#oh & adressing the elephant of the room

[reidsweetener]

spencer and his bau!secret wife having a misunderstanding🥹

he still presses his lips to yours in greeting, a smile only reserved for you present on his face; yet it didn't quite reach his eyes.

you notice the changes to his demeanor; shifts you couldn't possibly ignore. you've shared a bed with him for five years, to be estranged with his emotions, and your heart drops. there was the ever present distance both of you choose to ignore, but the elephant in the room needs to be adressed.

you finish your night time routine, and shut off the bathroom light. quietly, you pad towards the bed, and you notice that he was facing the other side, barely acknowledging your presence. you slip under the covers, staring up at the ceiling— before you break.

tears pooling at the corners of your eye, you tried to contain the sniffle that followed. there was an overwhelming burst of emotions that gave you the false courage to finally ask. “spence?” you call.

immediately, he turns towards you, momentarily surprise at your tears and the forlon look you had. then he turned solemn, “what's wrong babe?” his voice wavers, throat welling up with emotions.

this was it, you both thought.

“do you not.. do you not love me anymore?” you whisper, looking at him with red rimmed eyes. the alienation, the silent treatment, the way you slowly drift away from each other day by day. you couldn't understand why, and there was that— that.. lipstick you saw on his collar from the other day, it was a smudge, but it was there.

he is cheating on you.

“what?” spencer stutters, “do you not love me anymore?” he asks, brow furrowing in confusion.

“don't ask me that, you're the one who's been distant.” you quip, lower lip wobbling.

“i thought.. you flinch when i try to be affectionate with you.” he was evidently hurt, “babe, you could barely look at me for too long.”

your sniffles halt, and so does his tears. “what do you mean? we barely even talk spence... we no longer sit down to have proper conversations. you've started taking the other car for work, aren't you—” pursing your lips, you breathe out shakily. “cheating on me?”

“oh, oh.. oh! i would never cheat on you! i love you, darling!” spencer adamantly denies. “fuck, i thought you were leaving me.. i thought you didn't like me anymore, that's why i tried to minimize my presence..” his arms snake around your waist, and you lean into his touch, shaking your head rapidly.

“i wouldn't. not ever.. b-but why are there lipstick stains on your collar?”

he tries to recall an incident where his collar may have been stained, and his eyes brightened. “emily! she was swatching lip colors with garcia, for a gift— and she fixed my skewed collar and tie. please, you can even ask her and garcia.” he swears, anxiety dwindling.

your mouth was agape, “so.. this is all just a big misunderstanding?”

“i'm afraid so.” he murmurs, sighing as if a heavy weight was lifted off his chest. “oh, i missed you so.” spencer cradles you, and your arms snaked around him, nuzzling your face in his chest.

“me too, honey.” you sniffle.

[moxie-girl]

DRDT EP 13/14 ANALYSIS/THEORIES

I said I'd do this once I collected my thoughts! haha Warning! This is super long…

To start, I'm going to pick apart all the stuff I predicted for ep. 13 (I'll try not to make it too long…)

Levi's Secret

Well. Levi sure did admit to. All that! I think this eliminates any last doubts I personally had about him being the killer… (your honor just because I'm a serial killer doesn't mean I killed that specific person /ref) I really like that he isn't shown as a bad person just because he lacks empathy, and he's actually actively trying to be a good person… the fact that he just admitted his secret because he thought it was the right thing to do is so funny though, there go all my theories lol! (I'm still a little worried about rule 14 though…)

Ace's (Almost) Murder

Yeah!! This is probably what we're gonna spend episode 14 talking about, with murder method and alibis, etc. I still don't think it was Nico though! (I want to say I called that it'd be relevant, but it felt a little obvious…)

The Murder Method

I think we can say this has been all figured out, with the method being exactly what several people much smarter than me all figured out.

The Possible Culprits

Rose was still acting a little odd, but I think Whit on the other hand, despite whatever all that was, is off the hook for now, so my number 1 suspect is still Hu! I'm like 90% sure she was the one who tried to kill Ace, at least, and that's become very important now!

Secrets

Well, we got all the secrets figured out! (Hu :( ) The fandom interpretation was pretty much correct, except for Teruko's (we'll get to that later…) I do hope that after this trial, some of the secrets that are not relevant/haven't really been discussed do get adressed, because I could even see them becoming motives for murder again. But also, I just want the characters to talk about them! (gimme that juicy juicy angst…)

Ace

He didn't re-open his injury or really freak out like I expected, but we got some vulnerability (and a new sprite!) from Ace, and considering next episode is probably gonna focus a ton on him, I'm still expecting at least one of the two to happen…

Teruko

Luckily for Teruko, we didn't have anything unlucky happen to her this episode! But she sure did get her time in the protag spotlight anyway, I'm glad she didn't let the mistake from last episode get her down!

☆ ☆ ☆

Also, my bingo card! I got a bingo!! (ft. my messy tiny notes if you want to read them)

A few of my other bingo predictions I'm still going to hold on to for the next (few) episodes, but now, onto some new stuff!

Final Arei Flashback

Whoooah boy was that scene a doozy. I'm starting to think David's murderous rage towards the blackened at the start of the trial was genuine, because me too, man. I'm really glad Arei got at least a little bit of closure before she died, though! She also had an interesting take on the "good person" role, something that has been very important to this trial thus far and will likely continue to be. (I'm thinking that the killer may have had a "good person"-related motivation for killing, which is why it's the chapter's overarching theme?)

Also, to adress the elephant in the room… EDEN??? Well, no wonder Xander "didn't expect her to attack [him] like that" - and from her expression I wonder if she expected it either - I'm really looking forward to learning more about what, exactly, happened before the killing game that involved them! I didn't really believe in Mastermind!Eden before this, but it's starting to look pretty plausible... (Also Xander is the king of haunting the narrative oh my god lol)

Teruko's Secret

Many of us, myself included, were hoping/guessing/assuming that when all the secrets were figured out, David would reveal that he actually had Teruko's, not Xander's. While that didn't happen, the way he reacted after she claimed "her" secret essentially confirms it, as does a lot of other evidence:

That secret being hers would complete a secret circle of Teruko -> Rose -> Whit -> David -> Teruko and a secret pair of Xander <--> Min, which makes sense considering all other secret swaps are either circles of four or in pairs.

Xander and Min would have each other's secrets logically since neither of them can receive secrets, so theirs would probably be separated from the rest.

MonoTV's line about not knowing whether they're all correct feels like a reminder/a hint that some of the secrets are incorrect, and those two feel like the most likely options.

Teruko apparently has no idea which secret is actually hers, so may have just guessed the one that sounded more like her, except we know she never knew her parents and only had one sibling (as does Charles… I wonder if he'll notice)

EDIT: I cant believe I almost forgot, but I feel like David’s attitude towards Xander (and Teruko) makes more sense with these secrets, because why would he idolize Xander if the killing game was his fault, but he would idolize him if he thought Xander was trying to end the killing game by killing Teruko, the person David now thinks/knows is at fault.

However, since David didn't claim out loud that Teruko was lying, it's likely that this piece of information will become relevant much later in the series, and he'll be keeping it to himself for now.

Veronika and Hu

When did Veronika and Hu make their pact? And how did Hu, presumably the one who wanted to make the pact, know that Veronika had her secret? Also, what on earth do you mean, Veronika, that your secret isn't the worst thing you've done???? This little section with the two of them could just be entirely innocent and a way for the dev to get the rest of the secrets on the board, and let Veronika be a little unhinged as she tends to be, but I get the feeling at least some of this is relevant. (I'm betting on either Accomplice!Veronika or Veronika's actual "worst thing" being important to a later trial…)

David

Ohhhhh, David. I feel like Veronika with how much I want to psychoalanize this guy. He is on the verge of a breakdown, and I can feel it! The question being, of course, whether Arei's death was enough to make it happen this chapter, or whether this is something that's gonna last another chapter or two before coming to a head. My money's on the second option, because I think this trial is about to be about Ace and his impending breakdown :)

I do hope after this trial we do get to see a little more of what David's actually like beyond his facades/the roles he's been playing! Also, as much as I'd like to see David survive and have to deal with the consequences of revealing his "true" personality on live television, I think it's more likely he'll go the way of DR antags trying to end the killing game via self-sacrifice.

(We also better keep a close eye on anyone who tries to befriend or help David in Ch3, because they're gonna die next! /j)

J's Morality

This is a short one, but I just wanted to comment on another analysis I saw point out that J has been one of the most vocal people anytime murder has been brought up. I think that behind her rougher personality, J is a more empathetic person, and/or has very strong morals, making her a narrative foil to Levi now, so I do hope the two of them interact in Ch3!

Whit??

Whit. Whit why do you know so much about hanging??? Being serious though, I saw someone else bring up that his mother might have died by hanging and he researched it afterwards as a coping mechanism or something? That's the saddest possible explanation, but it does make the most sense by far… I honestly don't think that Whit is the killer, because then why would he be being so helpful in figuring out the murder method, but he's still so weird and suspicious sometimes.

Nico!

Even though I still don't think it was Nico (crime scene makes more sense if seen as Nico trying to help Ace, they may have just admitted to it because it was the less confrontational option, next ep is def not the last one and I think it'll be about proving who it was other than Nico, and if you look at Nico's secret quote…) I still do hope they get the chance to get mad! Get mad at Ace! Get mad at David! Get mad at whoever the (attempted) killer was for putting the blame on them! Idk I just want them to have their moment.

☆ ☆ ☆

And finally, here are my new bingo cards for the next episode:

(I can't believe ep14 is gonna be 40 mins + there's a "non-spoiler" thumbnail rn oooooh I'm so nervous)

[crimsonbastard]

Alright, might as well adress the elephant in the room:

- The absolute desecration of Alicent's Character is infuriating. Her straight up surrendering to Rhaneyra and throwing her sons to the wolves?? And betraying her own Father? Alicent HAS her issues with her family but there's no way that she's going to stoop as low as straight up giving them up. And oh, her saying that she was "fond" of Viserys?? Like what?? You mean the man who groomed you?? Put his rot in you and neglected you and your children??? What the actual fuck??? Was this the same woman who attacked Rhaenyra when her son got mutilated?? All of that for what?? Nothing! And what of your Grandson Alicent?? The little boy who was butchered?? Does his death mean nothing??

