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baeshijima · 3 years

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𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫!𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫!𝐲/𝐧

A/N : i have nothing to say other than the fact there will be an excessive amount of twitch slang bc why tf not + just,,, heavy streamer!albedo brainrot ;-;

masterlist

AIGHT

streamer albedo

…

pog—

so before we get into him being whipped for u, let’s go over the type of strimmer mr Kreideprinz is

fun fact that’s his twitch name—

albedo would be the type to do lots of variety streams of different games, but also the occasional art one if he wants to have a chill stream with his chat !!

speaking of chat… they’re an odd mix of wholesome supporters, KAPPA + POGGERS + catJAM (bc he always has some bangers on in the bg like yes u bless our ears my guy) + KEKW + EZ Clap + his own emotes spammers, mr albedo’s very own shrimps (me, ahEm—), and ppl who just appreciate his voice + gameplay

if there’s a troll he just bans them OMEGALUL

omg he has lots of emotes (which he made in some of his art streams so his viewers could choose some) for every scenario but we’ll get into the popular ones in a bit 👁👁

he’s most definitely one of the bigger, well-known streamers but with a smaller group of friends

his discord server has,,, a lot of ppl,,, 70k+ ppl big,,, rip notifs if ur in it ;-;

he has it muted tho 🐥 like, sir, that’s ur server pay the goddamn price smh

wait i forgot to mention this but he has his webcam on when streaming

so u can bet ur chickens that when ppl come to visit his stream bc of whatever category he has on, they stay for his visuals and voice <33

his twt 🤡 mans gets 1k+ likes, rts, comments within the first 5-10 mins

omg he gets soft when he receives sm support from his community 🥺🥺

gifts so many subs when hitting milestones, chat is wholesome or just whenever really HJKSDHKL

also doesn’t swear much unless he gets played by his own game and/or someone is being incredibly annoying <//3

he also just,,, eats on stream

albedo straight up takes his webcam with him to show him cooking if his viewers ask for it

or he just orders food then and there and eats while chatting to everyone or watching youtube with his chat 🥺

nOW ONTO HIM BEING WHIPPED FOR U AS A GENSHIN STREAMER

this AR55 man 👩‍🦯

he can literally produce content from anything

from artifact farming, to spiral abyss, to running around mindlessly, to building characters he would normally never build, to him seeing how high up is considered too high to dive

and everyone eats it up bc it’s albedo <3

also !! he’s the type who includes the story quests in his streams so his reaction and thoughts on everything is just,,, there

now when u were first introduced in the prologue (yes ur one of the ogs + involved in the dvalin fight <33) he blanked and all his viewers could see was u on screen with him staring blankly in the bottom right of the screen

this man straight up saw u in a cutscene for one second and fell in love

his chat went wild omfg

he immediately made an emote for u and that’s his most popular one 😌

but i kid u not, the moment u appeared in that cutscene (one in which he will forever treasure in the crevices of his heart) was the moment he asked this exact question ;

“ so (y/n) banner when? ”

and mihoyo heard his pleas and answered with ur event banner

except it was like,, 4 months later

at least ur finally here tho :’)

now he can have his lil science-y moments with ur voicelines ;-;

yes, ur the chief alchemist but ✨ 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 ✨

. . .

shut up

n e who

when he saw the notification from mihoyo’s official forums that u will be a playable character in the new update — along with new characters, region, events & a domain — i shit u not he did a rt, his own tweet, an announcement on the community feature on youtube, and made constant reminders to his viewers on twitch abt how he will be a (y/n) haver no matter what

he even added future (y/n) haver in his twt display name

what a shrimp—

the 1.2 update stream 🐥 he was there waiting for it to go live with like,,, 19k viewers spamming his chat abt predictions and obv ur official release + showcase

and when i say this man fell even more in love while watching ur trailer and character showcase 🥺 he wouldn’t stop smiling or being in awe bc ur just??? so stunning???

mihoyo clearly has a favourite child and it’s u

chat was spamming ur exclusive emote like crazy oml

u can bet it was also flooded with lots of POGs and POGGERS

overall it was a very fun, chaotic stream filled with lots of (y/n) appreciation and love <33

also a very memorable stream for all his viewers bc of the side of albedo they rarely see unless ur involved

the day ur banner was to go live tho 🐥

the streams leading up to the fateful day consisted of him farming ur mats

that’s it

boss runs, local specialties, hero wits, talent books, the mats needed for ur weapon he was inevitably going to pull for (only the best for the best, afterall) and many domain runs

many painful domain runs

all of it was worth it tho bc ur worth everything :’)

an actual quote said by him—

at least he can get u and ur weapon to lvl 90 right off the bat with all the artifacts tailored for u ;-;

and get u to that point he did HJSDKJF

once ur banner dropped? immediately started wishing

2 multis in and he gets u 😣

albedo nearly cried and was the literal embodiment of head in hands

wHEN I SAY HIS CHAT BLEW TF UP AND HIS MODS JOINED IN

modCheck has left the chat

everyone’s rooting for him :’)

pulled for ur weapon and got it in 1 multi

sir give me ur luck pls and ty

but yes he nearly choked on the gASP he let out while chat screamed even more

he blanked for a bit, i won’t lie ;-;

but when he realised this was real, he immediately went to his party set up and put u in

can we all get an f in the chat for his lvl 10 tartaglia 😔💔👊

his chat usually rages at him to build him but if he’s being honest, he cba

ur vl when he put u in the party tho <333

now he’s just spent half an hour running around with u, letting u do ur idle animations (will always be grateful for mihoyo creating u like this), reading ur very limited (for now—) character story and going through ur voicelines

ur morning & about us (when he unlocks it) voiceline >>>>> his heart be running laps rn i swear

eventually he does begin to build u after much admiration on his end and at lvl 1 with lvl 20 artifacts, u already have 1.6k atk 🐥

now after he levels u and ur weapon to lvl 90, u have 2.8k atk 🐥

rip mobs <//3

he now plays u as his main dps 😌

the kit initially designed for u is meant to be more for support?? kinda like the whole ganyu or zhongli debate abt them being a dps or a support/sub dps ;-;

except ur more utility like venti or bennett

and even though the majority said at the beginning (aka, mihoyo, pretty much any other streamer and the larger part of the fanbase) that ur meant for support, he said fuck that and built u as his main dps

and i won’t lie, u do more damage than any of his characters, and ppl who co op with him

ur his pride and joy :’)

he went to take a look at ur consts to see if they were worth the rng suffering and, lo-and-behold,

they were

so now he’s using all his saved primos for u to try and get ur c6 const, along with making ur weapon r5 :’)

his chat gets a free view of him internally suffering when the gold light doesn’t come, and his external suffering when he loses the 50/50

in the end, he decided to whale for u <33

after nearly an hour, he has u to c6 and ur weapon to r5 ;-;

now all he’s been doing the whole stream is running around with u in open world, doing his daily farming, doing more domain and boss runs, exploring the new region (dragonspine) + ur story quest

he’s saving the event quest for another stream bc ✨content✨

in ur quest, he had multiple heart attacks and now has many, many screenshots <3

he now has a zoomed in pic of ur face as his twt pfp <33

okay so i also feel like he’s not all that bothered abt getting characters to friendship level 10 immediately and would rather let it happen through time

but obv ur not any other character *proceeds to debby ryan at u*

even if ur not fit for a particular domain or boss, he still puts u in the party so when collecting the blossom/rewards, u can get the friendship exp ;-;

he just wants ur name card so he can show off okay 🥺

when he lets his viewers pick out the playlist, 98% of the songs are from ur character demo theme

they just know him so well 😩

they also just wanna see the way he smiles when he hears it play but shhhhhh

now he just has his in-game avatar as u, and ur namecard too <33

also his signature is just ;

“ (y/n)’s favourite streamer ”

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact headcanons #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact scenarios #genshin impact fluff #genshin impact albedo #genshin albedo #albedo #albedo x reader #genshin albedo x reader #genshin impact albedo x reader #albedo headcanons #albedo scenarios #albedo fluff #i will now cry bc i cant talk at him for a week #this is my parting post #streaming dreams

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siriuslyshewrote · 4 years

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To Build A Home

Bonnie Gold x Reader

Bonnie Gold x Reader

Warnings - angst city, graphic descriptions of Bonnies death, etc. Swearing too.

There is a house built out of stone

It was a normal morning at the campsite - the early dawn light peeking through the cracks in the thin curtains that were pulled across the windows, the birds singing their usual morning song, the crackling of the fire just audible outside the vardo. It was mornings like these that were your favourite, even though you had grown up in houses, then grand manors when the Shelby Company became rich, it was this vardo that you adored the most, though perhaps that was to do with its inhabitant.

Bonnie was sat behind you, on the bed, combing through your hair (that smelt strongly of woodsmoke, after a night of sitting around the fire). It was something he had always loved to do, ever since you started dating, around three years ago now, and it was something you loved too. There was something of a domestic bliss about it, and it reminded you a little of John and Esme, how they were. The thought was both sad and nostalgic.

You were both in a comfortable silence, too tired to speak, really, though your mind was whirring fast, as usual. You’d known you were pregnant for a few days, and it was partially why you were hiding out several miles from Small Heath, at the campsite, lest Polly or Lizzie figure it out. You weren’t so sure how to feel about it yet, and it was why you hadn’t told Bonnie. You were sure it would make everything so much more complicated. Later, you’d wish that you had come out with it there and then, told him. Perhaps, somehow, that would make things end up different.

Bonnie hummed a tune that you had played him on your gramophone a few days ago, proclaiming that you wanted that to be the song at your wedding. He had laughed at that, swirling you around to dance.

Wooden floors, walls and window sills

“You still like that song then, Bon?” You leant back, looking up at his face with a grin.

“I better hadn’t I? If we’re having it at our wedding.” His eyes sparkled. You couldn’t paint, but even if you could, you doubted you could capture the way his eyes looked at that moment - mischievous and soft and loving.

“You better hurry up and propose then.” You laughed, jokingly.

“You know I’d propose today if I thought you’d say yes.” He grinned, wrapping his arms around you in a cuddle.

“It’s not me you have to worry about saying yes. It’s my family.” You replied. “Maybe we should just elope. That’d be great.”

“Wouldn’t you want Pol there? Or Tommy and the others?”

You sighed.

“Yeah, I suppose. It would just be easier, is all.”

You furrowed your eyebrows , as you thought again about the pregnancy. You knew it would be so much easier to tell your family if you were already married. But Bonnie was right. It just wouldn’t be the same without them there - it wasn’t how Shelby weddings went.

His fingers danced across your forehead, smoothing out the crease that had formed there.

“What’re you worried about, ves’tacha?” His voice was concerned, and that was enough for your pregnancy hormones to make you want to cry. He would be ecstatic to have a baby, you knew that. But you didn’t know if you were, and that was what was preventing you from telling him.

“I...” You began. Do it now. Tell him. “Well, I-“

And that was when the gunshot rang through the camp, echoing in the vast silent space.

Tables and chairs worn by all of the dust

You both sat up so quickly you felt dizzy, a glance shared between the both of you.

“What the fuck?” You breathed, as you ran towards the steps, coming to a fast halt when you saw Abarama (the man who had quickly become a father figure to you) lying on the ground, his shoulder already drenched in dark red blood. Nausea struck you, as you froze, Bonnie dashing beside you, his gun in hand, his eyes wild and frantic, scanning around the area. For the first time since you met, Bonnie didn’t know what to do.

This is a place where I don't feel alone

“Hello, hello, we are the Billy Boys.”

The singing was eerie and terrifying, the men’s voices echoing through the most for a few seconds, until they appeared, so many of them, that immediately your stomach sank. Silently, Bonnie pulled you behind him, and you gripped onto his hand so tightly it would have been purple, if you looked. But your eyes were focusing on these strange men, ones you were sure you’d never met before. The Billy Boys were known to your family, of course they were, but you’d never had any problems with them. Until now, that was.

“We’re up to our knees in Fenian blood.”

You had an urge that was screaming for you to run, to get away from all of this, but you stayed frozen, as Bonnie raised his gun. You wanted to tell him that it would be of no use, not against all of them. You were sure you were going to be dead in only a few minutes. It just killed you that Bonnie would be going down with you. Your eyes filled with unwanted tears. You’d never been in a situation like this before - there was always Tommy or Arthur, or hell, even Finn, and they always had a plan, and you were always safe, but this time, it didn’t feel as such.

“Don’t tell them who you fucking are.” Bonnie murmured so quietly that it barely reached your ears. You squeezed his hand in affirmation, as you found your other hand subconsciously reaching for your stomach. The word Shelby would only sign your death warrant.

“Surrender or you’ll die.”

What was there to do except stand there and wait for them to approach?

“We are the Brighton Derry Billy Boys.”

It was only then you noticed what they dragged along with them, like some sick reenactment of the Bible. The wooden cross was the only sound, dragging along the leaves and sticks and mud, for a few seconds.

“Drop the peashooter, son.” The man, at the front of the crowd, spoke, as he almost strolled closer, so casual that for a moment you could believe that perhaps they didn’t want to harm.

Bonnie’s shoulders were tense, as he hesitated, before dropping the gun. The only weapon you had hit the ground without even a rustle of leaves. His hand squeezed yours thrice - a signal that meant everything would be okay, though the gesture felt like a lie now. You both knew that nothing would be okay. But that was Bonnie. He would be your protector and comforter until the end. No. Not the end.

The men dragged the cross right past you both without a second glance.

This is a place where I feel at home

“A broken broom stops all Gyspy curses, Mr Gold.” The man spoke again, directing his speech to Aberama. How had they known you were here? How had they known his name? Who the fuck had given the Golds up?

Aberama cried out in pain, as they hit him with an object, and Bonnie visibly flinched, his jaw set, one of his fists clenched so tightly his nails must have been digging in. You closed your eyes, praying this would somehow be a sick dream.

“Who the fuck are you?” Bonnie spat.

“Did you not hear my song? These gentlemen are the Billy Boys. And me?”

'Cause, I built a home

You wanted to push yourself in front of Bonnie, as the man came closer, stooping down to pick up the gun that was just dropped, but all your limbs were frozen like ice.

“I’m Jimmy.”

You saw the gun swing, like a baseball bat, into the side of Bonnies cheek, heard the sickening crunch of bones, as he crumpled like paper to the ground. You fell beside him, hands trying to grasp at his face, trying to help in the only way you could, the damp soil cold against your legs.

“Bon.” You whispered, eyes wide as he looked up at you with those eyes, those goddamn eyes, that you had so adored only ten minutes ago, but were now filled with so much pain that it almost physically hurt you.

For you

“Mouth broke so you can’t talk. But you don’t need to.”

The blood covered all of his face, sickeningly, as he tried to push you away from him, tried to save you from whatever was happening - because he didn’t know himself. The pained noises made you want to weep.

“Your body will be the lesson.”

“No!” You exclaimed, fear so thick in your voice that it shook, as you threw yourself in front of him, because that was Bonnie. That was the boy who had held you whilst you cried after John, who had taught you to love, who you were sure was the person you were supposed to be with forever.

For me

Jimmy kicked you aside like a piece of litter, his boot meeting with your face so harshly that you fell to the ground, the soil mixing with the blood from your nose, you lips, split from the impact, though it could be nothing compared to what they were doing to Bonnie. You pushed yourself up on shaky hands, tears, blood and mud mixing together.

“Stop! Please!” They hit Bonnie again, and you tried to dive for him, to shield him with your body because that was all you had left to help him with, but soon you were like Aberama, held down with someone foot so harshly you could barely move.

You could only watch as Bonnie became unconscious , could only plead and sob as they dragged him towards the cross, your fingers digging into the dirt, your body still trying to move. It was too late.

Until it disappeared

The gunshot rang.

And that was when you began to scream, guttural ones that tore at your vocal cords like knives. Because Bonnie was gone. And nothing could ever be the same again.

*************************************************From me

From you

You sat in Polly’s living room, dazed, half unsure how you even got here. Like the movies Ada loved to go see, the scenes you had seen repeated over and over in your mind, like they were branded there. The tea she had given you was still clutched in your hands, but it was cold now.

The door opened. You barely registered it.

“Y/N.”

Tommy was stood there, hands in his pockets, and you looked away, trying to contain the emotions that spun around you like a storm. Flashes of memories between you and Bonnie appeared in your mind, but everytike you remembered his grinning face it was marred by the macabre horrors you had seen ... how long ago was it? Hours, minutes, seconds. It all felt the same.

And now, it's time to leave and turn to dust

“I’m sorry.” Tommy’s voice was quiet.

“You’re sorry?” You looked up at him, bloodshot eyes, a twisted expression. “You’re fucking sorry?”

“Love-“ Polly’s voice sounded from beside you, her hands going to comfort you. Like you had tried to comfort Bon.

“Bonnie is fucking dead! And all you have to say is sorry?” Your voice was raw and loud, as you stood, the teacup dripping from your hands, spilling all over the carpet.

Tommy’s eyes, the piercing blue, showed no emotion, though you knew it was there.

“He died for your cause! He died because of you! If you had never .. started this fucking hell of a gang, he would still be here! Don’t you see that! So would John, and how many others?”

Out in the garden where we planted the seeds

Tears were dripping down your face, as you stopped only a few centimetres from your brother.

