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#music is one of the few things that brings me real peace recently
onebizarrekai · 1 year
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How are you doing today Kai?
I sure do be existin man 👋
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bluewinnerangel · 1 year
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Harry's band still has 'Chicago' on their overalls. Harry set up a phone box so people could call him from Chicago 👀
Okay anon I had to come across some twitter threads to see what you were getting at and let's sum it up yeah, a list of coincidences, things to do with larry and Chicago. I'm probably gonna miss a bunch (and prob not gonna list a bunch of others- i barely see the logic in these being intentional already), soo its a bunch of things that are in the realm of chicago + bears + phones/calling + home coinciding? I guess? Anyway:
Obviously the main point that's making us talk about this is Louis releases the song Chicago. With lines like "if you're lonely in Chicago you can call me (baby)" (that's not whole the takeaway of the song but I'm bringing in TSBL in a later point so we're highlighting her)
Adding here he said its half based on real events half theoretical, and he does have an affiliation to Chicago:
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To start off with your points, during Harry's Chicago residency in October 2022, there was a phone booth at the venue and llama Doris posted about it (they havent much since :( ), with a description about calling Home.
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Harry's band wears overalls with names of cities they've performed at, since Chicago some have showed up on stage with the name on it, for instance Mitch yesterday (that is nov 25th 2022.). I don't know how often they wear what. The band was also wearing Chicago overalls (Sorry for shit pic) on Nov 9th 2022, but like again I have no clue what they wear every other night.
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On that note, nov 9th 2022 was also when the Silver Tongues mv released, and the shirt Louis wore in it, the Englandy Homey one, he was last seen weaing innnnnn padapadapada Chicago! (Feb 2022) (He wore it on stage before in Indianapolis)
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Sidetrack on recent music videos, somehow the Sushi mv features a dude wearing a shirt that says "LT HS SENIORS", from a high school in Chicago. Although I think the highlight here is LTHS idk how many LT highschools are there to pick from if we're going for intent here.
More sidetrack on the Silver Tongues note: first teased couple days before it via photoshopped phone (or was it even, unclear, maybe a ref to all the calling lyrics in FITF incl. Chicago, is the phone in the mv?, he just said have a phone via youtube xoxo):
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During Harry's 2022 Chicago shows he did some ring related stuff ( pointing a sign out in the crowd) and posted that pic of him with a ring backstage that looks like he was making fun of all the peace ring talk lol
During Harry's 2021 Chicago show(s sept 24 and 25), this was I believe the only time (or one of the rare occasions) there were mentions of Home playing before the show - artists pick
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In 2021 he also first played To Be So Lonely ("don't call me baby again - it's hard for me to go home - to be so lonely") at Chicago night 2, mind this is the 12th show of the tour and only then added it, and it was and continued to be bathed in bluegreen lights (but then he got bullied into playing it thr previous shows and especially chicago night 1 so that's most likely the reason eh... and also i hope the fans never do that again.)
During one of the 2021 shows he also found 2 people in the crowd in Chicago where he went off (paraphrasing, check link) YOU LOVE EACH OTHER? [out of the fking blue:] YOURE BEST FRIENDS?? GET MARRIED. Mind you this was a few days before a 4 day break including September 28 so I can think of better reasons than the place he was at if we wanna read into that fhfhdhd. This was also when we got those Louis spotted in uh relative close proximity receipts.
For Louis' 2022 tour the only exit song among the massive list of curated post show songs that still stands out to me (although yes I can place it in the list of songs-we-fucked-around-with-on-stage-during-1d like I can make it make sense still thematically it's a detour from the rest imo) is Ceelo Green's Fuck You, yepyep played in Chicago
Were going back in time now: Louis got his 28 tattoo in Chicago in 2015 (together with the buttpenguin which keeps being brought up in current interviews)
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In 2015, 1Ds Chicago show featured these bears:
Like there's so much shit going on here there's a masterpost.
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Basically the worst in terms of things to read into. Go read that post.
Again 2015 when the rainbow bears came up with this sign, borrowed from the Chicago Bears. (See the logo bottom right). Now that is the first sign you find on the Google when you try to find a sign about bears coming out so again seems coincidental, but still.
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(Also green bay packers <> chicago bears? Eh? Eh.)
There was an attempt to get them points together tumblr. They're gathered from all over the place but instigated by anon as well as this thread woop credit.
Honestly I think we just notice more Chicagos now? They're just being their regular home calling rbbsbbs and also do that in chicago and thats it lol. On the other I do like to entertain the thought they for whatever reason have this connection with Chicago (also yes im very much aware of stunt related connections) and its showing in the quirky stuff they do beyond the obvious (being writing a song called Chicago huh).
Out of all this the one thing that does make me go OKAY THEN is Harry first playing TSBL in Chicago, 12 shows in, bluegreening, the idea Ls around at the time, and then a year later blep parallels Louis' Chicago.
Oh also I think getting the 28 tat in Chicago could be significant. He sure still knows that number dhdhdhss
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mashithamel · 1 year
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In high school I had to read “Ragtime” by E.L. Doctorow (and then write a comparison paper with another American novel—that I got an ‘A’ for somehow managing to find something to compare and contrast between this contemporary-style historial fiction book and the gothic ghost story “Turn of the Screw” should tell you that back in high school I was really good at writing a lot of BS).
The book itself was pretty good—really interesting, a mix of real historical figures and some archetypes (literally called ‘Mother,’ ‘Little Boy,’ etc) about the turn of the century, and racism, unions, immigration, women’s sufferage, and peaceful versus violent protests.
It also has…some really questionable moments (I’m looking you, Younger Brother, with your “ticket tape parade” ejeaculation while watching anarchist Emma Goldman give disgraced socialite Evelyn Nesbitt a sensual massage—that’s an image I’m never getting out of my brain, and now you all can share it with me).
There is a “Ragtime” movie, with the only good thing being Mandy Patinkin playing Tata. The movie really leaned into the sensational, silly parts of the book (there is a scene where Evelyn is topless for no reason other than they wanted an ‘R’ rating, I’m guessing?). They left out so many of the more interesting plolines, like Mother becoming independent.
And then they made a musical, and this was perfection. They took all the good parts of the novel, cut out the stupid bits that really didn’t add anything, changed a few things to keep the story going, and told essentially told the same story with amazing music, only better. They kept the focus on the theme “change is hard and can be scary,” without looking for sensationalizing moments. I really think theaters all over the US should have been playing it in 2016 because it is just so timely, and really hits on so many contemporary topics.
So, what does this have to do with the reason for this Tumblr account, The Wheel of Time? Book fans, I think, are generally in agreement that while the books are awesome, they can be problematic at times (so much spanking, a lot of male-gazy romance plotlines, domestic violence and male rape treated largely with humor, among some of the big things).
The show has a chance to change some of this (and they have already, by addressing the excessive puritanical virginity of many of the main characters [I can’t buy that Min was a virigin!], not having Nynaeve hit everyone with a stick, no one has even mentioned the word ‘breast’ so far, and so on), and update some of the problematic bits to make the story better (I have high hopes for Perrin/Faile to be less dysfunctional). Queer representation is much more explicit, and actors of color are killing it in roles that were viewed by white readers as white.
There are things I miss—Lan training the boys in weapon fighting, the Perrin/Egwene rescue from the Whitecloaks, Mat going to Fal Dara, the name a few. Some of those missing things are important, and I’m hoping later seasons will do them justice. But I think the key thing is to realize it could have been just awful, like the “Ragtime” movie. Anyone ever see “When the Dark Comes Rising”? That was such a disappointing adaptation. Or the recent “A Wrinkle in Time”? Ugh. I love the Harry Potter movies, but there are so many changes from the books, in some places feeling like a really different story.
Instead, we have amazing costumes, detailed sets, great actors, and so many delightful Easter eggs for the book fans that are bringing this epic to life. The team seems to really love the source and to respect it at every opportunity. For every change I don’t love, there are so many other things I adore. I think the fans are the winners here. (Except when it comes to merchandizing—how is Amazon not all over this??)
TL;DR: Book great, show a little different but also great, and I’m dying for Season 2.
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amr-hossameldin · 4 months
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Excerpt from Journal
I’ve caught myself daydreaming often lately. In some of those daydreams I’m financially stable, I make good money, I have a nice car, a nice house, and enough money to live a luxurious life. In some other daydreams, I’m living in Europe, not much richer than I am today. But I have time to travel and explore all the different cultures and histories there. I read a ton of books and have the peace of mind to sit and enjoy a cappuccino and pastries in local cafes. Some times I think I can find a balance between both scenarios and live the best of both worlds.
What I noticed is my tendency to think that in those scenarios I’ll be happier than I am today. But here’s the thing, today I am living a life that I could not possibly have imagined a year ago, let alone a few years ago. And let me tell you, it looks nothing like how I pictured it would be, not even close. Yet, I feel happy, happier than what I could imagine back then. Life went in a completely different direction than what I have planned and it was perhaps one of the best things that has ever happened to me. In the chaos of all the plans going out the window, I found myself. I learned quite a lot and grew a lot. One of the most important lessons is not to hold on to plans too much. Life has a way of messing with those. I learned to be resilient and learn from each opportunity I have. Like I always say: Life will not stop stepping on your face till you learn the lesson.
I am not who I think I am. Amr in those daydreams does not exist. I am, though, the person who said and did the things I remember when I look back in memory. That is who I am. We are what we say and do, not what we think of ourselves, and definitely not what other people think of us. This view of life made me see every difficult situation, every hard decision, as a chance to create the person that I want to be. So that when I look back in memory, I can say: Yes, I am a person with principles. I do not crack under pressure. I am disciplined, strong and brave. And these are not wishful fantasies, these are moments in which I was tested, in which I created the person that is all those things. 
This brings me back to the point: Happy, calm Amr in those daydreams is nothing more than a fantasy if I do not create him, through actions, now. I do not need money for that.  I already have more than enough. In my everyday life, I do not feel like I’m lacking anything. I’m blessed to be debt free and financially independent. I have a roof over my head and food on the table. I want for nothing and am quite content with what I have. I will not lose sleep over the nicer things I could have. Whatever I end up owning after working my ass off is not really mine. In a few years I’m going to die. Then other people will live in ‘my’ home and drive ‘my’ car. Was it really ever mine to begin with? The only real thing I can think of to take from this life is experiences. Collect as many experiences as you can while you can. Meet as many people, read as many books, learn as many skills, try as many things, travel to as many places. This is what true wealth is. This is what a truly rich life is. In that sense, I am wealthy. I do feel quite rich, like I own the whole world. I am healthy, have a ton experience to look back on and enough people to talk to. I’m blessed with everything that can possibly make me happy right now already. I do not need to wait for a better tomorrow to be happy when I can be happy right now. All I need to do is be present and appreciate what I have.
The happiest I’ve been recently is spending the whole day at a local cafe reading and having pastries with coffee. I silence my phone, put on classical music in my headphones, and easily lose myself in the book for 5 hours straight. Taking notes, underlining, contemplating. It was peaceful. Peace, such an underrated feeling. I’ve also been quite happy about all the new  recipes I’m trying recently and new creations I’m making to those recipes. Cooking and baking is like an art. I like the challenge of making the most filling, tastiest and lowest calorie version possible. Those are things I did alone, and they did make me feel happy and peaceful. I like the quiet. Sometimes I catch myself weary that other people might disturb that peace by getting too close, as is mostly the case actually. I’m not sure where this will lead eventually but I do know that I really like my peace and have no intention of letting it go anytime soon. I guess as I grow older I’m way more selective of who’s close and who I talk to. I think it’s healthy too. In any case, I should take my own advice and just be present and enjoy the moment.
I’m not exactly sure why I’m sharing this. It may all be quite obvious, but it took me a while get there. I guess maybe it could resonate with someone. Which reminds me of this excerpt from Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha when asked to give a word of wisdom from what he attained: "But I will say no more about it. Words are not good for the secret meaning, everything instantly becomes a bit different when we utter it, a bit adulterated, a bit foolish-yes, and that too is very good and appeals to me, I also very much agree that one man's treasure and wisdom always sound like foolishness to another." So I guess you must already know to know. In which case, I’ll leave it here anyway for those who do.
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newmusicradionetwork · 7 months
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William Lee Golden and The Goldens Release “Why Me Lord” Music Video, Premiered By Singing News
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Country and Gospel Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry member William Lee Golden and his sons ‘The Goldens’ have released their latest music video for “Why Me Lord” featuring Aaron McCune on bass vocals paving the way with a fresh new sound to this Kris Kristofferson classic. “Why Me Lord,” directed by Jeff Panzer, is from their three-album set, ‘Golden Classics’ and pays tribute to the songs that have influenced their lives throughout the years. During the recording process, it became clear to The Goldens the importance of catching these special moments on video and sharing them with their fans. “Why Me Lord” can be found on their ‘Old Country Church’ gospel album included in ‘Golden Classics’ along with ‘Southern Accents’ and ‘Country Roads.’ ‘Golden Classics’ is the highly anticipated three-volume set that contains over 30 songs spread across several genres that all have had an impact on the lives and careers of William Lee Golden and The Goldens. The music video for “Why Me Lord” was premiered by Singing News and the single is available to download on all digital platforms! “From the first time I heard Kristofferson sing “Why Me Lord,” I knew it would be one of my all time favorites,” shares William Lee Golden. There was a special way he delivered it without overdoing anything. The message is real to this day. We decided to have Aaron McCune take the lead on it and give it a different sound. In the end, I think it still remains something we can all relate to and Aaron’s vocals fit perfectly. I hope you enjoy the video!” “William Lee Golden has assembled a powerhouse quartet. You have that family sound with his two sons and then Aaron McCune who rounds out the bottom. Singing News is honored to have the exclusive on this video release! I know the fans will love it” – Scott Godsey, CEO and President of Singing News Brands  ‘Southern Accents,’ ‘Country Roads’ and ‘Old Country Church’ were recorded when Golden gathered his sons Rusty, Craig, and Chris, his grandchildren Elizabeth, Rebekah, and Elijah, and friends Aaron McCune, and Ben Isaacs to bring their fresh interpretations to longtime favorites. William Lee Golden and The Goldens deliver reminiscent renditions of Johnny Cash’s “I Still Miss Someone,” and Jim Reeves’s “Welcome to My World.” Chris shines on Tom Petty’s “Southern Accent,” while Rusty delivers a vibrant take on Bob Seger’s hit “Hollywood Nights” and Craig, the rarely heard Golden, revives Gregg Allman’s “Multi-Colored Lady.” William Lee Golden and The Goldens have recently released other videos including “If I Could Only Hear My Mother Pray Again,” “Bobbie Sue,” “Old Country Church,” “The Long And Winding Road,” and “I Saw The Light.” Country Roads 1. I Still Miss Someone 2. Four Walls 3. Welcome To My World 4. Take Me Home Country Roads 5. You Are My Sunshine 6. The Great Speckled Bird 7. Green Green Grass Of Home 8. Send Me The Pillow That You Dream On 9. For The Good Times 10. I Saw The Light Southern Accents 1. Take It Easy 2. Me And Bobby McGee 3. The Long And Winding Road 4. Stand By Me 5. Jambalaya 6. Peaceful Easy Feeling 7. Long Black Veil 8. Southern Accents 9. Elvira 10. Multi-colored Lady 11. Bobbie Sue 12. Hollywood Nights Old Country Church 1. Come And Dine 2. Old Country Church 3. It’s Suppertime 4. If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again 5. Until Then 6. Why Me, Lord? 7. I Know Who Holds Tomorrow 8. Too Much To Gain 9. Sheltered 10. Softly And Tenderly 11. Love Lifted Me 12. Power In The Blood About William Lee Golden and The Goldens: There are few things more powerful than family harmony and rarely has that been more evident than on the three new albums recorded by Country Music Hall of Fame and Oak Ridge Boy member, William Lee Golden who, along with his talented sons have created William Lee Golden and The Goldens. The Brewton, Alabama native cements his considerable legacy in the music industry with three distinctive collections that reflect his musical roots and the journey that has made him one of America’s most unique troubadours. From revered gospel classics to beloved country gems and iconic rock favorites, Golden leads his family through the songs that have been stepping stones on his well-traveled musical journey. It all comes together as a rich sonic tapestry that fans will cherish. For more, visit williamleegoldenandthegoldens.com. Suggested post: William Lee Golden (@wlgolden) and The Goldens release #WhyMeLord music video off their three-album collection #GoldenClassics! The video was premiered by @SingingNews! Visit williamleegolden.com for more info Read the full article
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agentreptile · 11 months
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Tagged by @steeltwigz (ty for the tag!)
shuffle your “on repeat” playlist on spotify & post the first 10 songs and tag 10 people   
I don’t use Spotify anymore (think this is info from last year though), so I’ll do both Spotify and Apple Music’s “Replay ‘23” feature :D (in that order)
1: Peace Sign — The Front Bottoms
Valerie — Addison Grace (only recently discovered and literally can’t stop listening to his music, highly recommend!!)
2: Drop From Our Windows — McCafferty
Your Song — Ewan McGregor and Alessandro Safina (MOULIN ROUGE LIVES RENT FREE IN NY HEAD)
3: Re-Do — Modern Baseball
If Nobody Likes U — Addison Grace
4: You Used to Say (Holy Fuck) — The Front Bottoms
Go to Hell, for Heaven’s Sake — Bring Me the Horizon (A CLASSIC BANGER)
5: Apartment — Modern Baseball
On the Threshold Of Eternity — Starry Musical Cast (haven’t gotten around to listening to the whole album, but literally LOVE this song and can’t exactly explain why) (side note, but Vincent by Don McLean is like number 11 on this shuffle and it’s fitting to be so close dang)
6: montgomery forever — The Front Bottoms
Don’t Do Sadness/Blue Wind — John Gallagher, Jr. & Lauren Pritchard (Spring Awakening!!)
