#((I play around and change things up a lot but in a verse she has a box animal she does spoil them periodically yes))

[queenharumiura]

((Memory serving, after the TYL arc the animals could still come out in the case of Mukurou and Natsu, especially. Vongola gear won't stop them from coming out. After the rings fused with the Vongola rings, Natsu has been shown to willingly pop out of his vongola gear on his own to greet Enma. I'm willing to bet the others can too, they simply don't do so.

All this to really say: I'm sure at one point Haru walks up to someone like, when is the last time you let your friend out to have fresh air and give them pats? Let them out.

Translation: Haru will hijack the animals to pamper them at times because hard-working animals need to be spoiled too!!! If you won't do it, she'll do it for you!))

[artbyblastweave]

Hey so, thought exercise, how do you think Taylor would fare if she got dropped into the invincible universe? For the sake of mechanics let's say she literally gets dropped in via doorman portal or something.

So one thing about Invincible is that I think it's setting is protagonist-centric in a way that Worm's isn't. To the extent that Invincible's setting has worldbuilding- worldbuilding that isn't, like, ported in from the books's early association with the confederated Image Comics shared universe- it's worldbuilding that exists to convey the impression of a big-two-flavor universe. Here's our spin on the undersea kingdom, here's the riff on the Martians, here are our riffs on SHIELD, on Gotham, on Themyscira, on 70s blaxploitation-adjacent heroes, and so on. This is the entire ethos underpinning the Guardians of the Globe in particular- piggybacking on pre-existing audience affection for the Justice League to convey that it's a Big Fucking Deal when the guardians get blendered in issue 7.

You have flashbacks demonstrating that there was capital-S Superhero Stuff going on in the seventies and eighties, or as far back as the thirties with Immortal, you create the impression of a status quo, a big pond in which Mark is a little fish. And to Kirkman's credit, some effort clearly went into making sure that the non-Mark capes are sufficiently fleshed out that you can believe that they've got other stuff going on in their lives. But at the end of the day, it's the Invincible universe. You don't see a lot of people talking about the Guarding the Globe spinoff. Many of the most interesting characters- Cecil being a big example here- are interesting because of the ways in which they bounce off Mark specifically, the ways in which he chooses to deal with them. The universe is less of a character in the story the way that Earth Bet is- it's just the place where Mark's story, specifically, is happening. If there's a codified setting bible, I'll eat my hat.

Now of course the world of Worm is, in many ways, equally Taylor-centric, because that's what it means to be the protagonist. But owing in part to the themes of the story, and in part to the sheer number of false-start protagonists Wildbow played around with before settling on Taylor, it's very good at conveying the idea that there are many stories happening in this setting and Taylor's is just the one this particular work happened to focus on. There's an actual point to doing OC worldbuilding for what the superhero scene looks like in Wormverse Denver or Seattle or whatever- whereas you can come up with superhero teams for Invincible-verse Denver, but what actually ties them to that universe? What are you getting out of putting them in Invincible specifically, that you wouldn't get from whipping up a barebones MASKS setting to support your OCs? Anyway. This is a really long way of getting to my real point, which is that I think the question is less "how does Taylor bounce off the Invincible setting" and more "How does Taylor bounce off Invincible the character, around whom the setting orbits even when it pretends not to."

This I'm unsure of, because where do you stick her in his life where you get an interesting dynamic? One thing that's interesting here is that Mark's overall character arc already involves learning a lot of taylorisms- the strategic ruthlessness, the shift from a good-evil dichotomy to a helping-not-helping dichotomy-so what about his arc is going to change if they spend time together? Why would they spend time together? Given the different power levels on display, what would differentiate her, in his experience, from the dozens of filler capes that exist for him at the level of "vague acquaintance?" This is assuming she's active as a cape at all, which she might not be if this is Post-GM. Mutual association through Cecil and the Global Defense Agency might be a hook- maybe they're paying for her new arm or something- but would she latch her cart to Cecil's wagon in the first place, barring some obvious crisis situation? Hard to say. If she's depowered, and present in his life somehow in a civilian context, well, that's a fast-track to not being part of the story anymore either, given how Mark's civilian connections slowly fading away was kind of a quiet plot point.

There's some configuration of these pieces that could be interesting, but I'm not quite sure what they are. Soliciting input here.

[someplace-darker]

In The Static | Ted Lasso

Pairing: Ted Lasso x reader (no y/n) Wordcount: 2.1k Warnings: panic attack/talks of panic attacks, vague mentions of trauma. That's about it I think, it's a touch angst and hurt/comfort I suppose. Fluff. Summary: Ted thought he was past his panic attacks until he encounters another, and you follow him to make sure he's okay. A/N: "now jay" you might be saying "wasn't the last thing you posted smut almost a year ago?" and the answer is yes. But i've recently become insanely attached to Ted Lasso, and I dipped my toe into writing more than a wip. SO here's my middle aged white man of the month. Enjoy :)

“REFEREE!!!” Keeley stands with a force that causes her to latch onto your arm to keep from falling forward. It continues to astound you that for such a tiny lady, she really contains an insane amount of spunk. One of the opposing team’s men had just slid Sam’s legs out from under himself, causing him to land hard on his shoulder. The game had been a rough one so far, more aggressive and bitter than most. Richmond had been respectful at first (as per usual) but the second their opponents had started playing violent and dirty, that changed.

Roy and Beard were obviously shouting and pointing angrily, though you couldn’t make out what they were saying from your seat in the box. Ted, however, was standing stiffly with his balled fists shoved into the pockets of his Richmond zip-up. You can feel that something is off. Even if you can’t see his face, you know him well enough to read his body language. There’s mere minutes left in the game and the teams are tied.

Rebecca is already standing and gathering her belongings to head back in, gesturing for the lot of you to follow. That’s exactly what you begin to do before the crowd goes ape-shit, jumping from their seats and screaming so loud it makes your head thrum. 

“ROJAS INTERCEPTS THE KICK AND PASSES TO TARTT AND JUST LIKE THAT-”

You turn just in time to watch Jamie kick the ball into the net, the stadium erupting in cheers that shake the ground.

“AFC RICHMOND TAKES ANOTHER VICTORY 2-1 IN A SHOCKING LAST SECOND SCORE”

Keeley, Higgins, and Rebecca rejoice, grabbing at each other in shock. Placing your fingers between your lips you let out a piercing whistle, jumping up and down as thousands of chants echo. You look down to your coaches, expecting to see all three soaking in the sweet relief of not gaining another loss. Instead, you see Ted darting for the locker room, head down with his phone held two inches from his face. It was obvious to you that he was trying to use it as a cover. 

“I’ll meet back with you guys later, I’ve gotta check something real quick.” 

They smile and wave you off, relishing in the buzzing excitement clearly felt throughout the facility. As much as you wish you could join them in celebration, you were pretty sure Ted needed you more. So you slip through the small crowds with ease, having much practice during your time with Richmond, taking the back staircase to the locker room hallway. 

At first you check his office, finding only his jacket laying on the floor. The second spot you search is the right one, opening the door to darkness. You almost turn and leave but a staggered breath gives him away. 

“Ted?” you whisper, stepping into the boot room and closing the door gently. He sniffles almost silently and hums in response, curling in on himself when the lights flicker on at your touch.. You’ve never seen him look so small before, his entire body condensed into half of his height in the corner of the room, the sight moving you to shut the lights back off for his sake.

“Hey,” you murmur softly, walking over to kneel in front of him. He has his head placed between his knees, hands on the back of head with his fingers intertwined tightly. As much as you know of his panic attacks, you’ve never been present for one. Something tells you he tends to keep it that way with everyone around him. 

However, you’re well versed with them yourself.

“I’m gonna sit beside you, but I won’t touch you unless you say it’s okay.”

You lower yourself onto the ground, the floor cold beneath your already freezing ass. England's weather was not kind to the warm blooded. Ted doesn’t lift his head all the way, simply angles it towards you just enough for an eye to peek out from behind his arm. He looks at you with the gaze of a wounded puppy, eyes red and wet, smeared with warm tears.

The silence that follows is deafening, a faint ringing the only thing you hear. Ted looks like he wants to say something, but thinks better of it. It’s not like you can blame him. The last time he opened up to someone he considered close about his panic attacks, it ended up plastered on every magazine and tabloid across the country. Trust within himself and others had been fractured- not broken. No one could ever betray Coach Lasso enough to break that within him, it was fundamental to who he was as a person.

After a few more minutes of silence his foot slides over to yours, just barely nudging it. He lifts his head and sniffles, using his sleeve to wipe the mix of tears and snot off his face.

“I want to tell you about it, I do. I’m just… stuck. Feels like if I tell you, it’ll be too much,” he murmurs, keeping his foot pressed to yours.

“I understand, Ted,” you whisper. “I started having panic attacks before I was even a teenager. I’d been through things- rough things -and they plagued me for years.” He begins to unfurl himself, listening intently to every word you say, the blatant honesty and vulnerability easing his anxiety. “It took me a while to open up to anyone about them, let alone a therapist. I spent so long trying to hide them, that when I finally did get help I felt like a fake.” 

Ted adjusts himself to sit up straighter, shimmying closer so your shoulders touch. You can tell he’s trying to be inconspicuous about it, but the man is known to be anything but subtle.  Outside you can hear the boys begin filing into the hallway, headed for the locker room surely for some type of victory activity. Their shadows dance across the wall in the darkened boot room, slashed into segments by the blinds slanted slightly open. Both of you seemed to have held your breaths as they passed, because as soon as they’re gone there’s a simultaneous exhale of relief.

An amused breath comes from Ted, palm pressing from the corner of his eye to the tip of his cheekbone to wipe away the stray tears. He knocks his knee against yours and dares to glance at you, opening up enough to make eye contact. Here in this room, he looks more human than you think you’ve ever seen him. For the most part he keeps his mood insanely optimistic, tending to care more about others happiness than his own. It gave him an almost otherworldly bounce to his step and light to his eyes. 

But now that he’s sat no more than two inches in front of you with puffy eyes and a chewed lip, Ted is just… a broken man. 

“You’ll never be too much, Ted. It’s normal to feel stuck, and it’s okay to not be able to talk about it yet.” His eyes flick to your hand when you lift it towards him, a lifeline of trust, openness in the form of warm skin and an upward facing palm. Internal conflict tugs at his lungs, his breath hitching as he weighs his options for all of five seconds before taking your hand. You are someone Ted knows he can always find solace in. 

