describes the friends to lovers journey of Ari and Dante over several years, as well as Ari's journey of self-discovery. It is the most beautiful book and one of my comfort reads. There's some themes of homophobia and violence, but with a happy ending.

Carry On (Rainbow Rowell, YA): This is basically Harry Potter fanfiction, but better because (a) it doesn't take itself too seriously and (b) the author is not a violent transphobe. Seriously, this book is so fun. It's a twist on the chosen one trope because Simon, said Chosen One, is just spectacularly bad at what he is supposedly destined to be. Plus you have an enemies to lovers storyline, which is my personal favorite trope. Followed by Wayward Son, which is literally a road trip AU, and Any Way the Wind Blows, which will be released next month.

The Queen's Thief (series, Megan Whalen Turner, YA): Fantasy series centered on Eugenides, who is very proud of being a great thief but also wants to be famous, two goals which are not really compatible. This series is interesting because every novel is told from a different character's point of view in an increasingly zoomed-out lens such that you're seeing how Eugenides' influence grows over time and space. The setting is vaguely based on the ancient Mediterranean region, but with a mythology all its own.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (Taylor Jenkins Reid, adult): This is a frame story in which aged Hollywood star Evelyn Hugo, famously tight-lipped about her personal life, hand selects a young journalist, Monique Grant, to finally tell her story. Evelyn tells Monique all about her life - how she became an actress in the mid-twentieth century, how she got involved (and uninvolved) with all seven of her former husbands, and who was the true love of her life. There are some sad moments for sure, as it's a retrospective on the very long and very full life of an actress at what she knows is the end of hers. But it's such a good story and worth the bittersweet tones.

This Is How You Lose the Time War (Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone, adult): Sci-fi novel told by Red and Blue's letters to one another across time and space. They are on opposing sides of the Time War and as they perform their respective missions, they leave letters for the other to find. Their letters start out as "I'm coming for you, you better run" but then eventually turn to friendship and then love. Ultimate enemies to lovers. It's a short novel but you'll read it again and again to pick up more details. It's so good.

The House in the Cerulean Sea (TJ Klune, NA): This book feels like a warm hug. Linus Baker is essentially a child protective services worker, overseeing the orphanages housing magical children. He is then assigned to the most remote orphanage in the system, in which six dangerous children reside, to determine whether any or all of these children are capable of bringing about the end of the world. Once more, with feeling: FOUND FAMILY. Also nice because it's a metaphor for queerness that also features canon queer characters.

#book recs #queer lit #lordeteams #look if you don't know by now that i am incapable of writing anything short then i don't know how to help you #these are similar to tsoa in that they are all queer and/or coming of age and/or chosen one stories #but they are not tragedies #some are kind of sad at times but all have happy endings #here's hoping i've regained your trust lmao #also if anyone out there reads anything on this list and like it you have to come back and tell me #both for the validation and so that i have someone to scream about it with #my recs

[creativefiend19]

oh i saw your tags in that uquiz and now i have to ask—are you on the adam is a visionary wagon? 😏💖

The answer is yes. 

And no. 

I do think that Adam is visionary-like, but something MORE. 

Persephone says to him that she and he are ‘different’. And that no one understood her when she ‘came back’ (from super-long-scrying? from the dead? from visiting the ley line ‘dimension’? maybe we’ll find out, considering his haunted deck and all). I’m thinking Adam’s on a similar ‘trip’, which is why Tamquam is marked unread!

Coming back to ‘something more’, according to me, it’s one of the themes of TRC. They’re all special in some way - unique. 

Ronan is THE Greywaren (I hope this gets confirmed in Dreamers!), Blue is half tree-light (where are her powers Mags? I have beef with you about this), Gansey is Glendower (maybe) and Magical Forest (definitely), and Noah is pbly still looping through time (hope we see him again), and Maura et al can do timey-wimey magic. 

(I’m going to answer part of the question from your older Ask here - which you sent 2434 years ago and I’m percolating the reply to sdfghjkl: do you have any theories on how this little plot thread (the persona he's built at Harvard, I guess) will play out??)

Maggie tweeted that she’s writing a scene which would’ve been more convenient in her og made up uni for Adam, but that will be more interesting now that it has to happen at Harvard, which is a real place. 

So these are my ideas: 

I think the Moderators will come after him there, full on SWAT-team style, thinking that he’s a Visionary, but one who is ‘rogue’ and ‘evil’ like Liliana, and obviously not on their side given his Zed boyfriend. 

And the Crying Club protect him, put their lives on the line for him, without hesitation (esp if he’s ‘lost’ himself scrying and they have to protect an unconscious Chief of the Crying Club from the suits).

His roommate already knows/guesses that Ronan manifested the murder crabs, and isn’t simply a violent drunk BF. So, Adam comes clean about everything, including the magic (and Ronan’s name gets cleared, which I NEed to happen). 

Basically Adam realises that, like in TRC, he has friends who have his back and accept him for who he is (for eg Gansey and Ronan showing up at his hearing). 

Which leads to Adam accepting himself for who HE is.

#TRC #Pynch #Adam Parrish #Ronan Lynch #CDTH spoilers #Mission Impossible #mine #Asks #hklnvgl #thank you for your wonderful Asks #as always #I love talking about Adam's arc #and CDTH2 headcanons #Q

[kappa-crossing]

Now, for something completely different – I’m gonna tell you my favourite villagers of (most) species for no particular reason, and you’re gonna learn all about my weird-ass taste in villagers! I’ll leave out species where I don’t really have a strong favourite.

Anteaters

MY MAN OLAF

He’s on my New Horizons island and he’s such an icon, I love him so much. As far as I can tell, the General Opinion of him is that people either absolutely love him, or absolutely hate his guts. I am very much in the former camp

Bears

I guess Grizzly, if only because he was in both my Let’s Go To The City and New Leaf towns. He’s an absolute dad and I will not elaborate on that any further.

I also have a soft spot for Beardo, as shown in this tweet I made a while ago:

Bulls

Coach!!! He’s weirdly cute to me. His little dot eyes... his thicc eyebrows... his 5-o-clock shadow... He’s like a baby and a middle-aged man simultaneously. I love him.

Cats

STINKY! The one cat that no-one seems to give a shit about except for me. My man wears underwear on his head! What’s not to like?

Chickens

IDK, I like Ken. He looks like he could kill me in a second, and I respect him for that

Cubs

MY MAN VLADIMIR!!! I guess he’s what you’d call one of my “dreamies”? Because I really want to have him on my New Horizons island at some point. I just love this grumpy little man. Bright pink fur, single buck tooth, angy eyebrow, plus cranky is one of my favourite personality types... We will meet one day, my strange little friend 😭

Ducks

I like Joey. He’s adorable in an extremely simplistic way

I also like Freckles because she was in my New Leaf town

We stan a completely lifeless stare 😌💕💕 Absolutely nothing going on behind those eyes

Elephants

I feel like my past self would eviscerate me if I didn’t say Dizzy for this one. He was my absolute favourite when I played Wild World as a kid, I loved this guy so much and then he randomly moved out and young me had their first experience of heartbreak 😔💔 But he came back to me in New Leaf so it’s all good (only after making a candlelit shrine to him in my basement, of course)

But anyway, he’s cute

I also like Paolo, just look at that face, that’s the face of a man that’s about to steal the last chip off of your plate without a hint of hesitation

Frogs

There are SO MANY WONDERFUL FROGS. I really like just about all of them. Here’s a run-down of just a handful of them

Raddle, everything about him screams “poisonous”, but I would still trust him to do a life-saving surgery on me

Ribbot is an obvious robotic legend, he’s just very cool

Tad is just A Frog and I like that

And I have a strong, inexplicable love for Wart Jr.

Gorillas

MY GIRL ROCKET!!!

She was the most iconic part of my New Leaf town, I never thought I’d get so attached to her when she first moved in but I love her so much

I trust her with my life

Hamsters

Clay, I love this weird little baby, one of my favourites in my New Horizons island. The inspiration for his design is pretty interesting too 👍

Mice

This is a hard one. I really like Rod (was in my New Leaf town), Broccolo (absolutely adorable), Candi (is on my New Horizons island), Limberg (cranky but cute little man with a five-o-clock shadow, love it), and Samson (Just A Mouse)... but today I want to talk about our cheesy lad Chadder

This is another one that I want on my New Horizons island at some point, I think he and Olaf would clash wonderfully. 😆 His simple little face... his bright green nose... his fancy tuxedo... the fact that he seems to be entirely made out of cheese... I love this guy so much. I just hope that Clay won’t take a bite out of him if he moves to my island 😔

Octopi

Octavian is just good. I don’t have any further explanation. I like him.

Ostriches

Sprocket is cool, just like all of the robotic villagers

Pigs

Kevin’s cute. I’m now realising that I seem to have a thing for villagers with little dot eyes

Maggie and Truffles fall into the same sort of category

Side note: I feel like Kevin and Maggie could be brother and sister or something, they look quite similar 🤔

Rabbits

SNAAAAAAAAAAKE!