- Helaena's complete 180. Seriously?? Her guiding Daemon? The man who orchestrated her son's death? I understand Helaena not wanting to fight, and as Queen she has every right to deny Aemond, but her guiding Daemon towards his path?? Seriously?? And since when did her Visions get Lucid enough to pinpoint Aemond's grave?? Atleast Condom and Hiss had the courtesy of Helaena feel something towards her husband when she confronts Aemond about what he did.

- Oh Aemond, literally the only Green who (besides Cole & Daeron) who's fighting for his family. Him trying to force Helaena felt out of character, as, besides his mother it's her he cherishes the most. We see him lash out, that cold calculated mask finally dropping as he starts getting desperate when he lashes out on Sharp Point and it's innocent citizens as well as his sister. He still is that angry boy who lost his eye.

- We've got Rhaenyra openly admitting what Team Black had been denying all along. That for her to ascend, Aegon must be put to the sword.

- Cole finally being vulnerable and showing what's going through that head of his. How he thinks that this war is for nothing, and that whatever ideals he held onto before, have been let go of and that the only thing that keeps him going is Alicent. He knows that chances of him making out of this war are slim but he goes along with it, for her. Him admitting his hypocrisy, and that he has no shame was the cherry on top. A Jaime Parallel.

- Ah yes the Weirwood vision that conveniently removes any daemyra angst later on. Daemon realising how serious the upcoming horrors from beyond the north are, and that Daeneryes cameo is nothing but a cheap attempt by Condom and Hiss, just to:

a) Shoehorn Daenerys to appease Dany Stans

b) Remind the audience of the "divine right" of the Targaryens to rule westeros as only they can "unite" the realm.

c) Completely absolve all the future atrocities comitted by Rhaenyra and Daemon, as it is for the "Greater Good"

d) By doing so, they gave Daemon a convenient excuse to go on his "murder suicide" battle with Aemond other than abandoning his wife for one last girl he groomed, her being Nettles who is cut from the show, so as to not anger the Daemyra stans.

e) It doesn't even matter in the end, as it's Arya who kills the Night King.

- Alyn verbally decimating Corlys for abandoning him and his brother until his legitimate heirs were gone was satisfying to see.

- Aegon wanting to fashion himself as "The Realms Delight" Is interesting. Considering he will go down into the history books as the Rightful King whereas Rhaenyra goes from being "The Realm's Delight" to "Maegor with Teats". Aegon being negatively viewed by the smallfolk this season despite wanting to do good by them (to get their love and approval) whereas Rhaenyra leading innocent people to their deaths (by dragonfire) and watching from atop, and also sending a few "gifts" to the starving smallfolk, she herself being the cause of their starvation, via the blockade. If the writer's don't further fuck up, we might hopefully see the smallfolk shift their perception towards both rulers, with Rhaenyra being finally called "Maegor with Teats" and Aegon being somwhat looked at positively.

- Sunfyre cannot be dead. He's too important. I hope they made Larys mention that just to subvert our expectations.

- We finally get to see Tessarion, and she looks like a recolored Arrax. Hopefully with a bigger budget they'll give her a more fitting look.

[madamemiabus]

Oh yeah gloria is a cheeto

Okay so i feel the need to adress this for...literally no reason i just feel the need to say something about it, so i came back to the h&h fandom out of nowhere after months of no interacting and getting out of discord reason being that it got boring after a while, so whem miracle child was release i kinda didn't know what to think about it and also did not play much attectiom to it outside of that one drunk and sleep deprived post i made, the only think i got out of it was "well i guess gloria sucks now lmao" and butch of horrible jokes about infertility, so whem i came back last week i thought maybe is time to actually put out my thoughts about one of favorite characters and how do i actually still stan them despiste the change of pespetive, now i have to make this very clear i like gloria on a personal level the woman became one of my comfort characters, someone or something i could relate and use it was coping whem i need it, and that is something that haven't change if anything the new info about her makes me like enjoy her was a character even more because makes the whole situation more complicated and opens the doors to a lot of possibilitys for interpretation,expeculation and headcannons. So let's talk about the elephant in the room, the cheating was always a possibility it was hitted was far back to the 2020 videos and where it was a matter of time to know the truth a yes and no type of question and the anwser is yes she did, and i'm going to say something that has been on my chest for a while now, i do not think she did it out of love for martin, gloria cheated on him most likely out of her own selfishness and even if none of fucked up supernatural shit happend this whole situation would not have ended well, the greywhinder kids are probably already set on a path of emocional turmoil from the moment they are born regardless of the outcome, plus Martin didn't lie about how important this was for him, yeah the way he put it sucks but it comes from a place of honestly, that's the biggest irony here, "but madame what about the domestic abuse??" Well, these things can coexist; you can be a victim and the idiot of a situation. I have no doubt for now that Martin was abusive to both his children and Gloria at some point, if not always. To me, this new context didn't change much my likeability of the characters because I'm fine with them being horrible; they aren't real people, and because of that, it's okay to like them for who they are as characters.

Extras thoughts

- i have read some debates from the pespective of miracle/rainbow children on their parents and there is this interesting point some of them make about the ones with bad parents, a lot of the time the parents are not with love with the children or parenthood but more so to their ideal children, is not uncommon for people to have expectations whem comes to becoming a parent or how their kids will be and that's fine and all but whem you decide to consider having a kid is important to ground yourself in reality and understand that your kid is own being and the reality of raising children is nothing like your personal fantasy, i'm bringing this because of martin's obssesion with control and dicipline in my opinion he could very well be frustated that his kids aren't was well behaved or controlled like he imagine them to be, they are noisy,annoying and oblivous to his requests and feelings which only complicates things.

-A lot of people with fertility issues usually have a grief period in which they come to accept their condition; you can imagine why this guy didn't.

-The only thing I don't like about this plot twist is Arthur. Before,  it felt like he was someone who was stepping in to help things for his family, and now it just comes off to me as "he is just taking responsibility for something he did have a hand in..

-There's something that is oddly funny to me in the finale. When Martin starts to talk about his current position in the H&P, I can almost see Gloria rolling her eyes into oblivion and questioning why she even asked for his help, like her mind is on her son vanishing. Martin starts to rant, and for a half second, the woman is like "Oh my lord, I CANNOT FUCKING BELIEVE!".

[samcal-official]

The thing with Tommy is the following: Depsite making hyperbolized jokes in a skit that was supposed to be an exaggerated portrait of reality, the Quackity vs Dream segment was literally on point from the perspective of Quackity’s solo stans.

Mind you that I don’t hate Tommy for this, but it made me anxious seeeing the skit because my gut told me, and I KNEW, that things were going to be shitty on twitter.

And that’s what happened. It’s not Tommy’s fault that after watching his video the toxic Quackity stans had all veen like “oh! Tommy knows it’s Dream’s fault and he is truly a piece of shit! If Tommy portrayed the situation this way then it must be true and we were right!”.

Many of these toxic pieces of poop on twitter took Tommy’s skit as face value and reinforcement to excuse their bad criminal actions, lashing once more against many dream stans and dream team stans by doxxing them, death-threatening and rape-threatening them all together.

Even when standing up for themselves, Eryn, who was portraying Dream in the skit, was apparently also making ableist movements and gestures from his non-verbal language in reference to Dream’s adhd. Not only that but he also publicly made fun of a victim of death and rape threats live on stream thinking it was funny.

The thing is that, it’s ok to feel upset by Tommy’s video and skit because it brought people back to a drama that was already moved past by, but of course, this was not the outcome he expected and regardless of the unpredictability of his actions, that is not an excuse to actually dismiss the victims of heinous internet behavior. He should’ve been smarter with how he portrayed things.

Also the skit’s portrayal is inaccurate so much because Quackity NEVER took accountability to make his community a welcoming place with everyone. Doesn’t help that he has been ignorant about the toxicity of it all and has not acknowledged how bad it has become and that people like this should not even be welcome to it. Yes, Quackity doesn’t have 100% of control over his fanbase, but he should have done what Dream has done MULTIPLE times at this point now and adress that he doesn’t condone toxic or inappropriate behavior from his part towards ANYONE and anyone who breaks this boundary is not welcome on his community. Simple as that. Quackity could’ve done this the same day he announced the French and Portuguese creators to the QSMP. Literally the perfect time to do it since qsmptwt was at its peak toxicity, but no. He decided to ignore the elephant in the room and now in the eyes of those who have suffered because of his toxic twitter stans, it just makes Q look like an ignorant, narcissistic moron.

Copied from my comment in r/dwt2.

[bluebudgie]

Maybe I shouldn't be writing this in the middle of the night but here we go, as is tradition for LS releases the obligatory first impression opinion post:

(No story spoilers, vague map talk)

So this is my super-hot-just-off-the-stove first impression, obviously subject to change in the long run but... overall I've had a blast!

Let's get the stinker out of the way so we can focus on all the good stuff afterwards:

Many people have pointed this out before but this was... very bite sized. Unsure how Anet's release rhythm will be from now on so I don't want to judge too harshly, but this was essentially the fraction of an LS episode. We'll see how this holds up in the future!

Alright. With the elephant in the room adressed let's talk about the important things:

MAP. Don't know if it's just the novelty effect and how much of its magic will last as time passes but... I am a little in love. It feels like the lovechild of Draconis Mons and Dragon's Stand, with the Tangled Depths ley line cave-yness sprinkled in between (not that TD trademarked ley lines or caves but you know. ALSO CHAMPION MUSHROOM QUEEN? Anet really went 'whats the most hated HP, let's bring that back'). Looking at the worldmap the map itself doesn't even look that small but it feels kinda compact. Maybe because it's so clearly divided into smaller subsections? I don't see it housing a million secrets but I've only looked at it superficially so far so I'll gladly be proven wrong. Oh also I adore that annoying breather feature where you suffocate if you don't 'equip' an air filter. This is exactly the hostility I want to see in open world maps. Thanks.

META . Seems alright. Did it twice, was fun enough. Not mindblowing but I think I'm actually kinda glad about that. Wasn't ready for another mega-meta yet. Maybe on one of the later maps?

MUSIC. Did I spot a few new battle tunes during the meta? I think so. Big fan, needs more listening in detail.