7: Tears Over Beers — Modern Baseball
And the Snakes Start to Sing — Bring Me the Horizon (LOVE THIS OEN SO SO MCHH)
8: Pretty Little Distance — AS IT IS
Lifeboat — Elle McLemore (Heathers musical! this song just keeps popping up when I shuffle my regular playlist for some reason but Seventeen would probably make more sense to be on here lol)
9: Get By — Real Friends
Slipping Through My Fingers — Meryl Streep & Amanda Seyfried (ever since I finally saw this movie with some friends at the college dorms I have had like 3 songs in my bedtime playlist,, became one of my absolute favorite movies and it was a fun experience to watch for the first time with friends at 3 AM lol)
10: The Weekend — Modern Baseball
Come What May — Nicole Kidman & Ewan McGregor (ONE OF MY FAVORITE SONGS FROM THE MOVIE,, EITHER EL TANGO DE ROXANNE OR SHOW MUST GO ON HOLD THE TOP THOUGH)
WELP. Surprised my most recent listenings aren’t really represented lmao so shoutout to my bedtime playlist which consists mostly of sad/depressing musical songs to cry to and a few extras thrown in for funsies :)) (but specifically shoutout to Michael in the Bathroom from BMC and The Next Right Thing from Frozen 2,,,)
But this was fun :3
Idk who to tag so I’ll tag a pal o’ mine!
@k0mmsussert0d
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kabir88 · 2 years
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8 Reasons Why Music is Important to Us
Music has a very important role in human life because everyone likes to listen it. The person who listens to music with pleasure in his life knows the importance of it in the real-life world, if a person is interested in music, then that person is always happy in his life, and remains stress-free in every problem. Listening sound gives peace and joy to the mind, listening to music inspires a person to do something better in life.
1. The Universal Language
While every country has it’s own language(s), there’s only one language we can all understand: the language of music. We don’t even need words to understand what it is saying. Every year I see a lot of different people from a lot of different countries attending festivals. When it is being played, it seems every one understands what’s coming out of the speakers and they just start dancing to it.
2. Ambiance
Music creates ambiance. It adds up to the experience of whatever you’re doing. Can you imagine a party without music, a sports event without it, or a movie without it? Probably not.
3. Music Unites
Music plays a very important role in bringing people together. Whether it’s a festival, concert or a club night, people come together to enjoy the music that’s being played. I’ve had the privilege to attend a few big festivals in Europe, and it’s amazing to see the amount of people coming from different countries in the whole world, just to be part of the experience. At festivals like Tomorrowland or Ultra, you’ll see a lot of people from all over the world to enjoy the whole musical experience. It doesn’t matter where you come from, every one is treated the same. This is something we can all learn from.
4. Focus
If I have to do some business related stuff, I’d like to put on some music at the background in order to focus a little better. It is scientifically proven that it has enhances brain functioning. Besides, listening to music in an environment with other people also makes sure you don’t get distracted by other people’s noises. For me as a producer, a good side thing is I get inspired a lot by listening it when I’m busy doing things.
5. Emotions
Music can do great things for your mood. If you want to feel happy, you can listen to songs that are happy and this works the other way around too. When you lost someone in your life, it’s helpful to listen to sad songs. Science says listening to sad songs can actually make you happier. If you want to know more about this, Google knows a lot ;), For Me You Can Mp3 Song Download according to your moods.
6. Imagination
I don’t think I’m the only one who listens to music and instantly has a vision in my head of surroundings that would fit that particular piece of it. It let’s your imagination flow and that’s obviously a good thing for your creativity and health.
7. Memory
Music is good for your memory. I bet you can remember the lyrics of a bunch of songs much better than an article you recently read. In nursing homes, they started using musical therapy in order to let the elderly remember things of their past, which they couldn’t remember without listening it.
8. It’s just a pleasure
I’ll close off with probably the most important reason why we listen to music. It’s just a pleasure listening it so let’s just continue doing so! If you happen to be in need of some Techno.
Listening to music gives us mental, peace, satisfaction, health, music increases our attention, and at the same time listening to music keeps positive thoughts in us, if you listen to music in trouble, then to calm your mind. It helps a lot, it often takes you out of many dilemmas and will lead you to success. Listening to music motivates you, it encourages you to move forward
Music is effective for relaxation and stress management.
What I Do For Refreshing My Mind?
I Have Downloaded lots of songs according to my moods from wapking, Wapking is Providing You Thousands of Songs, You can download any according to your moods, like Song Download for refreshing your mind and feeling love with special one. and there has lots of sad songs, love songs, dancing tracks which you can listening according to your choice.
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shinygoku · 2 years
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Henry’s Forest - Huge Fudge
Or, “This episode is bad and it should feel bad!”
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Season 3 in general is contentious to me. I can very much enjoy the music and visuals, and some of the episodes are pretty strong. However, a lot of the episodes are also very weak, partly cause they’re adapted from Magazine Stories (which can have cute ideas, but are very much written Simplistically, for Babbies) and partly cause they can show a flippant disregard for the realism that the RWS and first two seasons thrive on. There’s also an issue with characterizations, as attempts to develop sometimes misfire horribly and yet, plant the seeds of Flanderization that later hangs heavy over the cast.
Henry’s Forest is pretty much the ultimate example of the dark side of s3.
And yet, to others, it’s the Crown Jewel?! How come??
Well, I think it’s because it gives Henry what would become his Fanon Trait. His “Thing” that became a given, a foregone conclusion about him when looking at his character.... even though there’s not even a scrap of basis in the Books.
Henry is, apparently, a nature loving tree hugger, all because of this episode. And while I don’t hate the idea itself, I hate that it came from such a shoddy, overhyped, underbaked episode.
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The Writing.... is so bad. The way you’d hear fans talk about it, it’s a nuanced dive into Henry’s psyche and appreciation of nature. It’s really not.
The syrupy narration tells us that Henry feels Very Happy there, that it’s Peaceful nature makes him calm..... but outside the short scene aesthetic hotspots showcase at the beginning, it’s not shown. It would have shown much better contrast if he was in a mood prior, and then his spirits lifted once in said Forest, but he’s grinning like an idiot for the whole section.
They also neglect to mention anything about the infamous Rule 55. I’m gonna hafta be a Purist here, and say that was a catastrophic blunder. And it’s a bit baffling, cause it would have taken one line, a few mere moments to say something like “Henry’s driver called ahead to get clearance and they settled on a siding.”, which may not be 100% Correct Procedure, but gives much more lip service to the understandable rule in place.
And, of course, the mere fact that the trees are positively looming over the line, huge and mighty, where their roots could reach under the rails and rip them up! If the section of the line being overgrown was commented on, as like, a neglected section that only got opened for use for plot reasons, it’d be better, but instead it’s treated as a normal section of the railway. Y’all seen the recent real life news stories where neglected parts of the lineside growth causes horrible crashes that tear the modern train up like tin foil??
Now, the episode kind of portrays the trees as indeed being a bit problematic, cause a strong enough storm rips half the trees up.... except the episode doesn’t comment on those trees now being a much bigger issue, all over the line as they were, it’s more “Henry Sad :C” and “Toby Sad to see Henry Sad :C”
And yeah, we’re given the odd plot shift to now focus on Toby instead, who has no real relationship with Henry, as he’s excited to help with the planting of new saplings (NO, YOU FOOLS! NOT THERE!!). And then Angelis has to recite the most retch inducing, nauseatingly sugary “Now everything is good again because the trees are growing and animals and children are playing and laughing and birds and shit” hrrRRRGGGGHHH
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I do, however, come not just to critique the molasses out of this episode, but to offer notes for improvement.
This could have been a good episode if they’d actually done the revolutionary concept of focusing on a character and exploring them through the forest as a framing device. By which I mean, Henry and just what it is about the Forest that brings him serenity.
Like, the most I can extract from the episode as it’s given, is that he was there when the trees were (stupidly) planted in the first place, and that it’s a peaceful location. Urgh... so, like...
I agree with all of Awdry’s complaints bar one, and that’s [obviously, if ya’ve read my work? maybe? lol] that he doesn’t like the idea of the Locomotives themselves enjoying the scenery. Sorry, Guv, but that’s just a bit daft! You give ‘em such rich personalities but you wanna stop before they enjoy things? I can’t go for that, man! Again, I’m with you on your other objections, but it seems very natural indeed to me that they’d react to the locations’ aesthetics.
So! What does that mean for giving Henry some much-needed Character Points [as his main Arc prior had been the Illness thing, which isn’t a personality trait in of itself and has also been fixed forever] ? Well, I see three viable alternative routes, where there’s even some overlap! These are:
Henry enjoys the peace and the quiet all the more than other Engines due to his past difficulties and the sometimes hostile working environment, combined with the strong, wacky personalities of his Engine Coworkers. Trees don’t fuss, or boast, or ask annoying questions. Trees have sounds of their own, but quiet, subdued, distinctly different. Speaking of which...
He finds the trees bemusing and is drawn to them as a result. Trees ain’t much like a locomotive; they’re vertical instead of horizontal, and grow from something utterly tiny over many years, instead of being drawn on blueprints and made (ideally) the final size right out the gate! Trees are solid wood, and Engines are semi hollow metal, fed by fire and water. The contrast fascinates Henry, so he likes to just sit with them...
In contrast to but not mutually exclusive with the previous point, he instead sees the things in common! Huge, mighty things, coloured green, capable of such power but confined to where their roots or their rails lay... and odd kinship, but a valid one.
Yeah, they coulda touched on any of that and suddenly the many Fanon-isms about Henry retroactively make sense! But it seems what everyone’s done instead is to project similar ideas and then convince themselves that it came from the episode, giving it far too much credit in the process.
This pathetic missing of such a good chance, plus the awful “moral” of the episode (look, I’m a big Tree Enjoyer irl, but you can’t use a Trees Good lesson where they’re actively dangerous and out of place!) make me really mad. On the upshot, The Trouble With Trees in s5 exists, which does address the danger aspect and even has Henry himself tell James that there’s some forestry management happening. But alas, Forest has still got all too good a reputation, hence my long and rambly attempt to deflate it a little here.
Thanks if ya read all that! My next TTTE post may be less salty, hahah ^^;
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pillow-anime-talk · 3 years
Text
his talented baby. {pt.1}
synopsis: You as a person with a huge (and hidden) talent, and also a girl who really surprises your boyfriend.
# tags: scenarios; current relationships; romance; fluff; some PDA; sfw
includes: female reader ft. ken kaneki & nishiki nishio {tokyo ghoul} + yuuma isogai & itona horibe {assclass}
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— KEN (ft. singing)
Your closest friends invited you to a popular karaoke bar on one Friday night to celebrate a successfully passed semester in college. Of course, you couldn’t forget about your lovely boyfriend, who was at the same university, but in a different field (i.e. Japanese literature) and always supported you with all his might, knowing how much you want to do your dream job in the future.
So you went to the meeting together, and on the way to the designated place you talked all the time about what the next year of study would bring you. As soon as you reached the room where your three closest besties and one male friend were waiting for you, you both greeted them warmly, immediately taking off your thick coats and taking your seats on a soft, leather couch next to a table filled with tasty-looking snacks and colorful drinks.
Long minutes of conversations between the six of you resulted in drunk plenty of alcohol and blushes on the faces. After drinking, you always got more talkative and more self-confident, so you suggested using the TV and the karaoke machine. Of course, you first offered your friends and Ken to sing something, but they all declined, saying that you should start as an initiator. One of the girls, blonde-haired Minami, smiled at you with a sparkle in her pretty golden eyes, adding that you are the best in this and you should show how to do it correctly. You chuckled in response, waving your hand at her to dismiss compliment.
Kaneki, on the other hand, frowned as he looked at the boy who was sitting on his right.
“... Oh, you don’t know? Y/N-san hasn’t yet praised herself to you that she has a wonderful voice? Huh, huh.” The black-haired boy shook his head, reaching for the glass filled with blue something again. “Hmmm, well. Normally Y/N’s very shy, but she always sings at trips when she’s drunk.” He chuckled while you picked one of your favorite songs in the meantime. So everyone looked at your standing figure, then heard the characteristic sounds from one of Selena Gomez’s songs coming from the gray speakers.
“My dear, I dedicate it to you~!” You looked with joy on your face towards the eighteen-year-old, giving him a quick wink, and then you started your little performance with ‘Love you like a love song’ from the above-mentioned artist.
Your friends didn’t seem surprised and instead started clapping to the beat of the music... but Ken’s eyes widened and he spat out his high-percentage drink, not knowing how to react to the fact that for nine, long months of your relationship, you concealed the fact that you could sing so well and so beautifully. Your voice was perfect for the song that was playing now, and you seemed to be having a great time – there was a huge smile on your lips, your eyelids were slightly closed and your hand was over your heart. If it weren’t for the fact that you were at a karaoke bar, everyone would definitely think you are playing a concert on the biggest stage in Tokyo city.
After the song was over, another girl got up to present a completely different choice, and you handed her the dark microphone, bowing in the process.
Kaneki still seemed speechless and as soon as you sat down next to him, he immediately kissed you on the warm forehead, asking you to sing more to him, especially when you two are going to be alone, because he probably fell in love with you once again and just wanted to experience that love every day thereafter.
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— NISHIKI (ft. ballet)
Nishiki, as a pharmacy student, didn’t have much time for extra-curricular activities or unnecessary meetings; in addition, the fact that he was a bloodthirsty ghoul and had to watch over himself made it difficult for him to function normally in the life of Kamii University. However, the brown-haired man always found time for you, for his beloved girlfriend.
You had been dating for over three, long years, and the man definitely couldn’t imagine his own life without you by his side. You knew each other better than anyone else in this world, but sometimes some tiny things of your ordinary day eluded Nishio; of course you understood it perfectly and you weren’t angry or disappointed with him. After all, he had to protect himself, you, take care of his specific menu, be vigilant at every step, and additionally he had to pretend to be the perfect student, senpai (or kouhai) and friend of other people.
So you weren’t surprised when one day you handed him a silverish ticket for probably the most important show of your life and he just looked at you in wonderment. At the beginning, the twenty-year-old asked if it was a performance related to singing or playing an instrument due to the fact that the colorful paper didn’t tell him too much, but you just smirked as you tweaked the unruly, soft hair on his head.
“Hmm. If you don’t remember what I do in my free time, it’s even better, I guess. Come and see it for yourself, honey. I think that thanks to this you will even calm down a little and rest due to the recent weeks.” You announced in a light tone of voice, and the young man sighed under his breath.
“So... I’ll find out in three days, am I right?” He made sure by correcting his glasses and you nodded, then grabbing his rough hand and kissing his cool cheek. A short while later you suggested going to your apartment and catching up on a few episodes of your favorite series that you started quite recently.
The anticipation of your important day passed very quickly and on Saturday, at 6 p.m., when everyone took their seats (with your boyfriend sitting on one of the balconies with the best view of the stage), delicate music was played in the theater, which made everyone shiver on the whole body. Until then, the brown-eyed boy somewhere in the back of his head had the impression that it was a theater performance or an opera, but when he saw your person appear on stage in a beautifully tailored dress and ballet shoes, all the questions that flickered in his mind disappeared in literally one second.
‘Well, yeah. I remember now. She always told me about ballet classes and new shoes.’ A huge, proud smirk came on his pale face and you glanced out of the corner of your eye towards his VIP seat.
Though your expression was cold and composed, you felt an enormous heat in your small heart as the man waved at you, showing two thumbs up. His lips moved even slightly, and although Nishiki tried to hide it, you knew perfectly well that the pink blush and mute ‘I love you’ was sincere and even better than being able to play Odetta, the White Swan, in a ballet spectacle.
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— YUUMA (ft. songwriting and guitar playing)
Christmas at school was never what you enjoyed; maybe due to the fact that before, your classmates on main campus were quite specific and you definitely didn’t fit with their strange ‘ideals’. It was only in the class E that you felt that you could find real friends or people who would share your ideas.
But, hmm. Still, you seemed to stand out from the rest of the girls in the class who had more... down-to-earth hobbies or characters than you; Okuda liked chemistry and was really excellent at it, Kirara loved reading, Rio was the best at English and had a great sense of fashion, and Toka was pretty good at cooking. Contrary to them, you preferred to... do more ‘intimate’ things. Writing short poems filled your heart with peace and prevented you from being as critical of yourself as usual. And when you wrote the lyrics of the songs, made notes or melodies to them and sang quietly, you could feel like a real artist that everyone wanted to admire and imitate.
Therefore, when your first and last class holidays with the rest of the 3-E students were fast approaching, Koro-sensei was the one who asked you for a short talk. You weren’t sure what this was about, but moments later your uncertainties were dispelled.
“Y/N-san, I think you mistook your notebooks today and instead of giving me your homework, you gave to me... this.” He said in his as always happy voice, and seeing the black notebook in which you always wrote songs and notes, you blushed all over your face, apologizing profusely for the mistake. “Huh? But this is no mistake, my dear. If it weren’t for this, I would never even think that we have such a talented soul in Class 3-E. So would you like to perform in front of the rest of the students and teachers during the holidays?” The easy question made you widen your eyes and sighed.
“I-I’ve never played in front of anyone, so...” You admitted shyly, and the tall, yellow octopus just chuckled.
“I’m pretty sure they will love it. We can practice together.”
