#nothing really different from other promos around the time but i didn't even know about the quiz until recently

[numbuh]

sector v bios from the 2002 codename kids next door quiz on neopets. the square with the stock image above their real names changed every time you took the quiz so there's two for (i believe) each character (standing vs in action)

[mirai-desu]

On the MSATD News

I didn't have time to post a knee-jerk reaction (which those of you from the Downton days know I was apt to do - thank you to all my long term mutuals of my side blog for sticking with me through those days), as I saw the news as I was getting ready to head out for work and it's been… a bit of a day.

Suffice it to say… I am devastated. And my initial reaction was (well after cursing), that it should have ended with S4, but with a different (happier) conclusion. It's called Miss Scarlet AND THE DUKE for a reason. And after all that happened in S4… it really feels like… what was it all for?? Especially if they knew WHEN FILMING THIS?? "Goodbye for now" is NOT "goodbye forever." They really, really really fumbled this.

There's a lot of theories going around, and I will admit it's too hard for me to listen to Stuart's new interview, but going off what other's have said and the parts of the transcript I did manage to read… I just cannot feel like this was actually his decision unless there's something else going on with him (either in his personal life or maybe he has some secret role he's got, because supposedly he hasn't worked since he did ADR on S4). He's been the captain of the ship, and he has always been enthusiastic with discussing the show and had just great insight into playing William. It doesn't feel like he himself was ready to move onto other things (and that's not even how it's worded - some BS about how the show needed it him to be gone for ~longevity~ of the show), like I've seen with other actors are on shows (e.g. Dan Stevens). He still promoted S3 (which came out in the UK after they filmed S4), he still even promoted S4! He was an executive producer for S4!!! Nothing makes sense!

So if it's due to RN… why keep having the other characters say William was only going to be gone a year? Why bother to have the flashback? why bother to have him stay at at Eliza's to recover?? hell I'm surprised they just didn't keep in the coma then--

But really, why even bother to have Eliza write to him? Or have Ivy say what she said to her?? The time apart was supposed to be them looking at their options. They literally foreshadowed him joining Eliza at her agency upon his return. So… what happened?

If it was actually for personal reasons that Stuart left, he has a right to his privacy. But then they should have rewritten S4 to be the end then, since they knew all this time. I can't believe we are getting the full story on this, one way or the other. The more and more I think about it... I do think it was RN's doing though.

Just two nights ago I drafted up a whole meta extolling how one of the best things this show has done has been how they developed William and how he grew as a character. The progression he made as he not only accepted Eliza having a career but encouraging her. His mentorship of Fitzroy. How he came from nothing, from a teenager living on the streets, to become an inspector at Scotland Yard. But they have chosen to toss that all out the window.

Who knows, maybe S5 ends with Eliza deciding to go to New York. But it doesn't seem like they are handling this like Babington's absence in Sanditon. They will make Eliza quickly fall for someone else, and slap fans in the face who have been following their friends to lovers slow burn for five years (because we had to wait for S2 in the first place thanks to the pandemic). And what sucks is that we still got promo saying they are in love with each other. From Stuart, from Kate, from Rachael New herself. We have still gotten promo promoting the romance. Why not have them have a big fight then or something, idk. They gave us hope. And you know what Fellowes says about false hope.

So I'm just supposed to believe that William gives up on Eliza and doesn't return…? No, I cannot. As much as we hated the deaths on DA when they wrote out actors, at least those characters still died in love with their spouses. And while I'd still be foaming at the mouth in anger if they killed him off… yeah.

William's last lines of the show is a flashback including him saying "is it all worth it?" And the answer is… no it's not.

[eurydicees]

he/she trans butch iwaizumi and transfemme oikawa thoughts

for no reason other than satisfying my own desires and also projecting my own shit onto my fictional besties <3

LONG post under the cut. i cannot express to you enough. LONG post under the cut.

first off. wrote a fic about iwaizumi being genderqueer here. read it. it's influential but ultimately not really relevant to this. but read it anyways. im really proud of it. okay now that the self promo's out of the way!

in my mind palace, iwaizumi is a trans butch lesbian and no amount of cis bullshit telling him that's not allowed is gonna stop him from identifying that way

she starts figuring things out in college: getting to california for undergrad and meeting all the different kinds of people he does--people he never would have met in the world of men's athletics that he was in while in high school--introduces him to all kinds of new ideas, some of them being identities they had never heard of before

sometime in her freshman year someone asks him about pronouns, and it's a question he's never really thought to consider before. he's never had to--pronouns were just words assigned to them that she never really had reason to doubt

and then she starts. thinking about it. and kind of freaking out a little. because oh. there are options. and there are so many of them and it's overwhelming, to have this sudden rush of i don't think i know who i am anymore.

because he's never really had to think about gender or sexuality before: there's never been the space and support and encouragement to experiment, or the terminology in general, or any reason to try experimenting

but his friends encourage him to try things out, little by little. a few friends try out using they/them in private. they like it, most of the time, and it feels like it fits, most of the time, but still it's like. it feels like they're faking it. like it doesn't quite cover the entirety of what they feel--but maybe nothing does, you know?

they try introducing themselves by he/they in classes, instead of just in the privacy of his dorm room. he likes that people mix the two together in the same sentence sometimes. they like that he's not boxing himself into one thing

he's figuring shit out! and the journey kind of sucks because people ask him and he doesn't have answers, he doesn't have solid truth, he just has more questions for himself and he just has more to discover--which is frustrating, most of the time, but it's also fun to experiment, sometimes

it's about trying new clothing--he doesn't love dresses, but skirts with shorts sewn in are okay; crop tops and a carabiner with keys are euphoric--trying new words--he, they, genderqueer, transgender, and more--and trying new names--not a fan of his friends' suggestions, which are mostly english word names that he kind of fumbles around saying

notable that he's friends with a decent number of queer people who are so encouraging and supportive of everything they're trying out that it constantly amazes him and sometimes kind of makes him want to cry a little

also notable. he kind of. doesn't tell oikawa about any of this. they just...don't know how to.

she starts trying out she/her pronouns in her junior year of college. this starts , entirely coincidentally, a few months before oikawa comes out to him

oikawa does it quietly, without fanfare, nearly without the confidence to even say the words. she's clearly worried about what iwaizumi is going to think--they didn't grow up in a world where things like being trans or a lesbian were talked about, or were considered options for the two of them

but just as iwaizumi has been experimenting in california, oikawa has discovered an entirely new queer community in argentina, and she's discovered herself in anew just as iwaizumi has

and it doesn't change anything really, oikawa promises, again and again. she's still tooru. she's still the best friend iwaizumi has always had. she's still playing men's volleyball. she presents herself differently, now, when she can, but--

but also, in presenting differently, there's a new confidence about her. there's a new sense of self. there's a new comfort in her own body, now that she has the words to love it right, and--

and iwaizumi gets that. he doesn't want to tell oikawa just then, because oikawa is clearly nervous and this is her moment, of sorts, but now iwaizumi knows that--if they ever get brave enough--it really would be okay to say it

anyways. iwaizumi starts using she/her in addition to he and they and just. she kind of loves it.

most of the time, she doesn't love looking feminine, and that kind of . she doesn't really know how to explain that, doesn't really have the words for it

he likes being perceived a girl, but he doesn't like looking feminine. he likes being seen as masculine, but he thinks if one more person calls him a young man he's going to scream out loud

(he does kind of like fucking with people though. it gives them a little bit of gender euphoria when someone stutters through a list of pronouns, not sure what to use, looking her up and down, until giving up and landing on just his name. it maybe feels mean but it's also a little funny and really validating.)

so its like. she doesn't really know what to do with any of that. they/them feels a little too malleable, in a way. it's not really anything against the word so much as it is that people use it to cop out of calling her "she", and that's just...frustrating. because "she" fits so well on days when she's dressed masc and "he" feels so good when he's in lipstick and a skirt.

