#also first time I've used a video that isn't from youtube so I messed up trying to edit out the tiktok logo thing oops sorry

[nevergavein]

(x)

[quozy-knits]

out of pure excitement, here's how the construction of a cuff-down sock works!

keep in mind this is just how I have made socks in the past and how I've seen them in patterns, this isn't the only way to do cuff-down socks :)

I'll also be using a picture I've already posted on here of a fully finished sock to use as a reference.

let's get started!

(very long post under the cut)

psst, ill be including a picture with a color coded section to help explain exactly where on the sock this is :)

part one: the cuff

the most obvious part of a cuff-down sock is - well - the cuff!

this is typically done with ribbing (though I've seen patterns without ribbing like this one), and I've found that for women's medium sized socks it's around 15-20 rows depending on the pattern and the knitters liking. this is one of the sections that's completely up to personal preference, as some like long cuffs, some like short cuffs, and some prefer no cuff at all :)

part two: transition row/s (optional)

some patterns utilize a transition row, especially if coming from some kind of ribbing to some kind of lace. this can help distinguish the cuff from the body of the foot, but isn't used in too many patterns that I've come across.

part three: leg section

stockinette, lace, cables, you name it! unless your sock is coming from your mid or high calf, you're not likely to have to increase/decrease this section at all. for the sock shown below, I stuck with all 66 stitches the entire way through :) (though be aware that some patterns do call for increases/decreases depending on length!)

part four: heel section

4a: heel flap

a heel flap is typically done across half, a third, or a quarter of the stitches used in the circumference of the sock, I prefer a reinforced heel flap (RS slip one purlwise, knit, continue to end of row ; WS purl until one stitch remaining, slip purlwise ; repeat until desired length), but there are many options out there for whatever you'd like!

most of the time you'll be making a heel flap kind of a square shape, working back and fourth until the end of the suggested rows or continuing until whatever length you'd like (though be aware that the longer it is, the more stitches you'll have around your heel circumference!!!)

4b: heel turn

a heel turn is really simple -- you knit until you're a bit past the middle of the heel flap (RS), ssk, k1, turn, slip 1, p however many stitches required (you can make a pointer or a more flat heel turn depending on the amount of stitches you use to begin with), p2tog, p1, turn, slip 1, knit until 1 before the "gap" that is formed, ssk, k1, repeat until you've finished picking up all stitches (you'll end up with less than your original stitch count, don't be afraid!)

by the way, there is this lovely video by heather storta on YouTube that explains all the different types of heels for cuff down, toe up, and after thought socks :)

part five: gussets & decrease section

5a: gussets (light blue)

the gusset stitches are all the stitches picked up from the sides of the heel flap -- when you slip the first stitch on each row, you create a selvage edge that you later knit from and then decrease from at the edge before the top of the foot until you reach your original stitch count! (the gusset stitches here would be at the edge of the green for the heel flap, the light blue is just showing the decrease section from the gussets as well :) )

5b: untouched foot section(??) (blue)

just as the title says, you don't mess with the stitch count of these areas. the top of the foot is left completely untouched, and besides the gusset stitch decreases on the sides of the back of the foot, it's otherwise untouched as well.

part six: the foot

as much as you may think that all of this is the foot, this is what I personally call The Foot Section - the length of one's foot is extremely varied, so this part is very much not something that can be easily standardized. I've found that measuring from the very back of my heel to the end of my big toe (and subtracting the length already knitting + the length of the toe + an extra 2ish cm) helps me get the perfect fit.

knowing your gauge and knowing your measurements is tantamount to having your own personalized pattern, so being if you want to make something that fits, you've gotta measure!

side note : it's normally suggested in patterns to subtract 2-2.5cm from your actual foot length, but always consult the pattern before deciding on anything in particular!

part seven: the toe

finally, we've reached the end! this is, in my opinion, the absolute easiest part of the sock. you're decreasing every other row (typically), which means every row gets shorter and shorter! personally, I get super motivated when I reach the toe section :)

there are MANY ways to create the toe section of your sock -- I prefer wedge ("square") toes, as I find them to be simple and effective. there are also more pointy and more round toes, along with the anatomical toe variation, so play around with what you like!

as shown in the picture below, there is a decrease on both sides of the sock (4 decreases per row, 2 on each side). this is done every other row to create a nice slope that doesn't make the toe too small, but also doesn't leave it as a Huge section of the sock.

anyways, that's about all of my knowledge on cuff-down sock construction! my tumblr is lagging as I'm typing this, too many pictures I suppose?

hope y'all learned something or at least found this interesting, and have a lovely evening everyone!

(also, it won't let me add the video I wanted to, so it'll be left in the comments!)

[spacenintendogs]

Hi! I love your art and I’m so curious to know what your art process is like!

i've been trying to figure out how to answer this & i've honestly realized that my process is a mess LOLOL i did record myself!!! drawing fishlegs bc he is the fave & easiest for me to draw! i hope everything i explain under the read more makes sense!!

it took me over 44 minutes to draw & the screen recording in the art program i use (autodesk sketchbook) brought it down to about 7 minutes and 25 seconds. i didn't wanna speed it up even more bc it'd be way too fast & jarring i think but!! i've uploaded the video to youtube (with some animal crossing music <3)!! i will still try to explain what i did here tho!!

my initial sketches are EXTREMELY loose! i start with the head by drawing a circle & extending past it for the chin of the character & proceed to do the nose, eyes, & mouth!! hair is next, but if there's a helmet i need to draw, i'll do that before the hair!! then i'll do the body starting from the shoulders & going down!! for the hands i just do circles/a general shape! no details!!

the sketch layer is a layer of black for the brush color with with lower opacity

i immediately do lines on top with the same brush but with black at full opacity on the kayer above!! this time i actually take my time to be more careful with details BUT i am still very sketchy & if smth isn't 100% accurate after i try a few times, i leave it be! hands however...

i almost always end up taking a photo of my hands using the front facing camera set to a 5 second timer on my phone! i also draw using my phone so it's literally having everything i need all in one place lol!! i do trace my own hands but obv i adjust based on what i'm drawing!! fish's hands are def gonna be wider than mine!!

NOW for color i color pick directly from screenshots!! however i use it mostly for flats & then pick my own for shading!! let's focus on the flats for now!! i start with the skin always!! the skin is going to have color layers above and below it, so it's easier for me to see where everything else will go if i've got the skin all settled. here you can see my color layers!! these are ALL flats!!

shading & lighting i don't rlly... focus on being accurate 100% but i try to do it based on where a shadow would absolutely be/to give the appearance of some type of depth (my art is very flat either way tho!) like where his lower hand is cupping i'll shade but leave the top of the upper hand unshaded for the most part! i lay out everything in a multiply layer first (can be any color u want based on the vibe u want!!) & then use a smudge tool to blend it out!! same goes for the lighting layer!!!

my art overall is a lot of scribbling big lines & curves then using the lineart to do the same but slowly make adjustments until it looks acceptable to me. it's SO much erasing & reshaping & i always have sketch lines everywhere but i like how it looks. it looks like i drew it, u know? plus the httyd books art style is a HUGE inspiration to me, at my core. i didn't even realize it was until ppl on here pointed it out :') i also enjoy drawing fast & moving on!! which is just smth i've trained myself to do since my star fox days (the reason i draw in the first place!!)

thank u!!!! i hope this made sense!!

[magickalsapphic]

Possessed doll - witch community call for advice

Hello, I currently own a possessed doll and want to know what I can/should do about it.

Main call to action: please recommend books so I can properly learn about this, give me honest advice IF you have experience/knowledge.

Here's the full story:

I got this doll at a thrift store as a prop to a horror short film I was making. My ex picked her up because she was the one with "most life". Quickly after, my friends and I would joke that she was alive/possessed, I won't say the name we gave her but will call her Elise for the sake of this post.

After buying her, I attempted a very poor cleansing on my college dorm floor. I undressed her and cleaned her porcelain skin with Clorox wipes, with my tuning fork chanted a few phrases, circled her with crystals. Put the dress back on, try to feel for something, and not feeling it.

I assumed then that Elise was not possessed. We continued to joke about it, while in the meantime, just in case, I would also treat her gently, speak to her as if she were alive, and tell people she's (jokingly) possessed. Aaand she would occasionally (2-3 times) weirdly play music on her own (she has a music box and a winding key). It would happen if I picked her up or shifted her. But not *every time* I picked her up or shifted her.. First red flag.

Time passes, we record the short film. This shortfilm I wrote about the doll playing music on it's own (she has a winding key).. ha. In this shortfilm I made Elise lay next to a sewer, be forcibly dropped to knock her head as part of the plot, and got her all dirty. Not to mention her hair and hands had to be covered in blood. Fake blood. It was also very cold.

Afterward, I uploaded the video to YouTube (I don't think I should share the link). And it got about a hundred views (I know, fame).

I keep the doll in my dorm room this whole time. In the summer, I brought her to my mom's place where she sat on the windowsill outside my room for months.

I don't bring her back to my dorm room. I don't remember why.

Only 3 weeks in, my mom comes by to drop off some clothes and other stuff I missed. She brings Elise without me asking her to at all.

So she's back. I tell my friends about it, it's kind of funny considering possessed dolls do do that: return to a person if they try to move away from them. I keep her in my dorm room again, this time on the desk next to Agatha Christie and my completely empty black notebook I've been meaning to make into a Book of Shadows for years.

I've had vivid horrifying nightmares since I was a child. So I'm not worried when I get nightmares about Elise. One more thing to joke about.

September moves to October and I have this class that extensively talks about the progression of horror as one of the themes. Especially around Halloween. So yes, these things were on my mind. I'm a witch. I did recently watch the Exorcist and learn about Possession in my class. Take that as you will.

Actually, studying for the midterm for that class, a friend stayed over one night. Earlier, they did make fun of Elise, we were messing around, but they did use the winding key a bit, take her out of my room for a few minutes, I don't think it was.. that bad.

We went to bed at 3 am. It was so warm under the covers and I was restless. That is to say, there were reasons I was so tired and sleep deprived to have sleep paralysis.

I wake up, my friend is next to me. I look up and Elise is over the bed right on the window. But in reality, the window in my room is beside the bed, not above. Something is wrong. Elise is looking at me. No really, looking at me, and blinks, and moves her eyes and I'm scared. I wake up, my friend is next to me. I look up, the wall is normal, empty. To my right, Elise is lying next to me, on her side, facing me. I wake up. This time Elise isn't there, but my friend is talking to me. I wake up again, and again.

I wake up. I sit up. My friend is sleeping next to me. Elise is on my desk, facing me. I keep looking around and know I am finally awake. I could barely sleep that night.

The next morning, I once again tell friends about it, a little genuinely freaked out. We agree I should probably apologize, so I do. And I also give her a little gift -- a whistle thing someone gave me. I don't get a nightmare that night.

Nearing Halloween, 2 new friends come into my room on separate occasions. With the first, I have to move Elise out of the way to use my full desk for a project. When I pick Elise up from a chair, her music starts playing. It hasn't happened in a while. I don't want to actually scare this new friend, so I tell her I moved the winding key a bit. We laugh it off.

Not a week later, I believe October 29, another friend comes over and this one I want to scare off a bit, for fun. So I pick Elise up and introduce her to him. He is actually scared and I feel bad and reassure him that I am joking and that I'm 99% sure she's not possessed. I keep holding her. We keep talking and... this is what started to my mind. The music starts without me even moving her at all. No accidental shake, not really. My heart skipped a beat, really. And I reassured my friend that nothing was wrong. I'm just messing with him.

Right as my friend left, I message a witch friend I'm not very close with. I ask them for their experience and communicate some concerns. They give my contact to their more experienced in this subject friend, and they message me. They are an actual psychic medium, they tell me there is a possibility of possession but she can't know for sure. They advise me to cleanse her again, put her in a salt circle. Halloween was 2 days away, and the veil was thin. That I should watch out for the nightmares, since that's how they communicate with them, and that she doesn't sound malevolent. I should keep an eye on her.

That same night, because another friend said I should cleanse her soon, I panic and do it without much preparation.

I clean my desk a bit

I take my table salt

Lay Elise on the desk

Circle her with table salt

Circle her with some crystals

Use my tuning fork to once again cleanse her in the best way I could at that moment

Finally, I didn't know what the right words were, and in my chant I say that I'll be protected and nothing shall come out of the salt circle for 3 days.

That might've been a mistake, I don't know. Online resources were not the best either.

Because of what I'd said, I keep her in the salt circle from about October 29 night, to November 2nd day?

Then I clean the desk and her dress a bit, since it was slightly covered in salt, and I put her back on her spot on the desk.