Someone who he could spot in a crowd of thousands, someone who he will always seek out. 

His other hand reaches to pat the top of yours, rubbing his thumb against your skin in soothing circles. A shuddered breath begins to pass his lips, but he smothers it to ashes with the cool press of a kiss to your wrist. 

Humming amusedly at the feeling of his mustache tickling your skin, you lean your head on his shoulder, moving slightly as they lift with the intake of air into his lungs. “I suppose you’re right. I just feel bad that I haven’t spoken to you ‘bout it,” he tsk’s softly to himself, carefully navigating his brain for the right words. 

“I was fine out there, y’know? I’ve been doin’ better, Sharon’s helped a lot. But it just got so loud, and everything felt out of my control- out of any of our boys’ control and I- I just couldn’t breathe. Tunnel vision, boom, just like that.”

You whisper encouragements softly under your breath, murmurs of ‘it’s okay’ and ‘you can keep going’ pushing him gently in the right direction. Voices can be heard from the locker room, loud cheering and chanting from the team acting as muffled background noise for Ted’s moment of vulnerability. 

“After everything that happened with Nate, I learned to mask it a bit better I guess. That’s the fancy word Doc told me about,” the corner of his lips quirks up “I figured I’d be okay in here for a bit anyway, then you walked in.” Your brows furrow and you pull away from his shoulder, opening your mouth to apologize for intruding but he beats you to it.

“No, no, that sounded different than I meant. I am very glad that you found me here. I needed you even if I didn’t know it,” he traces the details of your face with his eyes, not stopping you when you move your head back down to his shoulder. 

“I think you’ve worked on it so much quicker than you realize, Ted. It wasn’t that long ago, yeah? Healing and improving takes time, and it’s okay that it takes time. I certainly took my time,” you muse, channeling your own therapist’s word. “But I think it’s right on par with who you are, who I know you to be, that you got on it as fast as you did. Even if it was begrudgingly at first.”

“Yeah, Doc definitely had her work cut out.”

You laugh, normally at first but then Ted snorts and you both lose it, bodies bumping against each other with the shakes that come with post-meltdown laughs. Soon enough you’re both wiping away tears of a different variety, the air in the room much lighter than before. You take that moment to push yourself up and off the floor, lending a hand to Ted to pull him up.

“I am immensely proud of you, Coach Lasso. So is the team. You have a very large family backing you up, as unorthodox as said family is.” You take one step closer, hand still holding onto his, pressed between your bodies. Taking your free hand, you hold the side of his face and lean in to kiss his cheek, thumb stroking his jaw. 

Ted presses into your lips, chasing your touch even when you turn to the door. Twisting the knob open you find Will standing there, boots tied by their laces hanging over his shoulder, hand outreached to grab the now absent handle. 

He blinks at the two of you for a second, gaze one of vague shock, before curling his lips in an embarrassed smile and stepping out of the way.

“Not a word, Will,” you sing-song when he opens his mouth, pulling Ted down the hall to stand outside of the locker room door. 

You can hear Roy in the middle of a somehow happy/angry sounding congratulation speech that only he is capable of, grinning and turning to face your Coach once more. “Now, get your butt in there and relish in the sweet taste of winning.”

“I mean, relish is pretty tasty-”

“Ted.”

“Yep,” Ted takes a deep breath and nods, squeezing your hand “you coming in with me?” 

“I don’t want to intrude on your moment, Coach.”

He rolls his eyes exaggeratedly and pushes the door open, dragging you with him. The boys’ faces light up, immediately rushing to storm him, all reaching to touch him and jumping up and down. Their team song buzzing and bouncing along with them.

“WE’RE RICHMOND TILL WE DIE, WE’RE RICHMOND TILL WE DIE, WE KNOW WE ARE, WE’RE SURE WE ARE, WE’RE RICHMOND TILL WE DIE”

You slide past the group, safely reaching Roy and Beard without your feet being stomped on. The smile on your face is one of pure joy and contentment, not faltering when Beard slides to your side, bumping your elbow. 

“Thanks,” he speaks, nodding towards Ted. It’s easy to know what he means immediately, always one to be of few words. 

“No need to thank me,” you reply easily, watching your family bond even more “it’s what we do.”

[wordsbyrian]

First Camp - USWNT x Reader

Summary: Another fic set in the Polyglot!verse! This time its R's first time at senior camp set in November 2019

A/N: Bro, there was so much I wanted to fit in to this one that had to get cut. I think I might just write the cut bits as little drabbles instead

It isn’t every day that people get a call-up to play for their senior national team for the first time.

But as you walked into the hotel lobby, you couldn’t find it within yourself to be excited. The only thing on your mind is getting to your room so that you can take a nap and try to fight off your jet lag.

Unfortunately, that isn’t an option for you, as your flight from Spain had been delayed twice causing you to arrive mere minutes before the first team meeting, with not even enough time to put your bags in your room.

Practically sprinting down the hall to the conference room, you leave your bags outside the door and take a seat in the very back-row moments before Vlatko stands to address the team.

“Okay, ladies, let’s get this meeting started, I know you’re all very excited to get to whatever you have planned for the afternoon,” he says, glancing around the room. “Firstly, we’ve got some fitness testing in the morning, so try to make good choices for the rest of the day.”

The rest of the meeting continues in much of the same fashion, with Vlatko and the rest of the coaching staff running through the planned schedule and what to expect going into the two friendlies.

“Final thing before you all head your separate ways,” Coach says as everyone starts to gather their things, “You’ve noticed by now that it’s Y/N Y/L/N’s first camp, so make sure you show her how we do things around here but let her rest before you drag her into your antics. Dismissed.”

Grabbing your suitcases from the hallway, you follow the wave of players leaving the conference room towards the elevators.

As you stand near the back of the group staring into space you feel a hand place itself on your shoulder. 

Turning around you lock eyes with Christen Press.

“Hey, Y/N, you’re rooming with me, Vlatko thought it would be best to keep you away from the chaos of some of the others,” she says.

“Cool, they uh they look like they can be a lot,” you say, watching over your shoulder as Kelley, Rose, and Sonnett shove each other.

“They can be,” she says, “How was your flight in, I know you arrived just before the meeting.”

Stepping around the squabbling trio that has managed to find themselves on the ground, you wait for the elevator doors to close before answering.

“The flight itself was alright, it got delayed a few times because of a storm,” you say watching as the numbers on the display rise and the doors eventually open.

The two of you are silent as you make your way down the hall and into your room.

Once in the room, conversation flows easily, and the two of you get to know each other. Eventually, though Christen leaves to go hang out with Tobin and you take the opportunity to have a shower and a nap.

This is why you’re not surprised to wake up to someone pounding on the door although when you open it you’re shocked to see Mallory and Tierna on the other side.

“Hey, Chris sent us to wake you up and make sure you get ready for dinner,” Mal says, stepping inside when you open the door wider.

Both of them immediately make themselves comfortable on the edge of Christen’s bed, while you head to the bathroom to change.

30 minutes later, the three of you find yourselves seated on one side of the long table that’s been placed in the conference room.

While you would’ve been more than happy for the meal to pass in silence, the other women on the team have chosen to use this as an opportunity to ask more questions than you thought possible.

Some of the questions are fairly tame, like ‘where are you from’ or ‘what’s your favorite cheat meal’ but once Mal asks who your favorite player is, the wheels begin to fall off a little bit.

It’s partially your fault because you should’ve known that they weren’t going to accept you not naming a female player.

“I watched a lot of United and Barcelona matches growing up so I wanted to be Luke Shaw, Patrice Evra, and Jordi Alba,” you say, hoping that would be enough.

“You didn’t watch any women’s soccer growing up,” Pinoe asks.

“I did.”

“So who’s your favorite player,” she asks, and when she sees how hesitant you are to answer she continues her needling, “Is it one of us? More importantly, is it me?”

“It’s not you.”

“But it is one of the people in this room.”

“I plead the 5th.”

This is when Kelley decides to join in on the needling but after a couple of minutes, Alex takes pity on you and gets her to stop, which gives Lindsey, the only other player to skip college completely, the opportunity to ask you a question.

“You left high school early to play for Barcelona, why,” she asks.

“School sucked, home sucked, playing football for money decidedly doesn’t suck,” you say plainly.

“That is the most teenager response I have ever heard,” Alex says.

“I’m 17,” you tell her, “I’m not sure what you were expecting.”

That sends a shock wave through the team, even the ones who were further down the table seem to have heard what you said.

“You’re practically an infant,” Kelley says with a disbelieving grin, “Even compared to Tierna and Mal. When do you turn 18?”

“Next month.”

A look of pure glee comes across Sonnett’s face and it makes you kind of nervous because as the seconds pass it only gets bigger and bigger.

And then she says, “Congrats Baby T, you’ve been promoted to little kid; Y/N is officially the team baby.”

Tierna begins to celebrate from her seat on Mal’s other side and while you are nervous about Sonnett possibly planning to kill you, you do your best to put on a show of moaning and groaning. Besides, it does feel pretty good to know that you’ve been accepted into the fold so quickly.

The rest of the meal continues in much of the same manner, with the entire team taking the time to relax and get to know each other better.

At the end of the meal, you and Christen make your way back to your room and get ready for bed.

Just before turning off the lights, she asks the one question you haven’t heard yet tonight: How are you feeling?

“Nervous but excited,” you tell her, staring blankly at the ceiling, “I want to play well and show Vlatko that he didn’t make a mistake calling me up.”

“I remember seeing you at the U-20 World Cup last summer, I don’t think you’ll need to worry about that too much. You’re talented and everyone who doesn’t know it yet will soon,” she says, flipping the lamp off.

The next few days pass in a way that makes it easy for you to adjust to the rhythm of camp.

Practice is hard, of course, and Columbus is fucking cold in November, but you do your best to push through everything and make sure you show what you have.

You also use the time to continue getting to know everyone both on and off the field, it’s hard because they all play on the same teams and in the same leagues. Even Cook who plays in France has an advantage over you in that she did go to college and has played with or against others on the team.

It’s all made a little easier by the fact that Tobin and Christen have taken it upon themselves to take you under their wings and with them comes Mal, so by the first team bonding activity you find yourself to be the newest member of their makeshift family unit.

It’s weird but it works besides with everything going on you don’t have time to worry about it. 

By the time you turn around, it’s the day of the friendly against Sweden.