(i ran out of characters allowed in one post block apparently. so i am breaking up the list here. oh my god. i can't believe i ran out of characters. jesus fucking christ.)

anyways! it's when he comes out to oikawa that things kind of. fall into his hands and she goes oh. so this is okay. i'm allowed to have this: the unknowns, the multiplicities, the undecideds, the contradictions.

he doesn't really mean to come out. it happens casually: oikawa makes some reference to iwaizumi being cis, and iwaizumi tells her that that's not quite right. he's not sure what he is, but it's...not cis man.

she doesn't really know how to explain that to oikawa, who has become so comfortable in her gender when she's around iwaizumi, but iwaizumi figures she might as well know now. he's always trusted oikawa with everything, and he's not quite sure why this should have ever been different

anyways. oikawa tells iwaizumi something sappy, first, and something kind, second, and something annoying, when iwaizumi teases her for the first two

and when iwaizumi confesses his own unsureness, oikawa says something else along the lines of it's not really about what people tell you your labels should be when you look like yourself. it's about the words you use when you tell them to fuck off.

it makes iwaizumi laugh, and that was the main goal, really, but also iwaizumi is thinking about it long after they hang up their video call

he's been so caught up in "so, uh, what pronouns do you use?" and "hajime, do you want me to set your preferences to male or female or both when i make your tinder account for you?"

his answers have always been so relative to what he wants people to think when they look at her ("they or he are fine i guess" and "fuck off, give me my phone back"), but maybe it's less about that, for her

(this may not be true of everyone, but things start to fall into place when she moves her thought process just a little to the left)

maybe it's less about what he's letting other people see in her presentation, and more about what it is he owns about her own gender

so what does she like about it? what brings her comfort and joy? and what completely shatters all the expectations and preconceptions put on him that she hates so much?

he doesn't really come to a decision about any of those things in one night

but he tells oikawa she/he are what make him feel the most confident in his body and his heart, even if it's scary to say that out loud

the word butch comes not long after that, and he's not sure if it fits perfectly, but it's the first word to come along that feels like it captures the duality of masculine and woman that lives in him, instead of just reaching one or the other, if that makes sense

he's not sure any of it does, but he's decided she doesn't care if it makes sense or if it's "allowed" in the eyes of people who see transness as a uniform look and lesbianism as an exclusive club

it's not about what people tell her she's allowed to be, looking and talking and acting like that, you know? it's about what words he uses to make them respect her, looking and talking and acting just as she damn well pleases.

[lurkingteapot]

bad buddy fandom getting-to-know-you meme!

tagged by @mahuhumaling and @galauvant, meme created by @fiercynn

note: i consider "fanworks" to pretty much everything people create related to a fandom, including but not limited to meta/analysis/discussion, gifs, fanvids/edits/fancams, filk, fanart, fanfic, fan food, fan crafts, etc. please include this note with the meme unless you have a different definition!

name and whatever you want to share about yourself I'm tpt! 30s, queer, brainweird, language nerd, been reading BL and slash and other queer lit since before the turn of the millennium and probably (hopefully) never gonna stop.

when did you watch bad buddy/join the fandom? I watched the first episode the day after it aired. Went in knowing nothing about it except the English title, which I thought was thoroughly unappealing, and the promo image. Came out of ep 1 convinced Paa was the only person with any sense on the entire show, but sufficiently intrigued (ointment sharing! Line ID shenanigans!) to keep watching. So I watched as it aired from ep 2, and when the bus stop scene rolled around, I blocked the airing time slot out in my calendar so I could watch live (which didn't work out for ALL eps, but … close enough). I did find a regular group to squee with after ep 5, but didn't really interact with fandom beyond that little bit of squeeing with friends and looking at fan art until after ep 9, I think. This was the first Thai BL show I watched week to week, and that also made it special to me.

favorite ship(s) Pat/Pran.

favorite character(s) Used to be Pran no contest, but Pat worked his way into my heart in the later episodes. couldn't choose now. they're all favourites.

favorite episode(s) I really love episodes 3-5 and 10/11. but honestly I love the show as a whole, and the episodes in the context they exist in. Except for the gun subplot.

favorite scene(s)  the opening sequence of ep 2! also episode 3 bus stop scene (and Pat's way of accomodating Pran in it), ep 4 sleepover scene, ep 5 Pat's realisation/the fight, ep 6 gate convo scene, ep 8 fight/apology scene, ep 9 hand-holding scene, ep 10 Our Song teaser scene and confrontation scenes, ep 11 affirmation/we got to go back scene and wishful thinking sequence, ep 12 bar scene.

one thing you would change about the show if you could I'd adjust the pacing of ep 12 so the fake-out is a smaller part of the whole thing proportionally.

what are your some of your favorite fanworks made by other people? It's really hard to pick. I love SO MANY. Even just the authors whose fic I list here have written more than one of my faves each. but let's see:

fic (missing scene): keeps me warm by unsungyellowraincoat (@isaksbestpillow). direct ep 8 aftermath exploration that made me ache.

fic (canon divergence): fight or flight (worth the wait) by jabber_moose (@galauvant). Ep 2 canon divergence wherein Pran is discovered under Pat's bed.

fic (AU): Pinocchio by aworkingprinter (@miscellar). In which Pran has an obvious, unsuppressable tell when he lies.

fan animation: international love song by @architectxengineer

fan art: this pic by @ thatgothsamurai was one of the first things I saw in this fandom in the way of art and it's stuck with me

(if you create fanworks) what are your favorite fanworks that you’ve made?

fic: the only truth that sticks (<5k, G) is my take on Pran's mother's backstory, told as vignettes from her school years. There's a lot I'd do differently if I wrote it now – not give her a nickname, for one – but it's nevertheless my baby; when I started it, I hadn't finished and posted any fic in over 20 years.

I had a collection of random language- and storytelling related observations about the show on twitter that I should probably copy over somewhere else at some point for preservation purposes.

there's an epic canon divergence that lives only in my friend's and my DMs and a back-up doc that I'm starting to think will never take full shape, but I love it anyway. There's also an escalating intimacy thing set vaguely pre-canon plus ep 7 to time skip that I've not added to in a year and probably won't finish, either, but again: love what I've got there.

a song that makes you think of bbs (the ones in the show don’t count lol) If it's a bittersweet love song I'm PatPraning it. But specifically: Tilly Birds' เพื่อนเล่�� ไม่เล่นเพื่อน (Just Being Friendly) and pretty much the entire tracklist from the ON Thailand fanmeet, especially แดงกับเขียว (Red and Green) by TaitosmitH, แน่ใจไหม (Are You Sure) by Nont Tanont, อย่าใกล้กันเลย (We shouldn't be close) in Aof Pongsak's version, and ดวงเดือน (Moon) by Joey Phuwasit.

idk anything else you want us to know? I love this show. I love the hopeful ending. I love all the recurring characters (yes, that includes Wai and the parents), with all their flaws. I love how gently P'Aof tells this story – the way he approaches entrenched BL clichés, picks them up, examines them, and puts them back down: does it have to go this way? not for us, not for this story, let's look at how else this could go. He said he wanted to make a typical, an ordinary BL, and he did, and he didn't.

I love that I met so many nice people through our mutual love of this show. I love that we're still on the rooftop nearly two years later.

I love that there's so many sides of this fandom – analytical, transformative, curative, and everything in between.

I have completely lost track of who has and hasn't done this yet, but IF you see this and think, hey, this seems fun! and decide to do it, please tag?

[alarrytale]

Seeing larries kissing Louis' ass in his new post honestly just grosses me out. Do y'all not have any self-respect? Why are so many larries fine with being his punching bag, his scapegoat, being gaslit and manipulated, and having him add fuel to the larrie hate train? I love him too. But at some point, he has to realize this shit isn't okay. It's not okay to speak to your fans this way and disrespect them. To single one fan out. And to do it so publicly where the media can pick it up, where the solo louies & harries, antis, and gf stans can use it as ammunition against us. I can't even go on the pop culture subreddits I like bc of how badly the hate is against us. Not only was this a stupid fucking move before trying to sell tickets in LatAm but why in the world would you treat the fans who have stuck by you since the beginning this way? We've seen through the bullshit in both 1D and his solo career. We've seen through the false image that was painted of him, although now he seems more than happy to play along. We've tried to be there for both him (and H) because THEY made it very clear for YEARS that they were together, closeted, and fighting back. Look, I get it some larries are doing way too much with their theories esp the ones that think Louis, Harry, and T*ylor are all gay beasties who are going to bring down the industry together. But they started this shit. They encouraged fans to look deeper. They came up with the name Larry Stylinson, not us. They got the corresponding tattoos and made it very obvious, not us. Louis got the dagger. They did rbb and sbb, which really caused fans to start theorizing. Louis did the Spotify canvases that connected back to H and Larry. Louis did the promo (was it for Walls?) where we had to find the different locations, and they almost always had a Larry reference nearby (I know I didn't explain that example well). Louis specifically puts H and Larry references in his music that he knows we know about. He's the one that put out the Just Like You music video. He's the one that put Style on the wall of the Miss You video. They're the ones that continuously use blue and green lights. Louis specifically interacts with Larries and Larry related signs and flags at his show. I mean, the list goes on and on. So, if you want people to chill out on Larry, how about you stop feeding it? Because this whole back and forth is exhausting and mentally draining. I'm really fucking tired of being made the joke of this fandom by Louis when we've done nothing but see him for who he really is and love him for that. And now the harassment and death threats have skyrocketed from solos, hets, gf stans, stans of other fandoms, and people into pop culture. I'm tired of seeing mental health being used as an insult against us as well because Louis and Harry not only started this, they encouraged this behavior from larries for YEARS. And then you have people who used to be around them (from xf times) Rebecca and mainly Katie talking about how truly horrible XF, Syco, and Modest were. How truly manipulative. How horribly they treated everyone, esp the boys. I mean, she's even talked about how the boys still have some of the same people around them since the early days. I know she went after larries one time (maybe more bc I stopped listening to her after that), but she made sure to talk about them and basically say without saying that a lot of our theories about xf, management, and syco weren't far off. Others around them have played into Larry. So, why doesn't he tell them to stop. Like, stop going after fans for something you created and encouraged for years. Just ignore it until you're ready to come out, if that ever happens.

