#Been playing in my head constantly since the video was released

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

Hello! I know you're one of the people who ship Moon and Solar (TSAMS) And y'all have gotten me into the ship as well! XD I'm not caught up on the lore of the show(s) So i haven't even seen Solar IN SHOW before (i am very behind to before Lunar was Sun and Moons brother :' D) But I have some ideas I'm debating writing for the ship buttt....I have no clue how Canon Solar acts??? Do you know if theres somewhere I could find a Summary on his personality? (and I suppose...new Moon?) I'll probably unintentionally make them OOC...never written for anything TSAMS related, but i'll try!

And is there a ship names thats...like used for them instead of Solar X Moon or is it just called that?

Anywho, I hope you have a good day/night!!! You make awesome stuff! (And I know theres been some people making drama over the ship, I hope you don't let them get to you too much tho!! <3 /P)

🦈Anon

AWESOME!

Heheheh. Thank you. I've been shipping these two since June 2023 so I'm glad I can share the brainrot and some people are more welcoming and cool then I expect. (mostly the ones who can't think critically are the youtube audience but that's expected. Since a lot of the youtube target audience are... like.. minors or really young adults who can't conceive the concept.)

I rewatch that Episode where Solar changes his name and rebuilds the Daycare in a week just for Moon constantly cause it's just... so much admiration and appreciation Moon has for Solar in that episode. I swear I don't know if it was a flub on the actor's part... but I swear Moon calls him 'sexy' as he's dragging him to charge. the stock sound effect of "OOOOH" doesn't help my APD and I've listened so many times and I have no possible idea what Moon could be saying to Solar other then 'come here you stupid, sexy-...." (trails off) sooo... idk. I might have misheard that severely but that's just what I'm hearing.

Like, in terms of New Lore of the show, it gets pretty complicated.

So complicated in fact, TSAMS themselves released a new video on the subject.... But it's NOT a very good guide, as it misses a lot of things. (and no I don't mean the stupid guest cameo stuff) this is more or less an abridged take on what happens with no emotional impact:

Like, this is a good starting point if you want the barest of bones, but it misses so much stuff. I think they don't even mention how Solar gets introduced into this family. lol. Just like "yeah Im here and I helped kill Eclipse" fheahehf. It's a super well made video though, and I don't mind the editing mistakes (clearly when the actors change the avatar on screen.... whoops. Happens a few times)

There is also the Fan Wiki, but as of now, it is incomplete, (@twinanimatronics is working tirelessly on updating the wiki and I wish they got more reconignition from the tsams community as a whole ) but it does give a decent look into Solar

There is also the huge TSAMS Lore Document, which Ceph(twinanimatronics) also worked on which contains a further detailed explanation of the story so far, for those who don't have time to watch 2 years worth of youtube content that aren't in a concrete playlist. (TSAMS. PLAYLIST YOUR STUFF PROPERLY. YOU HAVE TWO YEARS OF LORE HERE)

Liike.... yeah... this is okay but like..

This is VRchat. Aka the lore. Which also includes when they play videogames in VRchat, which don't impact the story... Like Uno, Amongus and SCP stuff.....

And it doesn't divide the arcs. Something that TSAMS severely needs more then any other SB Show channel.

Also, in the early days, the gameplay videos USED to be part of the lore. As the concept of Eclipse itself, being a rouge evil ai that lived in Sun's head (as it was presented initially but we know the truth it was the killcode moon planted in Sun when they separated.)

These days, they kinda dropped the gameplay videos being directly connected to the over arching plot. Other then just saying that their vids are pre-recorded or "we're back" after an annual halloween takeover.

Not to mention... When Earth and Lunar got a show, they became intertwined with the Sun and Moon show. LAES is very much it's own thing, but it's the ONLY Security Breach Show that consists of two Original Characters spawned from the Sun and Moon show. A rarity. So their lore continues off from the Sun and moon show, giving more info on Lunar these days and Earth (their sister)

Then you have the Monty and Foxy show (which is my least favorite of the shows... Personal Preference. I try not to complain cus I know some people like it. But I do not like the plot points in that show, or the character writing and weird directions they take while being connected to the same universe.)

And Monty is a character voiced by Davis, who also voices Sun. So Monty started out as a prominent character on the Sun and Moon Show, and then got his OWN show... at a point in TSAMS history after Eclipse got the star and killed Lunar.

So yeah. I wish the playlists were better organized here. So we knew when each era starts.

(people say Matpat should get on this show lore... And noooooooo no thanks. Keep him away. We got you covered. Ceph honestly has enough info to make a video guide at this point.)

But long story short, Solar is a "Good Eclipse" from another dimension that the Old Moon introduced to Lunar, when Lunar was struggling with his trauma of leaving Eclipse. Good Eclipse and Lunar become friends.

Anyway, here are some key episodes that outline NewMoon and Solar's relationship, as Solar had never met the Old Moon.

Old Moon had never met Solar. It was New Moon who introduced himself to Solar to help defeating Eclipse once and for all. (and by this point lunar had died)

He was actually surprised that this Moon was a chill Moon and could be reasoned with and talked to, considering he was living a rather oppressive life from his own Moon.

There's also a whole episode saga of just these two bantering and talking while they work on the satellite together. I can't remember which specific episodes those are.

You can also see the difference between the Evil Eclipse and Good Eclipse here in one of my all time favorite episodes:

Moon saving Solar's life: (also the death of the bad Eclipse)

Everything is good and happy after Eclipse dies for awhile. (aside of Ruin and Bloodmoon wrecking shit) He goes back to his own dimension... and you get to see what his sad life is like:

From his Moon calling him "byproduct" and failure very often.

But... Something happens and Solar is forced to come to Moon's dimension

here's Solar at his poor little meow meow "I have nowhere to go" stage and just... thought to go to Moon immediately due to their history.

Moon's only question about Solar moving in, is that if he wanted him to blacklist his dimension once he heard what was going on with his Moon.

And immediately, Solar jumps in to help Moon with his problems.

Also during the halloween takeover part 2 electric boogaloo, Solar was the one to help get Sun and Moon back after being teleported to a different dimension with no hopes of returning

Also, after Ruin was cured and Bloodmon ran off, Solar rebuilt the ruined Daycare in a week. And Moon is so grateful for it. (i rewatch this episode a lot. It cemented the ship in my mind and built the commodity that they've been building up for months)

We also get what Solar's daily life is like so far... How out of place he feels, being someone from a different dimension, despite the Brothers (and sister's) insistence, he still doesn't really feel like he's part of the family. He feels like an outsider. (He also has less opportunities to hang out with Lunar. As he expressed interest in playing games with him like the good old days, and as of recently, they have not yet)

also a good example of the Celestial family changing minds on family dynamics because they are robots. Lunar flat out rejected Vegeta-Animatronic is his brother even if he technically is. Like, they're robots. They can change their relationships to each other based on their word. I like to see it more flexible then it is in reality with actual people/humans.

Moon also trying to make Solar feel comfortable and feel like he's adjusting well here. Expressing his concern for him doing so much for him and his family. And hoping to not pressure him into so much work.

As of recently, his Sun died, and he killed his Moon. And in his therapy session (on the Lunar and Earth Show) he expressed regret over "Leaving" them...

But he has not properly told anyone about this.

My reasoning is that he probably thinks that the family will jump on the chance to call him "Evil" .....They don't have good luck with Eclipses.... and every Eclipse they met other than him has been Evil. (that must weigh on you. Every version of yourself is deemed as evil across every dimension. You are the only good one. Maybe there is something wrong with you)

I'm already at the video limit, but on Lunar and Earth show, there is an interesting episode where Lunar goes into Solar's head, and his mindscape looks like the Willy Wonka TV room, because it was a movie he watched with his Sun before they separated and Sun died. Showing that he did care about his Sun a whole lot... Which is probably why he doesn't interact with our Sun that much alone.

He also compartmentalizes everything before he can feel emotions, playing his own memories in third person as if he's not experiencing them.

Not to mention, he organizes and separates his thoughts on NewMoon and HIS Moon, just so he won't associate the two.

I also missed what episode it was, but Solar is always the first to call Moon out when he's being angry, or irrational, and Sun admits in his therapy session, that Solar is the only person who can calm Moon down. (mainly cus he's used to it, but unlike his old moon, this moon listens)

Anyway...

I love Solar a lot, can you tell?

[sai-lec]

The Internet Tifosi

an informal reflection of online fan spaces by me, a recent member of the tifosi.

I love being part of the tifosi. I love the colour red. I love seeing the passion of the tifosi at races. I love Charles. I love Carlos. I love watching races and highlights from old team lineups I love the greats like Schumacher and Lauda and Prost I love Ferrari.

My path in f1 didnt start with Ferrari, it started with McLaren- my dad is a huge McLaren fan, he introduced me to Lando (and Carlos but primarily Lando) in lockdown and sure it didnt click with me right away; I watched some races with him, he showed me the highlights from the races I didnt watch with him (including several videos of Grosjean's infamous crash) and despite the fact that I wasn't heavily invested it gave us something to bond over. That September when I left home for university it gave us a reason to call each other. When I developed a genuine interest (after I decided I wasn't coming back home after I graduate university) my dad wasn't bothered by the fact that I had shown up at Christmas with a Ferrari hat on, in fact he took it off my head and tried it on himself; "do I look good as a Sainz fan?". From my dad introducing me to Lando, Carlos was the natural next step in immersing myself into the fan community. From Carlos, we found Charles and the Tifosi. I don't have many (or any) friends in real life with the same level of interest in Formula 1 that I have developed, naturally I found myself creating this blog hoping to find a community within online spaces that wasn't available to me in the digital world.

My experience within the tifosi has been... unique, to say the least. I have been engaged in online fan spaces since I was around 14- I made my Tumblr account in 2016 to talk about supernatural, before moving on to buzzed unsolved, and marvel and so on as my interests developed and changed. Within each of these communities I have found a group of people that I felt comfortable around enough to call them genuine friends. some of whom I still keep in contact with despite the fact that our interests have changed. that hasn't quite happened to the same extent with the internet's Tifosi; and there is a multitude of reasons why.

The 'Versus' Predicament

To be rather blunt for a moment- I have never been part of a community that has been filled with so much vitriol for other members, and I was part of the Marvel fandom when Civil War was released (team cap). In fact, it seem that the tifosi are constantly engaged in a Civil War of their own- devoted fans of Charles as the self-labelled Lecfosi and Team55 practically always appear to be at odds with each other. And publicly so.

It is natural for people to have a favourite driver- we've just discussed how ive come to find myself as a devotee to Team55. But as with other areas, fan spaces have seen negative impact in communication due to internet dependancy in recent years.

From my perspective, the issue appears to be a mixture of cancel culture and virtue signalling. Now cancel culture is in itself a manifestation of virtue signalling in which creators or whomever else face mass criticism and attempted deplatforming as the internet becomes aware of potentially problematic past or present behaviour; however given its internet context and usage I've elected to view it as a separate entity.

Internet fan spaces have regressed to a state of defensiveness- in order to promote and validate your approval of one subject you must justify why in comparison to another. This is where the effects of cancel culture come into play. Cancel culture reached its peak performativity during quarantine as the internet and social media became the primary method of protesting and spreading awareness of activism whilst maintaining social distancing and quarantining requirements. As morality became monitored and policed by a younger and younger average user base, it is natural that there was a bastardisation of the phenomenon resultant in the mass cancelling and calling out of any person who spoke or acted in a manner that wasn't deemed correct; not necessarily related to politics or activism at this point, I myself received an influx of mass hatred and cancellations to the point where I was borderline shunned by an entire gaming community for making a joke about everyone hating one of the event mini games ('whats everyones favourite game and why is it not buildmart').

This same mindset is so visibly present within the Tifosi today- both extremes find themselves comparing one driver to the other in order to justify their favour. For example, tensions have been high with Lecfosi and Team55 almost in a panicked state looking to justify why they chose to support their favourite driver with 'Carlos is gifted every achievement Charles would have beaten him if he wasn't held back ' and 'Ferrari fired the wrong driver' filling the comments of Ferrari's Instagram and Twitter posts. This has prompted fans to flock to defend their preferred driver, often in ways which contribute to the animosity. Drivers face this pseudo-cancellation as a result with twitter bios seeing additions of 'Carlos fans din' 'if you like CL16 unfollow me' after every race. Criticisms of the drivers themselves increase, they are placed under heavier scrutiny as the violence between fans increases leading to a never-ending circle of driver-to-fan hatred. it is seen as almost a moral failure within fan spaces to support the wrong driver.

I, personally, have witnessed arguments between fans in comment sections on tiktok- the most memorable being a 'share your favourite driver and why' tiktok in which a Carlos fan received comments of 'Well you know Charles is actually better because x y z'. (I'd like to point out this is not an antagonisation of Charles fans, but this is what actually happened nor am I excusing Team55 from the ability to make similar comment). The notable point here is that Charles was never mentioned, yet the mere fact of someone else preferring the wrong driver in this commenter's eyes lead to them purposefully targeting another Ferrai fan to chastise them on their decision effectively boiling the interaction down to 'you're not allowed to support this driver because I don't like him'.

This is where virtue signalling comes into play. For those unaware, virtue signalling is the public expression of opinion with the intent of alignment with a moral correctness. The internet especially in fanbases weaponises that frequently through the examples of 'dni of you support x' as discussed prior. The followup to that mindset is the feeling of requirement to discuss. For example, when a driver races poorly or is subjected to penalty, fan spaces will see an influx of posts demanding fans to defend their driver (How can you support him when he drives like that), mass criticising the driver (he doesn't deserve his seat why isn't he fired), or public statement of disapproval because of the social requirement to misalign yourself with the incorrect actions of another person without genuine belief behind the statement as oftentimes excuses will be made for their preferred person in a similar situation. At times it appears that the primary interaction of some people within the Tifosi is to engage in critical commentary on their disliked drivers.

Criticism? Or extreme negativity?

With call out and cancel culture leaving the political sphere it has severely impacted the positivity of fanbases as criticism becomes a primary, almost necessary, aspect of fan culture. Of course we talk about critical consumption in which you are able to analyse and evaluate the content which we consume and become aware of its biases and flaws, however this has snowballed to become criticise everything you consume. Thus, the animosity of the fan spaces rises once more.

Of course every driver is bound to face warranted criticism- the majority of the grid are socially unaware rich white men, they are destined to say or do something worth criticising. They are bound to say bitchy things and act in ways that you don't agree with because that is just the nature of humanity, everyone does these things. But that does not mean every single one of their actions are worth dissecting under the microscope. And the prevalent attitude of analysing drivers mannerisms, behaviours emotions and heat-of-the-moment radios and comments doesn't display the analytical eye a lot of people think it does.