That is all.

Rhinos

Spike, he’s another one that’s on my New Horizons island, he’s my cranky but soft-hearted grandpa and I love him dearly, that’s about it really

Sheep

This one’s a bit more of a deep cut, but I really like Woolio from the first game (and the various Japanese versions of it). He’s the coolest sheep you’ll ever see.

This dude would definitely be a smug villager if they brought him back (he was a jock originally)

Squirrels

I don’t really have a favourite squirrel, but I want to give a special shout-out to Ricky. He has a very unique, funny-looking face and I love that for him

Also, apparently his picture quote is “You gotta break a few shells to get the nut” and I have the maturity of a 5-year-old and so the mere utterance of the phrase “the nut” makes me titter like a schoolchild

And that’s about it, I guess. Just wanted to give some love to the more under-appreciated villagers, because those tend to be my favourites 🥰

#animal crossing #animal crossing new horizons #long post #olaf #grizzly #beardo #coach #stinky #ken #vladimir #joey #freckles #dizzy #paolo #raddle #ribbot #tad #wart jr. #rocket #clay #chadder #octavian #sprocket #kevin #maggie #truffles #snake #spike #woolio #ricky

[piningeddiediaz]

I don't know if Maggie is in therapy, but it might help her. she needs to understand that not everyone cares about the proposal she wants and it's okay to accept criticism. I don't know how the dreamer trilogy is being received and I don't even know if it has been a great success. no one is asking for fanservice just wanting what she promised was not to separate (she deleted the tweet about that) and respecting the development the couple had in the raven cycle... so why then more than 4 books to develop a relationship? if she wanted to finish them first, she would have done cdth with them apart. like it or not, most of the people reading the dreamer trilogy are because of pynch and that's okay, isn't she making money off of it? from the moment work is sold, it belongs a little to the person who bought it and there will be criticisms, if she didn't want to, she could have made the book just for her and not market it.

I'd rather not discuss Maggie's personal life. it is none of our business and its not nice to discuss her personal things in this manner.

I see your point and like I said I see both sides - personally I dont like it because a lot of the things she's saying no to were things I really wanted to see. I dont personally think most of them are things a couple of lines in an epilogue cant cover, but having said that I can understand that as the writer she has a vision for her work - and if she is to be believed she planned this series out as early as 2008! can you imagine that? shes been sitting on this idea for over a decade - most of us probably didnt even know how to write compound sentences then! so I suppose I can understand her. protectiveness over this (I do recall there was a lot of controversy when she was on Tumblr because people kept asking her to write pynch smut). could she have done it better? hell yeah. the reason why people are so disappointed about the lack of adam presence in the books is because she has been teasing an adam storyline for years. even cdth and mi both hint at adam going through his own thing, but the problem is that at this point it is very unlikely we are actually going to see it be wrapped up. mstief has put a lot on her plate for the last book and idk how she is going to cover it all without making it hundreds of pages. logically, it probably means adam's story is going to be sidelined (and no sarchengsey, bcos I know people are hoping for that). it's not their story. I dont like it, but its nothing I didnt already know. like im not gonna pretend adam and pynch weren't the main reason I came back to the fandom when cdth came out, because I genuinely did not care until I found out Adam was gonna be in the book. but I didnt stay for adam, I stayed because I got hooked on the story.

so in conclusion, ik the tweets upset a lot of people. lots of people had hopes about it but they were hopes. im disappointed we wont get to see things like pynch proposal and their life together etc (people/maggie who say pynch proposal after a year of dating is too ooc - bro declan practically proposed after a month of knowing jordan. the lynch brothers fall hard and fast we all know this) but I trust maggie as a writer enough to believe that whatever she has planned for the next book, it will be something good. take mi as an example - adam wasn't in it even half as much as we were all hoping and yet his impact was unparalleled. everything came back to him and Ronan despite him being barely present in it! breaking pynch up is not an option - maggie knows that as well as us - and the rest? fall 2022 cant come fast enough!

#and yes a part of the characters will always be the readers because no one interprets anything the same way and that's never gonna change #i AM going to write a thousand fics about them being soft and getting married and no one can change that #the rest? we'll have to wait and see #asks #anon #trc #mister impossible #adam parrish #ronan lynch #pynch #ronan x adam #the dreamer trilogy #maggie stiefvater

[allwaswell16]

5 favorites of 2020

I was tagged by @kingsofeverything & @disgruntledkittenface Thanks Lauren and Maggie!!! 

RULES: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 (ish) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome work.

1. Until (series) - Ohhh this fic. I feel like this fic came along and saved me this year. I actually intended to write the prompt this came from (well an irl situation that @jaerie got herself into actually lol) last year and it was going to be short. But when I went to write it, all these other ideas popped up, so I shelved it and decided to write it for Big Bang. I was concerned about getting 25k out of hahahahahahahaha This series clocks in at almost 62k. My main goal was just to get to write about cowboys lol, but then it turned into a fic about finding your place in the world and how the concept of home looks different for different people. I didn’t know where to set the fic, but then a friend @big-sue suggested this area of Colorado and it just really fell into place then. I could just see it all happening once I had the location. And I just grew to love these characters so much. The side pairing of Niall/Shawn Mendes felt like it’s own side story, which I then turned into the second part of the series. These characters comforted me when I needed comfort, and as you’ll see I’m a sucker for my friends, so I wrote a third part...a wedding time stamp for @nouies who mentioned she’d like to read it. This series was an escape for me this year, and I just hoped that it could bring a little bit of comfort or escape for anyone who read it.

2. When You Know - I do this thing where I feel a need to challenge myself to write things I’ve never written before, so at the beginning of the year when my friend Laura came to me with a prompt, I decided it was just what I needed. The prompt was simple: assassin Louis and cupcake Harry. So there was a lot of room to do what I wanted with it. I’m actually really proud of how it turned out. I set out to create a certain mood with the fic, which is something I’ve been trying to work on in my writing. And I really feel like I captured just what I wanted with it. 

3. Interview with the vampire - I am a huge fan of reading rare pairs, but the only rare pair I’d written before this one was Tomlinshaw. So I decided to sign up for the Louis and Men Fest and try out a different pairing. Well, I originally was going to write Louis+Cillian Murphy, but then my friend @outropeace asked for Louis+Rob Pattinson after Rob had that absurdly delightful interview with GQ. So I somehow ended up making it a/b/o and used the interview as part of it and included a plot twist. It feels like a fever dream tbh. lol. But I think I really captured Rob’s chaotic personality, so I’m pretty damn proud of it. Also, I was shocked that people actually read this, the rarest of rare pairs (it’s literally the only one in the pairing). a;lsdkfj I had low expectations for its reception, but surprisingly, some people actually read it! It has better stats than some of the other rare pair fics I wrote this year lol. 

4. Over - Are you sensing a theme wherein I am weak for my friends and I write their prompts? lol. This is another one that Laura prompted me to write. I wrote this for the 1d Breakup Fest and it’s based on a viral tweet, but I changed it from strangers to lovers into exes to lovers to fit the fest. I put all my favorite things to write in this fic...exes, pining, sexual tension. And the thing I discovered while writing this was that I don’t dread writing smut anymore. I have been forcing myself to practice writing it for years, and I finally reached the point where it’s no longer hard to write. I’ve gone back to reread that part of the fic because of a few comments people had made about that part, and I realized that I’d managed to do what I always wanted to do...write smut that felt emotional and relevant to the story. And I was like, hey I did it! lol (Only took me 83 fics to get there a;lsjdkfd)

5. Hesitate - So I had finished writing for the breakup fest, and as a mod, I realized there were no rare pairs in the fest. So I decided to write a second fic for the fest (and convince @taggiecb to write one too lol) but this time a Lilo one. So I let it simmer in my mind for about a week and then sat down and wrote this pretty much right from my head, which just never happens. The whole story just spilled out of me and I just knew exactly the dynamic I wanted between them, which later I realized was probably due to long talks with @magicalrocketships about Louis. LOL. But it’s fine because she was my target audience anyway. Writing this felt so joyful, so it’s one of my favs. 