“Y/N/N, I-“

“Bonnie’s gone.” You sobbed, falling into his arms, as they tightened around you. You didn’t know if you hated him or loved him, but you needed a hug from him right now. “And it’s all our fault.”

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

There is a tree as old as me

The sun was warm, the summer heat hotter than you had ever known it, as you sat on the steps of the brightly painted vardo. Flies buzzed around a little, as you watched children run around, laughing raucously, barefoot in the meadow. The steps creaked beside you, and you looked up to see Esme, holding her not-so-little-now toddler in her arms, a soft smile on her face, hand smoothing over your hair.

Out of all the women in your family, it had been Esme who you had always gotten along with best, and so it was to no surprise to your family members that after Bonnie passed you went to living with Esme, and John’s kids, in the vardo’s that you had come to know and love so much with Bonnie. Besides - you had both gone through the same thing - watched the person you loved killed.

Branches were sewn by the color of green

“How you doing, kid?” She sat beside you, looking out at the countryside like you.

“It’s been a year. And it still hurts just as much.” You whispered. “Does it ever get easier?”

“It’ll always hurt. John...” She trailed off, before taking a deep breath. “I still miss John every day. I always will. You’ll always miss Bonnie too. But it gets better. It starts to hurt less. Those memories you have... the ones that hurt you, they start to get replaced with the good ones you had together.”

“It’s still in my head. I see it every night.”

She squeezed your free hand.

“It’ll get better. You’ve just got to ... wait out the storm.”

Ground had arose and passed it's knees

You smiled sadly at her.

“I hope that storm stops soon.”

“It will. Besides.” She spoke, reaching towards the bundle in your arms. “You’ve got this little one. He’ll help you.”

You smiled at the sleeping baby in your arms, the tufts of curly hair that sprouted from his hair. He had his eyes, when he opened them, the ones you had vowed to paint, once upon a time. He looked exactly like his father, did little Bonnie.

“Yeah. He will.” You said softly.

I held on as tightly as you held onto me

#bonnie gold x reader #bonnie gold #bonnie gold imagines #bonnie gold imagine #peaky blinder headcanon #peaky blinders headcanon #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinders imagines #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders #tommy shelby

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talesofealdancynedom · 3 years

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Electra, grown, with her selkie furs.

Tale 31: If We Lost The Sea Wives (chapter 3 - Electra’s coat 3/5 ) part 7. Stories of Magic Forests

no warings

Fey are made by The Beast Kings, and thus magic itself. They know no time, feel no hate, take no side, and cannot form judgement. They are unable to age, and are stuck in an immature state. But that’s their charm. Fey are both very human, but distinctly not. Neither animal, nor person. Their humanness is why people love them, and requite fey affection on occasion. This is the only way a fey can have parents; Instead of being formed by magic itself, fey can breed if they know true love. The child will always be the same fey as it’s fey parent, but will also always be raised like a human.

Saturn Firepot and his selkie wife, Iearda were expecting a baby. She did not comprehend the array of emotional human responses, or even notice she was with child. But Saturn of coarse, was excitemed. The cabin freshly finished, and in the fire of love, his life felt like it couldn’t get any better. He had graduated with his specialist degree, and had begun his own research. Saturn felt like he was in his prime. In fact, his glasses were a little too rosy. Due seeing fey as human, Saturn forgot his one and only was a fish fey; And thus if the baby was a girl, she too would be a selkie. A daughter would need to be fully submerged to turn into a seal, in order to survive. A son would just be a regular human boy. Nowhere in the other ten lands, was not knowing the gender of your baby, been so stressful. Worse yet, the home birthing culture was intense, due to the commonality of men marrying and reproducing with sea wives. Selkies were known to bite in such stressful times, and partially still had their seal teeth. A blood wound was nothing, compared to the fact Saturn was too ashamed of his predicament to do it all properly. He bought a tub to fill with sea water at their beach, and relied on the fact that fey don’t get birth complications; Because their made of magic, not biology.

Once the drama was over, and Firepot’s sea wife sat by the tide; Recovering without a clue what just happened. Meanwhile, Saturn bathed his daughter in the tub. Only Northland Sea water was good enough for his child. The adorable ross seal pup, starred up at him, barely able to swim. The baby just turned into a seal upon touching the water. While Saturn was distracted, someone entered the beach house. As grey mist suddenly settled, it felt like it was going to rain. Saturn took the pup out of the water to cradle her, as unease set in. When he looked at his new daughter, she was now a baby swaddled in a little white fur coat.

“She needs a name. Don’t worry, I’m used to it.” An ethereal woman’s voice chimed. Saturn looked up to see a large woman of his people, with long wavy ginger hair, eyes of the sea, and a large spiked crown; the Fish King, in all her beauty. Men however, become entranced upon seeing her land form, and Saturn was reduced into a catatonic state while the Fish King named the girl.

“Her name is Electrid. As her father, you get to know that. It’s ok if I tell you. I trust as a seer, you know the importance of a fey’s name.” The Fish King said, leaving through the glass sliding doors. The thin curtains blew, as a light salty breeze waved in. When Saturn came out of his trance, his daughter was crying, and the beach was empty. His selkie love had gone back to the sea. Saturn was left clutching his fey daughter, completely alone. He began rocking and sobbing with her, on his knees on the cabin floor. He had no local family, or friends. It was just him in a cabin, by a magic ocean, on an abandoned beach, looking into the infinite misty ocean. Heartbroken.

Saturn was destroyed that his one true love would put on her skin, and leave. She seemed so content the year and a half. It made Saturn feel secure. He wasn’t forcing her to stay however. Ierna’s coat always hung on the hat stand, by the porch. Fey often have no logical reason for their actions. As a seer of fey, he knew this. It is possible, that she may forget about him with time. Ierna had been away from the sea for so long, perhaps she missed it and wanted an extended vacation. Either way, Saturn decided he would never have it happen again. He took off his daughter’s snowy Selkie coat, and stuffed it in a trunk at the foot of his bed. Then he the girl in human baby clothes.

Without her skin, she was a normal baby girl; Normal enough to convince the local hospital to give her a birth certificate, and his last name. Human bottles, human food, human clothes, human language, and human books. He went the extra mile, to make sure no one knew Electra was anything but a regular daughter. He told lie after lie, to affirm he was a single parent. Any time Electra gazed into the sea, or couldn’t relate to the other children, Saturn would say everyone is different, and distract her with affection. Anything to prevent the most precious thing to him, form returning to the ocean forever. It had been years, and Ierna was still gone. Saturn had now become the cooky village wizard, living alone on a beach.

It is fair to say, that Saturn was so good at hiding Electra’s feyness, that everyone was fooled, including her. His apt knowledge of fey behaviour, from his job, meant he knew how to raise and teach her to be more like a person. The teeth were a little hard to explain sometimes; As mentioned, selkies have slightly seal like teeth, even in human form. All things considered, fey or not, both father and daughter got joy and fulfillment with only each other to love. Exclusive cuddle rights, fish pie, and Welsh cakes. Listening to radio shows, while playing on the beach with the other fey. Saturn had told all of them long ago, not to tell Electra or any other human, that she was a selkie. They loved him so much by then, they obliged without question. Each dragon, fairy, and fish, did not understand why a human would desire such a simple favour, but it was no problem as they have little to say to most common men.

Saturn became so lost in raising Electra, and keeping up the lie, that he forgot she would grow up. Without understanding human emotions. Electra often made assumptions about life stages, and appropriate social etiquette. Electra, shortly after graduating secondary school, came home with a young lad one afternoon. She had just gone out for cabbage, but also decided to pick up a boy she thought was cute as well.

“Daddy! Can he join us for dinner? I offered to show him our beach house and quiet bay. He said yes! He is so charming, and he dyed his hair orchid to match his kilt. It looks gleaming in traditional knots; and brings out his grey eyes! Oh, and he makes me smile, as everything he says is so sweet!” Electra ranted, starring at the man, like she was consumed by his essence. The boy seemed a bit rattled, and Saturn, as an overprotective father, was livid.

“Excuse me; Who are you? What are you doing with my daughter?” he said firmly.

“I’m Jasper of house Nix. She... She’s the local girl who wears the flowy dresses, and stares at me often; Oh, and she brings me daisies.” He responded. “I approached her, to ask why she was acting all odd; Then she asked if I wanted to go to the beach, and I said yes! She is by far, the most adorable maiden in town, and she looks just like you, I do say! Down to the grey eyes and ginger hair, she does! You must be her father?”

“Aye…” Saturn said. It was worse than he thought. Electra had become infatuated with an idiot. As the village of Isfisceard was used to magic, and mundane ladies of beauty swooning, it could blur together. The lad had no clue, Electra was a selkie. He assumed she was just charismatic and flirty.

“You built this beach house? It’s homey. I love the yellow and white cabin aesthetic, on the amber wood. This place smells of the ocean and my favourite black tea. Oh, and just look at the enchanting view!” Jasper said, looking into the sea. For once, Electra wasn’t looking into the ocean; She was looking at Jasper. Saturn shrugged, and offered him a beach-side picnic. He was indeed a very sweet boy. Jasper helped clean up, danced with Electra, spouted nothing but positivity, and may have been too stupid to know malice. He reminded Saturn of himself. It made him continue the lie, and preserve their innocent love. He could tell by the look on Electra’s face, she was more then just fond of him. Electra wouldn’t love again in his lifetime; Fey can’t become infatuated again, until their previous obsession dies, or they succumb to grief with the passing of the one who loved them back. This made Saturn invested in the pair. He wanted his little girl to be happy, and see their happily ever after, as his was so brief.

After almost a year of regular dating, Jasper requited her love, and moved into the beach house. They all shared black coffee, that mixed with the salty temperate breeze. They listened to the hum of the storms, gulls, and the sea shell wind chimes. Jasper and Saturn would sing together, for the sea fey, making Electra’s day. For all sea daughters love song. Everything seemed perfect again. Then Saturn got a job offer, in The Grand West. As a fey expert, and professor at an academy; He was being promoted. Assured his cabin, beach, and darling daughter was safe with Jasper, he accepted the offer. Like the call of a second chance, he was eager to take. Saturn took Electra’s coat with him, and continued to tell everyone his beautiful little girl, with a sort of inhuman beauty, was one hundred percent human. Anything to keep her happy, safe, and on land. Anything to make sure that when he returned, his baby girl would be there.

NEXT--->

<---PREVIOUS

#art #tales of ealdan cynedom #fantasy #selkie #story 31 #firepot #electra #short stories

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australian-desi · 4 years

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Rest In Peace ~ Sushant Singh Rajput

Hey guys, I was going into a spiral thinking about SSR and everything he went through and I needed somewhere to write my feelings down. There’s so much noise about this on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, I didn’t want to add to the noise, bashing and overall negativity, so found this to be the best place. I’m sorry in advance if I offend anyone. This is going to be very long.

Sushant Singh Rajput the Actor and Human:

I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t his biggest fan, not by a long shot. I watched him in Pavitra Rishta every now and then because my mum was obsessed with that show and I used to be confused as to why everyone was obsessed with Manav and Archana - I was 12 years old when the show started and just felt it was another saas-bahu serial. However, to this day it amazes me how Manav and Archana were able to capture their audience for three consecutive years when their story was another saas-bahu serial. It was obviously the actors portraying them, and it takes a lot to grab someone’s attention and keep it on yourself. SSR had that energy. I remember then he came onto Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa, I watched that show quite religiously because of my love for dance, and was bowled over by how good of a dancer he was. He had perfect lines, and his posture was amazing, I was in awe every time he danced. I remember that in that show he proposed to his then-gf in the cutest way possible, a proposal that is etched into my mind till this day.

He then left his daily soap, for a career in Bollywood, it was a very risky, bold move because it is a well known fact - Tellywood actors, are rarely able to make good careers in Bollywood. Most of them become irrelevant after their first or second movie. But man was everyone wrong about Sushant. I didn’t watch Kai Po Che, but I remember the buzz around it at the time, everyone was talking about it, and it was one of the biggest movies of that year. He then did Shuddh Desi Romance - a movie I was inclined to watch because he was in it, I was slowly turning into a fan, but I didn’t get the chance to watch it. Then came PK. When PK’s trailer was launched, SSR’s cameo was kept a secret, I remember I was in the theatre and he came onto the screen and absolutely owned it. His performance as Sarfaraz won me over, and a smile still comes to my face when I remember him in the song “chaar kadam”. SSR had an amazing screen presence, he knew how to keep the audience’s attention on himself and a lot of the time you would forget this Sushant Singh Rajput, in fact you would only think of him as his character. The brilliance in his craft was the ability to become his characters completely, to the point you think of them as a real person. The next movie I watched of his was MS Dhoni - a movie that became a sensation. Everyone who went to the movie as Dhoni fans, came back as Sushant’s fan. He deserved that and more. You could see his hardwork, his passion and his dedication in everything he did. I remember when the trailer for Raabta dropped, I was super excited two of my favourite actors - Sushant and Kriti had come together. At that point I started watching more interviews of him and got to know him a little from what he portrayed as a person. Raabta flopped at the box office, however, personally I enjoyed it and I was amazed at the chemistry he had with Kriti Sanon. In Kedarnath, I was so excited that Sara Ali Khan was doing her debut with him, and man both did not disappoint. Kedarnath was an amazing movie and Sushant portrayed his character with utmost conviction. Chichore was the last movie I watched of his and I absolutely loved the movie and him in it. The themes and overall message of that movie hit deep, and it was intelligently made, with comedy mixed with the darker themes, but not taking away from the main message they were trying to convey. Overall, even though I wasn’t a fan of him at the start of his career, he had won me over.

I also started adoring him as a person. His love for physics and astronomy; his eyes full of curiosity and enthusiasm towards the great unknowns. He didn’t finish his engineering degree, but the childlike wonder he had towards science made me excited as a scientist myself. He showed everyone that he had a brilliant mind and I’ve said this before and I’ll said it again, actors who are educated and well-spoken make me respect them more, they have a different way of thinking, they are eloquent and they show how much education can do for a person. SSR had all of these qualities. I could hear him speak for hours at a time. His instagram posts were always so deep and meaningful, it would make me thing differently, and his 50 things bucket list inspired me to no end. Especially how much he wanted to do for other people and how much he wanted to grow as a person. He also had an infectious smile, his smile used to make his fans smile and it takes a big person to do that.

SSR’s Death:

I was doing an assignment when one of my friend’s had sent me the news. I thought it was a hoax at first, but then I googled him, and it was true - Sushant Singh Rajput had committed suicide. Honestly, I’ve been distraught since then, I cried multiple times, and I can’t stop thinking about him, the pain he must’ve felt in order to take this decision, and whenever I saw his sisters or dad I cried even more, the sadness and despair I felt would be nothing compared to theirs, especially because his death was preventable. I’ve never been depressed, I’ve had my fair share of panic attacks and anxiety but I don’t know what depression is. I only know what I’ve studied, that people who are depressed have physiologically different brains to people who are not, they have decreased levels of oxytocin and serotonin, and that they have less grey matter. I’ve also been told that this causes them to not be able to function, they sleep too much, become unable to socialise, and their brain starts to turn them against themselves. However, I believe that there is always an underlying cause of depression. There are triggers for depression, a person doesn’t become depressed over nothing. I know everyone wants to know the trigger; why did he take such a drastic step, but he didn’t leave a note. He left with silence. I know it is difficult, but I feel that we should respect that, however, we should not let him die in vain.

But I’m going to be real here IT IS NOT OUR PLACE AS THE GENERAL PUBLIC/AUDIENCE OR FANS TO GO ONTO OTHER CELEBRITIES TWITTERS/FB/IG AND CALL THEM MURDERERS. How dare we think that we can blame other people for someone’s death. I don’t care how these people treated him while he was alive, let them mourn him in peace. His death has taught me one thing, not one person is toxic, not one industry is toxic, all of us are. The person who is now checking up on every single person that they usually would not care for because of guilt, the girl shouting all over my timeline that Karan Johar, Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt murdered SSR, the boy screaming that x person didn’t post about his death they wouldn’t be affected by this or they don’t care. Every single person. Everyone needs to stop with raging on social media. They need to take a step back and breathe, and mourn and let others mourn.

My take on Nepotism and Bollywood:

Here’s the crux of the issue. Bollywood. I’m your average desi girl, I’ve grown up watching bollywood, being obsessed with it. To the point that at a certain time I only watched Bollywood. Then the whole nepotism scandal hit. I remember thinking to myself then, what’s the big deal? Also did people really not think about this until an actress had to come speak about it on national television? Did no one realise that Bollywood has been preferring starkids over other talents for decades? I used to think that yeah, Bollywood has nepotism, but where does nepotism not exist. The truth is nepotism exists everywhere. A doctor’s child becomes a doctor. A business man’s child becomes a businessman etc. But here’s the thing, the doctor’s child has to work towards becoming a doctor, he/she has to go through the same steps that other non-doctor children have to do. The only advantage they get is, that their parents might be able to help prepare them for what’s coming, and it’s not like every doctor has doctor parents, both people get equal opportunity. The child of a doctor just has more insight. However, in Bollywood, there is no equal ground, it isn’t as if a starkid only has it easy to get their first movie. Nope, they sign their second or third movie before their first one releases. Take Sara Ali Khan for example, she had already signed Simmba, before Kedarnath had released. Now take Anushka Sharma, she didn’t get her second movie two years after the release of her first one. Nepotism does exist, it will exist, but in other industries, the people who aren’t a product of it are still able to get promoted, to do good work and receive equal opportunity. However, in Bollywood this is not the case. It has never been the case. This needs to change. This needs to desperately change. Especially because nepotism didn’t use to be as bad, as the products of nepotism were still talented, but now, they are not, and SSR’s death can bring this change, because Bollywood is losing it’s credibility, and as I consider Bollywood my own, my home, I want it to do better. Actors who come from non-film backgrounds and television deserve to share space in mainstream cinema with those who do come from film backgrounds.