A lot of attitudes in the 2024 spaces that I have personally seen have centred a Carlos negativity- there have been dire criticisms of the journalistic bias towards him across the first 3 races of the year. Of course, if you don't like him then you're bound to be tired of hearing about him. But what I found interesting was the theories being circulated that he was paying his way into the media or that there was a behind-the-scenes scheme to keep media interest on him. Now, a lot of people perceived this to be a theory based on the culture surrounding Sainz's family wealth and his father's influence when in reality it was likely to be because of the increased interest around his circumstances going into the season- no seat for 2025, rumoured negotiations with several teams, surgery and first non Red Bull win of the season. to analyse this situation critically is not to say 'well there must be a secret reason and I will investigate' but to recognise that journalism is reliant on attention grabbing headlines- a man with no job and no appendix winning a race while still in the post-surgery recovery period is exactly the kind of narrative that will garner clicks. It would have been the same had it have been any other driver in that specific set of circumstances. There is a difference between critical thinking and assumptive analyses and oftentimes they can become conflated in the desire to prove a point.

This is the issue- a lot of people engage analytically with media in order to suggest a particular narrative. Every person is subject to bias, and when that bias is unchecked it can lead to a lot of analysis that are reliant on theory, speculation and assumption in order to maintain the subconscious perspective of the writer. This is why we see a lot of people use demeaning nicknames towards Charles on twitter an simultaneously view Carlos as undeserving in instagram comments- the integral points of their perspective on the driver rest on the moments which will develop their narrative view of the driver as the lesser. Critical engagement cannot rest solely on one the positive or the negative, otherwise you failing to engage critically by cherry picking a perspective in order to maintain a narrative. That is tabloid journalism, or gossip, at best.

I Am In Misery

It is also just not healthy for you as a fan to consistently engage in negative commentary and discourse. I mean that seriously this is a PSA if your fan engagement sees your negative criticism and commentary of your disliked driver outweigh the time you spend enjoying your interest then you need to take a step back and reassess how you want to participate because that is not sustainable for your mental wellbeing.

This is not to say that you must never hate, you must never criticise or say anything bad about someone we all do it- it's natural. But you have to ask yourself if you truly enjoy using another driver to uplift your favourite. Aren't his accomplishments enough to validate him alone?

Ive noticed a complete lack of will to celebrate- in my inbox right now are maybe around 15 asks all talking about how I shouldn't be happy with this weekends performance or else I dont understand F1. I argue the inverse,

I understand F1. I understand that this weekend was not the best performance Ferrari had to offer. I understand the impact of the team racing each other and Carlos' aggression during the sprint. And I have mentioned as much. However, I choose to focus on the positive aspects of the weekend. The tyre management from both drivers was impeccable to gain 2 positions each and maintain them finishing on tyres that were 40 laps old. They made an excellent recovery from the mishaps in qualifying that ultimately earned the team and themselves more points. We maintain 2nd in the constructors championship and 3rd and 4th in the drivers. There are issues that need to be discussed and resolved but ultimately this is not the worlds worst performance.

F1 is entertainment. I want to win, I want to succeed but I also want to be entertained. My mental health has seen a series uptick since I decided to directly seek entertainment. Sure, the drivers shouldn't have been racing the way they were, it had the potential to put both cars in a detrimental position, but it sure does make things more interesting!!! There's almost a sense of parasocialism within the community- a lot of people are hesitant to look for relief beyond the emotions of their favourite driver, and subsequently view every race as a failure in some aspect (just outside of the podium, on the podium but not p1, could've done better if it wasn't for xyz) and that negatively affects their experience as a fan and for other fans who don't share that perspective. It's almost like people have forgotten to enjoy the race, they're so preoccupied with looking for something to criticise.

Now this isn't to say you're not allowed to enjoy critical assessments of the success of races. But thats not what the majority of us are posting (it might be what some of you think you're posting, but you're not). I love watching video essays on races that are done properly with acknowledgement and awareness of bias. I don't love reading posts along the lines of 'why this race actually sucked' (not a real example) because it's not built from an analytical or critical perspective, just a discussion of the race and outcome through a lens of destructive pessimism.

End

This behaviour isn't specific to the Tifosi, it's an internet wide phenomenon. But I've chosen to directly comment on it here because as I said, I've never sen a community with so much hatred for itself. As of 2024, we are all on the same team right now. We have the right to hold our own opinions of the drivers and express those. We do not have the right to argue on the validity of other fans preferences, we do not have the right to directly enter fan spaces (ie the main tags) and spread destructive negativity about a driver nor do we have the right to harass blogs for whom they chose to support.

The inherent negativity is so calamitous to the community. It perpetuates the infighting, it furthers the negative narratives we have constructed of drivers, it only contributes to divide the community as both sides earn reputations of being toxic towards each other. And to an extent, yes . It is true, and that is disappointing. You have the right to choose your favourite driver. However, Charles and Carlos are both talented drivers- there is no need to drag one down to uplift the other. It is instigating behaviour and I'm sure a lot of people comment in that manner purposefully.

Be aware of your parasocial connection to a driver. if you find yourself criticising a driver for an action that you would not criticise your favourite for executing ask yourself why you view the action as negative circumstantially. If you are only able to assess races based on what could have happened, what better could have happened then ask yourself if you find this enriching; do you leave race weekends feeling good and excited for the next race or soured because things might have been better under different circumstances. Don't ignore the problems, acknowledge them and say but what are the positives as opposed to letting the failures undermine the successes.

just have a bit of fucking fun once in a while PLEASE .

as an endnote: I do recognise that the majority of insights and examples I have given in this reflection have been at the expense of team 55, again I would like to reiterate that as someone who primarily finds themself in 55 spaces I a naturally experience a greater exposure to negativity towards that driver as it usually tends to be maintagged or sent directly to myself or other 55 centric blogs. Just as the CL16 community is more likely to be exposed to and remember hatred towards Charles. In no way am I insinuating that 55 fans are incapable of or have not acted in the the same nature, to Charles' detriment. The toxicity remains prevalent on both extremes of the community.

this is a mass response to the people in my inbox thank you for your patience I didnt want to answer like 15 different asks about everything in slightly different ways

[souryogurt64]

that was SUCH a nail in the coffin analysis ive always felt weird abt how mcr and their fans have been operating ever since they came back and u put it into words 😭 like i genuinely think mcr is still effectively broken up and only came back bc they missed a) each other/performing occasionally kinda and b) MONEYYYY because a full tour and multiple makeup palette launches with no album out after like four years is insane! (i get that the pandemic mightve shifted their schedule maybe but lets be real) and i think mcr fans are subconsciously hurt by this and somehow the revisionist history of mcr being freedom fighter genderqueer activists that threw the first brick at warped tour makes them feel better about it?? like "oh this band has values so surely they wouldnt come back from a breakup JUST to take my money"

I actually think that back in 2018-2019 the band originally intended to record and release an album and then were not able to follow through. I think COVID probably affected people’s mental health or drawing out the creative process for several years more than originally planned led to the same tensions that resulted in the band breaking up coming back to the surface. 

The earliest MCR reunion leak was actually in Spring of 2018 by SWMRS (lol) and had probably been going on for a long time prior to that. They have had plenty of time to record an album, they either just can’t or don’t want to. 

The initial reunion announcement had a lot of really stylized and specific imagery that was new and not nostalgia bait at all. It also felt very extra for just a tour. I don’t religiously pay attention to MCR but they have been doing a lot of stuff to try and keep the album hype going as we head into 2024, like flashing a 5 symbol at shows. I feel like that type of thing was more prevalent early on, but it’s been 4 1/2 years (!!!) so it’s hard to remember. 

Also, I joined bandom in Feb-March of 2013 and all throughout the hiatus through reunion leaks in 2018 (so 5 years), MCR were constantly doing things. They each had solo projects (Frank several) and Gerard was doing comics and a TV show. Plus, the band released CW, several demos, and merch. 

Over the last 4-5 years, they have basically had one tour and that was it. What have they been doing this entire time? Nothing? 

Also, an album that was significantly delayed or didn’t pan out would explain Frank’s garage sale fiasco. The FOB reunion was originally prompted by a blog post from Patrick complaining about how he had blown his savings on Soul Punk and it failed— so if Frank had invested personally in LS Dunes banking on a MCR album, that might explain why he needed to auction off sweatbands as well as the band getting snippy on socials about how they can’t “afford” to film a video. 

And like, no, nobody is “owed” a MCR reunion or MCR album or “owed” closure and if they want to fuck off and drink virgin Pina Coladas in Tijuana for the rest of eternity and play WWWY and Riot once every 4 years or something they can 

But stringing fans along with “cryptic messages” for 5 years and not making any kind of acknowledgement in the press is weird and like you said, I think explains a lot of the obnoxious holier-than-thou behavior from the fandom. During the time MCR have been “back,” FOB, Avril Lavigne, Blink, and probably other people have gone from varying degrees of hiatus to being well into full touring and promotional cycles for new material which has also made MCR less and less special. Those acts didn’t set outrageously high and dramatic expectations beforehand like MCR did either. 

I also really don’t intend to be disrespectful or make assumptions but I think Gerard especially has a long history with drug/alcohol issues in relation to performing and doing touring before the album was even recorded may have led them to delay stuff to (at best) prevent any issues arising. 

And like maybe their bodyguard is telling the truth and there will still be an album. But planning a reunion starting in 2017 at the absolute latest, recording and releasing a single in 2019+playing reunion shows, and not releasing the album until 2024 at the earliest is not really a normal schedule and at best is indicative that they ran into issues along the way. 

[foxes-that-run]

Boyfriends

A self aware take on Boyfriends, including Harry and boyfriends of those he cares for. The lyric video features a lone swan, a symbol of commitment. Harry was with a swan in every image for his May 20 2019 Gucci Campaign, released the week Boyfriends was first written. Harry and Taylor were pictured with a Swan on her birthday when they went to The Lakes. Harry who has spoken about the song with pride and deference. Let's start with the gorgeous first take:

Harry said to Zane Lowe it was written at the end of Fine Line:

"There was an extra week where we wrote some stuff, wrote Adore you, TPWK and we were recording Lights Up. [...] At the end of that session everyone left and I started writing Boyfriends and it almost felt like OK there is a version where we get this ready to put on this album, and I think there was something about it where it felt like it's going to have it's time. [...] I am learning so much by saying it [...] It is both acknowledging my own behaviour, looking at behaviour I have witnessed and looking at I grew up with a sister, so it's like watching her date people and watching friends date people and you know people don't treat each other nicely sometimes. And it turned out about boyfriends because I started paying it and saying boyfriends. [...]Just say what you think of boyfriends.

Harry was in the studio from 15 May 2019, the Swan Gucci Campaign was released on he and Taylors anniversary that week. It was also 2 weeks after Me! Was released. When speaking about Boyfriends Harry constantly mentions these other songs. They have a common theme about the impact of the behaviour of others on his relationships and self, true his nature it is subtle and gentle:

Adore you's video asks fans to respect the partner(s) of his choosing, in contrast to fan reaction who he dates.

TPWK, as the title says, Harry told Rolling Stone " It made me uncomfortable at first, [...] I feel like that song opened something that’s been in my core.”

Lights Up - to Rolling Stone Harry spoke about stepping out from 1D on his own, the lyrics of "I'm not ever going back" and "All the lights couldn't put out the dark running through my heart", link the experience of the band and fandom to mental health and knowing who he is, rather than who others want him to be.

To me, coming at the end of that session adds to Harry taking ownership his role in failed relationships in that time by being unaware of the impact his 1D persona. fan treatment of his partner(s) and emotional unavailability. Taylor has also described her anxiety dating him in Slut! and Gold Rush. However, as Harry said, it is not limited to himself. On its release at Coachella, (3 years after it was written) "To Boyfriends Everywhere, F*** you". This was weeks after Taylor wrote You're Losing Me about Joe. His face to the end of this is everything:

Setlist and Tracklisting

Harry placed Boyfriends on HH between Satellite and LOML. Harry stopped playing Boyfriends after November 15 2022, when he played it live with Ben Harper at the end of the L.A. Forum residency. It was only played once in 2023, at Wembley June 16. The next night was the only time he played Sweet Creature since 2018. When it was on the setlist it proceeded LOML or Lights Up.

Ben Harper

To Variety Ben Harper said: "It was a wonderful recording session — one of the most memorable and most musical I’ve ever been a part of. [...] Harry invited me to stick around because he wanted to finish the song right then and there. To get to watch Harry in his process was eye-opening, and I learned a lot. [...] Yeah, I mean, he orchestrated the vocal harmonies like a classical composer, spot on, note for note. He just stacked them perfectly in pitch, one better than the next, and it was really eye-opening to see somebody step on the mic and have the parts orchestrated in his head. I’ve never seen anything like it actually."

Lyrics

Hoo Niaga ti ta kcab er'uoy, loof Boyfriends They think you're so easy They take you for granted They don't know they're just misunderstanding you You, you're back at it again

The opening is Backwards 'Ooh Fool, you’re back at it again'. Sunflower Vol 6 also opens with 'Sunflower' backwards. I think of this as about a backwards life, success followed by a normal life.

The first verse describes how boyfriends take their partner for granted and misunderstand.

Weakened When you get deep in He starts secretly drinking It gets hard to know what he's thinking You love a fool who knows just how to get under your skin You, you, you still open the door

The second verse describes where partner has met their guard down some boyfriends withdraw, and start drinking. Harry has sung of this before in Half the world away “I’ve started drinking”. Harry has mentioned drinking in other songs, but HTWA has a similar meaning, of drinking in secret to cope.

Harry touches on common themes in his discography:

Not communicating, similar to MMIH “we don’t talk about it”

Not getting over this person - Getting under you skin is a reference to Taylor’s The Lakes: “What should be over burrowed under my skin in heart-stopping waves of hurt” and IWYW “You always knew how to push my buttons”

Doors - here Harry's muse is opening the door, Harry has 7 songs that refer to knocking, opening or not opening doors. Taylor also has 13 songs about Harry and doors.

You're no closer to him Now you're halfway home Only calling you when Don't wanna be alone Oh, and you go Why? You don't know

While the first 2 verses the Boyfriend was uncommunicative, emotionally unavailable and didn't consider their partner. In the third verse the boyfriend and partner are learning from failed relationships, but still no closer. Now the boyfriend is only calling when they want company, rather than to be there for their partner.

Halfway home: The X Account 'I am Halfway Home' was started to promote HH. The term could have several meanings:

a Halfway house is a place to reintegrate into society from an institution.

The song is a play on words of having no more emotional closeness despite being physically halfway home, and

Halfway home is the name of a documentary about the toll war takes on veterans and their families.