I do have a question. I know stunts suck and Harry has been stunting a lot. I know H*livia was extremely upsetting. But why do larries seem to get more people upset at Harry for doing a pap walk with T*ylor, or even the ones he did with OW where he was obviously miserable, then they do with Louis outright shitting on us - multiple times? I'd much rather see Louis have to do a pap walk or two with some girl than throw fans under the bus, you know what I mean? Because while stunting sucks, it's playing the Hollywood game and something they probably are required to do to uphold the het image. Choosing to shit on fans shouldn't even be on the table if we mean as much to you as you say.

Sorry for the rant and rambling. I'm just really hurt and have so many feelings and probably didn't express everything properly. I don't recognize this "Louis," and it's really put me off. I thought we were a team, and now I just feel completely unwanted by him.

Let it out, anon 🧡

I know this hurts, especially for those of you who haven't experienced this before. We shouldn't have to deal with this. I think most people are able to ignore it and move past it because they know he's closeted and why he's doing it. They know that Louis doesn't love them any less, despite what his public twitter account might suggest. We know he's got little agency and we know he's being made to do things against his will. We see past his image and actions.

I would prefer him stunting over lashing out against his fans too. Maybe that's not an option or maybe he didn’t have a choice. Either way it isn't okay. It wasn't okay in 2012 and it isn't okay now. The only thing we can do is stop supporting him and giving him our money. Some love him and want him to succeed, and fight with him against the chains holding him back. He won't be able to do that without larries. So they keep supporting him and live in hope that things will change for the better someday. It's up to you to decide what your limits are and what you can and can't support.

[sizzlingpatrolfox]

I don't think Layover did great tbh. Terrible on YouTube (including all his MVs, Tiny Desk, and music show performances), underperformed in the biggest music markets, did poorly on k-charts (that debut was abysmal compared to the other members), predicted for less first week albums in the US than D-Day despite an extra version (but waiting on chart). Here’s a chart I’ve seen floating around Twitter that gives a good idea. Probably need to verify some of it, but I think it’s mostly accurate...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F6LDbz4bYAADB7M?format=jpg&name=medium

His fanbases started working really hard on his first week Spotify streams when they realized he wasn’t doing great anywhere else, so he ended up with higher first week streams than FACE and LC, but barely, and most of his streams came from SEA (which isn’t a big deal or anything, but a lot of it was definitely from mass streaming farms). He also had a massive day 8 drop and allegedly way lower than day 8 for FACE. And let’s note that Layover has one extra song instead of an interlude too. He’s also higher on some official album charts, but that’s only because FACE wasn’t eligible because it’s an EP. He had much bigger overall album sales, but we were expecting that with vbar. I think they bought like 840k? So over 1/3 of his sales.

Unless I’m missing some achievements or got something wrong (I haven’t kept up with everything), I think it was a pretty meh debut considering all the promo he did and the fact that he’s “the most popular member”. They only have those first week streams, pretty sure. LMA has had good longevity though, so I guess we'll see. And BTW, they’re saying his hot100 performance was hurt because of DC2 sales being gone, which, sure, but he had 50k Slow Dancing CDs to compensate, way more than LC, and they couldn't even completely sell them out. I think his stans were using VPN to buy on iTunes in the US too because a few days in he went from 1 to 44 on iTunes chart with no explanation and never recovered. Curious what his final sales end up being. I'm not saying he did bad, but I don't think it's really anything to brag about either... I haven't seen a ton of objective people talking about it though so idk for sure.

The spreadsheet is killing me hahahs #dedication. I would like to know the missing numbers and positions, tho! Still, thank you.

I knew about kcharts, youtube, albums, and first week on spotify for the album. I saw some number that I assume included his prereleases, and it really is nothing major considering the first tracks released, and the fact that it had one more song than face. Just five minutes ago I saw that on their 8th day, like crazy (combined) had the same number of streams as Taehyung's entire album??

Sidenote: if there's one thing I was forced to learn this year, is how much difference combined versions of a song can make.

I don't think he had that much of international promo, or at least I didn't see it. I know he's been to A LOTTT of korean shows, and also his promo for pre-releases was already longer than Jimin's, but I think he just comes across as a really uninteresting person so I don't know if people would actually tune in to his music, no matter how many times they see him on TV. He definitely got more than Jimin, that's 1000% for sure, even if we consider the MVs alone; he got the same thing Jimin was denied.

I knew he'd get more albums sales, because past experience. And I knew they'd try hard to stream to break some "records", even if it won't hold up for too long. I also knew he doesn't really have many fans in the US, (I still think Jimin's the most popular member there). I've also been saying since the day I opened this blog that his "popularity" is overrated and he's never really been in the same league as Jimin when it comes to music. I blew off so many people here who would come up to me and try to convince me he was competition to Jimin or better than him in some way.

I guess the only thing I'm surprised with is youtube. I got his tiny desk video on my homepage today (saved it to watch later) and it has less than 300k views.......... It's kinda crazy. I wonder if part of the reason he got his visual album was because his youtube numbers were usually better than everyone else's combined and they believed he'd do good.

Oh, and the songs credits. It's unbelievable to me that he did NOTHING on it. People who work on songs get credits even for writing two words, so I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that he didn't do anything at all.

I'm also curious if they would've restocked the digital CD had it been sold out, but my gut tells me they wouldn't have, or it would've been just one more, and a smaller batch.

[roboticdreamz]

Mint Teenz

To be honest, I have a lot of old OCs. And recently I'm trying to reboot them again for a new iteration. It's called Mint Teenz.

But first...

What is Mint Teenz?

Mint Teenz, originally named Mitiz, are my old OCs that was created way back around 2005 or 2006. It featured four girls: Bubble Gumm, Cotton Canndy, Pepper Minnt, and Popp Cornn.

There's not much about the first iteration except it was heavily inspired by doll lines at the time, most notably Bratz and Diva Starz (the latter literally had a huge impact on my arts back in the day).

Their original slogan was a nonsense one that has nothing to do with the food theme: A Dream With Love

2014 Reboot:

Somehow the series wasn't really much attended back then since I was focusing another set of OCs at that time and was further forgotten when my interests shifted to anime in 2007 and furry characters in 2008. But in 2014, there was an attempt reboot.

Pepper Minnt's name was changed from Minntie Minnt to Pepper Minnt and Cotton Canndy's name was corrected.

Not much about this reboot except I attempted to modernize their fashion instead sticking to the original Y2k looks.

But pretty much this reboot flopped and I didn't really focused on it until 2018...

2018-Present:

In 2018, I ended up obsessing on old dolls again and it got me motivated to reboot the series for the third time. This time, Mint Teenz finally got their own lore.

Each girl was given a personality rather than being fashionable characters:

Bubble Gumm is the leader of the group and she is very sporty and competetive.

Cotton Canndy is the extrovert, and she loves traveling in different places.

Pepper Minnt is the artsy one, and she loves drawing and fashion design.

Popp Cornn is sweet and kind. She's also a humanitarian.

Their designs were also reverted to their Y2k roots and they even had a website (which is unfortunately unfinished) as a promo.

In 2024, they were redesigned a bit to look much like their main inspiration and their personalities are further polished, adding some negative qualities to them.

Aside from Bubble Gumm's energetic and determined personality, she also has temper issues.

Cotton Canndy had a habit on eavesdropping and gossiping. She's practically knows every secret in their school.

Pepper Minnt is pretty much an introvert. She has a very stoic personality and tends to talk bland and sometimes even sarcastic.

Popp Cornn may come off as annoying with her extreme positivity and her soft spoken voice.

As for now, I really don't have plans to them other than just writing their lores.

Though maybe someday I might develop a game based on them.

[bugsbenefit]

What are your Stranger Things 2024 predictions? Not like "What do you think will happen in ST?" NO. I'm talking: What do you think will be leaked this year? What drama do you think will take place? What rumors do you think will end up being true? What promo do you think we will get? Any scandals? Will the show/actors win awards? If so what awards or acors? I want hot tea predictions.