I tag anyone I tagged above and also @brickredtoe @thepolourryexpress @cocoalou @mynameisrainbow @absoloutenonsense @reminiscingintherain @2tiedships2 @vintageumbroshirt @joliepetitelou 

#tag things

[partyinthemysterymachine]

2, 7 and 8 for Harry and 6, 9 and 12 for James

HARRY

What are they like on social media? (What’s their username, profile pic, etc.)

he has a twitter and an instagram he sort of remembers he has (and will use it consistently for two weeks, then drop off again). 

his instagram is .@harrymasontypes (aw isn’t that cute) and profile pic there is a half-eaten doughnut with sunglasses. pictures of heather are most common, then photos of his desk, in/around his house, out and about - y’know, as one does with the instant-grammards. he varies giving one word descriptions or an ominous tag, to saying a lot, to dad jokes, to reluctant promoting (but he does it HIS way, which means he’s at least having a good time)

one of his most popular photos is a picture of his (then-)latest book and he’s stabbed it with a large kitchen knife to the kitchen table. the lighting is impeccable and the mood is fine art and his caption reads:

“#FilicideSeries out. I realize now, after taking out my frustrations on my book like this, it appears it foretold its own demise. I’m a social media sensation. Thank you for supporting me, and supporting my support of the act of filicide against my own work. Committing filicide against my daughter is my own business, and I’ve already written my obituary. Thank you for your supportive understanding, understanding, and support in supporting understanding and support.”

his twitter profile avatar is the picture he took of Heather’s father’s day card one year that simply reads, “<3 HI DAD <3 <3 I HATE YOU <3 <3 <3″ and it was done with such obvious joking and love that he put it up there and was going to remove it eventually, maybe with a picture of hte cover his latest book (, begged his editor/agent,) but he has no time for that

Harry follows a lot of other famous and renowned authors and is followed by fewer, and mutuals with even fewer. his own fame and renown is actually pretty damn good; he’s landed on some bestsellers, done interviews, had a couple TV interviews (then had to shut down all future ones after the massive panic attack he at least kept together until he was out of the building). of course, you see a picture of the dude and you’d never know who the fuck you’re looking at if you don’t know to care what he looks like.

his twitter is cheeky, relaxed, sometimes serious, and sometimes sounds like an actual professional person. (Harry likes to blame those kinds of tweets on Maggie (his editor/agent) hacking into his account.) he interacts with fans, answers questions, posts pictures, posts The Far Side comics he likes, no context.

he’ll joke about a lot and only gets political if he really feels it necessary. 

(in most incarnations, Harry will also be mutuals/best friends with Lane Morgans, who’s an OC, and who writes tongue-in-cheek romance novels. they will also interact on twitter and frequently be seen in each other’s pictures.)

How’s their cooking?

not too shabby! Harry took up cooking right after he and Jodi got their own place/got married and made Julia Childs real proud by the way he did it in the beginning LOL but luckily, he had Jodi and her family to help him get his sea legs in the kitchen. (Harry loved his mom and dad and their cooking was great, really, but they were standoffish people, and were uncomfortable teaching Harry his way around a kitchen.)

as he was raising Heather, he struggled to get back into cooking (or doing much of anything) and ended up binge watching old Emeril! and Julia Childs episodes and he was like fine, fine you know what, fine, and got back into cooking (and baking). now he and Heather have tons of options, stuff in the freezer that can be dethawed for later, etc. Harry does good work, he’s a good few ticks above average adn done with love (and stress, so much goddamn stress) so it tastes pretty good :3

he also really loves the Instant Pot and Heather would like to beat up the person who recommended it to him :) stop talking about the Instant Pot, dad, or just marry it already

Harry thinks his best dish is pork enchiladas, best dessert is rum cake (with custard!). Heather thinks his best dish is ‘macaroni and aw hell what the fuck do we have in the fridge’ and his best dessert is flan (or peanut butter cookies, if she must.) oddly, the flan started as a birthday treat and got a candle in it, and for whatever reason since then, whenever Harry makes flan for her, he puts a candle in for her when he serves it. he’s even included it in a baggie if he’d packed it for her.

It’s movie night, what movie do they pick?

The Thing

Aliens/2

Singin’ In The Rain

The Shining

It

White Alligator

Four Rooms

Inglourious Basterds

does it have Mae West? then yes

does it have Clark Gable? then yes

among many others.. he has a wide range of tastes..

JAMES

Favorite music?

old rock bands; The Who; The Doors; Rolling Stones; Motley Crue; some other artists like Fiona Apple, Janis Joplin, The Four Seasons; it’s hard for him to really remember, though. there could be more to it. those names just sound familiar.. but maybe he just doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

How would they hold up in a pillow war?

depends on his opponent. he’d have to give it another go; he was cheating the last time.

would he be willing to? not unless he had any other choice.. but it also depends on who’s involved..

Something small that they enjoy?

.. actually, yeah. it’s

#ches writes #:)!! #thank u for sendign these in!! #this is just what i found in my ass!!!. ;__; #harry mason #james sunderland #for my own tags lmao #i hope u like this #i had fun #poppycrowns

[orchidbreezefc]

OH SHIT YALL ARE WE PUBLICALLY TALKING ABOUT THE SHIT THE KFAM CREATORS PULL? IS THAT A THING WE’RE TALKING ABOUT NOW? I HAVE BEEN WAITING SO LONG FOR THIS YOU HAVE NO IDEA.

first: im not going to go into issues i have with the show itself. yall heard the helen keller episode and the walt storyline/the character voice a white dude used for him same as i did--my input won’t be necessary there i think. i also recommend the blog @kfam-tea​, thank you for your service, for being an archive for creator-based shit, the current snafu and their history, etc.

this is about my personal experiences with the creators. there’s plenty of behavior by the FANDOM that i don’t appreciate, especially in the official discord--where it’s specifically encouraged and cultivated--and maybe i’ll indulge myself with that in a separate post, but this i think will be more relevant to more folks’ interests and the current climate.

so. remember ep90, “if you’re hungry and you know it”? it’s the one where maggie calls in to apply and gets treated like shit by our protagonists for 15 minutes. comments are made about her breasts. they try to dissuade her from applying for the job posting they’ve been advertising because chet would sexually harass her and rather than address that they’d rather just.... warn off every female applicant? maggie through the conversation is trying to make amends for her wrongs (i.e. high school drama and attacking a guy who sexually harassed her so badly for years she quit her job) and talk about her efforts at recovery, and she is mocked, both in the way she is written and in the way sammy and ben talk to and about her.

it was bad. it was very sexist and bad, and nothing was said about it for a month (7/15-8/15), at which point ep92, “words: greater than pen, greater than sword” aired, which contained lily tearing sammy to shreds over it. ben wasn’t there, which was interesting, because it did create a dynamic where our resident socially aware lesbian (who solely bears the burden of educating people when they are being shitheads and is richly rewarded by being widely regarded as an unlikeable bitch by the fandom and many of the characters) rightfully confronts and gets an apology from a gay man for being half of an extremely misogynist shutdown of a woman. meanwhile, his hetero counterpart and unassailable purehearted fandom darling is not yelled at for his misogyny, and gets to have this Very Important Lesson relegated to him offscreen later. i mean, presumably? i’m pretty sure we never hear whether that actually happens.

still, it was a pretty thorough discussion of how gross that conversation had been, and it was addressed and apologized for in the show itself by the characters (or one of them), which was more than i expected. it regained some lost trust. it was clear to me that the kfam team had received the same sort of outcry from the fandom that i had seen in more private servers, and these were their amends. i decided to tweet at them applauding the effort. this is how that worked out:

[ID: a tweet by me that reads: “@ KingFallsAM hey.... today's episode was good. this was a good way to respond to fan criticism and the apology is appreciated. thanks.”

the official kfam account quote tweeted this to respond: “This was an intended storyline, we don’t course correct. We have ALWAYS had imperfect characters that learn and grow and will continue to. Also... we only saw one tweet even mention it. But thanks?“

a fellow fan, whose username and icon have been redacted, replied to the official kfam account’s response with: “I feel like there’s a less sarcastic way to respond to this tweet. I’m a diehard fan, however I saw quite a bit of criticism about thesexism[sic] in the recent episodes. I too was under the impression that it was a course correction, regardless I am glad that there is character growth“]

so. that was a cool thing. like, i do owe that other fan my life and will show up for them in their hour of need for being the only one to publically stick up for me despite being a stranger, but that sure was a quote tweet that a multi-thousand-followers account used to dunk on my under-100-followers account for trying to pay them a compliment!

i mean, really. the passive-aggressive ‘but thanks?’ at the end? and them saying not that they didnt course correct in this case where followup (a month later) was planned, but that they don’t course-correct, as in they never do that--was a clear statement of ‘we don’t accept fan criticism or feedback on writing OR representation and take it into account, ever’. hey kfam, pro tip: when you say 'thanks for accepting our apology i guess' it really sounds like you didnt feel like you needed to apologize in the first place. which is a pretty bold attitude to take about an episode where a character apologizes for being sexist.

like no wonder you only saw one tweet about it if that’s the attitude you present toward criticism (and, as @kfam-tea​‘s blog thoroughly proves, it is and has been, consistently). i know the risk of backlash is definitely why i hadn’t said anything about 90 in public up to that point. but yeah, 'nobody told us that episode was disgusting in our samebrain discord server that contains the literal creators who have a history of backlash, so can you really say there was fan criticism at all? maybe it was just in your head. after all, if we did something wrong with the intention to correct it a month later, did we really do anything wrong in the first place? checkmate'

tl;dr im not surprised by the new developments. my hearts go out to the MINORS, who are specifically cultivated as an audience by the sfw policy of the official server, who were publically chewed out by the grown ass author on twitter for requesting tags, warnings, or really any sort of discretion or consideration at all on nsfw content.