A week passes (this is now 3 days ago, Thursday), I run into the psychic friend at an event. I tell her she can meet Elise if they want to.

So we go into my room. Immediately my friend (let's call them Ron) says there is a presence. By this point, I was still hoping Ron would say it was all in my head. But he sits in front of Elise and tells that there is a little girl inside. She's scared, lonely, and sad. She's embarrassed about the blood on her head and so I should give her a hat. She wants to be held sometimes. And she wants to be by the window, but at nights I should close the window because it'll get too cold. She isn't malevolent but might like to mess with me for fun -- watch out for missing or displaced things, and always be respectful. For example, if people come over I should introduce her to them -- you wouldn't want people you don't know coming into your room (it's her room just as mine).

Ron also tells me that she could be lying. Demons and ghosts can be tricksters. I simply hope she's not.

After Ron leaves, I take my pendulum and ask brief questions to Elise -- is she angry? no. does she mind if I have people over? no. does she care when I talk about her when she's in the room? yes. I don't remember what else I asked, and I couldn't tell -- still can't tel -- if she likes when I talk to her or not.

But well... the biggest thing that has me convinced. Happened that same night Ron came by.

At night, after having more friends over and having a good time. I won't lie, I had 2 hits of my 🍃 pen. But I was fine. I close the window. I'm closing the blind (Elise is on the window sill) and I don't know if I should go all the way down or not. So I say out loud "let's try to have it closed tonight, yeah? Then we can see what you prefer tomorrow."

I close the blinds completely. My hands on the strings, the bed side light turns off. Turns on. Turns off. Turns on. Turns off. The room is completely dark.

I'm shaking, I mess up getting the blinds back up but I do it. I furiously apologize to Elise and try to turn the light on again and it doesn't work. I check the plug, it's well connected. I don't know what to do. I keep apologizing, but I feel I have to be a little stern. I tell Elise I don't find that funny and that it made me sad, and that I don't want her to scare me like that anymore. Then I check the extension chord next to my bed, it is loose and I have to almost fully plug it back in. The light turns back on. Though, in bad timing, my automatic bathroom lights turn off in that same second, I pay no mind to that.

I stay frozen for minutes more. Then I remember that she's a scared little girl, and so I pick her up and apologize but also comfort her. She's very cold. I put her back on my desk. I close the blinds properly this time, and I somehow go to sleep.

After telling Ron about this, he says that they expected her to be more active after meeting him. It makes sense.

That was just 2 nights ago. I don't really know what to do about this. I can't tell if my headaches and misfortunes have anything to do with this because that's been my whole life. Ron says I can't get rid of her now, she's my doll now.

This is a lot and detailed because well, I am a writer. I hope this was entertaining at least, and I really do appreciate advice. Be kind, and be genuine. I don't know what I'm risking making this post.

PSA: I am a writer, I have a record of this post and this story and do not want anyone to use it without my consent. Everything in this post is real, don't get me wrong. But I want to be the one to write about it.

That is all, thank you for reading and have a good day:)

[cyberpunkpizzaman]

Games I’ve been Playing - Elden Ring, Fallout 3, and Breath of the Wild

It's been a while since I put together my last post about what I've been playing, but I have definitely not been idle in the intervening months. Here's what I've been up to!

All links in this post are Humble Bundle affiliate links. That means I get a small portion of any purchase made after using them. If you'd like to learn more about the Humble Bundle affiliate program, click here.

Elden Ring

I beat Elden Ring a month or so back, brute-forcing my way through the game with heavy armor and a greatsword. It's a massive game, and I feel like I've only just scratched the surface even after the many many hours I put into that run. I restarted almost immediately, playing as a mage and experimenting with glintstone sorceries. But in all honesty, I'm a bit burnt out on the game. As many discovered after an initial burst of enjoyment, the game really starts to drag after the fight with Morgott and I, like many others, was struck by an overwhelming sense of "really, there's more?" right about the time Crumbling Farum Azula popped up.

All of that said, I really enjoyed my time with Elden Ring. It was a real challenge, but I'm happy I played it. The world and the characters have intriguing depths and the moment-to-moment gameplay is tense and exciting. I just think the open world (and especially the addition of your trusty steed Torrent) breaks the tight pacing that does so much for the earlier Souls games. When most enemy groups can simply be avoided, it's often hard to tell how the game wants the player to approach situations.

Fallout 3

Playing on the Steam Deck! I first experienced Fallout 3 at a friend's house, watching him explore DC's irradiated subways on an XBox 360. Playing the game on the Deck is a wholly different experience, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. As a platform, the Deck promotes a certain kind of focus that I find incredibly compelling; multi-tasking isn't really possible, so the game takes center stage.

When I play games on PC, it's not unusual for me to have a podcast running in the background, or even a long YouTube video running on a second monitor. Playing on the Deck locks me in and focuses my attention.

I'm also having a good time with Fallout 3 itself! Much like my exploration of Oblivion last year, Fallout 3 feels like a clear first step toward the kind of multi-leveled, densely packed urban chaos we see in Fallout 4's Boston. The metro system's prominence feels more like a concession to technical limitations than anything else, with piles of rubble blocking progress along surface streets.

Tonally, the game's dialogue choices place the player at a remove from the game's world. You're encouraged to mess with the world and its characters, causing problems and drama wherever you go. You can, of course, avoid these options, but the game itself will essentially taunt you for being a good-two-shoes. It's a game that, despite the depth of its dialogue system and its world, wants you to engage with it as a game; to exert your will upon the world and its inhabitants in whatever way seems most entertaining.

Anyways, I'll likely have a longer write-up on Fallout 3 at some point in the future. I'm still fairly early in the game, and I've yet to tackle any of the DLC. More to come here.

Breath of the Wild

I have no screenshots for this one; I'll add some in the future if I can figure out how to get screenshots off the Switch

Breath of the Wild is my first Zelda game and I'm honestly not sure how I feel about it. I'm partly playing it for my wife, so she can see the story without needing to play the game herself. But I think I might have played too many open-world games. I can see the game's strength and the excellence of its execution in every mechanic; the game gives me so many tools I sometimes can't tell if a cheesed a puzzle or completed it as intended, and the world design itself is both nuanced and beautiful.

But I think I've climbed too many towers. I think I climbed too many towers by the time I beat Far Cry 3, and I'd definitely climbed too many towers by the time I beat Assassin's Creed 3. I've filled in more than my fair share of maps and I just don't know that I'm that into it these days. Skyrim's old promise of "if you see a mountain you can climb it" feels more like obligation than exploration. And knowing that each new heart means finding and completing four shrines makes me feel like I'm completing checklist items.

I think I might just not be cut out for these kinds of games right now. I'm going to beat the game and give it a fair shake, but I'm definitely flagging and I have been from the start.

[blazehedgehog]

As someone who has tinkered around with youtube video stuff on a very amateur level, I would absolutely love to hear some details on what you do to your audio to neutralize sibilants. I've tried many things to clean up my audio — and I'll flatter myself to say that I believe I've largely succeeded — but those S sounds stubbornly stay stable.

I would say it's nothing special, but it's also something I have dialed in slowly over the course of the last ten years. I go back and listen to some of my earlier videos and they sound absolutely dreadful, and 80% of the time that's down to the EQ work on my voice.

And not to throw shade or anything, but I even listen to guys like Super Eyepatch Wolf and think "jeeze, dude, turn down your EQ knobs a little." Dude seems to crank the bass and the treble as high as they'll go.

For that reason, I've tried to keep my process simple. So here's the current version of the plugin chain I use in FL Studio:

First, I run it through something called the "Soundgoodizer", which is a general collection of EQ presents you can turn up and down. I leave it fairly low as to not overpower the audio (which would give me the Eyepatch Wolf effect). Mostly this fills out the bass and balances the audio a little.

In the EQ bar there in the middle, I also drop out the highest frequencies. Just completely zero them out. This is the biggest component of the sibilants. It greatly reduces the sharp sounds that come with the S and C words.

That's FX channel 1, which then feeds in to the main FX channel, where the rest of my plugins are. So everything I just said was step 1, and now these are step 2:

First up is a Multiband Compressor. These are a lot of scary knobs but I just use the "Mastering 2.4db" preset. This also levels the audio to make sure nothing is too loud or too quiet. It also does some of its own EQ work, but mostly its to make sure everything stays in balance.

Next I run it through a Low Pass filter at 16000hz (again, another preset). Dropping out the high frequencies in FX Channel 1 does a lot of legwork in cutting down the sharp sounds and this finishes the job. However, if you look at the full size image, the mixing knob for this one isn't at 100%. That's because at 100% mix, I find it makes my audio feel a little muffled, since I'm basically doing a low pass (FX1) on top of a low pass. Turning the mix down to 75% helps retain some clarity while making sure you aren't being stabbed in the ears.

The Parametric EQ plugin is the only plugin where I'm not just using a preset. The EQ profile you see on the left is something I looked up on a guide somewhere once years ago for how to attain the so-called "radio voice" EQ ratio. I've modified it a bit here to be less aggressive than the guide showed, because I'm looking for a light touch, since over-EQing your audio is easy to do.

Down at the bottom is a Fruity Limiter plugin, which is always there every time you start a fresh project in FL Studio. It's kind of just another kind of compressor, and I never think about it or look at it or mess with it. I don't actually know what it even does to the audio. Like I said, it's just there on every fresh project by default. It might not be doing anything at all.

After all of that, this is the end result:

Not dramatically different, and some would even say the raw audio from the microphone is good enough, but again, it's all about having a light touch on the enhancements while catching and limiting the problems. You'll notice that on the sibilants (the S sounds), they still exist, but they're a lot less sharp.

(Bottom is before EQ, top is after)

If worst comes to worst and there's something I just can't get rid of, Vegas also has an audio plugin called "Multiband Dynamics" that has a de-esser setting, but I find that can sometimes make my audio sound a little strange, so I use it as a last resort.

I don't know if any of this means anything to anyone but me, but maybe it did! And I hope it helps.

[lebihanto-universe-blog]

Be Irresistible, Click Here Let's Create The Life of Your Dreams, Together Claim Your Early Bird Offer at ... → ▽ Don't Miss ... are you struggling with the decision of whether to stay or go in your love life right now maybe you're worried about whether you should continue dating someone who's already shown you some things you're not quite sure about or maybe you're at the end of a relationship and wondering whether to leave or stay in it you could even be after a relationship where you've had a breakup and you're wondering whether you should go back or continue forward and meet someone new this video goes deep on three very specific questions you can ask yourself to determine whether the right decision is to stay the course or to leave and find somebody else all right let's get into it i had someone come to me recently and say something interesting slightly painful and something that well was slightly painful because it also reflected a fear i have this person was a fan big fan of all of my work but she said i sometimes think if i had followed all of the advice i may never have said yes to giving things a go with my partner i have felt like that at times that the danger is that it's very easy the easiest position in the world to take when dispensing advice is leave if a woman goes to her friend and says a guy did this and her friend says ugh leave don't go on another date with him or a guy says oh she did that ditcher we imagine that friend to be someone who's wounded don't we we imagine that friend themselves to be someone who's either bitter or defensive or all too willing to write people off quickly and i sometimes worry that in my advice over the years i've i've made too many people write people off too quickly based on some perceived red flag and the truth is we love hearing about red flags there's a reason that red flag videos do so well on youtube it's because there's something gratifying about it isn't there there's something about dating someone and seeing something that's a bad sign seeing something that's a red flag and then immediately getting to write them off in a righteous way you did this ugh move aside i'm gonna keep looking the danger of course and i i think part of the allure of looking for red flags in other people is that it's also a distraction from our own red flags god help us if everyone ditches us at the first sign of a red flag because we all have them the question of course becomes which red flags are too dangerous to ignore and which ones are worth negotiating with i have come to believe that relationships are incredibly complex that we should have compassion when we look at other people's situations from the outside it's a particularly easy thing to do when single to judge someone else's relationship from the outside because we don't have our own complexity to compare it to so it's very easy to say i can't believe he or she puts up with that i can't believe they've put themselves in that situation i can't believe that they're okay with that because we're we have the righteousness of someone who has no complexity in their lives in that sense it's far harder to judge somebody else's relationship and not have compassion when we ourselves have negotiated complexities when we ourselves have overcome some mess to be where we are right now when we ourselves have had to invest and figure out a way through and in some ways it's hard to judge other people's relationships if we just love people or like people if we happen to like people then we don't so quickly write people off all the time because of a way that they're different from us or because of some trauma or demon that's coming out right now because we love people and we're able to see behind those things whether or not that makes them a good choice for us in our life is a different story but we're able to have a capacious enough heart for the differences between people the things that they've gone through that have led them to be the way they are