Home is an important theme to Harry's work, Home meaning being with the right person rather than a physical place. To me, this lyric is Harry is saying that despite his growth since leaving the band and break down of this relationship they are still not emotionally closer.

Boyfriends Are they just pretending? They don't tell you where it's heading And you know the game's never ending You, you lay with him as you stay in the daydream You feel a fool You're back at it again

The closing of the song is a sense that the boyfriend is being a player, not communicating.

But Harry's muse gives in, wanting to stay in a dream. Slut! has a similar idea of choosing to stay in a love haze when you know it's not going to last "Got lovestruck, went straight to my head / Got lovesick, all over my bed / Love to think you'll never forget / Handprints in wet cement". Harry also says this in Daydreaming: "Livin' in a daydream"

Harry and Taylor have both used 'fool' in reference to their relationship before (in Fools Gold, Cardigan, Illicit Affairs, Joker and the Queen and in Long Pond Taylor said it 7 times about James in Betty.)

Finally, it refers to the cyclical nature of their relationship with 'back at it again' as OOTW 'built to fall apart and back together' and Style "when we go crashing down we come back every time' and many other songs.

[aprilclementine]

just some thoughts that came to me at work :)

-

Steve and Robin had just been let go from Family Video, for apparently "spending more time watching movies, than doing their job". If they didn't want them watching movies, they shouldn't have put a display TV in the store. Now, the two were driving around downtown looking for any help wanted signs. "I don't get it, Robbie! I laid down all that Harrington charm, you'd think she would have hired us right on the spot!."

"Steve, if that was what you called 'charm', I'm starting to really understand why you can never land a second date." Robin snorted from the passenger seat. "That poor barista, probably threw out both of our applications, after that pick up line you used."

"It was a classic! You just don't-" "STOP!" Steve slammed on his breaks, causing the car behind them to speed around, flipping them both off. "Robin, you can't do-"

"I seen the big ol' help wanted sign, and didn't want us to miss out on this momentous opportunity." Robin shrugged, as Steve parked along the sidewalk.

Steve grumbled back a response under his breath, as they both exited the car, making their way towards the Record Shop. "Hey, lighten up! This job might be 'life changing'! What if we find the love of your life here!" Robin joked, as she jabbed at Steve's side.

"Robin, if we get hired here, and it leads to me finding the 'love of my life', I will give you my car." Steve added sarcastically, as he opened the door for Robin.

-

It has been two weeks, since they both got hired at the Record Shop. Max, Lucas, and Dustin have visited a couple times. Max was excited, because she presumed she would be able to use Steve's discount to get all the tapes she could imagine for her Walkman. Steve, and Robin both loved the place, the owners were a really cute old couple, Roy and Tammy, they got to play whatever they wanted over the store speakers while they worked, see all the new releases, wear their own clothes as a uniform. Steve and Robin had even come up with their own game behind the counter, where they would try and guess what a customer was going to buy, based on what they were wearing. They even had a little tally going on in the backroom. Robin was much better at Steve than this guessing game, leading by seven points.

Today, Robin asked Steve if he was fine running the shop on his own, she had plans to get coffee with this girl from the Bookstore across the street from the Record store. Her name was Nancy, and she had been in quite a few times since the two have gotten hired, constantly asking Robin her thoughts and opinions on certain tracks. Robin's been smitten ever since. Steve had agreed, wishing her luck, as he hung up the phone.

Steve got to work today, wearing his favorite yellow sweater, some light wash jeans, and his white chucks. It was a Thursday, inventory day, Steve had forgotten that was today, when he had so easily agreed to let Robin take the day off. Steve huffed, and cursed Robin in his head, as he brought yet another box up to the front counter. He sighed when he took a seat at the counter, as he laid his head down on the cool counter, enjoying a split second of bliss, before the door was practically kicked open, letting the bell that hung over the door ring louder than normal. Steve shot his head up, sitting up straighter, as the person walked in.

"Ohhhh Roooyyy, you know what today is! Metallica just dropped a new album, man!" The stranger called out as he walked directly towards the labeled section, not even glancing at the counter. "Also, whats with this pop garbage over the speakers, man!" Steve took this time to watch him, as he sifted through the various album covers, as his ring clad fingers pulled out an album to marvel at, before placing it back. He watched as the man, stuck his tongue out as he moved to the next row, and how he shook his long hair out of his face, and continued to search. Steve stared at the vest that covered his back, and the way his jeans clung to his legs, chain looped across the first two loops of his jeans, and the neatly folded black hankerchif sticking out of his back pocket.

Steve stood from the counter, running a hand through his hair, as he went to approach the stranger. The man hummed a tune softly under his breath, that Steve was unfamiliar with. Just as Steve was going to clear his throat to get his attention, the man let out an exasperated sigh, before yelling, "Roy! Did you fall in the back again?" The man quickly turned around, running right into Steve's chest.

They both let out gasps, the stranger from shock, and Steve from the blow. As the two regained balance, the man laughed. "Holy shit, man, say something next time!"

Steve, now even closer to the stranger, could not find any words. Too busy, scanning his features up close, getting lost in his pretty brown eyes. Steve shook himself out of his thoughts, before clearing his throat. "M'sorry, was trying to catch my breath again over at the counter when you walked in."

"Wow, didn't realize I had that kind of effect on strangers, let alone hot strangers. What's your name?" The man smiled slyly, as he looked up at Steve.

Steve felt the heat rush to his cheeks, trying to hide his reaction, as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Uh, Steve. Roy isn't in today, but it is inventory day, so any new releases, I'm in the middle of putting out right now." Steve turned away from the man's intense gaze, clearing his throat as he turned away, walking towards the counter again. "I'm sorry, normally they're out by now, 'cause I have my coworker to help, but they're gone today." Steve continued to explain, as the man followed him to the counter where the boxes were stacked.

"S'Fine. Need a hand?" The man asked, as Steve opened up one of the boxes.

"No, I couldn't ask you to do that, I'll just hurry up, try and get you your album sooner." Steve said quickly, as he went to lift another box onto the counter. The man reached out, and put his hand on Steve's shoulder, stopping his frantic movements. Steve felt his whole body heat up from the touch alone.

"As much as I'd love to see you all sweaty, theres no need to do all that. I seriously don't mind, I've helped Roy and Tams a couple times anyways." He explained, as he took the box from Steves hands. "The names Eddie, by the way."

"Eddie." Steve quietly repeated to himself, as he opend the other box that Eddie had moved on to the counter. "Sooo, do you come around here often?"

"Are you flirting with me, Stevie?" Eddie looked up from the box in front of him, giving Steve that same smile from before.

"No- I just- Well-" Steve tried to quickly get out, as Eddie let out a melodic laugh.

"I'm joking, you walked right into that one." Eddie shook his head, as he turned away from the counter with a stack of new albums ready to put them in their respective section. Steve was still a blushing mess, wondering how any person could have this effect on him.

He was taken out of his trance by Eddie calling for him from across the store. "Steve, is this fucking ABBA playing?" He questioned, as the opening note to "Dancing Queen" played through the store.

Steve nodded, as he moved closer to where Eddie stood, with another stack of albums in his hand. "Yeah, why?"

"S'Nothing, I just thought Roy let you guys play your own music, while you worked." Eddie continued, as he moved past Steve to grab some another stack.

Steve stood their confused, watching Eddies back as he walked to the counter. "He does?" Steve replied, confused as to what Eddie was getting at.

Eddie let out another laugh, as he walked back over to Steve. "You're funny, dude. Seriously, that's hilarious." Steve looked towards Eddie again, giving him a quizzical look.

"What did I say?" Steve asked.

Eddie stopped in his tracks, and looked up at Steve. "Wait, wait, wait. You're not kidding? You seriously play ABBA while you work? Holy shit, I think I need a minute." He placed down the stack of albums, on a nearby counter, before he literally doubled over in laughter. Steve huffed as he set down his albums as well, walking close to Eddie, with both hands on his hips.

"What's so funny about it?" Steve questioned as Eddie continued to laugh. Steve tried very hard to keep the bit going, as he listened to Eddie's infectious laugh.

Eddied sounded out of breath as he replied. "You just don't look the type, maybe some Bee Gees, Journey, I don't know, even Tears for Fears."

"Huh? What's so shocking about it? What's not to like?" Steve continued to question, as Eddie started laughing again. "Youuu can dance, youuu can jiiive." Steve began to sing along, making Eddie laugh even harder, swatting his hand at nothing in an attempt to get Steve to stop.

The two let out a long sigh as the song conlcuded, Eddie shaking his head as he looked over at Steve, who whistled along to the final notes. "I'm going to make it my personal mission to show you some real music, Steve."

Steve rolled his eyes at the remarks, as he walked back over to continue putting away his stack.

The two finished fairly quick, throwing playful banter at each other the whole time, and Eddie continued to judge every single choice Steve made for music. By the time they finished, it was just in time for Steve to close up shop. He sighed, as he moved from the back room to lock up the front door, and flip the sign from "Open" to "Closed". He turned back to face Eddie who had made himself comfortable, sitting at the stool behind the counter, examnining the wall of posters that Roy had Steve and Robin put up.

"Lemme pick the music now." Eddied requested, as he hopped off the stool, walking over to Steve. Steve smiled, shaking his head. "Sorry, store’s closed, sir. You'll have to get going."

Eddie groaned, throwing his head back. "Stevie! Please! I will fall over and d*e right on this store floor, if you don't let me choose one song to play for you." Steve tried to stifle his laugh, with the back of his sleeve, shaking his head. Eddie rolled his eyes, letting out a big sigh before throwing himself on the floor. Steve let out a gasp, crouching over Eddie

"Dude! I was joking!" Steve exclaimed, as his eyes scanned over Eddies face. Eddies face broke out in a wide grin, as he opened his eyes, bringing his hand up to pat Steves cheeks.

"I knew you'd come aorund, Big Boy." Eddie pushed himself back up, quickly moving over to the section labeled "Rock". Steve still recovering from the nickname, watched as Eddie picked up an album, from the "D" section. Eddie turned on his heel, running over to the stores record player, carefully placing the pin, over his desired area.

Steve listened as the opening notes played through the store. He watched as Eddies smile grew, as he began nodding along to the beat. He finally turned to help Steve up from the floor. "I Speed at Night by Dio." Eddie announced, as Steve listened carefully. "I figured I'd ease you into my kind of music, I think this one is pretty mellow, mainstream for this genre." Eddie continued.

Steve shoved Eddie playfully. "I don't listen to mainstream music." At this, Eddie laughed again. “Also, I would not consider this ‘mellow’.” As the song continued.

"Steve, every song you played made me think we were just listening to the Top 50 Hits radio station." Eddie replied.

"You suck." Steve sighed, as they let the song play out.

Two hours later, Steve and Eddie were sat across from each other at the counter, a box of take out placed between them, that Eddie had ran down the road to get, insisting he buy Steve dinner. The only light left on in the store, being the single lamp, that hung over the counter, illuminating the two boys' animated conversation.

The new Metallica album, Master of Puppets, played lowly in the background, as Eddie stood up and reenacted a portion of his story, Steve watching closely, as if Eddie held the Sun in his hands, while he continued to eat from their shared box.

The boys were interrupted as they heard the door rattle, and quiet voices, as the bell above the door rang out. Steve stood quickly, Eddie close by his side, Steve held his breath, anticipating the worst, until he heard it.

“Steve? Robin?” Steve recognized the voice that called out, as the shop owner, Roy. Steve finally let out the breath he was holding as Roy approached the counter. “Didn’t expect you to still be here.” Roy said softly, before looking up to see the two boys standing closely together. “Oh! I see you’ve met, Eddie.”

[fymoonbyul]

[INTERVIEW] Herald Interview |  MAMAMOO+ hopes to pave new path for girl group longevity

Solar and Moonbyul of MAMAMOO drop 1st EP 'Two Rabbits' as a duo

A decade together has passed already for Solar and Moonbyul of Mamamoo, yet the two singers still feel like fresh rookies, they said in a recent interview.

The interview, conducted with local press on Tuesday in Seoul, came a few days before the duo's subunit return as Mamamoo Plus, with their first EP "Two Rabbits."

Imagining this moment around a decade ago when they first set off as Mamamoo in 2014, Moonbyul said she did not imagine a rosy future just then.

"I thought that my career as an idol singer would not last long, because fame wanes. I'd already been worrying about what I would do 10 years later," the Mamamoo rapper, who has enjoyed quite a stable career as a solo singer, said.

Now she realizes it was all needless apprehension. According to Moonbyul, having accumulated the knowledge and experience of the past 10 years, it is just the beginning for her.

Considering that many new idol singers do not have much control over their career in the early years, especially the first seven when they are tied to the company-friendly contract, Moonbyul's statement may not be an exaggeration.

That's why Mamamoo Plus carries a personal significance for the two, as they willingly chose to come together as a subunit where they could do music to suit their own tastes.

"The two of us always preferred bright and upbeat music, which was what Mamamoo music was in the early stages, but later turned darker. We really wanted to pull up the energy inside us and that resulted in the new song, 'Dangdang,'" Solar said.

"Dangdang" is the lead single on the duet's new album "Two Rabbits," which is set to be released Thursday evening.

The boisterous dance tune with an easy-listening melody and repetitive lyrics was initially intended for a Mamamoo album, but was dropped, the duo explained.

"It was replaced by 'Starry Night.' The situation was complicated, but above all, I had a herniated disk and couldn't dance. Instead of 'Dangdang,' we went for 'Starry Night,'" Solar explained. "Starry Night" led the quartet's sixth EP, "Yellow Flower," which came out in March 2018.

At the time, they only had the chorus for "Dangdang." But Moonbyul said she was gripped by it the instant she heard it, so much so that she wanted to include it on her solo album.

"I felt just like the first line of the song. 'My head is going dangda-dangdang.' I felt numb hearing the song for the first time. But, the song was constantly pushed down the list. I'd kept it in a corner of my mind ever since and brought it back up because it's such a perfect match for Mamamoo Plus' identity," the rapper said.

Upon the prime sound, the two piled on new sounds flourishing with Mamamoo Plus' iconic peppy energy, Moonbyul explained. Their bandmate Hwasa, who contributed to writing the original chorus, is also credited as a composer and lyricist along with the duo.

While the forthcoming album is not the first from the Mamamoo subgroup, the two musicians say it's the album through which they introduce and define the sonic landscape they hope to paint as Mamamoo Plus: innocently uplifting music.

Welcoming listeners into the album is "Intro: Two Rabbits," which sets the foundation of the team's identity, according to Solar. "It plays in the outro of the title song music video, like a foreshadowing of what's to come. It's that significant and has much more to show," she said, expounding on the first track.

One of the tracks, "I Like This," was a song from 10 years ago, she added.