STORY. Wasn't sure what to expect considering the plot could be going pretty much everywhere at this point. I'm definitely curious to see how this unfolds now. I see potential intrigue for a small handful of my characters' stories. Potentially concerning, tbh.

Overall very intrigued with this release. Unsure how memorable it'll be in the long run but for now I'm happy. Biggest highlight is definitely the map itself.

[yourmamaslastaffair]

I just watched 2 season of Good Omens. It was-... well I don't really know how to say what really was it. It was fantastic.

There, if you want, you can read my (full of spoilers) 'rant-y review' of the thing:

The part before the intro in the first episode left my jaw open (6 episode too, but we'll get there). I mean angel Crowley!!!! HE LOOKS SO CUTE AND ADORABE AND I WANT TO GENTLY HOLD HIM IN MY TWO HADS. New intro is lovely. I really thought there would be a lot more of Muriel and a lot less of "Jim". I LOVED the music. Also, I have to adress this. Gabriel with long hair. I have some 'strong' opinions about that, but over all? Could have been worse. Not saying he looked bad, just. Have you seen him? On the same note (hair), Micheal's hair was WONDERFUL.

Now, let's adress the elephant in the room, episode 6;

We somehow manifested ineffable bureaucracy into existence. I love it. It's soooo nice.

Now, our main couple. I don't know what hit harded, that "We could go off together" by Aziraphale or a plain "Don't bother". AND THE KISS THE KISS MADE ME ACTUALLY CRY. It was just so so so painful. The way Crowley stood by his car looking at Aziraphale. IT WAS SO PAINFUL. AND THE WAY AZIRAPHALE STEPPED IN THE ELEVATOR OH GOOD GOD!!! I was left with my heart torn out my chest and head full of emotions I am yet to process. It made me cry for an hour. I don't know what to do with myself. I lived and breathed Good Omens for so long. What now???

Oh God, why?

[keeper-not-hero]

nah that name implies to me that there is a solution that isn't currently working tho. also not talking about your story there tbh

oh yeah, I knew that later part, don't worry about it I just wanted to yap

I mean, I was going with elephant in the room but you mentioned them KNOWING the solution was there and adressing it. Maybe Deus In Arca, to contrast Deus Ex Machina? The plot-solver is in the box, we know it's in the box, and we're keeping it in the box.

[artistlara]

what do u think can i say to a person who feels like their life is shit? cos I honestly dk what to say anymore. i feel like it's my responsibility to fix their life. i feel terrible for attempting to make my life make sense bc they will say smth like "i feel like shit bc i envy u cos ur life seems a lot more interesting and mine is shit".

(u dont have to answer me if this is too much) im jus looking for advice. i don't want my friend to think that idc abt them cos i love them so much but there r just times where idk what to say anymore. i feel like the support and comfort im giving is now burdensome for them.

Oh man- hey! Sorry if this is ever a late reply but I’m really sorry ur experiencing this rn :(

I don’t know much of the specifics of u and ur friends history so I’ll just give u advice based on what u said to me here (though, if you ever wanna talk abt in dm’s, I’m willing! I’ll try to help as much as I can)

This is a hard pill to swallow but please please know you are not responsible for their happiness, problems, let alone their life.

I know that sounds harsh but I need you to see the reality of the situation. It sucks, really, to see a friend really down in the dumps and feeling hopeless bc their life is “shit” as they see it, which in some case might be true. But it’s not right for them to put the blame on you because ur situation isn’t the same as theirs.

I’m not saying that they shouldn’t feel the way they feel- what they’re feeling is valid! It’s okay to feel negative at times. But to voice that envy towards you, making u react that it’s now your responsibility to make things better for them? Isn’t exactly fair.

I know you want to help them since they’re ur friend, and I’m really happy and proud of u for that- just goes to show u care for them so much :)

But I’ll lay it right in front of u as it is: you cannot fix or take care ur friends life, and even if u did- who’s taking care of yours? You’ve helped them as much as you can, but it’s still up to them whether or not they’ll decide to still stay that way or take ur advice and change to feel better about things. (Linking a vid here since this personally helped me view my relationships with ppl better)

Anyway, here’s my answer for your first question since I just needed to adress the elephant in the room (which was how u felt abt the whole situation so far):

Things are hard in life, they really are. And sometimes you feel like things won’t get better, leading u to envy others who have it better than u in a way. But, if u ever want a change in ur life- it starts with you. It’s your life, and even though u only have few control over it, sometimes u just have to try ur best and turn things around with what u have. It won’t be easy, especially doing it alone- but u can ask for help from those who care for u. But please remember they aren’t the ones who’ll make things better, that’s still your responsibility. They’ll be there to make things easier.

It’s hard to believe things will get better when eventually you’ll feel like shit again and u feel like things aren’t going to work out- but that’s the thing, things won’t always be happy- and that’s fine. What matters is not when u get knocked down, but rather when u try to get back up again and push through. Even if it’s over and over again.

Because I know, eventually, things will turn around to be even a little better than before.

[woolyshep]

EXPLODE!!

I redrew an old art of my sona (the wooly demon namesake :0!!) with their updated design way back in.. May? It had been a wip for a while but I finished it in May

[bluewinnerangel]

Why I don’t think Ever Since New York is about dealing with bad news about a family member - a lyrical rabbit hole

SPOILER: HAYLOR BAD

I’m sitting here like-

-because I promised I’d be getting into this mess...

(context - YOU ASKED FOR THIS)

I feel like I should somehow apologize in advance to literally any and all sides of any fandoms covering Harry, Louis, and/or Taylor because I don’t think there’s any niche corner anywhere that’s gonna be like “yeah this is great this is exactly how I want this to make me feel”, so I’m sorry. It just is what it is. I’ll do my best to show you why this is how I interpret the lyrics, how I think they are making subtle references to each other in their lyrics and that these give away certain songs are about certain events. But seriously if you came from twitter and you think and want to keep thinking these 3 are “besties” do yourself a favor and just click away. So just to spoil the plot so you don’t have to “Keep reading” if you aren’t open to this interpretation: I think Harry’s Ever Since New York and with that Louis’ Don’t Let It Break Your Heart and a bunch of Taylor’s songs are about the time around the “Haylor” stunt, more specifically in the context of it absolutely breaking them, especially Harry, into pieces:

Before getting into the lyrics I need to adress the “but he said ESNY was about robin” elephant in the room as that’s the generally accepted meaning of this song. For those who don’t know, H allegedly said ESNY is about “dealing with bad news about a family member” in a Q&A, then naturally it was assumed it was about his step-father because it’s the only bad news we, the public, know of, of is his step-father being diagnosed with cancer and sadly having passed away since. But not only do we not even know he really said it, what we think he said isn’t really clear to be about that either. Maybe it’s that he knows one can interpret the song as well, or even a bit of an analogy, counting himself as a family member or something similar. Anyway I hope that takes away the “how very dare you” aspect of it. Long story short he never said it was about robin

I’ll do a lyric breakdown of ESNY first, and then I’ll go into why I interpret it this way through links made to songs and events outside the song itsself

Harry Styles - Ever Since New York 

Tell me something, tell me something You don't know nothing, just pretend you do I need something, so tell me something new

Harry is desperate, saying tell me anything, literally anything, I need it, I know “you” don’t know anything more than I do but I don’t care, just pretend, just give me literally anything, I got nothing. 

Also here he drops the word “pretend”, which I think some artists especially those having a public image that is entirely different from who they really are sneak in a “lying” or a “pretending”, even a “trick”, a “fake” or a “story” wherever they can, placing these terms in whatever context, outside of the context of “Whatever you see in the media is just a story, it’s fake, none of this is real. It’s all lies and pretending”, but actually serve as a nudge that they are, that whatever the public sees is just a show. Whether this “pretend” in this song specifically is doing that to, who knows but H, if it does it’s really subtle. Anyway just pointing out there is one here that’s all, moving on. 

Choose your words 'cause there's no antidote for this curse

What’s the curse? it could be just fame on its own as there truly isn’t an antidote for it. If this antidote is the same antidote as in Golden this makes sense as in Golden he states: “loving you is the antidote”. You keep me grounded, as long as I have you I can deal with this. Or more specifically, as the price to pay for fame, all the soul-crushing bullshit that comes with it including the relentless closeting with stunts and bearding (or: the old curse in which dreamers dive in head-first, tying in with Copy of a Copy and Sign of the Times) 

Oh, what's it waiting for?

It being the curse. A very harsh, raw, why drag this out, just wanting it all to end statement, especially considering we just were told there’s no antidote. It can also be a response to another song related to the same situation (I’ll get to it)

Must this hurt you just before you go?

Then backpeddles a little, from the harsh statement to: this situation we’re in is already hurting me, don’t let it hurt you too, and also knows the “you” is about to go.

Oh, tell me something I don't already know Oh, tell me something I don't already know

the main message, just give me anything, anything, I’m in despair, this situation is hopeless, I’m begging for something to give me hope

Brooklyn saw me,

I guess technically this is the first name-drop in the song, the Brooklyn->New York mention. It could be literal: something happened while he was in New York, OR, it’s a way to describe something. What is New York. It could again be an analogy for fame as its often used as such in pop culture: the city where the people go chasing their dreams (LA being the other one), wanting to make it big, the “if I can make it here I can make it anywhere, New York, New York” (Frank Sinatra), the “concrete jungle where dreams are made of” (Alicia Keys), or even: Welcome To New York, it’s been waiting for you (miss Taylor these-can’t possibly-actually-be-related-or-can-they Swift)(“Oh, what’s it waiting for?”), or why not even all of the above because this is Harry Styles we’re talking about, I mean really, why the hell not, this mermaid is out there making islands, putting inverted messages in songs, has always so subtly referenced shit I don’t even think we picked up on 28% of it, who knows how deep his shit runs *shrugs*, New York can very well mean all of these things simultaneously.

It’s also Brooklyn saw me, and I think that again ties in with this song being about him over anything else, the eyes are on him, he’s the one being seen.

empty at the news

The news -> the media. Being seen, this can be taken literal too as being on the news, on TV, in tabloids, being gossiped about, all that. And in the midst of it, he’s empty. He’s a shell. (or: a ghost standing in the place of him)

There's no water inside this swimming pool

Where in Two Ghosts he already wasn’t hopeful (we’re just two ghosts swimming in a glass half-empty), here he can’t even swim anymore. There is no water. The swimming pool isn’t half-empty, it’s drained. There’s no water left. He’s on his lowest low.