Even though the game has a late start time, you still find yourself waking up at your normal time of 8 a.m., so that you can complete all of your game day rituals.

A lot of athletes like to lie about not being superstitious but you’ll admit it proudly: Your entire mood on game days rests on whether or not you can stick to your schedule, even if you aren’t in the squad.

The weirdest of your superstitions and the one that usually requires the most explanation is the fact that you refuse to speak at all before pitch inspections on game days. A routine that you have always accompanied with a pair of noise-canceling headphones.

So before you leave the hotel room, you write two notes explaining the situation. One to keep in your pocket and one for Christen to find when she wakes up. Her note also has instructions saying that she can find you by the pool doing your morning meditation.

Which is exactly where she finds you roughly 45 minutes later.

Looking up at her you can see the slightly annoyed look on her face as she begins to rant but you can’t hear anything she’s saying. Eventually, she huffs angrily and tosses a scarf and hat at you before pulling you to your feet.

At breakfast you watch as the team passes around the note, most of them immediately agreeing to leave you to your routine but there are a few moments where Sonny tries to get you to speak, only to receive blank stares.

After that, the rest of the day passes smoothly.

You don’t get any minutes against Sweden but that was to be expected, it is only your first camp after all.

The next morning, you along with the rest of the team are on your way to Jacksonville, Florida.

The flight is just as chaotic as every other experience you’ve had with these women, they’re inability to relax is both comforting and agitating at the same time.

Originally, you had sat on your own but now 30 minutes into the two-hour flight, you find yourself surrounded by the younger group of players.

“Y/N/N, have you ever been to Florida,” Rose asks, pulling you back into the conversation.

“Nope.”

“Are you excited," Andi questions, leaning over the seat in front of you, "Do you have family coming?"

“I mean, I’m always excited to play but Florida isn’t really doing it for me,” you answer. “As for family, I doubt that my parents are gonna fly in to watch me play when we haven’t spoken in over a year.”

That seems to have gotten everyone’s attention because suddenly it feels like all eyes are on you.

“You’re 17, why haven’t you spoken to your family in a year?”

“Running away to play professional football kind of puts a strain on relationships,” you say casually.

If all eyes weren’t on you before they definitely are now, especially if the number of gasps you hear is anything to go by.

“You ran away to play in Barcelona,” Becky asks from her spot near the front.

“Not technically but I was told not to go and then when I did I was told in no uncertain terms to not return unless I decided to quit playing entirely,” you explain.

Everyone stares at you shocked until Ashlyn says what everyone's thinking.

“Dude. What the fuck?”

“You would've been what 16,” Christen begins, “Aren’t there a ton of FIFA laws about that sort of thing?”

“Yea but it would take too long to explain how I got around them,” you begin casually, “Besides don’t you like having plausible deniability?” You see a look pass through the faces of each of your teammates that lets you know that the answer is yes. “Ask me no questions and I will tell you no lies,” you finish.

Some of the girls still look slightly uneasy but they all seem content to just let sleeping dogs lie. 

So, the rest of the flight passes with relative ease, and everyone returns to their own activities. You find yourself drawn into what is easily the most competitive game of Uno you’ve ever played.

The remainder of the day, and the next for that matter, pass with the same ease.

On the day of the Costa Rica game, you go through your routine with little stress.

You do your meditation, eat breakfast, take a nap, grab an afternoon coffee with Mal, Sonny, Rose and Lindsey, do pitch inspection and then it's game time.

The first 45 minutes of the game pass incredibly fast and as you make your way back into the locker room, you’re already up two-nil.

Vlatko’s half-time speech isn’t anything special and if you’re being completely honest, you haven’t heard a single word he’s said.

At least not until one of those words is your name.

“Y/N,” he says.

“Yes, coach?”

“You like to play on the left side, don’t you?”

You nod.

“Good, you’re going in for Sonny, go get warm,” he tells you.

You stare at him in silence for a moment before a shove in the back from Rose gets you moving.

You don’t remember much of the match, but that’s a common occurrence for you. Your adrenaline is always pumping way too strongly.

What you do remember makes you think that you played well. A couple of strong tackles, crosses that hit their mark, and no goals were given up as a result of any mistake you made, so it had to have been a pretty decent game.

Your beliefs are further reassured by the way the team gathers around congratulating you on your performance, some of them patting you on the head or back.

Back in the locker room, after you've all spent some time greeting the fans and after coach has given his little postgame talk, you find that the energy in the room is slightly different than what you’ve been getting used to. Everyone is still making noise but now it seems as though they’re all shaking with anticipation.

Then suddenly, Becky is trying to get everyone to calm down so she can address the team.

“Alright settle down girls,” she says, waiting for silence. Once she gets it she continues, “Three players made their senior team debuts today and since they’re all defenders, it’s my job to give them their game balls. Midge, Cookie, the two of you started and kept the right side locked down for the full 90 minutes.” Then she turns to you. “And Y/N/N, you put in 45 and are the only person I’ve ever seen talk trash after taking a cleat to the stomach. But most importantly, the three of you along with Sonny and Sully made life easy for our keepers and no balls found the back of our net. Good Job!”

As the girls break into applause, Becky tosses each of you a ball.

Everyone disperses a bit after that, headed to press conferences and the showers but you take a moment to stare at the ball.

It must last pretty long though because eventually, you feel someone taking a seat next to you. And since you can still hear her attempting to sing from the showers, you know it's not Rose.

“Are you okay,” Mal asks.

“Yeah, I’m good,” you say, “Did I really get kicked in the gut?”

She nods, “It was pretty bad to watch. Does it hurt?” You shake your head slightly so she continues, “Well you took it like a champ and I didn’t hear what you said but the Costa Rican player looked pretty pissed.”

“I don’t know either but I have a feeling I’ll never live it down,” you laugh, finally looking at her.

“It’s probably already all over the internet, so maybe not.”

“Great.”

[plan-3-tmars]

Goodbye, My Danish Sweetheart.

Hey I think the framing of this scene is really fucking cool and I wanna talk about it because I haven't seen anybody do that. yet so. yahooo!! let's get into it

BUT FIRST. Symbolism:

an empty chair can symbolise the absence or memory of someone dear who has passed away. This is very obviously meant to represent Hinako in this scenario

In my interpretation, this scene is Kazui saying goodbye to Hinako and apologising for the circumstances of her death.

The lyrics that play are:

"I’m sure nothing will change and we’ll laugh together and call each other stupid names, so many things I wish i hadn't known, I'm just a coward."

The first part of this verse sounds like he's wishfully thinking about what could've happened after he told her the truth - if anything a bit naively.

Kazui wanted (and still wants) to get the weight of his lies off his chest, but he wasn't ready to face the consequences of that confession, most likely making Hinako's death hit even harder.

Here, he bows to the chair before turning around leaving, a silent goodbye.

~

But what about what's going on in the background of this scene? Well!

As Kazui leaves, these two scenes flash in the background. On the table in the first shot is our good friend the green apple, and Background Kazui picks it up, analyses it, before biting it.

So let's go for another symbolism refresher!!

Green apples can sometimes represent platonic relationships, like friendship, but in Kazui's case this takes the form of a sin - as not loving Hinako romantically is what he's lying about - making it a reference to the Garden of Eden story.

Going from that, biting into an apple can represent feeding into temptation.

My interpretation of this scene is Pre-Marriage Kazui indulging in his 'sin', which in my opinion is the fact he's gay.

Let's go back to that lyric shall we:

"I’m sure nothing will change and we’ll laugh together and call each other stupid names, so many things I wish i hadn't known, I'm just a coward."

So many things you wish you hadn't known huh.. Not knowing you were gay would sure make lying to your wife a whole lot easier wouldn't it?

"What I gave up a long time ago, why is it questioning me now? So many things that I should now have known, I'm just a coward"

Woohoo evidence for Background Kazui being Pre-Marriage Kazui!!!

I think this scene is the last time Kazui let himself be free before marrying Hinako. This could possibly have been when he noticed she had a crush on him at their work.

He's indulging one last time. Embracing his sin instead of hiding it away one. last. time. before giving it up for good, almost like a. goodbye.

~

So. I think this scene is framed this way in order to show the parallel of Kazui giving up his sin, and Kazui mourning Hinako's death.

As established, they both have a "goodbye, I'm sorry things turned out this way" atmosphere to them. Kazui is apologetic, in a way, that he has to give up on being his true self and he is apologetic of his lies murdering Hinako, so Milgram conveys this by showing the two scenes posed the same way in front of one another.

This framing also gives the scene a Beginning Vs End feeling that I think is really cool, and the use of Dark Vs Light colours only heightens that! (Though that's slightly off topic rip)

Conclusion? I love this scene it's awesome and amazing and super cool

[inbarfink]

I mean, the thing that’s really amazing to me about the Rocky Horror Cult Phenomena is how much it fits with the themes of RHS. Like, Rocky Horror becoming The Midnight Movie and gaining this huge culture of callbacks and cosplay around it wasn’t like something anyone planned for or anything like that - it was a super-unexpected and strage and organically-grown thing and it just amazing how well it resonates with the movie itself. So many movies gain Fandoms that are kinda at Odds with What the Movie is Actually, so it’s really incredible that even with the Rocky Horror Fandom being what it is, it’s also so in-sync with the movie it’s based around in a strange way. 

Like, if you actually wanna think seriously about RHS, there are few major lenses of interpetation you can view it through: as a 70′s-style mockery of the 50′s, as a narrative about both the anxiety and thrill that comes with the changing times, as a Garden of Eden allegory starring a weird Reverse-God whose gospel is debauchery... but I think one of the biggest ones for me is how it is obviously a tribute to the experience of watching horror and sci-fi movies late at night - and the way these movies, however silly, can offer a sort of getaway from the restrictive, repressive environment of your everyday life. 

Like that is kinda what “Science Fiction/Double Feature” is literally about?

It’s about how much the speaker wants to watch a late-night screenings of science fiction\horror movies. And the verses are peppered with all of these vaugely sexual innuendos, it’s clear that this is at least part of why the speaker wants to go to the late night double feature picture show. Whatever it’s because sci-fi outfits allow for a bit more fanservice than your Regular Movies (”And Flash Gordon was there/In silver underwear”), or cause the thrills of the monsters can become strangely sexual (”And I really got hot\When I saw Janette Scott\Fight a Triffid that spits poison and kills”) or just for some midnight alone-time in the back row...

