#fr anyone with any thoughts about it positive of negative let me know!

[xaz-fr]

Afamiliars beware

since I’m banned I don’t really care anymore. Buckle up, its long and I’m not gonna put it under a read more because :))) these girls have broken my spirit for the last time.

If you’ve ever seen a community around called Afamiliar: don’t join it :)))

For those who don’t know what Afams is. Its where you can order a little drawing of a familiar from FR and it comes with unique colors and markings and can dress it up, breed, it and scavenge with it. Artists make them in a queue and fill orders as they come in.*

The admins are INCREDIBLY toxic. They can’t take any sort of criticism and they play favorites with who and how people get punished. You aren’t even allowed to say you’re unhappy about anything. Ever. Or if you do you get a strike. If you call out the team or admin’s hypocritical behavior you get a strike. If you stand up for yourself when the admins are clearly doing these things you get a strike.

I was part of Afamiliars for two years and was part of the team for a year and during that time I watched the entire thing fall apart. They really try to make it seem like they’re one big family but its just not true. The admins and owners Myndris and Sketchanie are both pretty toxic and talk about people, members of their community and their staff of artists and other team members, behind their back and make snide comments about them constantly. And while everyone else is held accountable to the rules neither of them or their friends are. Myndris talked so much shit about someone she had the entire team convinced they were a terrible person just because they didn’t like some art they got. The best part is when the admins agree with you about things you have problems with in Afamiliars in private over DMs and then publicly renounce everything you say. So hypocritical AND completely two faced. My absolute favorite :)

I was fired from my position as artist in July because another team member antagonized me into telling them to shut the fuck up because I wanted to be able to have open dialogues about the actual stuff that was bothering me. I ended up leaving for a week I was so furious at the state of things and why the admin team had such shitty conflict resolution. No negativity. Nothing in any way could be perceived as negative or you got a strike, so long as you weren’t a friend of the Admins. If you were they’d just tell you to stop. It was full on ‘no war in Ba Sing Sa’ in the Afams server and still is. Which is why I left and then for a week not a single member of staff reached out to me to see if I was okay. In fact after I left the community noticed and they started deleting messages asking what happened and where I was and where I’d gone and why I’d left.  Their most prolific artist had just LEFT and the only way they thought to respond was to delete every message that asked what happened. :)))) They also lied to the team about how many strikes I had and my ‘behavior issues’ to convince them to vote me out. Which is hilarious bc there are way worse actors in the team than me.

But saying anything that might be slightly confrontational got you a warning or a strike. So it was literally impossible to have any sort of adult conversations that might make people upset. Things that had been bothering me for seven months. Things the admins agreed with and refused to do anything about. They just let it sit. And stew. Agreeing with all the problems you have with X thing in private while publicly acting like it wasn’t a problem at all.

They also don’t listen to feedback like... at all. I’m not expecting anyone to be perfect and I know we’re all only human but they keep making the same comedy of errors again. And again. And again. To the point that now they’re two most popular artists are either gone, or about to be gone. They’d been given feedback from multiple people multiple times about how a trial mod on the team makes certain people uncomfortable and instead of removing that person they doubled down on them and did not remove them. And then when people went to other admins about the problem THAT WAS SHARED with the person in question. Admin specific information saying how people were uncomfortable with someone with that person. Probably with their name attached. When I brought THAT to an admin again nothing was done.

In the past few months I’ve just watched the team and the server completely fucking implode. The admins doubling down on zero negativity even as more and more people realize... something isn’t right. More people, people I don’t even talk to!, mention things that are a bit more aggressive than the admins would like. Someone even got muted on the server for telling a mod that an admin had dealt with the problem and the mod was then continuing to antagonize the original problem; which is against the rules. Someone got harassed over DMs by another member, asked where they could submit a report and posted proof of it, and they were the one given the strike and told that the admins do not moderate DMs. But they do sometimes feel the need to moderate and condone certain discord servers run by people they don’t like :) Which is a true thing.

In the past week the second most prolific artist left because one of the admins called the afams everyone makes ‘a miserable pile of pixels’ in reference to how much drama they get in the server and feedback form. This obviously upset some people and so said artist is taking a break for a month. I know she’s not a fool. She also sees what’s happening. She might go back but I doubt it and I hope she’s much less stressed out whatever she chooses to do. Then another artist stepped down the next day. Then just today a third artist stepped down, both of which were admins. So within a week 3 artists felt the need to step down to focus on themselves and mental health issues.

I’ve never attacked any of these people by the way except when they say shit about me that is categorically untrue. Or they show up trying to bully me. Which they also do. I was friends with all these people in the team while I was on the team until one day they just decided I wasn’t :) Not allowed to be friends with the admins anymore if you call them out on their hypocrisy.

And then today they finally banned me from the server. Which I wasn’t really a part of anyway and didn’t participate in much. And people have said worse and done worse to the team and admins but because I’m the designated server villain everything I do is worse.

This is why I was banned

from the latest admin artist that stepped down after giving their message they were stepping down. And I said ‘that seems pretty call-outy and overly negative to me’ which is... against all the rules on the server. But I’m the villain. So I’m not allowed to point it out.

The other admin said this to me pointing out that THIS ADMIN was breaking the site rules

Even tho I’ve legit gotten a strike just for saying ‘I don’t like this thing you’ve done. I’m not gonna talk about it but I want you to know I don’t like this decision you’ve made’.  And these rules also exist in the team only area and it says that  NO ONE is exempt. And I said as much. Because that’s bullshit.

At least unless you’re the owner’s wife. Than you can do whaaaatever you want :)

But yeah. Fuck Afamiliars. I’ve seen the writing on the wall for the past year. They’re gonna implode, or explode, and the admins are gonna be busy finger pointing at everyone but themselves for the problems. In Sketch’s stepping down message she said this exactly

I understand there have been many fuck ups on our end, and I apologize for those, but we have always strived to learn from those mistakes. And I'd like to think that we do a little better each time. 

Which is not what I’ve seen the past few months. Instead they’ve doubled down on Being Right at all costs, not listening to community feedback, lashing out at people who call them out on their bullshit and hypocrisy and I know they still talk shit about their community members in DMs with their stooges.

It’s been a BEAUTIFUL fireball to watch the past 3 months since I was fired.

*Lots of artists don’t actually fill their orders. They just let their queues fill up into huge ribbons on trello and then once a month maybe fill 1-4 orders. One artist has been around 10 months and made so little art their orders can’t even fill 4 pages on discord search. So you’re stuck waiting months, or sometimes YEARS, for a project you want to fill. A friend of mine just gave up on a project because they’d been waiting two and a half years. But the queues on all artists except for maybe... idk, 3-4 artists (including me at the time) were so slow you would be waiting and waiting and legitimately no progress was made. There used to be a rule of 1 afam a week to keep queues moving but sometime around the time Sketch decided to stop making afams that rule was quietly removed.

[lezarus]

hmm you liked power of the dog? i watched it last night and found it underwhelming. i kinda wanna know what you thought of it or why you liked it, i’m still chewing on it a bit

i’m just interested if there’s something i didn’t get about it? i’ve only seen everyone raving about it

thank you so much for asking! i have a lot to say abt this movie but itll probably have spoilers so ill put it under the cut. but ill just say for anyone thinking of watching try to go and see it on the big screen or failing that watch it in a dark room with your phone turned off and let it really draw you in

also if anyone has seen it and wants to talk about it please let me know!!

i think its hard to articulate exactly what i liked about this movie so much outside of the fact that it just made me feel breathless and exhilarated from like a scene of two people sharing a cigarette. i was also so enraptured by the way that the characters are set up in something of a one dimensional way and slowly reveal themselves to be utterly different as the movie goes on. the scene where peter says his father used to worry he wasnt kind enough feels like a beat so at odds with what we know about the character but when the reveal comes and that starts to fall into place it all feels so natural.

ive heard some reviewers say the ending felt obvious but i didnt feel that way at all. it totally took me off guard right up until the doctor says anthrax and then i had this slowly dawning realisation of what happened that hit me like a punch to the gut. i really appreciate that the movie doesnt hold your hand through the reveal and just lets it slowly settle over you that it allows you to sit and chew on the ending rather than being told exactly what happened.

i think i fell so under the spell of watching this relationship unfold that i, like phil and rose, was totally taken in by it and forgot what had happened in the first half of the film but crucially peter never does.

watching it a second time i had a very different experience to the first bc the ambiguity i felt from the ending disappeared as i watched them very delicately and deliberately set peters plan in place, all the small details i completely glossed over the first time coming into play. the detail of peter wearing gloves to touch the hide but taking them off when he reaches out to touch phil knocked me out the second time around.

i think overall i just really appreciated the subtlety but deliberateness of the movie. i LIKE that the movie is never explicit about the nature of phil and bh’s relationship bc its the sort of thing that phil himself could never be explicit about. they never spell out peters plan bc hes a character who keeps his cards so close to his chest etc. the structure of the movie is based around the way characters themselves experience the world

its a movie ive seen twice now and continue to want to talk to people about. i do understand why ppl wouldnt like it. its long and meandering and not that much really happens in the second half but i found it wildly compelling and its been a long time since i came out of a movie feeling like physical exhaustion like this

[zatdummesmadchen]

Hello, I saw you saying a while back in a reblog that you like the idea of nyo!russia x germany, and I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas about them because it's such a rarepair ksmsmdjdj

Hello! Sure, I would love to share some of my thoughts about that pair, bear with me it will be a long post. I am very glad you asked as I am always willing to talk about my beloved rare pairs :3c I prefer the name Anastasia for NyoRussia (Anya for short). Feel free to ask more and sorry if this wasn’t what you are hoping for!

Anastasia is more of a reserved elegant lady than her male counterpart, albeit still socially awkward but a very loyal and a reliable figure to have once you break through her barrier. She mostly is calm around ladies and gets flustered// wary around men at first, although having a positive appearance she still gives off an intense aura when she gets in a bad mood.

With being emotionally unstable canonically, I feel as if someone more emotionally grounded would suit her. Someone who isn’t as unstable as her and being able to take care of her while also treating her as an independent lady. Let’s say that Anastasia has high standards when it comes to her men.

Of course, in comes Ludwig. A young man who has been through so much trauma as she has from such a young age, she would definitely prefer someone who can keep her grounded like he does, respecting her choices while also willing to take care of her breakdowns and maybe not ending up breaking her heart. She’s a sensitive woman and knowing that Ludwig is careful and protective of her.

As much as Ludwig is always in awe of her mental/ physical strength and everything else about her, it’s easy for her to be vulnerable in front of him because he understands her, as someone who appears to to be in charge and strong all the times, Ludwig has those vulnerable moments as well, knowing the feeling of not being able to trust anyone.

Okay so I will give some brief answers otherwise I will be ranting all day—

When did they first meet?

Probably when Gilbert had taken Ludwig as a young teenager over to Russia to discuss some business and political matters, being as protective as he was of his little boy, it was nothing short of a miracle that he had brought along his brother as well. To her country nonetheless, perhaps because her elder sister was there to handle any negative situation.

And it’s safe to say that Anya was a tall woman, similar to her elder sister, with thickness still building up in the right areas and with decent toned muscles. Her long hair was in a braid decorated with ornaments and her eyes looked similar to a frozen lake reflecting violet skies, she was amused at the much younger and shorter German boy, lanky and awkward, genuinely curious to know more about him.

Meanwhile Ludwig was stunned. absolutely floored. Because wow, he had heard and had been excited about exploring Russia and many of its cultural surroundings but he wouldn’t necessarily mind staying in the a same mansion with this beautiful and mesmerizing woman, with a powerful presence and an intense aura, voice smooth and firm in her words. intelligent and observant. And wow, she was tall, no doubt he has seen Erzsebeta (and admired her figure) but for now, he was crushing on her so bad, my guy was going through those hormonal feelings fr.

If Gilbert had noticed it, he would have left sooner, not taking any chances, swatting the boy on his head and dragging him back to Prussia. but as he didn’t notice Ludwig being shook by pretty ladies before, this time he was none the wiser. Same could not have been said to Kateryna who had a knowing look over both of them.

Would they have any other interaction? How?

Definitely. As relations between several European states became more intertwined, most of the nations would interact more with each other. Even though Gilbert, in his own right would be wary of literally everyone, Ludwig would be allowed to do what he wants to eventually within limits. Through his own means, he would secretly send messages to Anastasia, wishing to know more about her with a newfound thrill. Hiding everything from his brother and wanting to communicate with her further.

They would have conversations during his first visits and so, Anya accepts the letter, being intrigued and feeling rather thrilled herself with the boy. Perhaps they would exchange some books, letters or even meet each other during parties. behind closed doors and dark corners of a castle. Anya would be in her late teens while Ludwig is in his early teens, so they both are rebellious teenager dorks crushing hard af. But age for nations is a confusing concept so both of them don’t really care.

Keep in mind that, Ludwig is still in a developing stage, especially with everything he would be going through, he has several unreasonable expectations and would fuck up eventually. in the way of doing so, triggering Anastasia and making her upset. both of them would be at fault somewhat and take it out on each other, passive aggressively that is. keeping everything under wraps is tough, especially when you have an observant older brother who can see through you. and an emotionally intelligent older sister.

Perhaps they would stop communicating, their duties keeping them apart and emotionally distant. through bloody wars and mental trauma their relationship grows strained, perhaps they somehow meet up once again through their siblings or meetings. nonetheless they do.

How would their siblings react?

Kateryna would be very understandable of her sister’s emotions, despite their troubled relationship, she would give honest and blunt advice to her sister about what to do. Being an emotionally intelligent and understanding mental issues, her advices consider very good viewpoints. she is supportive and on alert if her sister gets another emotional breakdown or so. she would find Ludwig to be a gentleman and trust him to take care of her sister. would probably converse with Gilbert about some issues just in case, handling him if things go south.

Natalya is, to put it rather nicely, not pleased. Putting her feelings aside, almost anyone would raise their brow considering the very troubled history between Anya and Ludwig. She would be distrustful and be very protective over her elder sister, often being harsh and brash with her criticism of their relationship. it would take a lot of time for her to come around to such stuff. at least it isn’t Gilbert or Alfred. good god, probably threatens Gilbert.

Yikes, Gilbert would not be in a good place mentally and emotionally after he reunites with his brother, so it might take some time for Ludwig to even consider his feelings. His brother at the moment is a ticking time bomb and have always been intimidating tbh. After few years, when he does comes to know by the courtesy of Kateryna (thankfully and hopefully), she is careful enough with her words which Gilbert is smart enough to decipher, and next thing y’know, he just gives Ludwig an intense lecture and gives reliable advices. he isn’t happy and is distrustful about it, he has known Anya for far more longer and is aware of how mentally fucked up the both young nations are and keeps an eye on the pair just as Kateryna would do.

For how long are they secretly dating?

It’s Anastasia who comes clear with her feelings to Ludwig, it’s rather an awkward and an intense conversation, but clear to the point with no lies and hesitation. They both probably just talk for a while, about how things are going in the present then they meet up regularly. whether in disguise or no, eventually they hook up and grow more closer together, finally only coming out to their family members. Roderick won’t know a word tho. They both would be aware of the stigma that would surround their relationship and it’s a risk none of them are willing to take for the sake of their countries.

they both are avid readers, preferring more logical and scientific themes, such as thriller/crime novels and knowledgeable stories. Anya loves reading stuff about space and Ludwig often indulges her with dozen of books and visits to different scientific centers. also they both are history nerds. They love learning and discovering new things together, watching documentaries and all that. full on nerds.

Ludwig isn’t the best at fashion so Anya usually helps him to look his best, she is a fashionable lady and hella good at it. Both of them are considerably attractive. With Ludwig’s broad and muscly figure and her tall curvy toned figure, their good looks, straight posture, soft neutral expressions and their atmosphere in general makes people turn their heads towards them. His deep voice mixes well with her smooth one and it’s a plus in most situations.

Ludwig loves brushing her hair, long and soft blonde hair that slips through his fingers. usually ties it in a braid and gets nostalgic about the first time they met. Anya loves his hair messy and often messes it up before an occasion, it’s embarrassing for him but also… he actually quite likes how it makes him look more handsome and younger, a casual appearance. Would 10/10 let her do that again because it’s soothing during a stressful day.

They both are athletic, okay maybe Anya is not that athletic but she tries, she honestly prefers gymnastics. Though she isn’t going to miss a chance to see her boyfriend work out, she has a thing for well toned muscles especially if the guy is not arrogant about it. Ludwig would probably let her lay on him as he does push-ups. lifting her up because why not and overall being a flirt because this man KNOWS he’s attractive and Anya is proud of having a strong man.

Ludwig bakes fresh cakes and bread for her sweet tooth, giving her treats just before a meeting and in turn Anya loves sharing her food with him, a hearty meal which she forces down his throat because god forbid— he might grow skinny. and die. Ludwig honestly appreciates it although he is quite healthy tyvm. If he visits her family tho— he might eat enough food for a while family, which he doesn’t know yet. Both of them do domestic chores although Anya doesn’t mind doing most of it, she’s most likely to be a housewife for a while and probably have a small shop she looks after, not caring what anyone else thinks.

Unlike Gilbert, Ludwig actually likes the cold weather and visits Anya a lot- he loves going on walks with her beside a snowy park and simply have coffee with her as they pretend for a while that they have always been this way and that nothing else exists besides them. They both always have stuff to converse about.

Ludwig is terrible at ice-skating, Anya often gets a good laugh about it and drags him anyways. at the end of the day both of them laugh about it and fall over and over again. they could break their neck but it’s fine really. Somewhat drunk at this point.

They both own a garden, and take great attentive care of it. Blooming flowers everywhere and healthy trees. Also tons of dogs they take care of, Anya might adopt a bunny too and overall these both are huge animal lovers, adopting senior pets and feeding strays. Emotionally stunted and mentally troubled couple, but good with morals. trustworthy. also they both love children but they would have a long way to go.

Jealousy? Oh Anya gets jealous af at some moments, but usually she handles herself quite gracefully. She is somewhat possessive at times and Ludwig has to reassure her that he truly loves her. It’s Ludwig who you should be careful of, he isn’t unreasonable but he gets pissed off easily when it comes to a guy making her uncomfortable or crossing boundaries they shouldn’t cross.