p.s.: here’s something kyle said on the discord in response to a conversation in which i criticized ben’s behavior during an episode (i.e. said he should apologize and take responsibility for a hurtful thing he did even though he did it by accident, or at least have it acknowledged in the show or the fandom that he did a hurtful thing--another post, perhaps) and the rest of the discord dogpiled me until i cried and shut down and stopped defending myself or speaking at all because i couldn’t deal with inviting any more argument:

[ID: a discord message from kyle that reads: “Thank you all for talking about this maturely and with your words. I’ve personally never seen that heard[sic???] of this scene with that POV attached but that’s the beautiful thing about this show and shows like it, is[sic] that we all kinda copy & paste ourselves on these characters and situations at times. Everybody’s opinions on the situation is[sic] valid with their own personal context of the scene.” two people have reacted with blue heart emojis.]

how magnanimous, kyle. wouldn’t have described the preceding argument as civil even if i did understand how anyone could possibly do anything on a discord text channel that didn’t qualify as using their words, but thanks? somebody literally DM’d me to ask if i was okay because without having ever talked to me one-on-one before they could tell i was deeply distraught by the end, but i’m glad you got to be the benevolent author and shake hands with both sides for a swift shutdown of dissent well executed. /s

#sage original post #sage speaks #kfam #king falls am #kfam negative #kfam hate #kyle brown #lets DO THIS #FREE THE SALT #king falls drama #long post #kfam tea #ok to reblog #lets boogie

[manrocket-mo]

Right Where We Are - Morgan Rielly

requested: no

word count: 4,600

author’s note: LET’S. GO. RAPTORS. I was writing this before I even knew Mo would be back in Toronto so how perfect is this?? I also predicted the outcome of tonight’s game before tip so if its not correct, please don’t hurt me haha.  As always, this fic will be linked in my masterlist. Check it out for all my Mo/NHL player fics.

You had been seeing Morgan for about six months now and despite your mutual understanding of just having fun, it was starting to get pretty serious. There was never a label put on whatever it is that you were but casual was no longer it. You were constantly at his place, staying over, sleeping in with him, cuddling on the couch over movies and laughs and ice cream. You were holding hands. You were kissing him. You were wondering when was the next time you could see him, talk to him, be with him.

You were no longer just the girl that Mo was seeing around town. You were the girl that Mo was keeping around. The girl that was capturing his heart. And that made Mo as protective as ever.

You had never seen him so guarded, so hyper aware of everyone around him, so careful. You had stopped going out for dinner or movies or brunch and opted for nights spent in. And while you loved any time you could spend with him, you were getting weary of what it meant to be locked in all the time when all you wanted was to freely be with him.

“What do you want tonight?” Morgan asks when he pulls his lips away from yours, his arms around you, his eyes bright and blue with excitement after not seeing you for a few days.

“Pizza is fine... again, I guess.” You try to avoid eye contact as you sank back into your couch, pulling the blanket back over your body where it had been before he came knocking at your door.

“Y/N, did I say something?” Morgan wonders in response to your snark sitting next to you and pulling your legs over his.

“It’s stupid... it’s nothing,” you mumble, taking his hand in yours and playing with his fingers.

“No, tell me,” he prompts, his voice soft, enough to pull your attention back to him.

“I’m just... I know that this wasn’t the deal... but I’m tired of this... I’m tired of hiding!” And now that Pandora’s box had been opened, you couldn’t stop. “I want to see you in the daylight, Morgan. I want to see you at night when all the streetlights are on and we’re walking back from dinner. I—I want to know this is real, on the outside where there are real problems and real situations and people and birds and—.“ His face was suddenly so unreadable in your rant, so set in stone that you lost all courage, all momentum. “Nevermind...”

You were hurt, there was no denying it.

“You know we can’t,” he spoke, looking away from you, his eyebrows furrowed. You had heard this so many times, in so many tones of voice, in so many situations that you were just tired of arguing. “We aren’t serious, Y/N. If you were hurt because of me, because of this... I would never forgive myself.”

Because of this.

This.

“Okay.” It was simple. It was a non-conversation. It was not up for discussion. It was a done deal.

And it was obviously all one-sided, whatever way you choose to look at it.

“Okay.” It wasn’t the answer you were hoping for. It was easy. It was casual, much like whatever this was. “Pizza it is.”

As if the conversation had never even started.

You hadn’t seen Morgan in a few weeks or so when he went home to Vancouver for Mother’s Day and didn’t return. You hadn’t heard from him other than a few texts and snapchats here and there that were left on read, that didn’t go anywhere so you tried to occupy your mind elsewhere, with work, with reading, with trying to be healthier, and with just learning to not be so codependent on the boy that had stolen your heart.

All was going well.... except for the last one.

You were checking your phone as often as you could, hoping for one text, one post, one tweet. You just wanted anything from him.

After all that had transpired, you still wanted him.

But how much of him?

Maybe it was over, maybe you should’ve just let a good thing happen.

And with all this time, you were left to stew over it all. When did it all shift? When did things begin to change? Why did it all change?

Everything was fine. Everything was more than fine. And then it all changed. Your feelings for him changed.

You sigh, pulling your backpack strap back up as it slid down your shoulder as you shuffled for your keys. You had been sent home early by your boss with no reasoning but despite that, you were still exhausted, emotionally and mentally.

So exhausted that you almost screamed when you saw something, someone standing in the shadows across the hall from your apartment.

It was Morgan, standing there, unannounced, leaning against the wall.

You stopped dead in your tracks, a full five yards between you. “What are you doing here? Thought you were still in Van?”

“Couldn’t come see my girl?” he asks playfully, shooting you that charismatic smile that got you here in the first place.

“I’m not your girl, Morgan,” you mumble as you step forward and begin to unlock your apartment. “Besides, you couldn’t call, text?”

You watch as he follows you in and kicks off his shoes. You turn to him as soon as you deposit your backpack in it’s spot by your desk.

He shrugs now that he has your attention. “Thought I’d surprise you.”

“Morgan... this is exhausting.” You come around to where he had taken a seat at one of the barstools in your kitchen and face him, eyeing him wearily as he looked up at you. “I can’t keep doing this.”

He sighs, his face full of conflict. He hesitated for a second before placing his hands on your hips, drawing you in between his legs.

“Humor me, one last time,” he murmurs, his face somber.

One. Last. Time.

Although you thought you were ready, you were anything but. Nothing could prepare you for this. And you feel the pain in your chest, the feeling of loss and grief taking hold of your heart.

One. Last. Time.

And all you can do is nod and choke out an “okay,” before taking him in your arms, burying your face in his neck.

“I got your favorite,” he mumbled against your hair. “That Thai place down the street that you love so much. And the cookie dough from Dough T.O. Our favorite!”

You pull back and examine him, the sweet boy you feel for right before you. “But you hate Thai food.”

He smiles at you softly, pushing a piece of hair dangling in your face behind your ear. “But for you I’d do anything even if that means heartburn for the rest of the night.” You begin to melt and you feel your eyes begin to water. “Anything to make my girl happy.”

You smile at that and lean in to press your lips to his softly, gently, maybe for the last time before wrapping him back up in your arms and pressing a soft kiss to the nape of his neck.

He lets you hold him and he holds you in return, his chin settled on your shoulder. And you stand there and just be for a few more minutes, two people standing as one before the magic spell is broken and you separate.

“Come on, let’s eat. I’m willing to bet you didn’t have time to eat lunch.” You shake your head and he rolls his eyes disapprovingly. “So stubborn.”

And with that he leads you to your coffee table where he breaks out the food. “I got us Pad Thai and rolls to share and green curry for you and Thai fried rice for me.”

“Baby,” You mutter jokingly, eyeing him as you sat, legs crossed next to him, your knees and arms brushing.

He winks at you and then it all shifts, something shifts and he’s just looking at you, over the food, over this thing that you had been doing for months, over whatever this was. His eyes are on your lips and he leans in and presses a gentle kiss on them, so sweet, so tender, so effortless.

And it felt that way. It could be so effortless to just be.

But it wasn’t and you resigned, dropping his gaze almost embarrassed to be feeling the way you do and go back to your food.

And you have to force yourself to cherish the moment, not waste a second, a second that you could be hearing his voice, his laugh, feeling his warmth.

“When did you get in?” You wonder, wrapping the noodles around your fork.

“‘Round noon. Haven’t been in town for very long.”

“Quick trip?” You hoped not even though you knew better than to hold out.

“Something like that.” The nonchalance was enough to cause you to almost flinch. “...Just wanted to see your face.”

You tried to tell yourself not to hope. You tried to warn yourself but you were a lost cause.

And he told you about Vancouver, about Maggie, about the outrageous summer project his dad had taken on renovating the patio in their family backyard, about his mom helping him decorate his bare Vancouver home. But he also asked about you, how work was, how you were. He paid attention, he smiled when you told him about the project you just wrapped up, he congratulated you on the promotion down the pike and the raise that came with it and hitting the month goal for your spin class... he listened and laughed and was present in the moment. And you were, too, easily reminded why you were in so deep.