Sincerely, Prediction anon

ohohoho okay, now that's actually a good question

we'll definitely get some official table read content really soon, which the official twt account has confirmed. it's just kind of likely imo that we'll get those sometime this year because filming is already supposed to start in january if the most recent leaks are true

what's basically guaranteed to start with filming is softcore production teasers by the cast right off the bat. so basic, "back to shooting" instagram posts/stories, generally being on a set, getting make up done, hanging out with co-actors, and so on. we might also see some costuming/hair there, but it might also take a few months before we see concrete looks. also possible that we'll see a costume early on but then it never ends up being in the show because the picture was from fitting and the look didn't make the cut

but none of that will be too wild imo. i mean, i want to see the costuming but that's probably going to be all we'll really get, especially as 2024 starts

and in usual production fashion we'll probably also get typical teasers of things we already know will be relevant for s5 just to remind people of what's going on with the show, like "ooo Vecna ooooo". classic still shooting promo like that. but probably nothing really plot revealing

but that's all really basic. the thing i could see be the most interesting about official teasers in the early months of filming is getting a glimpse of the vibe s5 will have. like if we see more military props in a picture, how does the UD look, if someone posts a pic of like a destroyed house and so on

but yk, official teasers will hold back a lot. they'll get more interesting later on for sure but that's also where it's kind of hard to predict what they'll go for. like how they started with their evil grandfather clock teaser for s4. honestly i could see them continue that since they didn't actually answer any questions about the grandfather clock... i can also see them lean more into the "Hawkins will fall" line of s4. they emphasized it so much in the show and even in all the s4 trailers only for s4 to only be the set up for it. so in my opinion they'll go there again fr this time, now that they finally finished the build up to it (s4) and got to payoff (s5)

the most interesting will for sure be the unofficial leaks but those will also be the messiest. because pictures are always without context and text "leaks" are almost always fake, or at the very least (like, only 1% of leaks isn't fake honestly) missing context and facts

similar to how there were "photo leaks" pre s4, that had people going crazy but gave away nothing. like the byler cabin leak pic for example that i think had people think that would be a confession scene? only for it to end up being the s4 cliffhanger spores leadup and some people ended up being disappointed

and something like that will happen again for sure, 100%. like getting two characters in a leak photo and people make up their own theory on what will happen in that scene. and then it's something entirely different in s5 and those people will be mad. lmao. could happen with byler, mleven, something platonic. basically anytime we'll get a bts leak i'm guaranteeing there will be people who think it tells them what happens in s5 and it will be unbearable to wait an entire year with people around who are convinced they managed to predict an entire plot point by a still image of two actors looking at each other where we don't even know if they're in or out of character. it will happen and it's one of the worst parts of any movie/show fandom during production imo (not speculating about possibilities the pics give us tho, speculating is fun)

also the text leaks will be insane (bad). like usual, we'll get more and more as filming goes on, and all of them minus two credible sources will have the "i know someone who works on the show trust me" backing. so we'll get at leat 20 versions of "mleven is endgame and has two kids <333333", maybe 10ish versions of it with byler endgame. and that also goes for the supernatural plot. someone will say Vecna dies, someone says orderly Henry shows up and stabs El, the upside down starts spinning in circles, there's a dragon, no there's a demogoron but it's two stories tall, the school gets blown up, Steve trips and dies from hitting his nose on the ground etc. it'll be the wild west basically. also i'm expecting multiple "this character dies" leaks too, going into s5 the entire cast will be dead essentially. (most likely for this are probably Will. duh. reddit seems to Really want that guy dead. El -> sacrifices her for everyone else's sake. and Mike, which i unironically think is going to come from a) mleven hardcore believers who'll say he sacrifices himself for El b) "byler shippers" who actually only like Will and think he's too good for Mike, and c) people who just hate Mike and pick him for their "x character dies" leak since they'd like that, and we'll be left to guess which of these the original leaker is)

basically, March-ish to s5 release will be hell on earth because you'll have the people who have no experience with show production periods fall for every "leak" and be in a constant "we won" "we lost" cycle. not fun. unless your dash is normal which i'm recommending you take care of before you get the first people crying over a "my cousin who does the lights says he saw Matt Duffer say they'll kill El :((((((" leak on your dash, lmao

and tbh that'll definitely get worse once we actually get semi reliable leaks like we had for s4. because some things always end up being the opposite of what the leakers make it sound like. either due to lack of info on their part or personal bias. like how there was a leak about about the s4 sbp scene "mike confesses his love to el", and then we got.... that monologue, which was the opposite of the "cute" moment the leak described and made everyone and their mom hate the ship

funniest leak in that regard imo would honestly be a "scene of Mike and El talking about their feelings for each other <3" and then it ends up being a breakup. is that likely?.... honestly i can see that, that's exactly the way that would end up being telephoned to us in a leak😭

also i'm expecting the UD lore to get SO confusing next year. because someone will "leak" something that's entirely nonsensical. like "demodogs die when you shine a light on them", but then it ends up turning out the "light" is a blowtorch in s5 and we won't know until it releases

tbh what i'm most excited about leak wise is, yeah sure a) the costuming/outfits. that's always interesting and leaks will be the place we'll see the most of that. but more so b) actor combinations in different shooting locations. which will absolutely fan the s5 plot speculation flames. like with how there were set leaks during s4 about Steve/Robin/Max/Dustin at family video and so on (i think that's the department we're going to get the craziest theories from as well. like for example, if we got leaks of Jamie ever shooting out of studio with other actors, that would open the floodgates to speculation. honestly kind of want that. let him show up in some vision, or put his ass out in the open in the UD, i want people go crazy over speculating about the s5 vecna interactions. and same obviously goes for the relationship department, bc bts leaks usually tend to spoil either season group ups or at least a shared scene between characters. and i want to know the s5 group ups SO bad)

and tbh, i don't really know/care what the actors will do. i can only see them get awards post s5 in 2025 unless they're doing other projects on the side. same for scandal wise, i'm Assuming there won't be anything (said with a raised eyebrow and a frown), given that they all act normal, especially given they'll be busy actively filming and being instructed on promo posts etc

so my predictions would generally be:

regular socmed actor promo, mostly about bts of the actors hanging out (non work things), some costuming bts etc

i think they'll probably lean into the "hawkins will fall" slogan of s4, and i can see them carry the grandfather clock motif on as well when they start more official promo/teasers

also reminders of things that will be important in s5 semi frequently as well. like "remember when will went to the UD" and "remember how Steve and Jonathan both have feelings for Nancy" and so on

with the filming being exclusively in atlanta again i can also see set leaks getting more interesting again than they were for s4. like how they covered the irl trailer park with vines for the s4 UD. especially with things like the giant downtown replica set for s5 there's a lot of potential for us to see Something happen there. i can see them deck that prop out for the UD, or make it a "destroyed" version of downtown. etc

and obviously a shit ton of things that are baseless or straight up lies. a million mleven is canon vs byler is real ross duffer told me leaks. a shitton of leaks of A interacts with B and then it never happens. all the classic "source? i made it up" leaks that spring up around popular shows. hell on earth. i'm excited btw

[lydiaas]

I have so many conflicting feelings about the whole Tony x Arman X Nadia of it all, especially from last week's epsiode! I'm probably in the minority but I actually really like Nadia and I even sorta like her and Nadia - even though of course I would love for Thony and Arman to be together but not until he's no longer with Nadia of course. I really wish we'd get some kind of backstory episode on her and Arman's relationship, and now more so with Kamdar too since there is clearly a LOT of history there too. They've clearly been together for a long time and there are definitely feelings involved still, even if Arman also definitely has feelings for Thony too ("I don't know". Oh, OKAY??!). Maybe they might not be in love with each other but they do love each other. Just my opinion! Lol. And while I can understand Thony wanting to protect her family I don't love how quick she was ready to throw Nadia under the bus when they found her in Kamdar's office and telling Arman he should reconcile with her. I like that she was more level headed later when talking to Arman about finding the marriage certificate between Nadia and Kamdar. And Arman didn't have to but of course he listened to Thony and now their trio is as messy as ever! I can't help but feel bad for Nadia now and I don't watch the episode promos cause I like to remain spoiler free as possible but I really hope nothing happens to her! I don't think she and Kamdar are still currently married, but I wanna say maybe they got married for some sort of convenience. Either way though, Kamdar needs to be taken downnnn.

I so look forward to these messages because we are on the same page! Last episode really threw some curveballs for me as well.

I also like Nadia and think there is potential for a really interesting story there when she breaks free of Arman. She could be an antagonist to him and Thony in business or could begrudgingly work with them to advance her own agenda. There is some great plot there if we kill the love triangle. I don't like the position they are putting her in where she is this roadblock that Arman basically gaslights about his relationship with Thony (although I also don't think Arman fully realises he is doing this as evidenced by his "I don't know").

One of my biggest problems with the show this season has been the lack of clarity we have around Arman and Nadia's relationship. The show obviously decided to slow down the Thony/Arman train and in doing that they had to keep Nadia in this limbo. I could not figure out what it was that drew Nadia and Arman to each other. They behave like business partners. This episode gave us a few crumbs of their history together and it made me see their relationship a little differently. Firstly, I now don't think they were married for as long as previously thought (add to that, Nadia is younger than I imagined!!) and secondly it seems like she went straight from Kamdar to Arman. While I think they do love each other this is an interesting dynamic to me because it reframes their relationship as one that wasn't just born out of two people innocently falling in love and building a life together. Nadia was seeking safety and Arman at this time was still just some lackey for Hayak and did not start making real moves until Nadia came around to inspire him (like she once did with Kamdar). This was a mutually beneficial relationship.