(Remind me to get back to this line and its possible inspiration)

Almost over, had enough from you

Coming back to “Oh what’s it waiting for, must this hurt you just before you go”, the “you” could be interpreted a lot ways but first the “almost over”, I mean there seems to be some awareness of some end-date there, there’s something he’s just waiting out. (till he’s out of the woods)(They told me that the end is near - Sign of the Times). Anyway, the you could be someone he loves dearly but is going to leave anyway, and so Harry goes, “fine, leave then, I’ve had enough”, but there’s another possible interpretation as it’s interesting he says had enough from you, not of you. This adds another layer rather than just the “I’ve had enough of you, I’m sick of you”. Now it’s more of an “I’ve taken enough there was to take from you, there is isn’t much more to gain from this endeavour”, which, if it’s the second, welp, “you” could be as literal as just being Taylor.

And I've been praying, I never did before Understand I'm talking to the walls I've been praying ever since New York

Here it’s making clear that whatever “New York” stands for (as explained at the “Brooklyn” line), the situation became so much that he resorted to praying for the first time in his life. He understands praying doesn’t do anything to fix the situation but he’s doing it anyway, again pure desperation. And that he’s been doing it ever since, so the situation, or the effect that it had, is still there at the time of reflection.

Oh, tell me something I don't already know Oh, tell me something I don't already know Oh, tell me something I don't already know Oh, tell me something I don't already know Tell me something, tell me something You don't know nothing, just pretend you do Tell me something just before you go Oh, tell me something I don't already know Oh, tell me something I don't already know Oh, tell me something I don't already know Oh, tell me something I don't already know

Again a repetition of the feeling: I’m empty, I’m desperate, there’s nothing I can do, I can think, I can feel, that’s giving me hope in this situation, I just need some outside source to tell me something, to give me a different insight, give me hope, whatever, I don’t care, anything.

Overall interpretation

I think that was already pretty obvious this whole thing basically sucks. This isn’t fun, it’s heartbreaking (Not that ESNY being about loss of a family member is any better) It’s sad, dark, heavily depressed, enter rant f*ck the music industry, f*ck PR stunts, f*ck making people do shit they don’t want for promo, f*ck management, why the f*ck can’t artists just do the thing they love to do and not have their souls crushed along the way, f*ck closeting, f*ck putting this shit onto people when they’re so young, f*ck not letting them be openly with who they love, rant out, oh you know just your average being a 1D fan on a Wednesday afternoon type of anger. Yeah no I’m good. 

And to just plain and simple give answer what I think happened in New York: that whole rant getting too much for Harry thanks to the Haylor bullshit.

Links

Ok now that you’re warmed up (or already out of braincells, in that case, come back later because we’re just getting started) let’s get into more and more and more ~~inspirations~~ and ~~parallels~~ and ~~responses~~, all not confirmed, all highly reachy that’s how we like it, but in my view helping to further point to what happened in NY by directly or indirectly linking to ESNY.

Seriously this is going to be a mess, I’m... ugh I’m just sitting here trying to think of a good way to bring all this up but there just isn’t. There just isn’t. I’ll do my best to try to explain why I think these links make sense and please stay skeptical and decide for each of these if they seem plausible to you and all but yeah let’s get into it.

Link 1: Badfinger - Baby Blue

The first maybe most obvious song that links to ESNY is Baby Blue (1971). I think this was a big inspiration behind ESNY. Harry hasn’t confirmed he was inspired by this song, but the guitar riffs are so similar they pretty much speak for themselves. And it’s not just sonically, it’s the lyrics as well. Check it out for yourself, it can help to speed ESNY up a bit:

Badfinger - Baby Blue:

This band has a very tragic story of getting absolutely screwed over by management, about being too young, naive, just wanting to make music and signing contracts that would leave them with nothing. It has a tragic ending which I don’t really want to make part of this post, but I highly recommend to watch the short documentary about it here (trigger warning:suicide, that’s all the indication you need why I don’t wanna get into it)

So then the question is why would Harry be inspired by this song, this band? (or you don’t buy the sonical/lyrical links to the song, I mean “nah coincidence” is also an answer) Some possible things I could think of:

The lyrics of Baby Blue are important to him in the context of what’s behind ESNY too

What happened to the band, perhaps drawing some parallels there, and it’s these that matter in the situation ESNY describes...

ESNY is about his step-father and this was a song he really loved (this is just me throwing random brainwaves out here to make it make sense for whichever interpretation)

I’m tempted to go with the first (and a bit of the 2nd), as it’s not just the sound, it’s the lyrics too:

In baby blue, the singer lets his lover, described as “my baby blue”, go, but they really don’t wanna let go but seem to have no choice. I might be wrong but I believe this song is about the singer going off on tour/becoming a big artist and having their relationship struggle because of it. So they love eachother dearly but he has to let go to chase the dream, but “let it grow, the special love you have for me”...

Does that sound familiar?

Anyway

Link 2: Louis Tomlinson - Don’t Let It Break Your Heart

And then we have the loud lil shit Mr Louis Gayvinci Code Styles-Tomlinson that comes barging in like 

in but in a sad way with Don’t Let It Break Your Heart:

EDIT: I don’t wanna put in more tw’s, I’m just gonna leave some links out.

When you love someone and they let you go

~~Ok we got it mr baby blue much~~

I know you left a part of you in New York under a bed in a box

Then the big one, here he namedrops NY, but not just that, in the context of something bad happening there, losing a part of you there, so of course loads of people have made the link to ESNY. I do think at the very least Louis wrote this line in to link it to the situation/event that sparked this song, and that it’s the same event that sparked ESNY. At this point, it still checks out if it’s about dealing with bad news about a family member, that DLIBYH is comforting someone dealing with grief. However there are some lines in there that make me go “oh wow that’s a little insensitive” if that’s really the case, like “you will have learned from it when it comes back”, sorry but what the hell is that supposed to mean then? 

Link 3: Taylor Swift

(we’re still talking about Louis’ I know you left a part of you in New York under a bed in a box:) this is where the weaving web of lyrics gets going... This line can be a double Taylor nudge too. Taylor’s ~first song on her debut album~, ~first hit~, ~first first~, like the first oh I don’t know first thing you can grab if you wanna refer to her through her songs in a really subtle way, Tim Mcgraw has the line

Tim McGraw: in a box beneath my bed

And welp I already dropped it a bit in the ESNY lyric breakdown, but NY=Taylor checks out too. New York is not just literally where half of the Haylor stunt took place (the other half being her coming to Harry’s home, visiting the Lake District among other things, NY was Taylor’s trademark in the era of her 1989 album, which was littered, just littered, with stuff that seems in one way or another related to Harry/that stunt. And the NY thing isn’t subtle either, it literally starts off setting 1989s vibe: Welcome To New York.

And then there is ESNY possibly just directly replying to this too:

WTNY: “Welcome to New York, it’s been waiting for you” ESNY: “I’ve been praying ever since New York // oh, what’s it waiting for?”

New York = Taylor, under your bed in a box = Taylor. What happened in NY? Haylor.

I think either the stunt itsself or whatever else happened in that time period and the stunt just being one of the symptoms of the biggest picture lead to Harry being incredibly depressed, more than he ever had been and hopefully more than he’s ever been since. Where Two Ghosts tackles the effect it had on Harry & Louis’ relationship, and feeling hopeless about that with “Two ghosts swimming in a glass half empty”, ESNY is on his lowest point, “there’s no water inside this swimming pool”. And about this line, Louis-

-Tomlinson comes back in a-god-damn-gain in the track-by-track explanation of his album, stating that DLIBYH is about “hope and seeing that the glass is half full”.... yeaaahhhh ok.

But! DLIBYH comes with good news too, because the song goes on to state that “you’re doing better”.

Louis’ 28 songs playlist

Then last and also least plausible thing of Louis relating something to ESNY, if you have read this or this or this post, about Louis creating spotify playlists that seem to parallel Harry’s albums, ESNY lines up with a song Don’t Look Back Into The Sun, predominantly going 

“She’ll never forgive you but she won’t let you go (screams: LET ME GO)!” 

and I just can’t stop putting that in the context of “she” being Taylor and “you” being harry, anyway, that’s another absolutely ridiculous reach that somehow fits the context again.

(stop reading here if you’re not interested in Taylor’s side of things)

Taylor’s album 1989 has Harry barfed all over it. It’s insane. I’m not even gonna go into Style (and with that 1D’s Perfect too because these are doing the exact same thing) the most obvious, Out of the Woods making a close second, because although they’re relevant to the whole picture, they’re not relevant to ESNY, as they can mostly be summarized to “we look good together in public” and this is a huge big big mess already.

Welcome To New York, at least a verse of it, also makes sense in the context of “hi Harry you have arrived” (yes I told you this is a MESS):

Welcome to NY, it’s been waiting for you

Like Harry, I wonder, what’s it waiting for.

When we first dropped our bags on apartment floors

like not staying in the same place lol

Took our broken hearts, put them in a drawer

hide your sadness, really put your heart in the closet

Everybody here was someone else before And you can want who you wans, boys and boys and girls and girls

also did I mention we gay?