And as dinner wound down with the sun starting to drop behind the trees in the distance, you started to feel your temporary happiness waning.

Suddenly, Morgan pushes himself off the living room floor and your heart falls into the pit of your stomach. Your eyes follow him desperately as he rounds your couch and disappears into the kitchen. You listen for the scrape of his sneakers as he puts them on and the slamming of the door but instead you’re surprised as he returns to the room with a bag in each hand.

Goodbye gifts.

“Morgan...”

He returns to you wearing your favorite smile and comes to a seat on the couch next to where you were seated on the floor.

He places the bag in your lap and when you look at him questioningly, he chuckles and responds with, “open it. Humor me.”

And you do, unwrapping the box from the tissue and pull out a new pair of Jordan’s from the box.

“You got me... sneakers?” you ask, thoroughly confused.

“Not just sneakers, Y/N... Jordan’s.”

“Okay... you bought me the same red, black and white Jordan’s that you have? Not that I’m ungrateful... thank you so much!” You tried to sound enthusiastic but  you were not only confused but disappointed.

Morgan laughs, probably at your expression and presses. “Try the other bag.” He places the second bag next to you and this time, you pull out his Raptors sweater.

“Morgan...” as you tried to put two and two together, your brain could only concoct one explanation and it seemed a stretch.

“You wanted a date night so we’re having a date night,” he shrugs nonchalantly but his underlying smile betrays him.

“Morgan, are you serious?” you ask, your hands raising the sweater.

“Yeah, I’m serious, Y/N! Game starts in about two and a half hours so we should probably get moving if we want to beat traffic.”

“You’re not kidding!” You mumble, a tear escaping from your eyes. “B-but you said—“

Morgan dropped to the floor next to you, one hand immediately going to cradle your face in his palm. “You waited patiently for me for so long and I’ve been unfair with you by asking you to hide when you didn’t ask for any of this.”

“But Morgan, you don’t have to—if you don’t want to—“

“But I want to. God, I’ve wanted to for so long and what better way than to take my girl out on the town.”

You melt into a puddle right there, in the middle of your living room looking at the boy, the man who had made you so happy these past few months. “You’re flexing and you know it,” you giggle, still wiping tears from your eyes. “But I enjoy it. And I enjoy you.” You lean forward and press your lips to his, your arms winding around his neck. “Thank you.”

Your kiss takes a passionate turn but not for long. “Come on, sweet girl,” he breathes as he pulls away, your lips chasing his. “Go and get dressed. We have a game to get to!” He stands and pulls you to your feet, leading you by hand into your bedroom.

“What do I wear?” You wonder to yourself, walking into your closet.

“Wear those leather legging things. Your butt looks amaaaazing in them,” he yells from your bed.

You roll your eyes and glare at him. “You won’t even get to see my butt half the time. I’ll be sitting.”

“But I’ll know what’s there.” He wags his eyebrows and you pull the leggings out of the drawer and throw it at his smug face.

“How about this?” You pull out a jean jacket to layer over the sweater and hold it over your torso for Morgan to see.

“Ahh, that’s where my denim jacket went...” he mused. “I’ve been looking for that.”

You came back to join him in bedroom and shed your jeans to pull on the leggings. “You see here, you left it here and didn’t mind me wearing it the next morning so I called it even and it’s mine now.”

“And as I remember it, the way you wore it would be enough to convince anyone of absolutely anything.” His arms wind around your hips and pull you in.

“And as I remember it, we have a date night to get to, so don’t distract me.” You push him onto his back and giggle as he let out a muffled groan.

“What have I gotten myself into?” He grunts as he eyes you pulling your work blouse off your body. You wink at him as you pull on his oversized sweater on. “Ugh, I love when you wear my clothes.” He throws himself back and you laugh, reaching for your sock drawer where you pull out a pair of Raptors socks.

“Where’d you get those?” He asks curiously as you pull them over your ankles.

“When I used to intern for their creative department,” you shrug.

He sits up on his elbows. “Huh, I didn’t know that. You never told me.”

You chuckle, watching his eyes grow as you crawl into bed with him, leaning over his body to press a kiss to his cheek. “Guess there’s a lot left to learn... come on, let’s go.”

And he follows you like a lost puppy, shaking his head, a smirk affixed on his lips as you pulled on your new kicks and slammed the door behind you.

The drive down Lake Shore Boulevard is a nervous one, even more so with the traffic leading to Scotiabank arena, with the people lining the streets of Toronto, with all the eyes of passersby. The only thing keeping you present was Morgan’s horrible singing voice, barely keeping up with the tunes playing from your Spotify playlist, curated from songs you both loved to listen to.

“Ahh, remember this song?” He wonders, pulling your hand up to press a kiss to it.

“What?” You ask, snapping out of your stupor, your worries.

“The song. Remember, we danced to it that one night it got stormy out and we were trapped in my apartment and you laughed at me because you said my singing was terrible.”

You roll your eyes. “I didn’t make fun of you. You’re just dramatic!”

“No way, you did. Bet you won’t be able to hold the insults in if I sing again, ready?!” He inhaled dramatically. “And darling, I will be loving you til we’re 70!”

You had to bite your lip to not laugh at him. He was ridiculous but you liked him. You liked this boy a lot. A lot, a lot.

“Come on, don’t leave me hanging!” He brings your hands, intertwined, to his mouth singing and then to yours for you to chime in.

“So honey, now! Take me into your loving arms!”

“There we go! Sing it!” He encourages and you burst into a fit of giggles, leaning into him and resting against his shoulder as he pressed his lips to your temple, humming along to the love song playing through the speakers, warming your heart.

Turns out, Mitch was tagging along as a third wheel, which you were okay with because he tended to just bounce around on his own, too hyped on Red Bull to really pay attention to one thing or the other. You laughed as he pulled you into a tight hug before rushing off to go and give Naz a hard time about his hat.

“Y/N, where are you going?” Morgan asks as you wander behind Connor and Zach in the line to the suite elevator.

“Going up to the suite?”

Morgan reaches out and grabs your hand, gently pulling you in his direction.

“We’re going this way,” he corrects, smiling at you angelically.

“But the floor is that way,” you mutter.

“Exactly...”

You pull him to a stop in the hallway leading to the locker rooms. “Morgan, what did you do?”

“What?” He asks, a goofy grin spread across his face. “I can’t spoil my girl?”

“Morgan... it’s game 5. Of the FINALS. Wha—“

“Don’t worry about it okay?” He takes your folded hands and presses another kiss to it as he had been doing all afternoon. “This is our date night and I want to spoil you. You deserve to be spoiled.”

“Spoil me—“

“Ahahah, I don’t want to hear it.”

“But—“

“But nothing.”

“Can you spoil me with a churro at least?”

“That I can do.”

And he did, churro and a drink for each of you later, you were headed for your court-side seats. You spotted Mitch immediately, waving ridiculously your way as if you couldn’t see him and headed in his direction.

“What’re you doing?” Mo whines when you place a seat between you and him, a seat for his teammate.

“Thought you’d want to sit next to Mitchy...” you looked to him questioningly, confused.

“Why would I want that?”

“Hey!” Mitch protested.

Morgan ignored him and patted the seat next to him in the cramped row adorning the arena floor. “I want to sit with my girl.”

You hesitate, taking a look around you, at the people, the cameras in full-force, the Toronto media occupying every available inch. “But Mo, the people... they want to see you and Mitchy, not me. It’ll be hard to crop me out of photos when I’m right between the two of you.”

“And I don’t care what they want, honestly. I just want to be sidled up with my date enjoying a good game, not Mitchell Marner screaming in my ear with any turnover like he’s Drake.” He reaches out and takes your hand in his again and caresses it with his thumb. “Come on.”

And you scoot on over, leaving Mitch on the end.

“Much better,” Morgan sighs, his arm resting around you.

“You’ll still have someone yelling in your ear but at least I’m not Mitchy, I guess.”

“Big basketball fan?” You nod, enthusiastically. “How’d I not know that?”

“The more you stick around, the more you learn,” you tease. But suddenly your playful mood dissipates with the attention you’re garnering sitting next to Morgan.

“Are you sure about this?” You mumble, watching the girls on the sidelines making eyes at Morgan.

“Mhmm.” He presses his lips to your hair, humming as he watches the end of shoot-around. His eyes finally follow yours and he turns his body further into yours so that your knees are touching, closing himself off to the prying eyes. Body language was everything. “Let’s just enjoy date night. I’m here with you.”

And you did enjoy date night, every single second of it. You clapped wildly when the Raptors piled on to their point total and threw up your hands made into threes whenever the team put one in from behind the arc. You rivaled even Mitch when it came to cheering along.

“Do you scream this loud at Leafs games?” Morgan chuckles, leaning in, his lips right at your ear as the crowd goes wild during a timeout.

“I do for you,” you shrug. “I think so, if not louder.”

“I know you do.” It was suggestive. You didn’t even have to look at him to know and you shove him away, your cheeks rosy before turning your attention back to the game. You grab his hand in yours, although your attention is on the play on the court.