Anya isn’t a frail lady, strong and determined, which Ludwig loves and appreciates. especially when he has a gruesome nightmare which they both know about. And Ludwig is gentle, patient when it comes to hers. Sometimes they talk about it, it’s still to soon to open up about it tho. usually one of them makes hot chocolate as they sit together on an armchair with a comedy show playing on the tv, their dogs around them, fireplace lit and the snow falling outside. it’s calming and often just being there with each other is enough to keep them going.

Overall it’s a good thing for them to stay low and be blessed with their mentally resilient, emotionally understanding and psychologically experienced older siblings ready to handle any negative outcomes because things can get messy when you are dealing with a lot of repressed trauma. Less drama too if no one knows about their relationship.

This is all I can think for now!! So glad that tumblr didn’t ate up this ask smh. I will check my inboxes often just in case :/ thank you for the ask again!!

[bearpillowmonster]

Neo: The World Ends With You

I'm invested in the original game and its characters, I'm invested in this game and its characters. I've had a lot of time for the original game to marinate and I can say that I enjoy pretty much every character and their arc and while I don't exactly feel the same with this one, that's not disappointing to me and this was my most anticipated game of 2021 so I mean that. This is a sequel, I expected as much and it didn't let me down, it's even better than I thought.

This is a NONSPOILER review because I think it's best experienced by actually experiencing it so I'll keep a lot of character, story, and even gameplay details out other than how the very VERY beginning of the game starts out with Rindo and Fret.

Let me give credit where credit is due, Rindo is voiced by Paul Castro Jr. who is a new voice actor and I was honestly impressed by his voice more than anyone else in the game, I love his voice and while Rindo has some pretty big shoes to fill as the main, I think he does it. Rindo seems to act pretty accordingly to the situation he's put in. He's not as edgy as Neku but he has enough push to him to where he would be considered the "negative" of the group but I would rather call it "rational" because he brings up some valid points, stuff that I myself was asking. Putting yourself in his shoes, that seems pretty accurate.

Fret on the other hand is a bit of the opposite, an optimist if you will. He's not really a "bad" character, just in comparison to the others, he's not my favorite. I think that there needs to be someone in his position who tries to uplift the team, but he's just a little annoying about it sometimes. Also get ready to hear "Galaxy Brain, ACTIVATE!!" literally hundreds of times, as much as he talks, you'd think he'd add more variety.

IMPROVEMENTS:

I'm not going to complain about certain gameplay elements or limitations that carried over from the last game except one. The camera. It's fixed to where you have no control over it in the city areas and therefore can't get a proper look at everything, whether that works in its favor, I'm not sure because you get used to it but it's just a small peeve you start out with.

The combat is pretty loyal to the first game which is surprising. I personally didn't like the original gameplay because it was so limited on the DS, a lot of room for error, but having it on console expands the system and lets you use buttons rather than mashing a touch screen, improving on almost, if not all, gameplay fronts. However, because it's based on a game from 2007, the system may seem a little outdated to some, it's really up to you, it made a fan out of me, making it more fun.

I played the original in bites, not because of lack of enjoyment but because I felt like it was a game I could only get into for so long at a time but with this game it's the complete opposite. Maybe it was the DS hardware that hampered the original but I say it's a decent success on this game's part. I also felt that Persona 5 seemed a bit formulaic in its story context and gameplay layout with each castle but this game, while having patterns, it changes before you get the chance to really catch on. I could predict P5 but I couldn't predict this, each day was a mystery, I knew you'd fight people but I didn't always know who or when which is crazy considering that P5 had all the choices!

A small improvement that I'll suggest for combat is having short rhythm based moves or even QTEs, like how in the original Shiki had the directional pad moves which were annoying but still varied from the rest of the gameplay. There are definitely new things that you can do, but there are a few aspects worth complaining about. You can unlock certain abilities and once you enable them, you can't disable them. The only one that it personally applies with is the ability to enable individual health bars for enemies, rather than an overall one. Which sounds good but-

I personally don't like that it's always floating above their heads, if it was on the side screen, that'd be one thing but constantly above their heads? No deal. I actually had to go back and load up an old save to get rid of it. But with unlocking certain abilities comes with quality of life aspects so if you're not in love with the gameplay at first, give it a little bit because you might be able to unlock whatever piece you're missing.

There's also "soundsurfing" that adds to your groove meter that you can use when running around and it said that you press (in my case "X" on PS4) to the beat of the song which is a cool concept but it really isn't clear how to use it because I try matching the beat and I get nothing and have more success just button mashing. The groove meter can drop when it's not supposed to, like when you literally can't attack during the buffering of a special or switching between battles in a chain (The "Get Ready" screen) And if you're in a proper boss battle, you HAVE to fight, it's like a trainer battle in Pokémon which is especially annoying when you accidentally press "retry". It has no reason to be there when I already know that I'm not prepared for the boss and can't back out.

Do the trailers spoil it?

Originally, I only saw the first and or second trailer and knew I wanted it so there was no reason to see any more but it was kind of overwhelming with all the characters they were showing off in just a single trailer. I don't think they needed to go that far but I understand why they did. I understand why they showed a lot of things that they did but I think it's a bit easier to SWALLOW when it's introduced in-game. I even found myself doing all the side-quests and being engaged in the side-stuff in-game. But I knew about people pointing out spoilers so after I finished it, I went back and looked at the other trailers and OH BOY. The final trailer shows some stuff and I'm SO glad I didn't watch it. They straight up show some out of context death scenes as well as different alliances and betrayals, not to mention parts of the freaking ending. The launch trailer is no better, it's just like that trailer but cut down. You may not have context but you can draw some hefty conclusions and that alone makes me question, why? I'm not sure if there are many reveals that they DIDN'T tease, it's like they went out of their way to hit every single one. Whether it's Square or Nintendo, they need to figure out how to cut a trailer, heck, hire me, I at least have the editing skills and know what's interesting enough to show and what's too spoilery not to show, come on!

Is it newcomer friendly?

I heard a lot of things like "it drops you in without mercy so pay very close attention" (in terms of story, that is) so only people who played the original game will be able to get it. But I beg to differ, I think it does a pretty good job of filling you in while putting you in the shoes of a new player (both in the game and out) AND keeping the mystery of whatever happened since the last game coming in small pieces. Most of the dialogue text boxes are voice acted so it's not really a slog to read. To prove my point further, the premise starts out very similar so it should be easy to clue in what exactly happened in the last game. Of course you're going to get more enjoyment out of it if you played the original but I don't think you'd be totally lost if you started with this one and played to right before the ending because then it kinda has to do stuff without preface, so you're going to be confused by much of the emotional weight that it carries. But it still gives you plenty of time to catch up on the original, whether through the game, videos, or lore, this game has you ask the questions, so fill in the blank. It has a nice length to it so you'll have until the ending to figure it out. Also, Final Remix teased stuff that this game makes clarity on but I wouldn't call FR mandatory. (Except maybe no numbers on the hand? Maybe even I missed something there.)

[screechthemighty]

FR Octane is 100% one of those characters where I can see all the building blocks of WHY he behaves the way he does, but also acknowledge that his behavior is...Bad, it’s not great. And guess what, I accidentally wrote an essay about it if anyone cares! (Listen, I paid a lot of money for an arts degree, if I can’t over-analyze everything then that money was wasted, humor me) ETA: also if you’re thinking of dragging me for this post, please read this first and consider not doing that.

 We’re going to be looking at two big aspects of his character for this analysis. One is more subtext than actual text, but since all the evidence is there (and, if how they handled Wattson’s autism is any indication, will likely never be canon regardless of all the evidence) we’re just going to treat it as canon for the sake of argument. The other one is paracanon which, to be fair, isn’t as canon as “evidence actually in the text”, but again, for the sake of argument, we’ll treat it as such.

Fact the first: Octane, most likely, has ADHD. From the way he behaves, I’m assuming it is either undiagnosed OR he was never adequately taught how to manage his symptoms. The most relevant symptoms to this discussion are his seeming overreaction to Lifeline teasing him (Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria being a common ADHD symptom), his persistent and VERY canon inability to handle boredom, and his equally persistent and canon poor impulse control (especially related to the boredom but in this case it also goes hand in hand with the previously mentioned RSD).

Fact the second: He grew up in an emotionally neglectful and dysfunctional home--his dad had multiple re-marriages (and lbr, probably was cheating on his current wife with the next wife every single time), he was raised more by an assistant who didn’t care to learn his wants and needs, so on, so forth. IMHO, this fact does explain both his larger than life personality AND manipulative behavior. If he stands out and acts out, he gets the attention he craves. If he’s manipulative, he can actually get what he wants/needs from the uncaring adults in his life. He behaves badly because of childhood trauma.

So, with all of these facts in mind, here’s the sequence of events:

Octane is relegated to a task he considers painfully boring (keeping in mind that boredom is one of the worst sensations for the ADHD brain). He is forced to stay in said task by an authority figure who doesn’t listen to his input about what he’d rather be doing or what tasks he might be better suited for.

On top of that, he is teased by someone he considers a close friend (practically family by his own admission) in a way that a) makes light of the situation he finds uncomfortable and b) compares him to an “accountant”, something that is anathema to what he wants to be. Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria kicks in; the comment becomes genuinely hurtful and not just slightly unfunny but well-meaning ribbing.

His intolerance for boredom says “no, we’re not doing that task anymore, let’s go do the fun thing.” Poor impulse control and no buffer to mitigate the effects of poor impulse control say, “the first thought to pop into my head is right, let’s get that dopamine!”

His manipulative tendencies say, “If I make a big fuss, do something stupid, and let Ajay know it’s partially because she was mean to me, then she’ll understand that she hurt me and feel bad about it.” Unresolved trauma means that he doesn’t even THINK to communicate that to her, which would be the HEALTHY thing to do but likely not a method that has ever worked for him in childhood. Instead, he leaves an emotionally manipulative letter and peaces out. 

As of right now, we don’t know what the ULTIMATE outcome is (my money is on him getting his ass kicked TBH). But the IMMEDIATE outcome is that Lifeline feels responsible for something that isn’t her fault and now she and Gibraltar are both going to be put at risk of getting hurt. Octane has also put himself in a position where he’ll probably be hurt. This isn’t going to end well, is what I’m getting at.

NOW. Here’s the thing. The two facts I listed up above are not his fault. Him having ADHD? Not his fault. Him not getting the right help he needed as a child? Not his fault. Him growing up in a dysfunctional environment that had a negative impact on his emotional and interpersonal development? DEFINITELY not his fault. Everything about his behavior based on those two facts makes sense, and I’m not gonna sit here and act like he’s a bad person for being a neurodivergent abuse victim.

But, to paraphrase the very smart Jessica “How to ADHD” McCabe, it may not be his fault, but it is his responsibility--in this case “it” being how he treats other people, which is very much within his control. I get WHY he did it, but he IS being an absolute ass to Lifeline for the second time (that we know of), and that IS wrong. He HAS to learn at some point to not be like this. It’s already temporarily lost him a friendship, and it COULD get him or someone else killed this time around. He’s a grown adult, and despite my/the fandom’s jokes, he does have all his brain cells. At some point he’ll have to realize he can’t treat people like this and adjust his behavior.

To be fair to Octane, I completely understand and acknowledge that getting help and admitting to the things clogging up your brainspace is incredibly hard. Trust me, I have firsthand experience with this one, and my problems are small potatoes in comparison to what’s going on with him. So he’s not necessarily a bad person for not having taken those steps, especially because I’m still not sure he REALIZES he has a problem. Now, if he knew that he was hurting people and continued doing so because “that’s just who I am, they’re the ones who are wrong, actually” against all evidence, then that IS him shirking his responsibilities to other people and himself and I could criticize him for that. But I don’t think he’s at that point yet. Right now he just seems oblivious, which, yeah, we’ve all been in that position where you’re oblivious to your problems even as they’re slowly burning your house down (I cringe looking back on childhood me exhibiting early anxiety symptoms that went unchecked until now, when I’m well past college age).

I also think it would be helpful if someone told him in a CONSTRUCTIVE manner that his behavior is worrying and was able to help him get to that place where he can realize that himself and get help (not saying they should bear the majority of the emotional weight, AM saying that he seems like he needs the extra help and that’s valid, all things considered). Unfortunately...pretty much everyone in Apex Legends is their own flavor of messed up and they ARE in the middle of a crisis, so they’re likely either unable to see it or unable to help because y’know, lot going on.

In conclusion: I say none of this to demonize Octane? I say it because a) I think his character is really neat, flaws and all, hence me referring to him as a “problematic icon”, and b) because I think it does a disservice to his character to ignore his flaws. I don’t want him to be turned from a complex character with a lot of neat stuff going on to an uwu tortured sad boy who’s never at fault. I haven’t seen anyone do that YET (everyone seems to love him for being a trash baby and that’s valid), but, y’know, doesn’t hurt to start the conversation preemptively.

(QUICK sidebar that I didn’t think of until I was tagging his: his privilege as a rich child from a rich family definitely is a contributing factor to his behavior and another stumbling block to him getting help for a lot of reasons? I won’t go into all my thoughts on this because that could be its own essay but tl;dr Rich People often don’t believe in consequences as it is and don’t like to admit to being wrong, and some of this definitely wore off on Octane and is exacerbating the rest of it.)

[heyitmelexie]

No One Compares To You (Bucky Barnes x Plus Size Reader) Chapter 1

Hi guys! Something new from me today!

This will be a fanfiction with several chapters. If you want to be tagged - just tell me!

Pairing: James Buchanan Barnes/The Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes x Plus Size! Reader

Word Count: 1935

Summary: You are the daughter of Pepper and Tony. Currently living isolated (by choice) in Siberia to work on your master’s exam, someone stumbles into your life and changes it completely.

Author’s Note: In this work Pepper and Tony are a couple for way longer. The Events starting with Captain America: The Winter Soldier (and following) will happen at the same time they actually did (sounds weird but I think you know what I mean). 

Always here for advice so please tell me what you think and what I could do better! :)

Now enjoy ♥

----------------------------

Snow was falling heavily outside your hut. Like every day, Siberia was covered in snow, a white fairy tale, far away from any other civilization. It was just you, the forest and its inhabitants. And you loved it.

The white landscape of Siberia was a dream. An introvert’s dream, mostly, but a dream after all. Although your hut was miles and miles away from the next city you didn’t feel alone or isolated. The animals here were your friends. Thanks to a part of your mutation, you were able to communicate with all animals. You didn’t need human interaction if it wasn’t necessary. All you needed was a nice cup of hot chocolate, your fire place, a good book and occasionally a funny chat with a bear friend maybe. Doesn’t sound so bad, right?

The silence here helped a lot to focus on your studies. You studied palaeontology and were working on your master’s exam. It consumed most of your time, but it was worth it. Fascinating and exactly what you wanted to do since you watched Jurassic Park for the first time when you were about 5.

You remember the moment you first looked at the hut your dad had bought for you. And he had said jokingly “I spared no expenses” when you walked around the rooms. Luckily, he respected your wishes and didn’t make it all too extravagant. You know, Tony Stark style, all tech and stuff. But you wanted it cosy and decent and he kept it that way. It was a beautiful little wooden hut in the middle of a Siberian forest with a little pond right next to it. A little kitchen, modern but nothing high-tech. Wooden furniture with fuzzy rugs, a bunch of fluffy pillows and blankets, stuff like that. Basically how you would imagine a semi-modern wooden hut in the middle of nowhere. With a basement stuffed with food and drinks for months. Cosy as heck.

Tony didn’t mind that you weren’t a tech geek like him or a business woman like your mother Pepper, he was proud anyways. You did everything in order to reach your goals and to achieve your dreams. Never once did you complain that it was stressful to write so many essays, that it was stressful having that many deadlines. Never. The only thing you did was huff in frustration occasionally, but nothing else. You were tough, like your mother, and he appreciated it. You looked like a chubby mini-version of Pepper mixed with Merida. You were a ginger, messy curls that almost reached your butt and pale skin covered in freckles. Eyes like your mothers and a character exactly like hers, with a little bit of Tony showing sometimes. The side of Tony that messed with Pepper all the time. So Tony saw a mini-Pepper in you and Pepper saw a mini-Tony in you. Perfect.

Your childhood as the Stark kid was rather normal, considering the circumstances. Your parents always made sure that you were out of danger and didn’t witness all of the things they’ve been put through. But when you grew up and developed your mutation, they had to take action.

At the age of 5 you started to do weird things by accident. The first thing that happened was that, during a tantrum, you somehow created a small tornado that completely messed up your whole room. Baffled you had stopped crying immediately and watched in silence, fascinated yet shocked at how that could have happened. You had only felt a slight vibration rushing throughout your body but assumed it was because of the anger you had felt. Today you know it was the power soaring through your body before all hell broke loose.

It would take too long to count and explain all the things that happened after that first incident, so let’s just explain the mutation rather simple: You were able to control all five elements and connected to that you could communicate with animals. ¹ To you the mutation was a gift. You absolutely loved it and wouldn’t want it any other way. It was perfect to you. Logically you went to Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. During your time there you discovered everything your mutation had to offer. Which sometimes resulted in cataclysmic situations (a huge and deep hole in the ground, a completely dried out pond, stuff like that) but today you were completely in charge of it. You used your mutation to do good things like growing trees and grass, creating wells with fresh water in regions of need, restoring sections of the rainforest, things like that. But, if necessary, you could use it as a weapon as well. You just didn’t have to, yet.

All in all your life wasn’t too bad. The only thing bothering you was your body.

You have always been a heavy kid. Your family didn’t mind, they loved you nonetheless and always thought you were the most beautiful girl in the entire universe. They always told you that it doesn’t matter if you’re thick or thin. That people might be mean towards you because they think they are better than you just because they were skinny but that their foul words would mean nothing.

One day you came home from school crying because the new kid in your class had called you bad names because of your weight and had made fun of you.

“People can be arse holes” your dad had said to you.

“Tony!” Your mother lightly slapped his arm and looked at him angrily.

“You know I’m right, Pepper. People can be really mean. So sweetie, listen to me. If they say mean things to you: Ignore them. Nothing, absolutely nothing is wrong with you. You are beyond perfect the way you are. Yes you are chubbier than other kids but you’ve got a heart of gold which they don’t have and that makes you better than them. Being kind is way more important than being skinny. You are a little angel and you make me and mommy extremely proud. And no one can ever tell us different. Because people are often very superficial and judge others by their looks. There are people that might be ‘super skinny and beautiful’ but when you get to know them they’re shit.” Another slap. You giggled a little and sniffled and he continued.