And in the stage version that line is usually sung by an Usherette character which kinda makes it like... it puts another layer of reality between the audience and the plot. Like, what is seen on stage isn’t a musical abstraction of Brad and Janet’s misadventure but a musical abstraction of the experience of the Usherette (and the cinema audience played by the Actual Audience) watching a horror movie starring Brad and Janet. In the Picture Show, this is replaced with just like... a lot of intentionally kitchy transitions and editing tricks to constantly remind the audience that This Is a Movie. Because regardless of the medium, Rocky Horror is in some way about the Experience of Watching Movies.

And this also comes up when the Criminologist speculates about the nature of reality - it is actually true that life is an illusion and reality is a figment of the imagination, because he is a fictional character in a movie. And Magenta’s verse in “Time Warp”

Like, I suppose literally in-universe she’s talking about her hobby of spying up on people in the castle (like she did to Janet and Rocky in ‘Touch-A-Touch-A-Touch-A-Touch Me’) but like... this is also about being The Audience? Like, the Audience watching the movie are the one who are sitting invisible in ‘another dimension’ and see everything that’s going on... and are being freed by fantasy. (and also it’s important to note that Magenta and the Usherette generally share an actress on stage, and in the Picture Show, share lips but not a voice).

I think you can very easily read Rocky Horror as being About how yeah these old horror movies are cheesy and stupid but they’re also, like, a place of escape from mainstream conservative culture, where you can allow yourself to celeberate the weird and transgressive. Even if it’s kinda bittersweet under the conditions that this transgressiveness always has to come from Monsters and Aliens, and that it was to always Obviously Be Bad, and it must be Defeated and Destroyed at the end - as both the protagonists and the audience must return to the daytime world of normalcy.

Even with Magenta kinda being the Usherette, I think the comperison between Brad and Janet and the Audience is a bit more important. They’re the one who transition from the everyday daylight world of social norms into the late-night world of transgression and release that is Frank’s Fantastic FuckCastle. I mean, that’s why they have so little agency in the plot, they are mostly just sitting back and watching the events unfold. That’s also why Brad seems to have adapted the “Dr. Frank N. Furter did nothing wrong” position by the movie’s climax (”What’s his crime?”). It’s kinda like he’s not really viewing him as a real life person within his own reality, but like a fictional villain. Which is also how Frank views himself - as we can see at the end of “I’m Going Home”. From an in-universe perspective, it seems like a delusion. but from our perspective he is 100% correct. There IS an audience of people watching that entire show unfurl and cheering for him. 

Basically yes I am saying Frank N. Furter is himself’s, Brand and Janet’s Problematic Fave

And then when Frank dies and the Servant Duo beams back to their home planet, it’s explictly not a triumphant moment. It’s not a moment of heroism or any sort of moral victory for normalcy over transgressivism. Like, Frank and Riff-Raff share a lot of the same rotten personality flaws - it’s just that Frank is confident and flamboyant about them while Riff-Raff is resentful and self-loathing. That’s part of why Columbia and Rocky had to die, to drive home the fact that Riff-Raff isn’t doing any of this out of concern for Frank’s victims or even really to go home. It’s purely about his own personal beef. And for Brad and Janet, the ending is really melancholy due to the way they have been stranded back in the ‘real world’. All of the strange characters are either dead or gone, the setting itself literally beamed off the planet. They’ve been changed by their experience, but now they’re back in this daylight world that they escaped from. Cause in the end, the Science Fiction Double Feature always ends. 

And you’ve got all of this, and then you look at Rocky Horror The Cultural  Phenomena and it’s like....... it became like the ultimate encapsulation of what it was tributing to begin with. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is THE late-night science fiction/horror movie event. Midnight Screenings carry this movie and this movie is iconic to Midnight Screenings. And it’s this place that allows you an escape from normalcy and a space to be transgressive - through shouting sexual and\or dark jokes along with everyone else in the movie theater and through being a space for experimenting with gender presentation and\or sexually provocative outfits....It really just became the extremely concentrated version of the experience it was trying to convey in the first place.

And the whole Audience Participation and Shadowcast phenomena really works to enchance the movie’s film of nonreality, which is I think Important to it. Like you know, when you’re sitting in a very rowdy movie theatre shouting profanities at the screen while a bunch of friends mimic the actors’ actions with a few cardboard props because they’ve seen the movie so many times they know them by heart - the murder and the cannibalism seems more and more unreal by emphasizing how much it’s Performance. But “Don’t Dream It, Be It” - already an in-universe Performance by the one character who knows there’s an Audience, feels just as real as ever. 

And it just, it FITS SO WELL TOGETHER, it’s amazing none of this was intentional or even predicted. It’s really just beautifully poetic that this fandom happened.

[gloomysoup]

another edition to the nickelback chronicles, brought to you by my missing chad kroeger hours (i promise i'm bringing you other content soon). this is also set in the secrets universe, so i think that's just what these are gonna be from now on. oh, and the song today is far away from all the right reasons (2005). enjoy !

when eddie left, he knew he was going to write a song. well, he knew he was going to write a lot of songs, but he had one in particular brewing in his brain. It would be a slow ballad; something dedicated to steve just like everything else he wrote in those days after leaving. this song was a little different though. this one took him months to finish, which wasn't like any of the other songs he'd written to that point. he wanted to apologize. he wanted steve to know how sorry he was, how much he loved him. it took him a long time to find the right words. the melody came easily, strumming chords on the beat-up old acoustic in the back of the van while one of the others drove for a while.

when the song was finally released, eddie took a chance. he didn't send it to steve directly. he didn't think he deserved to do that, since he's the one that walked away. he sent it to wayne, hoping maybe he could get it to steve, or anyone. he sent it to dustin too, with slightly less hope in him. he knew he didn't deserve anything from them. he wouldn't have blamed anyone if they ignored him.

he never knows if anything came of it. he just goes about his career like it was nothing, like he wasn't putting his entire heart out there for everyone to hear. part of him could never let it go. he needed steve to hear the words, even if he wasn't actually there. they put it on the setlist of almost every tour. eddie fights tears every time, wanting nothing more than to go back to steve. maybe that's why he wrote the second verse of that song, promising to give it all up just to hold steve one last time.

he didn't know that steve listened to that song all the time. every day. later in his pregnancy with their pups, he would sit on the living room floor while robin was out and play the song over and over. the tears always roll down his face as he listens to eddie singing through the speakers, singing to him about their love and how much he misses him. and every time, without fail, the twins follow the sound. they move and kick and push to get closer. after their born, steve stills plays it. it always calmed them down when nothing else worked. as toddlers, he'd sing it or play it when they had nightmares, or weren't feeling well. it was a comfort for them, and for steve. he always told them their dad wrote it for them, even though eddie didn't even know they existed.

when eddie comes back, when he learns that he has pups, when he and steve finally work things out, steve still doesn't tell him about the song. he tries to stop playing it. he doesn't want eddie to know, but he doesn't really know why. it shouldn't be a secret, but for some reason, he keeps it that way. but that all changes early one morning, when gracie crawls into their bed with a stomach ache and a fever. it's around 3am, and she creeps into their room on quiet feet. she climbs in on steve's side, and then crawls over him to get to the middle. she burrows into his chest, her little face pressed into his neck. it wakes steve up. he asks what's wrong, and then he notices the tear tracks on her pale cheeks.

"gracie, baby, what's wrong?" he asks softly, thumbing away her tears and brushing back her sweat-soaked curls. her face was burning up.

"don't feel good," she murmured, pressing herself deeper into steve's chest.

"i'm sorry, honey." he wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed the top of her head.

eddie groaned softly beside them, his eyes fluttering open. "wh's goin' on?" he muttered hoarsely. "everything okay?"

"gracie doesn't feel good. i think she has a fever."

eddie sat up quickly, suddenly much more awake. it was his first experience with sick kids, but steves done this song and dance several times before. the pups are like disease magnets, and when one of them gets sick, the other is never far behind.

"what? a fever?"

"ed, she should be fine. it's probably just a stomach bug."

"but she's sick, steve."

"i promise it will be fine. it should hopefully break in a few hours, and even if it doesn't, she'll be back to normal in just a few days. they're kids, eddie, they've been sick before."

eddie sighed and looked down at gracie, who was still crying and shaking softly in steve's arms. "what can i do to help?"

"uh, can you get a bottle of water, the kids tylenol, and a, um, damp washcloth? oh, and check on oliver while you're up? if she's sick, i doubt he'll be far behind."

eddie nodded and started pushing the covers back to retrieve what steve asked for. he was only gone for a few minutes, and neither steve nor gracie had moved. steve was brushing his fingers through her hair, shushing her softly. when eddie came back, he sat up against the headboard and pulled gracie into his lap. she refused to take the medicine. steve was trying his best to convince her.

"come on, gracie, please? i promise you'll feel better if you take it."

"i want the song."

"which song, honey?" eddie asked, leaning over and rubbing her back. "maybe i know it? i can sing it for you."

steve sighed, knowing he had to tell him. it was probably the only way gracie would take the medicine. it would be the only way they'd get her back to sleep.

"it's one of your songs, eddie," steve whispered. "i used to play it for them all the time."

eddie frowned. "you did? which one?"

steve looked down at gracie, playing with her hair to avoid looking at eddie. "far away. i've been playing it for them their whole lives. i wanted them to know you loved them, even if you didn't really know."

"i never knew you even got that song."

steve glanced at him with a smile. "you gave it to wayne. of course i got it."

"well, that's easy, then." eddie grinned at gracie, brushing back her hair. "why don't i just sing it for you, honey? will that help you feel better?"

gracie nodded, so of course eddie did just that. he sang softly, the whole song, while steve fed her the medicine. then he let her curl up into his chest, rocking back forth as he kept singing. he didn't stop until she was fast asleep again, snoring softly against his bare chest. steve leaned over to kiss eddie's cheek with a smile.

"i love you," he whispered.

eddie smiled back. "i love you too."

"i'm gonna go check on ollie again. you okay here?"

he nodded, reassuring steve they'd be fine. steve came back in several minutes later, carrying oliver in his arms.

from then on, eddie took every chance he could to sing that song for his family. if the band was on tour, eddie would sing it to them on the phone every night before they went on stage. it was one of his favorite parts about being their dad. he loved to sing to them. he loved singing his songs to them. he thanked the universe every day that he got this chance. he wouldn't give it up for anything.