Where From Here

In the past couple of years, we’ve become a horrible society. We pretend to like people when we meet them, and then bitch about them behind their back. We also think that whatever comes to our heads we can say to whatever celebrity the way we want because them being public figures is an open invitation for us to say hurtful things to them which normally we would not say if we meet them in person. We are the people who cry about nepotism, and then when a movie doesn’t have a big star in it we go “we’ll watch it at home, if we have time, why waste money going to the cinema”. We are the same people who cry about mental health issues and to raise awareness, when we think its absolutely fine to give a celebrity death threats because of a comment they made. We are also those people who cry about how SSR was treated unfairly, when we had a chance to go see his movies but didn’t. Who gave us this authority to be able to judge? Who gave us the right? If we won’t talk to other people with such disrespect in real life, why can we over the internet? WE. NEED. TO. DO. BETTER. AS. A. SOCIETY.

We need to stop shaming people, we need to support artists that aren’t star kids, but also support star kids. They don’t deserve the hate they get either. It isn’t completely their fault that they are given more opportunity. It’s our fault too. We are the ones who make them successful. Directors know that they could sell more tickets with Ranbir Kapoor on the poster than Sushant Singh Rajput, even if Sushant Singh Rajput is a better artist. We need to support both talents. We need to show filmmakers as an audience, that both artists should be given equal opportunity. That the only thing nepotism should do for a starkid is just give them insight on what a life of an actor is like. That is all. They should also go to auditions, they should also be accepted or rejected based on talent. And for the love of god, we need to stop getting celebrities to judge other celebrities based on acting skills and sex appeal. it’s 2020, we can do better.

Also to anyone who’s having any sort of dark thoughts. Please, I beg of you talk to someone. There is someone who loves you; your parents, siblings, teachers, friends, family, that brown guy in your dms. And if you truly don’t know anyone that you can talk to, talk to a therapist on a free hotline. My inbox is also always open if you want to chat.

To Sushant Singh Rajput - I will miss seeing you at the movies, your smile and your interviews, and how much of an inspiration you were to me. I hope you are at peace now, and finally found happiness.

For anyone who read this - thank you for reading my absolute ramble and I hope I made sense

Here’s a dumb joke to make you hopefully smile a little, or at least roll your eyes: What do you call bacteria found in Agra? Agraculture - does this even make sense. IDK. All I want to say is, that I’ve been an absolute dukhi aatma for the past couple of days, and now its time to smile, and look at some positives.

#Sushant Singh Rajput #TLDR #Nepotism #Bollywood #I tried my best to write less but pent up feelings came and became this mess #Live and let live #Be kind

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ritchieblackless · 4 years

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[Ranking Of Cozy music eras]

Well, as many of you know, Cozy did A LOT of things with many musicians and playing different styles. He appeared on at least 66 albums and counting another session work, some hidden works (Like Supertision and Ballroom Blitz) in total is nearly 90 things that he did! (that's why it took me so long, I had to listen to all again) but always one era will be better than other so... at the request of @thespiritofvexation (and I wanted to because is a excellent idea) here are the ranking of Cozy music eras.

Note: I'll try to be objective about this but also you'll get my opinion.

9. Whitesnake.

(As you can notice, Cozy's solo album is there. I put it because is in same era. I did this with all Cozy's solo albums 'cause the poor boy didn't have the time to make a proper solo career... he didn't like that very much anyway.)

Well first thing I'll highlight about this work... is the fact that his drumming is plain, so plain... for being Cozy Powell. You know, Blues rhythm, one bass drum and tomb with a little bit of cymbal... plain. But it's alright because the album needed that type of drumming (Not pun intended of course) I'm just saying that his drumming is so plain because the songs (Blues/Hard Rock) needed that, otherwise, it would have sounded a bit Rainbow-ish. Remember that Cozy was so versatile. He had a strong style but if the song needed the opposite of his style, he was going to do it.

Whitesnake era for me is not his best but LIVE. He on stage was another story. He was amazing.

Songs with Cozy's signature: Hungry For Love.

A side from Whitesnake we have his solo album which is one of his best works. Octopuss was a successful album. We have his mix between classical music and his drumming which is mind blowing. Hard Rock tracks like The Rattler, Formula One (Good one, Cozy) and Princetown and one ballad (Because he liked... a true sweetheart.) Dartmoore.

8. Michael Schenker Group.

His work here is what I like to call "Angry Drumming"

He didn't get along with Michael Schenker so they were fighting everytime. So all he did in this only album with MSG he did it angry... that's why is so good. He was "in mourning" trying to get over Rainbow so he had no better idea that making his drumming sound Rainbow-ish (I can relate) taking advantage of the situation that MSG was a heavy rock band. Not Rainbow, but still. There are a lot of Cozy's fills and Cozy's arrangements on the songs too more than Whitesnake.

Songs with Cozy’s signature: Attack Of The Mad Axeman, But I Want More and Feeling Like A Good Thing (Live).

Now, a side from MSG we have his second solo album. Tilt have jazz-fusion songs like Cat Moves. A rock tracks too like The Blister and Hot Rock. And with some funky thing like The Right Side with another ballad (Because he is a sweetheart) Sunset. Tilt was an anti-commercial album with a nice success. Also, the album have two “Dark” songs which are Living In A Lie and Jekyll Hyde (Inspired of course in Mr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde... Cozy’s favourite book... such a nerdy.)

7. Brian May Band.

We know how important Cozy was for Brian May’s solo career and Brian himself... (But I’ll not going to talk about this now, because I’m focused only on his drumming.)

Basically Brian told him “Be yourself, I don’t need a type of drumming” So that is what you listen when you listen those three albums... a free, happy Cozy. So powerful as always and creative. Of course Cozy had to be powerful because he was trying to cheer Brian up (He is so sweet). Believe me when I say that this is his best work in his last days! Its amazing the heavy-hand that he still had. For moments you think that you are listening Rainbow by the power of his drumming and the songs are completely stunning.

Songs with Cozy’s signature: Cyborg, The Guv’nor, Resurrection, Rollin’ Over.

Now, his solo album. The Drums Are Back was not a successful album with bad reviews saying that Cozy was recycling himself. I personally don’t think Cozy was recycling himself, I just think that he had his own way to do songs and make albums.In spite the bad critics and no success, the album was top ten in Japan.. HA! The Drums Are Back have really groovy songs like The Drums Are Back, Legend Of The Glass Mountain (He really never got over Rainbow..). Rock songs like The Rocket and Ride To Win. And three ballads (Because he is a sweet-... well you get it) Battle Hymn, Cryin’ and Somewhere In Time.

6. Peter Green Splinter Group.

This album is a proof of Cozy’s versatility and still young drumming.

He and Peter Green got along really well so their chemistry was reflected in the music and live performances (Unfortunately a very few with Cozy) Yeah, the whole album is basically blues, okay? But the thing is that Cozy, no matter how slow the blues was, he would let you know that was him playing the drums.And I need to say that: HE PLAYED BLACK MAGIC WOMAN WONDERFULLY... (just that, back to the point).

Peter didn't tell him how to play drums in Fleetwooc Mac’s songs, Cozy just did it and he did it fantastic. Also, his drumming sounded so young, so strong and with presence. Its mind blowing really because you don’t expect Cozy at the age of 50 playing strongly but he actually did. He did his drum roll thing with just one bass drum, he was still so noisy as always (I’m so sorry just this era puts me soft)

Songs with Cozy’s signature:Homework, Going Down.

And his solo-... oh... right... *Runs to bathroom to cry*

5. 80s Work.

Well, time to time (For not saying always) Cozy liked to participate in his friends’s albums when he had a little free time with the band that he was in at the time. I did this 80s work section here because I cant believe that amount of things that he did while he was playing in other bands (I mean, u r for real?)...I put the most popular ones but out there are a lot of unknown Cozy works in the 80s with several bands. I just felt that his 80s works deserved a position in the ranking. This is another proof of his versatility but, with a little of his style of course.

Songs with Cozy’s signature: Tender Babes by Jon Lord, Night Games by Graham Bonnet, Slow Dancer by Rober Plant, Believe by Tom Galley (Phenomena) Shakey Ground by Bernie Marsden, Running from The Storm by Gary Moore and well.. ETC (and many many etcs)

4. Black Sabbath

This is when Cozy turns his “Beast Mode” on.

I don’t know why, maybe because he knew what Black Sabbath was (Tony: Join my emo band.... Cozy: okay) and what it needed..? because that is his normal drumming..? (I'm sure that is his normal drumming.) But he literally blows your mind in every- fucking *wheezes* song. The three Black Sabbath albums are filled with unexpected Cozy's fills (No matter how many times you've listened to those albums, he is unexpected.) His beat is very heavy and very exact too. He was a fan of Bill Ward so I'll be not surprised if he tried to get that heaviness! (I mean, Cozy has his own heaviness but what I'm saying is that maybe Cozy wanted to make a proper Black Sabbath sound)

Songs with Cozy’s signature: Headless Cross, The Call Of The Wild. Basically all TYR and talk about Forbidden is forbidden... (I’m joking. Is a good album too)

3.Jeff Beck/ RAK

Well, for start I put them together because when Jeff Beck Group disbanded, the following year he signed a contract with Micky Most and RAK. So, he was a secessionist, a well-known secessionist. He was in the circle for someone who needed a powerful-jazzy style. It’s like the 80s works really (omg Cozy get a grip). He was a really demanded drummer, everyone wanted him and he eventually worked with everyone. He had a very well-known beat by that time, you easily can tell was Cozy but he also had to be more open to the different styles that he was asked to play (Basically he can’t play like him all the time). He also had some discredited stuff, like Ballroom Blitz by The Sweet (It’s so obvious) and Superstition by Steve Wonder (I know, I know that it says Stevie played everything BUT NOT IN THIS CASE DON’T BELIEVE HIM. What you hear in the song is Cozy playing.) and more like some Suzi Quatro’s songs.

Songs with Cozy’s signature: Ballroom Blitz, Superstition, Cosmic Wheels, Band Of The Salvation Army Band by Tony Ashton and Jon Lord.

Now his solo stuff: Here comes his baby, his household, his precious treasure, his (okay you get it) Dance With The Devil single. It’s a friendly instrumental which they did for a laugh but it became seriously successful... (Yes, they didn’t mean to do it but they did) Micky Most ask to Cozy if he wanted to be a single and Cozy said yes thinking that it was not going to be a big deal but *BUM* 1 Million of copies sold (Literally Cozy stayed at home two days laying looking at the ceiling because he can’t believe it) Of course they did the Dance with the devil part 2 which is Man In Black but it didn't work as well as the first one.They did Cozy Powell’s Hammer but it was kinda a fail too although the band had several tour dates.

This is when Cozy met his lost brother (okay no) This is when Cozy tried his best to play good jazz but instead came up this.. jazz fusion-rock-weird thing. So the thing here was: Jeff didn't know how to explain Cozy what the wanted him to play and Cozy was getting mad about it (Jeff: You can do ta.. tatada tss, ts ts ta da ta... Cozy: Honestly Jeff wtf?) so he did what he thought was better for the record and Ta-Da! Rough And Ready was born. Cozy’s drumming is a bit lighter and he uses a lot the cymbals for a swing-jazz rhythm.

Songs with Cozy’s signature: Going Down, Ice Cream Cakes, Situation, Short Business.

2. Rainbow.

(Omg Martina are you fcking crazy????) Yes I didn’t put Rainbow in the first place...A new hope for Cozy (This sounds like Star Wars movie or something)

Okay, this is one of his best eras because he was all recovered of his disappointment in music business in 1975. He literally gave up with music (poor babe) until Ritchie called him (Ritchie: Join my emo band... Cozy: okay) . He was ready and decided to show that he wasn't a poor drummer... and he did.He played all his tricks, he was so unpredictable and powerful. He actually was lead drummer (I’m not sure if that exists) He didn't played with the bass like a normal rhythm section, he played with Ritchie. Cozy live with Rainbow was so unbelievable, like the unexpected fill in Catch The Rainbow, Man On The Silver Mountain... To be honest, the first Rainbow album sounds so plain without Cozy, it’s like.. something is missing (Basically Cozy changed the band). His beat is so heavy, strong and incredible.Also his 1812 Overture which is just mind blowing. He was a happy Cozy in Rainbow, that’s why he played so brilliantly (and he was Ritchie’s goal friend... what is better than that?) Cozy did an amazing job in Rainbow... (No words...)

Songs with Cozy’s signature: Stargazer, Run with the Wolf, Mistreated (Live), Lost In Hollywood, Eyes Of The World, Gates Of Babylon, Light In The Black, All Night Long and.. all.(Literally all)

Now, his first solo work: Basically he had nostalgia for Hammer and the press still had bad relationship with Cozy saying things like “He is just Dance With The Devil and nothing more” so Cozy want to make an album so fantastic to shut them up. He called to his friends and all was ready... but they needed a bassist so Cozy took his chance and asked Jack Bruce if he can play in his album (Cozy was such a Cream/Jack fanboy.. he was almost his male crush lol.) Fortunately for Cozy, Jack said yes and they recorded it. The album had a fantastic success, extremely high success. The album had fantastic songs like Theme One (Courtesy of George Martin), The Killer, El Sid, Heidi Goes To Town and one sweet ballad (Sweetheart) The Loner (Dedicated to Jeff Beck... That is actually very cute).

1. ELPowell

(ARE YOU JOKING?????) No, i’m not joking and i’ll tell you why. Also this is when Cozy became a prog nerd.

The only one reason that I chose ELPowell as best Cozy music era instead of Rainbow... it’s because he stepped out of his Comfort Zone. This is the REAL proof of Cozy’s versatility. He did amazing things in Rainbow yes but in the end was rock and roll... This is different, this is progressive rock (I don’t really care about Progressive people’s discussion about 80s progressive rock... I’m talking only about Cozy) and Cozy didn’t know a THING about progressive and he still did it amazing. Of course, he took what Carl did and he simplified it to carry it to what he can do... and he did it very well. He had to learn all the ELP’s songs studying them (That’s when he accidentally listened to all elp discography and some Genesis, Yes and well... he became a nerd) He started to experiment with new percussion instruments that Carl used before.. (Like those bells that you hit them with a little hammer... no? okay) He became a KONG BOY too. He literally learned a whole new drumming style but of course with his Cozy sound. Tarkus played by Cozy is amazing, and when he is doing the Congas in From The Beginning kills me every time (That tank tee and those muscles...) and those drum solos...(Damn) they are really something else. And this is the same case of Rainbow.. he was recovering from his disappointment in Whitesnake so he was so enthusiastic about playing with Keith and Greg.

Songs with Cozy’s signature: Touch and Go, The Score, Mars the Bringer of War.

THIS IS THE END... GOD this took me an eternity and I explained so much i’m so sorry this is not going to happen again. This is the first and the last time that I’ll make a large post! (For my own mental health) This is so large, I didn’t mean to, sorry! Nobody will read it to the end but I don’t care... and if you do thanks very much this costed me two nights <3 (And sorry if there are any grammar errors)

#goooooood #martina get a grip #large post #i did this? for real?#ill die #cozy powell #look what i have to do for you you bastard #i love cozy #Black Sabbath #whitesnake #rainbow #rainbow band #jeff beck group #jeff beck #michael schenker group #elpowell definitely is the best time for cozy #ELPowell #gary moore #and im so tired to tag more

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just-anka · 4 years

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Books of 2020

I’ve been keeping a reading list for years now, since I first tried to complete the 52 books a year challenge thing (= a book a week). I’ve never quite managed that many books, though I read 50 a few years ago. I also don’t like making it a “goal” because I love reading as a relaxing thing, and I also don’t force myself to read “deep” books anymore, I just read whatever I like, which is a lot of YA and light stuff haha. But I like keeping the list because it’s such a nice thing to look back on! So here’s this years, with a few thoughts added because why not :) also, in the late summer, I was actually “caught up” to the book a week pace, but after Ben moved over here I basically stopped reading for a few months :’D

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Joanne K. Rowling (the last of the most recent re-read of the whole series, which I used to start every year in the autumn, but is now closer to every 1.5 years because I just know... every... scene. But I still love the books so much. [the books, not JKR’s more recent trash expressions.])

2. The Mortal Instruments: City of Ashes - Cassandra Clare (another very slow re-read of an old fave)

3. Eiger Dreams - Jon Krakauer (love Krakauer. I read Into Thin Air in like two days on my 2019 December hike and got hooked)

4. The Mortal Instruments: City of Glass - Cassandra Clare

5. Backstage: Ein Song für Aimee - Ophelia London (unfortunately more trash than cute)

6. Storm Front (Dresden Files Book 1) - Jim Butcher (another series I absolutely love, I started a re-read a while back but never quite got through it because there’s just sooooo many books. So since I had completely forgotten where I was I just started again lol. Can you tell I re-read a lot when I’m busy/stressed.)