Well, you couldn’t refuse (especially when Koro-sensei offered to bring your favorite, foreign snacks...) and on class Christmas day you showed up with your acoustic guitar and a notebook full of chords and songs. Everyone was surprised and curious at how well you play guitar. After all, you’ve never even mentioned that you can play any instrument before. On the other hand, the class representative, and your boyfriend at the same time, immediately came up to you, asking if you were really okay; better than anyone else, Isogai knew that you didn’t like too much attention and big crowds. But you reassured him it was okay and promised your teacher you would do it, so you smiled at him and then took your seat under the blackboard with a wooden guitar on your lap.
The song you chose for the day was a song you wrote quite recently. It had a little bit of magic, and at the same moment it seemed very romantic and delicate. Even Karma seemed delighted with your beautiful play and soft voice that echoed from time to time between the walls of huge classroom.
At the end of the song, you decided to raise your gaze and simultaneously look at your all friends, three teachers and other half; everyone was really happy and positively speechless. So you gave Yuuma a slight wink, making him blush sweetly.
The young teenager definitely hoped you would show him more of your songs someday, not necessarily the happy Christmas carols Kaede and Ritsu asked for.
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— ITONA (ft. dancing)
“... You never mentioned that you can dance.” He admitted softly, and you squeezed his smooth hand tighter.
“So... I mention it right now. It’s not a big deal, baby. I just ... like it and enjoy it a lot.” You giggled as you correcting the black sports bag over your shoulder, then opened the heavy door to the training room, immediately jumping up at the sound of loud squeals and greetings from your closest friends. “Guys, this is Itona Horibe, my boyfriend that I told to you before! Love, it’s Aki-chan, Yui-chan, Kazuya-kun, Saburo-kun, and our cameraman and editor Ryuu senpai. Most often, the five of us cooperate with each other when it comes to dance in groups of five people. And... today we are going to cover a song so I hope you’ll like it. I’ll go change and you all, please, don’t scare my boyfriend and give him something to drink!”
As a group leader, you often came up with choreographies and warm-ups for yourself and others. So, it couldn’t be otherwise this time. For the last week and a half you have been practicing the choreo you came up with and today you were supposed to record material for the video on your quite popular YouTube account. You were extremely excited, not only with the new content, but most of all with the fact that your beloved one would be able to watch it live and evaluate your skills that have been refined over the years. So as soon as you got back to the teens waiting for you, you kissed the light-blue-haired quickly on the right cheek and told him that he could sit against the wall, close to the table full of snacks and the contact for charging the phone.
Then you talked with everyone for a while, doing a short warm-up and reminding the cameraman about how to move the cam. A few short minutes later, you lined up in the middle of a huge white room with Ryuu in front of you. You knelt down in the center, of course, gently moving your shoulders to calm your rapidly pounding heart and heavy breathing, and when a song by Ariana Grande started playing all over the bright room, you all looked at the already activated camera, shaking your heads and then you got up from the wooden floor.
Itona... was speechless. He has never seen people dancing before, he has never even been interested in others, only you and what you like. Today he got to know your little passion, which turned out to be a breathtaking talent, and the boy wondered if you could do anything else; are you good at one specific dance genre or are you able to move your body in a completely different rhythm than he currently saw?
From Koro-sensei’s history lessons, when you two were in junior high, the eighteen-year-old remembered perfectly well that there is also classical dance, tango and breakdance. So could you also do that? He had to ask you about it later.
But now his curious gaze was focused on you and your huge, radiant smile, and the sound of feet hitting the ground. He also looked at your legs, tiny hands, stomach, and hair, while he wondered if he might learn to dance too, to be even closer to you and your hobby. After all, you looked so beautiful and so joyful... He wanted to share these emotions.
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littlemisspascal · 3 years
Text
Ezra’s Journal Entries #1-3
Fandom: Prospect / Pedro Pascal
Pairing: Ezra x Female!Reader
Word Count: 1,269
Summary: You and I were made from the same star, you said with such conviction it stole the breath from my lungs, bound to each other for eternity by the Currents of the universe. 
Warnings: angsty fluff, Ezra’s dealing with the aftermath of the Green, language, 1st person POV (Ezra), dialogue in italics because that’s just how I chose to do it, no beta so all mistakes are mine
Author Note: I know I said Death and Angel would come out next, but I got such a inspiration high and the words came out so quickly I just told myself screw it and decided to share what I have. If anyone thinks this is a series worth pursuing, let me know. If you don’t, well, just be gentle please 💖
Cross-posted on AO3
Entries #4-6
Look for additional notes at the bottom.
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My name is Ezra. 
I have my mama to thank for that. Time has erased her face from my memory, but her voice is ingrained into the tissue of my brain the same way these words are inked on this parchment. She was a bonafide believer that the meaning of a child’s name influenced the course of their destiny. When I was no taller than the height of her waist I learned my own name’s denotation: help.
It’s just a tick too ironic, isn’t it? To be destined to help others when I can’t help my own self. I gave the Green far too little credit. It didn’t just pilfer my arm to satisfy its ravenousness, it greedily stole my sense of purpose too. 
Every night I thank the deities you didn’t accompany me there. If the Green had taken you...
I know how worried you are about me, little love of mine. When I look at you, I find you already looking back, a sweet smile gracing your lips even as concern burns in your eyes as an eternal flame. From day one you’ve always been looking at me, seeing every disgraced flaw and scar—even the invisible ones carved into the darkest edges of my soul. Kevva knows I’ve never been capable of concealing anything from you, but fuck if I don’t wish I could sometimes.
You’re asleep now as I write this, tucked against my side in the vacant space my arm once occupied, drooling on my shirt. I love you so much it hurts. A black hole in my chest perpetually aching to be filled by your presence. And as we venture once more into the starry sea, our ship gliding past the imaginary wings of Noctua, I find myself recalling a theory you once told me many cycles ago about humans being made in the womb with stardust infused in their bones, linking them to the universe. You and I were made from the same star, you said with such conviction it stole the breath from my lungs, bound to each other for eternity by the Currents of the universe. 
And it’s undoubtedly selfish, but all I could think of in that tender moment beyond kissing you was how I didn’t want an eternity spent together with our cosmic bodies intertwined. 
I want longer.
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Soon after we awoke and each consumed a slice of bush bread bought during our recent docking at Kamrea, you fiddled with the channels on the ship’s radio, hoping to hear news from your homeworld but cursing when you only heard static. Then, without an ounce of forewarning, music burst out with an almighty scream through the speakers at full volume, flooding the whole compartment with a woman’s warbling. It was the same crusted Vayok song that merc Inumon blared in my ears during my last night on the Green, every note an individual needle piercing my skull, impossible to ignore.
Reality deserted me, leaving me to sink to the depths of the abyss within my mind where all I could see was Cee’s pale, disturbed expression as she looked to me for guidance. I remembered how my tongue felt clumsy in my mouth as I tried my damnedest to negotiate our transport, thinking if I could just piece together the right sequence of words, if I could just get their lingering eyes off of her, then maybe, maybe we’d have a chance at salvation. 
The memories coalesced, overlapping and blurring and mixing out of order. Each one was drenched in spilt blood.
Then your pinky wrapped around mine. The touch was soft yet firm, the action childlike in its innocence. It was such a jarring contradiction to my mind’s violent narrative, my consciousness was hurtled back into the living quarters of our ship as a result. You didn’t say anything when you saw I returned to you. Instead, you swallowed down the questions lodged in your throat and led me by our entwined fingers back to our bed.
There’s a plant back home called a dandelion, you told me with my head resting in your lap, a far better comfort than any pillow could provide me. It’s the only plant in the galaxy you can see the sun, the moon and the stars when you look at it. That’s not why it’s my favorite though.
I asked how it had won your heart’s favor if not due to its resemblance to the celestial bodies, then immediately found myself mesmerized by the smile that lit up your face as you peered down at me. My chest cavity tightened as I was filled with the profound longing to be able to suspend time, if only so I could stretch this moment to match the length of our separation, if only so I could erase the old and replace it with the beautiful new.
Dandelions grant wishes, babe. Anything you wish for with your whole heart, it will be yours to have.
I told you I wouldn’t wish for anything—nothing else in the galaxy could compare to the prettiest, wisest soul I’d ever encountered in all my years traversing it. You saw right through that lie with the same confident ease you see through all my masks and diversions, but—for the second time in the span of an hour—you held your tongue.
This journal’s as good a place as any to admit the honest truth. So here it is: I wish with the entirety of my bloody, beating heart I could be the man you deserve, little love of mine. 
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When you read, whether it be a book or the flight manual, you have the precious habit of mouthing the words. I don’t think you have the faintest notion you’re even doing it, which makes it all the more endearing to watch.
My brother had a similar habit, always nose deep in the yellowing pages of classic literature, except he had a proclivity to spoil the plot when he talked in his sleep. I remember there was one particular novel he returned to often, sometimes reading from beginning to end, other times seeking out specific segments he’d underlined in bold, black pen. It was a rather dreary tale about war and rivalry and the process of determining one’s own identity. I became so exasperated with my brother’s obsession I considered shredding it on more than one occasion, only to immediately hate myself for entertaining the thought.
It was only after his death—twelve whole cycles, in fact—that I summoned up the will to open the front cover. Seeing his name scribbled in the corner, cursive and neat and so utterly him, nearly had me tearing the book in half, overcome with a vicious rage I had never known prior nor have I encountered since. But by the almighty grace of Kevva I reigned it in, chaining it to the agony and fear imprisoned within the confines of my rib cage, and turned the page.
There was one segment underlined not once, but three times, nearly bleeding ink onto the page behind it. When I close my eyes, the words are tattooed on the backs of my eyelids, as haunting as they are comforting.
So the more things remained the same, the more they changed after all. Nothing endures. Not love, not a tree, not even a death by violence.
The author lived and died centuries before my brother’s inception, that is an inarguable fact. 
But I know those words were written for him all the same. 
Notes: 
There is an actual theory humans are made of stardust ✨
The Sater within Prospect mention the Currents as being responsible for bringing Ezra and Cee to them, so I imagine them as similar to the Fates/Moirai in Greek mythology.
Noctua is a real life, extinct constellation that is Latin for owl. I thought within this Prospect universe it could exist as a type of landmark or coordinate. Plus I love owls 🦉
Crusted is a term from Prospect Ezra uses. Equivalent of damn. I think there’s something funny about how they use creamy as a positive adjective and crusted as negative.
Vayok is the alien language Inumon speaks within the movie, so I decided to write the song she blares as being sung in the same language
Bush bread is referenced in a deleted scene by Ezra, but a google search revealed to me it’s also a real life type of bread too
In the same deleted scene Ezra references that he has a brother. I haven’t decided his name yet/if he will have one
The book and quote Ezra refers to in #3 is John Knowles’ A Separate Peace. One of the few required reading books I liked back in high school.
The quote about dandelions being the sun, moon and stars is based on the legend of how dandelions came into existence. I always thought it was beautiful.
Series Taglist: @insomniamamma
Permanent Taglist: @promiscuoussatan, @melobee, @randomness501, @absurdthirst, @captain-jebi, @artsymaddie, @happiestsparkleofall, @disgruntledspacedad, @gallowsjoker, @aerynwrites, @vintagesaph, @sylphene, @chibi-yuki, @freeshavocadoooo, @stilllivindue2spite, @pointy-sharp, @leilei-draws, @over300books, @theocatkov, @oh-no-a-whovian, @you-and-i-deserve-the-world, @lin-djarin, @rogertaylorsfalsettogivesmehives, @coaaster, @waywardmando, @thisshipwillsail316, @grogusmum, @asta-lily, @mylifeofcalculatedchaos @tacticalsparkles​
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boldlyanxious · 3 years
Text
Still Trusting
Jasonette July 17: crime boss
Follow up to Tenuous Trust
My masterlist
Jason saw her not long after he entered. He had been invited as an olive branch after he gave up his plans of vengeance. He didn't know she would be here but the idea of seeing her would have helped him make his decision on whether or not to show up. Probably not the best reasoning for decision making but he wasn't exactly known for his good choices.
He didn't approach her though. To most she would seem carefree and happy but he could see her stance was tense and her eyes constantly checked for ways to escape. Instead he headed towards the drink table to get himself something to make the night easier. He wasn't ready to approach his family yet. It was probably the night he met her that gave his family hope that the Jason they once loved was still in there somewhere.
He wasn't ready to decide if that was true. It had been a long road from his days when he thought becoming Robin was the best day of his life. His thoughts on that varied. He was better off than he would have been on the street but the cost had been paid on his own blood. He was already committing pretty theft and then some before he met Batman but now he had been the man in charge. He spotted Tim first but neither of them were ready for that meeting so Jason turned and walked away while Tim glaced around for anyone else to greet.
Jason hadn't meant to approach Marinette but there she was nervously adjusting the straw in her drink while a man in a suit proved he wasn't as slick as he thought he was. She stepped back away from his hand reaching out for her arm. Jason couldn't hear her words from where he was but her polite rejection was clear as Jason continued approaching.
"Come on Sweetheart. Just one dance." He heard.
Marinette didn't quite step back quick enough to avoid his hand on her forearm. The man stepped between her and the rest of the crowd. Jason sped up when he saw her wild eyes, clearly darting around trying to find a way out of the situation. Jason arrived and addressed Marinette as if they already knew each other. They did in a sense, but she wouldn’t know that and he didn’t want to bring up their meeting. He took her hand and tugged it away from the grip of the other man.
“There you are; wait until you see who is here,” he said loud enough for others to hear before dropping his voice to a volume only loud enough for her. “Which way do you need to go? Is there someone you trust who could help you calm down?”
Marinette looked back up at him in shock. He let go of her hand as soon as she was walking with him and she used it to point in the direction he had seen Tim go. He might be seeing his little brother sooner than either of them had planned. It would be okay in public though. Tim would not want to cause a scene and Jason didn’t want that either. He was accepting the offer of peace but he didn’t know if he was ready to be a part of the family again so soon.
He wasn’t surprised when they arrived at the other side of the room and Dick and Tim were there already trying to talk about the boring things society people were bound to talk about at such events. Jason managed to keep his groan internal but he looked around for the best way to acquire another drink. Dick saw him first.
“Jason! And Marinette!” His eyebrows shot up along with his voice’s inquisitive tone. “Did you guys just get here?”
“I got here a few minutes ago. But I ended up talking to someone over by the drink table before this man offered to help me find you,” Marinette said.
Jason wasn’t sure whether he should mention the other man’s behavior. She seemed to be more worried about causing a scene than her own comfort. But if anyone would understand why she was on edge it would be the people right here and Bruce and Alfred, possibly a few others if she had talked about her experiences.
“He seemed like he was a little too insistent for your boundaries. I was happy to help and removing you from the situation seemed more helpful than hitting him.” Jason said. “I’ll leave you to it.”
“You haven’t even had an actual conversation yet. Don’t run off.” Dick said, then pointed. “Look, there is a drink tray. That is probably what you were leaving for anyway.”
Jason conceded with a nod. Dick turned around and officially introduced Marinette. They spent a few moments talking about her recent work with Wayne Enterprises and their plans for continued work together. Jason had intended most of the night to be him forcing himself to appear interested, but he suddenly found the need to try not to appear overly interested in everything about Marinette.
He couldn’t deny he was very interested in her but he doubted that they could be involved without it getting very complicated. He already knew about a dark period in her life that she likely rarely talked about and he should keep his past hidden from her. He watched her try to cover her blushing face when Dick and Tim continued to sing her praises. There is no way she would be interested in a crime boss or a reformed one after what she had been through..
Jason looked up as Bruce walked up. Dick and Tim had turned back to their earlier conversations and Marinette turned to greet Bruce. Jason really couldn’t get away without the awkward interaction that was about to happen, it felt oddly reminiscent of that night on the rooftop with the 3 of them. He wondered if Bruce felt the same way. Whatever he felt was quickly covered by his public mask. Jason was happy to see that Marinette seemed to have calmed down after her interaction. He shocked himself and everyone else at the next break in conversation by asking her to dance.
He hadn’t danced in many years but he always had some skill. He wouldn’t be able to tell her that his most recent experience was from the League of Assassins as a necessary deception and reconnaissance skill but she still seemed to be enjoying herself. He should be talking but he couldn’t think of what to say. He could feel her pressed against him and moving to the music and he lost all ability to make conversation. She didn’t seem to mind. Her face was completely serene and she didn’t seem to even realize he nor anyone else was there so he just let her have her moment.
After returning her to the group, he excused himself. It had been several years since he had been inside Wayne Manor. He couldn’t bring himself to wander through all the rooms he had known growing up. He might like to see Alfred in the kitchen but he would prefer not to pass by all the memories that haunted him. He chose instead to go to the garden. The air was much cooler out here than the warmth in the ballroom and there was a pleasant breeze. He passed by the benches and found a tree that he used to climb.
It had changed and was taller and wider now, much like him. He found some comfort in that. He sat and leaned against it and sighed as he closed his eyes. It was a few minutes before he heard someone approaching. He had expected someone to follow him out but he was surprised when she spoke after standing silent for a few minutes. He would have guessed Dick or that Bruce would send Alfred. He wondered if she had come to find him or if she had been sent as an emissary.
“It’s a nice night.” she said softly.
“It is. Shame the event is indoors.”
“I’m not sure it would be as nice if everyone was out here. I like the quiet.”
“True. Did you enjoy the party anyway?”
“Mostly. I don’t seem to have as much energy to be social for the whole night.”
“I feel the same. I always like to take a break and go back when everyone has enjoyed the party too much so I can laugh at them.”
He loved her laugh and that she felt relaxed enough to laugh.
“I’ve not seen you at any of the other events. I’ve been to several over the past few months.”
“I missed a few. But I think I might be at more of them in the future.”
“Since you’re not busy being a crime boss anymore.”
He looked up at her and she met his eyes and held his gaze. When he looked down she sat down against a different tree facing him.
“Did someone tell you or were you able to figure it out.”