I’m starting to understand their marriage a little more and why it is falling apart when people like Kamdar (Nadia's past) and Thony (possibility of Arman's future) start exerting pressure.

In saying all that, a backstory episode would not go astray. I'd love to dive into that and get all our questions answered.

I really love that you acknowledged the way Thony acted this episode. I also really disliked her pushing Arman the way she did (which is maybe the first time I've ever really had an issue with Thony), it felt so cold. On the back of what Arman did for them in the last episode it felt like just another thing he was having to sacrifice for Thony. I understand that Thony was under immense stress for her family but I also wonder if the writers were trying to hint at a darker side to her emerging where she becomes so singleminded at the expense of others (even Arman) 🤷‍♀️

Unfortunately we have another week to wait to see how everything pans out...😫😫

[mayasdeluca]

A few takeaways from that live...

1-Merle saying that Natasha didn't reinstate Maya as Captain because she still had a lot to learn and then later Danielle saying how Sullivan only made her Captain because he didn't want to give it to Andi and Maya wasn't ready I think is bullshit. I think Maya was ready to be Captain and she thrived at it to the surprise of everyone who maybe thought she rose up the ranks too quickly (Lt. to Captain in 3 years). But when you're ready, you're ready. Kids skip grades all the time and sometimes 2 because they are beyond the grade suited for their age.

2-When they talked about the promo and said that it' was going to be such a great episode and there were heart wrenching and powerful performances...by Merle/Natasha, Jaina/Andi, and Barrett/Vic, I'm sorry what?! That episode should have been ALL about Maya and Carina. I don't need other performances cluttering up the screen over Maya being cared for and the aftermath to that.

3- I think Merle casually* spilled that Andi does get the Captain job (what episode are they filming now?) and that Maya sees Diane which we probably assumed because there is no way Maya would be cleared for duty after her accident if she didn't see Diane at least for a few sessions. Whether or not Maya embraces therapy is a different story.

*I say "casually" because she just said it and didn't make a big deal like gasping thinking she may have spilled like Danielle usually does or like her and Stefania did last week, she just continued talking like it was nothing and moved on.

Now on the personal side: So Boris is getting to direct next season (has he directed the show before?). I did not know Merle is so musical theater inclined and yes, I would love a musical episode especially if it mean Danielle can go back to her semi pop-star roots and sing again (since she keeps refusing to revisit that). And Merle talking about old school things and Danielle being like I was born in 88. I lol'd at that because I am of a certain age that remembers things like phone cards like Merle was describing.

Lots of great thoughts!

I totally agree about the convo re: Maya not being ready to be captain. I didn't get that vibe at all either. She was more than qualified and even if it's true that part of the reason she got the job is because Ripley & Sullivan didn't think Andy was ready for it, that doesn't mean that Maya also wasn't ready for it because she was well prepared and knew what she was doing. Just because the team decided not to respect her as captain initially doesn't make any of that not true. She proved she was a great captain all of Season 4 and more than capable of doing the job. Also Merle/Ross wasn't around then so I really wonder how much she actually knows about that whole history.

It's very frustrating that when Danielle will have other guests on lives or whatever, the topic of Marina/Maya tends to be avoided. I understand that Danielle probably doesn't want to make it about her and is always wanting to talk about the other person and supporting them and it's a lovely quality she has but...yeah. The promo was clearly mainly about Maya and what's going to happen with her but I guess they decided to talk about Ross' plot in the episode instead. It appears like there will be multiple storylines in the episode so we better just prepare for minimal screentime from now. It's obnoxious that they claim to be covering it in a big way though when it seems like they won't be. But I'm sure we will get more of the aftermath stuff in the episodes afterwards. I wouldn't be surprised if episode 8 is actually better for us than 7 at this point.

Okay I thought the same thing! But no one else seemed to be talking about/caught on so I didn't say anything lol but the way she so matter of factly said that Andy will be captain felt like it happened already? I mean we know she will be captain at some point because it's inevitable but she made it sound like it was already a lock. I think they're currently filming episode 13/14 but I'm curious about the search and rescue type call in episode 12 and that BTS pic because why is Ross also suited up? And is Beckett around? I guess we'll see. And yes the fact that Merle called Diane 'her therapist' in regards to Danielle seems like a good sign that we will be getting therapy scenes plural. At first I was worried Diane would be there just for Crisis One stuff based on BTS things but hopefully we get a decent amount of therapy scenes as well.

Boris hasn't directed the show before, no. I don't think he's directed any TV before, just a movie or two. A musical episode would definitely be interesting! I have mixed feelings about it because I feel like these writers just aren't capable of making it good lol and musical episodes come off as cringe most times to begin with so I don't know how it would go really but they definitely have the talent for it. They definitely had a fun dynamic throughout the live though with some funny moments!

[slowlystupendousdelusion]

So recently on a bit of a whim I went to see Player Kings

So I'd got a ticket for the cheap seats with restricted view up in the sky. But excitingly, I got upgraded to the stalls on the day of!

First things first, this play was long. Like check the run time on this before you go because I did not. "It's abridged, it will be fine!" ... I was in the theatre for almost 4 hours. Luckily I had been to pee before I went in because that would have been a horrific wait for the interval. Prepare your mind and bladder is all I'm saying.

[Side note about the toilets: the women's toilets are off the main foyer, are really narrow and there are only about 6 of them? Insanity. There will be a queue.]

I haven't watched Ted Lasso at all so this was the first thing I've seen Toheeb Jimoh in and he was great. I imagine it must be intimidating to act Shakespeare with Ian McKellen but he really shone and they had great chemistry. It was sort of nice to root for a more serious character without there being a tragic downfall at the end? Also he starts the play topless if that's your kinda thing.

So I decided to go see this in spite of my dismal knowledge of Shakespeare's histories as I thought this would be a good opportunity to see Ian McKellen do Shakespeare and I was at a bit of a loose end that day. I did look up the synopsis of Henry IV parts one and two beforehand and that was pretty much sufficient to be able to follow the plot successfully. I know it was an abridged version but I was surprised by how little Henry IV shows up in it. (Obviously I haven't seen any other productions to compare it to, so this could be the same in the full plays too for all I know!)

Obv Ian McKellen was great, and he was on stage for the majority of the play. I'm not being funny but I went to the matinee and we only exited the theatre at around 18:20, and the evening performance was due to start at 18:30? I cannot imagine how intense that turn around is - that's like an 8 hour shift of being almost constantly on stage? He's what, 85 odd? I emerged from the theatre essentially staggering and half blind after being in the dark for so long where I had done nothing more taxing than sit down, and they had to go and do it all again? Incredible.

I think Falstaff is generally supposed to be a bit younger, but him being older didn't really bother me any; the body padding took longer to get used to because you are so familiar with McKellen's normal frame. I guess the real challenge for this is that he is so recognisable and has such a recognisable voice (and let's face it, I imagine the vast majority of the audience are there to see him) so at the beginning your brain does waste a bit of time going "omg that's Ian McKellen" before you sink into the play properly.

The promo photos were bizarre in comparison to the actual set design, so I'm not quite sure why they chose to do that. The posters were of the cast in an American Diner/ Greasy Spoon type set up, but this had no connection to the direction/ set design of this production. They were still in the Boar's Head tavern; it hadn't been replaced by a cafe and the red and white colour scheme of the posters bared no resemblance to the actual set. (Which was essentially a fancy brick wall back drop). I did hear people comment that they were expecting something quite different based on the posters as they were leaving.

It was quite cinematic in places and particularly the battle scenes were impressive. (I am easily swayed by fancy pyrotechnics). I liked how the opening and closing scenes mirrored each other with the same staging for both coronations.

The music choices were interesting - they had some really loud sections where it was blasted through the speakers at a volume which made me jump at least once. But most of the music was sung onstage as a solo at certain points. This was quite powerful but did leave me a little confused (are the other characters aware of this guy who just turns up and sings? Or is he just for the audience?)

I thought the first half (which basically covered Henry IV part 1) was more cohesive than the second half, although I guess that could just be personal preference of the two plays. I do feel like I need to look up some film versions now to get a better idea of the choices made in the abridgement and production. My other take away from this (don't @ me) was that my assumption that Shakespeare histories were dry crusty old things that are so boring that they daren't even attempt to teach them in school was probably incorrect and maybe I should try some others.

Basically this was a cool production to see especially with affordable tickets still being available, but definitely be aware of the run time because I was not prepared and that is now my overriding memory of the play. 😅

[smb3]

We saw the Sonic Symphony today! It was great! It made me think a lot about the brand/franchise of Sonic and I just wanted to type it out somewhere.