7. The Mortal Instruments: City of Fallen Angels - Cassandra Clare (this is where the series goes downhill...)

8. Fated: An Alex Verus Novel - Benedict Jacka (first read, recommendation by an old friend. Really like the series.)

9. Rubinrot - Kerstin Gier (re-re-re-read of an old favourite, my fave German author)

10. Cursed: An Alex Verus Novel - Benedict Jacka

11. Fool Moon (Dresden Files Book 2) - Jim Butcher

12. Saphirblau - Kerstin Gier

13. Taken: An Alex Verus Novel - Benedict Jacka

14. Chosen: An Alex Verus Novel - Benedict Jacka

15. Everything I Know About Love - Dolly Alderton (ahhhh this was so so good. I read it in a day. Cried and laughed and everything in between. Highly recommend.)

16. Hidden: An Alex Verus Novel - Benedict Jacka

17. Always Never Yours - Emily Wibberly & Austin Siegemund-Broka

18. Den Mund voll Ungesagter Dinge - Anne Freytag (best book I read this year. Again, read in a day, and you may notice it’s on this list twice... that’s because I read it twice this year lol. Again, german author, though I hadn’t read her before.)

19. Veiled: An Alex Verus Novel - Benedict Jacka

20. One of Us is Lying - Karen McManus (I assume everyone has heard of this one by now, being made into a show and all that, but it’s really very good! I got very attached to the characters haha)

21. The Last True Poets of the Sea - Julia Drake (also brilliant. bit of a theme of YA girl-girl books here? naaaaah haha)

22. One of Us is Next - Karen McManus (liked it less than the first but still v good)

23. Two Can Keep a Secret - Karen McManus (less well-known but I actually liked his one best of the three!)

24. The Miseducation of Cameron Post - Emily M. Danforth (another gay book, less fluffy and happy than the other ones and older but also veeery good)

25. Normal People - Sally Rooney (I read this after starting the show, but I liked the book much, much better, her writing style is phenomenal)

26. Smaragdgrün - Kerstin Gier

27. Ultramarathon Man - Dean Karnazes (this is where I got my physical books back from Germany and re-read some of them bc why not)

28. Den Mund voll Ungesagter Dinge - Anne Freytag (yep, again)

29. Royals - Rachel Hawkins (mainly read this because I wanted to read Her Royal Highness, which is #2, but they’re only tangentially related and I was a little disappointed in this one)

30. Her Royal Highness - Rachel Hawkins (this one, however, was very good! Everything I expected)

31. This Love Story will Self-Destruct - Leslie Cohen (a little bit of a different romance. Loved this one.)

32. The Mortal Instruments: City of Lost Souls - Cassandra Clare

33. Runner - Lizzy Hawker (one of my all-time favourite runner biographies, partially because unlike a lot of runners, Lizzy can actually write lol, and partially because it was written in the middle of her injuries rather than after, which is a different and interesting perspective)

34. Nicht Weg und Nicht Da - Anne Freytag (not as good as the other one of hers, but good in a different way)

35. The Salt Path - Raynor Winn (one last adventure book for the year. Would recommend this for anyone into hiking/camping/all of that lark, it’s pretty special)

And that’s all of them! There weren’t many this year that I didn’t like, and a nice mix of old and new :)

#reading #books #read #books of 2020 #me #mine #personal #bookwitch #ya #romance #light reading #lol

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isaacthedruid · 3 years

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Steven Universe’s Representation and Music: an informal essay

As the first animated Cartoon Network show created entirely by a woman, Steven Universe’s run lasted for five seasons, a movie and a sequel-epilogue series. The show was far from perfect and its fandom wasn’t the best either but there is something so special about a show that followed lesbian space rocks and a young boy saving the world.

More specifically Steven Universe is about a young boy named Steven, who is half-Gem, half-human who protects the town of Beach City from evil. Gems are a kind of alien who take on the form of pastel-coloured women, to better assimilate with the rest of the world.

Rebecca Sugar, the creator, explains her colourful characters in a behind-the-scenes promo:

“I always dreamed of making a show that would have this mix of fantasy and reality. So, I wanted to make these fantasy characters that enjoy being with Steven as much, if not more than they enjoy being fantasy characters. The characters aren’t perfect and that’s what makes them so great.”

Steven’s family are known as the Crystal Gems, a group of rebels who fought against their government thousands of years ago and now live on earth. Steven’s mom, Rose Quartz was at the forefront of the fight, she did extremely terrible things and when she gave up her gem—-so Steven could be born—-she was left unable to form a body ever again. Steven, with only his dad and three alien women, must attempt to fix her messes and deal with the repercussions of his mother’s actions.

One of the main mechanics within the series is known as fusion, in which two or more Gems become a single being who is stronger and more powerful. The fused form takes on the physical, mental and emotional aspects of those who are part of the bond. As mentioned and discussed many times within this blog, fusions are a physical embodiment of different kinds of relationships. And for a show starring a primarily female cast, they do not shy away from using this mechanic to tell queer stories.

So explicitly that in 2018, the show had the first-ever lesbian wedding in a cartoon. Of course, representation wasn’t always as accepted in Steven Universe. Just two years before the big wedding, higher-ups at Cartoon Network told Rebecca Sugar, they not happy with the multiple queer relationships, so much so that they were ready to threaten cancellation.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she expressed:

“If this is going to cost me my show that’s fine because this is a huge injustice and I need to be able to represent myself and my team through this show and anything less would be unfair to my audience.”

Being LGBT herself, identifying as bisexual and non-binary, representation is important to her. For many queer people, especially grown-ups, they hope to see themselves represented in kids’ media today as they never had growing up. They want nothing more for children’s shows to say that being “different” or not fitting in with our heteronormative society is actually normal.

Within Steven Universe, you can find woman-loving-woman relationships, non-binary and intersex characters, woman-loving-non-binary relationships, asexual coded characters and basically every other letter in the acronym.

Rebecca Sugar even acted as the exciting force for LGBT inclusion within Adventure Time, originally working as a writer and storyboard artist before leaving to create her own show. She pushed for making the ex-romantic queer couple to be canonically part of the story and for it to not just coded into the dialogue.

A few years later, she returned to the show, multiple times, to compose over 20 songs that would air over the series 10-year-long run such as, “I’m Just Your Problem” which had lesbian subtext that would be confirmed later.

Some other iconic songs including “Fry Song“, “Remember You“, “Good Little Girl“, “Everything Stays” and even the finale song, “Time Adventure“.

Much like the show as a whole, there is something so special about the music she writes. In total, there were over 160 songs written for the franchise, some being short little tunes, no longer than a minute while others were full-blown musical numbers. No matter, all of them have their place within the show. Often when the character can’t express lines through speech, music is utilized to provide a more raw and poignant portrayal of their emotions.

Why Steven Universe is so widely loved is due to the music, as the overall story is not even close to perfect. Yet, everyone can agree on one thing, the music is unbelievably good. What is interesting is the different styles of melodies and backtracking used in the various songs, even more impressive is that every character has their own instrumental motif.

Steven’s motif is the ukelele as he is often seen playing the instrument himself, performing short little melodies and even writing the in-show version of the theme song. Additionally, Steven’s music uses a large amount of Chiptune synth, electronic music which is created using a programmable sound generator. Both instruments have a very childlike feeling to them, Chiptune especially as it is normally used in video game music like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, one of the main musical inspirations for the show. As Steven is the lead, most of the music has Chiptune somewhere in the score and fun fact, the first song in the show, sung by Steven, “Cookie Cat” was actually written on an old Gameboy.

Amethyst is very loud and fun, her motif is electric drums which is extremely reflective of her character. As she can be angry from convincing herself that she is not good enough to happy and giggling from pranking Steven, her instrument can be used in so many ways as she is not a simple character. No matter what, for the few songs Amethyst has on her own (or in the score), her drums provide such an interesting emotional response to the situation.

Garnet is a fusion, so her motif is actually the combination of two instruments. Ruby is a drumbeat as she is a fiery and loud character, she is chaotic while Sapphire is her opposite. Sapphire is calm and collected, she has ice-related powers and is represented by Synth music. The characters together have a perfect unity, expressed by Garnet’s synth bass sounds, she is the equilibrium of two very contrasting characters. The music associated with Garnet, uses primarily the synth bass but Ruby and Sapphire’s individual instruments can be heard throughout her music. All three instruments are also heavily representative as Garnet’s main dancing style is Hip Hop which clashing with others’ softer dancing styles.

Despite, not being alive during the show, Rose Quartz still has her own musical motif as she plays a large part in Steven’s growth throughout the series. As well as being in many flashbacks, she is represented with strings, more specifically, the violin. Rose’s story is rather sad which quite is visible within her associated music, yet, she was also an extremely powerful character as she led the fight against the Homeworld government. Her strength can be heard with strong uplifts and swells in the music. She is never seen playing an instrument unlike the rest of the main characters but one person who plays hers is Pearl, a character Rose was possibly in love with.

For the complex and beautiful character, Pearl, her motif is classical and swing piano. She is visually represented as a ballerina for a large majority of the series, dressed in a leotard, a small skirt and ballet shoes. Apart from Garnet, she is one of the calmest characters in the show. She is a perfectionist and is knowledgeable on many topics. She has a dark past and her fair share of trauma, all of this is wrapped up in her music. From her traumatic past with Rose Quartz, the violin had been heard throughout her music, yet, when she finally dealt with everything, the violin was lost. Swapped out for a new instrument, a bass guitar which she learned how to play at the end of the series. Pearl is a character who has been through a lot and her music reflects it. As she grew, her music changed with her, becoming her own instead of something built off of Rose’s.

My personal favourite song is “It’s Over Isn’t It?” which is this heartwrenching and emotionally painful ballad sung by a broken woman. Pearl was in love with Steven’s mom. Yet, the feelings were not mutual or at least ended being reciprocated as Rose left her for Greg, Steven’s dad. It hurts because Rose didn’t just leave her, Rose Quartz also passed away. As the song goes:

That they didn’t really matter until you I was fine when you came And we fought like it was all some silly game Over her, who she’d choose After all those years, I never thought I’d lose … You won and she chose you and she loved you and she’s gone It’s over, isn’t it? Why can’t I move on? … Who am I now in this world without her? Petty and dull with the nerve to doubt her What does it matter? It’s already done Now I’ve got to be there for her son

Without Rose, Pearl has lost her place in the world as all she ever knew was her. Yet, now she is left to help raise a half-human baby and go on with her life. It makes it more difficult as this baby is the product of Rose and the man that she left Pearl for.

Pearl doesn’t want to hate Greg, she is angry at him but she doesn’t have hatred towards him. They may not be the best of pals at the start of the series but in the song called “Both of You“ has Steven, finally, begging for Greg and Pearl to just talk to each other.

Why don’t you talk to each other? Why don’t you talk to each other? Just give it a try Why don’t you talk about what happened? … You might not believe it but you got a lot in common, you really do You both love me and I love both of you … I know you both need it Someone who knows what you’re going through

An interesting thing about this song is that Steven is this to them, the person with Rose’s gem is singing to the two people who fought over Rose. It makes me wonder if this could be Rose speaking through Steven to her two loved ones. Whether it is or not, doesn’t really matter to the overall story but it is a fun idea to look at.

Overall, these songs are a literal representation of dealing with ones’ emotions in a healthy way, something that Steven Universe actively tries to teach their younger viewers about.

To say Steven Universe is a good show only for its music would be a false statement, it’s one of the strongest aspects but without the story or the characters, the music would fall flat and not have any of its passion.

#isaac rambles #steven universe #lgbt #steven universe music #cartoons #cartoon network #rebecca sugar #cartoon review

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chicagocityofclans · 4 years

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Ainsley MacLeod → Emilie De Ravin → Red Fox Shifter

→ Basic Information

Age: 37

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Straight

Born or Made: Born

Birthday: April 8th

Zodiac Sign: Aries

Religion: Presbyterian

→ Her Personality

Ainsley is an incredibly hard worker no matter what she’s doing, and she almost always has a smile whilst she’s doing it too. She loves a job well done and will encourage others to do the same. This is something that she’s picked up from her mother, not that she’d ever admit that. She’s almost always doing something too. Rest to her is something you do when all the chores are done and she’s very good at finding chores that still need to be done. Still, she is quite partial to sitting outside on a nice morning with a pot of tea.

Her outlook and disposition are bright and cheery, which can annoy some but she doesn’t let it bother her. And she’ll tell them as much too. When she spends so much of her time like this though she can sometimes find it hard to express when she is sad or hurting, taking to masking it instead. When she does feel like this she turns back to her work. Keeping busy and organising things helps her cope with all manner of things.

Ainsley loves her clan, or most of it any way, even with the flaws she can see it in. She craves closeness with them, a more familial bond, and lots of hugs. She grew up in a small, close knit clan that was predominantly foxes and had close ties to the other even smaller nimble clans on the island. This, coupled with the fact her father was the clan liaison, means she was raised to be tolerant and controlled around other nimbles, even prey ones. It is still something she struggles with from time to time but she has certain coping mechanisms in place for this too.

→ Her Personal Facts

Occupation: Newspaper Archivist

Scars: A few small ones from childhood scrapes

Tattoos: Clan MacLeods words ‘Hold Fast’ on her left side

Two Likes: Blackberries and Folk Songs

Two Dislikes: Disorder and Avocado

Two Fears: Being Caught In A Trap and Flying

Two Hobbies: Hiking and Weaving

Three Positive Traits: Cheerful, Hardworking, Affectionate

Three Negative Traits: Blunt, Fussy and Particular

→ Her Connections

Parent Names:

Angus MacLeod (Father): Ainsley loves her father very dearly and knows he loves her too even if he was always away for one reason or another during her childhood, thanks to his job within their clan.

Charlotte MacLeod (Mother): Her mother is a woman who never stops. She was always doing something and most of the time Ainsley had to do it too. She complained about it growing up but it has meant she has a strong bond with her mother and has learnt a lot from her.

Sibling Names:

None

Children Names:

None

Romantic Connections:

None

Platonic Connections:

Mairi MacKinnon (Best Friend/deceased): Mairi and Ainsley were an odd friendship - a mouse and a fox but with both being the children of clan liaisons they had been raised to have more tolerance and more control around other kinds of animal shifters. When Mairi was killed whilst shifted by Ainsley’s cousin, she was devastated and vowed she’d never harm a prey nimble as he had.

Tim Boaz (Friend): As fellow fox shifters, Tim and Lee were some of the first friends Ainsley made when she moved to Chicago. If she has a favourite of the two she’s not saying.

Lee Boaz (Friend): As fellow fox shifters, Lee and Tim were some of the first friends Ainsley made when she moved to Chicago. If she has a favourite of the two she’s not saying.

Simon Brodeur (Friend): Their friendship is fairly new and started to form when Simon was assigned to help her come up with a system for storing footage within her archival office. Their personalities mashed well and they found they got along from day one.

Anton Kowalski (Friend): Not all nimbles are that touchy-feely but when Anton joined it was pretty clear he wasn’t like that. He brought with him his more family originated upbringing. As someone who’s big into hugs and the like Ainsley liked him the second he tried to befriend her.

Edith Walker (Acquaintance): Ainsley knows Edith through work. The other woman has come to her a few times for information for a story.

Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Snow (Friendly): Liz is someone Ainsley has had contact with through work and also within the clan.

Percival ‘Percy’ McCormick (Friendly): Ainsley admires what Percy is trying to do with having one united nimble clan. Despite the growing tension within the clan she hopes he can make it work. From what she’s seen of him she thinks he seems like a good person too.

Eli Kohen (Acquaintance): Ainsley has recently started using the archives to assist the police in an ongoing investigation and Eli has been her contact for this on a few occasions.

Darren Shaw (Friend): Darren is how she first started working with the police and he will still come to her for help, especially on cold cases. He’s been a regular enough visitor that the pair have started to become friends and he’s recently offered to take her out for coffee.

Conrad Kale (Friend): During his training Ainsley was one of the nimbles Conrad practiced following. She appreciated that he didn’t mess up her archives at all during his sneaking around and they became friendly, eventually becoming friends.

Simon Lee Weyden (Friend): Simon will occasionally come to the archives for old newspaper reports relating to his genealogical research. Over time the pair became friends.

Breha Kaur (Friendly): Breha has occasionally come to the archives for help doing research for a story. Since she is also a kind of fox Ainsley is hoping to become friends with her.

Hostile Connections:

Robert MacLeod (Cousin): Robert killed her childhood best friend, blaming it on the nature of prey and predator nibbles given her friend was a mouse and is a fox. Ainsley has never forgiven him for it and doesn’t consider him to be family.

Pets:

None

History -

Ainsley was born into a small, remote community on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The clan her family belonged to was just as small too given the limited size of their island home and the way they were separated out. Instead of just one nimble clan there were four. One that was predominantly mice, shrews and voles, one of predominantly pine martens and weasels, one predominantly of hares and rabbits and Ainsley’s clan that was predominately foxes and otters. This separation didn’t originally stem from species though, but from blood lines, for each clan could trace their lineage to one of the Scottish clans of the isle. Clan MacKinnon, Clan MacDonald, Clan Nicolson, and Clan MacLeod respectively. With the species being separated out their wasn’t much inter clan mating and thus each clan is still known by their family name rather than the species they contain.