“No one told me. ‘Jason’ was always talked about in hushed tones and there was always a long story that no one wanted to tell. But I recognized you. It took time for the things to connect. The look you had on your face when you helped me get away from the man earlier. But mostly I recognized your voice.”
“Usually that would be distorted. I wonder if Batman has that problem.”
“He would never admit it. But I wouldn’t do anything to give you or him away. You saved my life and he helped me stay safe after. I saw enough to know that the threats were very real.”
“They are both dead now and not a threat to you.”
She nodded rather than responding and then they sat in silence again for several minutes before she spoke again.
“How did it happen?” she asked. “The story no one wants to tell. Will you tell me?”
He paused before responding. But then he started from the beginning and told her the whole story from his initial meeting with Batman as a child to his death and resurrection and finally his time as a crime boss. She listened mostly in silence except for a few reactions and utterances to help him. He hadn’t even realized she had moved so close to him. She was holding his hand when he finished. He looked back into her eyes and she was looking at him with such understanding. He used his other hand to brush her wisps of hair away from her temple. He was surprised when she responded by leaning forward and kissing him.
He didn’t want to question whether that was the right response or why she had done it. He just leaned into her and enjoyed it when she didn’t stop with the simple brush of their lips. He hoped she wouldn't regret the impulse and wished it could continue longer but they could hear someone approaching so they pulled away. Jason stood and held out his hand to help her to her feet and he was surprised she didn’t immediately pull her hand back. So they walked back into the ballroom with Dick and got their opportunity to laugh at all the people who had dissolved their inhibitions with too much champagne. She was laughing beside him and he was happy that it was with him.
Taglist
@jasonette-july-event | @theymakeupfairies | @emjrabbitwolf | @vixen-uchiha | @trythisagainlove | @trippingovermyfeet | @tbehartoo | @adrestar | @zynna
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fridayfirefly · 3 years
Text
Two Birds [Part Two]
Read Two Birds on AO3
Masterlist [All Works]
Masterlist [Two Birds Series]
For Maribat March Day 31 - Reunion
The school trip to Gotham was supposed to be fun. It was supposed to be a reward to the class, a celebration of the recent defeat of Hawkmoth by Ladybug and Chat Noir. Marinette wanted to celebrate. She really didn't want to cry on the trip. Yet, as the plane touched down in Gotham, Marinette was staring out the plane window at the rain and the setting sun, rubbing her eyes, trying her best to brush away the tears before they formed.
"Are you okay, Marinette?" Alya looked over at Marinette, concern visible on her face.
Marinette nodded weakly, blinking away the wetness in her eyes. "I'm fine. I just... I have some bad memories associated with Gotham. One of my childhood friends... his parents were murdered on a trip to Gotham and I lost contact with him after that. It's always been a very raw subject for me."
Alya opened her mouth to respond, but before she could get a word out, Lila leaned across the aisle to interrupt the conversation. "Your childhood friend's parents were murdered on a trip to Gotham? It's okay to admit that you're scared of Gotham because of the supervillains. You don't have to come up with some outlandish story for why you're upset."
Marinette glared over at Lila, her eyes shiny from both her tears and her anger. "I wasn't talking to you, Lila, but for your information, I'm not making up a story. I wouldn't lie about the death of my friend's parents. I hate liars."
Lila flinched back, her eyes wide and innocent. "I'm sorry, Marinette. I just wanted to make sure that you knew that you could tell the truth. We wouldn't judge you for it."
Alya frowned, giving Lila a stern look. "Lila, Marinette is seriously upset. I don't think that this is the right time to lecture her."
"Oh, of course." As soon as Alya turned away from her, Lila's expression was murderous. Marinette could care less. She turned away and ignored Lila, not in the mood to deal with the liar's taunts. If she could just hold back her tears until they got off the plane, maybe she could pretend that it was the rain that was making her face wet.
It took an hour to get from the plane to the hotel room, and that hour was torture for Marinette, who spent the entire journey holding back tears. As soon as Alya shut the door to their hotel room with a click, Marinette finally let herself cry, curling up into a ball on the hotel bed.
Marinette felt Alya wrapped her arms around her in a hug. "I've got you, Marinette. It'll be okay."
Marinette didn't know how long she cried for. All she knew was that when the tears finally stopped, the sky had gone dark outside. "What time is it?"
"It's a little past eight. I texted Nino to tell Ms. Bustier that you weren't feeling well, so she won't be bothering you with any class president duties tonight."
"Thanks." Marinette shifted herself from lying on her side to sitting up. "Have I ever told you what happened to Dick?"
Alya shook her head. "You've mentioned him a few times, but only that you two were friends when you were younger, and then lost touch."
Marinette sighed. "It all started when I was nine years old. My Grandma Gina was babysitting me for the weekend. She was old friends with the ringmaster of a circus that was in Paris, so she took me there to stay the weekend. That was where I met Dick and his parents..."
Marinette told the story in bursts, stopping to cry every few minutes when she got too emotional to continue. "...And I never spoke to him again after that. Gotham's foster care records aren't open to the public, and I stopped myself from Googling his name a long time ago. It just hurts too much to get my hopes up."
Alya wrapped Marinette up in another hug. "I'm sorry, Marinette. I wish there was something I could do to make this better."
"I think this trip might be good for me. It hurts a lot now, but I think once it's over I might finally feel a little more at peace."
"I hope so. But if there's ever any time where you need to just stop and let it all out, I'll be there for you."
"Thanks, Alya. You're the best."
Alya was Marinette's best friend, even if Alya was friends with Lila as well. That was Marinette's one regret - when she unmasked Hawkmoth and Mayura as Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie Sancour, there was no way to unmask Lila as a liar as well. Gabriel refused to name Lila as an accomplice, aware that admitting to having manipulated a teen girl into performing acts of terrorism wouldn't look good for him. So Lila was free to continue her reign of terror, though at least now Marinette could be rightfully angry with her, without fear of being akumatized.
----------
The class trip was partially sponsored by the Wayne Scholarship Foundation. Usually, the Wayne Scholarship Foundation only awarded scholarships, given to students all across America to pay for college, but after Hawkmoth's defeat and the media coverage that followed, a rather large sum was awarded to Marinette’s class for their bravery on the front lines of Hawkmoths' attacks. The Wayne Foundation organized tours and shows for them all over the city, starting with a tour of the Martha Wayne Memorial Botanical Gardens bright and early on the first morning of their trip. Then the class would go on a walking tour of Gotham during the afternoon, ending at a high-end sushi restaurant for dinner, followed by a night exploring East Hills Park during one of their famous firework shows. The late May day promised to be warm and sunny, so Marinette put on her favorite red floral sundress with a jean jacket overtop to hide the thin spaghetti straps, and sturdy tennis shoes to handle all of the walking she would be doing.
"Marinette!" gasped Lila as soon as Alya and Marinette walked into the main lobby. "Are you sure that your outfit is dress-code approved?"
Marinette rolled her eyes. "Yes, Lila. With my jacket on, this fits the dress code. I wouldn't make something that I can't wear."
"Okay. I was just checking. Your dress seemed a little too short to me, but I guess I just prefer something more modest."
As Lila walked away, Alya placed her hand on Marinette's shoulder in comfort. "I'm sure Lila didn't mean to come off as slut-shaming. I think she's just lashing out because wants to make sure you don't get in trouble for your outfit." Even Alya sounded uncertain of her explanation, as not even she believed herself. Without the support of Hawkmoth, Lila was no longer a cunning and calculated mastermind of manipulation. Now she was just a scared bully, desperately doing whatever she could to maintain her power over the class.
"Whatever," Marinette sighed. "I won't let her ruin my trip."
"That's the spirit. Besides, anyone with taste would know that your outfit looks super cute.”
Marinette smirked. "Are you saying that you don't think Lila has taste?"
"Definitely not as much taste as you. You're the Queen of Fashion Trends. You always look good." Alya put her arm around Marinette's shoulder. "Plus, you know better than to wear cowboy boots to school."
Marinette giggled as she remembered the incident. Lila came to school showing off her 'authentic' cowboy boots from America, seemingly unaware that they were the ugliest shoes anyone in their class had ever seen.
"You'll have a great day today, I promise." Alya walked with Marinette to the bus waiting outside. They got a seat up near the front, by Nino and Adrien.
Adrien had been the most affected by Hawkmoth's unmasking, given that it revealed his Father as a terrorist and his Mother as a coma-patient. All seemed lost for Adrien, as a team of Paris's best doctors revealed that Emilie Agreste was braid-dead. They planned on pulling the plug on Emilie's life support until, Amelie Graham de Vanily revealed that by combining the twin rings she and her sister owned with Ladybug's power of creation, together they had the power to bring Emilie back to life. Marinette was skeptical, after all, Amelie seemed to have ulterior motives in everything she did, but how could Marinette refuse when it was the only thing that she could do to help Adrien. In the end, she decided to help, no matter the consequences. Miraculously, it worked. Emilie was brought back to life and Adrien had a mother again.
However, in the aftermath of her decision, Marinette realized one crucial detail. In all of the chaos of deciding whether or not to work with Amelie, when she based her final decision on Adrien, she did it because he was her friend, not because he was her crush. At that moment, she realized that the overwhelming crush she had on Adrien since the age of thirteen had faded. In its place was a beautiful friendship.
"Good morning," chirped Adrien.
"What's up, dudes?" chimed in Nino.
"I can't believe we're here in Gotham. I thought our class trip to London was cool, but this is just incredible. I can't believe that the Wayne Foundation organized all of this for us," Alya gushed.
Marinette smiled. She knew that her friends deserved the vacation. Alya, Nino, and Adrien (though his involvement as Aspik was brief) all helped in the fight against Hawkmoth, even though they never revealed their superhero identities to each other. "What are you all most excited about?"
"I can't wait to see the Superhero Museum," said Alya. "I can't believe we were invited to the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new exhibition."
"It is a celebration of the defeat of Hawkmoth. I suppose they wanted some real Parisians there to see it."
"I'm excited for Super: an American Musical, with the original cast. Did you guys know that this is their last week in Gotham before the show starts on Broadway!" Nino cheered.
Marinette smiled. "That is cool. I've heard that it's a fan favorite to win a Tony this year."
When all eyes landed on Adrien to answer the question, he shrugged. "I just want to experience everything. And take a lot of pictures. I promised my Mom that I would send her some."
"How about we take one now?" Marinette suggested.
Adrien nodded and the group of friends squeezed together to take a selfie.
"How about you, Marinette?"
"The Wayne Foundation Fundraising Gala," Marinette answered promptly. "It's one of the most influential events in fashion. I've heard that celebrities wear their second-best outfits to the Met Gala and save their best for the Wayne Gala. I know that the Wayne Foundation is paying for a shopping trip to pick out an outfit for the Gala, but I made my dress own and brought it here."
Alya laughed. "I should have guessed."
Marinette smiled sheepishly. "I couldn't resist. This is the first opportunity I've had to wear my newest creation."
"Do you have pictures of it?" asked Adrien.
Marinette shook her head. "I'm not showing anyone until the Gala. I'm keeping it safe in my room. I don't want to jinx anything."
"Hawkmoth is gone. We're in Gotham, living it up. Life is good." Alya summarized, and the whole group chimed in their agreement. Life was good.
----------
"Is everything in this city named after the Waynes?" asked Nino as they stepped off the bus in from of the Martha Wayne Memorial Botanical Gardens.
"The Waynes are one of the oldest and wealthiest families in Gotham. When you're that rich, life is just a game of buying your name onto as many buildings as possible," Adrien answered.
"The Waynes and their extraordinary money are the reason why we're here, so I'm willing to forgo making fun of everything they put their name on," Alya decided.
Once they got through the doors to the Botanical Garden, Marinette was entranced. Flowers of every shade surrounded her, the sound of rushing water and the rustling of leaves was the only thing she could hear, the smell of pollen and fresh air filled her lungs. It was heavenly.
"I'm Olivia, but you can all call me Liv," spoke the blonde tour guide as she approached the class. "I'll be giving you a tour of the Botanical Gardens, the largest sanctuary for endangered plants in New Jersey. We're known especially for our orchid garden, which we'll walk through at the end of our tour."
As the tour continued, Marinette noticed that one hallway was blocked off by a sign reading: Hydrangea Exhibition Coming This Fall.
Liv pointed out the hallway. "Down that hallway is the upcoming Hydrangea Exhibition, which is replacing the old New Jersey Wildflower exhibit. Now, I know you're all from out of town, but if you're even in Gotham again, make sure you check out the Botanical Gardens. We're always getting new exhibits-"
Liv was cut off by the sound of shattering glass. One of the panes of glass making up the room had been shattered, and shards rained down on screaming tourists. Marinette's eyes widened as she recognized Poison Ivy, lowering herself through the now opened ceiling on her vines. "You thought you could destroy the native vegetation of this city and get away with it? Nothing escapes my notice. Now, I would like to have a little chat with whoever's in charge here."
Liv motioned for all the students to get down, whispering, "As long as we stay out of Poison Ivy's way, we'll be perfectly fine. Just stay calm and stay quiet."
Marinette watched as the Director of the Botanical Gardens came out to reason with Poison Ivy. He pleaded with the villain, "We won't destroy any of the wildflower gardens, I swear. I'll make sure myself that the wildflower exhibit will be moved to public parks all across Gotham."
Poison Ivy shook her head. "That's not good enough. You think you can wash your hands of these flowers so long as someone else offers to take them? How long do you think the wildflower gardens will last without any sort of protection?"
"We'll make sure that the gardens are protected, I promise."
Narrowing her eyes, Poison Ivy gave the Director a cruel smile. "I hope for your sake, Mr. Joseph Hoffman of 524 Shelton Avenue, that nothing happens to those flowers. Otherwise..." Poison Ivy let the threat hang in the air, using her vines to ascend back up to the ceiling.
The next few moments were so chaotic and full of movement that Marinette couldn't quite piece together what had happened. All she knew was that one second Poison Ivy was leaving the way she came and the next second, Batman and Robin were facing her down in the middle of the Botanical Gardens.
"Oh, hello Batman, Robin. It's so nice to see you. I was just leaving though, so unless you want to fight me where all these plants - and civilians, I suppose - could get hurt, I would step out of my way."
"Poison Ivy, we both know that I can't just let you go free after you threatened this man's life."
Poison Ivy sighed dramatically. "Oh well, I gave you a chance. Now it looks like I'll have to start getting civilians involved. The villain's eyes panned over the room, her eyes just happening to make contact with Marinette's for a split second before Marinette looked away. But that split second was enough. Marinette felt vines start to wrap around her forearms, yanking her forward.
Marinette was pulled all the way over to Poison Ivy, Batman, and Robin, until she was stopped in between the villain and heroes. "What's your name?" Poison Ivy asked, a menacing smile on her face.
"M-Marinette," she stuttered out, eyes wide.
Batman's expression was stoic and unyielding, while Robin looked at her with wide, stunned eyes. Batman spoke, "Why don't we move this outside where no one - plants or civilians - will get hurt."
Poison Ivy nodded. "I will require a head start, though, so I'll keep my vines wrapped around Marinette's throat. As soon as I'm out of range the vines will go slack and she'll be able to go on with her day. However, if you start to come after me before then, I'll tighten my vines and poor little Marinette might not make it."
Marinette stiffened as the vines grew around her throat, just loose enough for her to take shallow breaths. Poison Ivy disappeared from view, but Marinette continued to stay perfectly still, desperately trying to slow her breathing before she hyperventilated. No one made a move toward Marinette, no one willing to risk the consequences of making a move while Poison Ivy could still control the vines.
After what felt like hours, but was really only about five minutes, the vines relaxed and fell to the floor. Marinette collapsed to the ground, lowering herself into the seated position so she could breathe a little bit easier.
"Are you alright?" asked Robin, kneeling next to her. "Are you having any trouble breathing?"
"I'm okay. I didn't get hurt. I was just scared."
Robin got up and held out his hand to help her to her feet. "Why don't we get you back with the rest of your group. Are you here with your family?"
Marinette shook her head. "I'm here on a school trip."
Robin walked Marinette over to her class, handing her off to Ms. Bustier, who let out a sigh of relief as she gently placed her hand on Marinette's shoulder. "I know that was a very scary situation, Marinette. If you would like, I can take you and Alya back to the hotel."
"No way!" protested Marinette. "I didn't even get hurt. Plus, we have the walking tour of Gotham today. I don't want to miss it."
"Are you sure?" Ms. Bustier glanced over toward Batman.
Batman joined the conversation, saying, "If Marinette prefers to continue her day as normal, then I would advise following Marinette's lead. Often, the best way to recover from an encounter with a villain is to go on with your life as normal."
Marinette nodded. "I want to stay with the rest of the class and go on with our day."
Ms. Bustier still looked hesitant but conceded anyway. "Alright. I think our tour of the Botanical Gardens is over, though. I doubt that they would let us continue, what with shattered glass all over the floors."
Liv led the group out of the building, commenting with a sigh, "It's a shame that Poison Ivy came and ruined the tour. The orchid garden is such an amazing exhibit, and now none of you will get to see it. Unless..." Liv glanced around. "There's no broken glass in the orchid garden, so I don't suppose why we couldn't leave the Botanical Garden through the side-exit past the orchid garden. What do you say, Marinette?"
Marinette smiled. "That sounds wonderful."
As the tour group turned to enter one of the hallways branching off of the main room, Marinette glanced behind her one last time. She made eye contact with Robin, who was watching her leave, an expression of wonder on his face. Marinette turned back around self-consciously rubbing the back of her neck. She wasn't sure why Robin looked at her like that. It wasn't a look that one would give a stranger, and yet they had never met before. Marinette thought it was odd, but the thought was gone from her mind as soon as her class entered the orchid garden. I'm here in Gotham for a week to have fun, she reminded herself, so no more investigating every strange occurrence.