"The members together wrote the lyrics and made the choreography then, but it couldn't come out due to bad timing. I've been hanging onto it since," Solar said.

The fourth track, "Starry Sea," is a melodic hip-hop tune with sentimental lyrics inspired by Mamamoo's "Starry Night."

"Save Me," which was prereleased from the album in July, stands out among the package of perky scores with its calm, doleful tune. Moonbyul took part in writing the melody and words for the song.

Mamamoo Plus came out as the four-member group's first subunit in August 2022 with the first digital single "Better." In March, the duo dropped the first official single, "Act 1 Scene 1," fronted by title track "GGBB" and prerelease "Chico Malo."

According to Moonbyul, "GGBB" and "Chico Malo" were both of distinctively unique styles. The groovy dance-pop "GGBB" and "Chico Malo," a fusion of Korean and Latin sounds, had touched upon the broad musical landscape the two artists were capable of.

With "Dangdang," the two say they hope to reach a larger audience and boost their presence as rookie artists.

"We're pop singers, so it's inevitable that we stay aware of the public reaction. Whether to follow popular trends or to follow our creed is a never-ending dilemma," said Solar, the leader of Mamamoo as well as the subunit.

She continued: "That's why as a soloist I try to do what I want, like the shaved head style I did before. But as Mamamoo Plus, popularity is important as we will only exist as long as people continue to like us and our music."

A No. 1 on any music chart -- and staying on it for multiple weeks -- is the main goal with "Two Rabbits," according to Solar.

Making themselves known and thriving beyond Mamamoo is another goal, Moonbyul added.

Surpassing the high standards set by Mamamoo is a task that all four bandmates of the massively popular K-pop group share as they venture forth to the next stage of their careers.

Moonbyul and Solar remain with RBW, while Wheein and Hwasa left the company with the termination of their exclusive contracts. Wheein departed in 2021 and Hwasa last month.

Although groups tended to disband naturally in such situations in the past, recently many -- the likes of 2PM, GOT7, Girls' Generation and Infinite -- continue as a team despite contractual differences, Mamamoo being one of the latest examples.

"We think we've contributed to extending the longevity (of idol groups), and we feel proud," Moonbyul said, adding, "Even if we all belong to different companies, it doesn't mean Mamamoo has come to an end. We cherish each of our own dreams as much as the group. We'll exist alone yet together."

Solar said Mamamoo Plus will launch its first standalone concert tour this year.

"We're planning to hold concerts within the second half of this year, here and overseas. We expect we'll have many opportunities to meet our fans this year," she said.

Mamamoo Plus' first EP, "Two Rabbits," comes out at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

source

[sweet-villain]

Silence~ 8~ Eddie Munson 

Previous Part

Tags : @reidstea @sadbitchfangirl @pagesfalling @noayuusukki

@fvcking-gxddess @ruinedbythehobbit @eddiemuns0nl0ver @haylaansmi @yourdailymemedelivery @xxhospital-for-soulsxx @m-rae23 @h-o-m-e-w-a-r-d @heyhowareyaxd @rockautumnviking

Summary: You are Dustin's sister, everyone adores you but one. Eddie Munson. You are mute and no one has heard you talk except Dustin and your mom. Will Eddie crack and comes to understanding why you are the way you are?

You couldn't stop looking at him, he had been hunched over writing a new campaign for next week when he felt his eyes on you. He turned his head to look at you locking eyes. Your cheeks become red as he caught you.

" Staring is rude, sweetheart" he smirks.

" I wasn't staring" you mumbled, nibbling on your nails with cheeks still beeting red as a tomato. A hand on your wrist brings your hand down from your mouth, " Don't do that, sweetheart."

Your eyes rose from the small peak of his tummy trail sticking out to his Hellfire shirt that fit so nicely on him to his curls to the smile he has on his lip. His dimples are on display for you.

" Sorry" you mutter, his hand it still on your wrist before he releases it leaning down capturing your lips with his as they dance as one. Kissing him was like a new breathe of fresh hair. His lips were so soft as a feather.

He pulled away resting his forehead against yours," you're mine."

You nod reaching your hands for him in a grabbing motion, he chuckles reaching down to grab you around the waist and you move up to wrap your legs around him as he carries you to his room.

You plop on his bed as he crawls his way over to you settling on your chest as he wraps himself on top of you. He was so beautiful and all yours. Eddie Munson was yours.

You twisted his hair in your fingers, playing with his hair as he closed his eyes. He felt like you were home to him, his heart raced at your touches and could not get enough of you.

But, in the back of your mind there was a lingering of darkness still there. It came in a flash of the monster's face.

He was still there. Not as a memory. But there.

_

As you opened the door to Family Video, Robin and Steve went from sleeping on the counter to raises their heads up in a flash seeing you.

" I wasn't sleeping! I was just resting my eyes for a second" Steve yelled, scaring you as you stood by the door eyeing the two.

" You should close early and go home, you look like you haven't slept in days" you poked Steve as he rested his head on the counter, peeking at you.

" Since the whole thing with Vecna cursing you, I am constantly worry that you'll be gone" he mumbles, Robin nods saying the same.

" Guys I'm right here" you pat your chest as if showing them you are real and here.

But you don't tell them the lingering in the back of your mind that flashes as a picture from time to time. You were terrified on what it was.

" We can see that Caption Obvious" Robin snorted, " anything new this week? Eddie and I are having move night tomorrow"

Steve pushes a box your way watching you look through it, frowning seeing that nothing you liked would interest you and Eddie.

" Please let me know if you see something I like, appear" Robin nods, " I'll see you guys later and get some sleep soon. I'm alright"

You sent a gentle smile to them both before you exited, but not before getting that cold feeling up your spin. You stood outside watching the wind blow and a couple people passing by. No one looked suspicious or out of place that caught your attention.

Yet your gut told you something else.

-

" Y/N has a boyfriend, mom" Dustin tells her over dinner. You picked up your spoon and threw some peas his way, hitting him in the face.

" Hey!" he pouted in his seat, turning to do the same when your's and his mom stopped him. " Dusty bun, stop that" she turns to glance at you.

" Hunny bun, why haven't you told me this?"

You shrugged, glaring at Dustin who shrugged poking at his food.

" Who is he?" you didn't want to tell her any of it, it was only your business and here Dustin had to open his mouth and tell her.

" His name is Eddie Munson, he is in school with us. He the one I play D&D with, he has long hair, he loves heavy metal music and he's very fun to be around" Dustin tells her.

Your mom tilts her head not expecting that as an answer.

" Maybe he could come over for dinner" she suggest, " I'll ask him" you say looking at Dustin for help.

" You'd really love him, mom. He adores Y/N with all his heart, they make each other happy"

" I'm glad he does make my hunny bun happy, I wanna see for myself"

You nod grabbing your plate putting it into the kitchen.

" Thank you for dinner, mom!" you kiss her cheek, grabbing Dustin's cap.

" Hey! That's mine" he gets off his chair as he chases you to your room where you collapse on your bed throwing his hat back at him.

" Thank you for that, squirt" you sigh sitting up. He sits on your bed and looks at his hands, " I'm sorry, I just didn't want to hide if from, mom. She would love him."

" I know, you talk about him all the time"

" I'm glad you're with him" he turns to you, smiling you respond back, " Me too"

-

Nancy, you and Robin were having a sleep over putting on face mask on one another.

" why do you like Eddie?" Nancy asks as he paints your nails, glancing up at you briefly before she goes back to do your nails.

" He's really sweet, he makes me laugh and smile. He is perfect in every way, he knows what to say to make it all better, he knows how to hold me and he's just my person that I feel like I want to be for the rest of my life with"

" Do you love him?" Robin asks.

" I do. I really do" you tell her. Nancy and Robin " awe" together as they look to see the look in your eyes full of love and adortion.

" He's everything I want in a guy, he's mine and I'm happy"

" Does he know?"

" That I love him? No, I am kinda scared to tell him because I don't wanna scare him off. I mean, I never had someone to love me back, I don't know how that feels"

" You can see that he does from the way he looks at you"

" You think so?" both girls nodded. You smiled down at your lap, " I love the color, thank you so much Nancy"

-

Come to me Y/N

I know you're listening

I know you're there

That voice in the back of your head is still there, pricking at your mind. You knew it who it was but you were scared to respond to it. Instead, you would listen and wait for it to go away.

You sat in the woods with Eddie as he was rolling a joint listening to the leave rustle and the quite. It was just you and him there and that lingering voice in the back of your head.

He doesn't really love you

Come to me

There it was again, playing with your mind as you watched Eddie put the joint in between his lips as he smoked. You glance down at the wooden table tracing the lines on there that have been cracked.

" You're too quite and I don't like it" he says

" Oh sorry, I was just thinking"

" about what?" He reaches for your hand across the table, interlacing his hand with yours as he blew out smoke from the corner of his mouth.

" You" you blushed, glancing at him watching as his face becomes beet red as a tomato. " Me?" you nod

" No it's the tree behind you, dingus. Of course it's you"

" Hey be nice!" he pouted pulling the joint from his lips offering it to you, you take it with a nod to him putting it against your lips.

He watches you before he takes it back into his mouth.

" I feel like there is something else" he says, he can see there is something in your eyes that matches up. Your gut was screaming at him that he was right. That he should do something, but it's you who shrugs it off and tells him he has nothing to worry about.

" I'm here Eddie, there is nothing wrong" he leans across the table pulling at your hand as his lips meet his.

You'll see soon Y/N, you will see soon. You do not disobey me!

That voice called out to you again.

He is there and he is ready for you

[angel-is-not-creative]

Spirited Away

SUB/DUB

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

For some reason, I still hadn't watched this movie until now, so I went in with absolutely zero idea of the plot, which made it a better experience for me.

I loved the character design throughout this, every character was very unique and a lot of them had an "uneasy" feeling to them. I think this helped play into the subversion of "good" and "evil". I found myself constantly trying to guess if a character was going to try to hurt or help Chihiro.

I genuinely believe that Chihiro and Haku are the definition of the right person at the wrong time. This movie shows how sometimes we make friends that are only in our lives for a short period of time but they still heavily impact our lives. I don't think they ever meet again, but that doesn't make their time together any less special.

I also love the emphasis on greed in the movie. First highlighted through Chilhiros parents being turned into pigs and again with no name and all the people at the bathhouse. Chihiro often survives situations by not being as greedy as those around her.

I could tell that a lot of this was likely based on Japanese folklore, but it did mostly fly over my head. I went ahead and looked into it a little after watching the movie and I would recommend you do the same. I did notice some religious aspects as well. For example, the ending where Haku tells Chihiro to go through the tunnel and not look back is a common tale in many religious texts. It's seen most predominantly in Greek mythology with Eurydice and Orpheus, as well as in the bible+Quran.

Overall this was a very beautiful movie and I understand why people have been raving about it since its release. The animation is next level and I never once felt like pulling out my phone during it (something I am often guilty of.)

I recommend this video if you want to learn more about the folklore ^_^

[thatelfnerd]

Pouchie The Cat Alpha 0.4.5 ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY UPDATE!

February 21st marks one year since I first created the project file for Pouchie The Cat, the video game! It's been quite an interesting journey that I started, and it's not over yet! To the people who've been supporting me, especially my close friends, I thank you for your encouragement, your suggestions, and your overall wish to see me succeed with this project. I love you all!

With all that being said, let's look at the update. As the alpha number implies, we're still not at the halfway point (Alpha 0.5 would mark the halfway point), meaning there's still work to be done in World 2. But just because there's work to be done doesn't mean you can't at least peek at what's in the works. This new update of Pouchie The Cat includes the introduction of a new world, with new mobs, some cutscenes, and more!

What's new for Alpha 0.4.5:

SAVE AND LOAD: The game now has a save and load feature where you should be able to save the game and load it from now on. No idea if the feature works for the browser version, so if it's not working, feel free to mention it in your review of the game

OPENING CUTSCENE AND IN-BETWEEN GAME DIALOG: Pouchie now has some cutscenes with and some dialog with a new character. This character, Sasha The Rabbit will provide some context as to Pouchie's mission and motivation to clear the levels and explore the world. Not necessary to enjoy the game, and you can speed through the dialog if you just want to play the levels.

HINT BOXES: Hint boxes have been added to some of the early levels for new players who are unfamiliar with 2D platformer mechanics. More may be added in the future.

NPCS: NPCs have been added for cutscenes and dialog scenes. Annie The Cat, and Sasha the Bunny. Also name-drop of a future foe, Grump The Pug.

WORLD 2: World 2 is officially available for players to explore, up to Level 4! World 2 takes place underground, making it easy for Pouchie to bump his head on cave ceilings, so watch out when jumping!

WORLD MENUS: There is now a World Menu for saving the game, as well as allowing you to go back and forth between World 1 and 2, but only if you've unlocked.

NEW MOBS: Added three new mobs with unique gameplay mechanics. Babas are bats that are drawn to you if you enter their bubble, but they'll stop chasing you if you run far enough away. Crys-Tortles are a creature with a hard shell that spiky crystals have grown onto. They can't be damaged, but they can fall off cliffs. Fun-Guy are sentient mushrooms that'll release spores upon death. These spores will not disappear, so be careful when setting one off!

Bugfixes:

Fixed issue where Boomer would constantly damage Pouchie, even after death, resulting in a looped death animation.

Fixed issue where the player's max health and starter lives didn't reset after turning off no-hit and one-life gamemodes.

Known issues:

There was feedback in the previous builds that gameplay was "too floaty" and "too robotic." I don't know if any of my changes have resolved this issue, but we'll see.

If Pouchie jumps into two spore patches at once, he loses two hearts instead of losing the one.

That's all the updates I have brought for the time being. In a way, it's a lot of things done, but there's a much more impressive battle ahead that I'll be working on for Alpha 0.5. Both figuratively AND literally, as the battle I face is designing and coding the boss battle for World 2. I already have a general idea of how I plan to make that boss look and function. No idea when I'll get it done, but I'll be sure to work out all the kinks before officially releasing that update. Another plan in the works, that'll probably be more on the easy side, would be to create sprites of Pouchie's overarching foe, and the head honcho of all the issues of his journey: Grump the Pug. Grump will be given some animations, and possibly even dialog to establish him as a villain.

These, and more are being thought out during this time. If you wish to keep up to date when the next big update is out, or wish to keep up with when I go live on Twitch, or just ask me some questions, feel free to join the discord! I'm thinking of some future plans to interact with people if there's a good enough community to talk to: https://discord.gg/Cxfzm55RgP

In the meantime, if you wish to know what you can do to help with production of the game, and have some money to burn, I'd appreciate some donations on my Linktree and StreamElements. It helps to have some spare change when you're working more or less solo on a game project.