“Whatever you do in your life, remember that you do it for yourself and not for others. Never change yourself for anyone. Never let anyone tell you how to live your life and certainly never let anyone rule over you. Your life lies in your hands. Yours only. Your body doesn’t define you, but your character, your actions and the way you treat others do. So stay who and how you are. Be kind, help those that need help and do good things. And don’t you ever worry about the size and shape of your body. You are gorgeous the way you are, honey and I love you to pieces. You don’t need negative people in your life. But there will be people who will love you for who you are. And honestly? If someone thinks you’re not pretty just because you’re bigger, than they are idiots and superficial losers with sticks high up their asses.” He winked at you and you giggled. Your mom just shook her head but smiled.

It made you feel better to hear these words from your dad but the kids at school continued calling you names and bullying you. Their behaviour made you hate your body and at some point not even your parents or even auntie Nat could make you feel better.

You had always wished for a Prince Charming that would love every bit of your body passionately and that would treat you like a Greek goddess. Little did you know that someone would soon burst into your life like uncle Steve once crashed full force into a bridal shop back in the day (he had told you the story several times when you were younger) and turned it upside down, positively.

But back to your current situation. It’s around five pm. You’re sitting on your sofa, wrapped up in a blanket, a mug with hot chocolate on the table and your laptop on your legs, working on your exam paper. This week has been very successful, you’ve filled about 21 more pages and the topic captivated you more and more. You wrote about the Jurassic Park movies and their accuracy compared to the real deal back then. As much as you loved the movies, but many facts were just wrong. A 2-meter Velociraptor? Yeah, no. There were 10 more pages ahead of you and 2 more weeks of time to fill them. 120 pages in 6 months, you felt very proud of yourself.

You decided to stop writing for today. Your eyes grew heavy and your mind was empty for now. And you knew that before you could have a relaxing bath you would have to go outside and carry some wood inside for the fire place. So you put on thick clothing and stepped outside into the cold evening. ² As you made your way to the little shack that holds your wood you noticed a dark pile of something between the trees, halfway covered in snow. This doesn’t look like an animal. It’s all black and doesn’t seem to have any fur covering it. Strange.

Wondering what or who this could possibly be you slowly made your way towards it, preparing for a possible assault. Maybe it’s a human? But who, besides me, would be out here? You hadn’t seen any other human in the past almost 6 months since you live here. And someone getting lost and finding exactly your hut in this isolated area? Only a small chance but you would have to see.

As you got closer you saw a face almost completely buried in the snow. Now you realized there was actually a man lying in the snow, half frozen to death, face blue and body stiff. You felt for a pulse. First you didn’t feel anything and almost panicked but then you could feel a slight beat against your fingers and exhaled relieved. He lived.

You picked him up but struggled. He was really heavy. Not able to carry him all the way back to your hut like this you just drag him through the snow and into the warmth. You put a thick blanket in front of the fire place and him onto it. Then you used your powers to slowly warm him up and at the same time dry him off. The colour slowly crawled back into his face and you felt his pulse getting stronger.

When his body had a normal temperature again you covered him in a bunch of blankets and went into the kitchen to prepare some hot chocolate.

He was wearing weird clothing. All black and it resembled some weird kind of uniform. Also a mask covering his mouth and goggles that you both had taken off his face. It gave you a creepy feeling but for now you would have to make sure he’d get better again before you could ask him some questions.

You just took some mini marshmallows out of the bag to put them on top of the hot chocolate as a body pressed you against the counter. The person wrapped an arm tightly around your torso to hold you in place and you felt a blade being pressed against your throat.

“Move and I’ll kill you.”

(End of Chapter 1)

Author’s Note:

1) Five elements: Air, Fire, Earth, Water and Soul. I got this idea from House of Nights. The main character was able to control the soul element if I remember correctly, I read the books too many years ago to remember any details but this is only an explanation as to why I am referring to five elements rather than four as people usually do. I also personally think seeing the soul as a fifth element is quite logical, it’s as natural as the other elements. But this is not just the soul of a human, it’s basically also the soul of animals and plants etc. It will occur that I’ll talk about auras and moods and stuff like that. Like, seeing the aura of people mostly (like the concept of Vampire Academy), the aura having different colours indicating their moods and states of their souls and stuff like that. I will also create a little legend that tells you what colour means which mood or state of mind/soul.

2) Of course basically you could warm yourself up with your mutation but everything has a price. Using it too much means you’re also using your own energy and that is exhausting. So you rather only use it if you have to, saving your energy.

[artificiary-fr]

ok so arti’s unnecessary opinion time

Just wanna give a disclaimer that these are just my sort of thoughts in general, and are in no way an attempt to demean, attack, or cause drama about any artist or staff member, or community member. Just kind of what I’ve observed and come to the questions/conclusions of. I got a little opinionated at the end but I tried not to single anyone out save for I think, one unnamed example? 

I’ll put everything under the cut here, because I know I have a tendency to get wordy (and spoiler: It did. This is a super long post, I’m sorry). So, here we go...

TL;DR: I like the gene, I’ll wait for the revamp before giving a concrete opinion, there were definitely some issues, I appreciate that staff took note/action, more communication like this or the dev streams is good (though communication between staff/community is a Thing unto itself of which I probably have a Disliked Take on and that was the really long part that isn’t necessary to read)

Okay before anything: the familiars. They’re super pretty! I like the recolors, and now I’m gonna have to grind the Kelp Beds for those boss fams. Dang. I love the kitty golem recolor.

With that out of the way, here we are - the subject of today’s discussions... Glowtail.

So, my first opinion: It’s not a bad gene! I can see some curious use for it, certainly. But there are some problems with it (and yes; I am aware staff has addressed this and pulled it to fix those problems! That’ll be more relevant later on here c: )

Note One: I think I do understand why it is a gem gene. Yes, design/thematically it does appear to fit the bill of a Baldwin Gene more. But I’d like to posit it’s the completion of a gem-gene set - Wasp/Bee/Glowtail. So in that regard, it makes sense!

Note Two: My personal opinion with the gene is that I like it, but it feels... hm. Plain isn’t correct. Like it’s missing something, I guess? I wish the segmenting was a little more prominent, and that the glow or gradient had a little more glitz/glamor, maybe some glitteries around the hips, to really sell it as a gem gene. I do like the glow we have on the other bits of dragon like light reflection, though, because it adds a little bit of dimension! All in all however even so, I do like it, and I won’t cement my opinion until we see what their updated version looks like in the future.

Note Three (The Problems): The art errors. What... what happened here?

As we’ve noticed, male snappers and male tundras are the two big offenders, with large chunks of color erroneously sitting outside the lineart quite noticeably. There is also part of the ‘glow’ (the aforementioned light reflection) that doesn’t make sense - being on parts of the dragon where it shouldn’t be, like on the front of wings where the tail is not in front of said limb, but behind.

But like... how did this not get caught before it got posted? Was it a time crunch, or it just... didn’t get quality checked before this happened? It’s really unfortunate. :c

Something I do with my art - and this is just my own process/thoughts - is when I’ve put down the base color, before I do any shading/highlights/big details, I pop a layer underneath the entire drawing and fill it with a high contrast color to the palette. That way any bits where I missed coloring in - or didn’t clean up outside the lines - becomes super noticeable, and I can fix it then instead of being a problem later. Maybe doing something like this before throwing the gene through the color automation process would’ve helped?

Last Note:

I feel like part of why these errors went unnoticed is because of how often, and sometimes how rushed, some of these updates have been - and this has been more noticeable in this year than otherwise. Is it because of community dissent with wanting more updates creating more crunch? Due to low-attention reticence creating a need for pushing more ad revenue / more “come to the site there’s new”?

I’m unsure, but it’s unfortunate nonetheless. I think staff, and FR as a whole, would benefit from like... hm. How to word this...

Maybe taking more time on updates / a more extended schedule so things aren’t as crunch (of course this being said, I don’t know what the workload is like so I can’t even say if crunch is applicable), and more open communication? Like how the dev streams were going - that was pretty well liked and everyone I know got pretty excited to see em and how the art was doing. It also opened up the avenue for more open communication / more nuanced opinions or thoughts.

---

But herein lies the huge issue, I think, with communication. This is the part where I’d like to reiterate, this is just my observations, and is not intended as an attack, a vaguepost, or deliberate callout at anybody. There’s no malicious intent here. This bit could also be construed as drama I suppose, and I apologize for that because again - not the intent. Just my take.

I’ve noticed posts going ‘no drama please’ or being tired when new updates come out of like, ‘oh boy here comes the negativity’ so I don’t think it’s just me who’s seen it, but have you guys noticed when anything new comes out, there’s an immediate rush of extreme salt and negativity?

And I don’t mean posts where its like “it’s not for me” or “I don’t like it but here’s [detailed/explained reason why]” - those are the nuanced opinions I mean. Those are fine. I mean the ones where people in forums, or on the more prolific drama blogs, are just.... mean/empty? Like “FUCK staff I hate how lazy they are with this it’s shitty looking” - that really vocal generally super salty in general minority of the community. Just hate without explanation, or just kind of aimless generalized attack/complaint.

I think that’s where communication with Staff fell off the bandwagon. The really loud, really vocal minority of folks who throw super salt or yell “This Sucks You Suck” completely overshadow the people who are well intentioned with sharing their opinions or problems/criticisms. The toxic bits and really vitriolic words are what gets seen and noticed. I think this is the majority of what gets heard, which is why communication got so closed off / shut down unless positive, in recent times. Do I agree with that? No, I don’t either - but I’m just looking at this from the outside. Idk how staff feels or thinks.

And this goes for both people who don’t like the content, and people that do.

Remember that the Keel thread got locked because someone who was white-knighting started getting real nasty with people in the thread, and going to extremes insulting artists who did mock-ups to help visualize their thoughts/opinions and was just being a real douche?

What I really wish was that we could have more open communication. Some of the things I really liked to see were like: Dev Streams, Community Updates/Q&A, Opinion Polls, That Update Progress on Breed/Gene Progress from a while back. All of that was excellent. And I like to see the community responding in well thought out ways! I like to see staff more hands on too! We’re only human and love this site and our dragons and want to see it at it’s best - but they’re also only human, and make mistakes, and we don’t know what’s goin on in there, just out here.

Trello is a really good way to kind of show that communication, and is transparent, but isn’t free-to-use for businesses, so... of course I also don’t know how Stormlight Workshop runs their business/hours so I’m just blowing hot smoke. But anyway, I think everyone would benefit from slowing down and opening up. If things are going slow, that’s okay - if Staff opens up to the community and says “This is taking longer than expected, but here’s upcoming releases / current in-progresses” I think we’d be like oh okay things are happening and it’ll be nice! As compared to everyone gets super antsy, nothing’s happening, no-one is talking... and then we get hit with a bunch of updates, some of which, like today’s, have... issues.

Of course then I worry that with more open talking or “we’re experiencing delays” the more vitriolic will get even angrier/saltier which doesn’t... help... but I mean... yeah. 

ANYWAY so I’ve written a full dissertation essay here without really intending to (see? I warned y’all! I ramble/don’t shut up ahahaha) so I’m gonna just stop myself here before I start going in circles. This last chunk I don’t really know what the meat of what I was trying to say was, now, I think. Sorry about that. It was just “here’s my stream of consciousness” apparently ^^;;;;

Have a good evening y’all! Thanks for listenin’ to my (rant?) if y’all made it this far. You’re appreciated and thank you for letting me bend your ears! Stay safe in this crazy world, hang in there, and have a good one!

[smores100]

once again we’re in full agreement lol. What’s your take on s3 remakes you’ve watched? Wondering how you feel about Skam FR as it’s kind of a similar situation to me where the chemistry & beauty is there but the writing and style is iffy (overwrought &overdramatic). My favorite s3 is druck. As a wlw I had high hopes for españa but it was p slow/v desexualized—a whole discussion, but my other gay friend & I were disappointed given how remakes with guys don’t hold back in that respect.. Thoughts?

Honestly re: wtfock tho I really do wonder if they had like one good writer in the room surrounded by fools. Bc it really does feel like some group projects I’ve been in where I feel like I’m the only one who’s not a fucking fool and carry the whole thing while having to fend off bad ideas (but when the majority rules, those bad ideas/execution get put in). I wonder if that’s what happened w wtfock.

re: wtfock, lol group projects are the worst….idk what wtfock’s writing process was like, but i’d love to know it. according to their wiki there were 3 writers this season? all seem to be male, naturally. did the two other writers have good ideas but there was a main writer who overruled them and did his own thing? or maybe they’re the rl one brain cell squad, that would explain a lot :p in any case, i’m unimpressed (friday’s clips did not help with that).

as for the other part of your ask….oh damn i have so many Thoughts on that, lol. this is probably gonna get long and messy, but you asked for it!

* druck - my absolute favorite. it’s the only one i’ve watched since s1, so that definitely played a part in my emotional investment and attachment. still, there was more to it than that. it was the closest to og imo in vibe and style (it felt small, real, lowkey, quiet, natural like og, as opposed to - as you said - overwrought and overdramatic + overproduced like the others); they cast an actual trans guy to play a trans character, if you wanna talk about a skam remake doing something REVOLUTIONARY? druck is the one; i loved matteo’s and david’s characterizations, how they both had a bit of isak and even in them, and the role reversal in some scenes, made things feel fresh *and* fit their characters/story; i LOVE that teens matteo and david were played by actual teens michi and lukas!! they’ve completely ruined me for all other remakes, bc thissssss is how it’s supposed to be! thisssss is how it should look like! THEY ARE KIDDOS. and they (druck and michi/lukas) truly captured what it’s like to be young and fall in love for the first time, the awkwardness and the nervousness and stuttering and fumbling around, the softness and pureness and innocence of it all!!! also they have THE BEST dynamic - other people might prefer all the hot kissing and steamy making out and the smouldering looks, but me? i just couldn’t get enough of their dumb chaotic energy, best friends who love each other deeply and are also constantly little shits to one another. gimme them pranking each other and playfighting every day! and then being soft and THE HANDS and matteo being a clingy koala basking in david’s affection :3 i also loved how for the most part they didn’t just copy/paste og’s storyline, they made some changes and knew how to make *other* changes accordingly for it to make sense and fit the story *they* were telling - for example, replacing the ‘call your gf’ scene with matteo’s panic attack/breakdown (one of my fave scenes), or their reunion at the end of ep 7 (replacing the desperate kissing + sex with a comforting and relieved yet also bittersweet and melancholic hug), or even matteo getting advice from his drug dealer instead of the school’s doctor, lol. also THE BEST BOY SQUAD, hands down. and matteo is my favorite isak bc to me he felt like his own character instead of just another isak, he was different and reletable and a constant Mood. that being said - it wasn’t perfect and it had its issues. there were a few times when i did feel they stuck too close to og scenes and it didn’t *entirely* work for me, just felt a bit off; i will forever be disappointed that they didn’t directly address and acknowledge matteo’s mental state/depression, bc there were enough signs imo to indicate that he did suffer from something. they mentioned ‘therapy’ in mia’s, alex’s and kiki’s cases, i truly thought they would with matteo as well, but alas, they dropped the ball on that one; i was extremely upset with david’s outing, but i’ve since calmed down and have managed to see it in a more positive light, tho i still have mixed feelings about it and am not fully on board with that decision, still wish it had been done differently (but at least! it wasn’t brushed off and was addressed immediately and eventually led to david having agency and yelling out his pain!!! which was good and important and cathartic); also eps 8 and 9 were pretty messy writing-wise, things either didn’t make sense or would’ve made more sense had the clips were organized differently (that random ping pong clip….?). overall tho, the good outweighed the bad, and it remains my fave

* skam france - now that’s a tricky one. the way i felt about it in the first half of the season, is different from the way i felt about it in the second half of the season, is different from the way i feel about ever since watching druck’s s3. it’s funny you should say how similar it is to wtfock for you, bc i’ve been thinking the same thing for quite some time. those neighboring countries sure have a shared flair for the dramatic! fr’s s3 was pretty much the first s3 i watched (i gif-watched half of skamit, couldn’t get into it). i wasn’t planning to (i was extremely unimpressed by the couple of s1 eps i tried watching, and same by axel’s acting in those first two seasons), but even is the loml and they got me gooood with their eliott pov trailer, which might have affected my excitement over it during the first half. back then i really enjoyed it for the most part, despite some clips being rushed or missing the point thus not fully having the required effect (their locker room scene, for example, or the ‘generalizations are bad’ convo), or how much i hated basile (a character so obviously written by a man it’s amazing), or the cheesy piano music. there were enough good things for me to focus on instead (more in a bit) that i could ignore the things i didn’t like or weren’t as good imo. however, all the positivity got sucked out of me when yann noped tf out after lucas came out to him bc WAY TO MISS THE POINT OF SKAM!!! and things went downhill after the director’s IT’S NOT DISNEYLAND IT’S FRANCE 2019 comment. i’m getting all upset just thinking about it, but to say *that*, to explain that horrendous decision bc lowkey homophobic reactions are realistic!!! only to THEN be all ‘haha jk yann isn’t homophobic! we just wanted you to *think* he was! he’s actually an awesome friend who took several days to reflect on all his past wrongdoings while his bff was at home having a nervous breakdown bc he believed his bff hated him!’ ughhhhhhhhh, miss me with that shit. great that they had yann apologizing for his past comments, but the way in which it was done was for pure shock value and angst, completely ooc for his character (all season he was all ‘tell me tell me tell me let me help let me help let me help’ only to do *that*?? nahh), and interesting how out of everyone the only black character was the only one with a negative reaction (remind you of anyone), highlighted even more during ep 7 aka the ott lucas coming out tour. then ep 8, that should have been 100% all lucas and eliott and building up to eliott’s manic episode suddenly had that weird random pov changing clip in the middle of it which truly wtf, basile was still basile, lucas thanked chloe for outing him, more scenes felt rushed, they had sex in school where people could come and go in front of huge windows in broad daylight and luckily didn’t get poisoned from licking all that paint! and i did not like the flatshare, i absolutely hated mika and lisa kicking lucas out of his room - which he pays rent for! - and manon not even trying to put up a fight, and them being like ‘roommate isn’t just a place, it’s a way of living. that’s a family, and you’re more like a cousin.’ ‘a second cousin.’ ughhhhhh and then when eliott was recovering from his depressive episode, they *still* didn’t give lucas his room back or at least let eliott stay there, he was sleeping on the couch, i’m aldjlajdafj. can’t believe i’m gonna say it, but TAKE NOTES FROM WTFOCK. tl;dr there were some good moments in the second half, but i was feeling bitter more often than not about certain things, so my enjoyment wasn’t as high as when it first started. and after watching druck, druck’s brand is definitely much more my style. plus, i was already struggling with making myself believe axel and maxence were in their teens, but after druck it’s completely impossible, so i just pretend they’re in college or something lol. all my issues with it aside, i’d still rate it higher than wtfock, bc overall the writing was better, more coherent, and made much more sense. i also liked lucas’ friendship with the girls; i loved that instead of copying the underwater kiss + 21:21 like some others have, they came up with their own thing i.e. polaris, which i thought was lovely; the lucas/manon crying in the middle of the night together in front of the tv was one of my fave scenes of the season; also love how we were introduced to eliott on the first week! and they spent time together! and specifically the piano playing scene, ohhhh; and in general elu are sweet and i reeeeally like axel and maxence and their friendship. so yeah, it had some major issues, but i’d rather have a coherent story with something done for shock value and drama ONCE than an incoherent story with several shock value moments.