today and also perhaps the acknowledgement that people might be doing their best and probably are doing their best even if their best isn't great in this moment and that people would all change if it were easy to change if there were a change light switch that they could just flick and be better they would but it's not easy and of course the acknowledgement that some people are able to heal i don't i don't like the idea that people can change because that seems dangerously close to dating someone in the hope that they're going to be someone different a year from now and that's precarious to say the least and everyone's had bad experiences with that but people can heal there are three questions i want you to ask yourself to help determine whether you should stay or go in the situation you're in and you might be in a situation where that means should i keep dating someone it's in the early phases and i don't know whether to continue knowing what i know about this person and their behavior or you might be in the position of finding it very difficult to let someone go and fully make a break from someone that you've been in a relationship with and you're trying to use this video to decide whether to go back or not number one is their big flaw offset by a truly redeemable quality something negative we may bring to the table can be offset by a beautiful quality or trait so for example there are some universal redeemable traits humility is a really important one if someone has self-awareness then they are aware of the thing that needs to be worked on if someone has real empathy then they're able to see how this part of them affects you negatively and feel that and use that as inspiration and motivation to change if someone values teamwork then they have the desire to be a great partner to you and see healing themselves as part of being a great partner if they're growth-minded it means they have the fuel the impetus to actually do the work that's necessary to heal this part of themselves and there are more of course kindness compassion these are traits that can do an awful lot to offset the negative effects of that flaw if somebody doesn't have the neutralizing counterbalance to that negative quality or that demon let's call it it becomes what i think of or call a dark pairing if you've followed my work for a long time you know i use the phrase a lot unique pairings in a positive sense unique pairings are the pairings of qualities in a person that make them irresistible that make them someone we never want to let go of you know so it could be that someone is both funny and sexy that's a unique pairing dark pairing is when you have two qualities that together make for a very dangerous cocktail so for example if someone is anxious if they're an anxious person but they are also defensive that makes for a difficult pairing because now when you get anxious you're unlikely to own it to take responsibility for the fact that your anxiety is taking over here so you're gonna now defend yourself and make it my fault you may even go on the attack especially if your anxiety is paired with a tendency towards aggression if you feel afraid if you feel threatened you might say something really spiteful you might try to make me insecure in order to put me on the back foot so that you can feel good again because you'll feel safe if you can knock me down a peg but if someone is anxious but you combine that with a true kindness a self-awareness a humility then someone is able to acknowledge their own anxiety and say to you i i know i need to work on this i'm feeling scared right now and i don't want to feel this way but something that just happened it it flared me up and i want to work on it but i could use some love right now now you have a great antidote to anxiety it doesn't make this anxiety an easy quality to deal with all of the time but it does counterbalance that quality in a way that helps to neutralize it and this is an important point i don't mean

do they have an awesome quality at the same time as having this really difficult quality that's a very different thing if you said to me they are incredibly selfish but they're also really charismatic so you know difficult quality great quality i'd say yeah but the great quality does nothing to neutralize this difficult quality all you're saying is i'm using their charisma as an excuse to ignore their selfishness for those of you that are struggling with whether to go back to someone that you had a relationship with maybe that person keeps reaching out and you're struggling to let go there are these moments where you feel weak and you want to go back one of the common things we do is we look at the negative quality they had that drove us away and we go well they they yes they were like that but they also had all of these amazing qualities and you miss the amazing qualities of course and then even with the negative quality you look at it and you go and you know what yeah they could be selfish sometimes but i'm selfish sometimes and am i really going to be that judgmental about that and you start justifying and rationalizing over that quality but the truth is we rarely end it with someone based on just one thing it's normally a cocktail of negative traits these dark pairings that make something so difficult so toxic such an erosion to our confidence or our identity a situation where we truly lose ourselves that we can no longer stay in it anymore and have any self-respect or stay sane or be happy and we forget that there's a cocktail of things going on by the way while you're here i'm really curious about this because i think this would be if nothing else a really interesting exercise what is a dark pairing that you experienced in a previous relationship or maybe even right now with the person you're seeing or or in a relationship with that made life really really difficult what two qualities together made for a really dangerous dark pairing you know i'll give you another one if someone is highly ambitious hyper ambitious and they are not present you're away from them a lot which means that when you're with them what you need is really concentrated quality time but they're not even there when they're with you it would be easy to say that ambition was the problem but the bigger problem is not even feeling like they're there when they're there another one insecure and victimized meaning this person feels incredibly insecure about themselves but doesn't see that they need to grow they need to improve their mindset everything's wrong with everybody else everyone else is to blame you're to blame the world is to blame they are the victim let me know in the comments what is a dark pairing you have encountered in the past or maybe even a dark pairing that you have had to get over in yourself because there were two dangerous qualities combining question number two in this should i stay or should i go debate is it getting easier i have heard from many different people that if a relationship is right it should be easy now i understand the sentiment of that what concerns me about the nature of that phrase is that it seems very broad in other words if you have two people who have done an incredible amount of work on themselves and come to each other having done a lot of healing and growth then it may well be smooth sailing from the beginning in their relationship but that's often not the case we meet each other at different stages of development we still have healing to do not everyone who meets and gets married is fully formed as a human being to an extent none of us are we're all a work in progress and if we're a work in progress there will be times in a relationship or in dating that are hard and of course there are versions of heart that we have to be careful of right i'm not talking about abuse here i'm not talking about something that is so radically in the wrong direction from the beginning that why would you bother trying to fix it or

fix this person i'm not talking about that i'm talking about there will be people that come to you who are awesome but they have things they need to work on as do you and in those situations we have to say to ourselves okay i am comfortable being with this person while they work on this which means communicating to this person that it's something that you want to work on with them that that you expect to try to heal together but the question always is is there progress if the relationship remains just as difficult if it gets worse that's a problem so i think that there's a pairing we have to have which is compassion for the way that someone is but a standard that says if something's not optimal about our relationship and it's something that genuinely affects my happiness then this needs to get better i need to see progress with this i'm compassionate towards this part of you and i'm here to provide space for this to improve but it has to improve so this is compassion allied with a standard which is a is a beautiful unique pairing actually it becomes a dark pairing if our compassion is allied with a lack of standards around what we will accept compassion without standards is a recipe for masochism so number one are there red flags offset by a redeeming quality number two is it getting easier and number three what decision do i feel drawn to in my wisest moments now i don't want this to sound too lofty like you need to have this enlightened moment where everything makes sense to you but there are moments where things just make more sense when i say wise i mean the part of you that's really connected to what's important in life to the right things as i think of them i believe that our life gets easier when we drive towards the right things our life gets predictably worse when we seek the wrong things the wrong things can be someone making us feel better about ourselves because they're super attractive and we want to get them for that reason so that we can prove something to ourself and other people the wrong things can be driving after a relationship that has giddy highs and terrible lows because we're addicted to the emotional rollercoaster of it and we're constantly chasing that high we can spend our lives chasing the wrong things and it will never make us happy there is i believe a wise part of us that is grounded that is connected that in certain moments finds a moment of quiet and is able to go this isn't right this isn't this isn't what i should be looking for in life a part of you that connects to the values that are really important to you the culture that you want to create in your relationship the things that you expect from someone that you can build that kind of culture with what they need to value not just what you value notice i'm not using the word strongest moment because strongest can easily lead us down the path of the moments we feel the cockiest the moments we feel so self-assured like i should be getting someone like that i shouldn't be putting up with this that's ego and notice i also didn't say the most compassionate moment you have because if you're not careful focusing just on your compassionate moments might have you martyring yourself in service of making somebody else happy when i say wisest i mean why is this because it's the part of you that is really connected to what energy you want to create in your life both for somebody else and for yourself notice i also didn't say the most in love part of you because if you trust the most in love part of you then you're just trusting the part of you that is at its giddiest and saying what does this part of me want to do well that part of you is always going to go be with this person forever even though that has terrible lows with it potentially and it's a kind of drunken state when you're centered and when you feel really connected to what's important in your life what does that person want and what does that person want to be driving towards in the long term

and the conclusion of that by the way might mean short-term pain but the answer is incredibly significant because it comes from a place of groundedness it comes from a place of connection now accessing that voice is not always easy in fact a lot of people find it incredibly difficult because it's always uh lost in the fog of fear not knowing what i would do if i'd lose if i lost this person being afraid of never meeting anyone else again feeling like i'm not good enough or i'm not worthy of those really important right things you speak of or it can just be that it's lost in the fog of addiction being addicted to somebody being addicted to the highs of this situation that i'm in being addicted to the lovey feeling that i get when i'm around this person even though i'm deeply unsatisfied in this relationship if i'm honest with myself my needs aren't being met it can be very very difficult to access that voice but i believe in my bones a peaceful and in and and happy life i don't mean a pleasurable life pleasure comes and goes um to a certain extent happiness comes and goes uh peace is a a truly profound and i think underrated emotion when it comes to our lives jamison there was this really good quote um i think eckhart tolle said joy is vibrantly alive peace which is so different from the pleasure that we seek by trying to get someone and trying to feel love all the time vibrantly alive peace isn't that what we all want well that's something that is my hidden mission to help you get to by tapping into that voice in you that knows what the right things are and then has the strength to drive after them instead of continuing to feel this gravitational pull towards things that may feel known to you but make you deeply unhappy and dissatisfied and rob you of your peace i would love to invite you to be part of a process that does this many of you have heard of this it's my retreat program i will say it to you until you get there because i know what it does for people and we have one more retreat this year and that's it it's a virtual retreat so you can do it from wherever you are in the world we've had people everywhere from australia to japan canada europe all corners of the world do this from their home but it's live and i spend three days with you immersed in your world and helping you to build that sense of a confidence and be that real sense that definitive idea of what the right things are to you so that you do not get distracted by the wrong things and of course having the tools to stay on that path because i promise you your life is not a sprint it is a marathon and your long-term happiness relies on you consistently staying in line with the right things on that marathon instead of sprinting out of fear towards the wrong things or because you're panicked or because you think you're running out of time or because everyone else is getting ahead of you this is the cycle we have to get out of and if you come to the retreat we'll do it together there is an early bird ticket that offer is almost over the early bird ticket means that the retreat is far cheaper than it is at any other time this year but that offer is about to close it also comes with some fun bonuses as well you i can show you those on the page but if you go to mhvirtualretreat.com you'll find out all about it i'll see you over there mhvirtualretreat.com thank you so much for watching this video i'll see you soon [Music] you ...

[love-advice-on-call]

hi! I’m a junior in Highschool right now, and this person I’ve liked for a while now asked me out, and I said yes! I’ve like them for quite some time, and we’ve been good friends for even longer. But my issue is that Im not very good at processing my emotions (I think). Whenever I have any intense emotion, wether it be excitement, dread, anxiety, anger, giddiness, etc, i get this tightness in my chest. And this also goes for my hyperfixation, where just thinking about it makes me feel like my esophagus is getting squeezed. I’ve gotten better at determining the “good tighness” and the “bad tightness”, but usually the good leads to the bad because, well the tightness gets worse the longer I think about my partner. BUT I REALLY LIKE THEM HES THE MOST AMAZING PERSON EVER HES SO SWEET AND FUNNY AND HAS THE DORKIEST LAUGH AND THEYRE SO PRETTY!! So I don’t not like them that’s not the problem, but I’m worried that I’ll just think the wrong thing and it will turn sour? I’m sorry this is very discombobulated and scrambled, good luck decoding this if you decide to and thank you in advance if u do ♥️😭

Hello! Sorry for the late reply, I came down with a sinus infection for the first time ever so I needed some time to adjust. I'm OK if you're wondering!

Now I'm no doctor or psychiatrist, but it sounds like to me that you have anxiety.

Feeling that intensely and your feelings being magnified is usually associated with being anxious. But the biggest indicator to me is your esophagus feeling squeezed. I've got a couple of friends with anxiety so bad that they need medication and they usually say they feel that exact feeling.

Being worried about thinking the wrong thing or messing things up is very normal. Especially for new relationships no matter how old you get or how experienced you are, but I can image that it feels even stronger when you feel your emotions so intensely all the time.

For now, what I recommend is that you try to pick up some tools to deal with your anxiety. That means things like reading articles/books on managing your emotions and understanding what you are going through. You can also try mindfulness meditation as I have personally found that it helps to stop me from spiraling when I get too fixated on something. There are videos on YouTube for that and plenty of meditation apps available. I know all of this may be really lame, but it does help in the long run from personal experience. This isn't something that can be fixed over a message on Tumblr and does take time and practice to learn to live with.