In modern times the relationships between clans is mostly harmonious, a state that has been hard fought for through recent generations. One of the ways this is done, just as with else where in the world, is through clan liaisons. Ainsley’s father holds that position in Clan MacLeod and so growing up she spread even more time around the other clans than most. It was a quiet upbringing that reflected the slow pace of island life. On weekdays she went to the small village school, on Sundays mornings she attended church with her parents, and she helped her mother with the house hold chores daily. Her mother taught her to forage for food, to cook and to weave and her father taught her to fish. But in her free time the little fox was allowed to run wild. She and her school friends, which contained an odd mix of species, would go off exploring the coves and the hills, the fairy pools and the farms, and would always return home looking like they’d spent the day rolling in mud.

Her very best friend was Mairi, the daughter of Clan MacKinnon’s liaison and a mouse. The pair had their spats growing up, some just normal childhood things, some fuelled by their clash of predator and prey. However over time, and with the help of their fathers, they learnt to avoid these. Like never letting Ainsley be it when they were playing tag. Sadly not all in their clans were quite so open to being friends. Ainsley’s uncle was a belligerent man with old and hostile views who passed it on to his children. His son, Robert, grew into a cruel and arrogant young man. One day in their teenage years, when they were all out exploring Robert attacked and killed Mairi. Afterwards he showed no remorse and declared it was the natural order of things. Ainsley was devastated and hasn’t even considered ever forgiving him for what he did. What it did do was make her even more determined to be kind, friendly and accepting of all species of shifter.

A year later Ainsley moved to the mainland for university. Going from such a quiet, rural community to the busy capital city was certainly an eye opener. She missed the wide open spaces but she equally loved the opportunities and new adventures to be found in Edinburgh. Afterwards she tried going back home but realised that at that time in her life she just couldn’t settle there. With the lack of inter clan dating, and the fact most of the clan was family, it was almost expect for the young people to go off into the world in any case. Many returned once they were older and had a family of their own. Whilst she can’t see that happening anytime soon she does hope to one day return home.

On leaving the island she traveled to a few different places, looking for somewhere that she felt like she fit. Each places offered new life experiences and lessons which she took on board with a smile. After searching for a year it only took a week in Chicago to know she’d found the place.

Present -

Ainsley has now been in Chicago for many years and has settle into life as an archivist. She loves her job, her friends and her clan here. It is her hope to deepen those friendships further and forge new ones too. In time she also hopes that she will find someone to spend her life with, having always admired the bond her own parents have. From a work point of view she is also hoping to start work on digitising the archives, making them more accessible and protecting them from any mishaps that may occur in the future. She has also been enjoying helping people find things for police work or personal research and hopes to continue doing more of it.

#Taken #Ainsley MacLeod #Emilie De Ravin

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thenukacolachallenge-archive · 5 years

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so, uh, @outervvorlds posted an Outer Worlds Ask Meme for everyone’s captains and since i am a menace, stuck at home with a broken foot with nothing better to do, i did the whole damn thing myself so uhhhh here

Basics! Name, age, personality, etc. What do they look like? Are they a new or old oc?

Her name is Izumi Tanaka, but she goes by Izzy in this universe. She’s a 26 year old diva and flirt from a bad past on earth. She likes to make the joke that she likes “looking like a prostitute, but the nice ones, the ones you have to call a number for”. She’s mixed race, mostly Japanese but also African, German, and many other things. She’s a lightskin WOC with green eyes, long wavy black hair, and a shit ton of freckles. She’s very conventionally attractive(high cheekbones, tiny nose, large lips, almond shaped eyes) and she uses it to her advantage at every opportunity. She is an old OC from One Piece!

What are their attributes, perks, and flaws?

No flaws yet as of my current playthrough with her, but she’s very speech-oriented. She has a high Charm and Temperament, but she’s also skilled in melee, particularly two-handed, as well as being a talented engineer. She sucks at sneak, which is hilarious bc she’s also a chronic kleptomaniac.

What do they believe in?

She comes across as very critical of any particular ideology, but when she’s drunk it becomes more apparent that she just asks a lot of questions bc she wants to know everything before committing to something. Doesn’t stop her from siding with Dr. Welles with no information, since he did something for her by waking her up from hibernation.

How did they react to becoming Captain of the Unreliable? Are they much of a leader?

She was mostly just excited to have a ship. She originally intended to just run a solo ship like Hawthorne had, but she also loves to have people around, being an extrovert. She is flying by the seat of her pants when it comes to leadership, but so far bc of her extensive ability to bullshit her way through everything, she seems to be taking the role well.

What was their life like before being iced?

She grew up in a community similar to Byzantium - rich, snobby, and seedy. She was abused by her parents, and given to other high-society types by them to abuse for more money. She eventually snapped and killed her family and set their mansion ablaze to hide the evidence. As she was still a minor at the time and had no other living relatives, she was sent to an orphanage where she met her life-long friend Corona Nova(another imported One Piece OC of mine!), also known as Coco. The two eventually left to look for Coco’s missing younger sister, and became homeless. Izzy developed a drug problem and turned to merc work, partially for drug money and partially to kill the rest of those who’d abused her as a child. When the last one died, not by her hand but of old age, she had a come to jesus moment and got clean from drugs. She also discovered she had a love of mechanical engineering, getting a job at a local shop. It was there that she met Killer, a man she’d eventually end up in a “relationship” with; they weren’t exclusive, but they would actively discourage each other from being with anyone else. While she was working out how to love someone like a normal human being, he was killed. She never dated after him, and several years later, she signed onto the Hope after being tired of life on earth.

Did they have any family before becoming Captain? Do they think their crew as family?

She had found family in Coco and Calli, a mutual friend of all of theirs who was a occult practitioner named Sai, Killer, as well as her mercenary crew. At first she keeps the Unreliable crew at a friendly but extensive arm’s length, but by the end of it all she ends up considering the crew a family.

What’s their fighting style? Who do they bring along?

She is a SUCKER for 2-handed melee, especially hammers. ESPECIALLY the Prismatic Hammer. She’s also decent at sniping, but she sucks at stealth so she’s not a sneaky sniper. She always has Felix with her, and then it’s usually between Max and Nyoka.

Is Spacer’s Choice their only choice? What do they think of the corporations? She fucking hates the corporations, but tries to be nice to pretty much everyone she meets who’s not a direct Board pawn. She ends up being well liked by most people controlled by the corporations, which tends to give her an unwantedly high reputation with them.

What do they think of the factions? Are they liked or disliked by any? By the end of the story, she’s liked by most factions except the Board and the corps. She’s revered by the Groundbreaker, most of Monarch, and pretty much everywhere except Byzantium folk.

What’s their favourite place in Halcyon? Least favourite? Favorite place is Monarch and anywhere on Terra 2 except Byzantium. She fucking despises Byzantium, it reminds her of her childhood.

Do they have a favourite alien creature? She dislikes most of them, since they mostly want to eat her. She thinks sprats are cute but isn’t above killing them to get their pelts for money.

Did they save The Hope?

She did, and even though she cried over it, she took all of the whatever the fuck its called that Phineas has you steal from Byzantium to save them. She hated that she had to kill all those innocent people, but she knew they were already dead since the Board didn’t have any plans to wake them, and didn’t know how besides. It still did a number on her, though.

What do they want to do afterwards? - but do they get a happy ending? Her original reasoning for getting on board the Hope was to get as far away from “civilized” society as possible, and make a private life for herself. But by the end, all she wants is to continue to help people with Felix, which she does. She’s finally happy and at peace with her past, so I’d say she got a happy ending.

What do they think of the companions? Friendships, crushes, dislikes, etc. She loves all her companions like family by the end, but she did not care for Ellie in the beginning, and she was very wary of Max, mostly bc his drive to complete his goal, no matter the cost, which reminds her of herself in the thick of her personal revenge against her abusers. She found Parvati to be sweet if naive, but she really fell into favor with Nyoka and Felix, and Max after his drug trip. She’s head over heels for Felix, and ends up with him after her kidnapping on Monarch.

How do the companion quests go? She sets Parvati up with Junlei, helps Max become a Philosophist, helps Ellie get back at her parents. She cries with Nyoka over finding out her merc crew left the rest of them behind, and she doesn’t trust Clyde from the beginning, with the way he treats Felix. She doesn’t chastise him for being too trusting though.

What’s their love language? She’s pretty unsure of this herself, being that she’s never been in a normal, stable relationship, but she knows she loves to get gifts for her loved ones. She gets all of the crew anything they ever want. She also just loves to spend time with her loved ones, even just being in the same room doing separate things makes her happy.

Are they in a relationship? Do they want to be? She ends up in a relationship with Felix by the end. She’s always joked that she’s allergic to commitment, but she finds herself wanting to spend all of her free time with Felix, and even though she’s naturally a cuddly person, she’s extra-cuddly with him. She ends up realizing “oh shit, i like him way more than i intended to” at some point during her trip.

How to win them over? She’s more motivated by fun experiences and flattery than money, although she does like having bits for buying as much booze and cigs as she wants. Romantically, she enjoys people with a sense of humor, but who can be real. She loves Felix bc he’s 100% authentic at all times, says and does exactly what he wants… And because she loves how dumb he acts/is.

How to break their heart?

It’s very rare for her to let someone get under her skin long enough to break her heart, but she’s been fighting all her life to prove to herself that even though she’s a murderer, she is still a good person, so someone telling her otherwise stings pretty bad.

How did those cows get onto their ship?? She ordered them for their wool. She’s very into fashion but HATES spacer fashion, so she tried her hand to shear their wool and spin it and make something out of it. Results haven’t been good but she keeps trying.

A song that reminds you of them, Bad at Love by Halsey is a big one, I by Kendrick Lamar, I Like It and Be Careful by Cardi B. Any big party banger type song too, Izzy’s a party animal.

Three random facts about them.

-she’s a crazy chain smoker. She steals cigarettes more often than anything else, save for ship decorations. -she had a really shitty punk band on earth. The crew manages to recover some audio recordings(long story, it’ll be in the fic). Felix is the only one who enjoys it. Parvati tries to say something nice. Everyone else gives her all the shit for it. -if given the choice, she would never wear a proper shirt. She loves to have her midriff showing. In the fic, she finds a cache of her old shit that Coco brought along on the Groundbreaker, and Izumi cries when she finds out that Coco put all her old favorite clothing articles in it. (Felix is very happy, as most of the outfits are skimpy)

and as a bonus, here’s a picture of Izzy, done by a friend of mine! obviously probably not something she’d wear in space though, lmao

#OC: izzy tanaka #the outer worlds #the outer worlds oc

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goodoldfashionedqueen · 5 years

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You’ll be the Lonely One: Chapter 6

Roger Taylor x Reader x Sam Kiszka

A/N: Sorry for the wait! I meant to post it last weekend but I got sick and wasn’t able to. Hope you enjoy!

Masterlist

Warnings: Some swearing

The days that followed your first date with Sam were like a dream. They consisted of going to Smith’s as often as possible, as it had become your favourite restaurant (and not just because of the food). You went to watch Greta Van Fleet perform one night, cheering Sam on from backstage. You loved their music and decided that Edge of Darkness and Age of Man were your favourite songs.

Josh, Danny, and Jake had grown rather fond of you, mostly because they loved the fact that they could tease Sam about you. But your relationship with them was very similar to the way you were with Brian, Freddie, and Deaky. Playful and fun at times, but sometimes you would have to assist Danny in breaking up the brothers from a fight.

…

“What do know about vocals anyways JAKE.” Josh said holding his tambourine on his hip, making clinking noises whenever he moved.

“I’m just saying, when you change the lyrics when we perform live, it messes me up. Especially during-” Jake paused. “and I cannot stress this enough, during the bridge.” He was fumbling with the strings of his guitar not looking at Josh while he spoke.

Sam and you were sitting on the couch in the back of the studio, watching all of the drama unfold. His arm was draped across your shoulder, and your hand was rested on his thigh.

Josh gawked his mouth open looking back and forth from you to Sam.

“Sam!” He whined as he walked over towards the two of you. “Please tell Jake he is being way too dramatic.”

“Well-” Sam began to say.

“MY GOD.” Josh yelled. “Y/N?” He looked at you with intense eyes.

“Josh, maybe you should-“ He cut you off.

“GAHH” He exclaimed throwing his hands up in the air. “If I’m on my own here then fine, but I don’t see a problem. He turned on his heels and began to walk out of the room.

“I could share my opinion if you want.” Danny said quietly from his drum kit.

“No, but thank you Daniel, I already know what your going to say.” Josh said storming out the door.

“Well, that was amusing.” You gave out a small laugh.

“Josh is not one to go down easy.” Jake spoke getting up and setting his guitar down. “I’m going after him.”

“Not without me, you’re not.” Danny said almost tripping over his drums.

The two of them followed Josh leaving you and Sam alone in the studio.

Sam began to tap his fingers on the side of your shoulder his arm still around you.

“So, what should we do now.” He innocently said.

Rolling your eyes you began to move closer to him.

“I.”

Moving closer.

“Think you.”

Closer.

“Should.”

You were inches away from his face.

“Teach me how to play bass!” You said abruptly standing up, then running over to where Sam’s Bass Guitar was standing.

Picking up the guitar by it’s neck you pulled the strap up and around your head, so it was resting on one of your shoulders. Placing your fingers on the strings you looked up at Sam with a smile on your face.

“So how do I do this?” You asked moving your fingers up the strings.

Sam laughed at you. “It’s not that easy you know.”

“It can’t be that difficult, you can do it.” You teased.

“Wow. So that’s how it is then.” He said placing a hand over his heart.

“Come on!” You said skipping towards him with the guitar.

He didn’t say anything for a moment and just looked you up and down.

You saw him doing it.

“What?” You asked.

“Nothing.” He gave you a smile. “Come here.” He gestured with his hands for you to sit between his legs on the couch.

You squinted your eyes at him, confused as to why he wanted you to sit between his legs.

“It’s so I can help you with your fingers. Makes it much easier if I can get behind you.” He gestured again.

“That’s what she said.” You laughed at your own joke.

“Jesus Christ Y/N. Just get over here.” He said patting the seat.

You walked in front of him and turned around, slowly sitting down on the small space of the couch he had made for you. When you were seated, he leaned forward sticking one of his arms between your waist and your arm so he could grab the neck of the guitar. The touch of his arm on your waist made the hairs on the back of your arm stand up. His other arm was around your other arm as he placed his fingers on the strings. He tucked his head in-between the crook of your shoulder, and he leaned forward so his chest was now touching your back. You could feel the quick pace of his heartbeat.

“Is it hard?” You asked him.

“What?!” He leaned back away from you misunderstanding your question.

You looked at him with confused eyes.

“The guitar.” You stated.

“Oh shit, right. Uh yeah sort of.” He leaned back in to you this time placing his left hand over yours showing you what strings to push down on.

“This one goes here.” He said pushing down on your pointer finger. “And this one here.”

You looked up at him. He was biting his lip in concentration.

“You certainly can’t play guitar if you’re looking at me.” He said noticing you.

You didn’t stop looking at him, but he began to move your fingers again.

“Ok great. Now don’t move, your fingers are in the perfect spot.” He moved his head so it was on your other shoulder, grabbing your other hand to start to strum.

“All you have to do now is this.” He started moving your hand down to pluck the strings. “Yes! That’s perfect!”

He looked so excited about the fact that you were playing the bass (even if it was really him doing all the work)

His stupid little smile made your heart flutter.

“Sam.” You said under your breath.

“Yeah.” He looked up from the guitar at you.

You leaned back and kissed him, grabbing the side of his face with one hand.

Pulling away he looked a little stunned, as if he hadn’t expected you to do that in the moment.

“What was that for?” He asked.

“Do I need a reason?”

“No, I guess not.” He laughed.

You went to kiss him again, but he pulled back.

“What about your guitar lesson?”

“Don’t think I’m very good, so I’ve changed my mind.” You took the guitar strap off and set the bass down on the floor.

“Well you really did try.” He said sarcastically.

“Shut up.” You kissed him again and this time he didn’t pull away.

…

Things were great. You had never been this happy in your whole life.

You had yet to introduce the boys (of Greta Van Fleet) to your other boys (of Queen). You knew Brian and Deaky would get along with Danny, as they could have some very intelligent conversations together. Jake reminded you of Roger, but you felt as if their personalities would clash . Josh and Freddie would be a real dynamic duo together, and you were desperate for them to meet. However, at the same time you weren’t sure if you were ready to mix those two sides of your life together. At least not just yet. You weren’t even sure how much longer you and Queen would be in town for. You also had to consider your circumstance with Roger.

Roger.

You hadn’t spoken to him too much to be honest. He had kept his distance from you at Queen’s show a few days ago, finding a girl as quickly as possible at every after party.

You missed him. Even if things with Roger were complicated, you felt as if a piece was missing from your life, due to his absence.

You weren’t sure how to have both Roger and Sam in your life, because they most certainly couldn’t be in the same room together. Well at least Roger couldn’t.

You and Sam haven’t made anything official. After all it had you had only known him for a week, that was one of your many doubts. You’d yet to discuss the fact that Queen could be packing up to leave to another city at any moment.

It wasn’t that you didn’t want to be with Sam, you just felt like you need to figure some things out before moving forward.