[foxglovepng]

Random Headcannons 1🌼🥀

Requested: No

CW: Slight mention of drugs & Alcohol in Deuce's, mentions of panic attacks, TW mention of Donut Daddy, Gets a little deep in some of these.

Characters: Heartslabyul

I made some random headcannons to try and get myself back in the writing mood so I hope you like them. If you don't agree that's fine you can scroll and these are just my opinions. <3

I have a fun time writing these and I'm considering posting more headcannons until I finally get the motivation to write more.

Not proofread

🌼

Heartslabyul

Riddle

When it comes to Riddle I have a hard time with him because he is one of my least favorite characters, but in a way I feel for him because the way I describe him is Mommy Issues with a side of anger issues. (Also here his dad at?)

Behind Riddle's back everyone shits on his mom and tries to help Riddle with acknowledging his mom is a bad person and tries to help him see that.

When Riddle get's older I can see him being able to stand up to his mom and will slap back at her (Not physically) he also gets therapy to be able to cope with what she put him through.

A bit more positive, but post NRC Riddle gets a hedgehog and names it Rose or Heart.

Trey

He has personal deep beef with Donut Daddy on tik tok (Don't look him up PLEASE) he literally is that one Euphoria verse when he sees this man. When he got introduced to this man he was like "What the fuck is he doing to those PASTERIES." and now he holds a deep grudge and actively shits on him.

Weird head cannon but Trey is buff because I said so I MEAN LOOK AT HIM at his family's bakery he must be lifting some really heavy stuff right so he has to be buff in some way or another.

Cater

Cater moves around a lot from his father's job and currently resides in the Land of Pyroxene (If I am correct) I feel like it's possible Cater could have met Jack, Vil, and possibly Epel at sometime in his life he either doesn't remember or he does and doesn't mention it.

Cater goes skateboarding and he also knows how to roller skate and has ones with the light up wheels.

He's also very musical and can play the guitar so by this knowledge I am saying he can play Electric, bass, Acoustic, and the ukelele.

"Is that a baton in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" He sung to Trey (It's cannon because I said so)

Deuce

In his delinquent stage he definitely dabbled in drugs & alcohol with his gang (Via Cigarettes and weed). He turned down anything that was super hard although he probably got laced sometime and swore off weed but continued Cigarettes.

Whenever he gets urges to smoke he uses a nicotine patch but that's on rare occasions he chose to be an honor student and he gets panic attacks on occasion from his past as he wants to become better for his mom.

Some more positive headcannons him and Ace play video games a lot together and even though he tries to be an honor student he's still a teenage boy who wants to have fun so sometimes these video game sessions can go very late into the night and they fall asleep during class and start beefing on who's fault it was.

Ace

According to his Phantom Bride Vignette he loves roller coasters and horror movies meaning he probably loves Junji Ito and I will die on that hill. Another thing I want to add is he loves Jojo and different anime's that have a lot of fighting (Jjk, black clover, soul eater, seven deadly sins, demon slayer, castlevania) although I heavily believe his favorite is Jojo. He's an avid TPN and My hero hater.

Another thing someone on tik tok made casual wear sprites and said Ace was a closeted emo he listens to Pierce the Veil because I said so. I also feel like he occasionally goes skateboarding with Cater just to hang out with him.

(Updated on 5/12/24 to change Banner and title)

[ramayantika]

𝐓𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬: 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

(Apna apna sab choose karlo 👀)

Bharatanatyam

The girl in red and gold. Never steps out of the house without a bindi, loves the sun a little too much and gets the perfect golden hour photos. Will drag you out in the sun to prove that her hair is brown. Looks no less than a goddess in traditionals, rocks desi wear as well as western, always the best dressed in the room and sometimes the overdressed one. A walking saree encyclopedia, dreams to have a large wardrobe just for her sarees. Will also lend you some of her sarees and drapes them so well. If you are wearing a saree for a date, ask her for help. Reads a lot of detective books maybe, ranging from Sherlock Holmes to Feluda. Has learnt martial arts too, armed with wit, got the best comebacks and will fight for her friends. Highly intimidating when you meet her first until you get to witness the soft sunshine version of her. Photogenic, loves the camera, could also be a model. Her walk radiates power and confidence. Ambitious and full of ideas, commands attention easily with a snap of ger fingers. Heads turn at her when she enters the room, an eloquent speaker because she is well read. Tries to spread happiness in her own ways, knows everyone in her neighbourhood, is friends with everyone, right from the little kids to the oldies in the park, the Mother hen of her group. Loves puppies and will cry while watching cute puppy videos. Cooks delicious dishes and watch her lash out if she finds out that you skipped breakfast. A pure soul, too kind and generous for the world and does her best in spreading happiness around her.

'It's honestly a choice which we have to make. We can choose to see everything as cold and heartless around us or start seeing at the brighter side of things. Trust me, the latter is a better choice. Why would someone want to live such a miserable life laced with bitterness and resent. I know I cannot singlehandedly make everything right in the world, but I can surely make a difference in at least a single person's life? Why focus on things at the greater scale when we can make changes that should starts from us?"

Odissi

The shy girl next door, writes poetry in her rough notebook, hopeless romantic and a daydreamer. For her, outing means a visit to the temple. Ardent admirer of all types of art, stares at temple sculptures and statues, and is also a history lover. Pink lip gloss, jasmine flowers and a doe-eyed beauty. Makes flower jewellery and will gift you many of her own works if you are her friend. Wears light coloured clothes and minimal accessories, light feminine, crushes over book characters and will make you see the best traits in yourself but forgets to look at the good in herself. Recites romantic poetry in front of the mirror and pretends to be someone's muse, replaces herself with the characters in period dramas Has gorgeous hair but will always keep them in a messy bun, but god when she lets her hair down, she looks like an angel. Her social life includes playing with children and narrating them stories and fairytales.

'His lips gently follow the trail of the small dots of sandalwood paste on her back. It forms a serpentine path on her skin and ends on the curve of her waist where his lips gently caress her soft skin, delighted at the treasure gifted by the perfumed trail.'

"You haven't even held hands with a boy and yet you can come up with this? How?"

"Oh, it's nothing. You have to see my writing journal and you will definitely believe that I am well versed in the arts of love."

"Arts of love? Who uses that?"

"Me. Now come, let's watch Jodha Akbar."

"Again?!"

Kathak

Kurtis and Anarkalis. Has long hair that is half of the time braided. Might also wear a parandi at events. Shayari aur ghazalein, listens to old Bollywood songs late at night under the moon on the terrace. Star gazing, late night deep conversations, vintage clothing, would write you hand written love letters. Knows hindustani music, sings late at night and sometimes in the early hours of dawn. Aankhon mein gehra kajal jise dekh na jane kitne uske aashiq bann gaye, deep eyes that will stare into your soul, loves to wear red lipstick and will wear silver jewellery with every outfit. To win her heart? Take her jhumke shopping. She is the desi pinterest aesthetic. Bases her personality on Sahibjaan from Pakeezah, Anarkali from Mughal-E-Azam, Umrao Jaan and Chandramukhi from Devdas. Has desi aesthetic moodboards on Pinterest and lives like it too minus the havelis and lots of expensive jewellery. If you are a poet, she will end up proposing you.

'जो मेरा नाम अपनी शायरी में अमर कर दे

मरूंगी तो केवल उस शायर के नाम'

"Umrao jaan 2.0 apni pariksha ki taiyari kare aapke non existent premi kavi ya shayar marks nahi dilayenge"

"Tauba tauba sara mood kharab kar diya"

Kuchipudi

Was made to learn dance and music as a child, knows how to play the veena or the sitar well, cannot sing but will play the instrument for you if you ask. Gold jewellery? No. Silver jewellery? No. Pearls? Absolutely! An all rounder, academically brilliant as well as in extra-curriculars, perfectionist and will breakdown at the slightest inconvenience. Loves to go on long walks, sunset photography, has a collection of journals and hauls stationary items. Collects fallen flowers and keeps them inside her books. soft smiles, long artistic fingers that always have ink spots, a small but a close friend group, wishes on flowers, so quiet that you might not her speak at times, notices the minute things about her friends and the people she meets. Looks too long into the mirror and loses herself, has too many questions but will never ask. Has pretty crazy dreams that could become book plots.

"Do you ever stare at your eyes in the mirror for a very long time? Do you feel your reflection change? Those eyes that look back at you... they have so much to say, they carry so many secrets inside them even though at a superficial level, it might seem that your reflection and you are the same, but it's not. When I look at myself in the mirror, I feel it's not me. I am not her nor am I anyone else. I feel I am a part of the galaxies, of stars and planets and of souls -- that I have existed here a long time ago and I have been reborn again for unknown reasons, reasons that somewhere my would would know. Do you not feel the same?"

Kathakali

Athletic, into sports, highly dramatic, can and will recite film dialogues at every situation, has a larger than life attitude, grand gestures and celebrations for her favourite people as well as for herself, always brimming with energy even at 3am, colourful flashy clothes that make her stand distinct from everyone, make-up game on point, a HUGE foodie, takes you to the best eateries and restaurants, indulges in pranks and all sorts of harmless mischief that makes her endearing, expresses everything just with her eyes. You can't say no to her because she will conjure such a facial expression that it would be difficult to say no which is why she gets away with mischief. Will debate about literature and philosophy, has a lot of knowledge about historical texts and scriptures, can easily make you laugh by imitating characters from stories and tales. Will also spam you with her thoughts and opinions on text and if you are in her close friend circle, keep your phone on because she will immerse herself about the latest book she read. Races with kids from her colony and lets them win, gully cricket vali didi, street smart, procrastinates assignments until the deadline is knocking at the door. Knows the secret spots in the city as well as their stories, has the best horror stories to narrate at a campfire.

"I know it's 2am, but is it okay if-"

"Even if I say no, you will tell me, but I am interested. Speak."

"What if all the characters in our epics were us, I mean like us normal human beings who achieved greatness and such divine status because of their work and somehow maybe that was the truth, but with time, we began thinking that we are not capable of becoming like them so we decided that we would take the credit of their hard work and replace it with magical powers and worship them, but not try and become like them? And somehow so many ideal kings, queen, warriors and artists when then look at us from heaven want us to achieve the same level of greatness like them? But they are sad that we think so less of ourselves? I am not denying God's presence though, don't get me wrong on that. I am talking about all the great people from stories that have been passed down to us. I do appreciate the creativity and imagination of the writers and poets involved, but what if we are actually failing to look more deeper into it. What if they want us to go beyond the veil of imagination in those stories and find ourselves in them?"