----------
The walking tour of Gotham was just as fun and informative as Marinette anticipated, packed with interesting facts and amazing sights. She got a bunch of high-quality pictures of Gotham, good for putting in the blog post that Marinette (as class president) was in charge of putting together to go on the school website. Best of all, Lila didn't bother her for the whole tour. Even Lila knew that she couldn't bully Marinette and get away with it, after what Marinette had been through the morning.
The sushi restaurant was amazing too. Marinette had eaten sushi a few times before, but never anything as high-quality as what was served in the restaurant. Marinette decided that if this was what a field trip funded by the Wayne Foundation was like, then she was incredibly excited for the week to come.
Aside from the unfortunate interruption at the Botanical Garden, the day was perfect. Yet, Marinette couldn't stop thinking about the strange look on Robin's face. Had she done something wrong? Was she really safe from Poison Ivy? The thoughts lingered in her head, pestering her every time she felt safe and content.
"Listen up, class!" called out Ms. Bustier. "You'll all have exactly two hours to explore East Hills Park. The firework show starts in approximately half an hour, and ends half an hour before you have to meet up here, which should give you plenty enough time."
Marinette followed Adrien, Alya, and Nino off the bus and into the park. The group of friends started to explore the park, stumbling upon the statues and fountains that were scattered about the grounds.
"I found another Wayne!" Nino shouted from a few meters away. "This statue was dedicated to Patrick Wayne, who was Mayor of Gotham City - this was before they changed the name to just Gotham - from 1896-1904. His most notable achievement from his time in office was that he built over thirty new schools and eleven new library buildings in the city. He was known for his dedication to educating the City of Gotham."
It had become an inside joke between the group to try and find as many things in Gotham named after the Waynes as they could. The task turned out to be much less difficult than they had anticipated, so the group quickly switched tactics and began looking up the various Waynes to see what they actually did with their lives, to determine whether they deserved their names on the various buildings and statues of Gotham.
"He actually sounds like he deserved a statue," said Adrien, looking down at his phone at the Wikipedia article he had pulled up. "Not like Augustus Wayne, who never had a job and gambled away nearly a quarter of the Wayne fortune, yet still has a bridge and a fountain in this park named after him."
Marinette chimed in, "My favorite is Georgiana Wayne. Apparently, a reporter was harassing her over the fact that she was a divorcee and Theodore Wayne was her second husband, and she told that reporter to, quote, 'Fuck off, you lousy son of a bitch. If my husband doesn't mind that I am a divorcee, I don't see why you should.'"
"I wonder if she has any statues in the park," said Alya.
"I doubt it. Her Wikipedia article is only four paragraphs long."
Alya frowned. "That's a shame. Augustus Wayne does nothing of importance with his life and gets a whole bridge named after him, but Georgiana Wayne is a total badass in the 1920s and gets nothing."
"We'll have to bring it up with Bruce Wayne at the fundraising Gala," joked Marinette.
"Good idea." Alya glanced down at her phone. "It's almost time for the fireworks show to start. According to the class groupchat, everyone is gathering on the south shore of the duck pond. There are benches there, and it should have a good view."
"I'll meet you guys there," said Marinette. "I just want to get a few more pictures before it gets too dark."
Marinette started taking pictures of the fountains and flowerbeds, wandering aimlessly through the park. She was busy getting the best angle to take a picture of a maple tree framed by the sunset when she bumped into someone walking behind her.
"Oh, I'm so sorry-" Marinette began to apologize, but as soon as she recognized just who she bumped into she was at a loss for words. "Dick?"
"Marinette?" Dick's voice was deeper than Marinette remembered, yet still hauntingly familiar. His wide blue eyes stared into hers.
Marinette couldn't hold it together. She burst into tears, launching herself into his arms. "Dick, I thought I would never see you again. What are you doing here?"
"I heard your name on the news when they were reporting about Poison Ivy's vandalism at the Botanical Gardens. I did a little googling and found out about your class trip. It took a little digging into the Wayne Foundation website, but I found the approved itinerary for the trip and decided to track you down at East Hills Park. I knew I had to see you again."
"You did that for me?" Overhead the fireworks started going off, extravagant flashes of color that Marinette ignored completely. She couldn't tear her eyes off of Dick. When she imagined her reunion with him, she never really considered that he would be all grown up. No longer was Dick the twelve-year-old boy that Marinette remembered from her childhood. Dick was now five years older and sixteen inches taller.
"Of course I did. Marinette, I've missed you so much."
"I tried to get back in contact with you but Gotham's CPS refused to release any information to me. I kept calling and calling but they wouldn't tell me anything." The tears returned with a vengeance, and Marinette started to sob. "I gave up on finding you and I'm so sorry."
"I don't blame you. You have to know I don't blame you. It's me who should be apologizing. I could have tracked you down but I never did."
Marinette sniffled. "Why didn't you?"
"I was a coward." Marinette opened her mouth to protest but Dick cut her off. "I was scared of losing another person I loved. I shut everyone out and by the time I was ready to let people in again, I was afraid that you wouldn't want to be a part of my life again."
"What made you change your mind?" asked Marinette.
"No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't forget you. It was stupid of me to think that I ever could in the first place. You were my best friend Marinette. You still are, if you'll have me."
Dick looked at her with such longing that Marinette knew she could never deny him. Her face softened. "Of course I will."
"Thank you." Dick held onto Marinette tighter.
Marinette closed her eyes and melted into his embrace. The fireworks show continued, bathing the park in beautiful colors, but Marinette felt no need to watch it. She knew that she already had the most beautiful thing in the park in her arms.
Taglist: @maribatmarch-2k21 @jayjayspixiepop @buginetye @ultimatetornshipper
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blossom-hwa · 3 years
Text
Put Your Arms Around Me (I’ll Be Warm For Days) - DAEYEOL
so I once swore I'd never write a vampire fic yet here I am breaking that promise because I saw this post explaining that once you rescind your welcome to a vampire they are obligated to leave and then this just happened
god I already feel embarrassed just queuing this I'm so sorry
Pairing: Daeyeol x gender neutral!reader
Genre: fluff, vampire!au
Triggers: mentions of biting like once? it never gets described
Word Count: 3k
In your arms, Daeyeol feels just a little more human.
Golden Child Masterlist
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Spinning in the pouring rain, dreary gray clouds lining the sky with not a hint of sky in between, your laughter rings radiant in the air as Daeyeol watches from under the apartment overhang, umbrella closed by his side. A small smile lifts the corners of his lips, a smile that he no longer tries to hide – you know how feels. And though you haven’t given him a reply just yet, it’s a blessing nonetheless not to have to hide the love in his expression whenever he sees you free, happy, alive.
“Daeyeol!” You come running up, shoes squelching through streets already covered in a layer of water. Even as cold rain splashes and hits his skin, his smile widens as your wet face appears in his line of vision. “Come on, you stupid baby – just for a few minutes!”
“You’re calling me a stupid baby?” He scoffs in mock indignity, pulling you out of the rain. “I’m several centuries older than you, thank you very much, and I have more degrees than you will ever earn in your life –”
A wet hand hits his arm and your laughter rings again, music in Daeyeol’s ears. “And yet you’re still afraid of a little rain,” you tease, hand wrapping around his wrist. “How is it that you’re the immortal who’ll never get sick or tired but you’re also the one waiting out the downpour?”
“How is it that you’re the human who’ll definitely get sick and sniffly but you’re also the one dancing out in said downpour?” Daeyeol counters, shrugging off his coat. The chill strikes his bare arms but he ignores it, placing it over your shoulders. “You need a hot shower or you’re going to be sick all day tomorrow.”
“Hey, just a few minutes.” You beam at him, pulling the coat around you more securely. “Come on, please?”
He can’t say no. He never could, not when faced with you. Even though Daeyeol is a centuries old vampire and has seen enough of the world to make him lose faith in humanity multiple times (once quite recently), the sparkle in your eyes never fails to remind him that there’s still kindness, there’s still good, there’s still love in the world that might just prevail over all the bad. So he follows you into the rain and watches you spin under the showering droplets, arms held out wide (his coat is definitely going to need a long wash), and even as the cold air begins to seep into his already cold skin, he finds warmth in your laugh, warmth in your smile, warmth even in your chilly hand as it wraps around his fingers and forces him to spin around once too.
What wouldn’t he give to pull you closer, to bring your body right up against his so he can press a kiss to your rainy forehead, staring into your eyes as you gaze back with the same love that he holds for you? What wouldn’t he give to sway you gently in the downpour, water soaking your clothes as he wraps his arms around your waist and rests his head on your shoulder and simply stays there, soaking in the love of someone he cares for with all that is left of his heart?
But with no reciprocation must come restraint, and after centuries of life (or death, depending on how he thinks of it), he’s well-versed in the skill. Daeyeol loves you and you know this, but he’s also made it clear that he will never pressure you into an answer, will never force himself onto you no matter how long he must wait. He’s lived for centuries. He can wait a little longer for a reply to his confession, be it favorable or unfavorable, as long as you allow him to stay by your side.
You twirl around, eyes squinted nearly shut with laughter. A few feet away from Daeyeol, you stop and turn back to him with a look simultaneously familiar and unfamiliar, unfamiliar in that he hasn’t seen it on your face, but familiar in that he has seen it on his when Joochan drew that portrait of him staring at an off-canvas you, the softest glint of love in his eyes.
Love.
Real love.
But this time in your eyes, not his.
Daeyeol’s breath stutters in his throat. Hope rises in his chest, makes him feel an artificial warmth in his cold face and if he were still human his heart would be fluttering, pounding, racing as he returns your gaze –
But the look disappears in a second, replaced by a much more familiar expression of simple joy and laughter as you tromp through the puddles to brush a wet clump of hair out of Daeyeol’s face. Your fingers, though cold, send warm tingles up his spine. “It’s not fun if you just stand there and let the rain pour all over you, you know,” you reproach, eyes sparkling.
Cold disappointment eats through the previous warmth in his chest but Daeyeol swallows it down. He was probably seeing things, probably projecting his feelings onto you in a way that wasn’t real. And even if he wasn’t, just because you feel similarly doesn’t mean you’re ready to say it just yet. No sense in hoping or probing.
Daeyeol allows his lips to tilt in a little pout. “I just don’t want you to get sick,” he says, braving a hand to uselessly wipe rain off your face. “Come on, it’s been a few minutes. You need a shower and I need to cook dinner.”
You grumble a little but the reminder of warm food convinces you to escape the rain. Daeyeol lingers behind slightly as you head into the apartment lobby, gazing wistfully at your back.
No. He shakes his head. This is enough. All of it is enough. It is enough that you allow him to stay, enough that you welcome him into your apartment every day even if you rescind the invitation at night. It is enough that you accept his feelings even if you need more time for an answer, treasuring the heart he’s entrusted you even if you’re not yet ready to offer your own. Because even though you’re the only one for him, the only one who’s made him wish his heart could beat not just for life but for love since he was turned so many centuries ago, the only thing that matters to Daeyeol is your comfort and your happiness.
For as long as a genuine smile remains etched on your face, Daeyeol can find peace in your joy.
. . . . .
His hair is still slightly damp from the shower when the clock strikes midnight several hours later and Daeyeol looks up from his perch on the couch, frowning over his glasses at the two clock hands that signal his time to leave.
You look up too, squinting over your laptop at the clock. Daeyeol takes the moment to focus on the way your eyes still shine through the tiredness on your face. It’s a far cry from the rainy exuberance you wore a few hours ago, but it’s just as beautiful in a quieter, softer way.
A smile spreads over his lips, wide but a little sad, too. With this stolen moment of silent admiration comes the knowledge that it’s time for you to rescind your welcome, for him to make the lonely walk up one floor to his own apartment, for him to slide between cold sheets that won’t grow warm because his blood doesn’t flow and attempt to sleep while imagining you in his embrace. The next day will come sooner the faster he falls asleep, Daeyeol knows, and the sooner the next day comes the sooner he gets to see you, but that doesn’t seem to compute when all he wants is to feel your warmth by his side.
“I should go,” he says quietly, closing his literature textbook as he stands.
You nod, yawning. The urge to walk over and kiss your forehead is almost overwhelming but Daeyeol resists, only reaching out to pat your head softly as he passes by. “Mm, it’s late.”
Do you lean into his touch? Daeyeol doesn’t know. You’re always careful with your actions, careful in a way Daeyeol wishes you weren’t however much he understands, but this time when Daeyeol touches your face, he can’t help but hope you might have leaned in slightly, just slightly, even if it was unintentional.
“Goodnight, then.” He stops at the door to put on his shoes.
“Goodnight, Daeyeol.” You smile, though your eyes glint with a little something that looks like a mix of worry and… excitement? “Sweet dreams.”
He lingers a moment longer, debating whether or not to ask you if something’s wrong. Worry isn’t exactly characteristic in your expression, and even less so is the mixture of anxious excitement burning softly in your eyes. But he stops himself. It’s late, after all, and if you still look the same way in the morning, he can ask then when you aren’t so tired. His other shoe goes on and he swings open the door, glancing back one last time as you wave from the table.
One foot out the door, then the other. Daeyeol begins to close the door.
Then his eyes widen and he swings it back open before he can even comprehend his brief thought.
You don’t look surprised when he stumbles back into the apartment, clutching the doorknob so hard he knows it’ll break between his fingers if he doesn’t loosen his grip soon. If anything, a little smile curves your lips, shy and anticipating but gleeful, too, excited and glinting with a warmth that Daeyeol recognizes from Joochan’s portrait –
“You didn’t rescind your invitation," he breathes. “Did you –” he swallows, not wanting to consider the painful possibility but forcing it through his mouth even as hope blooms vibrant and full in his chest – “did you forget?”
The second it takes for you to open your mouth is excruciating, but his patience is rewarded when shake your head and smile. “No,” you reply, standing up. Daeyeol can barely breathe as you step forward, closer, eyes sparkling. “I didn’t.”
You’re close, so close that Daeyeol would barely need to move to slide an arm around you, to pull you into his chest and bury his face in your shoulder the way he wanted to so badly in the rain. He could lift his head, press soft kisses to your neck and jaw and cheek, moving towards your forehead and nose and then your lips –
Two warm arms wrap around his waist and Daeyeol stops breathing for real. Your body presses into his and Daeyeol winces slightly, wondering how you’ll react when you feel the distinct lack of a heartbeat beneath his shirt. But you don’t so much as flinch, only look up with a slightly uncertain expression when Daeyeol goes rigid beneath your touch. “Is this okay?” you ask, eyebrows furrowed.
“Yes,” Daeyeol replies, voice slightly choked for breath. “Yes, it’s everything I’ve – just –” He swallows. “Is this what you want? It’s not… not just because of how I feel, is it?”
At that, your expression relaxes, worry melting into exasperated affection. “Of course not,” you murmur, arms tightening around his body. Daeyeol almost gasps at the muted warmth that seeps through his shirt, rushing up his skin. “I trust you. I should’ve trusted you a long time ago, really. You’ve only ever treated me with love and care. You’ve never done anything remotely threatening to me and…” You lift your head from his skin and look at him with shining eyes. “I don’t believe you ever will.”
He moves, then, arms curving around your waist with maybe a bit too much strength but he grants himself a brief reprieve from years of constant restraint, allows himself to bring you close, close, closer as he tucks himself into your warmth, closing his eyes in bliss as your breath tickles his skin. “You had every right not to trust me,” he corrects you, murmuring into your ear. “I don’t blame you. When a vampire shows up in your life and you catch him feeding, of all things…”
“Still, Daeyeol.” His name takes a new nuance, spoken from your lips with love. “You’ve never done anything to me or anyone, really, not on purpose. You’ve only been loving and gentle and kind, and I trust you enough to give you my love.”
To give you my love. Besides his name from your voice and your laugh, Daeyeol has never heard anything lovelier to his ears. “I’ll treasure it,” he promises, pressing a soft kiss to your neck. He delights in the little shiver that races up your spine. “Forever.”
“As I treasure yours.” You pull back, smiling wide. “Do you want to stay the night?”
. . . . .
Somehow, Daeyeol ends up in your room, sitting on the bed uncertainly as he waits for you to come out of the bathroom. He doesn’t really know what to do – actually, what will you be okay with him doing? Will you allow him to curl into your warmth the way he yearns to, or will you want to maintain some space?
Your voice startles him out of his thoughts. “Daeyeol, I’m not going to bite,” you say, looking slightly amused as you reach around him to pull open the blankets. “That’s your job. Come on, get in or I’ll make you get up to turn off the lights instead.”
Like a child, Daeyeol slides between the sheets, letting you drop them back over him before switching off the lights. The room descends into darkness lit only by a sliver of the moon through the window as you settle into bed next to him, pulling the blankets over you both.
An arm slips under him and Daeyeol almost forgets how to breathe again when you bring yourself closer under the blankets, resting your head against his chest. “Is this okay?” you whisper, voice tickling his skin.
It’s okay. More than okay. Much more than okay. So Daeyeol just nods, pushing away the urge to take off his shirt and feel your warmth directly on his skin rather than through his clothes. It’s your first night in the same bed. You’d probably be uncomfortable. “Yes.”
“Liar.” You shift in the bed, the moon illuminating your face just enough that Daeyeol can see the eyebrow you’ve raised. “Am I making you uncomfortable? I can stop if you want.”
Daeyeol shakes his head as best he can. “No, no. I just…”
“Hm?”
To hell with it. Daeyeol swallows. “When I’m not around you, I feel cold,” he says. For heaven’s sake, if he was a human, his cheeks would be burning. “But when I am, I finally feel warm. And I…” He sighs. “I’d rather feel your warmth directly, rather than through my clothes.”