All of this had been eating away at you. You found yourself constantly daydreaming about what decisions you needed to make. Freddie had begun to notice a change in you attitude, deciding he needed to take you out for breakfast so you could catch up.

“Freddie, I need to ask you something.” You said taking a bite of the toast you were eating.

“Alright. Ask away.” He said sipping his tea.

“How has Roger been?”

He paused and set his tea down on the table.

“Do you want to know the truth?” He sat back in his chair.

“Of course.” You nodded you head.

“Right.” He looked at you pausing again for a moment. “He’s been a bit weird.”

“Weird how?”

“Well, he’s been drinking way more than usual, and he has loads of women over all the time.” Freddie

“That sounds pretty normal to me Fred.” You said taking another bite of your toast, annoyed by the fact that Roger was sleeping with a ton of women.

Freddie shook his head and hands at the same time. “ No, No. This is a lot Y/N, even for Roger.” Freddie changed the tone in his voice. “Something has seriously fucked him up.”

You looked away from Freddie and down at the floor.

Was it you who had caused Roger to feel this way? Maybe it was something else?

“Fuck me.” You breathed out.

“No thanks.” Freddie remarked.

“Fred.” You said looking at him with stern eyes.

You had to go see him.

You had to go figure out what his problem was.

Maybe it would help you figure some things out.

Grabbing your coat you scooted out of your chair.

“Where are you going?” Freddie asked almost spilling his tea.

“To see Roger.” You put your coat on.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea my dear?”

“No.” You said unsurely. “But I have to. I’ll see you later ok Fred?”

“Yes you’ll tell me all about your rendezvous with Roger. Oh and I have some news about the tour.” He said raising his teacup at you.

“ Alright just tell me later. Bye Freddie.” You walked out of the restaurant back to your Hotel.

You turned around several times, doubting your decision to go find Roger at the hotel. But eventually you found yourself in front of his room.

For a good 5 minutes you just stood with your hand raised against the door ready to knock.

Just as you built up the courage to knock. The door burst open.

A woman in stilettos with long blonde hair, came stumbling out the door, almost knocking you over.

“Fuck!” She yelled not expected to run into someone.

“What’s the matter?” Roger walked over to the door looking first at the woman, then at you.

“Y/N! What are you doing here?” He said nervously running his hands through his hair.

“I’m-I-I just wanted to.” You found yourself lost for words.

“100 bucks.” The woman in stilettos stated clicking her tongue as she raised her hand out to Roger.

“For one night?!” Roger said looking stunned at the woman.

She didn’t say anything, just gestured her fingers at Roger to give her the money.

“Fine.” He gave her two 50 dollar bills, giving her a forced smile while he was doing it.

“Thanks hun, I had a great time.” The woman said before giving him a kiss on the cheek, and walking towards the elevator.

Roger looked back at you, his eyes wide with embarrassment.

“Classy.” Was all you said, making an O.K. sign with your fingers.

He laughed. The smile quickly fading from his face.

“So? How can I help.” He asked leaning one arm on the door frame.

“I just wanted to check up.”

“On what?”

“You.” You said biting the inside of your mouth.

“Right.” Roger nodded his head.

“Can I come in? I think we need to talk.” You pointed at the door.

He looked in his room, then back at you.

“Course.” He moved his arm to let you through the door, not moving the rest of his body, so you had to squeeze past him to get through.

He had a smirk on his face the whole time, shutting the door once you had gotten past him.

His room was a mess. Beer bottles were scattered across the floor and his bed, which was unmade with the sheets thrown onto the floor. Which made it quite obvious what he was doing before you had gotten there. The curtains were drawn shut, and the only light was coming from a bedside table lamp.

You turned around to say something to Roger. Bumping into him, as he was standing much closer than you thought.

“So love, what’d you want to ask me?”

Taglist: @richiethotzierz @wazzockbra @grapesarepurple @zcars777 @smile-nine @allons-ytomyworld @fruityfreddie @cherrrywitch @jennyggggrrr @blueandsunny-morn @sydthekid41002 @yeehawcalum @reallooney @littlegeekwonder @cosmoeticss @spngvf @sweetdayme4427 @diggrycedric @rhyeseas @gwilsbri @lesbianfairiesweardocs @highwaytvne @bloominess @hargreevesgrace @reddiefreddieee

Some tags aren’t working and I’m not sure why.

#you'll be the lonely one #roger taylor #roger taylor x reader #sam kiszka #sam kiszka x reader #Queen #queen fanfiction #Greta Van Fleet #greta van fleet fanfic

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yourbestestbuddywud · 5 years

Text

The Last Survivors (Chapter 3)

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Summary: Alice is sad and Ted is probably drunk

A/N: This is the last chapter that I had already written before posting these to Tumblr, so now the slow updates really begin, but if I’m being honest I am enjoying writing this so who knows?

Bill knocked gently on the door before entering, a plate of food in his hand.

“Alice, are you hungry?” his voice was caring and quiet, and he smiled warmly at his daughter. Alice was sitting cross legged on her bed, staring at the wall. She turned to face her dad and forced a small smile, which Bill could easily see through.

“Thanks” she said, taking the plate off of Bill and biting into the recently cooked meal. Bill sat on the bed next to her. It was silent for a while, just like it had been for the past few days between the two. Finally, Bill decided to speak up.

“Do you want to talk yet?” he asked, trying not to pressure her. Alice closed her eyes for a moment, but her breathing didn’t change; this wasn’t normal. She’d usually glare or sigh.

“What’s there to talk about?” she challenged, staring down at her plate. Bill could hear the warning in her voice, and didn’t push it. He nodded and stood, heading towards the door. He looked back at Alice one more time before closing the door and going downstairs into the kitchen. He needed a coffee.

After asking Paul and Emma if they wanted one too, he began to brew a pot and set four mugs on the counter; Ted would likely want one as well (though he’d also likely fill it with alcohol).

As the machine brewed the beans into liquid, Ted came in, his hair soaked from the shower. He looked slightly more sober than usual. Bill poured the coffee into the mugs, added sugar and milk into his, Emma’s and Teds, and offered Ted a mug. He accepted it, taking a gulp of the hot beverage. The two stood there awkwardly for a short while. They hadn’t really spoken since Bill left to get Alice, and that conversation had not been the most pleasant.

“The kid in her room still?” Ted asked suddenly. His sudden curiosity surprised Bill slightly.

“Yeah” he answered awkwardly. It was always a sort of game to see how Ted would react to whatever Bill said, a game that Bill did not enjoy. Ted took another sip of his coffee.

“Honestly can’t blame her, all things considered” he mumbled before walking into the living room. Bill shook his head, still a bit confused. The fact that Ted was even engaging in a conversation with Bill was enough to make him think maybe the man was still slightly drunk, though drunk-Ted was usually less civil. Bill ignored it for now, grabbing his friends drinks and his own and followed Ted into the living room.

The four sat there in silence, sipping their coffees. Paul and Emma sat almost cuddled together on the couch, while Bill and Ted sat opposite sides of the room on smaller couch chairs. As Bill suspected, Ted had mixed his coffee with some sort of alcohol.

One thing they noticed that was different, however, was the lack of noise coming from downstairs. It was beginning to concern Emma.

“Someone should probably check on him” she made her unease known. While Paul nodded in agreement, Ted just rolled his eyes.

“Why don’t we just leave him in there?” He grumbled. Emma stared at him with a deadpan expression.

“Seriously dude, what is your problem with him?” she questioned menacingly.

“Oh I dunno, maybe the fact that he nearly got us fucking killed with his stupid song puts him at the bottom of my favourite people’s list!” Ted raised his voice, hoping Henry could hear him.

“Oh really? Cause you seemed to be pretty into his musical pitch” Emma countered, grinning smugly. Ted choked on his drink, and kept opening his mouth to fight back, but ended up closing it in defeat. Knowing she was victorious, Emma stood up.

“Well I’m gonna go check on him” she claimed, leaving the men alone in the room. The moment she was gone, Paul and Bill looked at Ted questioningly, both trying not to laugh. Ted stared back, baffled.

“What? You weren’t there, she could be lying!”

“Sure” They both chuckled.

#tgwdlm #team starkid #tedgens #the guy who didn't like musicals #paul x emma #the last survivors #fanfic

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goodproofingwater · 5 years

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Wildfire Records: Breaking America - Chapter Twenty-Two

Word count: 1985 Playlist: Love on Top - Beyonce press play when you see the *

Notes: I just want to thank everyone who has stuck with wildfire through all 45 chapters, for everyone who has sent me messages of support and who has loved these characters as much as I have, especially @crucioprongs who even asked to see the places that inspired scenes when he was in London. Wildfire will always be my baby and although I’m not really ready to let it go, sometimes you have to set the things you love free! If you miss them, the characters will always be available to request from, and I will always oblidge because to be honest I miss them already! It will also always be available here to re-read! Thank you again.

The news of Josh and Victoria being back together became apparent to everyone that evening, the two taking the opportunity of an empty bus while everyone was still at the after-party to consummate their relationship, but the two had so much time to catch up for that it continued long into the night.

When Josh got up to get water he noticed that both Andy and Danny had moved to the spare bunk and Juliet’s bunk respectively, and although he wanted to apologise, the thought was pushed firmly from his mind as Victoria quite literally blew his mind.

It was 5am by the time they stopped pushing each other to the brink of pleasure, and she finally felt right falling asleep in his arms. The smell of his cologne mixed with the smell of sex relaxing her and lulling her into such good sleep that even though they had to get up earlier than usual for soundcheck she felt completely rested.

The same could not be said for anyone else but Josh.

“Did you have to keep going all night?” Juliet spoke over her second cup of coffee, staring into the brown liquid as if it would be able to tell her the secret to waking up after such poor quality sleep.

“I didn’t really notice that it was so late…” Victoria spoke, still on the high that she had from both multiple orgasms and post-orgasm sleep. She was about to apologise once more when Josh walked out of the shower room in nothing but his boxers and her eyes fell to him, the beautiful man who had given her so much pleasure, had told her that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, and she bit down on her lip as he smirked at her.

“Oh for God’s sake…” Juliet shook her head and rolled her eyes as she caught sight of what her friend was staring at, and although she sounded angry there was a small smile on her face which told Victoria just how happy she was for them. And she was.

Juliet and Danny had felt the full brunt of everything that had happened around them and had spent most of the time trying to deal with a deservedly forlorn Josh, a version of Victoria which none of them had ever met before and Andy who was doing everything in his power not to relapse and take Victoria for his own. The two had always been the ones without any drama, but it seemed crazy to have to deal with so much of other peoples. Luckily everything seemed to have worked itself out, and as Juliet tucked herself into Danny’s body for an afternoon nap after soundcheck she felt more content than she had done in weeks.

Two weeks went past mostly the same, with everyone trying to stay out of the bus and laughing as Josh and Victoria made unceremonious escapes from any group situation in order to “make up for lost time”. It wasn’t until the night before the gig in San Francisco exactly fourteen days after Josh and Victoria got back together that the group sat backstage playing quarters as they heard the crowd forming outside.

“Do you think that you’re done with this crazy streak you two are on?” Andy spoke, sipping his beer with a smirk on his face which was only made worse when one of the girls that worked at the venue walked past in a short skirt, “You’re making it hard for the rest of us to bring girls back y’no..”

“Speak for yourself,” Danny grinned and Juliet couldn’t help but laugh at him, rolling her eyes as she sipped on her gin and tonic

“I’m not sure man,” Josh grinned, squeezing Victoria’s thigh and she licked her lips at the movement,

“I’m sure we could continue our streak somewhere else to you wanted to bring a girl back...although I thought you had a thing for fucking in green rooms?” She teased and he smirked at her, shaking his head as he chuckled,

“I save that exclusively for shitty cocaine-fuelled radio deals, but I appreciate you remembering my preference,” He winked before he stood up and walked in the direction of the girl who was talking to one of the stage managers, and Victoria couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head and how blatant he was being.

“Got his confidence back without the coke then?” She offered to the group and Danny nodded, “He got an email saying that they’ve sent his 60-day sober chip in the mail this morning, I’ve never seen him so excited about anything.”

“God we’re going to have to get earplugs aren’t we?” Juliet grinned as she looked between Andy and the girl and Josh and Victoria and Victoria chuckled and laughed, “We’ll keep it down…”

The run-up to the show was running smoothly even with Andy sneaking off with the girl to get a drink, and Danny and Josh stood at the side of the stage watching people chanting for them. It was unreal that they had come this far, that they had gone from playing shitty little venues in San Francisco to small venues in London, and now they were playing the same stage that they had watched some of the greats perform on. Victoria and Juliet had been a godsend, had helped them more than they had ever expected anyone to help and had brought them further than they had ever expected. None of the band really thought that the time in London would bring them anything but life experience, had expected to come home and have to get normal jobs with the promise of weekly band jams fading into history as they got increasingly more stressed. But here they were, performing for thousands of hometown fans, known internationally and represented by an independent record label which allowed them to do what they wanted with their music.

The merch that Victoria had put on their online store was selling out faster than they could order the shirts in, and she was liaising with new designers each day to find new products to put on the site. Juliet was incredible with the money side of the business, ensuring that royalties were being distributed and even charging the venues that they had booked in advance for The Dangers to perform as they almost all of the venues on the west coast had to release more tickets due to them selling out so quickly. They even had a European tour booked in for a few months time, and Victoria had been speaking to international contacts to see if there was a way for them to go even further afield.

They had never expected in their wildest dreams that they would be standing backstage at their favourite music venue with everything they had ever dreamed of. But for Danny, there was one more step to take.

“You sure you’re ready?” Josh spoke as he smiled at his friend, the drummer's hands shaking as he swallowed thickly. Josh had never seen Danny this nervous, and he knew that this had nothing to do with performing for a home crowd, or the fact that the girls would be meeting the parents after the show.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for months so it’s definitely right time… I just hope that she’s okay with the way I do it.”

Andy came up behind them sipping water and wrapped his arms around both of them, “Ready boys?” he grinned, and after a nod and Josh’s traditional hug with Victoria, they ran on stage to perform the final show in their first American tour.

Half way through their set, Victoria and Juliet were standing side stage and watching them, and they were so used to the setlist now that it surprised them when Josh and Andy called Danny to centre stage between two songs which were supposed to be played one after the other.

“So San Fran… I don’t know if you know this but this is our home town show, the last show on the most amazing tour of our lives, and we want to take this opportunity to thank every one of you for coming out tonight.” Josh spoke into the mic as they all grinned down at fans who were holding signs bearing their names, wearing their faces on their t-shirts - it was all so unreal.

“But most of all, we want to thank the girls who have made this happen. Without them, we would still be playing in Danny’s garage or in tiny little venues in London. Come out here…” Josh beckoned them both and Victoria swallowed, nervous at first until he came and took her hand, dragging her and Juliet to the middle of the stage in front of a massive crowd of people.

“These girls quite literally changed our lives,” Andy spoke, his arm around Victoria as she stood between him and Danny, “And it’s only right that they get the recognition they deserve so give it up for Wildfire Records!”

*The crowd erupted, and Victoria grinned between her friends and the crowd, thanking them and walking over to give Josh a kiss, knowing how much he loved public affection.

“And uh... I just have something else I wanna say...” Danny took the mic from Andy who stood back, a smile on his face which Victoria couldn’t place, and Josh began to play a sweet melody which made her smile, but not as much as what happened next.

“Juliet… since the day I met you, I’ve felt like you’re the only person in this world who truly understands me, who knows my thoughts before I say them out loud, the only woman strong enough to help me through everything that life has thrown our way. The only woman who could deal with my friend's dramas and the only woman who could stop me losing all my money in Vegas.” He grinned at her, chuckling as she did but her expression of joviality turned to total shock as he pulled a small box from his pocket and got down on one knee. The crowd screamed, and Victoria looked between the boys in total shock that they had kept this from her too,

“There is no one in this universe that I would rather spend my life with and I want everyone to know it.” He grinned at the crowd, his hands shaking as he opened the box to show of a sparkling diamond ring inlaid with emeralds to match her hair, “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Will you marry me?”

Tears immediately fell from Juliet's eyes, and she nodded before she could even say anything, and he stood and picked her up, spinning her around as the crowd roared for them, Victoria leaning against Josh as tears began to well up in her eyes.

Josh pressed a soft kiss to his girlfriends cheek before he ran over to Danny and hugged him and Andy wrapped his arms around Juliet, each member of the band hugging the girls until Andy took back the microphone, “Alright now that cuteness is out of the way, lets get back to showing you guys a good time yeah?” The crowd screamed and the girls made their way off stage, Victoria grinning wider than she felt she ever had done as her friend did the same, and the two didn’t even watch the rest of the show for looking at the ring and discussing plans for the wedding.

And so the tour was over, the band had successfully broken America and came back to England with a few months left on their original trip plan and a determination to tour more of the world, to see more countries, to play to more people and to share their ongoing happiness with others.

#wildfire records #original story #lauren writes

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antiques-for-geeks · 5 years

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LCD Golf Games

Somebody, somewhere has to review these things?!

OK, first a little context. While my wife was in hospital waiting for the arrival of our daughter my brain desperately looked for some sort of worry release valve in the long hours between hospital visits. I did what any normal man would in this situation. I set about trying to put together the best damn collection of handheld LCD golf games the world has ever seen! They were mysterious! (nobody was interested enough to discuss them). They were plentiful! (as unwanted gifts often are). They were super cheap! (the sellers could barely give them away). Now, a couple of years later I have a happy and healthy daughter but also, crucially, a box full of assorted unplayed handheld golf games.