* skam espana - sorry to hear you girls were disappointed! i only watched half of it, so i can only comment on what i saw. i decided to binge watch s1 and give s2 a shot when i heard they were giving cris isak’s story - it felt a bit weird to me, but it was also something different and new, and i did have an appreciation for their decision to have a wlw season (also much more revolutionary to me than showing a gay bashing), so i was intrigued and willing to try it. sadly i didn’t really vibe with s1? it’s totally a personal preference i think, maybe even a cultural thing idk, but it felt very fast and loud and hectic to me, idrk how to explain it. i was just more into the chill more lowkey vibe of druck and skamnl. but i still gave s2 a shot, and idk, it still wasn’t my cup of tea. i thought it was ok for the most part, but there were some things that bothered me - joana/cris felt underdeveloped to me? and things b/w them felt like they were moving so fast from the second they met, like jona was so intense and forward ALL THE TIME, they had like 6 almost kisses in a really short time, like shhh slow down. i remember disliking their ‘call your gf’ scene, it felt really petty and kinda mean to me? bc i felt like joana came on to cris *really* strongly and *very* frequently, so cris was more than entitled to feel hurt and betrayed when she found out joana had a bf, but then cris was kissing a dude and joana positioned herself and her bf in front of cris so she’d see them kissing too, and i just didn’t like bc seriously?? cris is valid, just apologize to her and explain?? idr much else tbh, they had some really cute and sweet scenes afterwards, i’m still against doing the underwater kiss + 21:21 so i was kinda meh about that (tho aesthetically speaking it was BEAUTIFUL, and i’m like, fiiiiine girls deserve an underwater kiss too, i’ll allow it just this once!), and that cuddling clip in ep 6 i think was sweet and the last one i watched. like i said, i was less vibing with this remake, and iirc it was going on during druck’s s3 and skamnl’s s2 - which were my faves, plus skamfr was on too i think and i was lowkey following it too, so….there was just too much all at once and something had to go, and it was skamesp. it was also around the time when panaphobia-gate happened, so *shrugs* i’m not wlw myself so your opinion on it being desexualized is probably more valid than mine? i just know when i did watch, there was a lot of kissing and making out and being cute and touchy with each other, so i thought it was ok? as i’ve mentioned before, i don’t need to see a naked butt or anything like that to *get* it lol, i thought they were lovely! but that’s just me. i will say that my faaaave part was most definitely the cris/amira friendship. they were so wonderful! one of the best skam friendships imo. i might one day go back and finish the season just for the heck of it, but they didn’t do anything major or highly offensive that made me have negative feelings towards it, it was just a personal preference + circumstances (too many remakes!) that made me be less into it and drop it before the end.

[vamish]

The Order

So recently The Order season 2 has come onto Netflix so I have decided to compare my thoughts and feelings of the characters from season 1 into their growth and whatever on season 2 

First we’ll start off with my babies and end it with the trash [any negative options of characters do NOT stretch to the actors themselves]

Randall  

Season one 

He is such a cute adorable soul, I love his loyalty and adoration fr his friends hes honestly one of the best written characters on the show, he is the definition of baby

Season two

we got to see more of a stubborn side to him this season, he still shows his undying loyalty to not only his friends but the cause. It actually hurt to see him so upset when that bitch ruby used him. He still is baby but he bi baby, that kiss with Hamish really made me realise that hes shippable with anyone and everyone.

What I would like to see for him in season three; 

I would love for him to slowly start to accept magic more, and to see him use it a bit more, and for him to find someone that genuinely cares for him, whether its Gabrielle or another character I just want my baby to be happy.

Hamish

Season one

I never really had much of an opinion on Hamish, at the beginning of season one I thought he was a bit bland, but then he really grew on me, the way he spoke about Cassie and his choice of beer pong to settle group choices, my mans not an alcoholic, hes a alcohol aficionado and my son. His little look at Vera at the end gave me a bit of feels

Season two 

I cant not start this without Randall and Hamish’s kiss, I love it, a love story for the ages, either both Hamish and Randall are bi or somewhere in the community or they’re so solid in their heterosexuality that they really do not care and I’m cool with either [I’d more so believe Randall is the first option than the second]. But Hamish and Vera are also a power couple, I’m not sure the age difference but Vera is older right? But I love Hamish’s belief in Vera and The Order its such a big difference from the Hamish that we first met that wanted to take them down. I would love to drink one of Hamish’s concoctions.

What I would like to see for him in season three;

I would love for Hamish to progress more with Vera, and for him and the other wolves to learn more about their wolves and the history.

Jack

Season one

In the first season Jack was literally just a puppet, he was always being controlled by something or someone, the main one being his granddad, the relationship was so broken between them I wish we had gotten a real bonding moment the closest we had was either when Jack was dying because of silver back and at that point he was barely conscious or when we saw his pops trying to avenge jacks and his mothers death and Jack had to watch him explode. I really didn't feel any real emotion except a little twinge because I knew that Jack was upset. Jack himself wasn’t inherently a good or bad character his biggest flaw is that he literally throws himself into things because of emotion. Was super happy when he woke up after dying and Randall came and gave him a hug

Season Two 

This has to be said Blonde Jack grew on me and low key was sexy as fuck no one can tell me otherwise [Thank you Gabrielle]. I love Jack I really do but his biggest fucking flaw is his feelings for one bitch that can not be named right now. He did make some big mistakes this season but he’s only a teen [Hes like what nineteen now?] but hes really willing to die for his team and and confirmed Jack has soft lips, my baba uses lip balm.

What I would like to see for him in season three; 

I would love for him to find all of the rest of the stolen objects, for people *AHEMALYSSA* to stop blaming him for everything ‘oh there is one cloud in the sky must be jacks fault’ 

Lilith 

Season one 

Now again I was not sure on Lilith just because when they introduced us to her character, I thought she was very one dimensional by that I mean they were just going to try and pass her off as a strong female by making her blood thirsty but within one episode I went from not liking her to loving her my little ‘Kilith’ a beautifully murderous soul, her reaction to her finding out that her at Alyssa were best friends was brilliant. Her and Randall's kiss was sort of unexpected but I was cool with it I thought they would have at least had it go somewhere lmao.

Season two 

Lilith and Nicole two beautiful women and they love each other, tell me I’m wrong, I liked the bob however I was not a big fan of the blue streaks, Lilith and Jacks moment before they went to the last fight against Rogwan, her sacrifice to save Jack, I love that girl so much. I’m upset that she was in barely any episodes this season I would have loved to see more of her relationship dynamic with Nicole.

What I would like to see for her in season three;

To see flashbacks of her in the demon realm and her badasserly survival, to see her slowly making her return back into the human realm. And for her to also find someone who truly cares for her, 100% would prefer a female.

Vera 

Season One 

I liked Vera from when she decided that Jack was coming to belgrave, I love her character because she reminds me of Fallon and her makeup is always on point. 

Season two

Her fight for her position to be grand magnus, she was always one of the most calculated characters because everyone was constantly trying to tear her down and take way her title especially that bitch Kepler. Her and Hamish are hot AF power couple for the win

What I would like to see for her in season three;

GIVE HER HER MAGIC BACK!

Gabrielle 

Season One 

Shes good at what she does to bad she always was working against my faves.

Season Two

It was harder to hate her this season I loved the Karaoke scene, she wasn’t perfect but she tried [still couldn't like her but that’s due to my own personal hang ups 

What I would like to see for her in season three;

A redemption arc and not one that has her redemption based around Randall and for him, I really hope they give her a good one. I beg

Alyssa

Season One

She started off so well on the first episode, what happened, she has an unhealthy loyalty and what seams like some sly daddy issues her and Jack were cute though 

Season Two 

What. The. Fuck. First I’ll be nice that bitch can sing. Alyssa is a stupid irrational character, she leaves Jack to fight on his own, and doesn't help just stands there, tries to cut of her bond with him after she has sex with him for the first time. She was a very self centred character this season, some how everything was Jacks fault, but she was still adamant she had feelings for him? She was willing to kill her mentor and someone shes known for years for some random girl shes met, she believed everything that was said and didn't even have the audacity to let Vera explain and then took away her magic, who gave her the right, I know she was upset over her own magic but Vera would have helped her fix her powers another way. Again she was very self centred and I wish that she actually tried to understand and work with everyone and she wouldn’t have died, but oh well. 

What I would like to see for her in season three;

Either shes a completely new person when she gets revived for she can stay dead I ain’t got time for her foolishness anymore, some people have real issues not her made up problems.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk

[mrs-dragneel-stark-solo]

Unforseen Chasm (part 31)

Part 31 of Unforseen Chasm

Prompt: Two sisters fall for men that are absolute enemies. The love they have could tear all of them apart, or it could bring them together. Word Count: 2516  Warnings: arguing angst what can I say! *shrugs* Note: This is by far the longest thing I’ve ever written (including my other fic series). first major Collab with my best friend @thorne93 what was first a simple “what if” moment turned into a two year writing session and I’ve never been more prouder of myself than when I started my first series. goes through most of the MCU plots there are some changes to accommodate for what we wanted and there is a bit of a crossover between the MCU and other characters. I hope you guys enjoy reading this just as much as I enjoyed writing it.

As soon as Tony parked in the garage, the two of you sat there a moment. You were waiting on him to get out, so you didn’t startle him and make him think you were running off.

“Tell me what’s going on with Shannon,” he quietly ordered as he stared down at his lap. 

At first, you wanted to tell him to go talk to her himself, simply because you felt they needed to communicate more. But you thought best to not fuck up this chance. 

“During our fight, she absorbed some of my dark energy. I don’t know how much you know about me, or what she told you from my letters of my time on Asgard, but I didn’t have this dark energy when I was on Asgard. Being on Asgard makes me strong, and it also rejuvenates a power I was born with. I was born with the ability to charge objects or absorb energy.”

He remained quiet, listening. 

“That’s the natural, good power I have. Like Thor can control thunder and lightning, Loki can conjure, conceal, cast illusions. That’s my power… But when I was held captive, a man named Thanos possessed a mind stone. It’s what was in Loki’s scepter. That’s how we got Barton, and Selvig and all the others to do our bidding. Thanos used it on us. He mainly used it on Loki… But when he did use it on me… I started to develop these dark powers… at the time I had no idea how parasitic they were until I was locked up in the cell. I could tell something felt off in me. Like I had a virus.” 

A moment of quiet fell over the car. 

“But, anyway… Shannon. She absorbed some of that power and now… well now negative or highly intense emotional strain drains on her. She’s got too many mutations and powers and they’re feeding off her. I think my dark energy and the power she got from that empath kid at the X-Men’s place combined to make a tricky combo.”

“So… she can’t handle stress or it wears her down?” he summed up. 

You bobbed your head side to side. “Pretty much. I have certain triggers for my dark powers… her triggers are emotional strain, that’s all we really know.”

After a long time, Tony finally said an emphatic, “Thank you.” Then he got out of the car, came over to your door, and opened it. 

You got out and walked by his side to the elevator. You didn’t want to worry him by standing behind him. The two of you got in the elevator and neither of you said a word more to each other. The doors opened, he grabbed your upper arm again, and hauled you out into a wide, concrete hallway. It was short. You two approached giant doors and they slid open. 

Behind the doors lied your glass cell, sitting up a few feet from the floor, like a stage… like a circus animal were inside. Still holding onto you, he directed you towards the door on the left side of the cell. 

Loki had looked up from his place on the couch and paled. He quickly got to his feet, throwing the book in his hands down. He had no words for the sight in front of him.

The retinal scanner scanned Tony and granted him access. Your cell doors opened with the light “swoosh”, and he escorted you inside. 

“Don’t leave the cell,” he said, and it sounded more like a tired plea than anything else. With that, he turned and left. The cell doors slide shut behind him and he walked out of the room. 

Loki peered at you, concerned. “Are you alright? Did he find you at the mansion?” he asked as he slowly made his way over to you. 

You nodded. 

“Did he hurt you?” 

You shook your head. 

“Love, what’s wrong? You’re scaring me. Why didn’t Shannon bring you back, or the blue teleporter?” 

As much as you wanted to answer him, you couldn’t. So instead you began sobbing and immediately he wrapped his arms around you, soothing you. “Darling, what’s the matter?” he asked again. 

“Shannon… she’s too sick to bring me back. I asked Tony to do it.”

“He wasn’t… angry?” he wondered, pushing you away slightly to look at you. 

“Oh, no he was pissed. Beyond pissed. Livid… But… I thought I could get on his good side if I came quietly,” you informed through tears. 

“And? Did it help?”

You shook your head. “Loki… we were up for parole…”

His eyes went wide with astonishment. “We were?” 

You nodded. “But… because I left… I fucked it up. Tony isn’t letting us go anymore. It’s all my fault. I’m so sorry…” Another wave of sobs rocked out of you. 

“It’s alright, darling,” he assured in a low, hushed voice, pulling you close to him once more. “You had no way of knowing they were even considering us for it.” 

Steve and Shannon had gotten to the tower first. Steve noticed how exhausted she looked on the drive back that when they got into the garage. He got out of the car and picked her up so that she wouldn’t tire herself any more than she already was.

“Steve, I’m fine. You don't have to carry me, I can walk,” she said sounding tired and looking just as much.

“Doll, you can barely keep your eyes open, I'm taking you back to your room so you can sleep,” he said about to press the button for the level for her and Tony’s bedroom.

“No! I don’t want to go there… I’d like to go back to my old floor and spend some time with Lucky only,” she said leaning into his super warmth. “You’re so warm Steve, it feels good,” she said sleepily.

He chuckled. “I’m glad I’m good for more than being a friend.” While he was carrying her with one arm, he texted Bruce with the other, hoping to get him to come check on her by the time he made it to her floor .

>> Bruce, can you bring Lucky down to Shannon’s floor? She wants to spend the rest of her day with him

<< sure thing, why isn’t she in her shared floor?

>> tony found out about Y/N being out of the cell

>> could you bring some things to check on her? she’s still looking rather sick.

<<I’ll get the things ready. see you in a bit.

They got to her floor just as Bruce was getting off the other elevator with some equipment and Lucky was right behind him. Upon seeing her in Steve’s arms though, it seemed Lucky had come to the realization that she wasn’t okay and immediately ran into her old room and got on the bed ready to be her rock and make her feel at ease.

“Thanks for meeting me, Bruce. I’m worried with everything that happened a few moments ago her health is really low,” Steve said as he laid her down and put the covers over her.

“She’s looking pretty pale but let me connect her to a heart monitor and a few other things and we’ll see what's going on. Maybe you should have Nat make her some tea and something to eat?” he suggested to the super soldier. “I’ll let you know if something is wrong. For now we should let her rest,” Bruce said while connecting the last of the equipment to her. “JARVIS, send me any alerts of her vitals drop any lower than they already are, also make sure no one is to bother her,” Bruce had said to the Al hoping that this would help her regain her strength.

She had her eyes closed but could still hear everything. “JARVIS, lock the doors when they leave please. I don’t want anyone to come in besides these two and Nat,” she requested. Her voice was very low but the Al was able to hear it all. 

“Of course, Ms. Shannon. Dr. Banner, I’ll be sure to alert you of any sudden changes,” he replied to her request and Banner’s as well.

By the time that Tony and you had made it back to the tower there had been little change in her health. Although there were no more dips in the charts, they also weren’t at their normal point, which had the others worrying. 

Tony walked into the common area and Nat was the first to catch a glimpse of him.

“Finally back I see. Took you long enough,” she said with anger laced in her words. 

“Not now, Romanoff. Have you seen Shannon?” he asked passing his hands through his hair. “I need to talk to her.”

“Oh now you wanna talk to her? What about when you went to the mansion and wouldn’t hear a thing she said?” she scoffed. “I’m not tell you anything, Stark. For a genius you sure are an idiot.” She shook her head, walking away. 

He huffed and headed to their shared room hoping to find her there and talk things through. Lately, it felt like there’d been a lack of communication between the two of them and it started to put a strain in the relationship. He loved her with every part of his soul but he couldn’t believe all of the things that she’d been doing behind his back.

He reached the door hoping to hear her making noise but when he didn’t hear anything at all he assumed she was asleep and entered quietly. Turning around from closing the door he was met by an empty room. “JARVIS, where’s Shannon?” was all he asked the Al.

“She is in her old bedroom with Lucky.” 

“Thank you. I’ll be down to see her.” He went to his closet and changed into a pair of sweatpants and a plain black t-shirt. 

“Sir, she has requested that only Dr. Banner, Captain Rogers, and Ms. Romanoff be allowed to enter the room.”

“Well I’m still going down there…” sounding a little hurt that she didn’t want him to go in the room

“Dr. Banner has also requested she be left alone to rest. Her vitals seem to be low and have not had any positive changes shown,” the Al responded

“Just open the door for me when I get there… please. I need to talk to her and apologize for not giving her a chance to explain things.”