Manipuri

One word: Ethereal. Doesn't look like she belongs to this world. You saw her first at a waterfall, dressed in white and red shades, mostly prefers pastel shades, makes beautiful flower bouquets, has got a very melodious voice and when she sings by the waterfall with the swans sitting beside her, she appears like a water nymph. Playful eyes, whispers words, will wink and smile at you before disappearing into a run. She walks as if she is floating, got the lightest feet, soft dewy skin, nature's daughter. Sings before the Gods in temples, always has a peacock feather with her, makes one wonder if she is a human or someone divine, wants to live in a cottage overlooking lush green hills.

"Ironic isn't it that beauty, riches, pride, nothing shall exist in the end because we shall go back to mother nature, Prakriti? I shall be ash, a small heap of ash in the future and my stories, my experiences, the beauty which people love to talk about, nothing will exist. Even when humans leave a piece of land, they think it shall be dead and decayed, but they have forgotten Prakriti's nature. She is nourishing and a healer. She shall be the only one remaining."

Mohiniyattam

Loves to sit by a riverbank, serenity, looks at you as if she knows everything about you even about the words you shall speak next, mysterious vibe, doesn't trust anyone easily, lotuses are her favourite. Who is the girl standing waist deep in the river looking at the moon? Loves to wear alta on her hands and feet, wears anklets, longing side glances, perfectly arched eyebrows, dances in the rain, photographs everything, a natural charmer, goes to museums and coffee. Date ideas? Boat rides for evenings. A very private person, doesn't reveal much about herself, contemplates about Life and the Universe, space geek, stars are her friends.

When I look at you, at your great depths, I marvel at the power you have subdued while flowing through the land of Man. Born from the great peaks of mountain ranges, like a young girl who is pulsating with energy, you flow down your father's abode. Were you aware of your strength then? You cut through rocks, found your way through dense forests, and finally emerged into our land. We took you granted, knowing you shall forever exist for us, that you shall always nurture our bodies, our minds and our souls, until we witnessed your dance of death.

I wondered how Lasya, the feminine style of dance, also known as Goddess Parvati's style of dancing could be destructive? You swirled to great heights. With each turn, your colour darkened, absorbing the green from trees, the white from clouds, yellow from the sun, blue from the dawn and purple from sunsets. In the end your colour changed to brown and grey as you engulfed everything we held dear. You ultimately showed your hidden strength that you possesses in the days of girlhood until you heard us wail and weep. Motherhood came back to you, and with time, you began nursing us once again. The city repaired itself, we began learning about the secrets of life and death on your banks and children played with your gentle waters. And then you longed for love, so you advanced towards the sea, merging with its grand form. Once, I used to see it as a way of losing your entire identity, but now I see it as being one. You nourish man in the city and then with your dear love, the mighty sea, you nourish the life that resides inside water. I would like to be something like that.

"Is that why you spend so much time at the river?"

"Yes."

Sattriya

Plays the flute, the most non violent human, will never get angry, calm voice that might lead you to deep sleep. Nobody has seen her even glare at someone. Gold jewellery, squints at the sun, sings devotional songs for Krishna, cannot eat spicy food, lives in the hills, will definitely win if you race against her in the hills, knows quiet spots to appreciate the valleys. Has a great deal of knowledge about herbal medicines, one touch and you will feel that the pain is gone. Has Diy skin care methods ready, gives the best oil massage, cold hands in winter, looks adorable when covered in a shawl, red cheeks that appear like natural blush, makes the best tea.

"Close your eyes, open your ears and your mind too. You might begin to understand the language of the hills. They will send you messages of rain clouds, soft kisses of wintery breeze, fragrance of spring and gently warmth of the sun. Sometimes, if you look closely enough, you might get to know who you are in this world in front of them."

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙ ⋇⋆✦⋆⋇　 ‧͙⁺ ˚*･༓☾　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙◌

I DID IT :D

Even though it's based on dance, but everyone isn't into dance, so i did try my best to make it inclusive and ofc i had to write these paragraphs because I felt more creative lol (just to sum up the vibes maybe that's why) It was a bit tricky to make for Sattriya and Manipuri. I looked up some articles and then some Assam and Manipur tourism videos and also some of theri dance videos too for this. Now I mentioned some of rhe traits and stuff based on the dancing history and the repertoire plus also from the place where it belongs too

Tell me your favorite one and which one you relate to the most.

Shoutout to @remen-nyoodless for the hindi lines

Tagging: @yehsahihai @swayamev @sanskari-kanya @navaratna @daddojanam @pulihora @inexhaustible-sources-of-magic @aapki-pyaari-sakhi @kuhuchan @arachneofthoughts @vedajananixx @pothosinpots @eugenephosgene @reallythoughtfulwizard @ma-douce-souffrance

[shubblelive]

LOVER ₊˚✧ ﾟ.

₊˚ʚ summary | wilbur shares a snippet of a song he wrote on stream. ages later, chat freaks out.

₊˚ʚ genre | fluff

₊˚ʚ warning | none

₊˚ʚ pairing | cc!wilbur soot x fem!singer reader

₊˚ʚ featuring | cc!wilbur soot

₊˚ʚ pronouns | she/her

₊˚ʚ word count | 0.7k

₊˚ʚ note | super cliche but oh well blame taylor swift

after he moved to his office, wilbur couldn't just bust out his guitar whenever he wanted. so whenever his chat saw his guitar in his streams now, they knew it meant something.

"softboy release?" he chuckled as he read out a message. "no, sorry, chat, this is something else." he fiddled with the tuning pegs, strumming absentmindedly as he tried to make sure it sounded right.

he was nervous about this. he knew that his chat would lap up whatever content he fed them, but he was more worried about the implications behind the song.

he finally got the guitar in tune, and he started rambling before he could stop, knee bobbing up and down with nerves. "so, chat. this is a bit of a special song, and it's a bit different than usual. i'm only sharing a bit, but i promise you'll hear the whole thing. i wrote it… i wrote it with my girlfriend,"

he watched as chat whizzed by, trying his best to read it. a lot of people were asking if it was one of his ex girlfriends, so he spoke up again. "she and i have been dating for a few years now. we never really cared much about telling people, it just like wasn't something important to us. of course, i love you guys, but you're all aware that i'm a pretty private guy. i'm a secretive man," he cracked a grin, trying to keep his tone light despite his growing anxiety. so far, all the comments he'd seen were super supportive. "but, we wrote this together, and our vibe was- we were going for a 70s wedding reception, and i think we really managed to capture it. i'm only sharing a bit, so i hope you enjoy."

he adjusted his mic, and began strumming. "we could light a bunch of candles, and dance around the kitchen, baby. pictures of when we were young would hang on the walls. we'll sit on the stoop, i'll sing love songs to you when we're eighty. i've finally got you now, honey. i won't let you fall."

he finally looked up at chat, subtly changing the chords he was playing as he spoke. "uh, so that was one of the verses, and here's part of the bridge,"

chat was freaking out as much as he'd expected, but a majority of them seemed to love the song. it wasn't like his other songs, wry sarcasm shining through lines about his misery. this one, everyone could see that it came from a place of pure love. there was nothing funny, or witty about it, because he didn't want to take away from the message of the song: he loved you.

"look in my eyes, they'll tell you the truth. the girl in my story has always been you. i'd go down with the titanic it's true for you, lover," his voice broke a little on the name of the boat, but no one noticed.

your entire timeline was filled with videos of him singing. captions of screaming, talking about how focused he was. his eyes were shining as he looked at the camera. "how are we feeling, chat?"

the stream continued. he spent a lot of it just chatting, but right before he joined a call with phil he got a text from you.

you did so good, i love you <3

weeks passed. wilbur's viewers moved on to the newest memes, started screaming about his newer lore streams. your timeline would be filled with screenshots from tommy's vlogs.

that was, until your song dropped. wilbur's fans didn't notice right away, but you remember the first tweet you ever got.

am i the only one who thinks that lover sounds like that one song wil sang on stream a few weeks ago????

that's how it started, and soon there were pictures of you and wil separately, posted side by side on twitter at the same location. an instagram photo of you wearing sunglasses that he wore a few months later. someone even edited his vocals onto your song's backing track to compare.

it ended with you posting a picture on instagram, with wilbur reposting it on his socials. you were sitting in his streaming chair, beside the neon sign of his name.

your hands were framing the sign, wilbur soot. the caption you both put on the picture was the same; my, my, my, my lover.

[in-death-we-fall]

To Hell and Back

Kerrang 1227, September 13 2008

Being a member of Slipknot is a tough business. But it’s not just onstage that bad things can happen, as Joey Jordison knows to his cost…

Words: Daniel J. Lane Photo: Paul Harries

The cocaine one. It's short but it's a lot. Knew what I was getting into but this one's definitely gonna be wedged in my hellbrain for a bit.

(google drive link)

When Kerrang! caught up with Slipknot at the end of June prior to their headline slot on the inaugural US Rockstar Energy Mayhem tour, drummer Joey Jordison joked that, after being off the road for three years, the band were so full of pent-up energy and so desperate to get back out and play live that he “wouldn’t be surprised if we break our fucking necks on this first run of shows”. And, in true Slipknot fashion, on day one of the tour in Seattle, Washington, Slipknot DJ Sid Wilson ended up breaking both of his heels after an ill-advised stage dive, while Jordison himself reportedly drummed so darn hard he was forced to ride out the final three dates of Mayhem concealing a broken ankle from his bandmates. As a result, Slipknot were forced to cancel their scheduled European festival shows — including Reading and Leeds — after doctors ordered Jordison off the road for six weeks.

The diminutive sticksman is currently at home in Des Moines, Iowa. He’s bummed about letting all the European Slipknot fans down, but that disappointment is mixed with positivity, with new ‘Knot album All Hope Is Gone having debuted at number one and number two in the US and the UK respectively. And having finally kicked a long running and very private battle with addiction, Jordison has much to look forward to.