Folkore. But then it gets So. Much. Worse. With folklore looks like she dug up some old ass graves from her past and ran with it. She warns us she’s about to do this in the 1, literally: “digging up the grave another time”. Now I’m not saying she dedicated a whole quarantine album to things that happened in 2012. My interpretation of folklore is that she reflected back on her life, her loves, her struggles, others’ loves and struggles she saw unfold and took bits and pieces from all over the place to weave together into one fictional love story. It’s basically an at-least-quadruple meaning layered please help anyone getting sucked into this rabbithole vortex of insanity of storytelling. And it’s not even all from her own perspective either. She has said so herself. “I found myself not only writing my own stories, but also writing about or from the perspective of people I’ve met, people I’ve known, or those I wish I hadn’t”, “In isolation my imagination has run wild and this album is the result”. Here her entire letter

Aka this album is littered with old shit, and whatever really happened back in 2012 is included in it. I think in part she’s reflecting on the shit she did, how she helped closet Harry, helped dig larry further down something they couldn’t crawl back out of, helped to shape his image he has today, didn’t back the fuck down with 1989, talked shit about him (basically the only person in existence to ever talk shit about Harry, that says a lot), using his name as a shield to hide behind when dealing with whatever other issues she’d be writing into her songs she couldn’t explain out loud, and now she’s really fking sorry, and it’s all weaved in and out of her songs on folklore, with Hoax and The Lakes being the most Harry-related, but there are droplets of it throughout the whole album. Hoax could be directly about Harry and Louis or at least be one of the meanings, that she wrote from the perspective of Harry, or at least a fictional version of him, based on her reflecting on that time she was involved. It follows up with The Lakes too, which I’m even more convinced is about Haylor. It’s a sadder, more mature, different point of view version of Out Of the Woods, again, both about Harry. (I could go into detail but again it’s not really relevant to ESNY other than just haylor was shit but I can if there’s interest)

Ok anyway Taylor, queen of weaving lyrics, master of every word relates to something else and teehee I’m not telling you what, the ultimate never ever ever ever backing down to leave little hints that her songs are about a certain person (purposefully stunty and misleading or perhaps closer to whatever’s the truth), I’m scared of her, that Taylor. You can’t tell me that Taylor didn’t pick up on loud mfer Louis going “I know you left a part of you in TAYLOR under TAYLOR”. And that she then just went lemme just take that right back when writing for folklore:

Hoax: “You know I left a part of me back in New York”

What part? Oh just

Cardigan: “When I felt like an old cardigan, under someone’s bed”

folklore be like “hey harry can you hear me

Then what doesn’t help either is that 

Cardigan’s music video isn’t just going “lol crying piano amirite” but also seems SYNCED TO Harry’s Falling music video

Cardigan’s “When you are young, they assume you know nothing/I knew everything when I was young” vs Louis’ “We were too young to know we had everything”

Cardigan’s “I knew I’d curse you for the longest time, chasing shadows down the grocery line” vs Harry’s “there’s no curse for this antidote // empty at the news” (dumbdumb version: “curse // [ghost] [tabloid]”)

And in Hoax, I mean, look at this shit. I really don’t wanna make one person’s song about other people, I don’t wanna be that far down a larry hole, but in this case she specifically said shes writing about and from the perspective of people she has known, and this song truly and I mean really looks she wrote it from Harry’s perspective (or at least a version of him coming from her imagination), just to grab the lyrics around the NY line:

stood on the cliffside screaming “give me a reason”

“cliffside” to link to the lakes, where she “bathes in cliffside pools”, her swimming pool not being empty apparently, screaming “give me a reason”, k basically the entirety of ESNY

not to mention we got standing on cliffsides being desperate imagery from both Harry and Louis’ music videos

Your faithless love’s the only hoax I believe in

to the public Larry is a conspiracy, a hoax

don’t want no other shade of blue but you, no other sadness in the world would do

clearly H during Haylor demonstrated all the sadness in the world when not getting his louis shade of blue

You know I left a part of me back in New York

literally just “hey Louis I know that refers to me so here have it back in this song about you guys”

You knew the hero died, so what’s the movie for

Possibly that Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here reference that I forgot to mention: Two Ghosts parallels Wish You Were Here, and Harry’s referenced this song more often, it includes “We're just two lost souls swimming in a fishbowl year after year” and “did you trade your heroes for ghosts” which melts together into “we’re just two ghosts swimming in a glass half empty”. Taylor also throws a bunch of ghosts around in 1989, perhaps they just all feel like ghosts without it linking to any other songs but their own, expecially for Taylor who knows, anyway, even without that link this still holds: here we have a hero dying in the middle of the first ghost-heavy album since 1989, “you knew the hero died, so what’s the movie for” -> the hero died, he’s a ghost now, the movie being the whole media circus, Harry’s given up already, he stopped fighting, the public image is created already, what’s the movie for, why is this whole PR stunting mess still going on, sorry for the brainpayne, I sincerely hope that made the least amount of sense, moving on. 

You knew it still hurts underneath my scars from when they pulled me apart

So scars could be a way to say it’s been a long time since this all happened, when they pulled me apart (aka when I left a part of me in NY), but I also have this itch that scars mean tattoos and they got a good chunk of their tattoos when they were being pulled apart.

So basically that box under the bed in NY is just traveling through time and albums:

But it’s not even done, because Cardigan, August, and Betty on folklore form this love triangle trio of songs, being unmistakeably linked (I mean, the whole album is linked, but these the most)

with Betty having Style parallels

Now I don’t think I need to explain how Style relates to Harry, but in a smort way, in a Perfect kinda way, anyway, neverforget miss swift already hiding rainbows in Style and holding up broken pieces of mirrors that are reflecting her and the guy who absolutely isn’t Harry nope nah

Meanwhile August seems to be one big ol’ 1D’s Summer Love fanpiece (1D’s summer love in turn seems to have gotten some inspo from Tim McGraw again, we really keep going in circles with this), although if you compare 2 songs about a fleeting summer love you’re gonna find some similarities.

And also includes the lines “your back beneath the sun, wishing’ I could write my name on it” which doesn’t remind me at all of Harry’s I Love You: “You ran your finger down my back and you spelled out your name while we lay there on the soft warm ground” no. Again they can both just have thought of writing names on peoples backs under the sun, or draw inspiration from the same sources where there’s writing on backs happening, but this shit keeps adding up. Also didn’t she release folklore on 1D’s 10 year anniversary? There’s a bunch more little things in folkore you can relate to either 1D or Harry/Louis but I think that’s more than enough.... 

Pfff anyway, what to take away from this... I mean it was already obvious from their behaviors at the time, but just from this interpretation alone I think this stunt nearly ended him, that Taylor was quite seasoned in doing stunty bullshit (’tis the damn season amirite) but Harry wasn’t, couldn’t handle it whatsoever (”remember when you couldn’t take the heat, I walked out and said “I’m setting you free” - Out of the Woods), and that in ESNY he shows his most raw, true, feelings about it. But to end on a good note and that thanks to Harry’s “Loving you is the antidote”, Louis’ “You’re doing better” and perhaps the entirety of We Made It there are pretty good indications that it’s going better now.

Sooo that’s that. Ugh I feel obliged to leave you with a cute gif, some eyebleach, after this. Look at their legs so cute look:

[i-am-ironic]

I was gone for six months and suddenly my best friend has a baby!

Part 2 of this

I wasn't going to do this part but so many people wanted a part two and I came up with this idea!

*******************

Jon was excited, not for the long boring meeting that was about to start, but for the food he was going to get at his best friend's house after the meeting. Of course this might not be the worst meeting, there was supposed to be a new hero from Gatham, that could be fun. He wondered if Damian Robin was friends with this new hero, and if they were another adopted sibling.

As more and more people filed into the justice league's meeting room, Jon Super-boy kept looking and not finding his friend. Once everyone was seated the batfam entered, always so dramatic.

The big bat himself entered first, followed by most of his kids. Nightwing, Red Hood, Black Bat, and Red Robin all walked in, Red Robin making a beeline for the computer. The last to enter was Robin next to a girl in a black suit with red accents. If this wasn't such a serious meeting Jon probably would have teased Robin about the matching suits. She must be the new hero. He whispered something to her in french, so they were friends, very interesting.

When everyone was seated the meeting began in the same way it always did with a report from all the leaders about how their city's were doing. The second order of business was the mission jon had just completed. It had taken him six months, two trips off world and eleven other people but he had finally stopped the alien who had wanted to destroy the world.

For Jon this part was just as interesting as the updates. he did his best to look like he was paying attention but really he was listening to damian talking to the new hero, Ladybug. Everything they said was in french, which made things harder for him because he didn't speak french.

Superman was almost done with the debriefing when Red Robin spoke up, "Ladybug, Agent A needs you right away, code G."

The woman nodded standing. Robin stood too but was stopped by her hand, "i can deal with this Robin, ill call if i need back-up."

He frowned but sat back down. Looking back at superman to continue.

"Thank you superman, for that very detailed debriefing," batman said standing and walking to the head of the table,"now as I'm sure you have heard there is a new hero in Gatham. Red Robin is calling her now she had to leave a moment ago. While we wait for her I would like to give you some backstory, she was thirteen when she became a hero, in Paris. She fought a supervillen for five years before he was finally defeated. Her partner from those days has since retired. She moved to Gatham for college and began working with us as a vigilante about five and a half months ago,"

"That about sums up my life this far," the woman herself stood in the doorway holding a pile of blankets.

Damian walked over to her and carefully took something from the blankets, an even smaller bundle. "She wouldn't stop crying would she?"

"She wanted her dad."

Thats when it clicked: Damian was holding a baby girl, the woman had said the baby wanted her dad and now the girl was reaching up for damian's face. Ladybug walked over next to batman.

Damian had a baby. DAMIAN HAD A BABY!!!!! This was not happening! The same Damian who hissed any time someone tried to touch him, had a baby?????? That didn't make any sense! Where did he get a baby??? You leave for six months and suddenly your best friend has a baby! Ridiculous!

Ladybug began speaking, "im sure many of you are curious about my powers but I'm afraid I can't disclose that information. If anyone has any other questions I would be happy to answer them."

The Flash raised his hand, when ladybug nodded at him he said, "Is that your and Robin's baby?" Barry, always so quick to adresse the elephant in the room.

Ladybug turned slightly red but replied, "In a manner of speaking, yes. But not in blood. Are there any other questions?"

When no one said anything the meeting was adjourned, the heroes heading back to their citys. Jon joined the batfam as they left.

"So Robin would you like to explain why you had a baby and didn't tell me?" Jon asked.

"No."

"Ha!" Jason laughed as they stepped into the tube headed home. "He just doesn't want to explain how he reverse kidnapped a baby."

Stepping out into the bat cave the team walked to there respective changing areas. Leaving only ladybug and the baby with Jon.

"Could you explain?"

She laughed, "sure, basically a lady handed damian little Gabrielle here and sprinted off. We never found the lady so damian and I adopted her. Lagaly she is damian's daughter though. Can you hold her while I detransform?"