To start off with, I knew the symphony was going to be part symphony and part rock concert--just not to what degree. I'm also keenly aware of how Sonic is such franchise that has a divided fanbase--most people are biggest fans of the games that came out in their formative years and think that's what Sonic "should be."

All that prefacing, only for more prefacing. I'd seen the Zelda Symphony years ago and had a great time. I know a lot of Sonic games and have played from Genesis up to Switch, so I like to think I'm at least semi-well-versed in the series.

The first half was great. Sonic 1 Medley, Sonic 2 Medley, Sonic Mania, Chao Medley, Sonic/Tails SA theme song medley, Rooftop Run, Colors and more. Hearing these great songs taken especially from some of the most archaic musical interpretations to being performed by an entire symphony was fantastic. They were arranged beautifully too, mixing songs together in a new format. I sat at the intermission going "wow, this is really great. I already have really enjoyed this".

After the intermission they start with the "rock show" portion. This was fun! Everyone stood up and we were encouraged to sing and cheer (more, the conductor encouraged us to cheer before too). The symphony was playing still but now there was a guitar, bass, drum set and keyboard all in front of them and definitely playing louder than them.

They played the hits. From SA1, Heroes, the Black Knight, Forces, Frontiers, etc., the encore being Sonic Adventure 2. Obviously this was higher energy and since every song had lyrics, the audience could participate more than just clapping/screaming when they saw a character they like show up on the projector.

I was really enjoying it--you got the fun of a gaming symphony show and then you also got a rock concert version of it too. It just somehow felt like the show was heavily weighted in the favor of this latter portion than it was the former. I actually pulled up the program: There were 14 "rock" songs compared to the nine "symphonic" songs.

It didn't help that the rock instruments and vocals drowned out most of the sound of the rest of the symphony--not to mention they were literally standing in front of them so you couldn't even see them. On top of this, rather than being "arranged", these were just all the full versions of the songs from those games. "I Am All Of Me", "Knight of the Wind", "What I'm Made Of", etc. Again, nothing wrong with that, it's just that the two "halves" of the show felt at-odds with one another.

As it went on and it got past songs that I knew (Frontiers, which I still haven't gotten around to), it just struck me that all of this was so indicative of Sonic as a whole. Everyone has their idea of what Sonic "is" or "should be" and cramming the two biggest opposing representations into one show just made the whole thing feel a little strange. The intermission definitely was indicative of the period between Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic Adventure--once you got back from the intermission, things were just totally different. Not bad, just very, very different.

I do wish the marketing reflected this a bit more too. All the promo material I'd found was JUST "symphonic". I think going in with more adjusted expectations would have been nice.

---

OTHER OBSERVATION: I'm usually not around this many... "Sonic fans" so I don't really have much of a pulse on what's "popular" outside of osmosis via tumblr/twitter/reddit but there were many times I was surprised to hear lots of cheers for. During the intermission I heard someone complimenting someone else's Mephiles plush and then when Mephiles DID show up on screen, people erupted.

I assume some of this is just due to fans being excited for things that get less attention than others but I think it's also a sign of how things are now. A lot of people just watch playthroughs of games now, rather than playing them themselves. Even less popular (or "good") games get a lot more attention because they focus more on giving characters cool moments or have appeal due to their story. Sonic games seem to typically allow for story or gameplay--rarely both.

[klaineownsmysoul]

So I've been following you for a while coz I always loved your posts on klaine.. you always had such a nice in depth way of describing their scenes.. and I'm also one of those people who are still bitter till this day at the way they were treated and the story we could have had but didn't. They are my first love. My second though is First Prince and I sincerely sincerely hope they don't do to those boys what they did to D.. goodness D was the top of his game and he was reduced to a piano player at a trashy bar. even today he shines in every thing he does matter how small the role because he is immensely talented but I felt he could achieved so much more if he had a team that back him up.. I really hope they don't do that to Nick or Taylor.. I've been reading some things and goodness I sincerely hope they don't push an unnecessary narrative but just let their talent speak for them

First off - thank you for your kind words on my Klaine posts. To say I feel strongly about them would be the mother of all understatements and I've always been better at putting my thoughts into words rather than speaking them. And their "story" in the last 3 seasons will forever be my biggest tv disappointment. No show I've ever watched let me down as consistently as glee did and the fact that it felt intentional at times? Good lord who does that? I don't know how to explain anything that happened to Kurt and Blaine in season 6 other than it was a deliberate knife in the back to them, their legacy, and the show's biggest most passionate fandom. It's why I don't trust and won't watch anything RIB touches, and believe me when I tell you that I am petty enough to see that through.

As to your second point - I don't see T/aylor or N/ick falling into the abyss the way D has in a lot of ways. I don't know what kind of career D wants to have but there should have been so many more doors open to him after ACS. I truly believe that if he had a competent team, they could have done so much more for him so that he didn't spend the aftermath of all those award wins as nothing but a shill for that god awful bar. I know the pandemic pretty much ground the entertainment industry to a halt for quite some time and he did do AB and now LSOH. He had his Xmas album but that absolute debacle with the first tour was a neon flashing light that could be seen from space level of incompetence and frankly, embarrassment. He's so talented and charming and intelligent and when the focus is on him - just him - it's a completely different feel. He needs a manager who has the ability and desire to get him more than just ads for gaudy jewelry and promo for a hotel that he can then turn around and use for a free vacation for him and his wife.

I think both T and N have better more professional teams behind them - ones that actually value them and their talent - and don't see them as just an easy paycheck and a way to promote themselves. I don't even know who their respective managers are and that's the way it should be. There's a lot of weird messy stuff on Twitter about their personal lives and a bizarre need by some parts of fandom to elevate one of them by denigrating the other, which is truly baffling to me. I don't get the same feel for them as I do with D in terms of pushing a narrative above all else and I really hope it stays that way because they both are too talented to end up in a sideshow the way D has.

[spidxysense]

Back to You | 14

Summary: He broke your heart, but you’d always love him. Two souls that not even the universe could tear apart, even if you wanted it to at times.

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader x Timothee Chalamet

A/N: Yay I updated! I hope you guys like this one, I was stuck for a bit there but once I sat down and got to typing, I really finished it in one sitting. I was just planning on updating it bit by bit lol. Let me know what you guys think, Love you!!!!!!

Word count: 2,591

Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14

In a few short months of your movie premier with Timothee, you were finally able to release your double-release album, and the response was massive, to say the least. You'd been getting calls from different show hosts' upcoming awarding ceremonies. Still, you couldn't for life in you accept, all except for the Oscars, which your manager told you was a must since you'd be attending in the first place anyway and that performing at the Oscars was a big deal given that you also starred in films and shows.

You turned in bed, facing Timothee's sleeping face. He had been in town for a week now, back on a break from filming in Hungary. Then he'd be back to film in England in a couple of weeks. After your talk on your premiere night, it was to an agreement that whatever you had going on was just two people exploring and experiencing things with someone they had strong feelings for. There wasn't a need for a media circus to cover anything about you two except your movie.

You move his arm, placed it over your waist, and sit up slowly in bed, making sure not to stir Timothee. The jetlag must be shit. You stretched your arms in front of you, glancing at the clock that read 2:07 AM. You get up, grabbing Timothee's white shirt from the floor, and, putting it on, walking over to the bathroom. You looked at yourself in the mirror, touching some of the reddening parts of your neck courtesy of Timothee, and then you notice the toothbrushes… there were two. From this single thing alone, it had you catching everything about the bathroom, how there were two towels, one black, and one violet, which just so happened to be your favorite color.

You walked over to the nightstand beside the bed, putting on your skinny jeans, turning on the lamp, and noticing his wallet. Inside was a picture of you. Opening the closet doors, the ones hung up were various suits, jackets, and even dresses you've worn to events. Why didn't he just send these back? Why would he let you keep your stuff in his house?

You drag your feet downstairs, noticing small details you'd been blind to before, like the large dog bed positioned by the door despite Timothee telling you he could only ever get himself to take care of a tiny dog. You noticed the colored mugs and bowls, a deep dull navy blue color, the same as the ones in your house. Suddenly, everything feels as if it's moving too fast. You both agreed there was no relationship, and there was attraction, but why does his home feel like it's become yours as well?

You sit down, taking a few deep breaths before deciding to stand up and grab your cardigan from the coathanger, opening the front door and closing it behind you as you waited for a taxi to bring you to the more active part of the city at night.

You just couldn't deal with a relationship right now. You couldn't let your heart get broken again, so you have to find ways to distract yourself.

The car stops in front of you, driving off into the night and dropping you off by a club that Troye agreed to meet you at.

You and Timothee had an attraction, but you both agreed there was no label; ergo, there was no intimate relationship even though you both have done everything together. No boyfriend means you were free to do whatever you wanted without worrying about him. But if you were honest with yourself, this was more of you suggesting something you already knew Timothee wasn't too keen on agreeing with but would just because he thought that having something with you was better than absolutely nothing. You saw Troye waiting out by the back entrance for you when he spotted you and called you over. Almost like clockwork, every time you snuck out away from Timothee, everything in you screamed to turn back, to clear your head, and for the first time, you listened.