How much have you changed as a person since we last officially saw you on Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses? “I’m definitely happier these days, that’s for sure. To be quite honest, and this is something I don’t want to get into, but basically, it all comes from quitting partying. I stopped taking narcotics just before the New Year and now I don’t flub on double bass anymore and I don’t have to try to get through the songs when we play live. You can do whatever you want in your life, I don’t care. I’m not going to preach to you and tell you to stop doing whatever, but now I’m happy and I play better. It’s that simple. My band’s ecstatic about it. I haven’t played this good for a long, long time. Probably since the first record, and there’s nothing more gratifying than that."

When did you realise you had a problem with drugs? “It was probably when I realised that I wasn’t just hurting myself, I was hurting the people around me. I had a real moment of clarity last year. My girlfriend at the time, a girl who I thought I was gonna be with forever, cheated on me and I went on a three week coke binge. I actually wrote some of the riffs for the new album [All Hope Is Gone] around that time, which is the only good thing to come out of it. But I just wasn’t having fun anymore and my family knew it.”

How did your family react? “My sister, Annie, kept trying to call me but I didn’t want to speak to anyone. The phone was off the hook. I didn’t answer my door, the lights were off, and I was just fucking ragingly pissed off all the time. So she sent me a picture of my nephew. He was trying to play drums and he was wearing one of my old masks. And so I called her and she put him on the phone and he said, ‘I love you uncle Joey’, and I was like, ‘Fuck it, I’m done. This is fucking stupid’. I realised I was basically fucking dying. It took that to make me realise what was really important in my life and that I’d done a lot of mean things to people.”

Like what? “Just stupid fucking rock star shit. Thankfully, I’m fucking over it, now. You act like an asshole, you feel like shit the next day and your performance suffers because of it. I really don’t want to go into it… I once made a tour manager cry because I was so fucking pissed off and hungover. Just fucked-up things like that. Let’s just say I’ve had to make a lot of apologies to people. But the past is the past, now I’m so much faster at drumming, so much more fluid with my breathing. I eat better… And I’m also fatter (laughs).”

We’d have said ‘healthier’ rather than ‘fatter’. You were looking quite skeletal towards the end of Vol. 3… “I’m just happier, dude. I wake up, and I eat really well. I don’t wake up and throw up like I used to. I’m not rail thin any more. Everyone in my family is like, ‘It’s so good to see you put on a few pounds’.”

Where do you think your addiction stemmed from? “We have good lives. I’m not going to say ‘Oh, woe is me’. People know we’ve had success and all that stuff. But there are things that can push you over the edge. Things like being an outcast at school, my step dad dying, the death of my friend [former Killing Joke / Ministry bassist] Paul Raven… He was one of the sweetest, most genuine fucking guys that I’ve ever met in my life. He was too young, man. He was too young. And I will miss him forever. These are the things that never leave you.”

Is that why you tried to incorporate the scars into your new mask? “I’ve had scar lines in my mask for a while now, but yeah, I wanted to design a mask that just shows the pain that I’ve gone through, the love and the hate I’ve gone through. It’s decrepit, it’s rotting, it’s sewn together. And the crown of thorns and the mummified look and the willowy hands, is the same thing. I’m growing old, man. I’m a human fucking tree, I’m just rotting into the earth. It’s the scariest looking thing I could come up with. I don’t wanna be the pretty boy in the band any more. I’m sick of that shit, y’know?”

Does it bug you that, pretty much from when Slipknot started, girls would throw themselves at you because you were the ‘cute one’? “Yes and no. Actually I think I might have done myself a disservice, I think the new mask might attract more (laughs). That said, I can’t wait to see the mock-ups in the audience. The old mask was kinda easy to copy, but the new one’s going to be that little bit harder. I honestly can’t wait to see the first kid with a crown of thorns at a Slipknot show.”

So what does the future hold for you, personally? “I don’t know. I take each day as it comes. Every morning I wake up and think, ‘Is this gonna be my last day?’. And if today is my last day, I wanna go out swinging, man. You know what’s crazy about me? I’ve already bought my grave. Just in case. It’s over down on Second Avenue [in Des Moines]. That’s what being in Slipknot does to you.”

Slipknot’s new album, All Hope Is Gone, is out now. The band will be touring the UK in December. See Gigs for details.

[lunar-years]

T! From your latest ask game post.

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending?��**

i'm very certain i've rambled on about most (all?) of these before, lol. But here is my truth:

General character stuff -

Jewish Roy Kent!! The O'Sullivan-Kent's are mixed faith

Roy and his sister were perhaps close when they were very small but not so much once Roy moved to Sunderland. They didn't reconnect until around the time she got pregnant with Phoebe, then became incredibly incredibly close during her contentious divorce, when Roy was the first and best person to show up for her.

Keeley's parents are divorced. also she definitely has major mommy issues and i think that's under-explored!

Jamie's dad came back into his life when he was pre-teen (i don't have an exact age but to me it was somewhere between like. the ages of nine to twelve). Old enough to already be putting himself on the football map, locally (enough for James to have taken notice, anyway) but young enough for James to have made the very deep impression on him and to hold the type of influence over him we see reflected on the show.

Simon came into the picture several years later when Jamie was an older teenager (16-17) and he and Georgie didn't get married until Jamie was playing (semi-)professionally

i feel sooooo strongly that he hasn't told a soul about that trip to Amsterdam until he tells Roy in s3. i know some people think he would have told his mum and i respect that but also. i couldn't disagree more, lol.

speaking of mummy, I also think the closeness we see them have in s3 is somewhat of a recent development. They were definitely that close when Jamie was young, but as is typical with having an abusive parent, I don't see how his relationship with his dad wouldn't have tainted his bond with his mum. To me there is a lot of things that were left unsaid between them, on both sides, for a long time, and I think the s1 bonfire scene really reflects that strain. not to say they were totally estranged, but I do think there were a few very rough years in there where jamie barely talked to her. and they reconnected around the time of the break between s1 & s2 when Jamie was back with Man City. now they're extremely extremely close.

jamie works with kids once he retires from football!! i'm not too particular as to what capacity but perhaps my favorite is that he coaches youth football at the Academy level. Like, maybe the U15s or U16s. young teenagers whose lives he can make a real difference in. just...jamie getting to be the mentor and influence for them in the way he wishes he had at that age. ahhhh.

ot3 stuff:

ot3 all have strained (at best) relationships with their parents, but in completely different ways. they all adore Georgie and Simon though and love making time to visit Manchester

they do NOT have kids ❌ Miss Keeley Jones is not EVER willingly getting pregnant i can tell you that much for damn sure

i'm ride or die ot3 and this is kind of irrelevant in a poly scenario but re: marriage none of them would change their last names i firmly believe this

look. it's not that jamie and keeley CAN'T cook. but if roy is willing to make them the majority of their meals. and do it better than either of them ever could. who are they to stop him?? (lowkey keeley's cooking IS tragic though, lol)

simon teaches roy how to bake. then they force Georgie, Jamie and Keeley to "judge" their creations as if they were competing on bakeoff. this is like. an ongoing event. there are multiple occasions, maybe once a year or something, and roy and simon spend weeks planning what they're going to do for it every time.

i think they keep their relationship a secret until Jamie retires. of course there is a thriving in-verse rpf community, lmao.

perhaps controversially i don't think they'd tell the whole team. I love it in blissful and happy and fluffy fics though :) And obviously, i think roy and jamie love the team very much, but i still think they'd only explicitly tell like, rebecca, the coaches, and then Jamie would tell his closest few friends on the team. everyone else kind of figures it out over time, though, they aren't as subtle as they think they are, but it's not really talked about? it's more like an open secret.

they have a closed poly relationship because at the end of the day they are all possessive and none of them are open to sharing with anyone but each other, lol. also like. even keeping up with two partners can be a logistical nightmare. who would have the time for more? keeley runs the calendars.

sex: Roy and Keeley switch. Jamie is mostly a sub but willing to try basically everything and anything once. also what they get up to is generally very kinky and very sex positive and most importantly they have LOTS of fun <333 the details of that would take up another 12 paragraphs but you know. i think the fandom is mostly in agreement with this lmao.

** maybe not so much ~die defending~ because if people have different opinions i definitely do not care, y'all do you. but these are the ones that are so tried and true in MY brain that if i read a different opinion or a fic featuring a contradicting viewpoint... It doesn't matter how much i enjoy it or even love it... I am still filing that away as an AU in my brain even though it's like, totally NOT 😂

[presidenthades]

I am doing very minor revisions of Daemon’s Handbook (mostly formatting and continuity errors), and I wanted to do some behind-the-scenes commentary before too much time passes and I forget my original thoughts. Here’s Chapter 2!

(Note that these commentaries aren’t canon to the verse until/unless the author writes them into the series. I might change my mind on a few points later, but these are the thoughts I had while writing.)

Those gold dancing slippers with pink roses and sunbursts? Aegon 100% bought those for Jace (in Sunfyre’s colors of course), and that’s why she freaks out about them in Chapter 3.

Helaena has FRIENDS in this verse! Because she gets to grow up with three kinswoman close in age to her! Yay! I imagine her spending a lot of time with Jace, Luce, and Joff while they’re all living at the Red Keep.

That black and green three-pointed star is supposed to be some kind of reference to the three main couples of this series. Please don’t ask for details because I don’t have any 🙈

Rhaena and Baela’s crushes on Helaena and Jace, respectively, have begun sprouting in this chapter. They are very embarrassed by their dad acting like a weirdo in front of their crushes.

Daemon has a mental diatribe about Aegon’s dissolute ways, but in actuality Daemon would probably enjoy hanging out with someone who can keep up with him in Flea Bottom. Alas.

Neither book nor show canon says anything about Aegon or Aemond squiring, but I think healthy young princes would be expected to squire, like Daeron. I’m thinking Aegon strongly disliked the idea of having to squire (which involves a lot of acts of service) so maybe he a) threw a fit or b) used some weaponized incompetence until people gave up. 😆 But show!Aemond would like the idea of becoming a chivalrous knight, and Criston seems like a good option to squire for, considering Criston’s proximity to Alicent.

In this verse, Rhaenyra chooses to move her family to Dragonstone for different reasons than canon (where she felt pushed out by the Hightowers). Here, she’s mostly concerned about Jace and Aegon. I’ll delve into more detailed commentary later for Chapter 6, but basically, the kids have hit puberty and Jace and Aegon have already been caught sneaking around to kiss and hold hands. You can’t really keep them apart if they’re living in the same castle, so Rhaenyra’s solution is to relocate her daughters. Rhaenyra still plans to commute to court as needed (like in Chapter 4), but it’s not the most politically expedient move even if she’s decided it’s best for personal reasons.