“… So you want to take off your shirt.”
His ears would also be red. “Yes. But if you’re uncomfortable –”
“No, it’s fine.” Your eyes look a little shy but it’s too dark for Daeyeol to really tell. “Come on, make yourself comfortable. I’m fine with it.”
“Are you sure? I –”
“Daeyeol.” You look up to face him fully as you smile wide. “Yes. I’m sure.”
The shirt falls to the floor and you pull yourself close once more. Daeyeol sighs as your warmth seeps through his skin, sending pleasant tingles all throughout his body as he curls into you, closing his eyes in delight. “Thank you,” he murmurs against your neck.
“Of course.” You shift slightly and Daeyeol blinks, ready to adjust to whatever position you find yourself in, but you only level your face with his, smiling brighter than the stars peeking through the window. “Do you mind…?”
It takes Daeyeol a moment to understand what you’re asking but when he does, he doesn’t bother giving you a verbal answer in favor of kissing you, eyes fluttering shut in bliss as you press back. His arm falls to your waist, curving over your body and bringing you closer as his other hand rises to caress your cheek. You sigh into his lips, your own fingers reaching up to tangle softly through his hair.
You break away for air, then kiss once, twice, three times more before it feels okay to stop. Daeyeol blinks slowly when you pull away the last time. His hand is still on your cheek and he rubs absentminded circles on your skin, soaking in the way you lean into his touch, and in that moment, he knows he could spend centuries waiting for your lips if it meant he would feel them, warm against his own, just once in a millennium.
“I love you,” you whisper, breath soft against his bare skin. Your eyes are fluttering shut but you keep them open, barely, just enough for Daeyeol to see the loveliness of your gaze before you close them fully for sleep.
He curls in closer to press a quiet kiss to your forehead. You don’t flinch from his cold touch, only sigh briefly before allowing your lips to curve sweetly, gently, as your eyes close. “I love you too,” he murmurs, kissing you softly one last time before settling into your touch.
Your skin bleeds heat into his, makes him feel a little more whole, a little more full, a little less like a blank, immortal vessel for the first time in centuries. It makes him feel as though his heart could beat again, could pump blood through his dead veins and turn him human once more. But even then, even if it can’t, it’s okay. As long as Daeyeol has you, as long as he can love you fully and feel the warmth of your affection in return, he’ll be happy, happier than he ever thought possible since the day he was turned.
Daeyeol smiles, pulling the blankets more securely around you as your breath evens into sleep.
He already feels warmer.
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If you enjoyed, please don’t forget to reblog and leave a comment to tell me what you thought! Thank you for reading and have a lovely day <3
(1 reblog = 1 prayer for Daeyeol to keep this warmth :D he deserves it)
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There is a light at the end of the tunnel
Hello, Stuck. Sorry, I don’t know your real name.
I wrote this long ass post to bring some light into the fandom and between the CSs, and I hope you can post it? I’m new in the Tumblr world, but not in the 5H fandom. I don’t quite know how it works yet and, for the moment, I only know your blog and those of @emisonme, @karlaswine, @sun-to-my-luna, @underthatimpression, and @mentesimploria because, in one way or another, you’re all connected to each other. I just wanted to tell you guys how much I appreciate every single one of you, the passion you have, and the hope you keep alive among those who, like me, love the girls. Also, the patience you guys have, especially against the haters, is admirable. I love the fact that you keep going. Because this is your sacred place, as it should be.
This is the very first time I’ve ever done anything like this. I’m what can be defined as a ‘silent fan’. I never commented on anything in the girls’ posts, not even on the fan accounts I follow. I don’t have Twitter. I have Facebook but it’s like I don’t have it because I don’t use it. I have Wattpad (obviously). I recently registered here on Tumblr, and I have Instagram. That’s what I use. It’s the only app along with YouTube that I use daily to keep up with the rest of the world. Especially the American part of the world. I’m Italian, but I speak American English well, and I apologize in advance if my lazy ass hasn’t noticed possible grammatical errors. I saw that a lot of you are into this stuff, so I thought I’d add it just because. I’m a Capricorn Sun, Cancer Moon, and Virgo rising.
I’m gonna turn 29 on December 22, and this is a BIG fuck off to all the people who have attacked you lately for your age. This is personal information that I give freely to make ignorant and small-minded people understand that, in this context especially, age is irrelevant. As you, little fucker who hides behind a computer to attack people just to feel stronger, have a life, we have it too. Like you, we have a life, a job, friends, etc. We also have passions. Passions that yes, my dear haters, also include shipping people. I don’t know why in your stupid brain we’re too old to ship people we love and to give opinions about it. I didn’t know it was something reserved only for those who still smell like mommy’s milk. But anyway…
I became aware of 5H existence just before summer 2015 thanks to ‘Worth It’. Being Italian, however, I had no idea who they were, and to be honest, I didn’t go searching for them. Randomly one day then, I ran into Camren on YouTube. I can’t remember which video I was watching, but I know for sure it was about ‘Heya/Brittana’ (Heather Morris and Naya Rivera/Brittany and Santana, my very first hard LGBT ship). And among the suggested videos, there they are. As ridiculous as it sounds, and although I liked them as soon as I saw them, I didn’t go searching for them. I did it when ‘Work from Home’ came out though. From there, I connected that they were the same ‘Worth It’ group and the same two girls I liked from those YouTube videos. I had officially become a fan. I was screwed. Screwed because, I’d officially entered one of the most messed up and yet most beautiful fandoms ever.
As I initially said, this is the very first time I’ve ever done anything like this. But after the recent events, seeing how many people gave up, it made me a little angry and gave me the strength to speak for the first time. I thought the first time would’ve been through the fanfiction I’ve been working on for over two years, but no. Lauren and her beautiful mouth had to terrorize, disappoint, panic, and make angry 80% of CS, thus fueling the hatred of all the other fandom towards us. So I decided to speak now. Maybe, just maybe, this very long ass post of mine is gonna help struggling CS. Maybe, just maybe, it’s gonna make them reason and bring them to their senses.
So. This, as I think you’ve understood, is about Lauren and what she said in the podcast. This is a reminder of the Laucy situation. These are things we already know and that I want to remind you of because apparently, my lovely fellows CS, either you have a short-term memory, or Lauren has the power to create amnesia in people’s minds and I knew nothing about it. Surely this power of hers didn’t work on me and a few others.
Oh and, before starting: 1) You may disagree with me. It’s normal to have different opinions. 2) You can search for information such as dates, easily on the internet. 3) I’m gonna use nicknames on PRs for fun. That doesn’t mean I hate them. I have my reasons for dislike each one of them as people, but I can assure you it has nothing to do with the fact that they were or are the Camren beards. An example to make you understand what I mean is Ty. I’m a huge Ari fan and I’ve been listening to ‘safety net’ non-stop for two days straight. I really dislike Ty as a person, but I separate the art from the artist.
Okay, that said, I can start.
Lauren said: “I knew I was queer because I fell in love with my best friend when I was like 15.” – “Her and I started to have a physical connection when I was 15.”
Lauren and Lucid Vivisectionist met when L moved to Carrollton in 7th grade. Lucille moved back to Puerto Rico in February 2012, returning to visit Miami occasionally (this explains the fetus pictures with Lucy and Camren at L’s house). In February 2012, Lauren was 15, Camila 14, and Lucy 16. And who did Lauren meet when she was 15? Oh yeah, Camila. C and L did the first phase of the audition, the ‘cattle call’, on May 1, 2012 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Audition where Camila took courage to speak at the (“Oh my God that girl is) literally so beautiful” girl from which she felt intimidated by starting that adorable brief conversation “Hi, I like your shirt”, “Thanks. I like your jacket” just before it was her turn to get in for her audition. In May 2012, Lauren and Camila were both 15 years old. Lauren and Camila saw each other again for the first time on July 25th, two months later, in Miami on the first day of boot camp, and it was Lauren herself who went to Camila: “You’re the Cuban girl!”. In July 2012, Lauren was 16 and Camila was 15.
Lauren said: “She came back into my life when I was 18. I was on tour and I was in my room in a hotel somewhere, and she called me.” Let me explain to you why I think this is true.
Lauren and Luxy reconnected with each other after Lucy’s car accident that took place on May 15, 2015. Lauren was really 18 in May 2015, and we can rule out The Reflection Tour dates because it started on February 27, 2015, and ended April 6, 2015. We can also rule out these other show dates that 5H did: April 11 in Jackson Township, New Jersey - April 13 at Live! with Kelly and Michael in New York - April 19 Lauren was at Coachella with Keana, Britt, and other friends - April 22 at the Worldwide Radio Summit in Hollywood - April 25 at Radio Disney Music Awards 2015 in Los Angeles - May 8 at Channel 93.3 Summer Kickoff 2015 in Chula Vista, San Diego - May 9 at Wango Tango 2015 in Carson, Los Angeles (May 9, rumors about Camila and Louis Tomlinson just because paparazzi believed they were together when Louis was actually together with Liam outside the Project Club L.A., and C who was at the club next door) - May 15 at KDWB Radio Show in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The rest of their program and possible date: May 16 at Kiss Concert 2015 in Mansfield, Massachusetts - May 19 at Dancing with the Stars in Los Angeles - May 30 at G-A-Y in London (rumors about Lauren and Louis Tomlinson this time, born because 5H went to Libertine nightclub with Louis and Niall) - May 31 at Britain’s Got More Talent in London - June 2 at Capital FM in Birmingham, England - June 5 at Good Morning Britain in London - June 6 at Capital FM Summertime Ball 2015 in London - June 12 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii - June 14 at LA Pride 2015 - June 18 at Jimmy Kimmel Live in Los Angeles - June 20 at B96 Pepsi Summer Bash 2015 in Bridgeview, Illinois - June 23 at San Diego County Fair 2015 - 28 June at Show Of The Summer 2015 in Hershey, Pennsylvania - July 10 at Rockefeller Plaza in New York. July 15, 2015, beginning of Reflection: The Summer Tour.
June 27, 2015 Lauren turned 19, and do you guys remember the events of those days? Because I do.
On June 24, 2015, Lauren celebrated her birthday in advance at the famous sushi restaurant ‘Katsuya’. Among the guests were the girls, her mom Clara, some friends, including Jill (the same Jill/Jillian Gutowitz who worked with Zack Sang and who 5H met on April 22, 2015, at the Worldwide Radio Summit, which lasted for three days but they were present for two: 22 and 23. The same Jill who wrote the article for AfterEllen on January 25, 2016, about her experiences with women who denied their sexuality. Remember the story of Lauren Jordan, right?), and Noah Benardout (may he rest in peace). Still no Lucia, not even on the days when Lauren returned to Miami to celebrate with her family before resuming the program from the 28. As I already said, The Reflection Summer Tour began on July 15, 2015, and Lucy’s first public reappearance took place on one of the tour dates, that is, July 27 at Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
From that moment on, we saw Lucille appear on multiple occasions in hops through time. After the July 27th date, we saw her during the trip to Hawaii with Lauren and Keana in September, followed by the concert that the girls had on October 10 in the Bahamas, where they stayed with their families and friends for a few days. After the Bahamas, the mess happened between 5H because they found out about Camila’s departure from the group which initially should’ve been immediate, but for which they fought and gained another year. That, was also the time when Laucy signed their PR contract. As we know from Lauren herself, that was the worst and darkest time for her. That was the beginning of her numbness.
On October 23, they were on their way to Italy and Lauren wrote on her dark diary, the one shown to us in Episode 8 of her Attunements. On October 24, they arrived in Milan for the MTV Europe Music Awards 2015 occurred on October 25, and on October 28, in Madrid instead, there was the interview with Alyson Eckmann, the journalist Camila flirted with while Lauren was sitting right next to her.
Going forward, in November we have:
- Rumors about Lauren and Julius Dein (his friend who is a YouTube magician).
-The release of IKWYDLS including the rumors about Camila and Shawn and Michael Clifford (who was already in the picture) who were ‘vying for her’.
- Beginning of Lauren’s coming out plan which included: 1) The release of The Vamps’ album on November 23rd, that is, a week after the release of IKWYDLS, and which included the track ‘I Found A Girl’. Joe O'Neill, the manager of The Vamps, liked that famous tweet. Despite the efforts to make us believe that Bleahren (sorry for the Italian pun I made here, but ‘bleah’ in Italian is equivalent to the ‘eww’ to indicate something gross, and therefore Bleah-Ren) Brauren was real and that the girl involved was Lucille and not Camila, they’ve miscalculated since Lauren and Brad ‘dated’ in 2014 when Lucy had not yet returned into Lauren’s life. But since the album and consequently the song came out on November 23, 2015, they tried to manipulate people’s minds as usual. 2) Jill’s article that served to connect and more or less ‘confirm’ the story between this Jordan and her childhood friend, Lauren-Lucy.
- December: completion of the 7/27 album + Dina LaPolt’s entry + renegotiation of the contracts (mostly DNA’s contracts) + FIFTH HARMONY MUSIC, INC. created by LAND on December 21 to prepare for the transfer of the 5H trademark, the FIFTH HARMONY PARTNERSHIP, of which they became owners from April 27, 2016 + change of management from Faculty Management: Jared Paul and Janelle Lopez, to Maverick Management: Larry Rudolph, Dan Dymtrow, and Tara Beikae. [All things that were possible ONLY THANKS to the exit of C from the group]
- January 2016, we have Lauren and Lucrezia who came back from Colombia to then taking a road trip for Lucy’s birthday week.
- Jill’s article came out and coincidentally, by pure chance, exactly two days later, on January 27, 2016, Camila and Dinah were hacked.
- On March 9, 2016, Lauren, Normani, Andrea, Dinah, and Keana went to pierce their ears, or rather, Laurmainah pierced their ears, mama Dre and Keana just accompanied them. During her turn, Lauren asked Keana to take her phone to make a video. In the meantime, Mani was filming Lauren, and again by pure chance, Keana, who was in the heart of the frame, took Lauren’s phone as she’d asked, and both the lock screen and the home screen portrayed a picture of Lucania during a photoshoot. Same picture Lucy herself posted on Instagram on April 10th to leave no doubt.
- April 24, 2016, Coachella together.
- Luciana went with 5H in London, in May, during the promotion of the 7/27 album. (+ Camren video of May 28, 2016)
- She was present during the start of the tour in South America on June 26th (in the evening during the concert, L danced Big Bad Wolf for her, but that’s not the famous video, that was on September 5) and 27th to celebrate L’s birthday together (picture of the 27th of them in Buenos Aires).
- June 27, 2016, on L’s birthday, Jill posted a picture with L from the birthday dinner of the year before, further confirming the story of ‘Jordan’.
- August 1, the national girlfriend day, L posted a picture of her and Lucy.
- From August 12 to 21, Lucy was with them. The night after the concert on the 13th in Rochester Hills, Michigan, videos in which Lucilla appeared during Lauren Fuller’s birthday celebration at the hotel for dinner. On the 14th in Noblesville, Indiana, during Gonna Get Better and Big Bad Wolf Lauren smiled in Lucy’s direction who was in the audience. On the 18th in Virginia Beach, Virginia, a fan met Laucy in a movie theater restroom, taking a selfie with Lauren (C posted a picture of her in the dark with the words of Bad Things “don’t think that I can explain it” the same night).
- On September 4 and 5 Lucippe returned. On the 5th in Houston, Texas, the famous ‘super HD’ video took place in which Lauren danced Big Bad Wolf for Lucy, even pointing to her during her verse. [On September 6, Midland, Texas, during the Q&A, Lauren wore the same dress that Lucy was wearing to the concert the night before, and at the same time, she sat next to C and got jealous when C complimented a fan by sending her flying kisses. Ahh… The irony]
Now. Let’s move on to the part of the podcast where Lauren explains about the kiss with Lucza at her uncle and aunt’s wedding, how her aunt “super innocently” posted the pictures on Facebook that her “unreal invasive fans” found and posted, how Perez Hilton outed her to the world by posting an article with those pictures, how she did nothing for a week, and that after thinking “Ok, it happened. People know. What am I gonna do?”, she wrote that letter against Trump as her own way of coming out.
On November 4, 2016, Lauren and Lucynda did the ‘famous’ photoshoot in New Orleans called ‘Bare With Me’. Lauren flew to NOLA right after Halloween, got back to Miami to vote, then returned to New Orleans on the 10th along with her family for the wedding. Lucianna was also with her on the 10th for the rehearsal/bowling with all of Lauren’s relatives. Meanwhile Orange Trumpeter was elected on the 8th, and many celebrities were preparing to write a letter through Billboard against him and his supporters. Labels and management saw it as a perfect opportunity to get her to come out also considering how much Lauren has always been vocal on the subject, and THEY contacted Billboard to get her to participate in exchange of the exclusive of her coming out. All that was missing was the evidence to make sure that there had been no connection with Camila, and that was the reason for the kiss at the wedding on the 11th.
On November 13, the wedding photographer posted those pictures on his website, including the one of the kiss. And I’m sorry, Lolo, I love you but, really? Who are you kidding? The pictures didn’t start spreading because her ‘unreal invasive fans’ found them on her aunt’s Facebook page where she’d posted them ‘super innocently’. The pictures started spreading after the photographer posted them! And you know what’s even more funny? That to see those pictures on the website, you needed an access password. So what are you saying here, Lo? That your ‘unreal invasive fans’ were so good, to even have hacked their way into the website for pictures they didn’t even know existed? It wasn’t your team, was it? Oh, okay. My bad.