When the halftime hits, you’re about to beeline for the restrooms when Morgan begs you to stay in your seat.

“Just a few minutes,” he mutters, his head on a swivel as if waiting for something.

That’s when the PA announces the start of the Kiss Cam segment, sponsored by some outrageous jeweler in Queens West.

“How coincidental,” you laugh as Thinking Out Loud comes on over the arena’s sound system. And you giggle at couples on the video board, either not paying attention, awkwardly smiling and waving or eating each other’s faces. “This is SO cringe-worthy, I could die.”

Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye, you see hasty movement and look to see Mitch, standing on the court, jumping up and air-traffic control signalling to you and Morgan.

“Mitchell, sit down!” You mumble only for him to continue his antics. “MITCHELL!”

But it was too late. The next time you looked up, you saw your reflection on the video board, right next to Morgan, a heart drawn around your faces. The crowd aww’d in unison and you covered your face in horror.

“Morgan!” you squeal but to no avail because the camera refused to budge, sticking to the two of you, Toronto’s favorite son and his date.

“Come on, Y/N, they won’t move on til they get what they want,” Morgan whispers softly into your ear. “Just kiss me. It’s just you and me.”

His hand cupped your cheek and when you looked into his eyes, despite how scared you were in that moment, how nervous, despite all the people yelling and screaming around you, you felt the pressure dissipate. Instead all you saw where his soft blue eyes, gazing at you, as if you were the only girl in the world. He looked at you the way he did that night when you were dancing with him, a little wine drunk to the song playing over the speakers, he looked at you. Suddenly it was just and him and you leaned in and let your lips brush against his. It was soft, it was gentle, it was heartwarming. It brought you home, not to Toronto, not to your apartment but to him, the person you fell for, the man you admire and adore in his uniform, in his joggers, in absolutely nothing at all.

His thumb brushing against your cheek brings you back and the arena went wild. You smile at him shyly and he grins back at you, smile brighter than any of the spotlights in the building. Brighter than the gleam and shine of the trophy that was on the line.

“I guess I have to share you with all of Canada now… they love you, Y/N.” Morgan points up, referring to the rabid fans and you blush wildly, pushing your face into his shoulder. “It’s a good thing I do, too.” His whisper into your ear sends your heart galloping in your chest.

The Raptors could’ve won that night and this moment would be the highlight for nights and nights to come.

“What if I don’t want you to share me?” You wonder, pulling back to gauge his reaction, your cheeks on fire.

“It’s a good thing I’m selfish because there’s no way I’m giving you up ever again.” And with that, you press your lips to his again and the crowd goes even wilder.

“Just you and me, baby,” he breathes shallowly into your ear, trying to catch his breath.

And the Raptors do win the championship that night but you can’t imagine anyone happier than you, snuggled up to Morgan on your bed at the end of the night, cuddled up in his sweater, finishing the last of the cookie dough he had brought earlier in the day. The city of Toronto was outside lighting it up but you both chose the quiet and comfort of home to enjoy each other’s company.

“When you kissed me on the court, you knew what you were getting yourself into, right?”

He nodded and takes your hand in his. “I wanted everyone to know that you, Y/N, are mine, my girl. I wanted everyone to know that we’re not sneaking around anymore. That we’re…us”

You smile at him, your heart singing in your chest. “You planned this, didn’t you? The entire thing?”

He nods. “I owe quite the number of favors and have about a dozen kids birthday parties of MLSE executives to attend but it was worth it.” He sneaks in a peck on your cheek. “Seeing you smile out there will always be worth it to me.”

You lean your head on his shoulder and sighed contently when he presses a kiss to your forehead.

“Now, come on. Time to pack. We got a plane to catch soon.” He gets up and holds a hand out for you.

“What?”

“I told you, it was a quick trip. We got a flight in five hours back to Van.”

“‘Morgan, what? I have work tomorrow, I can’t just—“

Morgan laughs. “No, you don’t. Why do you think you got sent home early today?” Your face must say it all. “We got a whole week to ourselves, baby girl.”

“But how?” You move to your kneel on the bed so that you’re face-to-face with him.

“Birthday parties, remember?” You nod slowly, processing everything he had meticulously planned. “I think it’s time that you meet my family. Meet my mom. She’s really excited to meet you.”

Tears rise in your eyes. “Your mom?!” He nods. You throw your arms around his neck and squeeze him to you. “But you said you didn’t share,” you remind him through your soft sobs.

He pulls back, gazing at you lovingly, his thumb brushing your tears away. “Darling, I will be loving you til we’re 70. I think we have time.”

“All the time,” you agree. “Even though you can’t sing…”

“Baby, we found love right where we aaaaare.”

And you giggle uncontrollably, pressing your lips to his, whether it was to stop the singing or to make up for lost time, you weren’t sure.

“Come on, baby girl. We have to get you packed.” He pulls back but you can’t get enough.

Your lips chase his and when you finally run out of breath, you mumble his words: “Humor me.”

#Morgan Rielly #Morgan Rielly Imagine #morgan rielly imagines #Toronto Maple Leafs #NHL Imagines

[nxah-czerny]

Funnily enough i feel like most of pynch or their buildup is in bllb. I kinda felt like after they’re finally together in book 4 there wasn’t much going on anymore. Book 3 has a loooot to offer. I hope we‘ll see a bit more of their ldr in cdth

i agree with you about bllb, because there is a lot of pynch stuff going on there but there is also a lot in trk. my copies of the books are packed away so i can’t give lots of examples but i’ll do my best from memory to explain what i mean?

because yeah, after they kiss and adam spends the night at the barns, you don’t see a lot of ‘romantic/coupley’ interactions. but to be fair the couple of days following the first time they kiss is when everything starts to happen. ronan’s mom dies, gansey finds glendower, gansey dies, cabeswater is dying. everything is dying so it’s not like there’s a lot of time for romance. 

but they still find time for moments. when aurora dies and ronan refuses to leave his car, adam doesn’t try to coax him out and instead gets in the passenger seat and just sits there with him. he doesn’t even talk because he knows that’s not what ronan needs. he just goes to sleep and tells ronan to wake him up if necessary, because he knows that’s exactly what ronan needs

when the demon-possessed cabeswater takes control of adam and adam nearly kills ronan, ronan is also the only one who can finally make adam stop by whispering something in latin in his ear. it’s only then that adam collapses into ronan’s arms, who holds onto him for dear life. also the line that’s like ‘the choice was between dying or hurting adam, which really wasn’t much of a choice at all’ and he proceeds to let ‘adam’ beat the shit out of him. obviously not the most romantic of situations, but it showcases both their connection and how deeply ronan’s feelings run 

and in the epilogue, there may not be any adam/ronan interaction but...in adam’s pov, he is driving ronan’s bmw. he has ronan’s keys and he is driving ronan’s bmw around and he drove ronan’s bmw from the barns because it says something about the drive from the barns to the trailer being however long it is, and how he thought about how he could easily go anywhere else before he got to his old home. so...presumably...he didn’t take his shitty car all the way out to the barns just to take ronan’s bmw to his parents’. he was already at the barns with ronan and took ronan’s car. and while ronan isn’t explicitly as possessive over his car as gansey is his own, i think it’s safe to say ronan wouldn’t let just anybody drive his bmw

also there’s the scene the morning after they kiss when adam finds ronan and opal out in the pasture at the barns. there’s a line that goes something like “ronan looked at adam. he clearly wasn’t taking advantage of the situation” or something which i interpret as he’s soaking in as much of this as he can because it seems ‘too good to be true’ and wants to enjoy it in case adam changes his mind. at which point adam thinks something about how ronan isn’t a game to play around with, but that he isn’t just playing around. or, adam thinking - not for the first time - that he wants to commit to ronan. he doesn’t just want to mess around.

i know it’s not a lot of explicitly romantic moments but with everything going on following their first/second kiss, it would have been hard to logically write in anything romantic and not have it be super out of place. i used to think there was virtually nothing adam/ronan after they kissed for the second time, but after my third read through, i picked up on things that were possibly more subtle? i think maggie did an exceptional job of writing ronan’s and adam’s relationship post-kisses (i think she did an exceptional job of writing their relationship altogether, but i’m specifically talking post-kisses here) with the way she didn’t completely shove them off to the side, but she didn’t sacrifice the plot for their newfound relationship either. which is something a lot of authors struggle with, i think. like, in a lot of books i’ve read, once a romantic relationship takes place, it completely distracts from the plot and focuses on the romance. maggie did a good job of basically being. like. ‘hey everyone and everything is basically dying so it definitely does not make sense for everyone to just be all gooey and romantic with each other right now but they’re gonna collapse into each others arms because that makes a lot more sense given the setting’ 

anyways, i know you didn’t ask for this long of an analysis but i couldn’t resist. i definitely think we should expect some good pynch content in cdth, which i am very much looking forward to. i can’t wait. 