Great articles written by mental health professionals can be found here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/archive?search=anxiety&op=Search§ion=All&page=0

If you are feeling open to it or feel that it may be necessary, then you can always bring up to your partner how you are feeling. I don't mean you tell them every time you feel scrambled or worried that you did the wrong thing because then it is going to happen A LOT. What I mean is that you could tell them that you do feel emotions intensely and that you get the feeling in your esophagus so they can better understand what you go through because it's always important for your partner to know what lens you experience life from. From there, you two can have a better understanding of each other and maybe he can take steps to re-assure you from time to time.

When you get older, you should also look into getting into therapy to dig deeper into why you feel the way you do. I think you may find that the way you feel is more common than you think and more manageable than what you've had to experience so far.

Posted October 3, 2023

[bulletholemagazine]

APRIL MUSIC FINDS

The essence of these types of posts is I'm going to talk about bands that aren't necessarily old enough to put in my "Dug Up From The Grave" ones, but definitely aren't recent enough to put in my New Releases posts too. Stuff thats about 5 years old at most but I think still deserves a mention. Here it goes.

1. Burst Synapse

I go absolutely ape for this kind of shit. Burst Synapse is a solo grindcore/industrial metal project with what sounds like a bit of mathcore thrown in? Either way it sounds abrasive and pissed as fuck and I'm here for it. Anything featured on the Big Money Cybergrind compilations is completely out of pocket, surprised people haven't caught onto it considering for how long it's been a thing. As I mentioned in the last post (read it if you haven't), this stuff is in the same ballpark as Hitbox, ergo early metalcore soaked in cybergrind and other harsh electronic genres, creating a heavy and experimental mess. That being said, the guy that runs this is an instagram twink. Doesn't get any better than that. Hope he releases something new soon, he's really carved out his own unique sound.

2. Yüth Forever

Isn't that literally how scottish people would say "youth forever"? These guys come from the Traitors sort of downtempo groovy as fuck school of deathcore, but they also have all the weird whammy wizardry that numetalcore bands do now. Their sound is pretty ahead of its time in terms of that, and it's even more satisfying considering how catchy their songs are. Seriously, this and their 2013 album are absolute JUICE. No offense to any of the newer bands that do this style, but I feel like Yüth Forever gets right what most of them get wrong - catchyness before production and absurd ass breakdowns. Almost all of their songs that I've listened to are extremely memorable and hooky and I think that's fundamentally missing from the current Darko US clone number #4023 type of stuff that's going on. Sad that they stopped releasing after 2016, if they continued going right now they would've been popping off and respected as innovators, alongside literally every Joshua Travis project.

3. Serling

Holy fucking shit. This is the culmination of almost 7 years of endless djent memes and absurdly low tuned deathcore. Serling is a mathcore duo with only a guitarist and drummer, and their gimmick (besides being tuned to bulldozer engine frequencies) is that all their music is based around the Twilight Zone. Adds a pretty haunting tinge to their writing if you ask me, although they'll probably eventually have to drop it since there's only so much you could say about one show. Regardless, their music is INSANE. It combines all the best tropes of deathcore and mathcore and it just becomes this insane and crushing sound. What especially helps is their vocalist's highs are extremely unique, in that they sound like cries for help more than anything else. It's really sick and harrowing when you listen the first time. These guys have influenced my own music a lot, I can only be excited for whatever next they put out.

Thanks for reading! Make sure to check out all three bands I mentioned if my corny ass descriptions interest you in them. Otherwise, I've got a video on the band Admiral Angry coming out soon on Youtube, and a Fellsilent cover I did for Nuclearsilo that's supposed to drop May 6th, after spamming amuse records support emails for a month since the first time it got denied release :((((. Gimme a follow if you liked any of this and want to see what else I'll be doing/have done, peace.

[hintofelation99]

The Justice League Hangs out with Duke

Bruce: Duke, it's time we had the talk.

Duke: Uh... nope. No thank you. I'm not getting the sex talk from Batman.

Bruce: What? No! The Robin talk.

Duke: But, I'm- I'm the Signal now? Isn't it a bit late for a Robin talk?

Bruce: Son, it's never too late, not for this.

Duke: Um. Ok.

Bruce: When Dick, Jason, and Tim first started as Robins they created a tradition. A tradition that continued with Stephanie, Damian, and now you.

Duke: And that tradition is?

Bruce: Taking down the Justice League. By being annoying and slightly terrifying.

Duke: OHHHHHH. Is that why no one from the Justice League talks to me?

Bruce: Yes, yes it is. But don't worry. I made an arrangement that will allow you time alone with league members to continue the tradition. You have a week to prepare.

——————

Duke: Cass, what do I do?

Cass raises an eyebrow at Duke.

Duke: For the Robin tradition thing. I have to take down the entire Justice League in a night using creative, outlandish, and original methods. But it's already been done by Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian, and Steph. So what do I do? How can I be better than all of them.

Cass smirks: Take them down too.

Duke looking at Cass like she's crazy: What?

Cass: Take. Them. Down.

Duke: Holy shit, you are terrifying.

Cass just smiles and leaves.

-> One Week Later <-

Wonder Woman, Superman, Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Black Canary, Martian Manhunter, Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian, and Steph gather in the Watchtower.

Duke: Hey guys, Batman just wanted to go through some training exercises with everyone. He'll be a little late. Harley and Ivy escaped Arkham and are trying to grow penis shaped shrubs in all the public parks. But, don't worry he asked me to go ahead and start with out him.

Green Lantern: Why are you leading this meeting?

Duke: Batman is running late and he wants me to practice leading meetings.

Green Lantern, glaring suspiciously at Duke: Are you about to do that stupid Robin tradition where you torture all of us?

Duke: What Robin tradition? Also, I'm not even a Robin? I'm the Signal.

Green Lantern continues to glare at him.

Superman: Calm down Green Lantern, the Robins never do this in front of each other.

Every League member seems to relax at this.

Duke acting confused: Uhhh, yeah. Ok, we have a few housekeeping things to do according to the list Batman left. So, I'll have everyone pair up for sparring while I handle these individually.

------

Everyone is in the training room working out or sparring. Duke approaches Tim.

Duke: Hey Tim, Bruce wanted you to look in to that Bludhaven case. Is that ok with you?

Tim: Yeah, why wouldn't it be?

Duke: Oh, I just thought it might be difficult considering what Dick did.

Tim: ...What did he do?

Duke: Wait, you haven't noticed? Oh no, I'm sorry I shouldn't have said anything.

Tim: Duke. Tell me what he did.

Duke: Well, Jason said that he replaced all your coffee with decaf.

Tim: THAT BASTARD. No wonder I've been feeling so tired! I'm going to kill him!

Duke: Wait, just stop! I heard that he hid all of it in Green Lantern's room.

Tim: Wait, why there?

Duke: Something about you being afraid of him.

Tim: WHAT?! I'm not afraid of the Green Nightlight! I'm gonna find that coffee then make Dick pay.

Duke: Oh, well cool, good luck!

------

Green Lantern: Um, what are you doing in my room?

Tim: Where is it?

Green Lantern: Where's what?

Tim: You know what I want. Give up now or face the consequences.

Green Lantern: WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

Tim: Fine. Consequences.

------

Steph, sparring with Duke: So, what's it like being the first meta bat?

Duke: Not too bad, but I could do with out the whole 'predict the future' thing.

Steph, laughing: What? You can not see the future.

Duke: I bet you $50 I can

Steph: Your on.

Duke, makes everything around him light up and uses a weird voice: In the next thirty minutes Green Lantern will flee the Watchtower in fear. Soon after Dick will be attacked by Tim.

Steph, snorts in obvious disbelief.

Steph: That was so fake-

Green Lantern runs out of the tower looking terrified.

Steph: No way.

Tim tackles Dick and they start fighting like three year old's on the floor.

Steph, handing Duke $50: Holy shit Magic Man.

Duke makes things light up and does the voice again: Oh my god.

Steph, looking excited: What?!

Duke: The- the sushi. The sushi you brought today, it's made from-

Duke pretends to choke back a sob.

Duke: It's made from the fish who was the maid of honor at Aquaman's wedding.

Steph: HOLY SHIT.

------

Steph and Aquaman sit beside each other for lunch, she pulls out her sushi and looks at Aquaman sadly.

Steph: I am so, so sorry for your loss. But just know that her sacrifice is not in vain.

Aquaman, looks confused for a second then sees the sushi: NOPE. Not this again! I'm leaving.

Steph: Wait! I'm sorry!

Aquaman leaves as Steph tries to chase him down.

------

Jason is laughing and filming as Dick and Tim fight.

Duke, whistles: Man, imagine if that video went on YouTube.

Jason, looking confused: What?

Duke: I'm just saying if the video of Red Robin and Nightwing fighting like kids ever got on YouTube, it'd go viral. Oh and they would be so pissed!

Jason, laughs: Too bad B would kill me if I uploaded this.

Duke: Yeah, I guess so. And you can't upload it here because then Superman would get in trouble.

Jason: Why would the boy scout get in trouble?

Duke: Cause he always uses his YouTube account on the Justice League computer. So it'd look like he uploaded it and B would find out that Superman watches cat videos while he's on monitor duty.

Jason, smirking: Huh, so you're saying if I upload this on the League computer I'd piss off Bruce, Tim, and Dick and get Supes in trouble?

Duke, acting innocent: Huh, I guess so.

-> A Few Minutes Later <-

A call from Bruce comes up on the main computer.

Superman: Hey Batman, what can I do for you?

Bruce: You, Red Hood, cave now.

Jason: What? Why me?

Bruce: Because I saw that little home video you uploaded of your brothers.

Jason: What, that wasn't me!

Bruce: I could hear you laughing while you filmed.

Jason: Dammit.

Jason and Clark leave for the cave pouting like kids.

------

Duke: Hey, Black Canary?

Black Canary: Yes Duke?

Duke: I'm sorry to do this on such short notice, but I'm very worried about Dick and Tim.

Black Canary: Why?

Duke: Well, Tim keeps claiming that Dick is out to get him. Something about Dick messing with his coffee? And Dick feels like he's just being attacked for no reason and is worried about Tim's health. Is there anyway you could intervene?

Black Canary, looking sighing and looking exhausted: Usually I have three days of preparation before dealing with bats.

Duke: I know it's just-

Duke gestures to Tim and Dick rolling on the floor fighting.

Duke: They really need help.

Black Canary: Alright, I'll see what I can do.

Black Canary attempts to intervene only to get pulled into the fight. Now the three of them are tangled in a huge, confusing fight, that's filled with yelling and hair pulling.

------

Duke: Damian! Quick!

Damian: What is it Thomas.

Duke: I think somethings wrong with Dick and Tim and maybe even Black Canary. They're all fighting and won't stop! Can you help me contain them so that we can figure out what's going on?

Damian: Fine. I shall help.

Duke: Ok, just try to herd them into this containment cell.

Damian joins the fight managing to get everyone, including himself, into the containment cell. As Damian is trying to leave Duke closes the cell. Damian angrily yells and bangs on the sound proof walls.

Duke: What? Sorry, can't hear you! My hand slipped!

------

Wonder Woman: Very well done Signal.

Duke, acting innocent: Hm?

Wonder Woman: You tricked Red Robin into scaring Green Lantern away, then into fighting Nightwing. Once that fight broke out you tricked Red Hood into uploading a video to the internet using the Superman's credentials. By uploading that video he caused both himself and Superman to face Batman's wrath. You also used the fight to trick Stephanie into annoying Aquaman to the point of leaving. Then you involved Black Canary in the fight, which was her downfall. And, as a final touch, you managed to get Robin into the fight and trapped all in a containment cell. You successfully eliminated 9 foes with one trick.

Duke: You mean 11.

Wonder Woman: What?

Duke: 11. You see, I didn't trick Red Robin, I tricked Nightwing. I had a week to prepare. In that week I convinced Dick that Tim needed to cut back on the caffeine and that Dick should help by switching all of Tim's coffee with decaf. I also convinced him to hide that coffee in the watchtower, in Green Lantern's room. So that was all true.

Wonder Woman: But, that still does not make 11?

Duke: It does. Because This morning I moved the coffee. I replaced the Flashes decaf with Tim's ultra caffeinated coffee. You see Tim has it specially manufactured to increase the caffeine levels. And, while Flash doesn't usually drink his coffee in the morning, he's always running late and forgets, he does drink coffee during training breaks. Which is now. So in about five minutes we will have an incredibly caffeinated speedster in the Watchtower. And since you're the only one around right now with a chance of catching him, that's your problem.

Right as Duke finishes Flash runs by, majorly hyped up on caffeine.

Duke: Checkmate.

------

Martian Manhunter: It appears that I am the last remaining League member.

Duke: Yeah, I don't really understand this tradition but apparently every Robin ends it by picking a favorite league member.