“Sir, I would suggest against trying to enter. She’s said that if anyone else is allowed in she would personally remove my chip from the system and replace it with FRIDAY.”

“I’ll make sure she doesn’t,” was all he said and made his way to the elevator.

Shannon had fallen asleep after being in her old room for some time and had talked with Lucky, even though he couldn’t reply, she felt a huge relief getting everything off her chest. They were both currently cuddled up watching some of her favorite movies. She was very slowly regaining her energy but her strength still seemed to be weak.

“Ms. Shannon, Mr. Stark is on his way down here to speak with you, I’ve advised him not to but he insists on coming down here. Shall I electrify the doorknob?” Jarvis asked her.

“No, Jarvis, don’t do that. Just don’t let him enter my room through either door,” she replied hoping that Tony would get the hint and leave her alone. As hurt as she made him, she was equally hurt that he wouldn’t even stop to hear the explanation she wanted to give him.

“Alright, Miss.”

“Hey, honey, can I come in so we can talk?”

“Go away, Tony. I don’t want to talk, not after the way you treated my words as if they were a bunch of lies.” 

He slumped his shoulders. “I know I messed up. Please open the door so we can talk about this…”

“What’s there to discuss? You didn’t want to hear what I had to say back at the mansion so why should I believe that you wanna hear what I have to say now?”

Leaning his head on the door, Tony replied, “Listen, I know I’m an idiot for not letting you speak and that I let my anger get to me but seeing you in that bed, pale and seeing her right next to you just pissed me off. I thought she had done something to you and I hadn’t been there to stop her again.”

“Oh, Tony you know that she’d never hurt me…”

“That’s the thing! I don’t know if she will or if she won’t. I haven’t seen her in so long that the person I met when she came back was a stranger,” he admitted wishing that your words would stop repeating in his head about him still loving you and missing his old friend. It was true but he’d never admit to it. “Baby, please let me in. I hate that we’re like this. When did things go wrong?” he asked through the door.

“We’ve both been so busy with our own things that we barely got any time to ourselves,” she replied while looking down at her hands. “JARVIS, let him into the room please.”

Tony’s head was leaning against the door and his hand on the doorknob, hoping to be let in, when he heard the faint click of the lock he knew he’d gotten the chance to enter the room. He saw that she still looked tired and was still pale and he felt guilty knowing that his anger had been the cause that triggered her to be like this. He made his way to the bed but Lucky stopped him from going further, baring his teeth as to protect her from him. His heart broke a little more seeing that their dog wouldn’t let him anywhere close to her.

“I’m sorry, Shannon. I never meant to hurt you like I did and I didn’t want you to get worse.” He couldn’t meet her eyes, fearing that he’d see pain or sadness. “I just want what’s best for you and I keep forgetting that you’re a strong woman who can make her own choices.” He looked up with sincerity in his eyes.

“I love that you want to protect me, but I’m not a child anymore. I’m a skilled assassin working with the Avengers.” She looked at him. “Some things will always be out of your reach and this situation is one of them.”

Things had taken a turn for the worse as they had ended up arguing the rest of the time, Bruce had to rush down and stabilize her. Tony was rushed out of the room but once everything was cleared he was allowed back in. Both of them settled to not discuss anything further and had spent the night in each other’s arms and with Lucky sleeping at their feet, that night would be one of the best night’s sleep that either of them have had in a long time.

Unforseen Chasm Tag list- @reigningqueenofwords @oldfreakything @weclassygirl @adefectivedetective @dontbetooobvious

Tag list- @cas-you-assbutt-dean-needs-you @winchester-writes @winchesterenthusiast   @deansdirtylittlesecretsblog   @sammysbuttcheek @misz-adrii @sandlee44 @womanxofletters @natsuccs @childishhoebinoo​ @expecteddifferent​ @girl-next-door-writes​ @fanaticfanfiction​ @dakotapaigelove​ @sassy-spn-knight-of-hell​

[maqichour]

*inhales* hi ! i’m roni ( she/her ) , i’m nineteen , i’m from california and i must confess : i’m a fake very very clueless as i’ve never been in any sort of hp rp before . . . but i’m also rly Determined so i’m gonna fake it ‘til i make it ! but anyways , this is marc and he’s a loser ?? i’m rly bad at writing bios but . . . i tried ?? but yeah , pls read about him below ! also give this a like if you’d like to plot && i’ll message you asap , though i’m probably gonna message everyone anyways omg

   dusty stacks of old, worn out books you’ve collected but haven’t yet found the time to read . . . forgiving someone no matter how hard it may be . . . the hand that pulls you back up when you fall . . . fields of sunflowers at sunset . . . doing what you think is right even if others are against it . . . the warm and calming sounds of a piano filling the room . . . lying in the grass for hours, soaking up the warm sun .

 if you’re looking for MARC MCKINNON, you’ll probably find HIM in the HUFFLEPUFF dorm with the rest of the SEVENTH years. they’re the TWENTY-ONE year old PUREBLOOD who looks kind of like ALEX FITZALAN. they seem AFFABLE, COURTEOUS & FRANK to me, but apparently they’re also STUBBORN, OPINIONATED & FICKLE. maybe that’s why their patronus is A BASSET HOUND. ( cis male / he/him )

。・ * ✧ about !

marc was never as bright or quick as his sister, often finding himself among the average ( and even sometimes below ) , though he never really minded, finding comfort in knowing he’d at least tried his very best. 

even as a child, marc was kind and gentle ( much like his parents ) as well as curious and full of his own thoughts and opinions. as he got older, the more he believed his opinions were always right and was more adamant towards them. one of his earliest thoughts was regarding the attitude and morals held by most purebloods-- he simply didn’t understand them, and almost hated being stuck with the label, as well. he kept it to himself for a while, but soon learned his parents felt the same way, and everything made sense to him. he knew he was right and it was then he vowed to speak his mind more frequently rather than hide his opinions.

marc always felt deep down that he was a hufflepuff and hoped for nothing more when first attending hogwarts. any fear he might’ve felt about getting sorted into any other house was quickly buried-- he knew in his heart he wouldn’t get them, and his heart was rarely wrong. he only hoped his sister would be there with him, but he knew she’d be fine on her own in slytherin, and she was, mostly. marc, on the other hand, struggled his first year trying to find his own place within the school and within his house. it didn’t take long, though, and people were sort of drawn to him -- his friendly and polite disposition almost like a beacon -- and he soon found himself climbing the social ladder, not entirely realizing how or when it happened. 

he still wasn’t the brightest student, but he had found certain things he did excel at, such as herbology, astronomy, potions, care of magical creatures, and charms ( though he also thoroughly enjoyed muggle studies ) as well as  quidditch ( as a chaser ! )  and even becoming a prefect for his house.

marc is most often spotted chatting with friends in the hall ( and constantly making new ones ) , helping anyone and everyone in need of it, or just . . . arguing. though in his free time, he loves to read, play music, and just like ... walk around exploring ??

。・ * ✧ etc !

house : hufflepuff

patronus : a basset hound

clubs / etc : quidditch ( chaser ! ) , prefect , potions club , astronomy club, charms club 

pets : a toad . . . name tbd

zodiac sign : scorpio ( 6 november ! )

positive traits : affable / courteous / frank / open-minded / determined / loyal / patient / optimistic / confident yet humble / etc

negative traits : stubborn / opinionated / fickle / adamant / disorganized / etc

inspo : amy santiago , michael scott , winston bishop , jessica day , etc

im rly bad at writing bios so i don’t think i got to properly convey everything i wanted to so !! time to blab ?? slash ( / ) a tldr ?? okay so !! 

marc spends a lot of his free time reading but he’s kinda a slow reader bc he gets distracted easily or can’t find the free time but he rly does love to read ??

loves loves loves plants n herbology ??

is rly rly friendly n loves company n loves people he’s just a people person i guess??

isn’t the most talented ever but he’s okay with that because he knows his strengths lie more in other things !! 

he doesn’t know what he wants to do in the future and if u ask him , he’ll give u a different answer each time ( though his go-to’s are usually something about wanting to work in hogsmead or as a herbology professor even though he knows either might not be the best fit , like , socially??  )

follows the rules but sometimes wishes he was a bit more rebellious ??

but he likes to wander around a lot and if people question him he’ll pull the prefect card 

basically he’s ..all the stuff in his musings tag n aesthetics and that scene from spider-man homecoming where peter’s like “i can be intimidating” ( this one ) except ..he can sometimes but that’s usually just bc he’s rly loud n passionate about his opinions omg he’s rly just a softie i wish i was better at elaborating but i’m not but trust me you’ll see dhfjd

。・ * ✧ connection ideas !

i’m so ! bad @ this but uh

best friends / ( fr )enemies / unlikely friends / bad influence / any friends ???

exes / flirtationship / unrequited crush ( can go either way ) ?? 

forgot to mention . . . but marc is bi so !! these are open to anyone n everyone !!

idk let’s wing it !

[crystallized-shadow]

The Killer Meme

Tagged by @a-kid-named-hiro

[Me, Myself, I]

What is your philosophy/motto in life? Always try your best; you can’t always be the best but you can do your best.

How did you choose your User Name, and what does it reveal of your character? It’s my username from a different site and I really like it. I guess it could mean I’m the shiny thing in the dark?

What did you want to be “when you grew up” when you were younger? If your current job/plans are different, why did you change? I wanted to be Veterinarian when I was a kid but an allergy to dogs put a kibosh on that pretty quick.

What was the worst nightmare you have ever had? I usually don’t remember my dreams, but I can remember one where someone me shot in the back.

Tell the story behind one or more of your scars (physical, not emotional). I have several but the story is the same: I’m a fucking klutz.

What one thing would you like your great-great-grandchildren to know about you? What one thing would you NOT want them to know? I don’t intend to reproduce.

How do you learn (things-for-exams)? Re-reading notes and frantically cramming right before the exam (I do NOT recommend this method)

What was the cause of the worst physical pain you have ever been in? I slipped on the ice; over-extended two tendons, concussed a nerve, bruised my tailbone, and hurt my knee (I had to sit through 4 hours of classes before I could do anything about it, not fun)

Where do you live (a country is fine, just name a place)? USA

What is your biggest fear? Not living up to my own expectations

[Nostalgia Ain’t What It Used to Be]

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever done? (Not the best, or the most accomplished, or the most life-altering, just the coolest). Gone tubing down the river

If you could change one event from your own personal history, what would it be and how would you change it? I let something very dear to me go, if I could change anything, I would never have made that decision

Describe the one thing you have learned in the course of your education, either inside school or outside of it, which you consider the most valuable. Actions speak louder than words, especially among people who are supposed to be your friends.

What memory would call up your personal Patronus spell? (in other words, what memory is your happiest or sweetest?) Any memory featuring my precious people happy

Describe the three best pairs of shoes that you’ve ever owned - favorites because of comfort, the way they look, the brand, any reason at all. Any shoes that I don’t have to tie are fucking amazing

[If I Ruled the World]

If you could have been born and grown up somewhere else, where would that have been? I liked where I grew up, so I wouldn’t change it

What would you demand in exchange for giving up your personal freedoms and civil liberties? Would never give them up

If there were no laws, which (former) crime would be the first you’d commit? I’d make all student loans disappear forever!

If you could do one thing or grant one wish for someone else, what would it be? I’d wish that those near and dear to my heart be happy for the rest of their lives

If you could know anything about your future, what would it be? If I’m happy with my life

Owing to a peculiar concatenation of events, you are the wealthiest person in the world, and the latter will end in 24 hours. Money being no object, and saving the world being impossible, what would you do during that last day? I’d make it the best day ever for everyone I care about. If we’re all going to die we might as well go out with a bang!

If you could hunt down one childhood tormentor (whether it be bully, tattletale, mean teacher, or friend’s mother who hated you for no good reason) and exact revenge upon them in some spectacular, prankish fashion without worry of consequences, who would you choose, and what would you do to him/her? That’s hard to say since karma has taken care of a few of these people. There is one person I’d love to slap in the back of the head for being incompetent when I got hurt, so I guess I’d do that.

If I offered you a chance to have anything you wanted, the cost being someone you didn’t know dies, would you accept? If I could stipulate the that person has to be a piece of shit that no one will miss, then hell yeah! Otherwise I’d have to give it some thought.

If you could have any one superpower, what would it be? Time travel

If you could punch any one person from any point in history, who would you pick? I have a list of people that deserve a good punch in the face

If you were given the opportunity to live another life, what kind of life would you like to have? I’d want a life where I could be happy and not have to worry about anyone hurting me or those close to me

If you could alter history in one specific place, where would it be, and why? Stopping someone close to me from ever dating the fucking whore who did nothing but fuck them over

Assuming you (or a group of friends) conquer Earth, which section(s) of the planet would you personally desire, and why? Somewhere quiet with good wi-fi so we could have a place to relax

If you could, with no repercussions, subject anyone you wanted to one day of utter and complete torture, who would you choose, why would you choose them, and what would you do to them? Conversely, if you could give anyone you wanted (other than yourself) one day of perfect happiness, who/why/what would you choose? The fucking whore I mentioned earlier, I would subject her to a day of torture, without hesitation.

It might be cliche, but my mom deserves the best fucking day ever so I would pick her.

[Media and Culture]

Hollywood called: they’re filming your life story. Who do you cast as yourself? I would just laugh and hang up the phone

They want to make your life into a Cartoon. Which graphic artist do you want to draw it? Not sure why anyone would want to do that, but I would pick @sinyaru or @artbythedarkside because I fucking love their art!

Your favourite Blackadder episode and why? ???

Movie adaptations of books - heinous, evil and always disappointing or perfectly acceptable? It really depends on the book and the actors they pick

What one song brings up the strongest emotion (negative or positive) for you? Hold Me Tight or Don’t by Fall Out Boy Killing Kind by Mariana’s Trench

If you had the choice to live in any fictional world, as in transposed into a book, which one would it be? Please explain why. Naruto, preferably during the Fonder’s Era because I want to me Madara and Tobirama! Also ninjas.

What is your favorite artwork (painting, sculpture, etching, whatever) and why? I can’t say I have a favorite piece, but personally I enjoy painting.

Name twelve songs for the soundtrack of your life. (In no particular order)

1. Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day) 2. Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea (Fall Out Boy) 3. THNKS FR TH MMRS (Fall Out Boy) 4. It’s My Life (Bon Jovi) 5. High Hopes (Panic! At the Disco) 6. Natural (Imagine Dragons) 7. Teenagers (My Chemical Romance) 8. Head Above Water (Avril Lavigne) 9. I Don’t Care (Fall Out Boy) 10. Numb (Linkin Park) 11. Victorious (Panic! At the Disco) 12. Get Out Alive (Three Days Grace)

If you could have only five cds, which would they be? No burned cds count - only ones you physically purchase in a store/online. (In no particular order)

1. Mania (Fall Out Boy) 2. Phantoms (Mariana’s Trench) 3. Save Rock and Roll (Fall Out Boy) 4. Them vs. You vs. Me (Finger 11) 5. Pray For The Wicked (Panic! At the Disco)

Batman or Superman? Loki

What fictional character do you most identify with and why? If I had to pick I would say maybe Tobirama Senju. I can come across as cold, will do odd things to satisfy curiosity, and my intentions can be misinterpreted by those that don’t know me.

[The Completely Hatstand Section]

True or false: pineapple on pizza is wrong. False.

If you were a color, what would you be and why? Black or red, they are my favorites.

If you could be an inanimate object, what would you be and why? A dictionary so no one would use me

Assuming reincarnation exists, who do you think you may have been in a past life? How would you like to come back in the next? The running joke in my family is I was a pirate in my past life because my alcohol of choice, when I drink, is rum. I’d like to come back as a cat so I can be lazy and knock shit over XD

If you were a weapon, what would you be and why? A katana because they are badass

Do you wear orange? Why/Why not? Not really, it’s just not a color I own a lot of.

If you could ask your deity of choice one question and have it answered, what would you ask? I’m honestly not sure, maybe what’s the secret to the universe?

True/False: Green buffalos come from Albania. (seriously, now.) Um, false?

[Fair Trades and Dilemmas]

If remaining a virgin (or abstaining from sex) for the rest of your life would allow you to do real magic, would you do it? Fuck yeah! Magic is fucking awesome!

How much money would it take for you to appear naked (full-frontal) for five seconds on national television? A fuck ton of money, like more money than currently exists; I am very self-conscious.

Would you rather be a complete idiot with a charming personality, or intellectually brilliant but have no friends? I’d rather be intellectually brilliant, because my true friends would still be my friends, regardless of how smart I am.

You can start any business of your choice, whether for-profit or non-profit, regardless of whether this business exists practically in the world or not and whether there’s an existing business model to make your chosen business work or not. Irrespective of what it is, it will start off moderately successfully and eventually become very successful. You will make a very satisfactory wage and your investors/sponsors will be very pleased with your work. What business would you start? Some online business that rivals Amazon.

Would you sacrifice an unknown portion of your life so that a loved one could live for one more year? Without a doubt

Tagging @theintellectualweeb @sinyaru @artbythedarkside and whoever else wants to do it

[najatheangel]

Hii~ I'm here for a matchup request for NCT Dream and SuperM! I'm a 5'3, female she/her, my hobbies include writing and reading also drawing in my free time. I enjoy playing a bit of volleyball and badminton, I also play video games if I feel like it. I'm usually quiet when I'm in a place with people I don't know, but if I'm with friends I can get really loud. I dislike loud places/loud people, having to order for myself and country music~ I like cats more than dogs, I have like at least 1000 memes pics in my phone, and I really like watching studio Ghibli movies. As for appearance, I have medium dark brown with hints of red hair, chubby face but I lean in more with the skinny side for body type, I have bangs as well. Thank you ✨

Hello lovelie anon, you sound like an intresting person. Thanks fr or being so patient your ship is finally here...🌟⭐️

From Super M, I ship you with...Baekyun

Positive Side: You two deserve to be together. Baekyun is the type of person that stands out in any room and that can handle shy yet innocent personalities like yours. I feel like he would think it’s attractive, but he would eventually want you to reveal your true self, your silly, kind and creative side to him. He’s the kind of guy that would try anything sporty and creative. Your volleyball matches would be so intense, because he seems to be competitive and get excited when he plays against. Obviously you would win most of the matches, but when he won he would be screaming “In your face!” or “Yayy” lifting you up in the air and spinning you around kissing you. Same thing with video games, he would want a match with you every night for hours until he defeated you. When your out with each other’s friends as a group, you both make sure the other person is comfortable and stick close to each other no matter what. Him being the goofy man he is, he loves sending memes and even quoting them nonstop just to make you smile. Day by day regardless of how you were feeling, he would do anything to have you stick around.