Something else that I would greatly appreciate is if everyone with a newgrounds account could give a fair review of the game there, as it' more likely to be pushed to others if it receives enough initial attention.

That's all for now, and I don't have any date to give for the next update, as I genuinely don't know when I'll have everything I want for it done, and I would rather not give a date and then not deliver. But for now, feel free to play the game and give me your thoughts!

Until next time!

[sloggervlogger]

Gorilla Mother's Tough Love Towards Her Baby Daughter by SloggerVlogger The usually loving Gorilla mom, Dossi, has been displaying some tough love towards her daughter, Eyare, by pushing her away in various situations. It may appear harsh to us, but it's important to remember that Dossi has shown herself to be a caring and affectionate mother in previous videos, nursing, cuddling, and protecting her daughter from other monkeys. This behavior is part of the learning process and will likely benefit Eyare as she grows older. It's worth noting that the compilation we see was filmed over a couple of days, so these interactions are not happening constantly. There are moments when Dossi seems particularly firm with Eyare, especially when food is involved or when she wants some alone time. Despite this treatment, Eyare handles it all in her stride. Gorilla Dossi, residing at the Calgary Zoo, appears to have a fondness for the window area. She comfortably lies on her back with her feet crossed and one foot against the windowpane. With great interest, she picks up a bucket lid and begins to fill it with wood chips. Curious about her mother's activity, her daughter Eyare approaches, but Dossi doesn't seem too pleased and gives her a gentle push. Eyare steps back, touching her head in response. Although momentarily deterred, she can't resist returning for another look. However, Dossi again uses her finger to push Eyare away. Disheartened, Eyare decides to play on her own while Dossi continues tossing the wood chips. I also included some close-up shots of Dossi's finger and thumb as she peels off bits from the wood chips. In the following scene, Eyare finds a stick, but Dossi takes it from her to use it on the food crate, trying to get some food out. Eyare extends her little hand to catch the falling bits, attempting to cuddle with her mom, but unfortunately receives another push. Observing this, one can't help but wish to give Eyare a long and comforting hug. Perhaps this is why Eyare has grown quite independent. Later, when Dossi obtains a round food puzzle, Eyare is intrigued and comes over to take a look. Unfortunately, she is once again pushed away by her mother's finger on her face. Since the filming of these events, Gorilla baby Okabe was born to mum Yewande, offering a future playmate for baby Eyare. Stay connected and never miss a moment! Subscribe to my channel and activate all the notifications to be the first to know when new videos are released. Calgary Zoo Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXC1aShJSBiWFFI6nR7IQi5iHctyJbdAI via YouTube https://youtu.be/rLsKO10ayOE

[calypso-finale]

Ninety Eight.

Looking at my watch and sighing out, this interview better wrap up soon because I have to pick up Aziel by four from nursery “why you just looked at your watch like that for? You are so rude” Ashley said which made me laugh “this guy is live on the radio, and he is sat here looking at his watch, I have only asked you two questions? Bro what” trying to not laugh too much “I was just making sure you are working on the right timing” he shook his head “where you going brother? You just released an album and you already tired” sitting up on the chair “I won’t say tired, I was checking I am on time to pick up my son from the nursery, you don’t know my son. London traffic too, it’s hard you know” Ashley laughed “I have seen the videos of your son, I was looking at the one where you was in Guyana, and he’s sat there and he said I don’t know you” I chuckled “yeah, that is my erm, grandad. He can’t comprehend that he is so dark, and I am white, he won’t accept it. Then he sees my dad and he thinks sometimes he is my friend; I tell him look I missed the dark gene that is your grandad and that is your great grandad, and he goes no. He is a stubborn child” shaking my head “it made me laugh because he just stared at him and he said no, as soon as he said to him we family. I was like nah, this kid is clever. He walks around like your bodyguard too, he’s moving crazy” nodding my head “yeah he does, he’s very bright like that. He goes to his mom I love you mom, but I don’t love no girl, and she is like I think he is hanging with the boys too much. I mean which he does. He’s part of the gang generally” I said “what you saying about the baby mother? You still single or you lowkey?” I busted out laughing “nah, nah we strictly co-parents. I am single as it is, I am not doing anything. Women play too much, I think I just want to concentrate on this release and my son, that is it. I uhm, I came from the hood so to me I don’t know what love is but I do now, and my love for my son is like no other, I adore him and I can’t wait to see him, it’s crazy. But I just want to be there for him and yeah” I shrugged “but you want a girl right? Like you can’t be single all your life” he is pushing “your son is four you would want more kids?” rubbing the back of my head “I am scarred from women bro, I can’t tell you anything else” he laughed nodding his head “I get it, you know what. You’re a cool guy and I am so glad you are with us still, let’s give it up for Central Cee” the studio clapped, looking around me smiling “thank you” put me on the spot there.

I am slightly late; I knew I would be late for him, but that London traffic is nasty work always. You can be a billionaire and still be stuck that traffic, we all suffer together in that bitch. Ybeez is with me waiting in the car, the school buzzed me in so I can get him. I am taking him France straight after, I have a few events there and his mom is already there, I have had him for a week and I am going France, she is there so we will swap over there. Ever since the whole New Year party and what was said, things have been good with us, but I also feel like we have become close as co-parents, but I miss her, she is well, and she is doing her thing. She is working hard; she is constantly here and there. We just take it in turns, I know that her parents are in France too because it’s her mom birthday, but she said her mom refuses to leave the house because she loves it too much, but she eventually went which is good because Rylee did say it was driving her crazy, but we get along good now, I just feel a little different about things. It’s like why couldn’t you be that when we was together, it’s hard when you love someone. Looking through the window, Aziel is not happy with me, the lady opened the door “sorry, are you the last one?” I asked “yes!” he just spat “sorry” I apologised “it’s ok, not to worry. We give parents until five and once that time does go then we start calling but Aziel wanted to leave now, didn’t you?” he just shrugged “he loves shrugging” he got that from me “I think that is my fault when I don’t give him an answer I shrug, come” waving him over.

We could go on a plane, but I opted to ferry it across, I mean it’s easier just to get a driver and go there “put your hood up” I said to him as we onto the deck “cold!” he spat “I know it’s cold, that’s why I said it. Let’s see for a little bit and then go in” he ran into me, picking him up “wait up” Wyge said behind me “come” I said, “oh now you’re kissing my cheek, you was busy saying I am not nice” he cheesed at me “France is a family occasion” Wyge laughed “oh god yeah, I know. When Ybeez said there is events there at the same time I was like huh, but then it flows because he can be given to his mom and she is coming back” Aziel pointed “water!” he spat “yeah baby, all that water but I feel it” I admitted “missing her?” nodding my head “I miss her like crazy bro and I can’t lie, When she said those words to me, I felt like yeah thank you and I believe you but why couldn’t you be that person I wanted, she is the person I want but like I don’t want to push for it. She is really in her zone; she is doing so well so I don’t want to pry into that. When I see these girls, like I went on that date with that girl. I tried, she was just giving let me suck your dick and we good, like she wanted sex the first night. I am like we being classy? Like you was good and now you moving mad. Then find out she is connected to Kenza, bro, women and me are done” he snorted laughing “she brazy though, like when you showed me her. She was fire, but that fake type fire. She wasn’t natural and I know you like natural, and I know you feel that with Rylee, so you did it and you didn’t like it. I would have fucked her though” shaking my head “it’s hard because after the Kenza thing, she scarred me, women lie and I was put through shit because of this. Going to appointments for a child that isn’t mine, it’s fucking mind blowing she let that happen and she text me saying sorry, all the time she does but no, I forgive her, but I don’t want to know” I feel she has scarred me from women “but I will try, see how things go and happen, your heart wants what your heart wants” I shrugged.

Sitting in the reception area waiting on Ybeez to check us in, that journey is tiring I can’t lie but I rather just drive here, maybe it’s just me. I am tired, I am tired of thinking. I am always thinking, I have to do that shit. I feel at times I have the side effects from all the medications from Cancer, I still get that hit of tiredness. I hate thinking about it but it happened and it happened to me “imagine you have a stalker” looking behind me “mommy” Aziel jumped up, I pulled a face “what are you doing here?” I asked “my hotel, that is what” I laughed “oh is it, oh man. Well you can have Aziel back now, hey” waving at Halle “assistant Halle” she pulled a face at me “watch your mouth now” I chuckled “it’s a career break bitch!” she is funny “oh if I knew Rylee was here I would have saved getting a room for you” Ybeez is so cringe “bro” I said “I am serious, I am in this hotel too. You did this on purpose” I scoffed “you wish, I ain’t do anything on purpose” shaking my head “touchy now” getting up from the seat “you want me to have him still?” I asked “yeah, tomorrow I will have him back. I have a meal with some important people, so I need to just prepare for that” nodding my head, tilting my head to the side and utter silence just hit between us “yeah” I just looked away “I uhm” Rylee put her head down “Aziel, you’re with me tonight, we will go and see some French people and harass them tonight” Halle giggled “can I join?” I sniggered “you have your private meal” I said grabbing my backpack “she does, I don’t! nigga I am not Rylee, fucking call me bitch” she walked off “she bad!” Wyge laughed, Halle does not give a fuck about anything.

“Bonjour! Oui Oui” I pointed at Halle phone as I walked by “you ruined my video, why does this man do this!” She complained, turning to the Eiffel Tower “wasn’t this built because the guy loved his girl?” I pointed “huh!?” Halle said, pointing at it “this was built for his love” looking at Halle “oh the rocks in your brain right now, you mean the Taj Mahal, nah!!! You peak” I groaned out and I can’t help but laugh “oh man, don’t post that” Halle is howling laughing “nah, nah. Listen, don’t piss me off I was joking” Wyge is laughing at me too “I was confused, I had weed. I had a joint, please don’t post that” Halle is crying with laughter “I feel dumb now, shit” I am so mad at myself for even speaking like a dumbass “please don’t post that” she is crying laughing “Aziel your dad is fucking dumb!!! Oh my god! Bro, please why would a guy build this for his love?” I am getting clowned now “I didn’t know the name, I just assumed” she wiped her tears “my god, my make up is a mess. But bro, please. Use your brain, a fucking tower. If my guy did that I would leave him” side eyeing her “it’s the fact you meant this, you was dead serious, this is what is getting me but I’m calm now” I hate being laughed at “Wyge, shut up” I said to him, he turned away from me “Oakley, you going to build one for your love?” Of course she got her phone out “yeah in the middle of Shepherd’s Bush, big tower” she sniggered “you are so dumb, I love it” side eyeing her, I really put myself out there “so that thing in India yeah? I don’t know geography I failed that shit” Halle cackled “I really need you to shut up, I’m going to be doing a compilation of clips, from your dumbness” I smiled shaking my head “why would you say that out loud, embarrassing” I don’t know who asked Wyge to speak “bro fuck off” Halle is still crying “stay away from my nephew, this guy is dumb” shaking my head “how about you both leave me alone, I get it” Halle cooed out “I’m sorry pooks” walking off “jarring!” I spat, I should be quiet because now they keep laughing at me and I deserve it but still, they can stop now.

Reaching my hand over and wiping Aziel face “Oakley, brother” looking at Halle and then her phone “nah you been taking piss out of me, she’s a pagan” I pointed “don’t play me” shaking my head “you live?” I think she is “I am, be nice” looking at the screen of her live “I don’t think I should be on here, making your views go up, you know they on here for me” Halle side eyed me “oh please, anyways. Give me an interview?” She is a trip “nope, you can come off that too, appreciate the love but Halle is off this” I reached off and taking it off “you rude as shit, but I was joking. I wanted to ask, how you feeling after everything? You know with Rylee” letting out an oh “erm, I guess it’s just what it is. I can’t change it, but like it did kind of throw me off, not like I liked how she was. But I didn’t think she would cut me off like that, cutting me off to progress and make herself a better person for the next man, it was shit” I shook my head laughing “oh you really not happy, I get where you’re coming from. But that doesn’t stop you from both getting to know each other again? She was just giving that space, don’t feel that way. Honestly, like I said to her I don’t think it’s over but do it. I think it’s her way of freeing herself too, but I get how you feel too” I kissed my teeth “just shit, like I’m not mad with her. We move and I appreciate she apologised and we good but in my heart, if that was me. I would say look I want you, and I do want you, but you give me time and I’ll be back. And all she did was say go and do you and I am going to make myself the better me for next man” Halle’ mouth fell open “you men flip it, it’s never that. So you what, you wanted her back?” She spat “well I assumed that eventually we would be together, I love girl. It’s not no fake shit, I ain’t letting her go like that. You rebuild yourself for next man? Come on Halle, it’s bullshit” Halle chuckled “oh you men, but that’s not the problem. Like be friends again, nobody is stopping it but let it be better, you know what I mean” nodding my head, I sound so pissed but I was, well I think I am still.

Watching Aziel as he is stood just staring and watching people “are you mad with me? Like with everything” placing my drink down “not mad just you asked, and I answered, I’m not bitter and I’m so happy for her but I think maybe she could have said yeah it’s open but I’m not going to go and chase, she is closed off so allow it” Halle groaned out “what you mean allow it? Nigga please I beg, you need to stop this foolishness. I don’t think Rylee will ever be closed off, it’s you, if you asked her out on a date she would be there. She has done so much shit to you and she feels so bad, she was nasty. Realistically she has been. I think you need to not think of it as that and think you know what we can change” I shook my head “there isn’t a we, maybe I am selfish or delusional. I said you have to be delusional to be in love and I am, just leave it. And please keep it to yourself” Halle scoffed “Oakley, I think you’re taking it the wrong way” I rolled my eyes “you never saw that video, I have that shit engraved in my mind. Seeing Rylee call for me, she wanted me. She said my name, so her letting me go wasn’t in a vocab, you right I am upset but that is because I seen that and I seen how she feels and really when she flipped the script I was stumped, you just don’t get it. Because you didn’t see that” I snapped again, I need to shut up “you still have the videos?” she asked “nah, I deleted it because it’s wrong, but it’s engraved in my mind. Allow it though, please. Let’s move on” Halle and I just beefing in the middle of this eatery “we cool though yeah?” nodding my head “always Halle, just a disagreement” I smiled at her.