(p.s. i’ve seen a few people worrying that she’s gonna break them up in the dreamer trilogy but rest assured: she will not. i recall a while ago someone tweeting her or sending her an ask or smth saying they hope they won’t break up and she basically replied by saying ‘why would i spend 4 books building towards a relationship only to have them break up?’ so you don’t have to worry about that)

#ask #anon #the raven cycle #pynch

[rynweaverwriting]

The Dizzy Stargazers Project: 5 Questions for 5 Years of The Fool

Conducted by Maria Kornacki

Shoutout to Malcolm MacMaster for the support and giving me a space to make this happen!

“An artist's duty, as far I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.” - Nina Simone

“Music is a universal language” is a common phrase, but it rings true. Music brings people together. Artists often thrive on the intimacy of live shows. However, quarantine has put life on hold.

Social distancing combined with social media challenges us to communicate in other ways. I’ve seen people’s creativity shine during these strange times.

This project is intended to give voice to people, hear their stories, and see how we’re all connected. It’s also a celebration of five years since The Fool was released. It’s a time of reflection and moving forward.

I sent these five questions to several of Ryn Weaver’s fans/friends. The answers could’ve been in written form or a video:

What’s one of your favorite songs and/or lyrics from The Fool and why?

What does it mean to be a “Fool” to you?

What’s one of your favorite memories  of Ryn, either in real life or just through social media interactions?

How has your perception of Ryn’s album and her music as a whole shifted since first listening to it? In other words, have you gained any new insights or is there something in your current life you can connect back to certain themes in The Fool?

In what ways has music helped you?

Responses:

Maria Kornacki (ig: @maria_kornacki)

1. Here Is Home is a standout stylistically. I just like how it has an “in-between” tempo to fit the lyrics. New Constellations and parts of Traveling Song are lyrical embodiments of “the fool” to me, which brings me to my response.

2. A “fool” to me is someone who asks a lot of questions, but doesn’t get all the answers to feel satisfied. Thus, they live the outer life of a nomad stemming from an endless quest for wisdom in their inner world.

3. My favorite memory has to be going live with you for your enriching and confidence-building creative writing prompts despite me being a little unprepared the first time. It made me realize how many music and book synchronicities we have. Also, shoutout to my blue soul individuals: Maggie and Joni. Nina is a color of her own.

4. I connect more with the concept of loss and not settling in terms of my career life. The themes of The Fool follow me in different areas of my life. I also relate to the idea of “what if there’s more?” even just through learning new info and diving deeper.

5. Music has helped me share my expressive and creative sides as well as connect with like minded people, hence why I started this project (2 weeks ago). I didn’t really see myself as someone that could lead, organize, and share my ideas openly, and yet here we are.

Sam (twitter: @heremotionss)

1. My favorite is Pierre because of how personal sounding it is and I love the chorus.

2. I always associate it with being renewed and falling in love.

3. My favorite Ryn memory on social media is when we tweeted about her pet rat.

4. The Fool is an album that doesn’t age. I think I can associate this album personally with coming into young adulthood.

5. Music is a language that can connect with any emotion, and any time in life. I think when certain pieces of work can make people feel something, then it becomes a movement in a way.

Sarah (twitter: @rynsgirlfriend)

1. My favorite lyric from The Fool is "I've never been one for goodbyes". I have trouble dealing with grief and losses and this is very comforting to me.

2. What being a "fool" means to me is following your heart and passions although it may seem crazy. Being a fool to me means submitting to your desires even if you know better.

3. Ryn has always been nothing but caring and compassionate to me. Every time she has supported me is a time that is my favorite. Throughout the years, I've carried heavy trauma with me that's made me erratic, emotional and hard to understand, and Ryn has always been nurturing and supportive.

4. When The Fool first came out, i haven't experienced the pain I have prior to the album release. When I listen to the fool now, I connect more than ever, having dealt with limerence and how painful it can be.

5. Music has helped me feel less alone. I remember always thinking I was crazy and that there was no one like me i could relate to. When artists release vulnerable songs it is metaphorically (to me) a hand on my shoulder, sitting with me through the pain and letting me know I'm not alone.

Bo (ig: @kyototrain)

1. I think my favorite song off of The Fool is New Constellations because it addresses the main point of the album; the uncertainty of what path to take in life. It resonates with me because when I entered college I thought I was confident in what I wanted to do, only to realize I was clueless and unsure of my future. I had to seriously think about what I wanted for myself and how it might make the people close to me feel. While all of the possibilities life can take you can be overwhelming, there’s a relief in it knowing you can choose to be anything you want and do anything you want.

2. To be a fool is to not let the fear of finding your own way in the world keep you limited to something that makes you unhappy.

3. My friend group on twitter added Ryn to our group chat (Taco Bell vigil). We added her thinking she would never come in to chat but she did one night, and we talked with her until like 2 am about music, theatre, stuff like that. It made us all really happy. She comes back to talk sometimes and she calls us tacos.

4. The Fool came out when I was 16, so I didn’t have much life experience. As a result, I wasn’t able to relate a whole lot to the album (I still had it on heavy rotation though). Now that I’m 21, I’ve had so many wild experiences and growth. I can relate to the album a lot more. Whether it’s the love you feel for a soulmate that you’ll feel even if you grow apart (Here is Home), or the feeling of freedom and the need for something more than you have in the moment (New Constellations), it’s helped me appreciate the album even more than I already do.

5. I love music so much because of how versatile it is in the sense that you can have music that you’ll play to get immersed in or music that you play while you’re studying. It can help me escape as well as help me stay focused.

Tate (twitter: @octatate)

1. My favorite song from The Fool is definitely “Promises”. I think all of Ryn’s lyrics are excellent but there’s something so compelling about the lyrics in that song to me. Also, the chorus is fun to scream along to.

2. Being a “fool,” to me means putting up with bullshit from those around you because you care about them, and letting people tell you what you are and what you will be. My entire life I've had people in my life that have tried to bring me down and stand in my way, and for a while, I put up with it. I didn't want to upset anyone, so I just kept my head down and kept moving. In recent years, especially this year. I’ve realized that I need to STOP being a “fool” and stand up for myself  and now I’m making a conscious effort to do so.

3. My favorite memories of Ryn are probably the ones of the conversations my friends and I had with her in our twitter group chat, Taco Bell Vigil. She used to come in and talk to us about Björk and stuff and she was always so sweet and down to earth. It felt like she was actually one of our friends just having a casual conversation with us.

4. I think my perception of The Fool has changed in the sense that my favorite track has changed constantly throughout my time being a fan of her. For a while, it was “Stay Low,” then it was “Pierre,” then it was the title track, then it was “New Constellations,” and now it’s “Promises.” I think I definitely connect to “New Constellations” the most now though, especially the “What if there’s more?” part in the outro. I'm going off to college soon, and lately I've just been thinking about what more the world has to offer me, and where I'll end up. I've lived in the suburbs my entire life, and I want to know if there’s anything more I can do to make the most of my time left in my hometown, and what more the world holds for me wherever I end up going for college.

5. Music is basically the only thing that consistently brings me happiness in life. It’s a constant and always will be. If i’m sad, it’s there for me. If i’m angry, it’s there for me. Whenever i need it, it’s there. I know how corny it sounds, but listening to music really has shaped my life for the better. Ryn’s music especially is very important to me, and I'm sure that years from now when i’m a grown man, I’ll enjoy The Fool and “Reasons Not to Die” just as much as I do now.

Antonio Múnera (ig: @artangelszs)

1. New Constellations have always resonated with me deeply, especially at this exact moment, since I just graduated high school! The music that I like the best always provides some sort of catharsis, and to me, this song is the epitome of that sensation. Every time I listen to it it’s like all of my negative feelings and thoughts are purified. Of course this doesn’t actually happen, but for those 4-5 minutes, I can almost feel all of my problems disappearing. I find solace in every lyric in the song, but particularly in Ryn’s final inquiry, “What if there’s more?” Songs like this are what keeps me searching for that “more” in my life!

2. To me, being a fool specifically comes with some sort of awareness. Even Ryn herself admits that she’s a fool in the chorus of the title track; it’s both a tragic yet solemn way of describing oneself. It’s being conscious about one’s own self destructive behavior, while simultaneously trying to improve as a person. I’m eternally grateful for people like Ryn that share their stories so people like me, another fool, don’t feel so alone in this behemoth of a world.

3. Initially, my favorite memories of Ryn was when she replied to a few of my tweets. However, talking to her twice on instagram live and being able to read my own poetry to her was genuinely one of the most invigorating moments of my life. She even called me a “little poet” once I finished reciting one of my poems :,) But I think the best moment was when she called me “Colombian daddy”. Now THAT brought a tear to my eye.

4. I was in eighth grade when The Fool came out, so naturally, my first listen of it was a bit cursory, for I didn’t really focus on lyrics back then. However, once I actually focused on what Ryn had to say with her album, it became a whole different work of art. This is also because as I grew older, my anxiety and depression just got exponentially worse, and though depression isn’t really a theme explored in Ryn’s album, it does deal with themes of hurting, acceptance, and an ultimate need for emancipation, which are all topics that resonate with me. While The Fool used to be an album that I listened to just to pass the time, now it’s an enlightening experience every time I listen to it, and I can definitely say that it’s going to be one of my favorite albums of all time for the rest of my life!