Martian Manhunter: Out of all the League members, why have you chosen me?

Duke: Your smart and have a lot of cool powers. Also, I dunno, I hear you sometimes feel like an outsider with the league. Cause, the whole martian thing. And I know it's not the same but, sometimes I feel like an outsider with the bats, being the only meta and all.

Martian Manhunter: You have chosen me so that we may bond over our lack of connections?

Duke: Uhhhh, yeah?

Martian Manhunter: Hm. Very well, I assume that this is your “Robin Weakness”. Apparently every Robin has one.

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<- Previous |

[thatgoblin]

Chris Redfield and Leon Kennedy x Rookie Reader Headcannons

Leon

At first you were in awe of your lead. THE Leon S. Kennedy was showing you the ropes and helping train you for the job you'd dreamed of. Hero worship was common in this line of work, but you did your best to keep it to a minimum. You didn't want to embarrass yourself after all.

In place of that hero worship came this insatiable need to make Leon proud. Whether it was memorizing and nailing every written exam or physical test, you wanted to earn his praise.

You worked hard, harder than almost everyone it seemed. Leon never saw you slacking and saw how serious you were about the job. Protecting people was what you had always wanted to do with your life.

So when the grades came back that you weren't doing so hot, you were mortified. How could you let this happen? You didn't slack off, you studied everything you could get your hands on, hell you watched instructional videos on YouTube before bed! But you still weren't making a passing grade.

You thought you would be okay with the physical part, but no matter how hard you trained, no matter the extra hours you put in, you just couldn't seem to get what everyone else did. The moves were simple, why couldn't you just grasp them?

The only thing you thought you had going for you was the firing range, but even that was less than acceptable. Every time you tried to do something the pressure got to you and you messed up. You were so busy trying to make sure you didn't fail Leon that you were failing yourself.

It was when you were called into your commanding officer's office to speak about your grades that you were sure you were done. You were given two weeks that were used for break to study and practice and retest. But you'd already had nearly four months and the best you could do was subpar.

You were in your room, packing your bags because you knew you were going to be kicked out of the program when Leon showed up.

"Hey, Kid, you leaving for break?" He asked as he leaned against the door frame of your dorm.

"Uh. . . No," you said, hanging your head in shame. "I'm flunking out. Figured that it would just be easier to pack my bag now than wait later till I was officially asked to leave."

"What? How are you flunking?" Leon asked, straightening up. "I watch you every day and you're one of the hardest working cadets I've seen."

"Hard work doesn't mean much when you can't apply it correctly," you said. "I can't get the fighting technique right, the written exams are all a bust, and I can't even shoot a gun right. I don't deserve to be here."

"Have you asked for help or for someone to tutor you? That's what I'm here for, you know," he said, moving into the room to sit on the bed next to you.

You stared at the floor as you took a deep breath, feeling all the insecurities come rushing through to the surface.

"I didn't want to disappoint you," you said. "I mean, I wanted to do it all myself without help. I wanted to make you proud that you were my lead. If I was always asking for help, what good does that do? It shows that I can't do something on my own and need my hand held like some baby."

Leon sighed as he folded his hands together between his knees.

"I get it. I do. Wanting to make your leader proud and show how good you are, but we're a team here. No one is by themselves. You're only so good as your team is and if you're not doing well then that's a reflection on us," he said.

"Oh god, are you guys getting in trouble because of me?" You asked, looking at him horrified that you were possibly making things hard for your team.

"No, no, I mean. . . We're a team for a reason. You have to lean on us and trust us so when we need to, we can lean on you and trust you. If you need help studying or practicing outside of classes, I'll help you. That's why I'm here. It can be hard to ask for help in any situation cause it means you're admitting to a weakness, but that's okay. That's how we get stronger as individuals and as a team," Leon said.

You nod with a sigh. "I have two weeks to get better before I officially am asked to leave. I don't know if I can do it on my own," you said. "Can you help me?"

"Of course. I've got your back, Kid," Leon said, giving you a soft smile.

Chris

The B.S.A.A. was not for rookies, but they needed recruits so here you were. They provided training on weapons, protocol, how to work the gear, basically everything. Because they wanted everyone to be a well oiled machine out in the field, they made sure if you couldn't cut it that you didn't make it out of training. It was life and death and while they needed the hands, they weren't sending people out to die.

The trainers rotated to take classes of trainees. You were lucky enough to get the legendary Chris Redfield for your class leader. He would be teaching everything and making sure that everyone was ready. You had heard of him before, knowing that he was a weathered agent and could almost do anything was daunting.

Which was probably why you tried to avoid him at all costs in one on one situations. He wasn't mean or an ass, but he was intimidating. His stature and history were more than enough to show he knew exactly what he was talking about. You didn't want to feel stupid or embarrass yourself, so you kept him at a distance as you worked almost on your own.

Sure there were classes and work that you were trained in, but just the fear of being the weak link in front of others was hindering you. All of your tests and physical training was mediocre at best. Sure there were people that weren't going to cut it obviously, but you were much closer to their end of the spectrum than the other end that was running circles around you.

It wasn't that you couldn't do it. You could, but sometimes you froze up because your hands did something your mind didn't want to do or nerves made you stutter and stumble over your words. Everyone in the class at least had a background in the military or the police force or FBI or CIA or some other group that was similar to this.

You on the other hand did not. You came from a more technical background rather than a physical one. While you were miles ahead on the written tests, the physical ones were going to kill your career.

So when the notice went out that you were on the chopping block to be let go unless you could prove you were capable of being in the field, you weren't surprised.

Half of you wanted to keep trying, but the other half was telling you to pack up and go. You weren't unique or special, so why bother to continue to try?

It was when you were were working with one of the large guns by the shooting range, that Chris approached you. Before then, you two hadn't said a word to each other outside of the classes or even directly to each other.

So when his large frame took a seat across from you, folding his hands on the table after setting a file next to him, watching you with the gun, you weren't sure what to think.

"Hi," you said, freezing as you looked from the gun to him.

"Y/N, right?" He asked. You nodded as you set the pieces of gun on the table. "Why are you here?"

Oh Jesus, no. Why now? Why here?

"Uh," you said, blinking rapidly as your brain tried to come up with an answer. "Because I wanna help people."

"That's usually the answer I get," he said, sitting back to let his hands drop into his lap. "That or 'to kill bio weapons.' That's also a popular one."

"Yeah?" You said, unsure of what he was getting at.

"But I don't think it's why you're here," Chris said. "Because I think you don't know why you're here." Opening the file, you could see it was all information about you. Your background, schooling, family, credit score, even online usernames. They had everything. "When I was looking through the potential trainee's info, you struck me as odd. It's not exactly an every day thing that we get people who are more tech inclined rather than have a police or military background, but it happens. Usually they wash out though and end up in our research department."

"But I don't want to be in the research department," you said, frowning. Was he going to push you over to that section of the organization? You didn't want to be there though, otherwise you would have applied there.

"Every time I talk to someone and they have the chance to go to research after speaking to them about it, they take it," Chris said. "They figured out they can't cut doing the ground work so they move to a different field, but not you. I see you everyday in training, working your ass off to keep up with everyone and you almost make it. Not quite, but almost. Almost isn't going to cut it out on a mission."

"I know, I just. . . I'm working on it," you said, trying not to sound hateful or rude as your hands started to move on autopilot, putting your gun back together. "I'm really trying and I just can't get over this stupid hump that's holding me back."

"What's that? What's holding you back?" Chris asked.

"Me. I'm holding myself back," you said with a sigh. "I second guess everything because everyone around me has the experience that I don't, but I know I can do it. I just choke when it's time to act."

"I know you have some experience that they don't," Chris said. You nodded, understanding what he was talking about.

"I was a kid when it happened, I could barely call it working experience," you said, pushing the empty magazine into the gun.

"It was for Sherry Birkin," Chris said. "Raccoon City for a 9 year old isn't something to sniff at. From what the reports said, you were by yourself for three days before you made it out."

"Yeah," you said, nodding as you moved to the handgun next, disassembling it easily. "Hid in my apartment till I saw military trucks driving by then ran out."

"You lost your whole family to what we're training you to fight," Chris said, keeping his eyes on your hands as your fingers moved without faltering as you put the gun back together. "You were a kid when that happened. I say it still counts for experience that no one else really has. You know what you're doing with the infected and you know what it's like in the aftermath. We need people who know what it's like so that we can stop it from happening again."

"So what do you propose?" You asked, looking up as you finished putting the handgun back together. "After school training? Tutoring? Or do you want me to be counselor for survivors or shove me off to R and D?"

Chris chuckled as he closed the folder to look up at your face.

"I'm not gonna cut you," he said. "You know what you're doing and you're right. You're hang up is yourself. I'm gonna work with you to get over it. It's probably one the easiest things to work through really."

"You mean I can stay?" You asked, relaxing back into the chair, not even realizing you had grown so tense.

"Yeah. I just watched you take those weapons apart and put them back together in record time without even pausing," he said, pointing to the guns in front of you. "I want to work with you, Y/N. This isn't going to be an easy fight, but I really believe you have what it takes to be a good B.S.A.A. agent."

"Thank you, Sir," you said, smiling softly. "I appreciate that."

"You're welcome. We'll start some one on one combat training tomorrow before class. You're going to be working double what the others are, but it'll be for the best in the long run," he said.

"Whatever it takes, I'll do what I need to," you said.

"Glad to here it. Now, while we're here in the shooting range, let's test your aim."

[alkalinefrog]

hey, so, I had an art related question... if all of this is too much, feel free to ignore it.

the backstory is that I've had the same laptop since early high school but recently I had a birthday (I'm 28 now). my parents got me an HP laptop, and my friend got me a tablet, which she bought off of an online friend for $30. the problem is that I haven't had new technology like... ever? none that was actually mine anyway, and certainly nothing that could handle me using it for art.

and this is especially a problem when it comes to the tablet. my friend helped me get firealpaca onto the laptop, and get the tablet set up with the right drivers, aaaaand... I cannot make one line that looks good using it. I've been using pen and paper for so long and I have a really light touch, and it feels like I have to jam the pen down to get it to register, at which point I might as well have not set the pen sensitivity to anything at all because the thickest line is the only kind I can make?? any lighter and it won't show up on the screen at all. like I can ctrl+z and it doesn't even go back a step, the line didn't get drawn. there's like a 20% chance that any line I try to put down won't actually register. and tbh this isn't really what I had wanted... it's a huion tablet, which is the brand I wanted, but I was gonna buy myself one where you can see what you're drawing on the screen of the tablet itself. not just due to coordination issues, I think I could get used to that part, but because I feel like I wouldn't be having this specific problem with getting things to register. every single line I make looks like crap with this tablet, it makes me feel like I might as well be drawing with my feet, and I've been fidgeting with settings, and it doesn't seem like anything helps. I also still don't have a mouse for the laptop yet, so I can't click and drag anything very well because it has a trackpad, so messing with sliders is already aggravating.

I feel so lost and overwhelmed, and like if I buy anything else, I'm just going to end up with more unusable stuff because *I'm* probably the problem. I just don't know anything, and trying is mentally fatiguing me so quickly... my brain knows what I want my art to look like, and my hands can do it with a real pen. I just have absolutely no clue how to make this machine produce anything.

so I guess my questions are stuff like, what equipment do you use? are there tablets that will register a light touch or am I really going to have to be this heavy handed in order to work with one? what resolution/canvas size do you usually work on? any recommendations for what program to use?

overall, I'd really like to get myself something that feels more intuitive than the tablet... honestly, I was finding some success drawing with just my finger on the touch screen of my phone at one point. there were still a lot of problems with that, but the nail in the coffin was that my phone's memory space filled up and I had to get rid of the drawing app to make it functional again (it's an iphone, which is why). maybe I should just get an ipad or something...? though, one more thing on the mountain of potential options is the last thing my crumbling ADHD brain needs. I've been taking a break from art in general because I've still maintained my 40-hours-a-week work schedule through the whole pandemic... I do 10 hour shifts and work overnight, so I technically have free time since I only work 4 days a week, but the type of work I do leaves me with no energy at all. so I've been in an art slump and I've been wanting to get out of it, but this is just making art feel impossible, even though the whole reason why I've always wished I could draw digitally is so that I can color digitally. I had been drawing things in pen and scanning them to color in photoshop, but cleanup takes so long that I literally can't produce finished work anymore. I'm out of options that aren't prohibitively labor intensive and frustrating.

this was probably way too much information, but if you have any advice I'd be really grateful.

Huh, well first off HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUDE!! Congrats on the sweet new tech (even if it's been a bit frustrating) and well-deserved celebration!