Aziel is knocked out asleep in my bed, as soon as he got ready for bed and his head hit the pillow he fell asleep, I am tired too actually. Picking up his top from the floor, he is a mess. My ears perked up as there is a knock on the door, making my way to the door. Looking through the peephole and I pulled a face, what is Rylee even doing here and how did she know I was here. I am thinking a lot of things, but I just need to open the door, opening the door slowly “how you know my room?” I asked “no hi or anything” she laughed “oh I was just asking” stood against the door so it won’t close “Halle told me, it’s just a quick one. I want to speak to you because it’s on my mind. So I had my meeting and it’s to do with my future, like Fendi just wanted me to be strictly theirs but it’s becoming where I can model for others, I was speaking to Dior and I am walking for them then they told the latter of the news, they are trying to aim for like the urban audience or whatever. I am walking alongside, nothing big but it’s with Digga and I wanted to tell you because I know you had trouble with him or whatever” turning my head sniggering “it would be him out of everyone, I mean what do you want me to say. You’re not involved so it’s not like it’s anything to do with you. We ain’t together but are you ok to be there?” she nodded her head “I just wanted to let you know but I wish it wasn’t him” I huffed out “yeah, thanks” least she told me “I am tired so I better go in” Rylee nodded her head “I will have Aziel tomorrow then” she said “yeah” turning around, I can’t stand that guy and now he is walking with her “goodnight” I didn’t look back, I just let the door close. I am pissed off, but I couldn’t show her that, it’s just shit for me because that guy is my opp.

[barachodabloom-blog]

By Your Hands and the Art of Subversion

Hello everyone! It's been commonplace for people to talk about "subversive narratives" and how their favorite shows subvert tropes often considered dated and tired. But what does that mean? Why are people obsessed with "subversive media"? The TV Tropes definition of a "subversion" is when the story sets up a well-known trope the audience would expect in that work's genre and then goes in a different direction, going against the audience's assumptions of what would happen. At least that's the intention. Subversion has been used in many different ways from Doki Doki Literature Club pretending to be a romance novel before revealing itself to being a horror VN to the tutorial in Undertale turning out to try to kill you. And it's been used as a storytelling tool since Shakespeare. Used effectively, subversion can be used to make a good story more enthralling and exciting. But subversion can also fall apart. It depends a lot on the context surrounding the time the work was released in, so if you don't know the context, it becomes meaningless. For example, it was shocking to see Samus Aran from the original Metroid turn out to be a sexy woman if you beat the game fast enough since female protagonists were a rare sight in 80s video games. But if the game was released today, the reaction wouldn't be nearly as strong because it wouldn't be unusual for a modern audience.

So where does By Your Hands come in? I touched on this in my "The Making of By Your Hands" but BYH was created as a response to other FVNs. It takes the audience's expectations of certain FVNs and their tropes and subverts them to (hopefully) create something unique. This game was created with the intention that the audience is well-versed with FVNs beforehand. Now unfortunately I can't tell you the full extent of how the game uses subversion because that would spoil things that aren't in the game. I'll just talk about the non-spoiler stuff. By Your Hands is specifically a subversion of the contemporary college-setting furry dating sim that's seen in VNs like Extracurricular Activities and After Class. It also takes some cues from Psychological Horror FVNs that could be read as a response to those tropes, although in a very subtle manner that won't be apparent until we reach the end of the game. It was envisioned so that the intended audience of the game (avid FVN readers) would be caught off guard by how the plot and characters played with the tropes that were made standard in other FVNs of its genre.

To go in-depth, you'd expect Tucker to be this dumb, himbo-y character who likes sports a lot based on other tiger characters from these types of FVNs. I mean the two tiger FVN characters I think of first are Torahiko from Morenatsu and Lin Hu from Nekojishi, both of them are these nice, muscular, kinda ditzy, childhood sweethearts to the MC. Then he starts to speak. And it becomes obvious that he's not your typical FVN tiger character. The protagonist doesn't have preferences or hobbies because he's always been in a controlled environment before he goes to college. The childhood friend confesses that he's in love with you as soon as he can and gets rejected if you aren't on his route. The athletic best friend is more submissive and doesn't go head-first into every situation. The hot teacher constantly reminds you of the boundaries that a teacher and student should maintain and he's also a History teacher instead of an English teacher. The dark, brooding love interest isn't a muscular, macho dude in a tank top but a goth twunk who loves drag. And the characters who are a tiger, wolf, and lion respectively do not have their own routes. In fact, the tiger dies at the game's inciting incident. And so on and so forth. The game uses subversion of common FVN tropes in order to make a setting that's wholly unique.

Now initially I was hesitant about making this game a "subversion" of these slice-of-life dating sims. The first is that I didn't want to create a "slice of life game for people who don't like slice of life" and have people think that I hate slice of life. Indeed, By Your Hands is mostly a Mystery but it's also slice of life as well. I didn't want to gain an audience who'd diss slice of life and not consider it a worthwhile genre. It's one reason why there's a group of people who really hate DDLC, because it uses the dating sim aspect as a framing device for the actual plot rather than as a way to do interesting things with the genre and that's not at all what I wanted to do. A more ideal work that subverts genre expectations would be Invincible. It subverts superhero tropes and archetypes but it never outright disrespects the genre and it manages to take the genre to places it wouldn't have if it stuck with all the genre conventions. So even though BYH does subvert and commentate on tropes common to furry slice of life dating sims, it doesn't say that they're stupid and you're an idiot for liking them. I love slice of life and I wouldn't mind seeing more of them. It just showcases what a slice-of-life FVN would be like if that story beats and characters went a little differently.

I also didn't want to call it a subversion because when people see a work call themselves a "subversive story", they think they don't know what they're talking about and that they're only using those words because it makes the work sound really cool. Marketing-wise, having your hook be "A subversion of the slice of life FVN" sounds really stupid, so I'm not doing that. However, I think calling BYH a "subversion" in devlogs, discord servers, and basically anything that's not trying to market the game would be fine. My audience knows I believe that's what BYH is and if they disagree, it's no big deal. And I didn't want to show a lack of understanding of the genre by subverting a trope…that's not common in any FVN, slice of life or not.

But why a subversion of this specific genre? What prompted this idea? Well, when you have a community of people who are making and reading a particular thing, tropes and archetypes start to form. Soon people in the community will get attached to using those same tropes and archetypes and that's when things start to stagnate. When this happens, you can do two things. You can create something completely new with the genre, but then you risk of alienating the existing audience, going back to the "slice of life for those who don't like slice of life" concept I mentioned and most people aren't awesome enough to achieve that. The other thing you can do is make a response to those tropes and the works that helped cement them in the form of a story. You can use those same cliches but spin them around to explore something new. That's how we got works like Watchmen, Neon Genesis Evangelion, South Park, and Nier: Automata (as well as the rest of the Drakenguard series). I'm not saying that By Your Hands is as good as those works in general but what I'm saying is that I feel we need FVNs that are responses to the conventions of the genre they're in. We're seeing responses to Echo with VNs like Burrows going out of their way to give the player more agency in what they're doing, unlike the VN that came before it. With By Your Hands, the goal here is to show the flaws of a typical slice-of-life furry dating sim and see how the genre can do better in regard to character arcs and the setting. I'd like for the general FVN community to make better and more refreshing VNs. It would kinda suck if this scene stagnated to death. You can still enjoy your standard fare of FVNs but it's overall better if individual genres were able to expand their horizons. That's why By Your Hands and other VNs use subversion in their narrative, so they can push the limits of the genre and see its full potential.

I hope you enjoyed reading this. Have a good day and see you later!

[kalyri]

I have had so much Hogwarts Legacy shit shoved in my face over the last week I am so fucking tired of it. Because I’m reminded over and over again that I used to love the books. I loved the books, the world, the characters, the parks, the merchandise. And ever since Joanne decided to go off on her transphobe tangent publicly and without shame, I’ve been faced with how much I actually didn’t like it growing up.

I’ve gone back through the memories of how I started Harry Potter as a literal child—I was 9 when I got my first HP book, which was funnily enough the third book in the series. And it took me years to even try to read them. And the first one? I never read myself, my mom would spend 20-30 minutes every night before I went to bed reading a chapter to me. That’s how I read the first book. And I remember it was nice, but the book wasn’t good until after the halfway point. I was bored until halfway through when the mystery of the stone started to pick up. I remember it being work to start each book and get to the good parts. I remember only wanting to do it to begin with because all of my friends at school were reading these books. And I didn’t understand how it had gone under the radar for me—someone who was reading constantly.

And then I was getting them release day from my Grandad. I remember getting a wrapped present from him that sat on a shelf the day before anyone else I knew had it. It was the Goblet of Fire. And it sat there until my birthday, July 31st. And so it became an obligation to get through each book. Although I do remember enjoying them at this point—I liked Prisoner of Askaban because of the time shenanigans and the possibility of Harry getting to live with Sirius, away from his abusive aunt and uncle, didn’t really like GoF until the end of the TriWizard tournament, liked the OotP for literally a second because of the Order, didn’t mind HBP, but the hermione/Ron thing was thrown out of left field at me and didn’t like that, and never read the final book. And that’s just plot stuff that stuck with me.

It was a book series I connected with some friends on, and was teased by teachers and students alike for reading when I moved to the east coast. These books were a big ticket item for AR for my English classes, which was a brand new thing for me when I switched coasts. Forced to read for points? Wtf? Yeah. So I was teased for reading them because they were easily 50-150 points depending on the book. I remember finishing the 5th book in class, and the teacher stopped class! And made me take the AR test on her computer! And I remember being afraid to not get a 100% that I actually went back and checked my answers. I *never* went back and checked answers on any tests, AR or otherwise, growing up. I hated AR so much. Got a 100% on that one, btw.

I was so excited for the movies, I remember that. Because seeing what I’d envisioned in my head in a shorter media? Hell yes! I always loved the idea of seeing magic and fantasy worlds in front of my eyes instead of in my head. And now it was happening. I loved the movies—I didn’t care how much they got wrong, because they were interesting from the second they started playing. Whereas I had to slog through so much intro before I started enjoying the books—which wasn’t a thing I had an issue with, with other books I read, like Narnia or this one dragon book that I fucking loved that my teacher let me keep from her classroom library. I thought this was normal, because the Hobbit was also like this for me (but the Hobbit was a slog for a different reason).

Anyway move on to the explosion of popularity—video games, merch, parks, etc. And I liked it all. I remember playing one of the game boy advanced games until like 4am once, wasn’t my game so I had to finish it while my friend was spending the night. I remember when my parents took me and my brother to Universal and I got to indulge in my shared interest in HP with my brother. I got my Slytherin bag, pin, I got a couple wands. All that good stuff. Something I got to do with my family, my brother specifically.

But the bag started falling apart before we left the park, the pins weren’t painted correctly, and the wands were made out of shitty plastic. Like I get it, make it as cheap as possible and sell it for more… but you could buy handmade shit like this for around the same amount and it would be well made. I still had all of it somewhere in the black hole that is my closet. Idk what I’m going to do it, I joked with my sister about throwing it away, she suggested a bonfire. So *shrug*.

This is the one franchise that I wish I’d grown out of. You hear people be like “you still play video games? Grow up!” I wish this was like that, that I’d grown up and away from HP. Because every new thing I learn about this world pisses me off.

I hate that Joanne ruined it and forced me to think about it all again, in a different light. I was content to never have to look back on my feelings about HP ever again, because I gave the books to my mom. They were from her Dad, who is no longer alive, a connection to him. I can’t even stand to look at them anymore.

Every new piece of information about the world building (or lack thereof), every new snippet about the characters and their bad design and poor name choice, every new thing Joanne likes to toss in at a whim—it just makes me glad that I never finished the damn books. I hate her, I hate her so much. She’s tainted the memories, the connections, the worlds I’ve envisioned in my head as I read these books. Because she just *had* to be a racist transphobe. Fuck her.

I was never interested in the new game, and now I never will be. I have no urge to play it—I caught like 10 minutes of a YouTube video and noticed the animations are bad, what little story telling i saw was flat as fuck, and the spell casting mechanics aren’t anything new. I flinched when the goblins came onscreen, because I never saw them as bad before. I just thought they were a race that liked bureaucracy and running a bank—I thought they liked numbers and counting things, as a child. But now I know what they are, what they represent, and I fucking hate it.

I was talking to my sister about how much I just didn’t want to hear about this game anymore, and through the conversation, my brother in law came through the microphone saying “if you just strip away the politics and play it, it plays really well. It’s a good game” and I flat out told him it’s a piece of hot garbage. And then I listed off the reasons to my sister. You can’t strip away the politics of a game that was made about politics. You can’t. And I can’t enjoy a world perverted by a racist transphobe. And I felt bad for bringing it up, but I didn’t want to hear my sister gush about the game because I knew one of them was playing it—turns out I’d forgotten she doesn’t like HP and never has. But I wanted to lay out that boundary, the same one I’m going to have to lay out with my brother when we’re in the same house again, because he’ll want to talk about it, or play it with me, and I’ll have to tell him no again.

God I’m just so angry about this. For so many different reasons. But mostly I’m just tired. I wish HP was a thing I’d just left to my classmates and stayed with writing my wolf girl stories and reading my dragon books.

[yuuana]

Music Monday #234: ATEEZ - MATZ release: December 2023 genre: Kpop, K-hiphop cw: jump scare: kidnapping, flashing lights, violence

Oh no, not Jagu being a completely predictable simp for her best boys. Yup, all month long, one per week, ATEEZ is releasing music videos for the unit songs produced for WILL, so guess what I'll be doing for the next four weeks, too. XD ATEEZ spoils ATINY so much, how can I not want to shower them in love right back?

Because Seonghwa has such an angelic singing voice, for the first few years it was one of those "secrets" that would catch new ATINY by surprise that he initially auditioned to be a rapper. It was a talent of his we didn't see until late in Mingi's hiatus, but like a cat in a bag, once it was out, there was no putting the genie back in the bottle, apparently, as we've steadily gotten more and more appearances of rapper!Seonghwa. And I for one am not going to complain about that.

So given that this is a two rapper subunit, shouldn't really be a surprise that MATZ is more rapped lines than sung. There are sung interludes but the bulk of the lines are delivered in varied rap rates - Hongjoong's delivery leans towards speed while Seonghwa's delivery is purposefully slower to contrast. Given the lyrics, even before the MV's release, there was theorizing that this song was less about lore and more about calling out saesangs for their shameless behavior (putting trackers on idol's vehicles, selling supposed idol phone numbers), especially since this was the one track on WILL that did not pass broadcast muster (presumed for the line about the "carnival," a reference for a make of KIA vehicle). On the other hand, the chorus is definitely a reference to the way these two do have an almost magical chemistry; there's good reason fandom calls them pirate king and pirate queen. ;)

Despite the energy of the track, the video has a muted blue tint over most of the scenes, a coldness that makes this feel very Halateez. There's a story going on between the performance scenes, but even most of the story scenes are cross-pollinated with the performance. There's not much dance by the two members for this one and yet Hongjoong in particular is constantly in motion while delivering his lines. It makes it hard to sit still while watching him, to be honest, so be careful to do some warm ups before getting into any head banging. ;)

As for lore implications.... Hokay, so according to comments in their behind the scenes for WILL, the second half of the album is supposed to signal the unspooling narrative's return from the Z universe (aka Halateez) to the A universe (aka Heroteez), which would put this in A. On the other hand, from comments in the MV behind the scenes video, it feels like MATZ is actually still Z cluster. Or maybe in a 'verse that's halfway between the two clusters? The faceless background actors feel more in keeping with the "the disease is human emotion" that we've seen as the throughline of Z cluster, but the mere existence of a music shop kinda flies in the face of that, sooo ... as per usual, more questions than answers. And if we are returning to Heroteez for the next segment of lore, who knows when we'll get answers.