You motioned for Troye to go ahead and sent him a text that you'd probably just head home because you weren't feeling well. He gave you a knowing look before looking like he finally approved of your actions and sent you a quick and short 'Good." text, and headed inside.

You walked around for a while after that. Soon it was already just about 5 in the morning, and even though you wouldn't let yourself come to any conclusion as to what you even wanted out of this almost relationship with Timothee, you still found yourself back at his front door.

You took out the keys in your pocket, slowly opening the door only to find Timothee sat on the couch, his knees up to his chest as he stared off into space, either deep in thought or trying to keep himself awake… maybe even both.

When he saw you enter, a soft smile formed on his face, and for some reason, that made you smile too.

"Hey, you." He spoke softly.

You sat down quietly next to him, instantly he set his feet on the ground and reached over to embrace you in a hug, the familiar scent of Timothee that never left you that evening even more evident… It felt and smelled familiar, and right now, while your mind was a mess, familiarity was what you needed.

Timothee lifted his head, worried, "Hey, are you alright?"

You sighed, "I don't want to hurt you."

He murmured quietly into your neck as he peppered kisses, "You could never."

You pulled away, feeling guilt in your bones, "Aren't you even a little bit frustrated that we've been like this for months? That even in private, we can't even say that we're in a relationship?"

You gave you a reassuring look, "We both wanted this Y/N."

You sat up, "Except we didn't… You didn't." You corrected yourself, "You're bringing your mother to the fucking Oscars next month because I told you we couldn't be seen together at carpets for Pete's sake."

You stood up, starting to pace back and forth, "We have to coordinate outfits for the sake of not matching, and we never go out because I can't be seen with you in fear that we're going to get found out. I'm a terrible fucking person, and I don't understand how you're so okay with this."

Timothee was grinning, sleep still in his eyes, "I'm okay with it because I love you, Y/N."

You froze in your spot, "You what?"

He nodded and got up, walking over to you. The blue light of the early morning peaking through the curtain made this moment feel and look ethereal, "I said I love you, Y/N. I've known that I loved you from the moment I met you." He kissed the top of your head as he embraced you.

You shook your head, "No, no, no, you don't. I'll even list more shit I've done to you just so you understand how and why you don't love me."

Timothee chuckled, "And yet despite all this... all that's registering in my head is the fact that you've been thinking of me and only me this whole time. You've been worried about how you're hurting me because you don't want to."

And that's when you realized that Timothee was right. This whole time you've been thinking of Timothee and how much you wanted to protect him from you, but he never wanted to be protected from you because he knew that you could never hurt him. You rested your forehead against his.

"I-I need to go. I need to think."

He smiled sadly, "I'll be here when you're ready. I'll always be here Y/N until you don't want me to be here anymore."

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

You sat in your house, since leaving Timothee's earlier, you had been sat there lost in thought as you argued with yourself. It was true, the last thing you wanted was to hurt Timothee, but you were confused because it's like you couldn't understand your feelings. After all, a particular person still held a large part of it in his hands.

Timothee was there for you. Late night at the recording studio, whether through being there physically or even calling you or skyping you, he was always there. He was there with you when you bought all your albums from Target, and he was also the one who insisted you find another target that hasn't sold out your CDs so he could buy all of them too. Timothee was there with you when you had interviews that you almost felt like you could puke from nervousness backstage as he watched you talk about another celebrity you were getting linked to, and he was there with you to giggle about how stupid talk shows were. Timothee was always there. Whether it was dancing, kissing, or even fighting in the rain, he was always with you. He always wanted you around. Even when you rode the subway to get to a press conference of his or a promo for his upcoming movie, he always wanted you with him. He'd run with you in the rain, and he'd kiss away the sadness when you didn't want to speak with him. He was there with you when you get the sudden urge to buy all the popsicles from the nearest whole foods, and he was there with you when you got sick with the flu, which he also got from you. You'd spend afternoons walking around a far-off hill as you two put flowers in your hair despite knowing that you two probably had your busy schedules. Nothing mattered when you were with Timothee. Nothing mattered except each other. A part of you felt hurt that these memories you had kept of you and Tom were slowly being replaced by everything Timothee, but a large part of you also knew that the person you have now had no doubt that you couldn't ignore your feelings. You couldn't have to take Timothee out of your life.

Making up your mind, you got up, got dressed, and left for where you were sure you would find Tom.

He was in the middle of filming a new movie, but the second he saw you, he immediately asked to stop filming, a familiar, loving face plastered on as he walked over to you before being stopped by the director. They looked to be having a bit of a disagreement before he pointed you out, and the director looked at you in realization, patting him on the back and allowing him to jog over to you.

"Hey." You paused, your hand grasping your arm, and Tom took notice right away.

His eyebrows furrowed, "Hey, what's wrong?" He pulls you to sit by the curb as you two sat side by side, "You only do that when you're having a hard time saying something."

You gave him a look, "Well… I came here to ask you if it was alright if I try things out with Timothee."

He looked taken aback, "Oh, well, honestly, I thought you came by to sort things out between us…." He took notice of the way you looked down in guilt, "I don't think you could do anything with another guy that wouldn't upset me… but I don't really get that prerogative anymore, Y/N." He sighed, wrapping an arm around you to comfort you, "The fact is, you're trying to grow into who you've always wanted to be, and I'm trying to do that too for the sake of us and what we could be. If that means that you need or want to date someone again, I'll fully support you, but the most important thing is, does he make you happy?"

You sighed, looking out onto the filming lot, and nodded slowly, not noticing the slight upset look on Tom's face, "I catch myself sometimes smiling to myself when I think of him… But it's like I can't do anything because I don't want to let go of what we had."

Tom took a gulp, deciding that what was important right now was you, more than what he wanted, "What we had and what we were isn't important anymore Y/N. I'm working towards what we could become. What we had was co-dependency and a constant need to be in each other's presence to prove that what we had was perfect. I want us to find each other again in the future and know that no matter how far apart we are, if hopefully, we get together again, there is nobody in this world we'll love more… and that's what I'm encouraging you to do. I want to grow with you and grow for each other, and if that means you dating other people to understand yourself more, then I support you."

You looked at Tom for a second before hugging him and pecking him on the cheek, "I really needed that, Tom. Thank you."

He hugged you tighter, "Anytime. I'll always be here for you, Y/N."

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

You gripped your seat in the car in pure nerves. You were on your way to the Oscars with your assistant constantly telling you about your performance and what not to mess up and things to remember, especially about reporters who wanted an interview with you. To say you were all nerves today was an understatement. You hadn't spoken to Timothee ever since you told him you needed time to think, so today would be the first time you would ever come face to face with him. You thought long and hard about everything between the two of you. Still, you think you're finally ready to actually put some time and effort into this… and if that meant doing things that would significantly make Timothee happy, then you'd do it.

Your assistant watched a live feed from the Oscars as she gave you updates on how Armie was on the carpet. Saoirse was on the carpet, talking about how she hoped to make a movie with you and various other stars. You were a few minutes away from the carpet when she spoke up again.

"Timothee has just arrived." then she looked at her phone and back at you, doing a double-take as you gave her a sheepish smile, all she could do was smile approvingly at you before going back to giving you live updates.

A few minutes later, and your heart didn't feel like it was going to slow down anytime soon as your assistant gave you a pep talk, "Y/N. You are gonna rock that carpet, you'll turn heads, and most importantly, you're gonna be the talk of the night. There is nothing that could go wrong tonight. Just take deep breaths and don't trip."

Luckily you were still coherent enough to understand what she said as you took deep breaths to calm your nerves.

"Alright, three… two… one." The door flew open as one of the large men in suits grabbed your hand and helped you out. Your dress was not providing you much flexibility to move, and for almost 15 seconds, it felt like everything was moving in slow motion as everyone was quiet. You found Timothee busy with an interview as the crowd looked from you to him, the topic on everyone's minds for the past few months. As if this were the only proof they needed, they held their cameras in their hands as they snapped pictures of you and a commotion started as they started asking for Timothee.

You think you gave them a quick, charming grin as you told them he was in an interview before walking towards the interviewer and Timothee. She was the first to notice while Timothee talked about how his mom stood him up as his Oscars date, something you arranged a week earlier and something Timothee's mom was more than happy to comply to.

The interviewer looks ecstatic as the only one and the first one on this carpet to get whatever the scoop was here, as she wasted no time when you slowly approached them, "Timothee! You said you were stood up, but you never told us that your backup would be late!"

Timothee shot her a confused look before he felt your arm slowly snake around his arm, "Sorry I'm late." You quickly whispered to him.

His face looked shocked. Almost as if a reflex, he almost pulled away from you before getting a good look at what you were wearing. His jaw looked like it would drop to the floor as he looked utterly awestruck.