From the sounds of it I think the main issue is probably your tablet (this is pure speculation on my end though, so you know, grain of salt and all). You're right in that you shouldn't have to fight against your equipment. I have a really light touch too and I've never had the same issue. I personally don't have any experience with huion tablets, but if you're having trouble getting your lines to register then it might have been worn down by the previous user. It's not so much about buying a monitor (the screen one) vs. tablet so much as getting working equipment.

An iPad is a great alternative!! I've played around with the apple pencil and procreate and it's a super intuitive program with (obviously) super easy set up! You get the drawing on the screen AND really nice pen pressure. I'm really happy seeing it opening up new doors for more people to get into digital art!

In terms of your current laptop/tablet situation:

My set up rn is pretty pricey ngl; I have a PC desktop computer with a 16 inch Wacom Cintiq. Getting started in digital art doesn't mean you have to drop a bag on a ton of equipment right from the get go though! If you're looking for a safe small investment, I'd recommend getting a Wacom Bamboo pen tablet!

This lil' baby right here is what I started with!! I think cost-wise it floats around 70ish bucks, but that's exponentially more affordable than buying a huge monitor. One of my friends who's also a pro artist uses a similar small tablet because it works great! That's an alternative that might be worth looking into.

You can also get free trials on other drawing programs (clip studio paint is a great one!) To test and see if it's a software issue with firealpaca.

You could also try checking online forums to see if anyone else is running into similar issues, or watch some YouTube videos of people reviewing different tablets. I know this might be even more overwhelming, so I'd try and narrow the scope to focus on one thing at a time.

My best advice right now would actually be to get a mouse, or any other accessories you need. I've also been in your shoes where I was completely overwhelmed, and I can say that checking off all the small easy things makes a HUGE difference! It makes you feel more in control of the situation, and even if you're still having trouble with digital art you can at least get more comfortable using your laptop in the mean time.

You got this dude!! I believe in you!!

EDIT:

Thanks @wooliebirds!

[golbrocklovely]

I've been rewatching SnC old series from 2019, The Stanley Hotel and The Witches Forest bc they were kinda my comfort series of theirs back in the day and holy shit they have grown so much. I remember feeling kinda frustrated even back in then when they were going in without preparation (equipment, proper research) and taking things not seriously. I'm glad they dropped Jake and Corey as their filming buddies because I forgot how insufferable Corey could get and Jake was always so indifferent to things, I mean it's good to have a skeptic around but he just made dumb jokes and took nothing seriously.

Also I feel so bad for this Jennifer girl, like she was just existing really and helped them out so much and they were complete dicks to her. Yeah she came off as awkward but still, idk if it was staged that they "found" her in the hotel, but she deserved better. Like I'm sorry but rewatching this gave me the ick, like the talking behind her back making weird faces every time she said something that was actually quite interesting made me so sad for some reason. It's so rude, especially if you fucking film it and post it on YouTube for millionth to see. Idk I also come off as like awkward or weird and to think they would have made fun of me for it and kinda expose me to their huge fanbase is just ugh. I'm glad they treat their guests better now, and I do believe the whole former traphouse dynamic is kinda at fault for that, like they all were a bit immature at that stage and like I said not open to embrace the weird stuff. In the Stanley video they met with this psychic before and omg Jake was like so rude. First of all when she came to greet them he didn't even stood up, (that's a pet peeve of mine) and throughout the entire thing he was being annoyed and childish. Like even if you don't believe in that stuff show a bit respect idk it just set me off for some reason, I'm a very polite person tho so I might be overreacting lol.

hilariously, both of those series were always my least favorite. but i get why you liked them, there were parts that i liked and still do to some degree.

and yeah, the juxaposition between what they used to do then and now is crazy. back then, they literally would go to a place, corey would talk about getting chills, jake would make a fart joke, snc would have to rein them both in, eventually they would talk about the place (sometimes not accurately), explore a bit, and then they would go to do a seance only to have corey throw a fit as if this was his first time collabing with snc, they would do, something scary would maybe happen, corey would bitch that he would want to leave, jake would look bored, and then the video would end.

tale as old as time….

and the jennifer stuff has always been a bit confusing to me. first off, idk if their whole interaction of meeting her was genuine or was just meant to be seen as genuine. i can't see them hiring her to be in the video only to then shit on her the whole time. so i think they did just randomly meet her and then for some reason were uncomfortable by her. idk if they cut stuff out to make her look better or what but it was very strange regardless.

and then them treating her shit was always a bit weird to me. yeah, she was strange and little unemotional, but like… if that was the case why would you continue talking to her and then use her in the next series? and i think you're right about the dynamic of the trap house, it was all very frat boy behavior (aka douchey and childish).

jake being kinda sorta rude to the psychic was always something that was strange to me as well. him not really greeting her isn't really all that weird to me, but like his whole behavior towards her was just like "whatever" and i think that's a bit mean. also, the way the fandom reacted to her at that time was so dumb too.

it was all a bit of a mess and i'm just happy that snc aren't like that anymore and are way more professional.

[lilmissbacon]

Why Jelsa is Ridiculously Stupid

Let me start off by saying that the idea of this ship was cute at first, I have nothing against it. In fact I have a few ships myself that have nothing to back them up. I am not making this to convince people to be anti, stop the ship itself, or spread any form of hate what so ever.

But this Jelsa fandom has gone too far. And when I say "jelsa shippers," of course I don't mean ALL of them, just about 80% of them.

In fact, I'm very appreciative of the few jelsa shippers who don't go around harassing others because "jelsa is life."

Also, allow me to correct you in saying that I'm not a jelsa hater, I'm a jelsa loather. There's a difference. Most jelsa haters, hate jelsa for the sake of hating it.

I genuinely hate it.

And don't go commenting about, "how do you know you don't like it if you've never tried it?" Because you see, that's where you're wrong. I did used to ship it, when I was 11. I was a child, I was new to the internet, I didn't know better. But I do now!

I am writing this so that some who may not know, will now understand why jelsa is bad and because I need to get all of this out of my system. I am slowly dieing inside.

First; I'm gonna go into how all the excuses to ship this are pointless. Next, I'll talk about just how these two would never work out as a couple. Then, will be what the toxicity has done to not just to the ship itself, but to the big four as well. And finally, I'll go into how uncreative the shippers are and just what horrible/stupid things they've done and are still doing.

1) Excuses are Pointless

Excuse #1: They have the same powers.

...Yeah, that's like saying you ship Lavagirl (Sharboy and Lavagirl) and Bolin (LoK) because they can both control lava. That's not a valid reason to ship anyone. There needs to be actual substance and I'll only say that once because that sentence applies to every excuse here.

Excuse #2: They look alike

🤦🤦🤦 First of all: that's also like saying you ship Tiana (Princess and the Frog) and Frozone (The Incredibles) because they're both black. Second of all: no they don't. It may be because I'm an artist so I notice small details, but here's how it is; Jack's hair is white, Elsa's is platinum blonde. Jack has a square chin, Elsa has a round face. Jack is much paler! THEIR EYES AREN'T EVEN THE SAME SHADE OF BLUE!!! Your excuse is null and void. Even so, if characters do look alike, then they're most likely to be related. Especially in animation.

Excuse #3: Jack can teach Elsa to have fun and Elsa can teach Jack to be serious

This clearly proves the point that jelsa shippers don't know these characters. The job of teaching Elsa how to be social and have fun is already taken by Anna. So if anything, Elsa will see Jack as a younger brother. And Jack wouldn't have been chosen to take on such a responsibility of guardianship if he didn't know when to quit. I don't know what it is about playful characters that make people think they're obnoxious. Jack is an immortal teenager with the heart of a child, that's what makes him a good guardian. But he's been alive for over 300 years, he bound to have the mind capacity of an adult and he does know better. He doesn't play when he's in battle, he's dead serious.

Excuse #4: They understand each other because they were both isolated for a long time

I don't know where you come from but people don't really "bond" over their trauma. Infact, if anything, that would make the relationship more unstable. Plus, Elsa isolated herself for 13 years because she was afraid of her powers. Jack was forced into isolation for 300 years! He has never been afraid of his powers and Elsa could still be seen throughout the day by parents and servants. They would never be able understand what the other went through.

Excuse #5: They both have a sister they love

SO WHAT?! At least half of the population have sisters. Simple as that. It's a horrible excuse.

Excuse #6: They both have an enemy in fear

Bruh, almost every fictional character has to deal with their fears, literal or mental. It's not at all unique to these two.

Excuse #7: Jack can teach Elsa to control her powers

She already has control of them by the end of the movie. And even if you mean prier to that, the reason she couldn't control them was because she feared them. I doubt that even if she could see him and if he showed her his powers, she's be irrational, believing that their powers were different.

Excuse #8: William Joyce says he ships it

Really, you're going to base the possibility of a ship because the writer of the 'books' that "inspired" rotg says he likes it. First: the books and movie are not the same worlds. Two: he most likely stated this in order for jelsa shippers to shut up to him about it. And three: his own canon with the books is a mess as it is. With him adding a bunch on random/unnecessary details on twitter that have no relevance or reference in the books. Even if he does ship it, everything that's going on with Jack's character in the books is weird enough as it is. Plus he's physically 14 in the books. I know age doesn't really matter but Elsa would definitely feel weird about dating someone who looks so young when she's currently 24 by the second movie.

Excuse #9: They could've met before the events of rotg

Not a reason to ship them but whatever 🙄 Even if their stories were based in the same world (which it isn't), Elsa never would've believed in fairy tales. Having to grow up so soon and all. She believes in magic, of course, but you need to believe in the individuals themselves in order to see them. Plus it is very clear in rotg that Jamie is Jack's first believer.

Excuse #10: Now that Frozen 2 is out, they are both spirits who followed the memories of their loved ones. They can live forever together!

Once AGAIN, how does this factor to them being a good couple? Plus the title of spirit is different in the Frozen-verse than the Guardian-verse. Guardian-verse; they are un-aging beings who keep the entire world in balance. Frozen-verse; never confirmed to be immortal (especially since 3 out of 5 spirits are inanimate objects), magical things that keep a single forest secure. The only reason the elements needed a fifth spirit was most likely because the one before Elsa died of old age. Plus the idea of Elsa outliving Anna goes against the theme of sisterly love that both movies strive on. This can be changed in fanfiction but I hate how people lie about her mortality for an excuse to ship.

Excuse #11: They're both single

So what? People ship characters who aren't single with other characters all the time. That's not a reason to ship them. Especially since your statement is false because Tooth is Jack's canon love interest.

It is true that jelsa haters will give reasons to not ship that I necessarily don't agree with.

•Like the age gap — Jack has the mental capacity of an adult, as I've said before. He's smart enough to make his own choices.

•Elsa not being immortal — that doesn't mean they can't still date, even if he outlives her. Plus you can change that in fanfiction.

•They come from different studios and will never be canon — Again, this is fanfiction, we can do whatever we want.

•Elsa is independent and shipping her with someone takes her independence away — for one: most of the world is bound to find love at some point in time. I would imagine that Elsa would want to find love like her sister. Two: Mulan, Pocahontas and Jasmine are very independent and they all still ended up with men. Three: she's not that independent to begin with. Independence isn't relationship status, it's your ability to make it on your own and Elsa is clearly, very dependant on Anna and her safety. Which is actually what pushes her to being a bad sister in Frozen 2. In fact it is because they made her more 'independant' in the sequel that Elsa clearly, no longer loves Anna as much as Anna loves her (you can check out Watso Videos' video on YouTube about how Elsa is a bad sister bc I'm not gonna go into it here).

My god that was ALL just part one. This is gonna take forever 😰

2) How they would never work out

For Elsa, she needs someone who is calm and collected. A rock for her to stand on when she's being irrational. Possibly even someone who is very stoic and straight to the point but with enough sense of humor to lighten the mood. And now that I'm thinking about it, Honeymaren fits that description to a tee. I'm not one to push LGBT+ in anyone's face, but I'm not gonna judge ships on characters assumed sexualities either. Even though Honeymaren didn't have much screen time, her personality still showed through and Elsamaren could very well work.

Jack on the other hand needs someone who would be able to keep up with his playful nature as well as be a rock for him to stand on when he's emotional. Tooth is a good suitor even though I don't really ship it myself. Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel could also fit in this description.

They don't have the ability to be each other's rocks. They can't be stable if they both need someone to keep them so. If they were to date, the relationship would crumble before it even began.

Plus Jack has to be a guardian and there are a lot of fanfics that go into this idea of Jack being the king of Arendalle? First off: I'm fairly certain that you can't marry into royalty to become king. At least in the real world. Second: Jack wouldn't be able to handle that responsibility with him already being a guardian. And he can't just leave guardianship either, it was what he always was and was ment to be. And Elsa has the responsibility of keeping a magical forest in check, she can't leave to become a guardian.