As noted previously, THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL is out now for streaming wherever you prefer to do your Kpop listening and for physical purchase at a large array of shops, including domestic US stores that report to Billboard - WILL debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, in fact. I even picked up a copy (Diary version) via Wal-Mart...and got a very lovely San PC for my trouble, so count me a happy ATINY.

Want to see Music Monday deep dives more often? Sponsor a song selection! For the low, low price of one (1) KoFi, I'll write up the song of your choice. ANY song of your choice. Yes, even that one that's been played to death. Yes, your obscure faves too. With sponsors, I can stop skipping weeks and falling further and further behind in the releases! Sponsor a current CB for the next open Music Monday slot or sponsor a throwback for a Thursday feature! But seriously, if you've been enjoying my selections and analyses, we (me and the foster kittens) would love a KoFi in thanks. DW | Twitter | Mastodon | Bluesky | Ko-fi | Patreon | Discord | Twitch

[sugarylawliet]

In Death Note, you know the part where the L placed spy cams everywhere within Yagami’s house?

What if Light and his girlfriend start doing the deeds to look like normal hormones teens?

YES OMG i’ve actually thought of this before so i’m so glad someone requested it LMFAO

> warnings: swearing, smut, degradation, sir kink, kind of exhibition??

  Light tossed his backpack onto his bed, loosening his red tie before collapsing onto the bed himself, letting his exhaustion express itself in the most natural way he thought possible. It’s hard to act natural when you’re being watched; you almost forget every aspect of your daily routine, putting excessive thought into typically mindless tasks like walking around your house or laying on your bed to the point of obviousness. 

“Light, wanna play video games?” Ryuk asked, standing before the boy.

Light fell back onto his bed, placing his hands behind his shoulders with a deep sigh. Closing his eyes, he prepared for the performance he’d have to put on. How could he ignore Ryuk without giving off reactions to the shinigami’s words, tilts of the head or instinctive hums of agreement that could incriminate himself in a matter of seconds.

“You listening? Hello?” 

Light only ignored him, grabbing a long beige coat from the closet before heading outside, Ryuk following close behind.

“Hey, Light, what’s with the brushing off? I’m starting to get annoyed.”

He popped his collar and rolled up his sleeves, checking meticulously for any bits of wire or chips of plastic that could be audio bugging him. 

“Light! Hey!” Ryuk wined.

“There might be secret hidden cameras around the house,” The brunette broke the silence, his voice in a slightly raspy lowered tone, almost a whisper, “Or microphones, probably both.” He explained, going on to detail his clever methods of finding out if someone had been in his room- or if someone had opened his door, at least.

“Let’s go on a camera hunt! You got a plan after that?” Ryuk asks.

“Simple, make it seem like I have no idea the cameras are even there, and that I’m just a normal teenager. I’ll probably need some excuse for why I have that paper and lead in my door, they’ll want to know why I don’t want anyone in my room, what I’m hiding, and if the footage reveals I’m hiding absolutely nothing, that’ll look even more suspicious. Every teenager has secrets.”

“So what’ll you do?”

“You’ll see.”

                               _______________________________

“This feels objectifying, Yagami.” 

You walk down the street leading to your boyfriend’s house, accompanied by the man himself as he explains his, quite frankly, pervy plan.

“Objectifying? We have sex all the time, Y/N.”

“Yeah, but nobody plans out when they’re gonna fuck. It’s just weird.”

“Hey,” Light stops walking, facing towards you as he gently lifts your chin with his thumb and index finger. The feeling made you melt, and he knew that very well. The way Light held your face and looked at you like you were the only thing on earth felt exhilarating, he could tell you anything in that position and you’d believe it. And that’s just what he does, constantly. “This is not an option, this isn’t personal business. This is about Kira. This is going to throw suspicion off me, okay? Do it. For me.”

You sighed deeply. He had you the moment he held your chin like that. “And there won’t be any explicit footage of us? There won’t be a camera like, right there?”

“I don’t know where all the cameras are, but there aren’t many like that in my room at all, we’ll be safe.” He lied, a practice that came so easily to him he no longer viewed it as morally wrong. It was just something he did, like going to school and eating dinner or doing homework, he also lied.

“Okay.” You agreed with a smile, prompting him to release his grasp on you and continue the walk home.

“I didn’t realize he went through such great lengths...might there be something in his room that he doesn’t want anyone to see?” Soichiro Yagami remarked, watching Light fiddle with the thin strip of paper in the doorway and the piece of lead in the hinges as you stood patiently behind him.

“Well, considering he’s 17, it isn’t all that unusual. I’ve done it myself, for no reason at all.” L responds, “I am a bit curious, though, as to what he’s hiding so admently.”

You enter Light’s bedroom with him, shutting the door behind you as you watch him toss his bag down besides his bed. 

“Y/N, are you scared of me?” He turns to face you.

“Hm? Why would I be.”

“L, the best detective in the world, thinks I’m Kira when I’m not.”

Oh, Light.

“He makes me out to be some kind of monster,” He continues, “I’m worried you’ll start to believe him.”

“I’m not scared.”

“Maybe you should be.”

“Huh?”

Before you could register his comment, Light lunges for you, tossing you onto his bed before tickling your stomach and sides.

‘L-Light! St-stop! Please!” You cried between giggles.

“Make me.”

Understanding, you connect your lips to his, causing his hands to rub up and down where he previously tickled you. You moaned into the kiss as Light pushed harder into it, his desperation showing. You wished he would take his time, but you knew the real reason you were here. His hands slid down to your lower half, pushing his hand inside your pants and rubbing your clit through your panties. You gasped, hand reaching up to grab his wrist reflexively. He let out a chuckle. 

Impatiently, he stood up straight, unbuttoning your pants before slipping them completely off along with your panties, leaving you in only your t-shirt on his bed.

“I figured,” L sighed, “You can close your eyes if you’d like, Yagami-san, but I’m afraid I need you here for legal purposes.”

Light crouched down onto the floor, lifting your legs to lay bent on his shoulders. Teasingly, he licked a line down your slit, earning a gasp from you. He straightened himself out again, moving towards your face. “L is watching,” He whispered, his hot breath on your ear, “Put on a show.” He smirked.

Watching? Had Light lied?

Light lowered himself back down to push his tongue inside you. His tongue wriggled around, exploring your walls with lust.

“Oh, Light” You moaned, slapping your hand over your mouth to muffle the sound. You knew L, you knew the whole task force for that matter. Your face flushed with embarrassment imagining any of them reviewing this footage and hearing your moans. Hell, Light’s dad worked with L, he could be watching for all you knew.

You jolted at the sudden sting of Light smacking your thigh with an open palm. “Don’t hold back, angel, and don’t cover your mouth. I want to hear all your pretty moans.” He said, removing himself from your core before pressing his lips almost to your ear again, lowering his voice to a whisper, “I want L to see how good I make you feel. Got it?”

You faintly nodded before he returned to your heat, dipping his tongue inside once again while his thumb felt your clit, rubbing it in circles. You knot your fingers through his brown hair, bringing his face closer to your pussy with a moan. He sped up his actions, practically abusing your clit while his tongue hit your g-spot, curling sightly upwords inside of you.

“Fuck, Light, I can’t, I’m gonna...”

With that, Light pulled away, leaving you edged and wanting more. You pouted, sticking your lip out with a whine. Light, having none of it, roughly raked his hand through your hair, forcing you up close to his face by your scalp. “You listen to me.” He growled, the heat of his breath warming your face, “No whining, and no disobeying. Got that?” He yanked your hair with the last syllable for emphasis. You let out a weak “Mhm.” 

He shoved you to the bed chest-first by your hair, never letting his fingers leave your locks. 

“Ass up.” He commanded, you obliged slowly, legs feeling a bit sore from him eating you out.

Hastily he unbuckled his belt before folding it in half, smacking your ass with it leaving a slight red mark. “When I tell you to do something, you do it quickly.”

“Yes Light.”

You yelped as he smacked you again with the belt in the same place, the stinging leaving your ass feel like it was burning. 

“Yes who?” He asked.

“Yes sir.”

“Atta girl.” He pushed his khakis fully down before aligning himself with your entrance, rubbing his head up and down your slit teasingly.

“Sir please...” You begged.

“Please what? Say it.”

“Please, please fuck me sir. I want your cock, please.” 

“Well, only since you asked so nicely.” Light slid himself into you with a groan. Slowly, he rocked himself into you. 

“F-faster, please sir. Faster.” You moaned, gripping onto the sheets.

Light obliged right away, almost as if he was waiting for you to ask for it. He quicked his speed, pounding into you mercilessly. He licked his lips, relishing in the loud slew of moans and curses spilling from your mouth as he fucked you.

“Look at you, you fucking slut. Begging for me to go faster. You’re so goddamn desperate for my cock, you dirty whore.”

You couldn’t help but moan at his words, though degrading, the fact that Light liked you at all made you feel worth something. Light Yagami, Kira, the god of the new world, liked you. Though you’d never admit it to the stubborn boy, he could say almost anything to you, about you, and you’d still love him.

“Fuck, Y/N, you’re so tight.” He knotted his fingers back into your hair for stability as he thrusted into you even faster, burying himself deep into you.

“Oh my god, fuck, Light- sir, it’s so good.” You cried, feeling your orgasm creeping up once again. “I’m gonna...”

“Do it, come for me angel.” He encouraged, bringing his free hand up to play with your clit. The stimulation sent you over the edge. “Oh fuck, oh my god, fuck you feel so good.” You came loudly, only a little before Light did as well.

L watched Light collapsed beside you on the bed, only the sound of your breathless pants escaping the monitor. “Uh, they’re done, Yagami-san. You can...open your eyes again. Honestly, this security footage may be useless now, at the very least we cannot bring it to court, considering your son and his girlfriend are both 17. Perhaps this was his plan along.”

“You’re saying this makes you more sure he’s Kira?!” Soichiro raised his voice.

“Well, it definitely raises my suspicions.”

Light finally stood up, tucking himself back into his jeans. Before you could pull your bottoms back up, he picked up your panties from the floor, playfully spinning them around his index finger. “You won’t be missing these, will you?” He asks sarcastically, tossing them into the drawer in his bedside table. 

“Ah, so that’s what he’s hiding. A valid excuse to not want family in your room but... unexpected, to say the least.” L remarked, still somehow watching the cameras.

[lilysdaydreams]

Praise Bingus (No fucking way)

→  I do not claim to know corpse- therefore please don't think that this is what he would actually act like, or that any details about his life are actually true. this is fiction.

→ Pairing: Corpse Husband X Fem!Reader

→ Genre: Angst and fluff. (FLUFF IS COMING I SWEAR)

→ Words: 3.9k

→ In a world where everyone is born with a mark on their wrist, two souls come together over the power of bingus.

→ (this isnt crack lol)

→ Warnings: Lots of swearing, um self-depreciation? rejection (kinda) and negative thoughts overall. Sorry im new to warnings.

→ Authors Note: this is the first time im doing like angst so please tell me if I did well? Um also, I’ve already started on the part 2 so keep your eyes out for that. If you wanna be tagged for part two please comment and lemme know. Also check out my other fics if you want!