The interviewer giggled nervously, already knowing her interview time was slowly coming to an end without any payoff to the two of you, "Timothee, you look to be speechless at Y/N's dress tonight." She looked at you hopefully, "Could everyone here assume this is date night?"

You smiled shyly at the lady before giving her a tiny curt nod, "I know it's a bit cliche to match outfits, but when I saw that Timothee was going to wear a harness, I just couldn't let him take all the attention for tonight, so I apologize, but I've kept this secret from him too just to make sure he doesn't do anything to take the spotlight, that's why he looks like he's just had a heart attack." you giggled.

He gave a quick, playful tilted look to you before blinking multiple times, "In my defense, I didn't even know that this was a harness... They told me this was a bib."

"Bib or not, you two look like the sexiest couple on the carpet, and I just so happen to be the luckiest interviewer tonight." The interviewer looked ecstatic as can be as she jumps up, more energetic to interview the two of you, "And well, Y/N, one look at you, and it's hard to believe anyone would still have the ability to speak. You look gorgeous." She winked at the camera, "But I can't help but notice you just confirmed this is date night… Is it safe to assume what everyone has been wondering for the past few months? That you two are dating?"

Somehow, Timothee finally snaps out of it and looks at you, a questioning look before you leaned over and spoke into the mic, "Yeah. We're together. We have been for a while now." You smiled sheepishly as you saw Timothee's face glow as he wrapped his arm around your waist, "I apologize for keeping quiet for so long, but we think it's the right time to go public now that we've decided to take things to a more serious level."

The interviewer waves a hand in the air, "As long as you two let us in on the secret, there's no problem there." She faced the camera, "You heard it here first, folks. Hollywood's newest and hottest up and coming power couple. From both Y/N and Timothee themselves, now going public with their relationship."

As you two walked away from the interviewer for more pictures, Timothee embraced you, uncaring of the cameras flashing in your faces, "Are you serious?"

You nodded slowly, "I'm ready to be with you completely, Timothee. I'm sorry I took so long."

He shook his head like a puppy, "As long as you're here with me now, Y/N, I don't care."

He pulled away at the sound of your name and his in the same sentence as the photographers asked for your attention. He quickly kisses you on the cheek as you shut your eyes and grinned, cameras going off and commotion started up at you two, the young hot couple everyone had wanted more details on.

Timothee clutched your waist tightly, almost like he was afraid that if he let go, this would all go back to how everything was before.

Before entering the venue, he pulled you to the side, "Are you sure about this? I don't want you to force yourself."

You shook your head, guiding his head to yours, "I think I'm in love with you too, Timothee. I'm all in with you." And then you kissed him.

[actualhumansunshine]

To be honest at this point I don’t even believe he will release any new music because he has been in the studio for two years and nothing happens and he is too busy going on vacations with his girlfriend and being papped so him smoking doesn’t even matter anymore. Not like he is using that voice of his anyway.

And then after two years of ignoring us he will show up with a new song and expect us to stream while he takes his girlfriend to yet another vacation instead of doing a decent promo for it. Have seen that with Anne-Marie and Ashe already. I’m so fucking tired of his poor attitude and lack of effort when it comes to his career.

i mean, first of all—like it was said the other day—just like there are tons of possible reasons why he's taken a step back from social media, there are so many possible reasons why he hasn't released music yet, most of which have NOTHING to do with mia??? like first of all, we know he's a perfectionist and will want to take his time to get things perfect. if we're talking timelines, ntmy came just over two years after flicker, and we're still on track for that timeline to be a possibility, it just FEELS different and longer because we didn't get tour this time around. also covid is still a huge thing and he most likely wouldn't be able to tour or promote anything he puts out right now like we KNOW he wants to.

secondly, i don’t think it’s fair to hold the promo of songs that weren’t even his against him? he was featured on the songs and took part in the promo of them, but it wasn’t his label or team putting together or paying for the promotional plan, so how the actual fuck would that reflect on HIM or HIS SOLO MUSIC?

thirdly, as far as i can remember, he’s gone on a total of four (4) vacations* with her in the nearly two years they’ve been together??? he’s been in LA working on his album for a MUCH larger amount of time than he’s spent on vacation with her, so the claim that he’s put his career on the backburner in order to fuck around with her is totally baseless??? and that being said, if you’re gonna have an issue with him traveling, have an issue with the fact that he’s doing it while we’re still in the midst of a pandemic, rather than with the fact that it’s supposedly taking him away from his work 😭

and lastly, no one is forcing you to stick around or give him your time and money??? if you’re really genuinely that upset about it or that unwilling to give him the ~benefit of the doubt or whatever, you can just go?? you can move on and find someone that meets your personal expectations for how a celebrity/artist is supposed to act and give THEM your time and money 🤷‍♀️

*the four trips are as follows: spain, july 2020; bahamas, sept 2020; portugal for her bday, nov 2021; and this

[sizzlingpatrolfox]

hey how much are you enjoying the bts solo era so far?

At some point during last year I kept thinking that hybe wasn't launching solo careers, but they were just doing solo releases. That's the way I felt about Hoseok and Namjoon's albums rollouts. Hoseok's album release was such a downgrade from everything BTS ever did, from everything BTS is supposed to be -superstars. Let's not forget that while this was going on, and while army was talking about hybe's huge heart and compassion for the planet and the sea turtles and wanting to minimize their CO2, TXT was releasing ten different physical versions for a single. His Lolla stage also came too suddenly, right after the album. If all of it was Hoseok's choice, okay; but I don't know why people act like BTS can't make bad choices just as everyone else. If Jimin were to come out out with a paper QR for an album.... ADIEUUUUU.... hasta la vista baby.

Jin, there wasn't much he could do with the time he had. It's a particular case that I don't think deserves any analysis because the circumstances were clear for everyone.

Namjoon did feel more like a solo album, and I thought that albeit short, his promo activities were good and very personal. Everything made sense with the type of guy he's shown to be. A rolling stones cover was great too, even more sharing it with Pharell. I thought Namjoon's promo was more adequate than Hoseok's because, as I've mentioned before, I really believe that all of them need to branch out from what BTS was. They said it themselves at the festa dinner, that people know what BTS is, but people don't know who they are individually, and exploring their individual and unique selves should be a huge part of all of their solo career. Namjoon in case, it's hard to think of a more explicit way of showing yourself individually than doing a home tour lol. That was really a lot, if you think about it.

However, all three releases just came and went like nothing. There was no longetivity to any of them; just something that needed to be done and get over with.

The maknae line and Yoongi however are imo actually giving "solo career" from the go. Because they're all easing into it, in a way. Jungkook, Taehyung and to a lesser degree Yoongi have been doing some stuff here and there, even while not releasing an album. Some people might think it's pointless for them to do things that aren't related to music, but I personally don't believe it's all for nothing. I think it's okay, I think it's all building up to a more comprehensive, personal, new brand. It doesn't have to mean that they will do an 180 from who they were in BTS, because that's frankly not going to happen; except for Jimin, I don't really think we'll get surprising new stuff from any member. It just means that they're showing themselves as individuals and actually doing activities alone, carrying their own weight and being responsible for their careers.

Jimin hasn't released or had any schedule in the past 8 months or something??? I was convinced (I think we all were) that Yoongi would release his album first and then it would be Jimin, but apparently it's not going to be like that for some reason. I thought vibe and the Dior deal was the beginning of Jimin "easing" himself into his solo path, and that it would be at least a couple of months of "promo" before the actual release (I was thinking late March/April). I certainly didn't expect an album to be announced so soon. I've seen some confusion about the wording, some people saying that an album wasn't mentioned, just solo activities. If it is his album, maybe he'll do a lot of promo this month. I'm hoping he will. Just to get a sense of JIMIN you know? So he can catch the interest of people that might think he's worthy checking out, so he can build some excitement and anticipation around what he'll release, so people can be intrigued and will wait for it. It's pointless and depressing to release something when nobody is waiting for it.

I said the other day after the Dior deal was announced, that it seemed like a great start and I still think so. I hope he will actually work with Dior, that he will get commercials and campaigns and more magazine covers the way all western artists get when they become ambassadors. I live in a third world country where buying Dior isn't something people do, there are probably two Dior stores in the whole country but I've seen billboards of Natalie Portman promoting Dior perfumes in my city. I'm not really expecting that to happen for Jimin, but it would be ideal.

So far, coming out with vibe, and the fashion deal, and the promise of solo music around the corner, seems like the right order of things; seems like a nice transition. I know there isn't much time before the album's supposedly coming out (next month), but he can still make the most out of it. And hopefully, he will continue with performances and variety shows and music-centered content even after the album is released. At least that's what I always thought his solo career would be like because Jimin's always been so restless -he loves what he does. I also really don't want Jimin's album to feel like Hoseok's, Jin's or Namjoon's, something that's released just to get it out of the way.