Negative Side: He can also be a child at heart sometimes not knowing when to switch Baekyun the friend and Baekyun the boyfriend when he’s around you. He tends to be like this because he knew how long it was going to take to open up to you and accept him as a lover so he wanted to keeping treating you like a friend instead of trying to be your boyfriend. For example, when he thought about wrapping his arm around your shoulder he would hesitate and flinch when you turn around looking at him seeing what you were doing. He would even be careful of how he would try to kiss you, because he would think you wouldn’t like it and end up hating him for trying to pull a move on him. For awhile he kept his feelings to himself thinking you liked Kai.

But: Once you started to pick up how he was feeling about you, you’ve decided to drag him out on the most romantic date ever by confessing to him how you felt through your book of drawings of you and him together. The last picture showed the big question saying, Will you be my boyfriend? And he ran up towards you and shared the most romantic kiss together. “Starting today, I’m going to cherish you and keep you by my side no matter what. You got that?” He lifts his pinky up clenching it together. “Mhmm got it.” Giggles while kissing each other’s pinkies sealing the deal.

From Nct Dream, I ship you with...Chenle

Positive Side: The light of your life and your best friend. What made me match you up with him is his ability to help you open out of your shell and he’s fearless when it comes to trying new things. In a sense, he’s very talented in the arts of music mr piano man, so I don’t see why he wouldn’t enjoy creating cute drawings for you and reading your latest stories you were writing. I can imagine him trying to read it out loud teasing you and making you feel embarrassed when you make a spelling error, but he wouldn’t be that cruel and let it drag out to far. When going out on dates with him, he would help you order food for you if the waiter couldn’t here you. Sometimes he would just like cooking for you to save you the trouble of dealing with that. trust me girl I can relate, I hate ordering drive thrus and they mess up your order all because they couldn’t hear you. This man loves memes and would appreciate you sending him the funniest tweets or tik toks crying his eyes out. Lastly, he would love hyping you up every chance he gets. You two are two best friends that falls in love and living your happy young little couple lives sharing new experiences together.

Negative Side: It felt so comfortable for him to be best friends with you, but it took him a while to get used to becoming your boyfriend. It was like he didn’t know how to go his way about being romantic with you, because he’s still young and can be childish at times. For example, if you wanted to cuddle or try to cling onto him in front of the members, he would try to pretend to act aloof and not know how to approach the situation. He was so used to treating you like a friend that it’s hard for him to be romantic towards you, because it feels weird to him to start being more affectionate towards you. “Chenle you normally like it when I lay on you. Why are you being weird.” He starts to whine acting flustered. “Idk, I’m just not used to this yet. Why don’t we just play video games and pretend this never happened?” laughs awkwardly trying to wipe the sweat of his hands.

But...: Once he starts to feel more comfortable and confident about being close together with you then he would never stop clinging on to you. He loves you enough to boldly kiss you on the cheek, lean his head on your shoulder, scream at the top of his lungs how much he loves you and is not afraid of laughing so loudly with you. He does not care about anyone’s opinions on your relationship and doesn’t take any crap from anyone. “Y/n is my mine. Don’t touch her.” slaps the top of Mark’s hand while hugging you so tightly glaring at him. “I was just handing her the bracelet she dropped.”

This was a tough one because I feel like you also suit with renjun pretty well too, but Chenle just made more sense.

sparkly anon✨ thanks for requesting and I hope this somewhat made your day/night hun.

[srlkiller]

i can’t wait to get paid so i can get my thc/cbd oil back omfg i miss that shit bitch i think that’s the problem i miss high showers w my music n layin in bed watchin chris klemins or the office or sum shit or havin my epiphany’s that help me so so much in life lol cannabis is amazing for that i swear it make me realise so much shit i never would have realised sober that im like wow u dumb ass bitch why u didn’t see that?!? also idk if it’s cuz my brain is mentally ill lol but when im on oxy or drunk or i guess molly too.. that’s all ive done since i been talkin too him.. anyway.. i was so much more into him on those substances n when i was sober too but when i was on thc i was so not into him n tbh i saw thru his shit n felt soo fucking suss of the whole situation would barely reply to him or show any interest n he could tell always n would b like ??? “u like me so much more off the oxy” lmao idk if that’s jus me or if that happens to anyone else??? but i honestly think weed opened my mind a lot more n made me see shit clearer.. cuz after i stopped fucking w him n was 100% sober for like 5 days i saw shit for what it was n he was a fucking dubb n idek what i was doing for 6 months tbh i think maybe it was so drug induced that i jus was blind to the bullshit n didn’t want to believe any of the negative so i jus focused on the positive so much n continued until it built up to this.. now ive snapped to the point where i can no longer ignore it bc it’s literally IN MY FACE. pathological liars are the worst of the worst man like.. i don’t understand them. u catch them in literal lies n they keep lying???????? what is wrong w uuuuuu. “u think my lying has now turned into a mental illness” no i jus think ur a cunt who lies to get what he wants bc u want to have ur cake n eat it too. it aint hard to understand u jus don’t want to understand it bc it makes u look bad lol. u as fake as they come n u hate it. how painful it must b to be u. to not know who the fuck u are. smh. i was right from the very beginning. i thought we were so similar but we couldn’t b more different. u the exact type of person i despise n that shit is sickening. u couldn’t give a fuck about anyone but urself. the worst type of person. u got a lot to learn. i hope i never let another person like that close to me again bc they don’t deserve shit from me. im extremely disappointed tho.. i fr thought i found something special. the main emotion i have is jus disappointment. sheer disappointment. i was hoping n praying it would not turn out this way bc i really did like him lol. but i guess i liked who he was pretending to b. n anyone can do that shit. he was mimicking me the whole time.. deadass. jus the male version of me. weird as shit when i actually think about it.

[amoralto]

I was wondering, how is the song "The Long and Winding Road" written fr John by Paul? I mean like, how in what ways was it written for him? Sorry if I'm rubbing off as rude I'm just curious is all.

I would say it wasn’t so much for John (i.e. premeditated and explicit in the way ‘Dear Friend’ or ‘Here Today’ was) as about John (i.e. projected and implicit in the way ‘This One’ or even It Was Always About Linda And Me No More No Less ‘Two Of Us’ was), but I suppose that’s just a matter of semantics. In Many Years From Now, Paul describes the song as a sublimated expression of the emotional turmoil he was going through at the time of writing it: 

It’s a good vehicle, it saves having to go to a psychiatrist. Songwriting often performs that feat, you say it but you don’t embarrass yourself because it’s only a song, or is it? You are putting the things that are bothering you on the table and you are reviewing them, but because it’s a song, you don’t have to argue with anyone. I was a bit flipped out and tripped out at that time. It’s a sad song because it’s all about the unattainable; the door you never quite reach. This is the road that you never get to the end of. The friendship you’re losing.

It doesn’t take much intellectual acuity to figure out whose friendship Paul was fearful of losing in early 1969, but for your consideration, here are a few exchanges (and non-exchanges) between a increasingly desperate and trying Paul and an at turns unresponsive, ambivalent, and aggrieved John from from the Get Back/Let It Be sessions. Under the cut!

From January 6th, where long-suffering George gets the shortest stick even at an all-time-low in the Lennon-McCartney partnership, and John hedgingly (if ironically) calls for honest communication:

GEORGE: Since Mr. Epstein passed away…

JOHN: Who passed away?

GEORGE: That’s what he was saying.

PAUL: No, it’s – no, it’s because no one will take any—

GEORGE: Mr. Epstein.

PAUL: —any things, you know. [to John] You never say anything. It’s gonna be sort of… I mean, we’ve been very negative since Mr. Epstein passed away. And that’s why we haven’t been positive. That’s why all of us, in turn, have been sick of the group, you know. There’s nothing positive in it. It is a bit of a drag. The only way for it not to be a bit of a drag is for the four of us to think, “Should we make it positive, now?” Or, “Should we fuck it?” You know.

GEORGE: Even – even if this is—

PAUL: It’s – there’s only the two alternatives, isn’t it?

JOHN: I – I have, uh, an incentive.

PAUL: What incentive?

JOHN: Desire to do… because, all the things that we do, the whole point of it is communication.

PAUL: Yeah.

JOHN: And to be on TV is communication. We’ve got a chance… to smile, at people. Like ‘All You Need Is Love’.

PAUL: Yeah.

JOHN: So that’s me incentive for doing it.

PAUL: So the thing is, you see, that’s a—

MICHAEL: ‘All You Need Is Love’ and ‘Hey Jude’ did communicate.

PAUL: Of course they did. Of course they did.

JOHN: Yeah, I sort of thought, today, if we need to think of any incentive, the incentive is to communicate.

From January 7th, the day Paul formally introduced ‘Golden Slumbers’, ‘Carry That Weight’, ‘Let It Be’, and ‘The Long And Winding Road’ to the group: 

PAUL: I don’t see why any of you I’m talking to, or whoever it is who’s not interested, get yourselves into this, then. What’s it for, you know? It can’t be for the money. [pause] I mean, why are you here? I’m here, because I, you know, I wanna do a show, but I really don’t feel an awful lot of support. [ignored; playing continues] You know, I mean, is anyone here ’cause they want to do a show? [someone laughs] Or am I just—?

…

PAUL: [upset; to John] I mean, I’ll – I’ll sit in a corner with Mal, on the tour, or I’ll sit here, and I’ll – I’ll anything. ‘Cause I – I enjoy it all. That’s the only thing I enjoy, actually. [inaudible; drowned out by George’s and Michael’s voices] It’s terrible just to imagine if you – if you don’t, or you’re the only one interested. But I’m not easing you in, easing you in right now. I want to know if you’re interested in that. But you won’t say anything to me about it.

JOHN: [long pause] I said what I’d been thinking. I would. And that is what I have.

PAUL: [tired] Are you still thinking that now? What are you thinking now?

JOHN: [evasive] I’m still thinking about it. [continues playing]

…

PAUL: It’s like Mal said last night. “If you’re gonna do the show here, you’ve gotta decide today.” And he, he sort of said it, almost frightened to say it, you know, to the lads. Didn’t really want to sort of shout at us. But he had to say it, because… if you do the show, you’re gonna have to decide today, you know, and it’s like that. And it’s like, if you’re gonna do these songs, you’ve got to learn the chords. And we all know them. And we’ve got to learn the words. It’s just basic things that we’ve got to do, if we’re gonna do it. And as far as I can see, there’s only two ways, that’s what I was shouting at you about the last meeting we had. There’s only two things, you know. We’re gonna do it, or we’re not gonna do it. And I want a decision. [pause] Because I’m not interested enough to come to spend so many days farting around here, while everyone makes up their minds about whether they want to do it or not, you know. I’ll do it. If everyone else will, and everyone wants to do it, then alright. [laughs; bleak] It’s just a bit – a bit soft, you know?

…

GEORGE: Oh, The Beatles have been in doldrums for at least a year.

MICHAEL: You see, that is – that is terrible to say.

PAUL: We – we haven’t played together, you see! That’s the fucking thing. But when we do come together to play together, we all just sort of talk about the fleeting past! We’re like old-age pensioners! [British geriatric voice] “Remember the days when we used to rock?” You know, but we’re here now! We can do it, you know. But I mean, I’m – all I hoping for is enthusiasm from you—

MAL: [earnest] I’m just saying you are needed, you know. The Beatles are needed. To so many people, you know.

MICHAEL: Yeah, you’re right. [pause]

PAUL: You see the thing is also, I, I get to a bit where I just sort of push all my ideas, you know, and I know that my ideas aren’t the best, you know. They are [mechanical voice] “good, good, good” but they’re not the best, you know. We can improve on it. Because we write songs good, and we improve on it. [to Ringo] And you can improve on your drumming like it is, if you get into it. If you don’t, you know, then okay, I have better ideas, but if you get into it, you’re better! You know. It’s like that.

(Note: I’ve only just realised while putting together this reply how many long-ago transcript bits from the Get Back/Let It Be sessions I haven’t put up on @amoralto​ yet, so I am very sorry about that. Soon!) 

From the morning of January 13th (and John and Yoko haven’t arrived at the studio yet), where Paul defends John and Yoko’s togetherness and yet also speaks with remarkable self-awareness about his own unease with the situation: 

PAUL: But you know, I – I tend to think that about them, too. Like I was saying, you know. “Well, I’d rather write without Yoko, thank you.” Just because it’s – that’s the way I write. If I – like, if I was in Tunisia, I’d go up to the bathroom to write a song, and then come back when it was done to show it to you. And to sort of say, “Let’s do a couple more words, now that’s it all there, you know, now that there’s only a little…”

NEIL: Yeah.

PAUL: But it’s difficult starting right from scratch with Yoko there, ‘cause you start off on a – well, I do. I start off on a Yoko beam, you know. I start off sort of writing songs about white walls. [laughter] Just ’cause I – you know, just ’cause I think she – John and Yoko would like that. And they wouldn’t, you know. I mean, I give them too much credit for – for what I think they’d like. But that’s not true. They wouldn’t. They’re very straight.

Paul goes on to express frustration with John’s apparent reliance on Paul to read his mind for him (and other problems with communication): 

NEIL: I’d just rather not say anything. It’s one of those situations.

PAUL: Yeah. [pause] Well, that’s – that’s the trouble you see, there, ‘cause that’s it. It’s like, with our – heightened awareness, the answer is not to say anything, you know. But it isn’t. ’Cause I mean, we screw each other up totally if we don’t do that. ’Cause we’re not ready for your heightened… vows of silence. [laughs; hapless] We’re really not! Like, we don’t know what the fuck each other’s talking about, when that – we all just sort of get—

NEIL: I think it’s just between the four of you, that get it. That’s what I’d pretend.

PAUL: Oh yeah, right, yeah. But you see, that’s it, that’s why John doesn’t say anything. ’Cause he, you know, he just… There was something the other day, when I said, “Well, what do you think?” And he just stood there and didn’t say anything. And then – and I know exactly why, you know. I mean, I wouldn’t, if… [long pause] Somehow. You know, there’s nothing really much to be said about it. You just – we all just have to do it, and all that, instead of like talking about it. But – but if one of us is talking about it, it’s a drag if the other three aren’t. Because then it sort of throws you off.

…

PAUL: I mean, Yoko’s very much to do with it.

LINDA: Mm.

PAUL: ’Cause she’s very much to do with it from John’s angle, that’s the thing, you know. And I – the thing is that I – there’s— Again, like, there’s always only two answers. One is to fight it, and fight her, and try and get The Beatles back to four people without Yoko, and sort of ask her to sit down at the board meetings. Or else, the other thing is to just realise that she’s there, you know. And he’s not gonna sort of – split with her, just for our sakes.

Before circling back again to defend John and Yoko and confess that it is Yoko’s pervading presence in and of itself that bothers him and causes him to project and indelibly confront his feelings (and not any direct interference in the songwriting process, which Paul insists she has never done): 

NEIL: But when you’re talking to John, you always – these days, anyway – tend to think that you’re talking to Yoko more than you’re talking to John. And that’s when it becomes a drag.

PAUL: [furtive] That’s why I say writing a song with him is a bit embarrassing, because I do think it sort of – I mean, I start examining my emotions, with Yoko there… And it’s probably silly of me! It’s probably silly, because like, Yoko’s not what we’re all sort of thinking she is.

…

PAUL: Yeah, see, that’s the thing. The only one time we’ve actually done it, she’s agreed. She really is alright. It’s like, it’s the thought of her being there when some of—  [faltering] And then you don’t talk to John, so then he doesn’t talk to you, you know. And it’s like, you can screw it up just as much because she’s there, as – as John’s relying on her because she’s there. So that’s the thing. You know, but I mean, like, you’ll notice, if John – if you’re onto a beam with John about something, then he really isn’t, you know, he really won’t let Yoko talk about it. Because he knows when you’re on a beam, and he knows about it, and you’ll – you can talk straighter to him.

But it’s like, we did ‘I Will’. We tried, we were trying to get the last verse to ‘I Will’, and eventually I just ended up doing it, because it – we couldn’t actually do it. [pause; trying] But – I mean, Yoko really tried to stay out of it, [and] just sort of – got on with something, but she just really… you know. They’re onto that thing. They just want to be near to each other. So I just think it’s just silly of me, or of anyone, to try and say to him, “No, you can’t,” you know. It’s like, ’cause – okay, they’re – they’re going overboard about it, but John always does! And Yoko probably always does. So that’s their scene. You can’t go saying – you know, “Don’t go overboard about this thing. Be sensible about it. Don’t bring it to meetings.” It’s his decision, that. It’s – it’s none of our business, to start interfering in that. Even when it comes into our business, you still can’t really say much, unless – except, “Look, I don’t like it, John.” And then he can say, well, “Screw you,” or, “I like it,” or, “Well, I won’t do it so much,” or blablabla. Like, that’s the only way, you know. To tell John about that.

MICHAEL: Have you done that already?

PAUL: Well, I told him I didn’t like writing songs… with him and Yoko.

From the afternoon of January 13th (and John and Yoko have arrived), where projecting onto George is abound and John contends with the vagaries of his feelings where Paul’s concerned: 

JOHN: I’m just trying to ask [inaudible] – do I want him back, Paul, I’m just asking, do I want it back? Whatever it is. [Do I want it back] Enough?

YOKO: Right, do you want this, to have George back, you have [inaudible]—

JOHN: Then if it is enough, I’d have to swallow my ego for you, I’d have to smother me jealousy for you—

PAUL: Mm.

JOHN: —to carry on for whatever reasons there is.

… And on and on and on. In terms of the specifics of the song, the line The wild and windy night / That the rain washed away could be taken as a reference to a certain hurricane-diverting sojourn in Key West (as sung about in ‘Here Today’), but you may find that to be more reasonable conjecture than incontrovertible fact. John himself never commented on the meaning of the song, beyond surmising that “the shock of Yoko, and what was happening” was what impelled Paul to write it.