→ Buy me a coffee

Part two  →    

~~~

Soulmates were a phenomenon. They'd been there for ages, drawn into the Egyptian tomb paintings, seen in the cave paintings from millions of years ago, talked about in stories passed down from generation to generation. They could be matching drawings, first words, names; all black before the soulmates met and turning gold the moment they talked to each other. There wasn't a scientist in the world who could explain the phenomenon.

You'd received your mark at birth just like everyone else, a sentence running around your wrist,

"No fucking way."

Your parents weren't that happy when you asked at the age of 4 what "fucking" meant but it wasn't that bad. You were happy that you had something unique, something other than the "Hi," or "Excuse me," that was on every other arm.

When you were 13, a little girl on the train pointed to your wrist and asked her mom what it meant. Ever since then, you'd taken to wearing bracelets over it. This had turned out to be a good idea because a few years later you started making Youtube videos. At the age of 16, you started a Youtube channel where you focused on a variety of things; makeup, fashion, games, art, skits and a whole lot more.

At the age of 20, you had a steady following of a little more than a million subscribers, and you had moved to LA to be closer to all your Youtube friends. You hadn't just grown on Youtube, you'd also started a lot of side projects. You were known for the art that you did on the side, along with the makeup palette you'd come out with a year ago. Soon you were planning to release a merch collection, one that you had been working on for a whole year now.

You hadn't met your soulmate at this point but honestly, you didn't really mind. Balancing Youtube and study (along with all your other side projects) was hard. There was no need to add the struggle of love into it... Or that's what you told yourself anyways.

There were days though, days where you wished you had someone to hug, someone to cuddle in bed with, someone to go on long walks with. You didn't let yourself wallow on it that long though. Crying about it was gonna do absolutely nothing.

It started on a rainy day. The story of you and him. You were editing your soon to be uploaded video, an e-girl outfits lookbook, which had been requested by your followers. Your personal style was all over the place and your previous soft girl and cottage care look books had done well, so you decided to continue the series.

You eyes blurred as you looked at the same point of the video, and you sighed, removing your glasses and rubbing your eyes. Your editor was sick and had let you know that they wouldn't be able to edit it by the deadline so here you were, editing it yourself. You stretched in your chair letting out a yawn. You were contemplating on whether to make coffee or not when your phone pinged.

"Nooooo" you whined when you noticed it was on the coffee table that was just a little out of your reach. Stretching your foot out, you tried to grab it between your toes and then sighed when the phone fell.

"I have zero luck, I swear" you muttered to yourself, bending to pick up the phone.

The text was from Rae, asking you to join a game of Among Us. You and Rae had been friends for a bit now, which all started when she came across your art and decided to order something from you. You had chatted and clicked immediately, immediately becoming fast friends. Ever since the lockdown started, she often asked you to join in on Among us games and your friendship had really grown over these past few months.

You sent a quick "sure!" and then went to your table, waiting for the PC to turn on. Quickly tweeting out that you were streaming, you opened up Youtube and turned on the stream, saying a quick hello and letting them know what you'd be doing.

"Rae just invited me guys, I don't really know who's there," you mumbled, replying to a comment asking you who you were playing with.

You squinted your eyes, joining the voice chat and then opening your phone camera to quickly check that you didn't look horrible. Sure you didn't really care about how you looked but it was always good to check that you didn't have anything stuck between your teeth before you turned on the camera.

There was already a conversation going on, between who you thought was Corpse and Sykkuno, judging by their voices.

"Yeah I could totally do that. Get a cat and name it Bingus. I wonder if th-"

You gasped when you heard what they were talking about and unmuted yourself immediately yelling "PRAISE LORD BINGUS" and effectively shocking everyone in the chat.

A moment of silence and then Rae yelled: "OH MY FUCKING GOD Y/N, YOU SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME."

You giggled as everyone groaned and whined, saying hi as they realised who it was. You had played with Sykkuno and the others a few times before but you'd never met Corpse before. You'd heard his voice though, as he was trending on twitter constantly over the past few weeks. Once they all quietened down, you realised Corpse hadn't said anything. Since you knew everyone else in the lobby, you introduced yourself, wondering if you'd scared him a bit too hard.

"Hey Corpse, I'm Y/N from Y/C/N, its so nice to finally meet you," you said gritting your teeth at you awkward introduction. For a second there was no response and then three words were said that made your jaw drop to the floor.

"No fucking way"

He had whispered it, obviously still in shock, and your eyes widened in surprise as a tingle spread all over your body. So this was what everyone meant by "you'll just know," when you asked them about how you would recognize your soulmate.

"Holy shit" you thought frozen in your seat.

Never had you been more glad that you hadn't turned the camera on yet.

"Uhhhh-" you started, but stopped now knowing what to say.

What the fuck were you supposed to do now.

"Wha- Whats wrong?" Rae asked after a moment passed.

Corpse cleared his throat and started "Its um, shes my -" and you cut him off, heart beating in your chest.

"Nothing. Its nothing." you said talking over him. "Who else are we waiting for Rae?" you asked joining the lobby quickly and choosing red as your colour.

"Uh one more person," she said slowly, still a bit confused.

"Oh awesome!" you said fake enthusiasm prevalent in your voice. "So Sykkuno," you started, wanting to keep the conversation going. "How's Bimbus doing?"

Sykkuno launched into a story of Bimbus and you blew out a sigh of relief, mind still numb over the revelation.

Corpse was your soulmate.

The guy who had literally went viral the past few weeks was your soulmate.

You'd finally found him.

You heard Rae cut Sykkuno off, telling everyone she was starting the game and muttered a "Thank god" when the words "CREWMATE" appeared on your screen. You would not have been able to play imposter at the moment, your mind pretty much stuck on the fact that Corpse was your fucking soulmate.

Heading down to admin, you realised you hadn't said anything yet to the stream so you quickly turned on your cam, saying a quick sorry to the viewers.

"Sorry guys, I forgot to put the camera on," you smiled focusing on card swipe.

"I hope everyone's been okay, I know this was quite sudden, but Rae invited me and I was like why not you know," you said rambling as you moved to comms and did the task there.

Lights were called and you moved to electrical, arriving there just as Leslie fixed them. You moved into the back of electrical doing the three tasks you had there when Sykkuno suddenly came in and went straight to standing on top of the vent.

You giggled already knowing his trick.

"Okay guys," you mumbled watching Sykkuno wiggle on the vent. "do we trust Sykkuno or not?"

"You know what," you said making a split second decision. "Its the first game, we might as well."

Joining him on the vent, you stilled for a second and then breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't automatically kill you.

"See, what did I tell you guys huh?" you question smiling straight at the camera. "I knew Sykkuno could be trusted."

You decided to follow Sykkuno going into reactor with him and starting 'Simon says' and just as you were on the last part, a body was found making you let a whine out.

"Guysss," you whined to the camera as Rae started talking about how she had found Daves body in admin.

"Um, I havent been in admin since the start of the game," you said, "also I can clear Sykkuno, for the last part of the round, he's been with me since lights went out."

Sykkuno confirmed it, "Yup that's right, also I can hard clear Y/N cuz guess what? She stood on the vent with me and none of us died."

Everyone chuckled as he said "Thats good enough for me."

"Uh, I was in navigation mostly." said Lily.

"Poki, can I just ask what you were doing?" said Sean, an undercurrent of mirth present.

"Me?" asked Poki speaking for the first time. "What was I doing?"

"You weren't doing any tasks, you were literally just walking from one side of medbay to the other when I peeked in."

Poki started laughing, trying to get her words out at the same time.

"Okay so-" a giggle. "okay okay- I was just, I was trying to um do the beep test," she said finally breaking down and making everyone else laugh as well.

"What the fuck?" you said, laughing at the image in your mind.

"My chat told me to do it last game so I decided to do it now, I was literally just playing around," she said finally, adding "I swear I'm not imposter" at the end.

"Hmmm," you hummed, bringing a hand up to stroke your chin. "Are you sure it was last game Poki... hm...."

Giggling at Poki indignant "YES it was last game", you quickly skipped voting like everyone else as the timer went into the last ten seconds.

Humming a tune under your breath, you went back to reactor, taking a minute to carefully do Simon says and then moved to the other task counting out one two three as you pressed on the numbers. Humming, you moved out of reactor, only to come face to face with Corpse. You paused for a second, and then moved ahead, refusing to show anything on camera. For some reason he followed you as you went to storage, looking at you while you did the trash.

"Why is he just staring?" you mumbled, biting your lip. God, you really didn't wanna think of him right now. You started walking to shields, him still walking with you when lights were called and not a second later a body was reported.

Suddenly there was screaming your ears as Toast and Rae both started accusing each other.

"Wait- Wait WAIT" yelled Poki trying to get them to stop. "What happened?"

"I'll explain" declared Rae, not letting toast get a word in. "We were in navigation okay, me, Toast and Leslie. Lights went out, and suddenly a report buttons there. It's either Toast or someone came in just as lights went out and killed but that doesn't seem likely because I didn't see anyone anywhere near us at all. Anyways I'm fucking telling the truth guys, its Toast, he's the one who did it."

"Toast, do you have anything to say for yourself?" asked Corpse, his voice making your insides shiver.

"Holy shit, this is my soulmate", you thought for the fiftieth time.

"Uh yeah," replied toast. "I didn't do it."

Everyone laughed as he continued.

"Like seriously, I wouldn't do anything like this because it'd be a stupid move from my own part, and I think Raes smart enough to not do this as well. I think someone else came in just as lights went down and killed immediately, which to be honest, was pretty smart of them."

"Okay so I can clear Corpse," you cut in noticing the timer was close. "he was with me in weapons when it happened, he wouldn't have had time to go all the way up, or even vent there because we were literally walking in."

"Yup that's right," confirmed corpse.

"I'm in cafeteria" said Poki.

"Yeah, I saw her on my way to weapons," said Sykkuno, "and I'm in weapons right now,"

"I'm in lower engine" said Sean, and Lily said she was in reactor.

"I think it's Toast," you mumbled and then rose your voice to talk over everyone. "Look okay fine, maybe he said it was a stupid move and he wouldn't do it but maybe he did it for that exact reason. He thought he could get away with it because no one would expect him to do something like that."

As the timer started going down by 10, you voted for Toast and it turned out 3 had skipped the vote while five had voted for him.

damn.

"Guys you actually voted for him?" you said in a high voice, re-enacting one of Sykkunos most said lines.

You heard a "oh for gods sake" from Rae before everyone went silent and you giggled as you moved back down to weapons to do your tasks.

You finished all your tasks and decided to go to security to check where everyone is. Humming as you moved through the electrical hallway, you narrowed your eyes as Corpse came out of electrical and went towards storage. Quickly ducking in you didn't see a body so you headed back out, going into cams and gasping as you saw the body. Reporting immediately you were shocked to see the four kills that had happened. Now only you, Corpse, Sean and Rae were left.

"Oh my god," you mumbled confused. Either there were still two imposters, and Toast wasn't the imposter or the imposter literally killed and did nothing else. Now either that could mean that its definitely Rae if Toast wasn't the imposter, or that it was Corpse as the only imposter left. That was a bit weird though becuase he could have totally killed you at the start of the game. You didn't suspect Sean at all.

"What the fuck?" mumbled Corpse, and Rae made her animal noises expressing her shock.

"Okay," you said taking charge and relaying the kill and your theory to everyone. "So either it was Toast and there's only one other imposter, who is Corpse. Or Toast wasn't an imposter and there's two of them left. I-" you took a deep breath in at the end, very confused. " I don't know anymore,"

"I think its Corpse as well,"

Corpse who hadn't said anything up till this moment suddenly started stammering out "hey-hey uh let-lets not gang up on me okay. It's not-"

"No, wait, its because Y/N said you came out of electrical right, and I saw you in upper engine literally a bit ago and you went down. I went towards cafeteria so I don't know exactly where you went but its totally possible that you killed."

You voted form him after that, convinced it was Corpse, and the other followed quickly.

"Guys what the fuck, at least give me a chance to explain my self" he whined when his body was thrown off the ship seconds later. You cheered when the "VICTORY" sign was displayed across the screen, bringing up your chat and laughing at Toast as he pretended to be angry at me.

"That was a great round, good work Y/N"

"Thankyou" you mumbled staring at your chat. You were confused when you saw the absolute influx of messages on there, and you were barely able to read them because they were going so fast. You scrolled up, and read through the few of the messages;

"You've made corpse sad."

"Corpse has literally been so quite since you came in, can you leave."

"Omg stop with the hate messages, its not her fault if corpse isn't talking to you"

"are you his ex or something? What was that reaction at the start?"

"what did you do? Corpse literally hasn't said a word since you came in."

"Um..."

Corpse POV

Corpses heart stopped for a minute, his breath catching. The words on his wrist glowed gold, and he stared at the little red character standing there.

This person was the reason that he had "PRAISE BINGUS" stretched across his wrist.

They were the only reason that he had searched "Bingus" on google for all of his life. The only reason Corpse knew about the meme before anyone else was because he was constantly monitoring the word online. Ever since March, he had been waiting with bated breath, anxious that he could meet his soulmate at any moment. and here you were.

For some reason, he had never expected that he would meet you in among us, or while he was on stream. He always thought it'd be someone outside. It was a bit stupid in hindsight as all he did nowadays was play among us.

He heard you introduce yourself to him but the only thing that came out of his mouth was “No fucking way”.

Immediately after he wanted to slap himself.

“Idiot” he thought to himself. “At least try to make a good impression.”

When Rae asked what was wrong, heat sprung to his cheeks as he started revealing that they were soulmates, but Y/N cut him off, saying that it was nothing.

Corpse’s heart sank a little then.

'Maybe she’s just a private person,' he reasoned with himself.

'I shouldn’t have tried to say it on stream either. God, I’m a fucking idiot, if I said it, literally everyone would know and not only would I have hated the attention, she probabaly would have as well.'

Convincing himself that she was right, he reassured himself that it wasn’t because of him. She wasn’t revealing it because she probably didn't want all the attention.

For some reason though, his heart sank even more when Y/N didnt talk to him, instead talking to sykkuno about his dog. Like sure he could understand not wanting to reveal they were soulmates but shouldn’t she at least wanna talk to him? At this point he wouldn’t even mind if she talked about his voice like everyone else.

He groaned when the word "Imposter" came across his screen, his and Toasts character standing together. He was not in the right mindset right now to be able to be a good imposter. Breathing in deeply he continued in the game, with the first round passing by quick. The second round, he saw Y/N and stood with her for a bit wondering if he should kill her. Her red character moved to weapons and he sighed moving the mouse over the kill button. Just as he was thinking of clicking a body was found. Corpse swore as Toast flew off the ship. Deciding he needed to speed it up he killed four people in the round, hissing when the meeting was called. The moment Y/N accused him, he knew it was over. He didn't even bother defending himself much, just hoping the game would end soon.

When they were in the lobby, he quickly told everyone that he was going to leave because his internet was acting up. Turning off the stream after saying a quick thank you to everyone, he leaned back in his seat breathing through his nose.

What the fuck was his life.

Even his soulmate didnt want him. Honestly, he should have expected this. Abandoned at 12 with no one around him, why did his expect his soulmate to even give a fuck about him. Tears pricked his eyes and he blinked trying to get rid of them. He breathed in deeply, grabbing the water on the table and taking a big gulp. He had never hated himself more than he did right now. Why couldnt he have an easier life.

“Why cant I just fucking be NORMAL” he yelled throwing the empty bottle of water at the wall.

Throwing himself into bed, he scrunched up his eyes, hoping that sleep would come today, not noticing as his phone lit up with a single message.

Your POV

You stayed for another game and then ducked out apologizing and making an excuse up.

"Sorry it was such a short stream, everyone," you said pouting at the camera. "It was fun though so hopefully I get to do it again." Waving goodbye, you turned off the camera and leaned your head back staring at the ceiling.

What the actual fuck.

Grabbing your phone, you stared at it for a bit. Everything that you had pushed to the back of your mind in the game, was suddenly in the forefront.

The only thing you knew about Corpse was that he had a really deep voice, he narrated horror movies, and he maybe did music?

'Rae mentioned that once right?' you thought to yourself.

You unlocked the phone and then locked it again, too scared to actually do anything.

Unlocked.

Locked.

Unlocked.

Locked.

"Oh get a grip," you muttered to yourself, opening the phone and sending a text to Rae.

‘Hey Rae, do you have corpses number? Do you mind sending it to me, I need to tell him something.’

A reply came in a minute,

‘umm, why. he's pretty private so idk i don't rlly wanna give his number if he doesn't want someone to have it’

You sighed, and decided you might as well tell her. You knew Rae wouldn't betray your trust.

‘He's my soulmate’

Immediately a ‘AHDJHAKJKAGDAK’ came as a reply and you giggled at the string of emojis after it.

‘Don't tell anyone,’ you sent quickly, trying to calm her down.

‘Okay okay, its XXX - XXX - XXXX, ASHAGDH IM DYING OMG. GO TALK TO HIM.’

Biting your lip you added Corpse into your contacts hesitating before putting a small black heart next to his name.

"Already simping," you mumbled under your breath, hands hovering over the keyboard as you struggled to think of what to write.

You finally decided on 'Hey, its Y/N, can I call?' thinking that something short would be the best way to go. Hand hovering over the send button, you sucked in a breath and pressed it, waiting with bated breath.

A minute passed.

And then five.

And then, without you even you realising, it'd been half an hour of you just looking at your phone.

An hour later, you were slumped on your desk, eyes closed and snoring lightly, the phone still open, the message you sent lighting up the screen.

tbc.