Sarcasm aside. The pictures started to spread, Perez tweeted about it on the 14th, and in the meantime Lauren had time to write the letter that was approved by the labels and sent to Billboard (on the 14th), who approved it a couple of days after it was sent (on the 16th), and which they then published it in the article two days later (on the 18th). In all of this, on November 15, 2016, the girls all went to Epic’s party. Since we know very well that most of the cases of coming out as bisexual in the industry made by a female celebrity occur in succession with the connection with a guy, that night there was the PR proposal between Typo Dolour Signal and Lauren that he obviously accepted, and in fact, he was there that night at that party too (Picture of C with a tear mark on her cheek).
Now, the icing on the cake of the Laucy’s PR: Nicole Cartolano. Nicole is a friend of Lecy’s with whom she had already worked together and who also posted pictures of Lauren on November 17 and 22, 2016, one on December 31, 2016, together with Marian Hill taken backstage after Lauren’s performance with them on the 30th, the night before, for the Snow Globe Festival in South Lake Tahoe, California, and the one of Laucy (with the piñata) on January 10, taken the same night to celebrate Lucilia’s birthday at midnight and that Lauren also used to post it for wish her a happy birthday. That was the last public interaction between the two. *Slow entry of Tympans Dollhouse Signalized in the picture from January 4, 2017, thanks to that tweet*.
On January 21, 2017, Lauren and Lucy were at the same Women’s March, but separately (single), and we haven’t seen them together anymore. LuBYE. On March 22, 2017, both ‘Bare With Me’ and the interview article Nicole did with MTV News (she confirmed that Laucy had been together by having an on-again, off-again for years and also said a lot of other bullshit like the fact that the girls were nervous because they didn’t know how their parents would’ve responded) came out. On August 13, 2018, Nicole officially apologized to Lucy for being angry with her for posting the pictures and therefore for having outed her and for having taken part in the MTV interview without their permission. There was also the screenplay made by Nicole’s mom to make everything even more true.
Bullshit on bullshit on bullshit. Number 1, Lauren herself confirmed in this podcast that her parents knew about her, and said how much she loved Lucre’s ‘I’m out and proud’ part.
Number 2, Nicole posted a preview of the pictures on March 18, 2017, so if she really wanted to stop her before the publication on the 22nd, she would’ve had time to do so.
Number 3, Lucita came out publicly on her own with that Spanish post on Instagram on November 20, 2016, saying in summary that she was anything but straight because she didn’t want to label herself (she did it years later by saying she was a lesbian).
Number 4, as Lusia also confirmed in that post where Nicole’s mom left that comment, Nicole signed a non-disclosure agreement form. If she had actually violated it without having had a release and written consent form, she would’ve been sued.
Number 5, if Luciferase really wanted to have that conversation in private with Nicole’s mom, she might very well have done so. She could’ve contacted her and answered her IN PRIVATE for real, and not via IG where EVERYONE saw and took the side of poor, poor Luckless.
Number 6, the biggest proof that shows the hypocrisy of all this, Lucasta continued to work with Nicole. Their last work dates back to November 25, 2019.
Okaay, sure… sure, because it was normal for her to continue working with the person who outed her, wasn’t it? People’s lies never cease to amaze me. For that matter, Nicole also posted a picture of their ‘adventure’ as they made their way to the photoshoot location on November 1, 2017, and continued to wish them both a happy birthday with posts every year.
And lastly, on June 6, 2020, we have the Lucerne’s video leaked (+ old pictures and videos of 5H) where she burned pictures of Lauren and of the two of them together in 2017, accompanied by the tweets occurred two days later, in which she explained that she was hacked and that she burned the pictures for a closure. Then, exactly 20 days later, that is on June 26, 2020, the PAPER Magazine article of Lauren’s interview came out. What a coincidence! In that article, Lauren explained, along with other things, that she’d been in love with her best friend for 7 years.
Lauren, honey, the maths, the maths… If according to your words you fell in love with her at 15, got together with her at 18, and broken up at 20, how can these be 7 years? It’s 5 years… And as if it wasn’t enough, still according to your words, after 1 year and 8 months (from mid-May 2015 to mid-January 2017), 2 months of which public because of the wedding pictures, of the relationship you wanted at all costs, “all in” and “now we’re gonna be in this relationship”, you broke up with her because she was really toxic, and after less than a month, you started dating an even more toxic person without the proper time to heal?? How do you expect me to believe you? And I’m putting aside the fact that I know they’re both PR relationships. I’m speaking out of logic. How? How can I believe you? How does this make any sense?
Personally, yes, I believe Lauren and Lucy have a past. Lauren’s first kiss was when she was 13 (8th grade) with her boyfriend at the time, Dominic, but I think Lucy was her first kiss with a girl. And I think it happened when she was 15, but in 2011, so long before Lucy left. Lauren dated Paul Martinez from June 4, 2011, to the end of July (around 23/24). From after Paul, until her very first PR at X-Factor, Keaton Stromberg, she was single. I truly believe that before she met Camila, Lauren and Lucy did everything Lauren said. I really believe Lauren experimented with her in secret, but I don’t believe in anything else she said at all.
This is my opinion. And in my opinion, Lauren always knew she was queer, and Lucy was the first with whom she could experience the attraction and the feelings towards girls she had always felt and concealed deep inside herself. But they were friends. Just friends. Friends who messed around and experimented together in secret given the environment that surrounded them. Lucy then returned to live in Puerto Rico and they simply drifted apart because of the distance and Lauren’s busy schedule with 5H. When she came back into Lauren’s life, they rekindled their friendship. Just that. Also because, Camila, hello? Camila entered Lauren’s heart the same year Lucy left and never get out of it. Not to mention that Lucy had a girlfriend, Sarah Scott Narcise, before getting together with Nicole Marie Rendón in March 2017. I honestly think that Lucy was also giving advice to Lauren about her relationship with Camila, and I also think that now they really aren’t friends anymore for something we don’t know about, even though I have my theories… But anyway. Lauren needed a beard to be able to come out, Lucy needed visibility for her modeling career and, at the time, also for her music which, however, never saw the light of day. The labels approved because they would’ve done anything to keep their chosen one out of the gay light. Camila also approved. Boom, PR.
I don’t believe all the other bullshit she said during the podcast. Because if they’d been true, they would’ve made logical sense. A sense they’ve been trying, and failing, to give for years. If Lauren really didn’t want to come out, she wouldn’t have done a photoshoot with Lucy a week before the wedding with the intention of using that same photoshoot to come out. She would not have kissed Lucy in a public place during the wedding pictures in front of a professional photographer hired for the event, knowing full well that those pictures would eventually have been published by the bride and groom, her aunt and uncle, and the photographer himself. If she wanted so badly a picture of her kissing her girlfriend, drunk or not, she would’ve taken her fucking phone and take selfies. It wasn’t the fans’ or Perez’s fault. It was the management that was following the plan.
And I’m supposed to, what exactly? Forget all these things, things that have been proofed multiple times in the past, because Lauren, or Camila, or management, or labels, or their contracts, must continue with their stupid narrative? Because Camila must continue to look straight and continue to look in love with Shalt Menstruated because the señorito is about to release his documentary and his album? Because Camila’s movie is about to come out? Because Lauren’s own album is about to be released and because the subject matter of her female-pronounced songs must only and exclusively be related to Lucy? (Although I think her album will be out next year. I think a song with female pronunciation is coming out soon. And no, I’m sorry, I don’t think it’s Burning)
Guys, come on…
Think about it. She used Lucy as a shield to tell part of her story with Camila that happened in 2014. It all fits. Even the story told through songs from Camila’s cocky POV, including ‘Like Friends Do’, ‘Eyes on You’, ‘Cleopatra’, ‘Leave for Good’, and a couple from her last album like ‘Should’ve Said It’ and ‘Feel It Twice’.
I understand why many of you have been hurt by this podcast and by Lauren herself. I understand why a lot of you are angry about the things she said. I see you, I understand, I really do. And everyone is free to feel whatever they want, I’m not saying otherwise. But I really don’t understand why you’re hiding or why you’re abandoning the ship. Authors who don’t wanna write anymore. Accounts closed. Names changed. Hope lost. This, all this, makes me angry and hurt. Because you fell for it. And you know why you fell for it? Because Lauren changed her approach. Leaving aside the part just before when she said: “Even when I talk about it, and I don’t talk about it because I’ve learned to just ignore it because-” and there, I swear I had to pause because I burst out laughing, and I was like: “Bitch, you’re the one who pulled this out of your ass out of nowhere right this second, what are you saying?”. She went on by saying, and she knows us so well because of this: “I just chose to ignore it at a certain point because getting angry to them would it mean that it was real and validate it more for them”.
And it’s true. This non-angry approach of hers, worked like a charm. Lauren’s older, she’s more mature than before. Although she was very nervous, she managed to explain everything calmly. The fact that she was emotional and almost cried in many parts, it really gave an extra boost to what she tried to sell. And I’m not saying she faked almost crying. Hell, no. That was super true and hard for her. I’m saying though, that it’s really easy to manipulate people’s minds, and Lauren used her real pain, the real suffering she has gone through over the years to tell this charade. That’s why it seemed so real. And I’m supposed to fall for that shit just because that’s what they’ve wanted for years, right? Convenient much?
Guys, please. You’re smarter than that, use those beautiful brains. For example, the fact that Lauren said: “I was queer, but she was not”, wrong as you want it to be, and “Camila and I were just really good friends at that time”, yeah, sure, Jan. Doesn’t the very fact that she used the past tense make you realize that it was done to completely detach herself from her IN THE PRESENT? Everything she said was for something. Everything had a purpose. And the goal is always the same. Make us stop shipping ‘em. Putting a label on C only served the Shoestoremila purpose, nothing else. And those were words that came out of the mouth of the one who says she doesn’t like labeling people. The same one who was pissed that someone had outed her before she wanted to. Do you really think she’s that hypocritical?
The fact that she put all the CS in the same box, especially when she talked about the Daddy situation, WAS DONE ON PURPOSE. She couldn’t fail to generalize because their purpose is, and will be for a long time to come, to kill Camren. That means the whole fandom. Not just invasive elements. But really all the CS. The purpose was to make us feel guilty. The purpose is to make us accept that it was never real, and since we care about them, to make us continue to support them individually and not as a couple, even though she knows that the real CS do it regardless. This, is called manipulation, guys.
Think about everything else too. The inconsistency. The holes in her story. The lack of explanations. And the fact that during the story of how it all happened, she jumped from one theme to another and therefore managed to deflect and not completely finish one before moving on to the other, doesn’t it make you understand that she didn’t want to give too many details? And when does that usually happen? She knew we’d analyze her. She knew she couldn’t say too much. When she talked about Lucy, she knew that WE know she was talking about Camila, and with too many details, it would also have been obvious to the others because WE would’ve pointed it out to everyone. I mean, it’s obvious enough in itself, imagine if she’d fed us more information that we would’ve compared in the timeline.
Please, guys. I know that it feels like something’s changed, but it’s not. It’s really not. I’m appealing to all of you. Open your eyes. Reason. I know many of you still have conflicting emotions and feelings, and that’s okay. If you’re still upset, if you still wanna cry, then cry. Do whatever helps you feel better because, especially after the haters have come to bite your asses, you’re entitled to feel the way you do. But please, please, don’t give up. If you give up, you just play their game. You just do them a favor. You guys had invested so much of your time, so much of your passion, so much of yourselves to just, give up. Think of all we’ve been through, especially those who’ve been in the fandom for years. Think about how happy Camren makes you. They were there for you when you needed them. When you were going through hard times. I know they’ve helped a lotta people.
And think about this too. Lauren herself said at the beginning of the podcast: “The news and the media are constantly spinning narratives for your clicks so they can make money”. And what do you think this podcast was for? It’s always the same shit. Have you not noticed how the very same news and media have ALL talked about them? Didn’t you notice how My Oh My magically returned into the charts? How 50ft surpassed the 9 million streams on Spotify? And you still have doubts?
This is instead for the CS who get often angry about their actions. I personally think it’s pointless to blame Lauren and Camila for every single thing they do that has been PLANNED for them. Especially Camila as far as Shonas is concerned. There’s a pattern here too. Lauren had her light PR with Lucia. Lauren then had her heavy PR with Typic Dole Sight while Camila had a light one with Eatchu. And now Camila’s having a heavy one. C’s one is heavier simply because they’re much more famous than PRen (Tyren) were. So, guys, be patient. There’s really no point in getting angry and blaming them. It’s a waste of energy. It’s useless to blame them if they’re gonna continue to do so over the years to come. They’re just still trying to get past their original contracts and survive in the industry at the same time. Sooner or later, I HOPE, they will be free to tell the truth or the truth will come out on its own.
Well, I’m done. Jeez, that was long, wasn’t it? But I hope it was worth it. I hope I’ve cleared your heads a little bit and instilled some hope again. I also hope I made you smile with all those nicknames and my sarcasm. I especially hope that wherever you are, you’re having a good day, and if not, then I hope it has improved at least a little bit with this post. And thank you so much, Stuck. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to use my voice for the first time publicly/virtually. You, above all, keep on being one of the lights and NEVER let them turn you off. I love you guys. Stay safe. Stay strong. Stay patient. With love, F.
I leave you with these two pearls:
Number 1. Lauren said something else too. She said: “Don’t trust me. Go research. Go look this shit up yourself”. I know she said it for a completely different context, but I found it really funny given the situation.
Number 2. This is a small scene that automatically created itself in my head as soon as I finished listening to Wonder. I titled it: The sad and short story of the making of ‘Wonder’.
Enjoy:
*on the phone*
Shawl Mendicant: “Hey, buddy. I know you were a huge Fifth Harmony fan and I know you love my fake girlfriend, so I was thinking… could you help me? You know, I need her to stay relevant, but to do that, I also need to release music and completely take all the credit from other people because, you know, the most I do is change a sentence or two in my style to make people think that I wrote all my songs.”
Sam Smith: “………okay?”
Shawnita Menorrhagia: “So, I was wondering, can I copy your homework? You can totally refuse if you want to, but I’m hoping to appeal to the love you have for 5H and Camila, and maybe help a friend out?”
Sam Smith: “Yeah, sure, you can copy my homework. Anything for my girls. Just, change it up a bit so it doesn’t sound too obvious you just copied it.”
Shonas Mended: “Don’t worry. I’ve got this. Thanks, man.” - *ends the call*
Sam Smith looking at the phone with an incredulous expression and one hand over his heart: “I came out as a non-binary, you insensitive asshole!”
Shoes Mentionable from the other room: “Cameeela! He said yes!” *reaching then Camila and Lauren in the living room where Lauren is lying with her head resting on Camila’s legs who’s running her fingers through her hair with one hand and holding the book that she’s reading with the other one* “You were right, all I had to do was mention you girls.”
Lauren chuckling and continuing to pet Cleo who’s lying at the foot of the couch with one hand: “Told you”, to then adding: “And please, I know you’re excited because of the news but keep your voice down”, continuing to caress Sofi’s head who’s sleeping on top of her with the other one.
Shapeless Mentality: “Oh, sorry.”
Camila without looking away from her book: “Sam’s really nice. I’m sure they would’ve said yes even without the need of mentioning us.”
Lauren: “Hmm, I’m not so sure about that, babe. Yes, they’re very nice, but we’re powerful in their minds, so it was an added incentive for them to say yes.”
Shaved Mentholated: “Who are they? Weren’t we talking about Sam?”
Camila who was giggling at her girlfriend’s words:
Lauren:
Sinu from the kitchen:
Cleo who was nibbling her toy:
Even Thunder, Leo, and Eugene from outside into the yard:
*the end*
Chon Mendable: ‘Wonder’ - Sam Smith: ‘One Last Song’
____
OMG I am speechless. I’m really still digesting this whole story because it’s amazing but I wanted to start by saying hello to you and telling you my name, my name is Marite. It is a pleasure to meet you dear friend. I don’t want to write too much because your words are much more important than mine but I wanted to thank you for trusting me and my blog to tell me your story. That side of the story that, being new and not having been a harmonizer from the beginning, I never learned. I intended to ask for more information about Laucy’s Timeline but what you have told is a gem. A gem that shows that the bastards of the industry cannot fool the fans because we pay attention to everything and it is not easy for us to fall for their shit. I think the power we fans have is so great that if we all came together, we could bring down this whole fucking fake empire that they have created. That said, Laucy’s story is surprising. As planned and how each person involved had to do their part on the chessboard. Incredible. Now that you tell me that story, I think it fits the one I wrote in my once upon a time post. Sure, yours is true and has everything that mine doesn’t. I have tried to keep this blog open for all who wish to come and air their ideas, their thoughts, their tea. And you dear friend, you have been one of the best so far. You’ve given us that support that the fandom so badly needed and I really appreciate it. I also appreciate your humor, the nicknames have been so hilarious and I’m still laughing. Thank you for daring to tell this part of the story and reopen the can of worms of a PR that right now resurfaces with that Lauren interview. With a purpose, it’s true. And something tells me that we will see much more very soon. Thank you for your support, my friend. And you know, you have my blog at your disposal for whatever you need. And if you need to talk or anything else. I greatly appreciate that we can continue to keep this ship afloat among ourselves. Among a group of intelligent people who have been hurt by someone we have always loved very much even though we know the reason for all that. We can’t give up now because if we do it like you say they will win and I personally don’t plan to indulge them in that. Thank you very much for all dear friend and I hope you have a nice day. I send you a hug and I hope you stay safe.
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samwisethewitch · 4 years
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Little Acts of Everyday Magic
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Many witches, regardless of skill level, struggle to feel magical in their everyday lives. If you’re only engaging with magic during your monthly full moon rituals, it can be hard to feel like a powerful witch on the other 30ish days of the month. The trick is to find small, everyday acts to make life more magical.