3) The Toxicity

Oh my God! The fanfiction! As I usually say, you can do whatever you want in fanfiction. But if you have to butcher all the characters so much in EVERY fanfic in order to make the ship work, then there's clearly something wrong here! In every fanfic I've ever seen, the characters are so out of character it's insane. Not just Jack and Elsa, every character.

Olaf for example, is practically in love with Jack first meeting, in every fanfic. If he were to actually meet Jack, he would be apprehensive of him.

It's horrifying in not only that, but jelsa shippers will add Rapunzel a lot, just in spite of Jackunzel. They turn Rapunzel into a needy ex-girlfriend of Jack's when in reality, she's a very sweet and kind soul. Even if she and Jack had dated, they would've split on good terms and stayed friends after. There have also been cases where they do the same but with Tooth. Sometimes even both and it's honestly sick.

And let's talk about the sexism as well HAHA! I swear to God, they will rewrite Frozen but where Jack will save Elsa instead of Anna. They write Elsa as a hormonal teenage girl who falls in love with Jack within seconds.

This is from an actual jelsa shipper, my dude. WTF!!! They make Jack super dominant as well as a douche who cheats on Elsa half the time. Jack is not that dominant, he's a very emotional guy. And he'd be the most faithful boyfriend on the planet. He was alone for 300 years! If anything, he'd be clingy but not too clingy because he also understands personal space.

And if you like angsty fanfiction where a character cheats on the other, there are literally no fanfics where Elsa cheats on Jack. As if a woman couldn't possibly cheat. This is very sexist towards men and women and is toxic as hell.

If anything, Elsa would cheat on Jack, she's not exactly trustworthy in keeping promises or being loyal.

I swear, half of the jelsa shippers has never even seen rotg and just go by what they read in others fanfiction.

Jelsa shippers have gotten so bad about this ship that they've low-key harassed people for not shipping it, as well as start shipping wars within the big four fandom. That's the reason the fandom truly shrunk after 2013. I've seen posts about people admitting to leaving the fandom because it got so bad.

4) The Shippers

Jelsa shippers have literally threatened lives, not just to other fans but even to the creators of the movies. Literally threatening them into making the ship canon. They've made patitions to make it canon as if that would work. They've even harassed a lot of recent shippers to Elsamaren because "jelsa is canon."

Oh look at that, they're homophobic too...

...

...

...

... That's great 🙃

Isn't it a bigger sin to love a celestial being though? Therefore the fact that you –as a toxic christian– ship Elsa with a spirit it worse.

THEY'RE DELUSIONAL!!! So many of them have shipped jelsa so long that legit think it's canon!

Not only all that mess but there are literally more jelsa games on the internet then there are Merida games. I'm specifying this for personal reasons (aka Merida is my fave Disney princess)

And let's continue on with what really aggravates me as an artist. Jelsa shippers, stealing artwork, mostly from Jackunzel. This is not just a rumor, it's very much real.

And it doesn't help when all of their actual original fanart is just them taking scenes from Frozen and adding Jack. Then to add more salt on the wound is that almost all the fanfiction is the same, whether it'd be based during Frozen, rotg or in a highschool au.

There's literally nothing original about or going on with this ship, even after Frozen 2 came out, the shippers and fanfiction haven't changed. If anything it made the shippers spike up again.

The only thing that could say is original about jelsa is the frost daughter fanon. Oh boy! What we have to unpack here.

This is something that I recently heard about...

...

I am mortified.

Frost daughters is this little thing that jelsa shippers came up with, believing Jack and Elsa (if they could get pregnant) would have nothing but girls. What's scary about it is they're designs. Like they're trying to be original... But it's not really going great.

Most of them are just young!Elsa copies, some are edits of Elsa with Jack's hair color.

For example:

This is fine, this follows genetrical rules. I'm fine with this.

But what has me low-key petrified are some of the other designs.

Like... WTF IS ALL OF THIS!!! Where are this colors coming from?!! I don't understand 😭 You can see in the screen shots that these are literally titled as daughters of jelsa.

The white haired ones are fine. The ginger is understandable. Got it from Elsa's dad's genes. That's okay. A few are wearing pink? They can wear what ever they want. But wtf I'd going on with Nevada? Why is she black? Jack and Elsa the pastiest of white! And you cannot tell me that she got it from Elsa's mom because this was made BEFORE Frozen 2 and her mother is still white as an adult.

Where tf does the blue and pink hair come from? None of these make sense!

I want to kill myself, just looking at these!

That's gonna be the end of this rant

Now I'll say it again, I really have nothing against the ship itself. I too have casual ships that make no sense. But with ALL the fanfiction and fanart being so unoriginal and most jelsa shippers low-key being dangerous, it's hard for me respect people's opinions about it.

I try, trust me, I do! But it's become so murky in my brain that I can't tell the difference anymore and I'm also just not a fan of Elsa's character in general. And I like ships that actually make sense.

And being that I'm an equalist... it's really hard for me to look at this stuff and not get pissed off. I'm sorry if all of this comes off as aggressive because it kinda is.

I'm just very passionate, okay?

I hope you understand where I'm coming from. None of the pictures I used are mine. And I hope you have a good day?

[lizzybeth1986]

The white characters usually get more attention from the writers but I’ve noticed that the fandom doesn’t hold black character and other CoC to the same standart. Asian Liam, Poppy, Kat, Damien, Thomas, Alana and Raleigh instantly become fan favourites whereas black characters like Sloane, Shane, Zoey, Kiara, Lily and Luke barely get a #TheyDeservedBetter mention. Why are asian and latino characters and faces so much more popular than the black and blasian characters and faces?

(So this is something I've spoken about briefly in a couple different posts, so thank you for the opportunity to let me expand on this a little, anon)

TW: fandom racism, and I mean some of the examples are pretty damn gross

You're right. I've spoken before about how even when we speak of character-of-colour treatment in the fandom, we tend to miss noticing that there's often a hierarchy within that broader category. White characters of course get way more of a pass from PB and the fandom, but you'll notice for instance that certain characters of colour (and you'll find that majority of these seem to be the Latino LIs) get away with messy behaviour more than others...under certain conditions. I have a couple brief thoughts over why.

Colourism

When we speak about racism, it isn't simply enough to frame it as white vs POC. Leaving it to just that simple binary makes it easy for people to miss the nuances of how we view different people of colour. It even allows some to justify their "preferences" in LIs and favourite characters by claiming "I don't only like white characters! See, my MCs date Zig and Damien" (believe me, I've seen this argument myself preeeetty often).

For those not familiar with the term, colourism refers to discrimination that focuses on skin tone, and not just race. Often, you can find people discriminating against others in their own communities for being darker skinned, and you will also notice that lighter-skinned people of a certain race will be viewed as more attractive and more deserving of opportunities to darker-skinned ones. Examining racism without going into the harm of colourism leaves out a HUGE chunk of the nuance that goes into this discussion. Here are two really good videos that go into how colourism plays out in larger race discrimination: "This is Colorism" by YouTuber T1J, and (my favourite!) "Confessions of A D-Girl", a TED Talk by Chika Okoro.

There are many of us who enter into a new series for the first time looking out for characters to pair our MCs with (not all, mind you...but from what I'm seeing on my dash and in the tags, many). And the thing with going into a series with romantic attraction in mind, is that the characters you have a preference for? At least in this fandom? They're also the ones you'll give the most sympathy to, the ones you'll spend the most money on, the ones whose actions you'll keep striving to justify no matter how ridiculous said actions may be. The way the fandom is now, being "attracted" to a character type doesn't simply account for the way they're romanced: it accounts often for whether we see them as human at all. 

It accounts for who we choose to understand vs who we choose to hate on, when these characters mess up or make mistakes. So a Damien can get away with not apologizing to Hayden or Sloane for his past hypocrisy and hostility - to the point where his fans will hail his growth as "exceptional" for the tiniest crumb of humanity towards these two characters - but a Shane will be called "not a true friend" for rightly pointing out that perhaps his BFF is not as invested in their friendship as he is.

In short, I think we as a fandom tend to assign worth based on desirability. And that "desirability" is often limited to whiteness, or to an adjacency to whiteness. The closer you are to "white" the more attractive this fandom may find a character, and the more forgiving they will be of their flaws.

You'll notice that most of the CoC who get this preferential treatment tend to have lighter skin tones - like you mentioned, often the Latino or Asian characters. I would, however, acknowledge that other factors deserve to be pointed out too.

1. For instance, are the differences in CoC treatment related to the overall cast of characters, esp LIs? For instance, would a Justin be so easily viewed as "abusive" (!) if the BFF character wasn't default white? Would a Damien have really been treated so well mid-Book if the only "white" "male" LI in the cast wasn't customizable?

2. Customizable characters. Contrary to popular notions of them being "favourites" and "forced" in general, I've noticed some...pretty disturbing trends in the way fandom chooses to perceive them (more on this in a future essay). Suffice to say that I've noticed that customizable characters are treated best (both by fandom and PB) when either there are no default white/"preferred ethnicity" characters, or when there's more than one customizable character and the default option...is dark skinned (Platinum, hello?). Cases where the race is non-customizable but the gender is...also factor into how we treat them.

In every other case, the fandom has often set  them to standards that they know are impossibly high, and has been guilty of constantly shifting goal posts to justify a negative opinion of said character (Liam and Hayden are the biggest examples I can give of this trend. Just look into how often Liam is called "creepy" for just breathing next to the MC or Hayden being labelled "whiny and complaining" for rightfully calling out their friends for treating them like a goddamn object). Most times, said people in the fandom justify the vitriol as "pushback against a forced LI", which I personally find hilarious given the actually forced LIs tend to be the darlings of the same fandom.

3. Sexism. Very often women of the  ethnicities that the anon has mentioned above, are not always given the same amount of consideration either. Do the female characters listed in anon's ask (Poppy, Alana) get more preferential treatment than a Lily or a Zoey do? Very much. But I feel like I still can't place them on the level of treatment their male counterparts get. After all, Hana Lee is Chinese, and she's been given a gross amount of hate for no fault of her own, and just because the team that wrote her refused to explore her immense potential. How did the fandom speak about that problem? By constantly comparing her to a white woman and speaking of her in derogatory terms. Ergo - they decided she was the problem, and chose to shit on her to prop up Olivia instead.

Plus, it's far, far easier for us as a fandom to make one flaw of a WOC her entire character, while brushing aside her male counterpart's own flaws as things that make him cool or interesting. Look at the people some fans compare Poppy - a freaking college student - to. Vanessa. GAIUS. Look at how Jackie Varma is often still viewed with the same annoyance and irritation by fandom in the latter book, even though she has grown and changed and acknowledged the MC's gifts in their profession in the previous one. This is something black women in the books face the most, but other women of colour face this too in comparison to the lighter-skinned MOC.

(I must take the time here to highlight - as a South Asian woman who used to light up every time a desi character was introduced - how appallingly we treat the few South Asian female LIs in the books. No one bothered to explore the roots of the problems in Teja's characterization, instead happily comparing her to Marcus von Groot like canon did and viewing her as merely a bad character rather than one who was unjustly treated to poor storylines by the team. People were more than happy to shit on Jackie for her distancing from the MC, rather than even questioning why she was being written out of the story like this. Y'all will have deep dives for every pasty white character or "spicy brown" character that sneers at you, why the hell did you not have the same energy to give these women?)

Not many will highlight straightaway that they don't find darker skinned people attractive enough to show empathy to... but in this case the actions speak louder than words. Choosing lighter skinned LIs of color to prove you have POC in your LI roster, making snide comments about the appearance of the darker skinned sprites ("their smiles look like a horse's" - yes I  actually recall reading that shit with my own two eyes), using whitewashed faceclaims for them repeatedly, focusing on ONE moment that you dislike in their stories rather than their entire arc, constantly ignoring their issues and taking their dialogues out of context...no one is going to straight out tell the world if they have that inherent colorist bias, but one  can tell when they do.

Sexual Stereotyping (Objectification? Fetishizing?)

I mentioned in the previous section that very often Latine LIs (mostly the male ones but sometimes that includes certain female LIs like Sonia or Bianca or an Egyptian LI like Kamilah - though not always to the same extent) tend to be treated "well" by PB and the fandom...esp when the rest of the LI cast include darker skinned or customizable characters. But it would be remiss of me to mention this without going into the other, very dangerous trend we follow in our discussions of them - that we often reduce them to their antics in the bedroom.