Anyway, I don’t really feel like I’ve answered you in a clear or concise way, but I hope you’ve at least gleaned some measure of perspective from this! I’ll probably put up a few tracks from the Get Back/Let It Be sessions that depict the early development of ‘The Long And Winding Road’ on the blog soon, as a supplement. 

[foursprouthappiness-blog]

250 People Reveal The Lesson They Learned After A Failed Relationship

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/happiness/250-people-reveal-the-lesson-they-learned-after-a-failed-relationship-2/

250 People Reveal The Lesson They Learned After A Failed Relationship

Edu Grande

1. “Waiting for a man to change is the biggest mistake a woman has ever made.”

2. “If they are not ‘what’ you want in the beginning, move on.”

3. “Self-love is the foundation of any relationship.”

4. “No matter how good you were together once the other stopped choosing you, it’s over. Also, no matter what you’ve been through… you gotta thank them for the memories. I’m pretty sure it’s not all bad. Just thank them but don’t dwell on it.”

5. “Don’t expect a cheater to change. If s/he is always looking for attention of others after all you give, it’ll never be enough…and/or s/he’s may be a narcissist.”

6. “Never beg someone to love or be with you, because if someone truly and utterly cares about you, they will treat you as a priority.”

7. “It doesn’t matter how long you’ve known each other and how much ups and downs you’ve shared. If he decides to leave and turn his back from you, there is nothing you can do. But you can always regain your balance, so long as you have not lost yourself in the process of losing him. Above all, love and respect yourself.”

8. “No matter how much you want your relationship to be your last, you cannot force someone to stay if they choose to give up on you.

Also, you can’t force something that isn’t meant to work out in the first place.”

9. “Love yourself more than you love him Love yourself more than you love him Love yourself more than you love him Love yourself more than you love him Love yourself more than you love him Love yourself more than you love him So it’s not gonna hurt dat much when things didn’t work out.”

10. “Sometimes it’s better to let go and move on than it is to fight for something that only one of you truly wants.”

11. “Proving yourself will never be a guarantee that he will choose you!!! Love yourself!!! That’s all you have! YOURSELF!!!”

12. “Some may be more suited for you than others, and you may think you found the perfect person for you but the ONE is a myth. I don’t believe anyone who says they found the ONE because the person you found is someone you liked best from the pool you were exposed to, and not the entire population on the planet. Obvious gross incompatibilities aside, there is no ONE perfect person for you that you need to constantly be in search of. Bottom line, every relationship, whatever the degree of compatibility of the couple, is a lot of work and can survive only with willful commitment to work on themselves and the relationship. You, your partner, and your relationship will always be works in progress. Embrace that. You can’t give someone everything all the time, nor can you expect it. You are both perpetually learning from each other and life, growing together and trying to give each other the best, also bringing out the best in the other person. The grass always seems greener on the other side, but realize the value of what is in front of you. This doesn’t mean you settle or compromise beyond your breaking point. Just learn to appreciate things for what they are rather than be deluded into a never-ending search for something better; spoiled by every iteration of ‘happily ever afters’ in the movies and books. Real life starts AFTER the fairy-tale ending in the books and the movies.”

13. “Don’t be too dependent on your emotional needs to others. Love yourself enough that you need not to look for a love from others.”

14. “Learn to forgive no matter how much the person caused so much pain and no matter how hurtful it is. Forgiving is always associated with forgetting. Forget in a way that you need to move on and keep moving forward even if that person is no longer with you in crossing those paths. Forgive and forget will give you peace of mind.”

15. “When someone continues to hurt you, end the relationship. It really is that simple. It matters not who they are. Put some boundaries up; if they still hurt you, move on!”

16. “The relationship with my ex-wife ended 25 years ago but we have a son together. I’ve cut her out of my life and only have a relationship with my son. She continues to manipulate every situation. Hard to move on when she still needs to control everything.”

17. “When they start trying to change you or quiet your voice, let them go. Fall in love with someone who doesn’t make you think love is hard. True love should be as natural as breathing. Don’t ignore your instincts. Be with someone who values you completely…and who sees you the way you’ve always wanted to see yourself. Someone who would never intentionally hurt you verbally, emotionally, or physically. Someone who can apologize sincerely. Someone who is all in…your teammate, your partner in life…they don’t make you work for or prove your value to them or your relationship. Someone who makes your relationship their priority.”

18. “Have your own life. Make yourself happy. Don’t rely on someone to make you happy. Enjoy spending time with yourself. Have self-fulfillment.”

19. “With any relationship problem, there are three sides to it: his (or hers), hers (or his), and the objective reality. I have seen way too many promising relationships being abandoned prematurely because one or both of them are unwilling to consider the objective reality owing to the reinforcement of their own negative delusions. Everyone thinks they are right and what suffers is something beautiful together that could have been.”

20. “God has better plans than I thought I already had for myself. And wait for God’s perfect timing. Stop putting everything on a hurry. Know your worth.”

21. “Once consistency stops and distance starts, it’s time to stop lying to yourself and leave. Stop making excuses for him. Because there will be a time where all you find yourself doing is giving. And that feeling of being empty comes into play. Almost like you are being robbed of life. Don’t be afraid to be alone. Because it’s so much worse being with someone and STILL feeling alone.”

22. “Be happy Be positive Never regret meet anyone coz each of them teaches you something Forgive and forget Don’t ruin your self-worth just because you trust. Don’t be a cheater just because your ex didn’t appreciate your loyalty Appreciate everything Try to let it go. You deserve to be happy Learn from the positive one leave the negative one Love yourself before you love someone else Stop judging yourself Get a life! Last but not least. Be beautiful. Be rich. Be you. Be a Queen.”

23. “Forgive and move forward. Don’t chase. The only things that can change a person’s stance/perspective on a failed relationship are time and experience. People, once removed from a situation, can better evaluate their own mistakes, find solutions, and come to less-clouded decisions. It’s cliche as all hell, but ‘if you love someone set them free, if they cone back it was meant to be’-just remember it goes both ways; love yourself enough to set yourself free, also.”

24. “Be brave enough not to sacrifice self-respect. Never expect from broken promises. Continue living up with your dreams no matter how broken or how devastated you are. Don’t ignore the red flags that consistently show up.”

25. “Don’t EVER disregard red flags. Never settle for less than what you deserve. Be firm, know your worth. Never lower your standards. Be strong enough to stand up for yourself and your beliefs. You could bend for them, but don’t ever break the rules you’ve set to protect yourself. Be wise, every single time. Some men are manipulative and love to play the victim. Show them that shit doesn’t get to you. If they’re guilt-tripping you, be rad enough to point out their shits. Don’t be afraid to backfire. Like when they say, ‘Okay so I am not doing enough then.’ Oh yes lazy-ass! Your words mean nothing when your actions tell otherwise! ‘Don’t worry, I’m used to being dumped.’ Why the hell don’t you change your ways then?

Don’t.baby.them. Be fierce, girl.”

26. “I always tell myself there’s no such thing as a failed relationship…it’s just two people whose paths were only meant to cross for a little while.”

27. “Always go with your instinct if someone doesn’t feel right for you…and walk away rather than settle or expect them to change…whether they change or not is out of your control!…and ALWAYS learn something about yourself from that experience to inform yourself in the next one!”

28. “I’ve learned that it’s not easy to handle the pain….Really, very painful. If I get a chance to bring back the past, I wish I didn’t meet that person.”

29. “I am a hard-headed strong woman and I deserve someone who accepts that and does not expect me to change. I deserve someone who has my best interests in mind and understands that my dreams comes before anybody else. I deserve someone who loves me so deeply that my cheeks hurt from smiling too much and that learns my way of returning love. Without all of the failed relationships I would not have learned any of this.

Heartbreak sucks, but without pain we could never appreciate the good. I do not regret a single relationship I had or how it turned out; every end and bad situation just makes me more ready for when I find the ‘one.’ I have gained insights and friendships I could have never imagined and I have grown to be more myself at every end. So here is to you, relationships of my past; without you I would not be me.”

30. “People come and go. You don’t get to choose who will stay. A nine-year relationship ended over a month-old ‘not so good kind’ of friendship. When it’s time to choose, guess who did he let go.”

31. “Not to date DJ hipster vegetarians. I should’ve know better when his pants were tighter than mine and I had more muscle mass. Lmao.”

32. “That even after years together with no previous signs they can still snap one night and beat the crap out of you in front of your kid without provocation. Relationship done, left that night after leaving the hospital. Not looking back.”

33. “You make your own happiness. You shouldn’t take the blame for someone else’s bullshit; they have to own their own. Don’t let anyone hit you or talk down to you. Learn to say ‘enough is enough.’”

34. “That you have the right to speak up about how you feel, not needing to be afraid offending your partner especially if it’s the truth.”

35. “Don’t settle for less than you deserve. If that person makes you doubt yourself and can’t accept your past mistakes, flaws, shortcomings, and differences, then he’s definitely not the right person.”

36. “No matter how much you love the other person, never let them hurt your self-respect and always trust your gut feelings; blind trust leads to destruction.”

37. “You can’t settle. You may have started out great, but the second you both start to realize you want different things, it’s time to let it go. No matter how much you love that person, you need to love yourself first. Also, if there is no trust, you are not gonna last. You need to be able to trust your partner.”

38. “One of the important lessons to learn is to not chase after people. If you lose someone, don’t allow their absence to make you lose yourself, too. You were fine before you met them, so you can learn how to be happy again without them. You are strong, beautiful/handsome, and you will be okay.”

39. “Love and prioritize yourself. That is the best way to protect yourself from people who want to hurt you. Love without regrets, but learn how to say NO and be assertive as possible. Do not be bossy, demanding, or clingy. Remember, love is a simple thing to do. Do not over-complicate things.”

40. “I learned that you need to have your own life as well. We thought that it’s ideal if you and your significant other do everything together. But you know what? It’s no good. You need to be happy on your own. Don’t depend your happiness to her/him. I also learned that trust is important and so is honesty. No matter how hard it is. Trust fully and be honest. It’s not a failed relationship. It’s a successful one. I learned a lot from it. I am treasuring all the memories.”

41. “Love hurts and it’s overrated, but you don’t have to suffer from it. Love yourself first and the right people will come. It may take a lot of work, patience, and mistakes, but what’s meant for you will be there.”

42. “Don’t rely your happiness on someone else; you’ll get hurt in the long run. Always leave something for yourself. Trust God; He has greater plans for you. Seek His will in all you do and He will show you which path to take.”

43. “Actions speak louder than words, never lower your standards or allow anyone to treat you badly, and you can’t force anyone to love you-if they want to walk away just let them, look forward to the better things that are coming rather than wasting tears over someone who isn’t worth it.”

44. “Listen to your heart AND your brain. Sometimes, as much as we want something to work, if it’s not meant to be, you have to be realistic and walk away. Life’s too short to waste trying to make something work that just won’t.”

45. “Love yourself more. Value your worth so if the relationship fails I know it’s painful but you will handle it by faith and you can survive without that person. Every failed relationship is a way of learning to become a better you.”

46. “Age is not an indication of maturity. A man can be in his 40’s and still behave like a teenage boy. It’s about how willing they are to make changes and step up to challenges. I have friends in their 30’s or 20’s more mature than this guy. It isn’t in how great they initially are already. Don’t bank on that. It’s on how open they are to change and stepping up to responsibility. Also, if you catch him lying about important things thrice. Different important things. Once is forgivable. Twice can be considered, but three major lies indicate something really wrong with this person and his lack of respect for you as a human being.”

47. “Don’t ignore the red flags. Don’t ignore those quiet, subtle thoughts that you have in the beginning that it’s not going to work. Pay very close attention to a person’s choices that they’ve made. People show you the person that they want you to see and hide what they don’t want you to see. It can be years before you fully know someone, and then it may be too late to get out. So, trust your intuition. Pay attention to those thoughts that pop up from your subconscious. Those red flags are moments when they’re giving you an accidental glimpse of who they really are. The choices that they’ve made prior to you are the choices that they’ll make with you. Biggest warning sign of all is to watch out for the perpetual victim. That person who has one story after another of things that happened to them and they are the victim of someone else’s actions. They will continue that with you. Nothing is ever because they made a bad choice. Nothing is ever their fault. They take responsibility for nothing. You will be one more person that abused them in some way as they are crying about it to someone new.”

48. “The importance of fighting fair. When you’re angry and just saying anything you can to hurt the other person, whether it’s true or not-that’s not fighting fair. You can never take back the things you say in those moments and the other person can never forget them. My husband and I fight plenty, but even when I am at my angriest with him, I don’t fight dirty and I never say something just to hurt him. An argument should still be productive.”

49. “It’s important not to get TOO wrapped up in your emotions. Love and attraction are important, but you have to be realistic, too-if you each want completely different things, that’s probably not going to be the best fit. Be able to recognize that you can love someone and they can love you back and you can still be wrong for each other.”

50. “1. Never expect the same kind of love you give in return…you’ll end up focused on the ideal relationship you want…which ain’t gonna happen. 2. Trusts vs. mistrust. If you can’t, he can’t, either. Be open and vocal. 3. If it changes you, you’re either fooled or prioritized. 4. Being loved twice as much you love them is way better. 5. Accept pain if it breaks you. 6. Stay strong. 7. Karma hits hard. Let them have a taste of their own medicine.”

51. “Relationships are work, but after being in a good relationship v. a bad one, I’ve learned that while the work can be hard, it shouldn’t make you miserable.

The work should feel rewarding and not make you stressed beyond belief.

I hate that saying that the more you suffer for a relationship, the stronger it is. No. That’s bull. The right person won’t make you suffer.”

52. “That until love is tested by trying times you will not really know who loves truly. Wait till adversity comes; it’s easy to love when it’s all rosy!”

53. “I guess I could sum it all up to patience. I was too impatient with myself that it caused me to question my self-worth and made me dive into a relationship I wasn’t ready for. I was too impatient with others that I assumed that we were going somewhere, but I was wrong…I was too impatient with everything that it caused me to be frustrated with how things were going in my life…I guess with time, I’ve learned to be more patient with myself and understand my value as a woman. I’ve learned to be patient with others in understanding their true intentions, and more importantly, I’ve learned to be patient with God’s plans for me, because I know what He has planned is waaaaay better than what I have planned for myself.”

54. “That it is true, you accept the love you think you deserve. When you realize you deserve better, it kind of smacks you in the face. I didn’t equate the disrespect I was used to receiving as anything but being ‘pushed to be better.’ These days, I am pushed to be better by someone who shows their love and support for who I already am as well as who I want to become. I know now that I deserve a great love, and I found it.”

55. “Don’t stay just because you’re afraid of what others think. Don’t see leaving as failure. Knowing yourself well enough to know when something isn’t healthy for you anymore is a great accomplishment. Chances are that your friends and family are waiting for you to leave anyway and are prepared to jump to help you.”

56. “If they’re willing to run at the first sign of trouble rather than work through it, walk away.

As soon as you become an option, walk away.

If they’re not willing to ‘Love’ all of you (the good and the bad), walk away.

There will be someone who will love ALL of you including, your flaws all the way down to your core.

Forgive those who have hurt you, as peace of mind heals the soul.”

57. “Love with your heart. Not with your whole heart, though, leave some for you.

Don’t regret. Learn and move forward. The flaws will appear in time. Don’t force yourself to accept the flaws of your relationship because it will eventually break you.

If it’s over, it’s over.

Don’t fall in love right away. Heal and grow.

Ask all the questions in the beginning to save yourself from a possible heartache in the long run.

Give space, but talk things out with your partner.”

58. “That there’s no one that really got away. No, they did not get away but it was a choice of either you or the other person. Two separate ways. Because if you guys are really meant to be, no matter how long or short the relationship is, you will always find ways to stay.”

59. “Always give the benefit of the doubt. Just because you’re married does not mean you can treat your spouse any way you please. A desperate needy woman is very unattractive. You will be OK. Hating that person only chains you to him/ her, forgive and you will be free, not because that person deserves it but to set yourself free.”

60. “That you cannot allow yourself to be in a relationship with some unfinished issues with yourself. It is really important that you have to know yourself in every aspect so that you will know exactly what you really want. The other one is be in a relationship because you really want to be with that person and not just because you just want some company. It’s truly unfair for the both of you being stuck in a relationship just for the sake of being in.”

61. “Someone who truly loves you would never leave you to deal with depression on your own after they get knowledge of it. And most definitely won’t do it over Whatsapp and while on a business trip to Sweden, especially if it has been 10 years. And then come back when they see you’re finally doing better and are ready to move on to better things/people.”

62. “Make sure that you are not the only one who has anything to contribute to the divorce. Because the useless, disrespectful, entitled half will take it all and still ask, ‘Where’s the rest of it?’ So make sure you tell them to get off of their ass, work harder, save money, start a retirement account, and don’t blow $30,000 out of our business account on non-business-related purchases and then blame others.”

63. “I learned that no matter how long you’ve been together…or how many times you’ve given forgiveness…or countless time where you chose the love you have over other things that can be a great opportunity for you…they will still LEAVE YOU…the painful thing was when they just left you without answers on why…I realized that they are not as all out for you as you are to them…and that they only think of themselves rather than you or the things that could hurt you…The more you forgive…the more you get hurt…but you will always reach the end point… when you reach that? Stop. Move on. Cry if you need to…but then when you’re done…Focus on what matters…be brave and learn to love and take care of yourself more…Pray for GOD’s love and guidance…”

64. “Don’t miss out on something good just because it’s different than what you planned. Sometimes, it’s okay to change your dreams and take a chance. And sometimes, love just isn’t enough. But if you are lucky, when one door closes, whether on purpose or accidentally, another will open.”

65. “Never regret what happened with you and your ex; things happen for a reason, Don’t get mad with your ex, forgive him and forgive yourself as well, learn to accept the fact that it is over, remind yourself that there’s always better to come along, and surround yourself with positivity.”

66. “We’ll meet that perfect person in our life but no matter how perfect they are sometimes they are just not perfect for us. At the end of the day, we should just be happy having to meet the person we used to love who also loved us, and accept the fact that relationships end because on the long way run we tend to say things we don’t mean and hurt the person we love and who loves us. You don’t talk to each other like that before but now you do.”