"I guess." He took Gabrielle from Ladybug as a bright light over took her.

When the light vanished the young woman standing there smiled at him, "Im marinette by the way."

"Nice to meet you marinette," he said handing her back Gabrielle, "Im Jonathan but everyone calls me Jon."

"Nice to meet you too," she looked behind him and smiled even brighter, "Dames, we had better go up stairs for dinner."

Damian kissed her and took the tiny mask off of Gabrielle's face.

"So im an uncle now, right Damian?"

"No kent my daughter will not be calling you her uncle."

"Why not?!" Marinette and Jon exclaimed at the same time.

"Mari not you too." Damien said in mock horror. "I knew i shouldn't leave you two alone together!"

Marinette giggled. At this point they had reached the kitchen and marinette took Gabrielle from Damian to put her in her high chair.

The three of them continued talking as the rest of the family joind the dinner table. Marinette and Damian took turns feeding Gabrielle mashed sweet potatoes. Everyone laughed and joked, even talking to Gabby some times.

After dinner about half of the team had to go home, everyone else went to their rooms or to the movie room to watch Avitar: the last Airbender, which wasn't a movie but they wanted to watch it on the big screen.

Damian whent to put Gabby to sleep, it was too late for them to go home and Alfred had already prepared a room for them.

"So how long have you and Damian been together?" Jon asked Marinette.

"Two years in May. I didn't meet his family until five months ago though." She smiled, "I met them the same day we got Gabby, I understand why he didn't want me to meet them for such a long time. I mean who could have guessed I was a hreo too?"

"Im glad he found you. He seems much happier when you are around." Jon said.

"Marinette can you come say good night to Gabby she wants you." Damien called from the top of the stairs.

"Ill be right there!" Marinette shouted back.

Marinette walked up the stairs as Damian walked down. "So I guess you like her." Damien said.

"She has the best friend stamp of approval." Jon replied enthusiastically.

"Thats good," Damien said thinking over his words before he continued, "because, I'm going to ask her to marry me." He poped open a ring box revealing a beautiful diamond engagement ring.

"Wow! Oh my god!! Can I be your best man?!!" Jon was vibrating with excitement.

"Sssshhhhhhhhh!! You have to keep this on the down low! No one knows about this not even Alfred!"

"Im pretty sure Alfred knows everything. Especially the things you don't think he knows. Its his secret super power." Jon contredited. "I should probably head to bed i have to get up early tomorrow."

"Why would you need to get up early?"

"Because Alfred is making pancakes and i want to be the first one to get some."

As jon drifted off to sleep he thought about if he would be as good of a dad as damian was, and if he would be able to find someone like marinette.

*******************

Sorry this i late but I was having trouble writing this chapter. Also has anyone else been watching avitar non stop, like at this point I'm pretty sure I've seen it 12 times.

Next im going to write a soulmate au so if you want to be tagged in that let me know. I hope you enjoyed! (The wifi is down at my house sorry if you weren't tagged, ill try again later)

@wannajointhecrabcult @corabeth11 @i-wanna-be-a-ninja @animegirlweeb @spyofthenightcourt @ivymala07 @marinettepotterandplagg @thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @bisha43rbs @dreamykitty25 @sublimesoulbouquet @maribat-is-lifeblood @thestressmademedoit @crytallized @tomanyfandomsonmymind @karukofox21 @nightstarblue @certifiedbidisaster @our-preciousss @lilyreadbooks12

[gaymerborealis]

New Year's Eve rolls around and Cecilia raises her wand to summon her beloved Ava from her slumber.

A ghostly Ava appears before her, and the two immediately embrace, happy to see each other, but Ava then pulls away, and she's a very red color. "This is very sweet and all Cecy, but are we going to adress the big elephant in the room?" "Uhh" "Cecy, you flirted with another sim! On our first vacation!" "...oh yeah, that..."

But the two have a little talk, about Cecilia's fear of comittment and their relationship, and in the end Ava isn't mad after all, and they both decide to leave the past in the past and promise each other to be more honest and open with each other in the future.

Cecilia promises Ava she's the one true sim for her, and Ava decides to trust her--she did spend her entire young adulthood trying to bring her back to life, after all.

[mourntheantagonist]

hc that Billy comes to love bath bombs after Starcourt. He starts keeping some at Steve's house and some at home. He finds they help a lot when he's having a really hard time either with physical pain from his injuries or just when he's struggling mentally.

don’t mind me absolutely going off below. idk how this turned into a full fledged one shot but I hope you enjoy it anon because your mind is so amazing.

———

I can imagine billy at home for one of the first few nights and he decides to take a bath because he still can’t really stand up too well on his own. when he walks in there’s a little bag on the counter that has his name written on it. Inside is this yellow sphere wrapped in plastic. he reads the label and follows the instructions and is stunned when the water starts to turn yellow and the scent of lemon fills the bathroom.

the scent is very calming, and considering he’s been on edge ever since he stepped back through the doors of his home, it’s a welcome feeling. when he gets in the water he’s surprised to notice the change of viscosity in the water. It’s slightly slimy but it feels really relaxing.

when he gets out of the tub after soaking for a while he feels for the first time since everything happened to be cleansed of the mindflayer. not entirely. but lingering hints to the scent of lemon make him feel clean and light and just a little less like a monster. no monster smells this good.

later that day max asked if he liked the bath bomb. for a split second he’s stuck on the word bomb until he figures out what she’s talking about.

“yeah. smelled good. thanks.” he’s still struggling to open up but he’s getting better about letting down his defenses, at least to max. part of letting down his defenses caused him to only be able to speak in one to two word sentences.

max understands though. and she appreciates not having to constantly walk on eggshells around him anymore. or at least not in the same way. instead being more concerned for scaring him rather than the other way around.

a couple days later he finds a box filled with twelve additional scents and colors and effects on his bed. he smiles. max.

she continues to restock for him as he cycles through each kind. his favorites are vanilla and lavendar and also the lemon. something about it makes his thoughts slow and his aches numb and he’s almost addicted to the feeling.

although it doesn’t last long because one day neil calls him out on it. asks him why he ‘smells like a faggot’. billy is initially able to say he used one of max’s soaps because he ran out, but that won’t fly for long. he eventually stops using them and lets the little collection he’s gathered sit under the sink in the bathroom to collect dust.

then he starts spending more time with steve. just needing to get out of his own house and out of his own bed for just a couple hours of the day he goes over to steve’s when he’s not at work. steve is constantly telling billy he enjoys his company but billy continues to apologize for burdening him. he’s not used to people just caring, and it’s especially foreign coming from steve for several reasons. one being that less than a year prior he nearly put him in the hospital. the second being that steve was a man, and there has never been a man in his life to actually care about him in that way. worried for his safety and well being. so billy tried to pull away, because he wasn’t going to allow him to let someone in just to be turned away at the door a second later.

but steve gets absolutely sick of it. sick of billy pulling away and believing he’s undeserving so steve practically forced him to believe it by kissing him the very next time he walks through the door. a very risky act on his part but he’s grown to trust billy over time that he’s not as worried as he could be for the outcome. he’s relieved when billy kisses him back, dropping a duffle bag to the floor that went completely unnoticed by steve as he was too locked in on billy’s lips. too locked in to notice the black eye that he only spotted when they pulled apart. too enthralled with the fact that he was kissing billy to taste the blood in his mouth. he’d ran away this time. he packed a bag and left and hoped steve would take him in. being met with a kiss right off the bat was the best thing that could have happened when steve opened that door. like the huge favor he was about to ask for almost became a small request because steve was inviting him into more than just his home. the kiss was an invitation into his life, and invitation for his care and love and all the mushy gushy stuff.

“I need a place to stay.”

steve, obviously and literally, welcomes billy into his home with open arms. immediately taking him to the bathroom to fix up the damage his father inflicted. steve kneeling before him while he sits on the toilet seat in complete silence. acting as if they didn’t have each other’s tongues down their throat just moments ago. both of them deciding it wasn’t the best time to talk about it. billy looked absolutely exhausted and worn and desperately needed sleep, and a nice bath (I know I just veered way off course but back to the regularly scheduled programming).

it was actually steve’s suggestion. noting the aches in his legs and back would probably be happy to be submerged under hot water. steve runs him the bath and goes to grab billy’s duffle upon request. steve gives him a soft kiss to the top of his head, before he leaves telling him they can talk about everything in the morning, and for him to just relax and take his time.

billy rummages for the small box he remembered to pack that’s filled with all the fun scents that max had been gifting him, after having to switch to using unscented alternatives which were nice but didn’t give him that same feeling.

he quickly picks out the cotton candy scented one that he’s been dying to try out. because what does cotton candy even smell like? he drops the bath bomb into the water and watches as it sizzles and quickly turns the water pink. oh if neil were there to see his sun soaking in a tub filled with pink water smelling like a fucking candy shop owner he’d do more damage than what had been inflicted earlier that night.

despite the developing bruises all over his body and the sting as the contents of the bath bomb filled his open wounds, he hadn’t felt this good in months. physically he felt like shit. but he was mentally and emotionally euphoric. running off the high from just minutes ago having steve harrington’s lips on his. the boy he believed to have been so far out of reach and was happy enough to just appreciate from afar. it felt unreal and like it was a dream. all that combined with the surprisingly intoxicatingly amazing aroma filling his senses and the feeling of rejoice as he finally took the steps to leave the clutches of his abuser and was so much more than successful. it was sheer bliss accompanied by aches and pains from past and present inflictions that didn’t seem so bad anymore.

steve and billy sleep in the same bed that night. they don’t cuddle or even so much as let limb touch limb, still unsure of the boundaries. but even with the distance between them steve can smell the unfamiliar candy like scent and takes it all in.

when they wake up in the morning they talk everything over during breakfast. billy tells him how his father just came home and started pounding into him completely unprompted. shouting slurs at him. the smell of whiskey potent on his breath. billy truly knew then that it was no longer about what he did or did not do. he’d feel his wrath regardless. and steve had scolded him about self preservation before and finally decided to take his advice.

then they adress the even larger elephant in the room, their kiss. it’s not that they were avoiding the topic per se, but they were definitely afraid to abandon this good feeling by talking about it. but they bite the bullet anyway, and they don’t regret that they do. despite how uncomfortable it is for billy to talk open about his feelings, especially these kinds of feelings, he feels something inside him release at the confession. like everything he was holding inside of him is free to the open air and steve takes hold of it and cherishes it.