Here are a few things you can do to bring some magic into your everyday life:
Keep a magical journal. This can be a Book of Shadows where you record your spells and other information relevant to your craft, a tarot journal where you record readings, or a tool for manifestation. And if you’re not a writer, why not try keeping a sketchbook journal or a collage journal? You may even want to try creating Pinterest boards for your different magical interests — you can also use Pinterest boards for manifestations. You can do some pretty powerful magic with just a pen and paper, so don’t underestimate the power of a journaling practice!
Bring some witchin’ into your kitchen. Kitchen magic is one of the easiest ways to incorporate witchcraft into your daily life, because we all have to eat. You can use magic in the kitchen by looking up the correspondences of different ingredients and blending them based on intention, by charging your food with sigils and other sacred symbols, and by speaking incantations while you mix ingredients. Lots of the most commonly used magical herbs are edible, so a lot of spells are easy to translate to food. For example, a pumpkin pie contains all the ingredients for a powerful money spell — all it needs is your intention!
Get into mixing your own magical tea and coffee blends. One of the easiest forms of kitchen witchcraft is coffee and tea spells. Buying herbs to mix your own tea blends can be a really fun (and tasty) way to practice magic. You can also find pre-made blends that can be used for magic at the supermarket — use a sleepy time blend in spells for peace, or an energizing blend in spells for motivation, etc.
Choose your outfits with intention. Use the magic of color to pick clothes that match your intentions — green to attract wealth, pink to attract love, etc. Wear jewelry that has magical properties, or charm a piece of jewelry you already own. You can also write sigils, runes, or other magical symbols on your clothes’ tags to imbue them with magical energy.
Wear magical oils as perfume. I know I’ve talked about this before, but oils are like pre-mixed spells in a bottle, which makes them extremely convenient for the witch on the go. Don’t have time for a full ritual before your job interview/first date/other important event? No problem! Apply an appropriate oil to your wrists and behind your ears, whisper a few words of intention, and go forth and slay. My personal go-to combination is a protection oil paired with a success oil for general good vibes. You can buy pre-made magical oil blends from witch-owned businesses, or make your own by blending essential oils in a carrier oil and charging it with your intention.
Grow magical houseplants. As far as I’m concerned, caring for a plant or animal (see below) is an act of pure magic. Lots of magic herbs can be grown inside pretty easily, and lots of common houseplants also have magical associations. Choose the plants that you feel intuitively drawn to, and make caring for them part of your daily ritual practice. And if you end up using any part of the plant in a spell down the line, it will be extra potent because of its personal connection to you.
Get a magical pet, or learn what magic your pets already possess. Cats (black or otherwise) are the classic witchy pet, but all animals have inherent symbolism and power associated with them. Whether you have a cat, a dog, a bunny, a snake, fish, or some other creature living in your home, do research into the mythology, folklore, and magic associated with that animal — you might be surprised what you find! Make acts of caring for your pet — like feeding them, brushing their fur, or cleaning their cage — into rituals. Allow your pet to participate in your spiritual practice if it’s safe for them to do so. My dog loves to be around me when I’m doing Reiki, and will ask me to give her some energy while I’m channeling. Animals are sensitive to energy, so you might be surprised by how much they’re capable of understanding and participating in your rituals.
Develop a meditation practice. This is going way back to one of the first parts of this series, but a daily meditation practice is one of the most effective ways to develop your ability to sense and interact with energy. It also has a ton of proven health benefits and can help you maintain a peaceful mental/emotional state. Meditation does not have to be time consuming — even five minutes a day will make a huge difference. I’ve recently gotten very into mindfulness meditation, and it’s lead to a lot of positive changes in my life and my spiritual practice. If you don’t already have a meditation practice, I strongly encourage you to start one.
Read mythology, scripture, or poetry — or write your own! Whether you believe that the gods and heroes of myth are real spiritual beings or simply represent archetypes within the collective consciousness, there is power in the old stories. Read the stories and poems that speak to you, and see what inspiration you can draw from them. If no myths or legends catch your fancy, try writing your own! If you were to create your own pantheon of gods, what would they be like? What would they do? Write it down! Pop culture pantheons are also becoming increasingly popular with modern witches — this is where, instead of working with a mythological pantheon, you choose fictional characters as your representations of universal archetypes. If you want to work with Superman as a representation of the Paragon archetype or Maleficent as a representation of the Dark Mother, there’s no rule saying you can’t. Storytelling takes many, many forms, and all of those forms can be sources of power for a witch.
Make a playlist of songs that make you feel like a powerful witch. Right now, my go-to witchy music is In This Moment’s “Mother” album, but some other bands/musicians that make me feel good and witchy are Fleetwood Mac (of course), Florence + the Machine, Hozier, and the Crane Wives. Make a playlist of songs that make you feel powerful and magical, and listen to it any time you need a pick me up. If you choose to work with deities and/or archetypes, you can make devotional playlists to help you connect with their energy. You can also build playlists for specific intentions like love, wealth, or healing. Spotify can be a powerful manifestation tool if you get creative with it.
These are just a few ideas, but there are countless ways to bring magic into your daily life. What do you guys like to do to make life more magical?
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peppersteakss · 3 years
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so... you wanna know the dream smp lore as of dec 19th, 2020
you have come to the correct place
the dream smp in a nutshell (somewhat)
ok so despite the server itself starting in april, the lore doesn’t start until wilbur joined in like june. the basics are that wilbur tommy and tubbo started a drug business and that didn’t sit well with dream sapnap or george bc it was their server, so tommy tubbo and wilbur (and eret came in at some point) decided to separate their land on the server and call it l’manberg. they built a wall, they had their own national anthem. this again upset the dream team. eret then gets revealed as a traitor and causes everyone in l’manberg to lose their first lives. (there’s a 3 live rule for almost every character in the smp, the only exception being philza - he only has 1) eret did this in order to become kind of the server. then dream bombed l’manberg after wilbur tried to negotiate with him. at that point, independence for l’manberg was no longer looking like an options
then came an agreement between tommy and dream, they’d duel for l’manbergs independence, but if dream won he’d take one of tommy’s music discs (why the discs are so important? i literally could not tell you). dream won, taking tommy’s second life. and somewhere in there fundy enters the server as part of l’manberg, and starts all the weird family dynamic stuff
here’s a little tangent on family dynamics in the smp:
philza is the father of techno and wilbur (twins), and it’s confirmed their mother is a samsung smart fridge. he also fathers tommy, who’s mother is unknown, and tubbo, who’s adopted - his bio parents unknown, but there’s a really popular theory going around that schlatt is his bio dad
wilbur is the father of fundy, and fundys mother is apparently a fish - sally the salmon. it’s complicated, at some point the idea of sally being a shapeshifter was brought up but never confirmed
back to the lore, tommy came back on his last life and then negotiated with dream for the independence of l’manberg and in exchange he would give dream both of his discs (again, i have no clue why they’re so important to him but they play a huge part in his character) so with that, the war between l’manberg and the dream team was over. l’manberg wrote a decree of independence, officially exiled eret, then started a government - tommy was assigned treasury of the state and later the vice president, tubbo was the secretary of state, and fundy was just wilbur little champion. wilbur took the title as president
jack manifold then joined the server and l’manberg, dream begged him to join the dream team but he stayed with l’manberg. then tommy, jack, and tubbo decided to cause chaos and get revenge against dream for the destruction of l’manberg and for tommy to get his discs
there were a few minor events in between the war and the election that i don’t really deem that important, the most notable thing is that quackity joined the server. but if you’d like to read about the events - they’re on the wiki! i’d also recommend keeping up with the wiki because the plot moves very fast, and the wiki is a good source that always keeps track of everything that happens and just the members individually! there’s also a channel on youtube that uploads the vods of every member but only their smp streams, it’s just called dream smp members vods (if you’re at all interested in watching this rather than reading it)
we now get into the election. a lot of people weren’t really happy with wilbur as president and they weren’t taking him seriously, so wilbur tried to fix this by holding an election that originally he thought only he could win. quackity then formed his own party to run against wilbur, thus leading to SWAG2020 (quackity and george) vs POG2020 (wilbur and tommy). later joining the election would be Coconut2020 (fundy and niki nihachu) as well as Schlatt2020 (it was just schlatt). this was a real poll left up to the viewers, and Schlatt2020 ended up winning as for some reason his results were supposed to be combined with SWAG2020s results - together they had 46%, just 1% above POG2020 - so Schlatt was now president of l’manberg. (despite only joining the server once the campaigns had started and almost ended). schlatts first decree was to exile wilbur and tommy from l’manberg - he then kept tubbo as secretary of state and demanded he hunt tommy and wilbur. it’s also worth noting that he ordered the walls of l’manberg to be destroyed. this ends the l’manberg independence arc as a whole (yes all of that was one single arc) as l’manberg was renamed manberg by schlatt. (one last thing worth noting is that wilbur lost a life during the election, so he only has 1 life left)
this then starts the manberg rebellion arc. this is actually the longest arc at the moment as it lasted for almost 2 months(sep 22nd-nov 16th), but the next arc is still ongoing so that could change. also it’s now important to note that important events always happened on the 16th, so if you plan on ever watching streams live, you should always try to catch any that happen on the 16th.
wilbur and tommy created yet another independent part of the smp called pogtopia. other members of pogtopia were technoblade (who had just joined the server) acting as a mercenary, and tubbo, the pogtopia spy. this then caused another split of the server, and dream became part of pogtopia but only in secret. there were also third parties, that being manifold land and the badlands.
a festival in manberg was announced, and tubbo was supposed to give a speech and organize the event. this then caused wilbur to question his morality, and this sparked the idea that wilbur should blow up manberg for good, tommy didn’t agree with this, and dream sided with wilbur simply because he wanted schlatt gone. tommy and tubbo then decided they could only trust each other (THATS IMPORTANT PLEASE REMEMBER THAT)
the festival happened on oct 16th, where tubbo was outed as the l’manberg spy, techno was then ordered to kill tubbo (which he did, causing tubbo to lose a life and bring him down to one life) but he then basically caused a massacre in manberg. niki then joined pogtopia in hopes to save manberg with tommy and tubbo while wilbur and techno planned to destroy it. wilbur originally had plans to blow up manberg at the festival, but was unsuccessful as he lost the button he was supposed to use in order to do so
quackity was removed from his spot as vice president, then joining pogtopia. then an ultimatum was established within pogtopia - deal with schlatt, or wilbur blows everything up. that did not stop wilbur from attempting to blow up manberg yet again at nikis birthday party but was stopped by quackity, karl jacobs, and niki. the ultimatum was then given a deadline, november 6th.
quackity tried to meet with schlatt, who had tried to blow manberg up yet again only for schlatt to reveal that he moved the tnt wilbur put in manberg to pogtopia. fundy then revealed he’d been spying for pogtopia in secret - and wilbur began to realize that under schlatts leadership, NO ONE was on manbergs side. except dream who then revealed he actually was going to protect manberg for some reason idk dreams motivation and just dream in general is really confusing, but regardless he negotiated war with pogtopia, and the decided date was nov 16th
schlatt ended up dying of a heart attack in front of everyone in pogtopia, leaving the presidency to tommy, who then handed it to wilbur, who then handed it to tubbo. wilbur took this as his chance to blow up l’manberg, as in his eyes it would never be the same. philza then joined the server and tried to stop him, but he was unsuccessful. wilbur then convinced phil - his own father in canon - to kill him, and he did, causing him to die in all actuality this time as that was his last life.
techno then caused another massacre right after wilbur literally blew up l’manberg because he was angry that l’manberg was just replacing one dictator with another, and set two withers. he swore that he would destroy any government that rose in the dream smp. (i actually recommend watching wilburs video on this event, it’s his most recent dream smp video and probably his final as his character is dead now. techno also tells the story of theseus and he explains it much better than i can, and the role of theseus does play in later in the lore)(it’s also just a fucking cinematic masterpiece but maybe that’s just me)
that ends the manberg rebellion arc, and so starts the l’manberg retribution arc (which is still ongoing) and although the last arc currently stands as the longest arc, there’s much more lore in this arc at the moment. like i’ve said, the lore just moves very fast
the remaining citizens of l’manberg start to rebuild with the help of ghostbur, which is just as he sounds - the ghost of wilbur. he only remembers happy memories from his life and generally just likes to follow people around a lot, he’s not on anyone’s specific side. also somewhere during all of this, eret decided to adopt fundy, so eret is now in this complicated family dynamic mix
quackity was angry with technos actions and started ‘the butcher army’ so he could take techno down, despite tubbos wishes to not start any more wars and to keep l’manberg peaceful, and also the factor of technoblade now having nothing.
dream along with captain puffy started defacing and destroying the sever as a whole and placed all of the blame on tommy. most notably he targeted skeppy and badboyhalo in the badlands (who for some reason have one of tommy’s discs). dream left a fake note about the disc, which is what let to the belief that tommy actually did commit these crimes.
on nov 19th, a funeral was held for schlatt, to which the crowd who attended made fun of him and celebrated his death, and trying to cause trouble (basically quackity made a piss portrait of schlatt and ate his heart) the rest also took pieces of schlatts body. he was put to rest in the side of a mountain outside of l’manberg
badboyhalo actually encountered the grieving of him and skeppys houses done bg dream, promising to burn tommy’s discs. everyone else was finding out about “tommy” greeting bad, meanwhile quackity was replacing schlatts remains with fucking glass, trying to resurrect him - he then gave this task to awesamedude, but whether or not he’s going to do it is still up in the air
ranboo then joined the server and became close with tommy, and they both george’s george’s house. this caused dream to build and obsidian wall around l’manberg, and then everyone found out tommy grief led george (which is not a good look for the vice president (tommy is the vice president btw)) and this is when the idea of exiling tommy came up. tommy was then brought to court simply because dreamed wished to see tommy get exiled for things that he didn’t even do
a lot of stuff happened but i’m really trying my best to keep this brief, again you can read the wiki if you’d like more detail! it’s a great source of information! but in the end the decision to exile tommy was left to a twitter poll, it was close but the winning option was to exile tommy
before tommy got exiled, there was the introduction of mexican l’manberg also known as el rapids. in el rapids, a lot of conflict happened with dream, and at this point it really seems that no one is really on dramas side (which like rightfully so dsmp!dream is fucking horrible)
still before he was exiled, tommy brought up the idea of waging war on dream because it seemed that really everyone in l’manberg was against him. there was even the idea of getting people outside of l’manberg involved (like techno, sapnap, bad, etc). tubbo then had dream escort tommy out of l’manberg to his exile. he’d just betrayed his best friend, the person who he agreed was the only one he could trust, which confused a lot of people because it was almost a last moment decision - but apparently it was the only logical thing to do (bs imo) but then tubbo agreed to work with quackity in killing technoblade
dream stayed with tommy often while in exile, and they stayed together for about 11 days with occasional visits from ghostbur. dream was very violent towards tommy during all of this, threatening to kill him if he didn’t do as he said, blowing up an old house tommy and tubbo built, and saying that he could /never/ go back to l’manberg. tommy actually began hiding important items from dream so that he wouldn’t destroy them, as that was a common thing as well - he’d make tommy drop all of his items to dispose of them for good. there was one item he’d never drop, though, and that was a gift from ghostbur - it was a compass that pointed to the whitehouse in l’manberg called ‘your tubbo.’ similarly, tubbo also has a compass called ‘your tommy’ that pointed to logstedshire (the place where exiled tommy and dream would stay)(‘your tommy’ was destroyed, most likely by dream, and even though tubbo got a second one - tommy doesn’t stay in logstedshire for long)
dream unfortunately found out about this as well, and the. disposing of all of his hidden items. and after 11 days of experiencing all of this with dream, tommy left to find somewhere much safer, ultimately deciding to make a burrow under technoblade and philzas house, as no one in the smp except them had known its location.
he thought he could stay hidden but techno found him literally the next day after being hunted by the butcher army that quackity had built, and being ordered for execution in l’manberg only to be saved by a totem of undying and escaping l’manberg through the sewers with the help of dream. (it’s worth noting that philza was also captured, is now on house arrest, AND was almost forced to watch another one of his sons die right in front of him) and guess when all of that happened???? DEC 16th. also everyone in l’manberg now thinks tommy is dead and they’re planning a funeral for him because they saw some sort of explosion debris that somehow links to tommy(i think it was blown up logstedshire)
techno and tommy then formed an alliance in order to get back technos stolen items (the butchers from l’manberg took everything) as well as rescue phil, and to get tommy’s disc back. i’m doing this, techno revealed a secret room that no one but himself knew about prior, revealing to tommy a room full of wither skulls and a full set of netherite armor, uttering the fucking ICONIC line ‘welcome home, theseus’ and therefore referencing the last big event, showing that tommy has made progress since then (at least in the eyes of technoblade)
so tommy stays with techno with more visits from ghostbur, and visits from dream - although tommy has hidden during both of his visits with invis potions. techno is set on protecting tommy now, and tommy is still struggling with trying to separate himself from dream. the first time dream visits it’s with techno, and techno convinces him that tommy isn’t at his house. dream also points out that techno owes him a favor bc he saved him in l’manberg. the second visit is when ghostbur was there, and ghostbur slips up quite a lot when interacting with dream. dream reveals he knows tommy isn’t dead and that he’s with techno somehow, and i think that’s just about it
one last thing worth noting is that this story is almost always looking at the fans for inspiration and has included a lot of fan theories into the canon (techno and wilbur being twins, and most notably the ‘welcome home, theseus’ line) so i’d highly recommend in participating in fan stuff as much as you can! there’s also just a lot of creative people in the fandom if you stay out of the weird side lol. but with that, i think that’s about all of the lore as of now
(i wrote all of this from midnight to 3 am so i am so sorry if i forgot things and i’m sorry about spelling mistakes)
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