…and I’m going to tell you lucky people all about them!

Outside of the Nintendo’s Game and Watch series, LCD handheld games are often disregarded in the world of retro gaming. In a lot of cases this is fully justified; they lack the appealing mini-arcade aesthetic and bright colours of the larger tabletop VFD games, and there’s so much low quality landfill to be found, especially in some of the later licensed efforts from companies like Acclaim and Tiger. Let’s be honest - we only ever played them for want of something better.

Despite this I still find something fascinating about the attempt to create engaging gameplay using such limited technology. LCD games can only display their images in a series of fixed positions, so that’s a pretty severe limitation. This goes doubly for something like showing an 18 hole golf course with a variety of hazards like bunkers and lakes. Yet here are a handful of games that attempt to do just that - recreating your favourite ruined walk with what amounts to a slightly beefed up watch display.

Pro Golf

Bandai / 1985

The first, and earliest of my collection is this effort from Bandai, a well respected and prolific handheld game maker back in the 80’s. Many of these golf games were aimed squarely at the bored executive market, and were therefore often found in plastic-leather slip cases. This one has a nice little ring bound course guide attached, filling in the details that an LCD display can’t. This is definitely the simplest of these games; your only input is to select your club and time the swing. There are no complications like shot positioning, wind direction or the camber of the green to contend with. The courses do have a selection of water hazards and bunkers to avoid. This simplicity really works in the game’s advantage, because there’s a pretty clear relation between what you think should happen and what gets shown on the screen.

All these games seem very similar when it comes to taking a shot, with a single action button. You press the button, you see your little LCD golfer take his swing, you press again (or maybe release) at the end of the up swing to select power, then again when the downswing reaches the ball for accuracy. Between this and club selection there’s enough going on to make this 100 times more engaging than what the majority of arcade style handhelds could offer at the time. It’s also worth noting that all these golf games have a two player mode where each player alternates their shot, adding to the longevity. In a twisted sort of way golf is the perfect subject for the humble handheld!

Despite this I would like to see you have tried to make me choose this over my Astro Wars tabletop back in 1985.

Summing up, there’s enough variety for this to have been a decent time waste on a long train journey (assuming you didn’t hate golf) and the graphics are nice and clear. The sound is just beeps and a crappy tune, but you can switch if off to avoid a riot in the quiet coach. A thumbs up!

World Challenge Golf 2

Bandai / 1991

Here’s another effort from Bandai, and this one is quite a bit more involved. It’s stored in another leatherette slip case …but this time there’s a set of laminated cards provided, with the hole numbers written on each side. One end of each card has a background for the course, with the par and length to the pin, as well as a small map. The other end has the layout of the green, with some arrows showing which way it runs. Before playing each hole you slide these cards into a slot so they show behind the LCD screen, providing scenery ‘graphics’. This is exactly the kind of thing I find very cool about old tech - an ingenious solution to get around the inherent limitations of the LCD handheld. Ignore the fact that the classic Gameboy had already been released by this point and Nintendo’s Golf kicks all of these dedicated handhelds right into the gutter… using laminated cards as the background is awesome, and should be applauded.

Anyway, back to the game, you can now select shot direction, though in a very limited way. You can also see where you ball lies on the small course map, though the 3D view of the course and the swinging golfer are smaller and less detailed than the earlier game. Once you get to the green, you can see the ball position in a top-down view against the background card, and need to adjust for the camber.

Despite my admiration for the sheer ingenuity shown by this game, I have mixed feelings about it. It feels like the designers have bitten off more than they can chew. It is playable, but in trying to provide all the features of a fully fledged computer golf game it only highlights the fact that you’re not playing something better. It’s also significantly less easy to pick up and play than before.

Despite my misgivings, I like this one a lot as a collectible curiosity and it does come the closest to feeling like you’re actually in control of where the ball is going on the course. The sound is still beeps and a crappy tune which can be turned off.

Championship Golf 2

Radio Shack / Tandy / Late 1980’s?

I’ve seen various different re-branded versions of Radio Shack’s Championship Golf, but this one is a larger two screen effort, with individual buttons for club selection. No slip case this time, but it does have a built in screen protector with the course maps in a pouch on the underside. It’s less pocketable than the Bandai games but on the upside it takes AAA batteries, and it feels robust and well built. This one has 2 different 18 hole courses - apparently these are Japan and the USA. You can’t see storks dipping in ornamental koi ponds in Japan or try to nail Trump with a wayward drive in the USA, but the course layouts do change. The left screen shows a top-view of the course, while the right shows the traditional behind-the-golfer view.

You can’t select the shot direction, though your shot can wander into the rough if you mistime your button press on the down stroke. Though the golfer view is slightly lacking in detail, you’re shown exactly where your ball is on the overhead map screen, and this really adds to the playability. There is a wind indicator, but it’s only ever toward you, behind you or calm.

This is a really nice effort, with most of the simplicity of the earlier Bandai game, but with sensible additions to add some extra depth.

The sound is still beeps and a crappy tune which can be turned off.

Tournament Golf

Radica / 1999

This Radica unit has a nice big screen, with lots of detail on the golfer and the course, though I don’t like the plasticy case much - I miss the fake leather and solidity of the earlier games! The swing button is shaped like a golf ball, and is fairly satisfying to press. There are 4 different courses to play though, which is very generous.

The representation of the golfer’s swing is the best yet here, with a large and very clear meter prominent in the bottom right of the screen. This shows power, indicates fade and draw (your shot veering left and right) and gives a power indicator for putting. This game features a really detailed wind effect, with direction and strength. The wind even changes as you wait to take your shot for extra realism. Choosing power and correcting left and right for the effect of the wind should a lot to this game, but the limitations of that LCD display spoil the effect for me. Because there’s no overhead course view it’s quite hard to reconcile what you can see on the screen with what’s happening in the game, and that really matters when you’ve got so many game variables to deal with. It’s also a pig to time a shot when you’re close to the pin without pinging out the other side.

One excellent feature of this game is the sleep mode. There’s no off button, but if you leave it alone for a minute the screen turns off, and you can pick up your game at a later time. This is perfect for gaming on the go.

I’m perhaps being unduly harsh, but this is probably my least favorite so far. Despite the clear graphics and greater complexity it lacks the charm of some of the earlier efforts.

On the up side, this one at least has a digitised swoosh when you hit the ball. You’ll still want to turn it off though…

Talking Golf Master

Systema /1997

On to the final of our selection of games, this effort is from Systema, a well known maker of really average LCD games. This one has a plastic flip cover, with course maps and club distances on the inside. It doesn’t exactly feel premium, sharing that cheap plasticy feel with the Radica game. Worse, the action buttons are recessed little behind the cover, making it slightly awkward and uncomfortable to press them. I figure LCD game designers had given up trying to impress anyone by the mid 90’s.

The game itself is largely OK, with a very basic direction control and simple wind conditions, but the graphics are about as basic as the two screen Radio Shack game, without the benefits that the overhead course screen brought. The sound seems to be a real selling point for Systema, but it’s irritating beyond belief, with constant super loud bleeps punctuating your play. There are some sound samples; a brief compressed second of bird song or occasional encouragement from your caddy. You’re sure to love the attention you get on the bus as he waxes lyrical about how good your hole was.

You can turn it off, and you’ll want to. I’d give this one a miss.

The 19th Hole

At last we’ve come to the end of our review! Back to the clubhouse for a steak pie... I feel like a complete golf casualty now. The games can lie safely in their boxes for another few years. My daughter is sure to love LCD golf time with daddy, no?

#antiques-for-geeks #LCD #golf #retrogaming #videogames #afg #review #handheld #bandai

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kpoprambles00-blog · 5 years

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MAMAMOO (마마무) - White Wind (9th Mini Album) [COMEBACK REVIEW]

[NOTE: I couldn’t fit in all the videos due to the video limit, so click/press the name of each song to go to YouTube and listen to it!]

There's a very well known saying that we often save the best for last. And yeah, that might not always be true, and I'm not trying to spoil my opinion right away, but... MAMAMOO took that saying to heart. HARD. I've loved the vast majority of what they've given us with the '4 seasons, 4 concepts' thing they've been doing for the last year or so - with their last album, Blue;S, admittedly being my least favourite, and Red Moon being my favourite. Yellow Flower was alright, with a few great songs here and there.

But White Wind? White Wind is THAT BITCH. AND I MEAN IT.

At this point this blog is basically composed of hyperbole and nothing else, but... holy fuck, this album. THIS FUCKING ALBUM. These sorts of releases are the reason I started this blog and these comeback reviews - every now and again we'll get to see something really special get released, and White Wind is one of those occasions. It's... the best thing MAMAMOO have ever done, period. And it absolutely shows why these girls are so damn popular. This is one of those albums that's making me proud to be a Moomoo since "Mr. Ambiguous". This is THEIR album. This is MAMAMOO's evolution if you ask me - this is where they go from a great group to a downright phenomenal one.

So I could wax on all day about how phenomenal this project is, or I could actually SHOW you why. And hey, that's what this blog is for, so buckle the fuckle up and get ready to have your wig fly to Mars.

I mean it. Get some glue for that shit, you're gonna need it.

1. WHERE R U

Any time I'm listening to a MAMAMOO song, and I hear Solar say this at the beginning:

🌟🌙✨C O S M I C ✨🌙🌟

I IMMEDIATELY LOSE MY SHIT. 'CAUSE THEN YOU KNOW THE SONG IS GONNA BE GOOD.

Cosmic Girl (formerly Lucy from RaNia) and Cosmic Sound have worked with MAMAMOO as composers and lyricists for quite a while now. But I'm now at the point where I'm convinced - CONVINCED, I TELL YA - that they cannot make a bad song for the girls. And "Where R U" serves to continue that trend!

It honestly fits the title of the album really well; there's some plucked strings and marimba-like notes in the instrumental that feel so damn breezy and relaxing. As well as this, the song's tempo is slow, but not slow enough that you're bored with it. "Where R U" is a very bright, smile-inducing song if I'm being honest. I was grinning like the Cheshire Cat the first time I listened to it, it's just damn delightful. It also helps that all four members sound like honest-to-god angels here. And hey, any song where Moonbyul sings more is a good song in my book!

The lyrics carry this very light-hearted feel to them, as well - they match the song perfectly. They're very sweet and heartfelt, but with emphasis on a lot of minute details that are super charming. It's not often that MAMAMOO actually do a lovey-dovey song like this, but when it's done right, it's very effective. And yeah, that's absolutely the case here! I like the lyrics a lot.

Do you want to eat and watch a movie? Just the two of us? The corners of my lips are curling up just thinking about it

All in all, I don't have a single bad thing to say about this song. It serves as a great introduction to the album, since it's slow and breezy yet pleasant at the same time. It's the perfect sort of song for a really summery day, to be honest - not the sort of sound I thought MAMAMOO would nail like they did here, but damn! I'm impressed. And that's just the start of this album. Oh boy.

2. GOGOBEBE (고고베베) [TITLE]

Not gonna lie, leading up to this song's release, I actually listened to all of the teasers - which is something I very rarely do - and I got hyped. It all sounded a bit more hip-hop inspired than most of MAMAMOO's title tracks, and the vocals sounded out of this world (as per normal). So when the song actually came out, and it was THIS good? Yeah, I was floored from the word "go".

I remember reading an interview where the girls themselves said "Gogobebe" is "a term that means everyone should just play, go, and enjoy themselves". And yeah, that certainly comes across here! There's playful acoustic guitars scattered around the instrumental, some really bouncy synths, a STRONG bassline, and choruses that just fucking explode towards the end of the song. Seriously, this is the sort of song you'd blast at a party at 2am, and the entire room would start singing along - think "Mr. Brightside", but not on the same level of recognition, obviously. That shouty "뻔뻔하게 놀아 미친 듯이 즐겨" section in the choruses is AWESOME.

I feel like this is the first title track we've had where MAMAMOO get to show off their personalities a bit more, too? Like, we all know how upbeat and playful these lovable idiots are, but that's mainly shown off in their side tracks - like "Taller Than You" or "Sleep in the Car". But here, their personalities are on clear display. This is a song they can have fun with, and that absolutely comes across in both the MV and the live stages. And when the song is this contagious, it catches on fast - just listening to "Gogobebe" puts me in a really good mood!

The playful/party theme of the song is carried over really well into the lyrics, which are also about just enjoying yourself and not caring about what comes tomorrow. There are a few stellar lines in there though, especially in Wheein's introduction and Moonbyul's second rap - apparently Solar and Moonbyul both helped write the lyrics, and if that's the case, consider me very impressed! They're a really fun and uplifting. (Also "너와 나의 mix and match" is A DAMN GREAT LINE. Thank you very much.)

The people who talk too much Always die first in the movies So raise up your self-love

So the song and lyrics are great, but what about the choreography? Honestly, I feel like MAMAMOO haven't had that many stellar choreographies; they're more focused on their songs and performances. Which is completely fine, that's just their style - but I'll be damned if they didn't knock it out of the park for "Gogobebe".

NOTE: The choreography in the video below is mirrored, so it's actually the wrong way around! There isn't an official dance practice for this song, so this is the best I could find.

youtube

That's mainly because they got Mina Myoung from 1MILLION dance studio to do the choreography here; and her skill in choreographing shows massively. There's a lot of pretty complex footwork and fast movements here, and yet the girls look flawless doing it! My favourite part is honestly the "9 slash 6" section after that second chorus - MAMAMOO go OFF and I am living for it. There's just a lot of complex details and touches here that make the routine so fun and pleasing to watch - they all make it look so easy, too, which, hoo boi that's not the case once you learn it. It's tough, but in the way that I love!

And hey, the girls even visited the studio to perform it with Mina when she taught it for a class. That's adorable. 😄 (Also HOLY SHIT WHEEIN. GO OFF GIRL. MAIN DANCER COMING THROUGH.)

Yeah, "Gogobebe" was fucking amazing. It's definitely up there with MAMAMOO's best title tracks, if you ask me - it's got the right blend of charm and charisma yet some silliness as well, and if that doesn't sum up the girls I don't know what will. I really hope they keep this momentum going, cause goddamn, I'll be a proud Moomoo if they do. :,)

3. WAGGY (쟤가 걔야)

Not gonna lie, when I saw the title of this song for the first time, I immediately thought "CHOO CHOO JOKE SONG TERRITORY HERE WE COME". And while that isn't completely false, it's definitely not completely true either. The jokiness of this song comes across more in the live stages than the actual song itself, since "Waggy" is actually an adorable little love song! And when I say adorable, I mean ADORABLE. This shit nearly gave me a goddamn cavity.

Let me be clear when I say that cutesy songs like this normally aren't my thing - I often find that unless they do something unique with their cuteness, I'll be bored with them veeeeeery quickly. But thankfully, describing your crush like a little puppy who follows you everywhere is JUST the sort of unique charm I look for in these sorts of songs. It's a memorable metaphor, and IT'S JUST TOO DAMN CUTE, MAN.

There's also the fact that the song itself is infernally catchy; the drum beat matches how my head was bopping along when I listened to it for the first time! It's honestly very reminiscent of Animal Crossing for me, since the soundtrack in those games is very similar to "Waggy"; full of acoustic guitars, simple rhythms and nice little songs you hum the melody to every now and again. I'm... honestly quite disappointed that this didn't blow up amongst young kids like iKON's "Love Scenario" did - it's adorable, and not that complicated either! There's also the fact that when the girls try to be cute, it either works, or ends up being hilarious (for example: Solar's little animal impressions in that bridge. I was ROLLING).

The lyrics are certainly another one of this song's assets, if you ask me. This is already "Puppy Love: The Song", and the lyrics definitely fit that theme! I'd love to know if the girls were able to keep straight faces whilst recording this, because I feel like there would've been a few laughter fits here and there... But like I mentioned before, that comparison of your crush to a puppy is the best part of this song. Hands down. My heart has melted and I'm surprisingly okay with it. ALSO HWASA SINGING IN FRENCH HOLY FUCK.

Woof woof woof, follow me upstairs, puppy When you follow me around You're seriously so cute

Y'know what the cherry on top for this song is, though? The live performances. Go watch them and then try to tell me that MAMAMOO are a deadly serious group. Hwasa looks like the friend that got dragged into everything because she lost a bet, and it's hilarious. 😂

But I don't think there's much else I can say about "Waggy"! It's got the perfect mix of jokiness and cuteness to be memorable, and it's irresistibly fun to boot. And catchy. Seriously, I've had this stuck in my head for weeks. Help.

4. 25 (WHEEIN SOLO)

All I can say is: IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME.

A lot of Moomoos caught on quite quickly that each member would get one solo per album; Hwasa had a solo on Yellow Flower, Moonbyul had hers on Red Moon, and Solar had hers on Blue;S. BUT NOW IT'S WHEEIN'S TURN. If you ask me she's the most underappreciated member in MAMAMOO! And yet, while this doesn't live up to "Moderato", her other solo - but let's be real, what can - it's still a pretty solid track that acts as a nice interval to the album itself. And hey, Hash Swan isn't in this, so that already makes me happy! (Seriously, that guy's voice is insufferable... couldn't RBW have picked someone else???)