67. “I won’t shed another tear for someone who can’t talk about what is going on. Relationships are work and rewarding when both put in the work…”

68. “If they don’t accept you for who you are and help you become a better person instead of constantly criticizing you and judging you for your faults, then they do not truly love you. Love should happen through the good bad and ugly and if they bring you down instead of lifting you up then they ain’t worth it.”

69. “To always listen to your intuitions and acknowledge your instincts! That ‘little voice’ that tells you some things that someone is doing and saying is toxic for you, should never be ignored because this voice you hear is your wake up call to finding yourself again!”

70. “Don’t let yourself be pressured into a relationship you don’t want just because all your friends like that friend better, the person keeps crying about it, and everyone is saying ‘you should give them a chance.’”

71. “Don’t stay for a one-time high if they’ve given you an all-time low. You can’t be the only one giving 100% all the time while they give you 100% once in a blue moon.”

72. “People are fickle and treat partners like disposable objects now with so much social media & too many choices…a simple disagreement and it’s just too easy to swipe right /left or whatever to find another. Sad world.”

73. “Don’t ignore your own feelings. If you think that the relationship you are in is wrong, then it is. Never settle for words, always pay attention to how they treat you. And don’t forget to not get lost; make sure you know your way back.”

74. “- Never sacrifice self-respect. If someone no longer respects you and is talking down to you, be brave enough to walk away.” – You can be angry, but never say something that will hurt her feelings. It may remain on her mind forever. – Be strong and continue living up to your dreams. Your happiness and decisions in life shouldn’t depend on someone. – Give yourself time to heal. – When you’re done moving on, don’t be afraid to love again with the things you’ve learned from the past. You sure are a better person now. – Love fiercely. As long as you’re happy, don’t be afraid to take risks. Love without regrets.”

75. “That every ‘I love you’ doesn’t come from the heart, but its just to please the other party.”

76. “To be careful not to be too selfless, because they will use you. They know what’s your weakness.

To really LISTEN to UNDERSTAND.

That even the ugliest guy cheats and doesn’t appreciate.”

77. “That lashing out and being guarded isn’t the solution to hurt feelings. But if they don’t listen to you when you do verbalize your vulnerabilities, throw their shit in a dumpster and break up with them.”

78. “Begging someone to stay is the biggest mistake you will ever make. And you’ll regret it for life. Recognize your anxiety on time and control it. Also let go of your past the moment it’s over. Believe me, it has the ability to fuck your present and future together the longer you hold it. And above all, self-love is the answer to everything.”

79. “It doesn’t matter how much you love him/her. Toxic is toxic and someone better will come along; just be patient, never stop praying. You’ll be able to move on and it will be so much more.”

80. “You can’t make anyone love you no matter what you have money, clothes, etc., if they really love you then they don’t really care about what you have…and if they show ‘love’ when you have a lot but show no love when you have nothing. then that was NEVER love.”

81. “Learning to trust God and asking for His guidance and patience. God knows and has the power to change any bad person to good and build love into anyone’s heart for you at any time. Thus, trusting God’s plans is the lesson I have learned . I know for a fact that if one relationship fails, there is another relationship to be experienced.”

82. “Never ever lose yourself in the midst of loving someone else. Because when they decide to leave, you’re left with nothing and you’ll have to go through all the hard process alone, searching for your lost self.”

83. “Always always one’s instincts never lie…if you feel something isn’t right in a relationship…then definitely it isn’t right…Don’t brush it off…Don’t give excuses.”

84. “Never expect another person to change their ways. Don’t ignore the red flags; get out immediately. Never trust someone who cheats on you, and never trust or get involved with a drug addict or alcoholic.”

85. “Definitely don’t ignore your gut. If you feel like something is wrong, it probably is.”

86. “Don’t forgive a cheater. They were fine doing it once, they will be fine doing it again and you don’t deserve that.”

87. “The flip side of ‘you can’t change someone’ is ‘don’t become something you’re not for somebody else.’ You’re better off holding out for someone who accepts you as-is that you also accept as-is.”

88. “That the advice I heard as a child ‘you have to be nice to everybody or they won’t like you,’ was terrible advice.”

89. “What is meant for you will be yours; learn to let go…there’s a difference between somebody who wants you and somebody who would do anything to keep you.”

90. “We all have our own imperfections. I’m not perfect…my partner isn’t, either…but you shouldn’t find perfection in another person.”

91. “When someone shows you who they are, believe them. Actions will ALWAYS speak louder than words eventually. There will come a time where words won’t mean much.”

92. “Find someone with the same life goals as you. You cannot spend your life waiting for your partner to be ready when they clearly don’t want the same thing, whatever that may be.”

93. “People are who they are. You can’t change them. Even if they wish to change (and do), any trauma in the relationship can bring them back right to the beginning and the actions that they revert to.”

94. “Learn to love yourself first, because time changes us all. People age, grow up, grow apart, and suddenly all you are left with is YOU.”

95. “1. You cannot love someone so much to make them love you back. 2. Some things end because it’s meant to end. 3. You have to put yourself first. 4. Don’t fight a losing battle.”

96. “Never expect someone to love you that way you love them. And if someone truly loves you, he would never make reason to hurt you.”

97. “Never stick around with someone who is willing to treat you so shitty and not feel bad about it. If they’re treating you like shit, they don’t love you or care for you.”

98. “Understand and practice the person’s love language. It is important to continue to date your spouse and surprise them.”

99. “I learned that it’s perfectly OK to love someone but not be with them, which freed me from the immature notion that I HAVE to be with the person I love. And I learned that I will love a lot of people, so losing one just makes way for the next one.”

100. “Nothing lasts forever, no attachments in life with things or other people. Best way is stay in love with yourself no matter what and let the universe lead you.”

101. “Never give more than they are willing to offer….never wait for the other person to change and leave when it serves you best…Don’t feel bad about it…”

102. “Don’t settle for unhappiness. Don’t make excuses for someone else’s terrible behavior. Know your own worth and don’t settle for someone who only cares for themselves.”

103. “‘What’s the quickest way to die every day? Love someone who doesn’t love you in return.’ That’s what I have learned…that kind of pain every day never ends.”

104. “Break your own heart first. If you come to the realization that they way you’re being treated isn’t right, end it and stick to your guns no matter what.”

105. “Don’t force it for convenience’s sake. Learn to say goodbye-you’re not only freeing yourself and the other person from a lifetime of unhappiness.”

106. “When someone decides they don’t love you, there’s nothing you can do to change their mind. And it has nothing to do with you.”

107. “Give your very best so you won’t have any regrets at the end, but never ever forget to love yourself. If you know how to value and love yourself, you then know how to love others.”

108. “You can never love someone without loving yourself first. Self love will make you realize your worth and be worthy of someone.”

109. “Waiting around for a man to change is the biggest mistake I have ever made. A leopard’s spots never change. It took me years to realize this.”

110. “Sometimes people just come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Just gotta learn to decipher between them.”

111. “If he says he doesn’t want to get married and have kids…you should probably take his word for it. Hold out for the man that does want those things.”

112. “He told me that ‘you can’t love anyone if you don’t know how to loved yourself’ and maybe that’s the reason he had to leave.”

113. “Not to overdo things when the friendship is still fresh. Keep your feelings to yourself and not complicate things. Now, a friendship is lost. No relationship at all.”

114. “That even you’ve given everything to that person, if you’re not the person whom he or she wants, you will never be enough. No if’s, no but’s.”

115. “That relationships are designed to fail 90% of the time and people should be whole within themselves before trying to find someone else to fill the void.”

116. “Relationships are not doomed to fail. It is a two-person friendship. Both people have to be prepared to sacrifice things to make it work. And both need to support each other through tough times. Relationships are not for everyone, but they are not designed to fail. They are what the two people in them make it.”

117. “It’s not long how you’ve known each other, but how much commitment you have to sustain. Do not ignore the ‘signs.’ Do not ‘focus’ on the goodness they’ve shown; it’s easy to pretend.”

118. “That there are people out there who love you so dearly but simply do not know how to express themselves or show their love to you.”

119. “How long you’ve been with somebody doesn’t solidify the relationship, it’s the quality of the relationship that does that…”

120. “Despite the pain and headache of a failed relationship, know that you can love unconditionally without any expectations.”

121. “To stop waiting on others people’s potential. When people show you their true colors, believe them the first time!”

122. “Supportive of their decision.”

Listen before you project your opinion or thoughts.

Always remain calm.”

123. “Always trust your gut instinct and be true to yourself. Never let a person make you feel like you aren’t worth the best.”

124. “Men really ain’t shit; don’t be afraid to drop them, stay true to yourself, always remember who you are.”

125. “You are responsible for your own happiness and trust is an inside job.”

126. “I learned that no matter how much you love the person, it doesn’t guarantee that he will stay with you forever.”

127. “Self-worth, first to listen before jumping to conclusions, if the other person wants to not think it’s the end of self.”

128. “If someone cheats on you, leave. Don’t give second chances to someone who’s just gonna keep hurting you.”

129. “If you’re ever afraid of how your partner might react to literally anything you say even if that thing is not a big deal, get out.”

130. “If someone wants to walk away let them go, Just because a door closes doesn’t mean another door won’t open.”

131. “Love and compatibility are two equally different things. And a love that is forced is a love that isn’t meant for you.”

132. “Don’t chase. If he’s not into you, walk away.”

133. “Don’t depend your happiness to anyone or anything…happiness must be within in you…Being alone does not mean being lonely.”

134. “Don’t forget who you are while trying to make someone else happy. Things that make you happy matter, too.”

135. “If someone wants to do something, they will. If they don’t, there’ll be a ton of reasons in place of actions.”

136. “Suicide is just that. Someone chose to end his/her life. That is not your fault. YOU did not choose it!”

137. “To engage in a relationship only when you are really in love, and not because you feel needy of love.”

138. “I’ve learned that my worth isn’t dependent on anyone’s view. I’ve accepted that things don’t always go the way we wanted. That forgiving yourself is harder than the person who hurt you. I’ve learned that being free is better than loneliness in a relationship. That you shouldn’t settle for anything less than what you deserve. That validation from the other person isn’t needed. I am worth it. I don’t deserve being cheated on, being just someone’s fling. I’ve learned that letting go is sometimes the best that you do for yourself. That you would eventually move on and forgive that person. And it doesn’t mean that they’ll be cheaters all their lives. That good people do mistakes. And you’ll be happy for them. That pain brings maturity if you only focus on the lessons. That people come and go. Everything changes. And you can’t just take someone with you all the way if they chose not to. That love isn’t worth compromising self-respect. That love doesn’t feel like a competition.”

139. “Don’t beg for a spot in his life. If he really wanted you, you’d know it.”

140. “If a man truly loves you he will do anything to keep you.”

141. “Don’t expect too much.”

142. “Once you start thinking if what you’re feeling is just a phase, it’s not. Get yourself out.”

143. “Pay attention to what someone says v. what they do.

Don’t let anyone make you question your worth and it’s OK to be selfish sometimes.”

144. “Never leave anything at their house that you would not want to lose. It is not worth the trouble to try to get it back.”

145. “If the effort isn’t matched, leave.”

146. “Feeling sad won’t last and at some point, you won’t even think about this guy anymore.”

147. “Some people aren’t looking for love. They’re looking for help.”

148. “Time heals almost everything. The pain does go away.”

149. “If he is not ready, you can never change that. If he really wants you and really wants to be with you, he will never let you go.”

150. “Don’t trust anyone. Anyone can look you straight in the eye, tell you they love you but never mean it.”

151. “If it’s too good to be true, it’s too good to be true.”

152. “Acceptance, self-respect, letting go, getting over, and never stop moving forward.”

153. “In relationships, the little things are the big things.”

154. “Being a good woman will never keep a man. The only thing that will keep a man is a man that wants to be kept.”

155. “The BEST revenge is to move on. No Facebook insta-friends, no following. No thirsty pics. Delete, unfollow, learn a lesson and be fabulous.”

156. “Never make someone a priority if you’re only an option to them.”

157. “It always hurts to love someone who didn’t love you enough…”

158. “Women are not to be trusted. Especially ones of my generation.”

159. “Always leave some for yourself.”

160. “That you cannot make someone love you…no matter how hard you try!”

161. “Be in love with the person, not your love story.”

162. “You’re not a lesser person for having loved someone who didn’t love you back.”

163. “Don’t let your compassion be confused for apathy or passiveness.”

164. “When you he/she lies to you and promises not to do it again, HE WILL. A couple more times because he knows you’ll forgive him. That’s fucked-up love.”

165. “To never compromise your self-worth to make someone else feel better.”

166. “That I am worth everything, and that person was not.”

167. “Do not change yourself to make the other person like you more or to make them feel comfortable.”

168. “You don’t have to put up with being yelled at, put down, and not appreciated. Oh, that’s three things.”

169. “You can’t make someone want to change; they have to want it for themselves.”

170. “I learned that I played a role in why it didn’t work.”

171. “Giving people lots of chances will just break your heart more.”

172. “The relationship failed. I am not a failure. I learned that the person/people that leave are NOT connected to my destiny.”

173. “You cannot force someone to work it out if they don’t want to.”

174. “Don’t date an immature guy expecting he will grow up, especially if he’s narcissistic. He won’t.”

175. “If it’s not the right time it doesn’t matter how great you think they are-you aren’t ready.”

176. “Never abandon Europe to go live in the Amazon with a new partner.”

177. “You just love the person until that love fades away.”

178. “What you want can’t always be found in someone else.”

179. “Stand up for yourself. Make your wants and needs known. Communicate.”

180. “Never get used to emotional/verbal abuse. You are worth more than that.”

181. “You cannot give what you don’t have. Love yourself first. Then let love flow.”

182. “Forgive people, no matter how bad they hurt you. It’s for you, not them.”

183. “Never try to argue with a drunk, just leave!”

184. “That if his child/children aren’t his NUMBER ONE priority, it will never work out.”

185. “Move on sooner than later. Time is the most valuable thing you’ll ever have.”

186. “Ask more questions, talk to old girlfriends or ex-wives, plus family.”

187. “Friendships change afterward you lose some people and you gain some amazing ones.”

188. “To trust my instincts and when I feel that it’s over, that’s exactly what it is…over!”

189. “The ugly truth is better than a pretty lie.”

190. “Build on it, use it to grow. Mistakes are only failures when we don’t learn from them.”

191. “Never share your family secrets…they will use it to haunt you later…”

192. “Go slow. If someone is rushing into anything you’re not ready for, that’s a red flag.”

193. “Sometimes, a satisfying lie can do more good than the awful truth.”

194. “Pain never ends. It may dull it, but it never ends.”

195. “If your husband suggests you get divorced three weeks after the wedding, TAKE HIM UP ON IT!”

196. “That people can only change if they want to, not because you want them to.”

197. “You have to love yourself more.”

198. “Don’t give too much save something for yourself.”

199. “Trust that your personal deal-breakers are valid and not to waste your time with someone that sets off the deal-breaker flags.”

200. “Life goes on and love can still be found.”

201. “That I don’t need her to be complete.”

202. “That I’m just not very good at it, and I should probably just get some cats.”

203. “To listen to my gut feelings next time!!!!”

204. “Always remember that you can’t make homes in people.”

205. “Be as good to yourself as you want to be to them.”

206. “I am the only person responsible for my happiness.”

207. “Letting go!…don’t be so selfish holding on to something that no longer works for you.”

208. “Don’t let him change you ever. Love yourself.”

209. “You can’t fix anyone. You can help them. Maybe. But have no expectations.”

210. “That it’s not healthy being codependent. I’m good just as I am.”

211. “Some exes deserve to be forgiven… Others deserve to be forgotten.”

212. “You cannot expect a fairytale ending with someone who is treating you unfairly from the start.”

213. “Never lose yourself or change to make another happy. You will end up alone.”

214. “You’ll never be too much when you’re with the right person. Love makes time.”

215. “Don’t rely your happiness on anything but yourself.”

216. “Be yourself. No compromising on that one thing.”

217. “Communication and trust are the most important; with those you can conquer any storm.”

218. “If he’s out to change you, he isn’t the one for you.”

219. “Love is finite. If you keep giving without receiving, you’ll find yourself emptied out real soon.”

220. “That it’s easy to end up settling for less when you fall in love with a person.”

221. “That life is too short to be unhappy!”

222. “To never ever ever live with a man unless he puts a ring on my finger! Done, done and done!”

223. “Never compromise your own comfort for someone else’s demands.”

224. “Every single thing that happens, good or bad, is happening for you and your growth & evolution.”

225. “Don’t love too hard unless he loves you back that hard, too.”

226. “Give everything, so that you’ll never regret.”

227. “Stay true to yourself. And don’t be okay with a meddling mother in law.”

228. “It’s degrading to make someone love you.”

229. “That second chances are really rare.”

230. “God knows what it is that you need better than you do!”

231. “People aren’t always who they seem to be.”

232. “Don’t force someone to love you…Don’t give 100% of your love to someone. Just remain half for yourself.”

233. “If you feel you need to cheat, leave.”

234. “You can’t get everything that you want, including how badly you want them to stay.”

235. “ALWAYS RESPECT YOURSELF. Don’t settle for a man that doesn’t show his true identity.”

236. “If you suspect your other half is cheating, however much they state they are not, they are….”

237. “Know who you are before being one with a person.”

238. “No one has the same heart as you.”

239. “Don’t give too much. Just enough and make sure you leave yourself much enough of what you give.”

240. “I have learned there is someone in life that you are meant to be with, try and be patient.”

241. “A monogamist and a polygamist will never, ever work out.”

242. “Don’t love too much. Don’t trust too fast. Don’t give an effort unless he do the same thing too. Don’t let him treat you like a hell. Long-term relationship sometimes isn’t the best. If he told you that she is just a friend and he only loved you, please don’t trust him. He got some feelin’ for her. And the most important thing is if you already gave him too many chances to changed but he blew those chances, you already knew that he only take you for granted.”

243. “Never, ever walk on eggshells again. Be yourself.”

244. “Let go of anyone that weighs you down.”

245. “What lasts long doesn’t come easy, and what comes easy doesn’t last long.”

246. “Do not be overprotective of your partner. He/she will take you for granted.”

247. “That abuse is not just physical and never changes.”

248. “A decision made when your heart and mind are not in peace is not the right decision.”

249. “Learned to use actions to prove it instead of words. Never take the other for granted. Learned to provide support in whichever way is needed.”

250. “Women are fucking difficult.”