their little unspoken thing that has been developing over the course of a few months finally being spoken. finally giving a name to the meaning to it all. of their late at night trips to the quarry. sharing a joint as they stare at the water below as it reflects the night sky. of their movie marathons on steve’s living room couch. giving meaning to each individual brush of the knee under the shared blanket. of stolen glances and words said under their breath. of thoughts of the other invading their dreams at night. a name to it all.

it’s a strange adjustment. to go from two guys secretly pining over each other from afar to instantaneously dating and living together. sharing a bed together, sharing meals together. things they were so used to doing alone now having a guest. it was nice and strange at the same time but they both welcomed it. waking up under the warmth of another human being. getting to see each other at their worst, when they were riddled with bed head and morning breath, and loving each other all the same.

what they did in bed wasn’t fucking. screwing. banging. it was much more. it was unfair to use those words that once described their previous encounters to describe what they did with each other. it was much different. putting their partners pleasure above their own. yearning for each other’s lips upon their own above anything else. as cheesy and corny as it is it was, they made love.

things moved awfully quickly. the two of them knowing they were in love with each other from the very start, however never saying the words out loud. they didn’t go through the normal stages of a relationship. they skipped a lot of steps and that led to some bad days. sometimes they spent too much time together, and billy’s on true safe haven came in spherical shaped and wrapped in noisy plastic, rather than a can of beer or a pack of marlboro’s.

that’s where he goes when things get shaky between the two. when he feels his fists clenching against his will and the veins on his forehead make their presence known. he escapes a potentially bad situation and lets his anger rise out of him with the steam of the hot water, and dissipate into nothingness. cleansing himself of the hurt. scars hidden under opaque colorful water.

the problem is steve doesn’t like when billy leaves him alone without word. he understands he needs his space, but he wishes he’d only talk to him about it before walking off.

on one day, when billy left mid conversation, steve follows. he honestly doesn’t know what he thought billy did in the bathroom for hours, and he’s not sure why he’s surprised to find his boyfriend laid out in a bath full of deep blue water with his eyes closed just relaxing. noticing the rise and fall of his chest as he takes in deep calming breaths. noticing the beach like scent that floods the room.

“can I join you?” steve finally asks. very intrigued in what all of this is.

billy thought he’d be more upset about steve bathing in. about him completely disregarding his need for space, but he wasn’t. perhaps space wasn’t really the thing he needed. he gestures to the other end of the tub, signaling the affirmative.

steve strips and slowly lowers himself into the tub. he’s facing billy who has since gone back and shut his eyes, head pointed to the ceiling. the water is very hot but feels really good on his skin. he has his legs pulled up to his chest as to not disturb billy. he just watches him as he relaxes completely. a state he rarely, if ever, has seen him in.

after several minutes billy opens his eyes and pulls steve over towards him so now they are both facing the same direction and steve is sitting in between billy’s legs. he has his arms wrapped around him and kisses his shoulder.

“I’m sorry for just walking out.”

“it’s okay. I get it.” steve responds, bringing his own hand to lay on top of both of billy’s that grip his stomach. “wanna tell me how you made the water turn blue?”

“magic.”

steve laughs and leans into billy, closing his eyes like he had and completely understanding almost instantly. it’s like he goes somewhere else. somewhere warm that smells of the ocean. somewhere nice and serene. he could easily fall asleep right there in billy’s arms. allowing himself to prune up under the water.

it’s something they continue together. when they both feel like they’ve had enough of each other for the day, instead of going off on their own, they strip down and enjoy a moment together in the tub. closing their eyes and imagining far away places while wrapped up in each other. a reminder that they’re both still there for each other. alone but together. dealing with their issues as a unit. feeling clean and smelling good afterwards.

steve comes home one day lugging in multiple bags worth of bath bombs along with other fun stuff like bath salts and bubble bars. their bathroom cupboards are better stocked than their kitchen. they both admit it might be just a little excessive.

but it doesn’t matter. because it’s perfect for them. any fight, any argument, any disagreement. all it takes is a brightly colored bath bomb and all that tension disaplears under the sizzle. it’s strange knowing they have max to thank for all of it.

[witchesoz]

After Oz: Legends of Oz

I hesitated before doing this one, because this movie is mostly based on the book "Dorothy of Oz" by Roger S. Baum, and I haven't read said book. It is something that tends to get on my nerve, when people actually don't care about the original material an adaptation was based on, and consider the adaptation as its own entirely original piece of work, when in fact, a lot of it was taken from somebody's else work. I mean, the perfect exemple is Shining. Some people praise Kubrick for being a pure genius for inventing this story from A to Z, and consider Stephen's King television series a "poor attempt at a remake of the movie", when... you know, King originally wrote the Shining and Kubrick merely adapted it. In fact, people tend to forget most of Kubrick's movies were adaptation. Dr. Strangelove? Loosely based on "Red Alert". Lolita? Everyone knows it is Nabokov. A Clockwork Orange? Anthony Burgess. 2001: Space Odyssey? Inspired by shorts stories of Clarke, the co-author. Eyes Wide Shut? A 1920s German book, Traumnovelle. And so forth and so forth...

  Hum. Sorry for the rant. I just needed to explain why I always want to take in consideration the original material when tackling an adaptation.  But since I haven't read and can't get this book, I will mostly rely myself on the Wikipedia plot and other reviews I read. If you wonder, yes, Roger S. Baum is Baum's great-grandson (or great-great-grandson?), and he wrote "Dorothy of Oz" as a direct sequel to the first book, "The Wizard of Oz", ignoring all of the others, and... apparently he is not a really good writer. But anyway... I still decided to do a little something about this movie, because... well just because I wanted    Oh yeah, another thing... an elephant in the room I have to adress right now. I only discovered it this year, by doing research about the movie (because before I only saw it at the time of its released and then forgot about it). You can know it, or completely ignore it - yes, I know that this whole movie was the result of a huge scam that robbed hundreds of people out of their money, and that the case has been even brought to trial. But... well the movie is still here, people still saw it, it is still around, will be for still quite a long time, and it is now part of the Oz inheritance, that you want it or not. Anyway, a lot of Oz movies had a dark and troubled production. It seems almost like a pre-requisite: if you do an Oz movie, you'll never end happy. Maybe it is a curse? Who knows.

       So... let's get into the subject. Is "Dorothy's Return" a bad movie? (I'll use this name, because "Legends of Oz" was the name of the intended franchise of three, maybe ten movies). I wouldn't say so. A lot of people said it was crap, or worthless, but I wouldn't call it bad. People also said that it is a bland movie, and I would say yes - but only partially. I think a good lot of the extreme bad reactions were caused because of 1- people who just disliked the idea of more Oz adaptations, 2- people too old for this movie, because you have to remember that this is a movie aiming at children and 3- people who are hard-die fans of the MGM movie and not so much of the original Oz books. It may also play in account that Dorothy's Return was roughly released the same year, and played as a "rival" to "Oz the Great and Powerful".

    Now, note that it isn't a memorable movie (except for a few bits). It isn't an excellent movie. It isn't a cult classic (even though it may become it with the whole scam background, who knows?). It isn't something I would watch again and again with pleasure. It isn't something exceptionnal or groundbreaking, it is even quite generic. But, it has some good parts, and it manages to be entertaining, and honestly as a child I could have sit in front of it and watch it with no problem. Because, yes, it is a children movie. The action is rushed, the characters lack depth, some moments are too sugary-sweet or even cringy (for exemple the song "We'll work together". Seriously, I just looked away and sped up a bit because that was too sickening-sweet for me.) As a result, as a child movie they missed things that could have been really good (the old tree agreeing to be use for a boat, which is played straight up as him being killed, the characters even say so, but then it turns out he is still alive as a boat? You could have had a great, deep, fascinating almost philosophical moment, but you just waste it for a happy ending). Anyway, what was I saying? Yes, a children movie. As a result, some people called the movie "too simple". On the other side, people called the story "too confusing".

  To an Oz fan like me, it isn't actually confusing. It isn't at all - but indeed, for someone with a limited knowledge of Oz, it will be confusing. Because, while they base themselves on an Oz book that re-uses many elements from the books (the Queen of the Field Mices, the Sawhorse, the China Country...) it also decided to include a lot of elements from the MGM movie (the Wicked Witch of the West is the one from the MGM, Glinda is also quasi-identical from her MGM counterpart, the Winged Monkeys work with the evil people...). As a result, yeah, it may be confusing. But the inclusion of the MGM elements actually managed to correct some flaws of the original story. For exemple, in Roger S Baum's book, the Jester was merely a normal jester possessed by the ghost of the Wicked Witch of the West, through her magic wand. Wait, magic wand? There wasn't any magic wand mentionned in the original book! But in the movie, to use the broomstick of the Wicked Witch makes much more sense.

      I'll take a short time here to comment on the character of the Jester, who is, I think, the highest point of this movie. He is a good villain. A cliché but interesting backstory cashing on the idea of Oz vilains as siblings, a clear shout-out to the Joker which isn't so bad, interesting plans. He is also the provider of many nightmarish elements (the fate of Dorothy's companions, which I think was a very good idea, or the people turning into puppets and being used for a creepy dance) that made this Oz movie feel... well Ozian. Because a good Oz work is a work that will traumatize your kids! I guess a bit part of why the Jester works so well is that he basically repeats and remakes all his sister, the Wicked Witch, did in the MGM movie, and let's be honest, she was a great villain. (And this again makes sense when you remember the Jester is originally supposed to be possessed by the Witch's ghost). But at the same time he has his distinctive signature and style, with his Jester persona, his circus-related punishment and his personal plots to conquer Oz. [People noticed obviously the sweet irony of things in this movie. You have a double-character that, on the Earth world is a cheater and criminal trying to steal people of their houses and using several fake identities, while in Oz it is a villain that turns people into puppets he can manipulate and relies mostly on cheating and misleading Dorothy to her doom. Which is eerily similar to what the creators of the movie/franchise did with their financers and investors.]