Most of the fandom is aware of, and speaks about this. How often we talk about their sex scenes, their dirty talk, over any other thing they say or do...how the fanfic featuring those characters have them yell badly-translated Spanish during smut scenes. The moment Damien began to say "get down to your knees", the fandom basically left no stone unturned to speak of him more as a sex object than as a person. And PB leans into this: Damien's sex scenes are written with more care than most things in his story, Raleigh's Spanish dialogue in their final sex scene is given more attention than their entire arc, the fandom goes gaga everytime the MoTY MC says "sir" in front of Thomas.

So even while such LIs benefit in some ways from the preferential treatment, it still comes at the price of them being seen as whole human characters. The underlying sentiment is still "we will like you but only when you prove that you're desirable enough to fuck". Up until such a point, comments on a Damien or Justin will range from pure annoyance to straight-up accusations of "abuse". It's still not the same level of empathy we're often willing to extend to a default white character like Beckett or Ethan or Drake - who are often viewed as more than their bedroom antics.

There are times when this extends to how we view other lighter skinned CoC as well - though not always to the extent of Latino characters. You see this on occasion with a couple of Asian male LIs, such as Jax or Asian Liam - not very often with South Asian male LIs since there aren't any who are adults (Ajay is still in school, but I did see the fandom flip every time he called the MC "jaan". I can only hope it was an innocent joy at seeing a Hindi/Urdu word somewhere).

An interesting contrast to this would be the fandom reaction to Zephyr from TE (not an LI, but clearly a prominent character - placed in a similar "valued friend" role as Zack from TF), who was both brown AND aro-ace. He was suspected almost immediately, people were intent on labelling him untrustworthy almost as soon as it was clear that he wouldn't be a romantic option. He was mocked and called annoying and once it was clear he was innocent, none of the Beckett stans who badmouthed him earlier, spoke about the things they'd said - instead they moved on to showering sympathy on the actual culprit in that scenario. How much of that might have been related to being unable to shove him into the box that many Latino characters had already been placed into? I honestly don't know. But I do wonder about it sometimes.

So...well...MOC who are light skinned, or of an ethnicity that people can easily sexualize/objectify...get "better treatment" than black characters. But when I see that treatment on its own, or in relation to the white characters...can I really call it "better"? To what extent can forcing brown characters into stereotypes that make their body and their more sexual aspects more prominent or important... really be called good treatment?

Black Characters

Right so...here's where I'd like to point you to some other fab posts on fandom racism and hypocrisy from fellow black players...coz this is stuff they've been speaking about for a long, long time. This is a very small list, so anyone who has seen more of those and would like to add, feel free! I'll update it on this post:

"Being (a) Black (LI) in Choices"

A reblog I recently saw that was not Choices fandom centric per se, but mentions how fandoms suddenly take an interest in white side characters when the main love interest is a person of color

This post that was written after Omar from AME was given a goddamn DOG as a fucking faceclaim

Treatment meted out to unpopular female characters

Related to this, how black female antagonists were written vs others, esp white ones

These posts about Dallas James  and why the fandom suddenly turns their back on the "grumpy slowburn LI" when he is black. The second essay explores a variety of coc besides him, though.

On Shane and Feeling Betrayed

This fantastic essay on Lily Spencer, written way back when BB Book 1 was out. It's mostly about PB, but does discuss some of the fandom issues as well

This essay on Kiara, written back in Book 3

This essay on both Harper and Aurora Emery

This wasn't calling out the fandom or anything re: Abbie Bishop in The Freshman series, but I do recall it really shifted dialogue from "Abbie and Tyler are both annoying" to actually looking at Tyler's treatment of her.

The sheer lack of content and vocal love for certain black characters

As far as my memory goes, here's a sample of the opinions I've seen on black characters in fandom:

- Mocked for having trouble interacting in social settings and general awkwardness (Sloane)

- Hated on for breathing in their fave LI's direction (Kiara. Mind you, Olivia on the other hand can force a kiss on Liam and the same fandom simply shrugs)

- Suspected of shady shit even when it's clear the culprit is someone else (Grant, Griffin, Aurora, and now Zoey)

- Mistrusted even after they prove to us they're on our side (Sloane, Vera)

- Hated on for not being the "perfect" friend (Shane)

- Hated on for not wanting to be friends (Aurora)

- Hated on for normal responses to a traumatic situation (Imogen)

- Hated on for xenophobia (okay) without ever examining the slut shaming and biases the same character faced (Xanthe)

- Faceclaimed as a dog (Omar)

-Rejected for being "rude" (Dallas)

- Called "forced LI" when Beckett fucking Harrington was in the same fucking book (Griffin)

- Rejected because his story arc involved being a workaholic (!) (Mr Sloan from from RoE)

Btw, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There's probably a million I'm missing. But the fact of the matter is that black characters can and do get measured up against a standard that most others - that includes lighter skinned characters of colour - are not. When they are wholesome and compassionate and loving and emotional, they'll be called 'boring' or 'spineless'. The moment they voice an opinion that isn't convenient to the MC or the player, they deserve to be hated on, they deserve vitriol. There is precious little attempt to even acknowledge they have a perspective, much less explore what that perspective may be. When they're subject to bad treatment, often the same fandom will tiptoe carefully around that fact, sometimes justifying the treatment, sometimes only providing mild acknowledgement that contrasts in a huge huge way to the loud protests they'd made against the same characters earlier.

I'll come back to the original point I made- the disturbing trend of correlating desirability to worth, and who we choose to give empathy to. In a colourist/racist society especially, that has dangerous repercussions. In a society that sees darker skinned people as...not good enough, not worthy enough, not attractive enough (though it won't be said out loud), an attitude that views a black person as not meriting concern or empathy in situations where white or lighter skinned characters would - results in an environment where PB can almost get away with killing a Rafael from OH because he's "not that popular".

Most of the awful stuff that has happened to multiple black characters, happened because PB believed they could get away with it. And where did they get that impression from? I don't know. You tell me.

[flowersinmytimemachine]

The German song that mentions Mclennon

Okay so as I've already said, there is a song in German that names John, Paul and also Yoko Ono. They are only mentioned in the chorus but concerning the topic of the song I think it is worth talking about.

The song is called "Kogong" by Mark Forster. (Sollten das hier deutschsprachige Leute lesen, bitte tötet mich nicht :D)

Here is the official music video:

1. About the singer

Mark Forster is a 35-year-old German Singer-Songwriter. He had his first major hit in 2014 and ever since has been able to become one of Germanys most famous pop singers. He is known for his catchy and easy-going tunes. Most of the songs talk about love, self-confidence or just having a good time.

Just like many people, I know a bunch of his songs without really being a fan. They just play his hits on the radio ALL THE TIME. Despite his fame, some people say that his songs literally sound more or less the same. (If you want to get a better idea of his usual sound, some of my favourites are: "Flash mich", "Au revoir", EFF- "Stimme")

Why am I telling you all of this? Well, "Kogong" is quite the opposite of that. Maybe you could hear that this song sounds rather melancholic and slow. And guess what? That piano that you can hear in the background? Yep, that's Pauls piano. Mark Forster literally flew to London just to record this song at Abbey Road Studios. He says:

"We recorded 'Kogong' at Abbey Road Studios, in Studio 2, where the Beatles made all their records. And the piano that you can hear in 'Kogong' is the same piano that Paul Mccartney played 'Let It Be' on. That was quite special for me and my band and I think you can hear that the old Beatles spirit somewhat comes through in it."

Kogong came out in 2017. It was released on the only album by Forster that has an overall more serious sound. So what exactly is "Kogong" about?

2. The lyrics

Here are two pictures, one with the German lyrics and one with a translation by me.

When you read the lyrics, you will probably see that it is kinda hard to understand, especially after only one listen. Quite a few phrases don't seem to make a lot of sense. Well German audiences were not so happy either with this piece. Some said that the melody is good even though nobody was used to this kind of song by Forster. But the comments online seem to share the same opinion on the text: Forster probably only wanted to show that he is also able to write more intellectual sounding songs. Many just view it as avantgardist crap. Then again the video has 20 Mio views on YouTube and is currently his 6th most listened to song on Spotify so 🤔

But now about the interesting stuff. How could ANYONE who knows at least the slightest bit about Mclennon not stumble across this line:

"I am fucking Yoko Ono. My heart is Paul and John."

My heart is Paul and John? Yes Mark, I couldn't have said it any better myself. So ever since this song came out, I was curious what all these confusing lyrics could mean. Where is the connection between this one line and the rest of the song? What did Mark Forster say about it?

3. Interpretation

Here is a statement by Forster:

"Kogong is the sound of the heart when it's listening. The song is about small and big things that my heart told me but that I kind of couldn't really hear. I really hope that I'll be able to pay more attention to it in the future, so maybe this song is my new start."

So the subject of the song is not really able to listen to its heart. Furthermore, the lyrics hint on multiple topics and problems that the person has to face:

Being not happy at all, maybe even depressed ("you're not fine, you're only half-way fine"), this could also suggest that the subject has to keep up a facade while suffering inside

Problems in a relationship, marriage or even having an affair ("what you still want from her", "you hug eachother for far too long")

Self-image, Self-acceptance ("Wherever you are, you will always be yourself", "you need your peace")

The above mentioned quote says that this is a personal song. Another time he said that he realised that he wanted to become a singer while walking on the Road to Santiago (hence the line about hiking).

In another interview he stated that he tries to write in the same way as he thinks minus the rhymes. Overall short phrases which came to his mind.

So in concern of listening to ones heart: The lyrics suggest that the subject is not only unable to listen to its heart but rather actively ignores it due to outer circumstances. ("I don't want to hear a thing and am beating my chest like King Kong.").

Seems like there is a constant dispute between the heart and the subject. Which finally leads us to the line:

"I am fucking Yoko Ono, my heart is Paul and John."

How could a seemingly average pop singer connect a song about inner conflicts, love and self-image to John, Paul and Yoko Ono??

Well Forster said that he literally grew up with the Beatles and that they influenced him deeply. But to connect specific names to this topic, he couldn't only have been enjoying their songs. He has to know about their history and especially about their break-up. I've read a few opinions that "John" is only in there because it rhymes with "Kogong". So if he came up with that name and him being a Beatles fan, maybe the association to John Lennon isn't that far off. But why "fucking Yoko Ono"? Mark says:

"Yoko Ono is often accused of breaking up* the Beatles. And sometimes that's how I feel about my heart: Yoko Ono brings me and my heart apart." (*literally bringing apart)

?Eh?

Tbh that's hella confusing. I think he was kinda joking tho since he also states that the "fucking" is in there because of that British town. Which obviously makes no sense. Since Forster is serious about the rest of the song, its almost like he doesn't really want to talk about the true meaning of that line.

I mean the "John" could have suited only as a filler word at first. But I just don't think that other songwriters would automatically then connect that to Yoko Ono and especially Paul. Furthermore John and Paul form an unity here in the symbol of the heart. Despite the songs topic that's just such an romantic association.

Of course the average listener could easily say that this is all random nonsense. But for me who is genuinely interested in the Beatles/ Mclennon, this line doesn't seem out of context.

So if we take the lyrics of Kogong seriously, Mark Forster connects difficult romantic relationships and listening to your heart with John and Paul. Btw I know that Yoko didn't break up the Beatles, but Mark Forster is only talking about the infamous accusation of such. And even if he's only referring to the rumored breakup, wouldn't it be Beatles VS Yoko or Beatles VS John and Yoko? No, Mark Forster has to put John and Paul on one side and due to the metaphor with the heart, they together are portrayed as something pure, something romantic.

4. Conclusion

Well I can't really break the song down to every little phrase and its possible meaning. I think this post is already long enough 😅

Nevertheless "Kogong" by Mark Forster talks about conflicts with the inner-self concering love or becoming the person that you really are. All of this is quite explicitely connected to John and Paul (and Yoko) in the peak line of the chorus. (Just the way Forster sings this part is so...honest and amazing..). In my opinion, Mark Forster implies a really close (possible even romantic) connection between Paul and John while being put up against Yoko.

Shipping Mclennon or viewing their relationship as very close/romantic is often connected with horny teenagers on social media who make up crazy theories to satisfy their own desires. But here we have a man in his 30s who seemingly hints on similar ideas concerning their relationship in one of his most famous songs. And I know that this is not the first time that pop culture mentions their connection in that way but its actually the first very serious approach that I know of.

And maybe I am really reading too much into all of this. ( I mean I'm a Mclennon shipper after all lol) But in the end we still have a man who flew all the way to London just to sing-scream "I am fucking Yoko Ono, my heart is Paul and John" at Abbey Road Studios and I think that's pretty cool.

If you finished this mess till the end, thank you so much and let me know your opinion on it! ☺️🙌

(Sorry for any writing mistakes and I also have the sources of the quotes at hand, but obviously they are in German)