Similarly to "Where R U", "25" has a very chill, relaxed vibe going for it, with some atmospheric guitars and echoing vocals in the instrumental. I really like the triplet/sped-up rhythm of the lyrics in the verses, too - they give the song a nice bit of flavour where it's needed most. And obviously, the star here is Wheein; her vocals are no joke, she's the best vocalist in MAMAMOO in my opinion. But I do unfortunately feel like the song runs a bit short? It feels like she was hampered a bit, and I don't like that very much. She deserves her time to shine, too. But either way, she's still got a gorgeous voice, and she does get her chance to at least show that.

But aside from Wheein's voice, the lyrics to this song are my favourite thing about it. I never expected Wheein to take such a mature angle! And yes, she helped write the lyrics for this, go figure. Wheein actually talks about the topic of growing up, and trying not to lose your innocence and curiosity as you become an adult. She fully admits that growing up is, at times, not something she wants to do - she just wants to curl into a ball and not have to face adulthood. But eventually you get used to it - you adjust, you adapt, and you become more comfortable with the person you are (as well as who you'll be in the future). It's... surprisingly deep? Yet really, REALLY beautiful at the same time. They really changed my opinion on the song, actually! I went from being lukewarm on it to really, really liking it.

At times, I don't want to grow up Like the natural days I want to talk about it myself, but it's hard

"25" ultimately ended up being a song I really enjoyed - and yes, that's largely because of both Wheein's vocals and those amazing lyrics. The song itself does run a bit short, and I do still think it had a lot more room to develop, but what we got in the end is of an insane quality. Wheein should really try her hand at songwriting more, because if this is the sort of thing she's going to write, I'd love to hear what else she can come up with. 👌

5. BAD BYE

Ohhhhhh man, now we're getting into the part of this review where I just start to gush.

Everything we've had so far is either insanely high-quality, or memorable enough to become one of my favourite MAMAMOO songs - but now we're going into ballad territory. And THAT is where MAMAMOO apparently decided to step things up a notch, and turn this album from a good one into a great one.

All I can really say about "Bad Bye" is this: if you haven't done so already, listen to it. Just... listen. Sit there, listen to it in its entirety with no interruptions and preferrably a good pair of headphones, and just take it in. I can 100% GUARANTEE you that you will cry. Even if you've never been through a breakup, even if you can't understand the lyrics - that doesn't matter. I promise you, this song will leave you bawling. If you're not crying by the end, you'll certainly be close to it. And yes, that's largely because of the song itself and its execution, but what really put me over the edge was THE MOTHERFUCKING VOCALS.

People always categorise MAMAMOO as a "vocal group", right? Because of their power and technique, and the fact that pretty much all of the members can sing? I've always felt that title was fitting - but holy SHIT, this is taking it to a new level. Not only are Moonbyul's raps full of anger and raw emotion, Hwasa, Solar and Wheein fucking nail it vocally - THOSE ADLIBS, MAN. THOSE ADLIBS. They legitimately left me in tears here.

I cannot wait to see clips of this from their upcoming concerts, because if they sing this live? ...I may just collapse to be honest. "Bad bye" is so beautifully done, and so emotionally performed on the girls' part that it's breathtaking. And really, really damn heartbreaking, too. It's one hell of a sincere ballad. The instrumental has a part to play there too, because even though there are very skittery trap snares throughout, they never overpower the really emotional piano line - they never feel like a distraction, and they actually end up giving the song a good rhythmic base. But yeah, they're nothing but background to the girls' vocals, which are honestly some of the best in the industry. Fight me.

But if your heart wasn't broken from just listening to the song, don't worry! There's lyrics to help with that! Moonbyul once again helped on the writing here, and the lyrics end up being just as emotionally charged as the song and vocals. It's like the icing on top of a really depressing cake - but in a good way. There isn't a dull moment in them, they're as descriptive and heart-wrenching at the end as they were at the start.

Stop trying to comfort me now, I'm holding back tears I'm afraid of it being the end if I turn my back I can't go, I can't do it - tell me this isn't it

I could go on forever about "Bad bye", honestly. It's just... perfect in the saddest way possible. THIS is the sort of magic I look for in ballads; this has so much legitimate feeling and so many emotions to it that it makes you emotional regardless of whether or not you understand the words. I really didn't think they'd blow me away this much late into the album, but... man, was I wrong. As I'm typing this, their concert is taking place tonight (April 19th) - and I know I said it earlier, but I'm saying it again. I DESPERATELY need to see a live performance of this song. Please. 😭

Y'know what else I need a live performance of, though?

6. MY STAR

BITCH, YOU'RE ASKING ME TO PUT MY FEELINGS FOR THIS SONG INTO WORDS?

Hooooooooo man.

This song made me FEEL things, y'all. IT STILL DOES.

Again, once we were blessed with that "Cosmic" namecall at the beginning, I was excited. Really, really excited. I know Cosmic Girl & Sound make phenomenal MAMAMOO songs, so this was going to be great, right?

BITCH, WRONG. IT WAS GOING TO CHANGE YA DAMN LIFE.

We're only four months into the year. FOUR. MONTHS. And I may have found my side track of the year. Because "My star" is fucking insane. It, once again, left me in tears - but not because the song was emotional. I was in tears from how fucking shook I was whilst listening to this. This song goes haaaaaaaaaard. The bass and drumline in this song is SO damn powerful, the really creepy synths are right up my alley, the hand claps are hype as fuck, and THEM VOCALS. LET ME FUCKING TALK ABOUT THEM VOCALS. Because the girls all sound jaw-droppingly good, but... I need to call someone out real quick.

SOLAR.

MOTHERFUCKING KIM YONGSUN.

BITCH?!?!? WHERE WERE THESE VOCALS HIDING????

Did y'all even HEAR that fucking F6?! LIKE. FOR REAL?! KE$HA IS (majestically, like the queen she is) QUAKING.

Those adlibs... that was a fucking spiritual experience. My soul has left this plane of existence because of those high notes. Looks like she heard that I thought Wheein was the best vocalist in MAMAMOO and decided to fucking change my mind, good LORD.

Another huge thing for me is that this song has sustained my hype for it SO DAMN MUCH. Often, I'll love a song to death once I first hear it, but then it'll wear off over time. But "My star" is so good that that hasn't happened!! It is not only one of the best Cosmic tracks the girls have, but THE BEST B-side MAMAMOO have done. Period. It rivals "Midnight Summer Dream" from Red Moon for me.

And hey, speaking of "Midnight Summer Dream", this song also carries a creepy vibe! Now, unlike "Midnight Summer Dream", I don't think that creepy vibe is intended on "My star". But goddammit, read this song's lyrics and listen to those distorted/reversed synths during Solar's first verse, and tell me you don't immediately think 'stalker girlfriend'. This is a yandere anthem and y'all can't change my mind. IT'S CREEPY AND I LOVE IT. I really want to see a yandere MV for this. PLEASE, RBW. MAKE MY DREAMS COME TRUE.

But every time I breathe, [and] my heart is beating I can't feel it through you I wanna be your love

So don't mind me. I'm just going to go listen to this song for the millionth time and cry over how good it is. And also Solar's falsetto.

UPDATE [21/04/2019]:

THEY ACTUALLY FUCKING WENT AND PERFORMED IT LIVE.

The best video I can find of it right now is this Wheein fancam but I DON'T CARE. THEY ACTUALLY DID IT.

youtube

QUEEEEEEEEEEEEEENS.

7. 4SEASON (OUTRO)

...you know an outro is good when I want it to be a full song.

And that NEVER happens with me. I very rarely listen to intros/outros and go "huh, this would be nice as a full song". But that happened with "4season"! It's so nice and chill, literally perfect for listening to in a coffee shop of some sort. It's very short, of course, but the blaring synths and the trap snares actually make a really cool, atmospheric outro. And, as always, all four girls sound phenomenal. It's MAMAMOO, is that really surprising to you at this point?

Since the song is so short, the lyrics are going to be quite minimal as well. But the lyrics here remind me a lot of "Daydream" from Dreamcatcher's recent album - they seem to be a thank-you of sorts to the Moomoos. And I love stuff like that - it's super heartwarming when an idol/group does it, to be honest. If you're a Moomoo, you know how much MAMAMOO really do care for their fans, and that just makes this all the sweeter. :,)

One by one, build up [the] good memories and walk Walk together You and me

"4season" ultimately serves as both a great outro to "White Wind" as an album, and the '4 seasons, 4 colours" project as a whole! And godDAMN, what a way to end it. I wasn't kidding when I said this album is the best of the 4. It's skyrocketed its way to my list of favourite MAMAMOO albums, and I can't wait to own this physically. It's 100% worth it. 😊

ALL THE SOURCES FOR THE ENGLISH LYRICS I USED IN THIS REVIEW: Where R U Gogobebe (고고베베) Waggy (쟤가 걔야) 25 (Wheein Solo) Bad bye My star 4season (Outro)

COVER IMAGE CREDITS: Wind transparent background by KissPNG

#sfw #mamamoo #마마무 #gogobebe #고고베베 #white wind #comeback review

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bee-kathony · 6 years

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That’s Amore | Tales From Fraser’s Ridge

This is a collection of tales about characters that live on Fraser’s Ridge in North Carolina. Most stories are set after or during the book ‘Drums of Autumn’ by Diana Gabaldon. Missing moments I thought would fit in nicely, mostly a look into the domestic simple days of our favorite characters, it’s the little things isn’t it?

Part 1: Tell Me About the Bicycle | Claire & Jamie Part 2: A Song From the Past | Roger & Bree Part 3: Let Me Wash You | Claire & Jamie feat. Bree (briefly) Part 4: Reminiscing | Claire & Bree Part 5: Happy Birthday Sassenach | Claire & Jamie feat. Jenny, Ian, Rachel, Roger, Bree, Jem & Mandy Part 6: By the Fireside | Jenny & Bree Part 7: Saturation | Claire & Jamie (wee bit of Roger & Bree) Part 8: That’s Amore | Claire, Jamie, Roger, Bree, Jem, The Bug’s

PART 8: THAT’S AMORE

I sank down on my knees, careful not to get too much dirt on the hem of my newly washed dress as I started plucking tomatoes off the vine. Bree wanted to make pizza, she said her and Roger had missed it and that she thinks she could make a good version of it in this century. With only a few modifications to the ingredients like sheep’s milk for the cheese, as it would melt easier than the cheese we usually kept. I put five large tomatoes in my basket and found the fresh basil that would help enrich the flavours. She asked for garlic too, I had plenty of that already somewhere in my surgery as it was helpful for dressing wounds.

Jamie was up at the makeshift distillery where we brewed our own whiskey, gathering a barrel of cider he had made a few weeks ago to pair with our pizza. I let Bree be in charge of the crust, she had already started kneading the dough when I came out to collect the rest of the ingredients.

I stood up, grabbing my basket and checking to make sure I had what I needed. It was Jamie, Bree, Roger, Jem and I, along with the Bugs who would be eating pizza tonight. I calculated that between Jamie, Roger and Arch Bug we would most likely need three large pizzas to feed us all.

“Sassenach!” Jamie called, meeting me on my way up to the Big House, his arms wrapped around the barrel of cider. “What exactly is Bree cookin’ tonight… this ‘pizza’?” The way that ‘pizza’ sounded coming out of Jamie’s mouth made me laugh, his thick Scottish accent making it sound more like ‘peesa’.

“It’s basically a bread base, covered with a tomato sauce and then topped with cheese that melts when you cook it. You can put almost anything on pizza like different meats, vegetables and some people even put pineapple on it! Although I find that rather disgusting… who puts pineapple on pizza?” I stuck my tongue out and pretended to gag, making Jamie look at me with a worried expression. “I dinna know what pineapple taste like Sassenach but from the look on ye’re face, I may never want to taste it.” Jamie said as I opened the door, smelling the wood that had begun to burn in the small oven.

I walked into the kitchen, Jamie following closely behind, “Oh pineapple by itself is very good, sweet and juicy. Just not with pizza.” I said, setting down my basket and letting Bree take a look. Jamie set down the cider on the table and walked back over to me.

He patted my bum and leaned in, whispering “I do know what else is sweet and juicy Sassenach and I think I shall be wantin’ that for dessert.” I pursed my lips at him and hit him playfully on the arm, “We’ll see about that.”

“Mama, these tomatoes look great! Can you start crushing them to make the sauce? And then Da would you mind checking that Roger found the cheese alright? I asked him to get it about ten minutes ago.” Bree ordered us to our stations, Jamie departed with a quick kiss to each of our foreheads and I crushed the tomatoes, mixing in a few spices like salt, pepper and oregano I had got while trading for medicine the last time we where in Cross Creek.

“This was a very good idea Bree, the pizza. It will be a treat to eat something that hasn’t been simmering in a pot all day.” I grimaced, the amount of stew and soups I had consumed this past winter was astonishing and I would be glad to never eat it again.

Bree turned to me, hands dusted in flour, “It was Roger’s idea really, we were thinking of things we missed like coke and beer and what goes better with those than pizza?” She smiled and started forming the dough into a large round circle. I was so grateful to have Bree here but often when she spoke of our own time it brought sadness to my heart. If only there was a way to bring all the good things from our century to this one, mixing the best of our times together.

I brought the bowl of crushed tomatoes over to Bree, hoping it would work for the sauce. Just then Roger and Jamie walked through the door, Jamie holding the sheep’s cheese and Roger with guitar in hand.

“Singing tonight are we?” I glanced at the guitar as Roger placed it leaning against the wall. “Oh I have a song in mind.” He grinned a devilish grin and walked over to Bree, placing one arm around her waist and pulling her close to him.

“Jem is with the Bug’s down in the cabin, they said they’ll bring him up in time for pizza. Although they weren’t quite sure what to make of what I told them pizza was.” He clicked his tongue, grabbing the remaining dough and helping Bree form another circle shape.

“I hope this cider will be alright, it was brewed only a few weeks ago so it may not be ready yet.” Jamie said, resting his arm on top of said cider. I walked over to him and stood in between his legs, placing my arms on his shoulders. “I’m sure it will be fine Jamie, it always is.” I gave him a quick kiss and went over to help Bree finish up the pizzas.

It took us some clever thinking but eventually we got the pizza into the oven. Without something flat like a spatula to transfer the pizza in the oven, we ended up all putting our hands under the dough and carrying it. The smell began to waft through the house, making my stomach growl.

“Did that sound come from ye mo nighean donn?” Jamie asked, placing his large hand across my belly. “Yes, I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.” I laughed.

“Dinna eat my horse Sassenach, but take a shot at Clarence if ye must.” He joked and began to rub small circles against my stomach. “Hey, I like Clarence, even if he greets everyone a bit too loudly, he’s the best mule there ever was.” Jamie kissed me, licking my bottom lip. I pulled away just as the Bug’s came in with Jem running to jump in Roger’s arms.

“Ooh ye’re getting heavy Jemmy” Roger huffed, swinging Jem back and forth by the arms, his legs dangling and threatening to hit anyone in close proximity. Bree gave Roger a side eyed glance and Roger promptly stopped swinging Jem and placed him on the bench in front of the table.

“We must behave Jem,” Roger grinned, his back ramrod straight and he crossed his eyes, making Jem burst into a fit of giggles.

“The pizza is almost ready everyone! I’m just waiting on the last one to finish cooking and then we can eat.” Bree said, looking into the oven one more time to check the progress. “Da, do you mind filling everyone’s cups with cider?”

Jamie nodded and walked over to the barrel, I followed behind him and handed him glass after glass until everyone had a drink in front of him. Jem of course had milk, he was a bit young to drink the cider obviously although I had caught Jamie giving him a sip or two out of his cup a few too many times in the past.

Mrs. Bug helped us carry the pizza over to the table and Bree pulled out her Swiss Army knife, “This should do the job, since we don’t have a pizza cutter.” She said proudly and started slicing the pizza into eight even slices. I had to hold back my laugh as I watched the curious gazes and “oohs and aahs” from the Bugs and Jamie as they watched Bree slice up the pizza. Who knew pizza would be such an interesting thing?

I picked up a slice of pizza and took a bite, instantly regretting it as it was still piping hot from the oven and scalded my mouth. “Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ!” I shouted and stuck my tongue out. Everyone at the table gave me odd looks and then eyed the pizza with sudden disgust.

“Oh no! The pizza is delicious, nothing wrong with it except the temperature. Eat up everyone.” I said reassuring the table, “It’s really alright” I said to Jamie as he picked up the slice and bit off the smallest bite ever known to man.

“It is good Sassenach, well done Brianna.” He smiled and then took a normal sized bite, finishing another two slices in quick succession. We drank and ate until there was nothing left but crumbs on the table, pizza had now become a Ridge favourite and I suspected we would be making it more often.

Roger stood up from the table and picked up his guitar, adjusting his hands on the strings he began to play a familiar tune.

“What’s that song Mackenzie?” Jamie asked, pouring more cider into everyone’s cups.

Roger grinned at me and Bree and began singing, “When a moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore, when the world seems to shine like you’ve had too much wine, that’s amore…”

#roger mackenzie #bree mackenzie #outlander #tales from frasers ridge #claire fraser #outlander fanfic #jem mackenzie #fraser ridge #mclairefras #ao3 #jamie fraser #claire and jamie #eating pizza on the ridge #now i want pizza #the next chapter is steamy yall

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