  Talking about the Earth side... The whole "earthly" parts are all bland and not memorable. Just like Dorothy, who isn't really... anything to be honest. The songs sung aren't memorable either. All of that is a fail. A lot of people also considered the Earthly animation uncanny, or even disturbing, but I personally wasn't bugged by it at all. I saw much more uncanny animation.

    When it comes to the Oz part, I actually think they managed to create a perfect "Ozian story". As in, the general schema of the girl entering in Oz through an uncommon mean (here a people-eating rainbow, that I have to say was quite a scary scene to look at), then passing through many small kingdoms, meeting new friends, forming a team, discovering the villain and fighting him off - this plot was repeated by Baum times and times and times again, and probably comes from the original novel Dorothy of Oz. But it still works, as simple as it can be. Plus, the use of the China Country and the Candy County (I think its their name?) was quite a good choice. The China Country was one of Baum's earliest invention, while the Candy County (originating from the Roger S Baum book) is eerily similar to the Bunbury village, an invention of Baum, inhabited by living baked goods that also get angry at the protagonists for trying to eating them. Yes, all in all, the characters feel really Ozian. As for the other member of the team, "Wiser the Owl". Well... he had the potential to feel an interesting and Baum-ian character. But it falls flat because he just becomes one living fat joke. I mean, fat jokes can be funny. But when the character is mostly the joke itself well... yeah, not really working. He had a much interesting role in the prequel comic book.  

   Because yes, there is a comic book associated with this movie! As I said before, originally the project was to create a franchise of several movies, with toys, goodies, applications and video games. (Or at least that was the project the scam used). The comic is however found under the original title for the movie "Dorothy of Oz". I don't have much to say about it, outside that is was quite pleasing (even though it sometimes doesn't make sense when put in direct relationship to the movie), and that it introduced one interesting idea: that the magic of the broomstick/Witch relied mostly on manipulating the weather and nature. The Jester causes a flood to destroy the Munchkin town, he causes an earthquake to break the China Country, he uses heatwaves to melt the Candy County... And another interesting point, the role of Wiser. Indeed, in the movie he is presented as a "motor-mouth" that keeps talking about everything, knows a lot of stuff and has the tendency to finish other people's sentences. But it gets quickly overshadowed by the fat jokes (cause a big part of his character is that he used to be able to fly but now, because of his love for candy, he is too fat to fly). However, in the comic book he has rather the role of the one voice of reason and intelligence that offers down-to-earth, simple solutions to problems where the other Ozians search for more extravagant and magical possibilities. Exemple (SPOILERS: when trying to create a rainbow, the team searches everywhere, thinks of asking witches, wizards and candy makers. Wiser has to remind them that anybody can create a rainbow with just a good crystal and some light. SPOILER ENDING.)  

   (I actually read the comic book before looking at the movie, which may explain why I consider it better than the movie.) To return to my opinion on the movie... Not the greatest Oz movie, but certainly not the worst. Average, but on the good side. Entertaining and interesting, even though bland and generic. They got the feeling of an Oz story but they just didn't found a way to freshen up or make the story shine on its own. A good villain for a heroine easy to forget. Simple. Ideal for children, or to kill time, or just to inspire one for more Oz work.

[jellicle-jemmy]

Here is part 2 of my CATS (2019) thoughts that I wrote when I watched the movie for the first time 2 years ago!

Beautiful Ghosts

Francesca you’re doing wonderful sweetie

You’re obviously not a trained singer, but for the purpose of your character’s plot point and reason to be singing it fits so perfectly

Though the arc of beloning with the jellicles came too fast and too soon in the film

She should’ve sung verse 1, chorus, verse 2 and maybe another chorus now and then the bridge later in the film

Moments of Happiness

Judi Dench no

Bring in Syllabub

That is all

Dialogue Interlude

Okay I didn’t mind this bit

However Victoria had already had the arc that she belongs with the Jellicles so her apprehension didn’t make sense

Gus The Theatre Cat

Does ALW suddenly have something against duets?

God Bless Ian McKellen but this number was really quite bleh

I did notice Skimbles putting his tap shoes on side stage

Would’ve been cuter if Misto did the duet with him

Magic Misto boy was cute at the end tho

WHY SO MUCH YOWLING THO??!!

That “I could do it again” comment was a nice nod though

I’m still not entirely sure how Macavity makes Gus disappear but alright then

Skimbleshanks

This is another number that I really enjoyed

Munkymoo again ur doing so good

Also ur little duet with your daughter syllabub - I saw that and I loved it

Tap dancing skimbles is not something i thought i’d like, but I did really like it

It was a really fun number

How they got to the traintracks, idk but ya know what who cares

Thinking about it now, the transition from the tracks to carriage, I’m just imagining like several minutes of awkward silence as they all shuffle onto a carriage and then “5, 6, 7, 8-″ and the number continues

Plato and Socrates being the guard asking about the tea was adorable

It took everything in me to not shout “WEAK OR STRONG”

Also not totally hating on Skimbles redesign

Deadass though, 2019!Skimbles X 2019! Jenny wouldn’t work

But yeah this is a fun number

OKAY NOW SKIMBLES IS A FAIRY FLYER OKAY THEN

He Jay Jay Jetplaned right up there huh

All the other kidnapping, Macavity put actual effort, but Skimbles just went fwoop fwoop fwoop up into the sky

Macavity The Mystery Cat

Okay

Okay then

Here we go

Taylor Swift

This number would actually be good if the CGI didn’t look appalling and Taylor Swift wasn’t singing like that

It’s so breathy and weak wtf

Are you trying to be sexy? That ain’t sexy hun. That ain’t it cheif

Low key want a bedazzled thing that says catnip ngl

This choreography is really.... somethin’

Honestly, the best thing about this number was the cinema’s horrified gasps when nakey nakey macavity showed up

Listen listen, mac’s appearance wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t look like he had oil on him, rather than fur!! longer fur please i beg of you

shortest short hair in the history of the world

ALSO DRUGGING OF THE CATS

WTF

The catnip looks like fireflies from hell

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer being Bomba’s assistants? Gold. Love it

Why didn’t you do more with Griddlebone? Why didn’t you do more with Griddlebone?!

I never needed to see Taylor Swift and Oiled Up Idris Elba as cats dancing, let alone up a staircase straight from a 1940′s Broadway Musical

Kidnapping Interlude

Dooch (Old Doot Dench) really just said “access denied”

“I judge a cat on his soul” “he has soul!” “i’ve got plenty of soul”

The way that Lonz (???) and Munk all but flying over to M&R - fuckig superb you funky protectors

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer you wonderful chaotic dumbasses what did you think was going to happen

All of the contestants tied up? Yeah okay. Skimbles looks like he’s suffocating and everyone else is just fine with it I guess?

“Walk the plank”

Magical Mr Mistofelees

In case y’all haven’t heard, Laurie Davidson aka Mr Mistofelees is babey

Who is biting on Misto’s hat?

Also Syllabub you are so into this and I love it!

I’m about to say something controversial please don’t come for me - I think it worked that Munk and Misto were singing Mr Mistofelees

Who needs a hype man when you’ve got the Jellicle Tribe?

Cass’ face is a mood and a half and I high key want a gif of it

Victoria’s faith in him is beautiful

Oh no I’m shipping them

oh no

that wasn’t part of the plan

Syllabub you are literally the most fascinated out of the whole group and I adore you so damn much

The summoning attempts went on maybe a little bit too long and there wasn’t as much theatrics about as I had hoped

The happiness on the Jellicles faces is wholesome as heck though - especially Munk and also Tugger

And then misto flew and honestly I am so proud of him

He is my son! Look at my son go!

Also the ending bit with Vic and Misto dancing together in the middle for some reason gave me flashbacks to the end of the Greatest Showman

But very cute

Memory (Reprise)

Let’s first of all address the elephant in the room: I am still furious that they gave Syllabub/Jemima’s roles to Victoria and that definitely showed while I was watching it BUT-

I don’t think it would’ve worked in the film if Syllabub sang those bits

Syllabub works in the show, not the movie

Ummmm why is Victoria touching Griz before the “touch me” line???

Everyone’s - especially Munk’s - distaste for Griz as Vic leads her in was just really good and I liked it

The reprise is better than the original

The way that Cassandra’s expressions and actions change, especially during this number really makes it seem like she is the daughter of Griz and deadass I’m here for it

Still mad about Syllabub’s not getting to sing her but but it’s fiiiiiiine i guessss

Also there is a shot of Syllabub and Demeter together somewhere during this scene and I 1) don’t care that they don’t look anything alike and 2) don’t know who I have to sell my soul to but I will find it and treasure it

MUNK CRYING HURT MY SOUL AND HEART OF HEARTS

THAT’S NOT OKAY

NOT AT ALL

MY HEART IS ACHING

Macavity Battle

What the heck is this? It’s epic music that our pal Munkystripes uses to fight Mr Macaroni but it’s... a comedy?

“Don’t mess with the crazy cat lady” Rebel why

Also why did jenny unzip herself again i didn’t like it the first time, why is it even worse in the second but

oop Macavity’s not there

Ahh the use of the Firefrorefiddle line to scare Growltiger off, I genuinely adore

Journey to the Heaviside Layer

Ughh those harmonies always get me going

Again I am all eyes on Sillabub

I wondered how they were going to do the ascension into the heaviside layer

Not like that

Not like that

Chandelier and hot air balloon............oooookay then

All the cats on the lion being happy to see their kidnapped pals was genuinely sweet

Also Syllabub got to stand with all like the other named cats, and not with the ensemble which makes my heart happy

Macavity wtf

The Addressing of Cats

God, I really do ship Mistoria in this film huh? Was the plotline rushed? Yes. Does my hopeless romantic heart care? Nope!

Dooch really just went 😐 huh

I hate it

No

Nope.

The adressing of cats should be a final part of the ceremony not a fucking fourth wall break jesus christ

Okay, but Munk’s reaction when Dooch started talking about food

hhhhh Babey

Though if Dooch could stop staring into my soul, that’d be appreciated

“I believe you are a Jellicle Cat - a dear little cat”

I liked that line for two reasons. 1) It is a nod to the origin to the phrase “Jellicle cat”. 2) It makes me think that that is the only true qualifications to be a Jellicle, making Victoria undoubtedly a Jellicle because have you seen her??

Was that final shot of the balloon necessary?