We get our first glimpse of what the Jace/Aegon relationship is like. Jace spends a good amount of time trying to make Aegon act nicer (especially toward Aemond; no Pink Dread in this verse). She tends to use the carrot instead of the stick, which is Aegon’s preferred learning method, so Jace is more successful than Alicent who does it the other way.

Daemon doesn’t believe in anything he can’t see with his own eyes so he’s not superstitious, BUT Joff makes him question a lot of things. 😆 He figures out real fast that regardless of whether she’s actually witchy, it’s best to stay on her good side. (Otto also knows something is up with that girl lol)

I’m definitely exploring Joff’s dynamic with Laenor in a future installment in this verse. For now, let’s just say it was complicated. As precocious as Joff is, she’s only 6 and she doesn’t actually know everything.

“Window closes, heart opens, door opens, heart closes.” Helaena’s prophecy is about Aemond’s eye and the Luce/Aemond relationship, though I originally planned for it to play out differently (more to come in Chapter 4 commentary). As the fic currently stands, the prophecy breaks down like this: window closes = Aemond loses his eye. Heart opens = Luce opening up to Aemond again. Door opens = the rookery door when Daemon messes with the letters. Heart closes = Luce and Aemond’s three year estrangement.

[foxes-that-run]

https://twitter.com/ThrowbackTaylor/status/1763936431985013126?t=c2-8mrjF4k4FHC2wUWZVkw&s=19

Who do you think she was singing IDWLF about the first time on June 3. She seemed upset during the part "Wondering if I dodged a bullet or just lost the love of my life". If about HS, what do you think of the timing there with it being on June 3?

What about the song yesterday in the mashup, with IDWLF and dress. Do you feel it could be Haylor related too?

Hi, thanks for the ask. :) I think last nights show, with Taylor IDWLF verse replaced with Dress is clearly about wanting an ex to call Taylor. She also left the dress bridge about a buzz cut out too.

I don't wanna live forever was played 6 times when it was released and only 3 times since:

9 June 2018- in Manchester, Harry's home stadium

3 June 2023 - in Chicago, and

last night, 2 March 2024, in Singapore.

It's possible twice in the first week of June is a coincidence, however Zayn was LA and the film was wrapped by June in 2016, so it could be the song's anniversary.

There was a lot of discussion about how sad Taylor looked in all of the early Eras shows, after such a long relationship had gone public. To me I think she was feeling the meaning of this rare song to perform. In that 3 June 2023 show's Betty speech Taylor also really really really emphasized James's need to apologise:

"James, and he really, really, really messes things up bad with the love of his life, and he has to try to get her back, and apologize very sincerely, and profusely, and say he’s going to change and be better, and that’s all he has to do."

The MH break up was announced 2 days later, but they hadn't been seen together for 16 days, which may not sound like much but the whole thing was contained to 29 days, (see 2023 timeline) so it was actually half of the time they 'dated', so if Taylor was as sad as some like to imagine I'd say that's about Joe. Haylorwise last year's timeline is murky around then. This was after MH disappeared and the Question 'never happier intro, but 2 weeks later was the show TR was at and things took a sharp turn down, that may have been why she played it.

Also interesting is that several surprise songs she has replayed this year were in April/May last year too:

30 April - HYGTG (replayed 23 Feb)

5 May - Teardrops on my Guitar (replayed 18 Feb)

7 May - WCS (Replayed 26 Feb) and Mine (replayed 2 March)

12 May - CBBH (replayed 18 Feb) (Rare)

13 May - Forever and Always (replayed 26 Feb)

26 May - Maroon (replayed 26 Feb), Getaway car (replayed 17 Feb)

27 May - Holy Ground (replayed 7 Feb)

3 June - IDWLF (Replayed 2 March)

Last night it was interesting that Taylor didn't sing her verse, only Zayn's because her verse is the only song that includes loml which is (maybe) a track title on TTPD:

Wonderin' if I dodged a bullet Or just lost the love of my life, oh

I think the smiling happy performance was that she really enjoys the mash ups TBH. Also that she went live, compared to last years performance the reach was much bigger.

[bluewinnerangel]

Can we talk about the reference to cinema in Lucky Again? I was watching a reaction to FITF (I can't stop) from someone who didn't seem to know much about L/H/1D and she said "who is this man selling tickets at the cinema?" I had to laugh. Also after the leak I thought it was "they're selling tickets at the cinema" but the lyric book says THERE which really changes how I interpret that line. What do you think?

I think yes. When we did not have the official lyrics yet I thought it was

If you believe that guy is superman

They're selling tickets to the cinema

followed by "whatever gets you through the darkest night" which I thought was a bit shady, saying yeah if you think highly of that guy and all his behavior then you go over there and buy what he's selling you, you go watch that movie, you go entertain yourself with those thoughts if that helps you I guess whatever, but then it flips and but just find the light out of that madness like find your way back to earth (you're not superman) because that ain't real life.

I think both Louis and Harry use "Cinema" in the same derogatory way, in part, because I think both songs have a lot of layers to them and yes Harry's song Cinema has a ya nasty layer which is great and gay I think it also has another layer of looking at that recently luckily called off stunt where, not only did they work on a movie and it was mostly for the movie, also the whole PR fuckery around is was another movie in itself, a fake story, baby that's Cinema, that's some performative shitstorm dumpsterart, that's some narrative for you there, and well go on be entertained by it sheeple. It's passive aggressive and I love it.

Now back to Lucky Again and the actual lyrics:

If you believe that guy is superman

There selling tickets at the cinema

HA so the believed superman is the one selling the tickets. So.. thinking someone's all that because they're trying to sell you things? Trying to get you to buy the movie, the story. It's not just that dude over there is doing these great things you go watch it no he's also the dude that's the face you meet at the front desk there to sell something to you. Whether that something is a fabricated story/world (the CINEMAtic universe of the entertainment industry idk bro we're going places) or just mindless entertainment or even a specific reference to the song Cinema (which in turn takes you to the other points in my opinion so the only added layer is larry here which great good lovely). And then the contrast to that guy being superman vs him being a hard man, and that superman is standing right there vs him being a hard man to lose/find. And how that guy can be himself, either the public version or the version he thought he was or thought he had to be, but also the "you", but also another party that's selling a life to him/"you"/them both (like wow guys look fame isn't it shiny for instance), or a general figure selling a story to the general public.

But I also wanna talk about the other references of that line: hello DC universe I know way too little about. He's going from "Superman" to Batman with "the darkest night" -> The Dark Knight. With that I'm seeing the whole batman-joker-twoface-DC-cinematic-universe come to life in this verse or perhaps whole song, with the themes of madness ("madness is like gravity, all it takes is al little push") and luck (the lucky coin / leaving things up to chance and living for the chaos deciding mad actions based on a coin flip / "you make your own luck" all that) and find the light (batsignal lol), "before the world it got so serious" ("why so serious"). Like they're not directly related or not that I've cared to figure out because I don't think that would make much sense either but they're the famous quotes and this song's hitting all them keywords and I love the idea of him playing around with this stuff. There's probably a lot more to say about this, maybe for someone to whom this is the crossover of their dreams could write an essay about this lol it's not me.

And also of course the use of superman; implying that guy can do everything, achieve everything, do everything at once, be more than any mere human, be beyond mortal lol, nah he's just another guy. He's just that guy, and the "I" is a hard man (to lose/find) even, and the "you" has been working hard to be themselves, and then he's bringing it further back down to earth with lines like "I'd meet you at the favourite subway stop / we'd grab some food and meet the lads for one". Like a wise man once said "I can't be no superman, but for you I'll be super human".

Also wanna highlight the wordplay with "I'm a hard man to lose/to find" + "I was lucky once / I could be lucky again" -> hard-luck, aka unlucky, in a bad situation out of your control. This throughout the whole song, basically saying you're down on your luck without directly saying it "you give until it's gone away", "I see how hard you've worked [to be yourself]", "i made my way back", "[the time] it got away from us", "find the light out in the madness hold tight" I think all imply bad luck, but he's choosing (let's bring in "made my way back to a life I would choose") to focus on the positive, on how the luck can turn in his favor instead.

And then the other reference: "whatever gets you through the darkest night" -> John Lennon's Whatever Gets You Thru The Night, he mentioned this song together with Mind Games (again the song that holds the phrase "Faith In The Future") in a tweet at some point, and some more times throughout recent years, so I think at the very least it's something he was aware of writing it lol.

Also darkness vs light keeps coming back in his lyrics, on FITF alone but we could be bringing in other songs, also 1D and other's lyrics too, it's too much to go in to on top of all these points now but I just at least wanna mention that's a thing too and it's overwhelming :D

I don't know how to end this because I feel like we can ramble on about these things forever lemme end on The Dark Knight Rises -> I'm A Hard Man. :D :D Get IT :D :D

[malspinningyarns]

I think one of the most fascinating things about Much Ado About Nothing is, like many Shakespeare plays, the use of language. Despite the play mostly being in prose instead verse (with exception a couple scenes), Benedick and Beatrice talk differently than everyone else. When we first meet Beatrice, she’s talking absolute circles around her uncle and the messenger. Enough that she’s changing thoughts to adjust the conversation. Then Don Pedro’s group enters. We finally meet Benedick- who Beatrice has shit-talked for the entirety of the previous scene- and he keeps up with her quips! And when Beatrice leaves, Benedick is the one talking circles around Don Pedro and Claudio. It’s the first indication that this couple that apparently hates one another is a great match.

Sometimes others can almost keep up with them, but there’s still something wrong. When Bea is talking to Don Pedro, he does get her to show some weakness, but she still changes the conversation to her whims like in the first scene. Likewise, when Ben is talking to Margaret, it’s close but she’s not witty enough to keep his interest.

In addition to not shutting up other than when they are upset or eavesdropping, Beatrice and Benedick use a lot more metaphor and descriptive language than everyone else in the play. They exaggerate while everyone else is fairly direct. They use a lot more different forms of punctuation than just periods. Everyone else in the court have positions of power- Don Pedro is a Prince, Claudio is a count, Leonato is a governor, Hero is an heiress- and they speak more formally. Even Don John speaks fairly formally. The servants, Boracchio, and the watchmen speak very informally. Beatrice- whose financial and familial situation is unclear- and Benedick- who is a gentleman but doesn’t have a title- thread the needle between the two worlds.