5. I thought that films were the ultimate source of escapism and happiness, but over the years, I’ve found music to be the most indispensable thing in my life. And that’s not an exaggeration in the slightest. I possibly wouldn’t even still be alive without music like Ryn’s. She is certainly one of my reasons not to die ^-^

Destiny Thomas (ig: @destinyxcx)

1. My favorite song by Ryn is New Constellations, I actually wrote about it in my magazine. There’s a whole page on that song and what the lyric "you can run if you want to" means to me. When I first saw Ryn live on her Misfits tour she would make a speech before New Constellations and inspired me since then to always run from something or someone you're attached to if you're unhappy with it.

3. One of my favorite memories of Ryn was when she was on tour for sure, it was so much fun and of course one of the first times I saw her live and her VIP package on tour was really cool. She's very sweet to her supporters and loves talking to everyone. I'm just really excited for her to come back whenever she's ready to play some shows and release music!!

Nat (twitter: @track1O)

1. My favorite songs from The Fool are Sail On, Here Is Home and New Constellations. I listen to these songs when I’m feeling down because they somehow make me happy, I just feel like Ryn is singing the songs for me and for me only. New Constellations was produced by my favorite producers so this song is very special to me, I love everything about it. Traveling Song is another one I love with my whole heart, I know Ryn wrote this song for her grandpa, this song was already out when my grandpa died, I think I was the saddest person in the world when that happened but listening to it made me feel a little bit better, I messaged Ryn on twitter and thanked her for this song. My favorite lyrics are “soulmates aren’t just lovers, you know?” and all the lyrics from New Constellations.

2. I love being a fool, I’ve never experienced being a fool for anyone but I know I’m a fool in general. I think that’s one of the best things about me.

3. I’ve never meet or seen Ryn live but we used to interact a lot on twitter, my favorite memory is when she came to Mexico to play at a festival but I couldn’t go because it was so far from where I live but me and other friends messaged her and tried to plan a road trip to meet her (it didn’t work but it’s still a good memory lol)

4. I fell in love with her voice and music when I first listened to it, I was so happy when she announced The Fool and I played the album on repeat for months. I can’t wait to listen to her new music in the future.

5. Music is something that makes me the happiest person in the world. I love it so much and that’s the only thing that makes me feel alive. Ryn’s music has helped me a lot. It makes me want to sing, dance, cry, etc. It has helped me during difficult times like when my grandpa died, Reasons Not to Die helped me think about everything in my life when it was released. I just want to thank her for making amazing music, I miss her voice so much so I hope she releases something soon.

Gigi (ig: @misdenlaide)

1. Well I love pretty much all the album, but a song that stand out the most to me is New Constellations. There a lot of heartbreak songs out there, from the person that's been left perspective, but not so many from the person who leaves. I've been in that situation and the way she put it into words was extremely smart. 

2. To be blind. As an example, you know the reality of a situation, but it is not the one you want, so you fool yourself and you just try to make it happen the way you want it to happen... when it won't. Or when you just don't see stuff because of that same reason. I don't know if I made myself clear... you see roses and technicolor when you know you are being a fool with someone else. “Old dog, new treat”.

3) Well I haven't met her in real life (yet), but I remember the songs of the album being there in different situations of my life. I can relate to them a lot, so whenever I was in a similar situation, I just felt like they got me.

4. YES, since The Fool came out I connected to it a lot. Because of old relationships and stuff, where I've been the fool, when I wanted to look for new constellations, when I never meant to break my own promises, and the perspective changed a lot as I was living the same things the songs talked about. For example, New Constellations. I thought it was kind of a love song and then I realized it was a song from someone who leaves another. Crazy, but it happened, and it just made me appreciate her music more.

5. Music has a big impact in my life, so much I want to dedicate the rest of it to music (I am studying musical production now). I met friends because of it, cried tears of joy and sadness. It makes me calm and makes my heart beat faster... I believe that music is my true love in life. It’s something I struggle to put into words. It’s my fuel. My reason to be here, essentially.

Andie (twitter: @andrewdxrling)

1. My favourite lyric would be “My wings too wild to clip and cage around me” (I mean, it IS tattooed on my bicep!). It means a lot to me because it’s a reminder that I can’t let anyone try and use my own mind and heart against me or to try and quiet me. And since it’s on my bicep in Ryn’s handwriting, it’s like a constant reminder from her to always spread my wings and be my authentic self. 

2. To me, being a fool means accepting all the aspects of yourself. The crazy and wild ones, the fucked up ones, the messy ones, and the good ones. It means letting yourself be the entirety of who you are.

3. My favourite memory would be during her second tour when I saw her in LA! I had seen her a couple times on the first tour in the north, but then I moved! When I saw her in LA, she remembered me, and talked with me and it was such a nice feeling to know someone I hold very dear to my heart can spend the time to recognise and acknowledge me

Anyjah (twitter: @ANyjahh_)

1. Literally the entire album is one I hold so close to my heart. There’s about three lyrics from three different songs that come to mind as a favorite. The first is “sail on”. It’s such a short phrase but the song is literally one of my favorites still on repeat to this day. Every time I think about the phrase it reminds me of being somewhere deep in the middle of the ocean without any worries, sailing on. 

The second would be “Child of Neptune I’m the daughter of the Sun” from New Constellations. That is such a powerful lyric to me. When I think about that it boosts my self-esteem. Like imagine telling someone you’re the daughter of the sun. So powerful.

The third and last is “even if you stay or if you go” from Here Is Home. I got that tattooed on my collarbone. That song brings me such peace. People come and go. It reminds me of that saying if you love something or someone, and you set it free, and they come back, then it’s meant to be. 

2. For me, being a fool means to be naive or played, but people have made it sound so negative and condescending. We’re all fools at one point. I think it’s like a learning experience while you’re young. It’s not all bad. 

3. I honestly loved when she released Reasons Not To Die to the world. Not only did she get to see that I loved that song because she talked about being afraid of releasing music, but I feel like it was such an empowering moment for her in her life and I was so in awe. 

4. For me, I see The Fool as a growing experience, and it’s just something that brings me back to my very own youth/how I’ve grown myself. 

5. Music has helped me to create and feel relatable. I love that no matter what you’re feeling or going through, there’s always a song out there you can listen to and realize someone else may have gone through the same thing as you. Music also helps me to create through writing. I can take the story of a song and turn it into my own that way.

Mariana (twitter: @Marispiva)

1. My favorite song from The Fool is “Traveling Song” because I went through a similar experience as Ryn but with my grandma and that song helped me get out of the deep depression I went through after she passed away.

2. Being a fool to me means learning from your mistakes in order to reach the top of the mountain. Bringing new beginnings into your life and going on a journey, not knowing what to expect. I look at the positive side rather than the negative side.

3. My favorite memory was when I flew to NYC for the Steve Madden show. It was my first time traveling outside of Chicago and I needed to meet her since I wasn’t able to after the Chicago show for the Misfits Toys Tour. Also, tweeting her to get her Big Mac ass outside so I could meet her lmao.

4. I feel like The Fool as a whole is for misfits like me. High school was the hardest part of my life and it wasn’t easy to fit in, especially transferring to a new school twice. People always looked at me differently and never accepted me, so when Ryn released The Fool, I felt a connection and it helped me shape myself as a person. I didn’t care what other people thought about me and always stayed true to myself.

5. Music has helped me in SO many ways! Music is my escape from reality and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for music. It’s the only thing that keeps me mentally stable so it has helped me battle my demons. Music is my therapy.

Jade (twitter: @FoolRyn)

1. My Favorite song from the record is New Constellations. English is only my second language, so when I got the album, and heard it for the first time, I had to look up what Constellations meant. Little did I know, she was singing about my absolute favorite thing in the world. My favorite lyrics have to be the first line of that song. No matter how many times I listen to it, I still close my eyes and imagine living every word. It makes me feel at bliss.

2. To be a Fool is to be a wanderer, not just physically but spiritually, emotionally, and mentally.

3. One of my earliest memories and my favorite ones is interacting with Ryn on twitter and just enjoying memes. 

4. For me, her music got better and better with each time listening to them. Even now 5 years later, I find the slightest of things in the production or the range of her voice. It’s absolutely fascinating!

5. Music helped me with a lot of things, from trouble at home to mental wellness. Without music, I wouldn’t even be sure I'd be alive.

That’s all! This project is what you get when a double Aquarius and a Leo moon come together. Thank you to everybody who participated, either through text or video, and thank you to Ryn for gifting us with such beautiful music!

#BLM Petition Links:

https://signatures.carrd.com

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https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

Books about Race:

https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/race

#ryn weaver #the fool #interview #dizzy stargazers #maria kornacki #malcolm macmaster #chris bayer #chase gray